alpineyeti

I apologize for repeat listings and mispelled titles/authors. This is a great thread that all climbers should check out, as mountaineering/climbing literature is a direct link to our own history and the climbing community at large. Scrambles amongst the Alps - Whymper Joe Tasker - anything Peter Bordeman - anything Annapurna south face - Bonnington Moments of Doubt - David Roberts Into the Wild - Kraukeur (no climbing, but a great read) Everest West Ridge - Hornbien Challange of Rainier - Molenaar In the Zone - Potterfield Challenge of the North Cascades - If you don't know who wrote this....

Let's not forget that long hair isn't the only think that can get stuck in your ATC. Watch out for untucked shirts or windshirts tied around the waist. I agree with matt, extend the device up alittle. Never have used this method, but always think I should when laying on the couch thinking about climbing. Thanks for the interesting topic, even experienced climbers need to remember their safety tips, less we get complacent.

One bit of advice snuggles that may make your chance of summiting increase and your climb a bit more enjoyable. While not having ever climbed with a guide, I suspect one of their reasons for the "military" like approach to climbing (other than getting as many climbs in per season - more $$) is to get at the summit before bad weather comes in. My advice is this: If you are planning a 3-4 day trip, don't just schedule your trip to allow for the 3-4 day climb. Leave yourself some extra time to 1) get over your travel lag; and 2) allow extra time for a few days of bad weather. It would suck to get here and not summit only because you got weathered off. That said, I know a few folks that show up at base camp with a flask or extra beer. Great way to make new friends and find some new climbing partners. This is the true test on how big a wanker you may or may not be! Good luck snuggles, climb safe!

All great points! IMHO, figure what works best for you. If budget (or beliefs) don't allow for fancy sewn runners, use tied. I always keep a few tied runners fot replacing the mank at the rap station. Always seems to be a pain in the ass to put place a sewn runner into the rap station. That said, I used to use prusiks to jug 'cause I was too poor (cheap) to buy ascendars. Why not climb with all hex's and nuts, saving your cam money for more beer? Heck, I even used to climb with a 1" webbing harness in the early days, cause I couldn't afford a real harness. Of course, half the fun is having the coolest gear out there, something for us to obsess over, right?

The loss of our precious glaciers seems to be a commen thread this year. After an increadible trip into Mt. Triumph a few weeks ago, we were dissapointed to find very little glacier remaining below the east face of Triumph. For some great photos of how quickly this unnamed glacier is receding, check out the following thread. http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/598179/an/0/page/0#598179 Sounds like a great trip and interesting research. For those of us that call the Cascades home, we are watching our beloved glacier clad mountains changing overnight.

Baaaaaaaddd Asssss!

It is truely sad to see these glaciers dispearing. Does anyone have pictures of the glacier below the north face of Triumph (off the right side of the NE ridge while climbing)? This "glacier" was active all day, as small serac chunks stranded on a sea of rock broke apart throughout the day. I hesitate to even call it a glacier as it looked more like a few icecubes thrown out on the sidewalk. Would love to see what that side of the mountain used to look like! Philfort or icedancer, did you guys see a summit register? Just curious. Also, anyone know of a winter ascent of this mountain. Nelson/Potterfield's picture of the north face in winter looks truely terrifying!!

WOW, Thanks for posting that picture of the glacier ca. 1975! That is some serious glacial retreat. I must say, we were pretty bummed out to see the lack of glacier, feeling especially stupid for hauling the full gambit of glacier gear only to find that!

Climb: Mt. Triumph-NE Ridge Date of Climb: 8/20/2006 Trip Report: After a rancid breakfast in Marblemount, Sean and I headed up the narrow road to the Thorton Lakes trailhead. The road is rough in places and while everyone else seemed to be able to make it up the road, the little civic hybrid just didn't have the nuts to get past some of the deepest washboard I have ever seen. Luck would have it that we hitched a ride the last two miles to the trailhead. After an uneventful approach, we bivied at the col just before the unnamed glacier leading to the NE ridge of Mt. Triumph. While we had one of the two permits allowed for this area, a third party came in just as the sun was sinking behind the alpine backdrop. In the spirit of the brotherhood of the mountains, we offered up our last Pabst Blue Ribbon to these two late arrivals (Clayton and Adam); a decision we would likely regret (who gives away their last beer? doh!). View of unnamed glacier from bivy at col. Getting an early start, we crossed below the unnamed glacier, staying mostly on the slabs below. Caution should be noted here, as we watched a large section of glacier calve off and come WAY TOO CLOSE to the approach. We spent the first two to three pitches leap-frogging with a party of three, eventually passing them by taking a gully system left of the ridge crest. While we belayed a few of the lower pitches, we soon got into a compfortable rhythm, simul-climbing the low fifth-class pitches. Route finding is fairly straight forward on this route, until one gets towrds the final pitches. After crossing an "exhilerating" knife-ridge, we reached the "crux" pitch, an off-width fist crack (5.6 - 5.7?). While one can supposedly climb the face to the right of the crack, protection was sparse. Having planned ahead for this pitch, we were able to use the 4" cam I had been lugging around the entire weekend. This pitch looks terrifying from lower down, but is actually really fun to climb. At the top of this pitch we turned the corner (to the right) and climbed into the great notch, at whihc point we exited the ridge crest proper and moved left onto a steep heather face. From here it is 200' - 300' of scambling to the summit. We were not able to locate a summit register. Has anyone ever seen one there? Time from base of ridge to summit 7 hours. We figure we lost some time playing leap-frog with the other party of three (which subsequently turned around at the base of the crack pitch). Low on the ridge. View of the southern pickets, well worth the effort to get here. One of the first major towers. Solid rock! To descend, we rapped back down the ridge proper, avoiding going back down the steep heather slope (lots of loose rock on the heather slope!). We had a single rope (60 m), so some downclimbing was neccessary between raps. Two ropes, while making the descent quicker, may have lead to stuck rope issues. The third group was on their way up by the time we were almost down, causing more delays while we waited for our teams to safely pass. We eventually returned to high camp around 8 pm, a little later than we had hoped. With work commitments Monday morning, I bullied Sean into hiking out that night, rationalizing we would get a little sleep before work.... However, the portion of the trail between the lower lake and second lake is a "climbers" trail, which was easy to loose in the dark. After countless hours of bushwaking (and breaks to eat fresh blueberries) we eventually reached the maintained trail around midnight. At 2 am we reminded ourselves that we were on the summit of Mt. Triumph a mere 12 hours ago!! Unfortunately, the trailhead was deserted, so no-one was around to give us a ride back down the road to the car. Did I mention that I hate road hiking? Overall, GREAT trip, highly recommended! While pro placement is sparse on this route, the rock is pretty good. We actually used slings around natural features more than anything else. Post Script: We got back to the car at 4 am; 23 hours on the go. Needless to say, we didn't go to work that day. Gear Notes: Rack: 8 nuts (8-13) 1 hex (5) 3-4 cams (2" to 4") 8 double slings 4 single slings 12 free 'biners 60 m half rope (used as 30 m half rope system on route) Approach Notes: Don't hike out in the dark! You will lose the trail, likely... Not much snow below unnamed glacier.

Where are you based out of?

Just in case the positive, get well soon, heal quickly vibes have died down, I will throw out some more. Keep healing, get well!

East ridge would best describe the route we did. We tried as much as possible to keep the climb spicy, climbing the ridge proper, trying to take the steepest line. Good practice for climbing in plastics!

Climb: Tatoosh Range-Pinnacle Peak Date of Climb: 12/11/2005 Trip Report: Headed out from Narada Falls parking lot just as the sun was setting Saturday night. Had a great snowshoe in under bright moon, making for some incredable mid-night snowshoeing later that night. After a modified alpine start, Sean and I followed the ski track up to the saddle east of the castle. No obvious tracks to the saddle between Castle and Pinnacle. After a quick bite we circled back under Castle to the saddle below Pinnacle, casting worried glances at a couple of cornices hanging off of our intended route. All fears proved to be unfounded, however, becasue the corinices were really small and did not impact the route. Once on the ridge, we had a quick scramble to the top. The entire time, the mighty mountain kept looming over us, calling to us! We could easily see the boot track up to Muir, reflecting in the sun! Exposure on this route is awesome. We chose to use a rope and use a running belay due to exposure, snow, and massive amounts of loose rock. Good fun! Gear Notes: small alpine rack: Handful of nuts and a cam. Few slings. Approach Notes: Snowshoes or skis a must due to fresh snow. Still a wallow with the shoes. Wish I had my board! Check avi conditions too!

Was on forbidden WR last weekend of July. The coulior was still doable, with a big chunck missing at the elbow of the coulior. It was still possible to go up though. I would agree about waiting if others are on coulior above you as there is a bit of loose stuff that we saw get kicked down. Only advice is get an early start to avoid the mush. Have fun