pup_on_the_mountain

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! tomtom, unfortunately, my plans have changed (we were thinking of going there the coming weekend, but my partner has other engagements). I'm not sure when we'll go there. So, I probably won't think about getting a guidebook for a while. Hope you find someone to sell yours .

I'm heading up there.. in a few minutes! Plan is to take a couple of novice buddies up the Mazama glacier (Fri-Sat). It'll be the first glacier experience for both of them. Hope to see some of you guys there! I did the Adams glacier two weekends back too. In my opinion, the Adams might be a little on the tougher side for beginners. And watch for serac falls on the Adams - we saw a huge avalanche when we were up there!

Could someone recommend a (few) good guidebook(s) for rock climbs in and around Squamish? I'm mainly interested in trad routes. Thanks

Here are some pics: Avalanche on Adams Glacier - on Friday, July 1, 2005. Full slide tracks - as seen on Saturday evening (July 2). Upper portion of the slide tracks - on Saturday (during the day). Aaron (or Brad?) approaching the bergie - St Helens in the background; as seen on Sunday, July 3. Aaron and Brad near the bergie - on Sunday.

wazzumountaineer and I were the team of two ahead of you guys. We had reached high camp on Friday evening (July 1st) itself. Just as we were enjoying the sunset, a huge serac broke off from the top of the Adams glacier setting of a big (slab?) avalanche which thundered down almost till the base of the glacier! I have a couple of pictures (will post soon), and in fact Kurt videotaped the whole thing. You guys might've noticed the fresh tracks along the middle part of the glacier. Of course it was cool to watch, but it scared the crap out of us. We rested the whole of Saturday, and there were no more slides. So we decided to give it a go on Sunday. Naturally, we wanted to move quickly (I guess we hauled ass under the serac, and overall, we made it from high camp at 7600' to the bergshrund at ~11700' in about 4.5 hrs). The footsteps across that flimsy snowbridge at 9800' were not ours. We went left and around that crevasse for quite an easy (and SAFE) traverse to the other side We saw you guys on our way down (when you guys were crossing the bergie). I've a picture of you two - will post it soon. You are correct about the N Ridge - a big choss pile! Luckily I got lost on the way down a bit below where the snow on the ridge gave way to loose shit, and descended the first snowfield to the right (west) of the N Ridge. Kurt waited a bit for me, and continued down the choss pile. Glad to know you guys had fun. It was a great route indeed.

Wow! I'm glad you guys made it out safely. Better luck with conditions next time. You write really good TRs Ryan .

See post on SummitPost by Ernie from Rogue Valley SAR asking for more info, in particular about an interesting reverse cantilever that is very rare on Mt Mclouglin - here.

See post on SummitPost by Ernie from Rogue Valley SAR asking for more info, in particular about an interesting reverse cantilever that is very rare on Mt Mclouglin - here.

I decided not to go for it. I think I better wait till next season. Thanks for the info though (no need to post the pic of course).

Does anyone have a recent picture of Colchuck showing the NE couloir? Any info on current conditions on this route would be much appreciated. Has anyone climbed this route in June (or later)? Given the snow situation this year, is it too late to even consider the route now?

Great TR Ryan. Good to see you here on CC.com - Bala

I think I saw your son and you walking up (my partner and I were on our way down Friday afternoon)! I asked your son for his age if you remember. Looks like you guys had a great time. Good to see you on CC.com.

RMI guided people up Ingraham Direct last weekend. The route was in great shape and it was wanded (quite regularly) all the way to the top from (almost) the Paradise parking lot. Also, since the weather was nice over the long weekend, tons of people would've gone up and hence you could expect a nice trench.

I think you made the right decision Jim. There is nothing wrong in turning back - especially on a mountain like Rainier. The mountain will be there and you can always come back.

Thanks for the clarification Tom. Now I'm pretty sure we were actually on the lower shelf, as we did not go all the way to the SE side of Gib rock. In fact, we got lost a bit before that and actually went on the left side of a smaller rock which sits below the Gib rock. Both of us had not done this route before, and in the dark, we found a narrow ramp at the base of this rock which we thought was the "ledges". But it ended soon and we were traversing some 55 degree snow (icy at places)! We came to a dead end before we realized that we were off route. The Gib chute was way below us, and when we looked around the rock on our right, we saw the actual ledges on the other side! Initially, we thought we'll get down to the chute and climb it all the way up, but could not find a safe exit. So we traversed back all that 55 degree snow and got back on route. We wasted more that 1.5 hrs here doing some hard shit. Hence when we were back on track, we went straight for the base of the rock (followed the snow ramp). As you mention, we found it pretty safe (even though, the "ledge" got quite narrow at places higher up). Any ways, it was a fun outing. I'll have to do the actual route next time.

Good job you guys! We climbed the ledges on Friday (5/27/05), and found the route to be in great shape. There were some mixed ice and rocks as you guys saw, but the snow was pretty good - we hardly punched through, and sank only to our ankles even if we did. But after reading your TR, I'm in a little doubt now - did you guys actually scramble up some rocks to access the "ledges"? We found some boot marks right at the base of the Gib rock which we accessed directly from the snow ramp at the end of the ridge. And we basically were walking all along the base of Gib rock on a LEDGE till we had to scramble up some rocks to access the upper portion of the Gib chute. Do you think we did the ramp BELOW? Any ways, climbing the steeper upper portion of the Gib chute was great fun under quite ideal cramponing conditions. Interesting how a couple of hot days can change conditions up there!!

I left my camera on some of the rocks on Muir snow field on Thursday (May 26). My partner and I had stopped for a snack on the rocks at approximately 9100 feet. It is an Olympus Z80, was in a black camera bag (with a long shoulder strap), and the bag also had a lens cleaning kit and a small "tripod" in it. The park lost and found had not received it till this (Saturday) morning. RMI guides did not find it either. If any of you have any info about my camera, I would be grateful to hear from you. Bala PS: I'll post a Gib ledges TR soon.

Has anyone been up the NE Couloir on Colchuck recently? Also, did any of you guys who were in the area recently happen to have a good photo showing this route? In this TR, the guys suggest going left and up after climbing a little more than half-way up the couloir. But, in another report posted here about a year back, Bug and pals seem to suggest that its not a good idea to go way left. Is there a "suggested" way up? Or is it just determined by current conditions? Beckey says there is a 60 degree headwall and a rightward traverse on steep flutings at the couloir top. Any info would be much appreciated.

I would say it is pretty essential. As I mentioned, the party of two skiers turned back because they did not have a second tool. We found it quite useful high up on the summit pyramid - there were some steep (> 55 degrees) sections of snow and ice high up. Unless you want to rap those sections, a second tool will be quite handy.

The trail is somewhat brushy (once you get off the old logging road). We had no problems following the bootmarks on the way up, but we actually got lost a little bit on the way down once we were past the clearing at 4600 ft. Try to keep track of the boot marks (well, there are portions where you can't find any). We had a topo and bushwhacked in the general direction of the trail (going down South-West). After about half an hour of wandering, we stumbled upon the trail again.

Climb: Mt Shuksan-Sulphide Glacier Date of Climb: 4/30/2005 Trip Report: Mike Fields and I left Seattle Friday morning to attempt Mt Shuksan by the Sulphide glacier. At the Ranger station, we saw that the forecast called for rain. Well, we had decided to go any ways. We met a couple at the trailhead who were planning to ski the route. That should've given us some ideas - but we decided to leave the snowshoes in the truck. There is no snow on the trail till around 3900 ft, and only patches till you get to the clearing at 4600 ft. Weather was quite good - clear and sunny in fact. Got some good views of Mt Baker. We saw the couple skinning up high up on the ridge. The snow was quite soft by this time of the day and soon we realized that we are in for some slogging on knee-deep snow. We took turns breaking trail, sinking at times to our thighs. It took more than four hours of slogging to go from 4600 ft to 6500 ft. We were quite tired and decided to camp on the flat spot (6500 ft) right before the place where the glacier started to steepen a bit. We got some good views of the summit pyramid before we walked into the place where we camped. The skiers met us on their way down after a while. They had only one axe each, and said that the summit pyramid was a bit sketchy. Besides, it was getting late for them and hence they decided to turn back after ascending about 300 ft on the summit pyramid. They mentioned that there was only one visible crevasse, but they found a thick snow bridge across it. Soon, we were covered by thick clouds on and off - maybe a sign of things to come! Got up at around 2:30 am the next morning. The snow felt hard and frozen. After a cup of hot chocolate, we roped up and started moving before 3:30 am. We had clear and calm conditions for quite a while. The wind picked up a little when we were close to the base of the pyramid. Then it got cloudy and started snowing a little. Soon, we could not see much at all. It was not blowing hard yet though, and we decided to go for the summit. The snow on the summit pyramid was in near-perfect condition. We might have missed the central gully in the near white-out and actually started way out to the right. After going over a few rocks covered with stable snow/ice, we found a place to traverse left into the main gully. Both of us felt good using a tool and our ice axe, and we wanted to get to the top and down as quickly as possible. So, even though we were roped up, we decided to climb without putting any pro in. The gully was consistent at 45 degrees with several short sections of 50-55 degree snow/ice. We found some water ice at a couple of places too. Got to the top in about an hour from the base (around 7 am). We could hardly see anything around, and hence wanted to get down immediately. There was a rap anchor close to the summit for the steeper portion near the top, but both of us felt confident about down-climbing the gully, and started down. This time, we just went straight down aiming for the base of the pyramid. There were tracks of some huge rocks that had slid right down the central gully. Things were still frozen though and we managed to downclimb without any incidents. The weather cleared out for a short while on our way down on the glacier, and we could see our tent appearing as a speck on the glacier far below. We broke camp pretty quickly. We were already feeling the snow softening a little bit. Glissading wherever possible, we slogged our way back to clearing at 4600 ft. The snow was real soft by now (even though we never saw much of the sun), and in fact I punched through till my chest at one spot. Met a team of three coming up with snowshoes -- snowshoes would've made life much easier for us! Overall, it was a great climb. Couldn't get the great views of the summit pyramid that we were hoping for, but we could not have asked for better conditions high up. Note: Photos were taken by Mike Fields. Gear Notes: * crampons, ice axe, and second tool (for summit pyramid) * rope (you could go unroped if you stay on the West end of the glacier). * brought pickets and ice screws, but did not use them * bring snowshoes/skis!! Approach Notes: * Can drive to the trailhead. * Trail clear of snow till 3900 ft.

I have a pair of Scarpa Freney mountaineering boots to sell. They are size 42 (US 9). They have seen very little use and are in excellent condition. I used them once hiking around 7 miles (for breaking in) and ice climbed for one day before I realized that they are a bit narrow for my feet. Here are a few links - Scarpa Freney On sale at BD's web page (but they're out of size 42). Currently, Scarap makes newer models similar to this one - The Bergell or the Jura come closest - check Scarpa Pictures of the boots can be seen here. PRICE: $95 + shipping (o.b.o) PM or email at mt_daydream@yahoo.com. PS: Shipping out of Pullman, WA

Has anyone been up there recently? Thinking about going up the Sulphide glacier next Fri-Sat. Any info on conditions would be much appreciated.

Climbed NBC yesterday (Apr 17). Loads of fresh snow all the way up and down. There was another guy soloing it (apart from me) and a third team of two. We were sinking knee-deep almost all the way up. I was taking turns with this other team of two in breaking trail. We started from the lake at about 6:15 am. The other solo guy started from the trailhead Sunday morning and overtook us a little before the entry to the couloir. He broke trail and also beat us to the summit by about an hour!! Thanks dude. I used two tools (was helpful at two or three places to climb up mixed stuff). The team of two carried rope and pro, but did not use them. It took almost five hours of slogging to get to the summit. Had a nice glissade most of the way down the Colchuck glacier. It got cloudy and snowy a bit when we were near the summit, but the weather did not turn worse. Overall it was a good climb, but required more strength than technique. Some clear and cold days would help to settle all that fresh snow!! PS: I could drive my Honda Civic about 0.5 miles from the trailhead without any problems. I was a little ambitious and quite stupid though and pushed it a little bit to get stuck in the snow . Luckily, this team of two came in a truck and pulled my car out. I met a lady who drove a Subaru all the way to the trailhead.

I'll be interested. Check your PMs. Bala