gyselinck

Fixed Klenke's goof. Klenke, Colchuck/Argonaut Pass... We had to go all the way back to the moraine to get some stuff we stashed there, plus back to our campsite in the upper basin below Stuart.

Climb: Argonaut Peak -Northeast Couloir Date of Climb: 5/14/2005 Trip Report: A plan to climb the Northeast Face of Stuart, changed into a plan to climb the Ice Cliff Glacier Arête, where we ended up climbing the Northeast Couloir of Argonaut Peak, then traversing over to Colchuck and Dragontail. It has been my 4th weekend in a row into the area, I didn't care what we did, just wanted to climb something. NOLSe and I set up bivies under blue skies in a rock shelter below the moraine of the Ice Cliff Glacier and watched clouds roll in. I had checked the weather that day which showed a 60% chance of rain on Saturday, not what I wanted to here. I then went to a less reliable source which showed a 30% chance of precipitation, more to my liking. We ran into a couple of friends on the hike up who were there to climb the SGC, we all shared the cave. Shit kept falling off the NE Face so we contemplated climbing the Ice Cliff Glacier Arête instead. We awoke around 6 the following morning to rain. Our friends that shared the cave were completely saturated; NOLSe and I lucked out and stayed dry. Weather was poopy, so we decided we would go climb Argonaut Saturday morning. Neither of us had done it before, but both had been eyeing it for some time. Due to the lack of snowfall this year the climbing was a little more interesting then I had thought it would be. There were a couple thin ice steps, but nothing to difficult. We both soloed the entire route, except for one section of rotten ice about 10 feet high. NOLSe soloed it and told me that he would drop the rope. I found this section easier then the first crux lower down the climb. Easy 4th and low 5th class climbing lead out of the couloir and onto the upper face. A quick traverse and class 3 scramble lead to the summit. Time was 5 hours from the glacial moraine below Stuart to summit of Argonaut. I had forgotten my rations back at camp so NOLSe was nice enough to share his. He gave me two bars and one gu packet and kept the same for himself. On the summit we snapped some photos, signed the register (and fixed the date on Klenke and MCash’s note) admired the bad weather, and contemplated what to do next. One rap down the east face (60 m rope) brought us to class 3 ledges where we were able to jump into the east couloir and plunge step down. We left all our gear at the Argonaut/Colchuck pass and ran up the summit of Colchuck. From there NOLSe distributed our remaining rations (3 cough drops each) and we ran to the false summit of Dragontail. A short rock step prevented us from reaching the true summit. We quickly descend and returned to our packs. Easy going brought us back to the moraine below Argonaut where we met a couple of NOLSe’s friends who were going to climb the route the following day. We dried out our feet and returned to camp below Stuart. The plan was to try to climb a route up Stuart on Sunday if the weather got better. Sunday morning we awoke to heavy rain, packed up, and headed home. Good climb, great route, had lots of phun. (NOLSe, you wanna post some pics?) Gear Notes: Brought rock rack, crampons, picket but didnt use any of it. Both had two tools. 60 m rope for a rap. Approach Notes: easy slog

Dont be so negative.

Keep an eye on the weather. As of now it looks like things could come back in. Point forcast for 7,800 feet over the Stuart Range: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/i...;lon=-120.84375 Highs in the 30's, Lows in the lower 20's. All that water could form some fatty ice.

I was just curious, how old are all you guys? I could make a guess juding by the pictures, but I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Every climber I have ever run into in the mountains is about your guy's age looking.

The holes are there if you look hard close.

There are mad deals right now and you can get a brand new one, free shipping, no tax, for less then $200. Thats what I did. (Check out Snowleopard Mountain Sports, or just look around)

It's not worth the $66 ticket. Get a pass, its good for Tieton too. (If you buy two you get the second one half price, so find a friend that needs one and buy them together. If you buy a fishing license you get one free with that. )

First you ditch out on me, then you mess up my thread. Don't you guys ever mess with my thread again and get it moved. Lyger, Longpause . Crazy bastards .

SCW has been bone dry almost all winter.

Maybe Lyger and Longpause will fight and post a TR with pictures. Post some more TR's people..

Post some stinkin' pictures! We were the two you talked to, I was the water boy, had only drunk a liter all day cause I had forgotton my other bottel and was thristy. Nice going guys.

Whoo-hoo. Party at my house!!

I am guilty and don't often do it, but somebody should post a TR of what they did over the weekend. I am bored and need to see somthing cool. Make sure to include pictures. I like to read about and see pictures of what others do, it keeps me excited through the boring week.

Exit 38 is a great place for bolted climbs. Everything is relatively consolidated into a small area, a nice outdoor gym. In regards to gritscone, the routes aren't very high, it's a bouldering area. That could be why the bolts were pulled. Also, sometimes people want to feel badass, so they're assholes to everyone else, an ego thing. Marking hangers is a good idea, but in situations like this I doubt the hangers are stolen for other climbs. Chances are they are not putting up new climbs, just satisfying their ego. Most likely they end up in the dump. Don't let a few ruin it for the rest of us. Put em' back up. PS. That guy in that picture needs to pull up his pants.

More people need to do this one? It is the shittiest route I have ever done in my life. There were like 3 pitches of hard climbing covered in wet moss and dirt. Had to pull moss and dirt out of the cracks to find pro. Also, lots of loose rock. If you climbed it on a weekend with lots of people below you, chances are you would get your ass kicked when you got to the top. Fixed gear? I did clip a fixed bong and angle on the route, besides that, nothing. I think it is a dangerous route. It was fun though.

Speaking of the complete Temple Ridge traverse, has anyone on this site done it (got any pics?)? Went and did Prusik last weekend, it was my first time into the area, those peaks are amazing. Got a good view of the ridge line and it looks pretty cool, its something I would like to do.

100 bucks!!! You could buy two cams with that. There is a key hanging on the peg board at Vantage, its been there for quite a while, maybe it will fit your honda? Alright, I'll stop messing with your forum. Have fun on your trip Mr, dont die, and let me know when youg get back. Someone help this man find his key.

Maybe you shouldnt run so much.

Two days ago I left a large nut in the upper pitches of the Northern Dihedral on Snow Creek Wall. If you want to dig it out of the mud, you can have that one as well.

Here is an article, the old timer (terry) you speak of is pictured in the article. It is an older article, but it might explain some of the issues. A good read. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2002/0623/cover.html

My climbing partner is going to die next time I see him. He always claimed that he knew all these routes, so we would walk up to a crack and he would be like, "Craig, do this one, its only a 5.9." So I would struggle and wine my way to the top and think about the major stiff rattings this place has. Well, I am now looking through the guide and all these "5.9" climbs are rated 5.10c and such. Now I don't feel like such an idiot. Come to think of it, he does this stuff a lot. The other week in Vantage he told me to climb and easy 10a crack. After the fourth time of me falling on the crux, he laughs and tells me its an 11. Some good friends I got. At first I wasent to sure of this Tieton place, but I am starting to like it the more I go there. I am going to start going there a lot I think. Cool place.

I have always gone to Tieton and just climbed random stuff. Never really new what the routes were or the rattings. I just bought the guide book and its sweet. Got it for 20 dollars at Jerrols Books in Ellensburg, rather then at REI where they sell it for 26 dollars.

Tangled Up In Blue was first climbed in 1988 and has since become a classic. It’s an easy 5.8 twin crack which takes good jams, or it can be stemed, or both. It’s a popular beginner’s crack, which helps inspire confidence for harder climbs on Sunshine Wall. Unlike most routes, it maintains its grade throughout the whole climb, which is why many people believe it to be harder then it really is. It takes good gear and there is an awesome belay at top. Whenever I take people who are new to Frenchman Coulee, I always take them up TUIB, it’s an awesome route. See the following link for a picture of the climb. It’s a pretty sweet shot of the first ascentist soloing the route in tennis shoes. (note: that is not him making the FA, it was taken years later.) http://www.nawwal.org/~mrgoff/photojournal/2000/fallwin/10-21brtangled1.html I am also asking that the bolts be removed by whoever put them up. If you do it, the bolts can find a more useful place, perhaps Middle East Wall. If I do it, they will end up in the trash. Please respect the area. If you want to change the characteristics of a climb, perhaps it might be a good idea to post on here to get others insight. What better way is there to trade information? Each climb should be dealt with on a case by case basis. Sunshine Wall, King Pins must be left alone. Edit: I might add, the route has gone 17 years without bolt anchors, why add them now? Thats probably longer then most people on this board have been climbing. Clearly they are not needed.

Whoever installed chains above Steel Grill, right on, it was needed. Whoever installed chain anchors above George and Martha, thank you, it was also due for a fix. Whoever installed two bolts above Tangled Up In Blue is a f—king piece of shit who should go back to Seattle (where they belong) and climb on plastic. If you’re two lazy to climb the extra 10 feet to the top for a cool belay in a natural rock chair, or to lazy to walk 25 steps to the right to the areas rappel station, you shouldn’t be climbing at Vantage. Tangled Up in Blue is classic line which should be left alone, topping out is part of the Frenchman Coulee experience. Don’t try to be a hero by fixing climbs to make them more “aesthetic.” They should be left as is by the FA team, especially classic climbs like this one, especially crack climbs. I wonder what Bill would do if he new bolts were added to one of his climbs? In many cases, such as this one, there is no difference in spray painting the climb in red or adding two monstrous fat ugly bolts, its called vandalism . Those bolts should be pulled, they dont belong there.