OlegV

Does it get esier once you on snow? i can't recall - our bail down the many raps onto the taboo glacier was mostly defined by the huge amount of blood flowing out of my partner's hand after a huge pinnacle of rock had detached from under him, causing him to leap like a demented cat onto a neighboring ridge, shaving his fingers in the process You mean he lost his fingers!?

Doing it in wrong conditions is a key. Nicely done!

Does it get esier once you on snow?

write like this distinguished russian climber. : hahaha, nothing but my oakward English (and russian)

Thanks Doug! The views are surreal indeed! I wish my camera was a little lighter!

Thanks Drew. The Torment approach is pretty straightforward. From the camp sites, traverse the bolder field (no obvious trail), cross the creek and find a weakness in slabby terrains. Once you climbed the slabs, you will be at the base of the glacier. The glacier is easy - there are few small crevasses. We pretty much followed the south ridge as described on Stephabegg’s website. Be prepared to encounter lots of loose rock on the first pitch (stay in the middle of the gully – involves some 5.2-5.4 climbing on solid rock). The second pitch is good, except the second part of it (the steep ramp) is unprotectable. On the 3rd pitch, start to the left of the belay spot (this start is exposed but easier than going to the right of the belay). The 4th pitch (going around the corner right and up the “scoop”) is weird. You shall see the old pin. Pitch 5 is good. Pitch 6 – the loose traverse to the notch (top of the scoop). From that notch, you will traverse up and over (left) to the summit. You will see two rappel stations (blue slings) on the SE face – this is a direct descend route off the SE face (if you decide to escape for some reason). We had two ropes and it helped to speed things up. You MIGHT need 2 ropes to complete the last repel to the glacier. We did see some intermediate slings on the steep section of the last repel. Also, all rappel stations are positioned pretty much in a single line (no need to traverse around as we mistakenly did). To get from the notch on the top of the scoop: we simul-climbed attached to the same rope. From the summit of Torment, you can take 3 rappels (I believe) down until you are in level with the notch of the East Ridge. I wouldn’t down-climbed this section – lots of loose rock and potential rock fall. Once you are at the level of the notch, you will see a very clear trail to the notch. Rock shoes will help!!! I hope this helps!

maybe in winter when it is frozen

The descend route was pretty solid. It got some difficult but short sections. One can follow the rap stations all the way to the summit.

Trip: Mt Torment - The South ridge, the House of Pain Date: 9/2/2012 Trip Report: From Merriam-Webster online: Definition of TORMENT 1) The infliction of torture (as by rack or wheel). 2) Extreme pain or anguish of body or mind: agony. 3) A source of vexation or pain. Who: Buckaroo, Alpine Tom, YocumRidge, OlegV - as follows: The dream of J-burg: Below the first pitch: Nastia on belay: Oleg at the summit: Nastia approaching the summit: A sudden and heavy wakeup call brings him back out of hibernation, triggering a millisecond-long release of adrenalin and involuntary muscle contraction. Rock fall again! Tom wakes up in a short jumping burst; his body is prepared to fight a large sword-tooth tiger. His shaky pedestal gives in causing a butterfly effect sending a shockwave of rock fall. Unevenly shaped blocks tumble down landing an inch away from Nastia’s head protected only by a thin layer of face-warming gaiters. Cry out, woman - scream to the top of your lungs into a cold Cascadian night - no human being will hear your chant. Buckaroo, a mountain craftsman, constructs a spacious bivy ledge just below the summit ridge on the sloping north side of Mount Torment. Having climbed through the tormented mountain terrains, we opt to spend a night in the surreal world dominated by the captivating views of Eldorado. We share the last drops of water and discuss the possibility of drinking body fluids and eating the skunk-smelling grass. My “light and fast” air mattress fails at dusk. I am irritated and angry at the modern tourist industry. Mass-produced products are made of sealed garbage bags, compressed aluminum foil, and colorful pillow filling. I would rather harden my body and soul by hauling steel carcasses and by wearing grey but sturdy clothes. I sleep jammed in my old and heavy NF backpack – it helped solidify the harmony of nature with my own self. Sunset in Cascades: Eldorado: Clouds: Red: Our bivy: Veiw from the bivy: Getting ready for cold night: Covered in ice: Tom in the morning: The morning light doesn’t bring us warmth or the hope for easy survival. Eager to get down the disintegrating mountain, we crawl over the saddle that separates the north and south sides and begin our descent down the south-east face of the Torment. Down the SE face: Dodging flying rocks, finding old rappel slings, getting the rope unstuck (thank you to Buckaroo’s bravery and skills), we finally arrive to the last double-rope rappel station just above the glacier. We don’t see the glacier, but we hope it is all over. Yet, the fun has just begun. A giant gaping moat separates the vertical wall of rock and the vertical wall of ice. Rock wall: Ice: Buckaroo takes his time coming down and finally yells: “Put on your crampons and have ice tools ready!!!” I go next; a moment later I discover myself hanging in the midair 30 feet above the sloping void leading to the subglacial river of potentially slow suffer and death. How would it feel to be sucked into this river? The images of being buried alive between the glacier floor and the megaton sheet of ice cross my mind. Drowning in the mountains is rare, but possible. Maybe in the 23d century, some hobbyist-archeologist will find our bones buried in the sand of the North Cascade desert… I wake up in reality, push of the rock, swing out, and somehow manage to stick my tool into the fluctuating wall of the iceberg. “Got to climb straight up, can you?” – Buckaroo asks. I agree. He belays me of the pickets – I go up and over trying to crash the lip of the crevasse. Buckaroo follows. We set up an anchor at the edge of the moat and design a cleaver strategy to help others cross the moat: once a person repels to the level of the glacier, we would pool the end of the rope and bring a dangling body across the gap of the crevasse. It works like a charm. Nastia and Tom are surprised and slightly cranky, but the nervous trauma of the trip slowly fades away as we progress down the glacier towards the green light and running water. We enter the paradise of the Boston Basin, relax and taste the air. We see our fellow-climbers… Tom in the end of the fearfest: Gear Notes: 2 ropes steel crampons ice tools Approach Notes: dusty

I wish the WP was 4 hours closer. Nice job, KK!

Nicely done! Thanks for sharing. It looks like the rock is solid witj lots of friction.

Thank you for a fine TR and pix! We will use your beta next weekend!

No Jason, I haven't been up there. I was surprised the guy took a clean 15 ft lead fall on 5.4 terrains.

I feel your frustration. Nice effort - glad no one got hurt. It does look like you were off route below the rock pitch.

Congrats, a nice repeat of the 1975 Russian climb! Modern cams were invented in 1978, so the Russian team probably used the passive gear only. That explain why it took them 22 pitches (instead of 15) to reach the summit.

Thanks! Please, check your PMs.

always nice to see trail-runner-climber hybrids on this board. nice job!

takes lots of balls to do this solo!

Very nice work, Nastia and Lance! Got to start looking for longer and harder "V-faces"

nice effort!

Looking for a 3rd partner to climb the NF of Bryce, Robson and Columbia also a possibility.

Trip: Mt Shuksan - Hanging Glacier via the NW Rib and the NW arête Date: 8/11/2012 Trip Report: The route at glance for hard men and hard women: 1)Downclimbing the White Salmon Glacier to the entrance of the Rotten Gully on the lower NW Rib. The gully is a piece of lose skunk. 2)Following the arête on the good and easy rock (class 4-5). 3)Traversing left the unprotectable and exposed slab (similar to the “Improbable Traverse”) to the base of the very narrow chimney (one pitch, 5.7-5.8); terrible anchor options. 4)Exiting the chimney via the light grey ramp on the left to the toe of the Hanging Glacier. 5)Crossing the middle Hanging Glacier and traversing left to the ice flake on the left side of the Hanging Glacier (close to the NW arête). 6)Climbing up the base of the NW arête to the entrance (5.7-5.8, 70 degree ice) to the upper Hanging Glacier. 7)Climbing the upper Hanging Glacier to the Crystal Glacier below the summit pyramid. Climbing lyrics for gentle souls: We were driven by our collective addiction to being a second away from eternity and by a strong believe in our own invincibility. We followed a powerful irrational force that makes you continue upward and be a part of the mountain flow. Honestly, I am not sure why I ignored to check the Hanging Glacier route description in the Becky’s book that clearly states: “…hard to protect class 5 climbing”. We paid the price... Our trisome-style climbing team consisted of the two distinguished female alpinists, Nastia (Yocum Ridge) and Anita (Ace), and me (as a male): We agreed that girls will lead steep ice and I will lead rock. Naïvely assuming that the route can be done in a day, we left our cozy nest at 4 o’clock Saturday morning carrying only extra clothes but no bivy gear. Luckily, Anita brought a large black garbage bag that, as time showed, will serve us well next night we will spend on the mountain. Part 1: The White Salmon Glacier -> the NW Rib –> the lower Hanging Glacier. Nastia leads us 1000 ft down through the crevasses (45 degree) of the White Salmon Glacier and finds a rotten-looking gully at the lower section of the NW Rib. We naively anticipate an easy scramble to the toe of Hanging Glacier. The ramp is clearly visible at the lower section of the NW Rib: I lead (class 3-4) avoiding a scary-looking chock stone stuck in the middle of the gully throat. The gully leads to a nice mossy platform just below easy-looking slabs. I continue up (class 4) relaxing in the sun and whistling romantic songs. Slabs end. For some unknown reason, I continue to climb upwards aiming at the central tower (has a large crack in the middle of it) that dominates the arête. Class 4 turns into 5.too-much and becomes impassible for my mountaineering boots. I am ready to take my boots off and climb barefoot, when I realize that the route must go left off the tower. I down-climb 30 ft to the ledge, hoping that it should lead to an easy ground. Not really: I start traversing left discovering that the terrain becomes more interesting: no pro and the narrow 2’’ ledge. Finally I hit the deadened facing the entrance to a very narrow off-width chimney (30 ft). I place a psychological belay and bring the girls up. Apparently, they are not looking too happy to see me. Anita remarks that our tinny ledge made of dirt and sand is about to go off leaving us hanging on a single piece. Spicy! My only desire is to squeeze my body into the narrow slot and find some pro. Our life gets a little brighter when I discover a baseball-size chockstone stuck at the base of the chimney – the sling raped around serves well reducing our heart rate and returning us to the state of moderate optimism. I climb up the chimney without the pack toying with the idea that this section reminds me the Smith Rock. On the way out of the chimney, I trigger some rocks that hit Anita’s head and the pack. She survives - thank you REI and mountain research. I bring up both girls to the base of the grey ramp (Nastia is correct it is an exit) and finally begin breathing. I lower Anita to retrieve my pack. The grey ramp leads to a nice bench connecting the NW Rib and the glacier. It appears that we are at the spot where the NW Rib and the NW Arayette meet the Hanging Glacier. View from the top of the grey ramp - down the NW Rib: Part 2: The lower Hanging Glacier -> the NW arête. We are facing a steep entrance onto the Hanging glacier. It looks fun and surrealistic. Nastia, the brave heart leads through the series of crevasses and ice benches to the spot where we can actually see the ground ahead of us: gaping voids of gigantic wall-to-wall crevasse cutting the entire glacier like wrinkles. We can’t pass the glacier. Our collective desire to survive drives us to look for a weak spot on the left flanks – the place where the glacier touches the base of the NW arête. Nastia spots what appears to be a flake of ice connecting the glacier and the NW arête. We pass it with some fear. Ice shit falls from above released almost in a quantum manner. Information for tourists: the lower section of the NW arête is currently a water fall that leads to a 20 feet-wide hole – the entrance to the under-glacier river. I climb around using rock to protect potential plunge through the thin snow. We follow the NW arête to the point when it turns into the class 3-4 loose gully. Anita climbing the NW ariete: We can see the toe of the upper Hanging glacier. It is getting dark and we decide to bivy in the garbage bag. Because the angle of the slope is too steep for sleeping horizontally, we have to dig a flat platform in dirt and rock using our ice tools and hands. We use the rope and packs to soften the bottom of the nest and the garbage bag serves us as a blanket. We settle in and prepare ourselves for misery. It comes in different shapes: A) Skunk smell was very strong – I think it was coming from an army of weed-smoking dead climbers (we also heard voices), or were sleeping on the top of a skunk city. B) Our bodies barely fit the ledge, and went numb very quickly. I suggested changing orientation and sleep sitting (as mainland older people often do in their in-front-of TV chairs). I think Anita remained in the same position for the rest of the night, visiting new places she has never been before. C) Cold gets and simplifies you. You stop caring about strange ritual things invented by Homo sapience in the last 5 thousand years. Nastia puts my gaiters over her head, I am wearing my second socks as mittens, Anita seems paralyzed, but fortunately I hear her body’s rhythmic shivers. Time passes… Nastia in the bivy: Part 3: The NW arête -> the upper Hanging Glacier -> the Crystal Glacier. We are still strong and motivated, although our bodies shake from a sleepless night. The next objective is to get out of the slot via rock and ice. I lead the rock pitch that tkes us out of the canyon. I find an old sling that looked like a bailout piece. This place is strange and the rock is shuttered and unstable. Thank you to Anita for pointing at the short traverse (maybe a 5.8 move or two) that leads to the right and up to the rock platform just beneath the glacier. The girls take over and lead a stellar alpine ice that leads to the top of the Hanging glacier. Their moves have no mistakes and the route finding seems easy. Nastia leading the first pitch leading to the upper Hanging glacier: Anita following a steep ramp: Getting ready for the top section of the upper Hanging glacier: My memory fades away as we enter a featureless desert of the upper mountain. It is a different story, my dear reader… Beneath the summit: Gear Notes: garbage bag, small alpine rack, 2 pockets, 5 screws

Great job, Nastia and Brad! So, the upper ridge is loose and unprotectable?

You guys rule the world! Very Nice..

It keeps happening over and over again on Rainier and Hood. Those people who called themselves (quote) “experienced climbers” should learn how to descent steep terrains and self-rescue, instead of calling a baby-sitting park service and put other people’s life at risk. Nick didn't deserve to die and had a stellar carrier ahead of him.