GreenT

Electrical tape works great.

Couloir looked heinous on 8/30 from Buckner. The couloir is very broken and I couldn't tell if it was continuous snow all the way, but I kind of doubt it.

The crossing from McAllister to Klawatti Glacier (est. 8030') is passable, but the moat is melting out quickly. There was only one feasible spot I saw to cross without a rappel. It is in an unlikely spot, and you may not notice it until you are 50 or so feet below it (I went for the obvious notch and the other side had a 30' drop - class 5.ugly with no rope and a wide moat to boot). I think it'll be passable without rope for another 2 weeks.

It's closed at Ross Lake TH.

Climb: Klawatti, Eldorado, Austera - Solo-Klawatti S. Face, Eldorado slog, Austera E. Ridge Date of Climb: 8/16/2004 Trip Report: On Sunday my buddy and I headed up the climber's path up Eldorado Creek to a camp at ~7400' on the Inspiration Glacier. The next morning I awoke to my partner complaining of knee issues. He wasn't going to make the slog up to Eldorado that day as planned. After further questioning, he wasn't sure he was going to make it to Austera and Klawatti the following day as planned. At this point I decided to go solo. I left camp towards the summit of Eldorado at about 6:30AM. I made quick work of the 1500' to the summit, arriving at the snow arete at about 7:30. The skies were clear, there was no wind, and the temperatures were in the 60s. The views from Eldorado are pretty sweet I must say. After about 15 minutes on the summit I made the slog over to Austera. The glacier is in OK shape ... The cracks were easily bypassed by staying high, hugging Tepeh Towers. Once around Klawatti, there is a notch which you go through to drop down onto the Klawatti Glacier. The moat around this notch was heinous, and it took some work to get through. The Klawatti Glacier was in Excellent shape. It took me a little over 2.5 hours to get to the rock bit of Austera from the summit of Eldorado. Once on the E. Ridge, it's just a scramble over to the summit block where there is one final "problem" - which really isn't problematic after a little probing. The "chockstone problem" is easily bypassed via 4th class rock around the back (North) side of the summit tower. I spent a bit of time on the summit of Austera. The views over to Primus, Dorado Needle, and north to Jack, Southeast to Logan and Buckner .. were all awesome. There is no summit register on Austera at this time (although I've heard that there was one at one time). After about an hour on the summit of Austera, I made my way back through the notch (est. 8030') North of Klawatti Peak, and crossed back over to the McAllister and, soon, the Inspiration Glacier. I traversed around the S. Side of Klawatti, which required a drop of about 100', and then ascended steep (45-50 degree) snow above gaping crevasses to gain the S. Face. The moat here is also quite ugly, and I was forced to drop about 80' to find a place to leave the glacier. I eventually got onto the rock in what I believe was the only place possible without pro and climbed steep 4th class (with some 5th) through a wet gulley before the terrain finally flattened out. From here it was about 250' of 3rd class scrambling to the summit (stay slightly left). Again, the views were stunning. Since it was only 2PM, I decided to hang out a bit on the summit (again, no summit register that I could see). I watched intense thunderstorms gobble Logan and Buckner up, while camp stayed dry as a bone. Loud claps of Thunder could be heard in the distance, and torrential downpours were easily discernable by misty clouds dancing around their summit blocks. I eventually left the solitude of the summit and headed back to camp. I got back to camp about 5:30PM, and enjoyed freeze dried Chili Mac with Beef (thanks Mountain House) and about a gallon of lemon-lime gatorade. Another fine weekend in the North Cascades. Approach Notes: The trail up Eldorado Creek is steep .. I affectionaly refer to it now as "Stupid steep". The trail is in fine condition. The river crossing can be located ~100' downstream from the parking lot.

Ursa, no that is the opposite side of the face that we climbed. We climbed the right side of your photo,, Where your red line becomes vertical, is almost exactly where we began our ascent. And our route took us more or less straight up and SLIGHTLY left towards the summit block. I tried to upload some annotated photos, but they are too large.

We soloed the glacier. It is small and relatively flat with rock bands interspersed. There are cracks, but they are fairly concentrated and easily seen this late in the season. I'm not saying you can't get into trouble on Jerry Glacier, just that we felt safe enough to solo it.

Thanks for the warm welcome. We got some great shots. Once my dad figures out the digital camera I'll post some.

Climb: Jack Mountain-South Face Date of Climb: 8/2/2004 Trip Report: Myself and my 60 year old father climbed Jack Mountain 8/1-8/3, 2004. We approached via Jerry Lakes and set up camp at 6100' in Upper Crater Basin. The approach via Jerry Lakes is pretty intense for an approach with no bushwhacking ... there's a lot of elevation gain and loss. My TOPO! software says ~6500' gain and ~1600' loss on the approach. There is a way to save approximately 1000' of gain by finding a ramp beyond the first series of cliffs as you contour towards Jerry Lakes on the Jerry Glacier (just below Crater Mtn). I thought the time saved would be negligible, and since Jerry Lakes is such a beautiful place (the ramp bypasses the Jerry Lakes basin), we decided to take the long way. It was definitely worth it to see Jerry Lakes, in my opinion. Once at camp the S. Face of Jack looks pretty impressive. It is a steep face with deep gulleys and sharp ridges. The views to Snowfield are SWEET, and the evening alpenglow made for some breathtaking shots. One has a much different perspective on Jack from Crater Basin .. I think Jack's much more impressive looking from Crater Basin than from anywhere else. Monday we awoke to sunny skies and hoardes of skeeters. We quickly packed our daypacks and headed up to the Face. There is some confusion as to where the best place is to gain the face. There are relatively few safe spots (without using protection) to gain the face, and I will explain the way I think is best ... There is a knoll below the S. Face (~7100'). While contouring to the west as high as one can climb in the screefield below the S. Face of Jack, watch Roland Creek (the creek that flows out of the S. Face drainage). Once any part of the creek disappears from view behind Pt. 7100, start up the face at the easiest place you see. If it looks like it cliffs out on the other side of a small ridge on the face, it doesn't. From there, climb generally straight up, staying just right of the summit pyramid and aim for high notches in ridges to climber's left. Cross the notches to the other side (to climber's left) and climb through ramps and gulleys (class 3-4). Top out where the SE and SW ridges of Jack Mtn meet. From here, traverse under the summit pyramid and gain a prominent gulley to the left of it. This gulley (snow-filled until late summer) takes you to the summit ridge. From here, it is a short scramble (~100') to the true summit. The views from the summit rival the best in the entire range. Ross lake can be viewed almost in it's entirety. Big and menacing Hozomeen can be seen to the North, and Little Beaver drainage and the Pickets (esp. Luna, Fury) can be seen to the West. The views yield 360 degrees of rugged N. Cascade beauty. This trip is HIGHLY recommended. I don't think I can recall a time when I had so much fun in the mountains. Happy 60th dad. Gear Notes: Used Gear: HARDHATS Shoulda Had: Paraglider Approach Notes: The Jackita Ridge trail is in excellent shape. To gain the notch below crater mountain, we found it best to start a rising traverse from the trail at about 6600'. This will avoid the cliffs and offers a nice cross country route to the notch [One can also ascend a water course on the climber's left side of the lake to ~6600 and then contour, but it's questionable whether it would save you any time]. For strong parties, a better camping spot is available at 7110' on the SE shoulder of Jack. There was plenty of running water there as of August 2nd, but in 2 weeks I expect it to disappear. The camp at 7110' is nearly as nice as a summit bivvy. DEFINITELY worth the extra hour on approach day if you can make it. EXTRA NOTE: Rockfall on this route is quite heinous, beware!