zloi

If you are looking to pick up some good cams on the (relatively) cheap check out my Craigslist posting. Have a few related items to sell/give away.

PM me if you are interested in Glacier Pk via N Sauk or possibly Bonanza

Great trip report and congratulations on notching one of the most sought-after routes in the Cascades. Challenging in so many ways and sounds like you did it with great elan.

I talked to a Darrington ranger on the 4th. The Suiattle R. Rd will (finally!) be under construction this summer before and after its closure point at ~mi12. They will be blasting at certain times on certain weekdays so you need to check back OFTEN to see the latest schedule. However, people wanting to do the traditional Ptarmigan route probably already know (having done their research!) that the road to the Downey Ck TH isn't open to vehicles all the way (I've seen motorcycles, but not sure if they're legal). But heck, coming up from OR, what's a few more miles on the boot soles?

See PM

No doubt--everything's better in hindsight. However, I haven't seen it for sale down here in the States.

I don't know what Scrambles guide you are referring to (my only information was the short paragraph in the Bruce Fairley guide) or what your definition of "remote and seldom climbed" may be--obviously there are many places more remote and less climbed, but for my money it qualifies.

Trip: Dickson Peak - North route Date: 8/1/2012 Trip Report: Soloed Dickson Peak in the S. Chilcotin Range in B.C. A few miles outside Goldbridge on the Carpenter Lk highway to Lillooet you can pick up the Slim Creek Mainline Rd. Drive this past Gun Lake (you can also circle Gun Lake and pick up the road there), keep right at a fork (taking the lower road) and drive a few miles to the Jewel TH/bridge over Gun Creek, which is on the right. This is a decent place to camp with fresh water from Jewel Ck nearby (Gun Ck has a lot of glacial silt). A short distance (<1/2 mi.) beyond a road branches off to the left: the Roxey Ck Rd. You need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle to continue, but beware, the road is overgrown and your paint job is likely to suffer a bit. Also, there is one short section (~10 ft) which is washing away and soon won’t be wide enough for regular vehicles, only ATVs. If you have an ATV, you can drive it all the way to the miners’ cabins (2 creek crossings). My jeep made it up 1.8 mi. to where someone has left the foundation of a cabin, along with a loo and lots of junk littering the area. The road splits here. I set up camp, then hiked the left fork to the top: excellent reconnaissance views of Dickson and surrounding area from the ~6500’ ridge top. The right branch crosses the creek in about 100m.—not a difficult vehicle crossing except the opposite bank is chopped out and would need to be smoothed over in order for a jeep to make it up onto the road again (ATVs can get up ok as is). Road continues ~30-40 min walk uphill—no obstacles—to a second creek crossing. A still intact miner’s cabin stands on the other side, as well as the dilapidated remains/foundations of several other buildings. I hiked the road beyond for about 15 min but it veers away from the route to Dickson, ending at mine sites shortly beyond. The aforementioned road junction camp was about 4750’. The next day I forded the creek and walked the road to the second crossing, but instead of crossing, went straight ahead into the brush on the same side of the creek. The cross-country travel is not difficult, and in about 40 min or so brings you through an area of avalanche-sheared trees into a broad swampy basin (lots of bugs). To get to the south side of the mountain (reportedly easier going) one could follow the Roxey Ck Valley to a big snow basin not much farther beyond. However, from my reconnaissance of the previous day, I could see that two creeks which came down at this point would bring me into a large ampitheater which would lead to Dickson’s upper north slopes. There is some loose gravelly, ball-bearing type walking to get up into this basin, but overall, it’s not bad. The basin (mostly snow when I was there) gently rises at first, but by the time you are on all snow (with some ice patches visible) you can tell the upper part steepens significantly. I brought crampons, which were not essential but reassuring to have for the occasional hard spots, and kicked steps to the top of the snow field (about 50 degrees at that point). A snow finger, getting to >60 degrees, runs farther up almost to the summit. I got off on the rock at 8100’and stayed on it the rest of the way. Rock is granodiorite, loose, blocky, and very easy to dislodge on oneself with disastrous consequences (esp for a solo climber). I proceeded with great care to route-find a way up but at length encountered 5th class obstacles so I moved left onto different terrain facing the obvious false summit. From there, I had to doff my pack (with camera in it) to get up some cracks which led the last 300 vertical feet to the top (9200'+). Someone had carried up a wooden stave which they lodged in a large rock cairn at the summit, but I wasn’t surprised not to find a register. I had been anticipating great views of the Coast Mts, but because of a low cloud cover emanating from the west, those views were disappointing. I could see a big ice field to the NW (the Lillooet field?) and the bases of ranges to the W and NW, but nothing more. I probably would have had clear views had I made the ascent on any of the subsequent days that week, but the good aspect of the overcast weather was that conditions were not overly hot and the sunburn not a big factor. The descent went smoothly, with my legs feeling pretty rubbery after a 12 hour RT. Saw the hind side of a (probably black) bear running away at one point. The few pix I have are not great but will post them at some point. Dickson is hidden from any nearby vantage points, so consequently, nothing of Gun Lk or Goldbridge or Downton Lk is visible. Overall, by judicious route-finding one can avoid the need to bring a rope, though there is considerable exposure at times. Not an unforgettable climb, but a reasonably exciting visit to a remote, seldom-climbed peak.

Hey NorthCascader, Welcome back, The mountains are still calling! I may be up for some trips, depending on what you have in mind. Why don't you send me a PM (I don't monitor the forums very often) and we can see if there's a match? -zloi

Hey Folks, Looking to do a spring overnight in the central Cascades. Two possibilities: Merchant Pk (this is one-day but may need TH overnight) or Mt. Stickney via Olney Pass approach. You'll want to have a bit of climbing experience for these objectives in snowy conditions. Not exactly hard, but not for novices either. Or maybe you have a good suggestion..? Fuhrer Finger on Rainier would work, for example (esp with a party of 3)... Am open to various suggestions.

FYI: There's a mountain out here called Bonanza, so the title of your post is a bit ill-chosen (since you don't mention wanting to climb Bonanza)

I have a long week off and am looking for a partner(s) for an extended alpine traverse or exploratory route. Some ideas I have in mind: Mystery Ridge traverse Despair-Mt. Blum (N. Cascades, Beckey vol 3); Bear-Mt-Redoubt-Spickard (N. Cascades, Beckey vol 3); some routes in southern BC: Dickson Range; Monmouth Mt area; Purcell Mts. Also would consider doing the reg route on Bonanza, if it's still viable then, OR some suggestion of your own (NB: I'm not interested in the Ptarmigan or Bailey Range traverses). While these routes are only mildly technical, they do presume some familiarity with glaciers & rope management, at least 4th class rock, remote travel, etc. If you are interested but need more route information, I can certainly provide that. I have a lot of alpine experience, and am still reasonably fast and fit for a guy in his mid-50s.

Hey, jolly good show, and solo no less (well, almost)! We did this route in reverse last October. I can well imagine it would be beautiful under snow (and yes, probably easier in places, as long as it's not too soft). And yes, it's one way to beat the crowds (we had lots of people on the trail sections). Maybe not so good for fishing (though we didn't catch anything in Oct either).

I might be interested in Shuksan if you are considering either the North Face or Price Glacier routes (or Nooksack). Also would do Bonanza--the highest non-volcanic peak in Wa. All these routes would be 3-dayers. You can PM me if interested.

I'll throw my hat in the ring. I've been climbing since '88; getting a little long in the tooth but still fit enough for most outings. Of the volcanoes, I think only Cooper Spur on Hood or the Tahoma or Fuhrer Finger routes on Rainier would interest me. I can usually get off for a 3-day weekend with a little advance notice. I agree with above comments: a day hike is the best way to start. PM me if interested. -Tom