Tom_Sjolseth

Beautiful TR, Rad. Thanks for the excellent shots and narrative.

It's OK, I poop on his equipment all the time trying to get him to upgrade to TLT5s (that's what I ski on). He swears the La Sportiva Nepal EVOs work fine.. what's remarkable is he seems to do OK on them. Nice to meet you guys bonathanjarret and team.. I hope our music selection wasn't too irritating!

@Jason.. You should catch it in good conditions and just do it. The conditions we caught it in were perfect (thanks to Aaron Scott's photos). Aaron climbed (and skied!!) the route a few days prior to our arrival, and I had the luxury of checking out the conditions before we went up there. I've said it before.. there is no place quite like the Black Buttes for this type of climbing in the Cascades. There are hard [unclimbed] routes that have free-standing pillars, and there are easier routes with just steep snow (like X-Couloir). I am surprised more people don't climb them. @Scott.. I have not climbed Seward.. I got to within 100' of the summit a couple of Winters ago before being forced to retreat by steep, unstable snow flutings. One of these days I'll head back in there and climb it. As for Dallas, I definitely think I enjoy the same types of climbs he enjoyed. I wish I could have met Dallas, and as I've said before, I have always admired his accomplishments - definitely one of the original Cascades hardmen.

Pretty good for someone who (less than 2 years ago) was told she would never be climbing again, let alone at the level she is. Way to go Steph! Here are my photos... Daniel approaches in early light. Daniel and the Coleman Glacier. Lincoln Peak hides in the background. I was on the summit less than a week ago. A giant shadow. Looking up at Mt. Baker's summit from the approach. The Coleman. Views from the Coleman. Approaching the N Ridge. Looking up towards Colfax Peak. Steph approaches a monster crevasse. Down the Coleman. The sun makes an appearance on the W side of Mt. Baker. Contrast. More of the approach. Gaining the N Ridge. The Ice Cliff. Daniel enjoys a fine Wednesday. Steph getting ready to climb. Daniel heads up the second pitch. About to transition from knife-edge ridge to upper snow slopes. Cumulus clouds hung around all day making for great photography opportunities. Looking down from the middle of the second pitch. The upper snow slopes on the North Ridge. Daniel waltzes across the summit plateau. Still waltzing. Mt. Shuksan. Daniel snowboarding back down. I was only slightly jealous (he went under 12 hours c2c). Crevasse and Colfax Peak. NOT a Sun Dog (unfortunately, I forgot what Steph told me it IS). Colfax and the aforementioned phenomenon.

Thanks guys!

That there takes some stones! Nice work.

The direct start begins below the "traverse" start in a deep cleft directly below the route. It's pretty obvious if you're looking for it. What a fun route. Starting up the first pitch of the direct start to NY Gully..

Was up there today. Daniel and I did the direct start which was really fun and highly recommended. We wound up climbing it in 4 pitches, 8 hrs c2c.

Bump. Need a jacket for Denali or the seven summits? This jacket is plenty warm for just about anything on the planet.

Here's Iron's thread on it at NWHikers.net It's http://www.hillmap.com

The original lookout was there before the wilderness rules were enacted. The structure is used in wilderness management. The "new" structure (which was constructed using many of the original structure's building materials) looks remarkably similar to the original structure. The original structure was "restored" - it's not like they built a hotel up there with a chopper pad and jacuzzi. The people who want this restored structure removed are the same people who would object to having any structure anywhere in the first place. Wilderness zealots - a lot like religious zealots who try to oppress everyone else's views but their own. I have a hard time believing the courts won't see it this way.

Steph is one of the strongest climbers I've ever climbed with. I have had zero doubts about her ability to rebound and she has proven me right thus far. I have no doubt she'll continue to improve and this will be but a blip on the radar when it's all said and done.

I still haven't got my book yet, but wow, you did a great job on your Winter Climbs section, Lowell. A very interesting read!

Nice show, Ivan. Aid climbing looks like fun - I need to learn how to do it. And good idea, if anyone else wants to add their year in photos to the thread, it would be cool to see what everyone has been up to.

Now that we're wrapping up 2011, I find myself looking back on one of the greatest years of my life. Here is a 10-minute slideshow featuring some lasting memories that I got to share with many of my good friends in 2011. I did not include every photo (not even close), nor did I include every trip for the sake of brevity. I hope you enjoy viewing it half as much as I enjoyed living it. Thanks to all my friends who came along for the ride.. I am fortunate to know each and every one of you and to be able to call you my friends. Here's to 2012, and the great things that are sure to come in the new year and beyond. Cheers! The slideshow contains a mix of hiking, climbing, and skiing so if that's not your thing.. The 720p HD version is available for viewing on Vimeo. It will only let me embed 480p below. [video:vimeo]34243380 Thanks to all my hiking, climbing, and skiing partners this year - Dan S, Wayne W, Lane B, Geoff F, Sean M, Carla S, Yana R, "Iron" Mike H, Mike C, Josh H, Franklin B, Eric J, Doug H, Moira A, Matt B, Gabriel D, Don D, Stefan F, Greg K, Mike Z, Craig P, Tim S, Dane B, Marko P, Norm B, Don B, Don & Natala G, John P, Martin S, Eric E, Trevor W, Fay P, Fred B, Erin B, Sergio V, Nastia B, Roy M, Jeff H, Nicholas C, Jack A, and Bryan S.

Nice, Jeff & Matt. You guys have been getting after it.

Both packs sold pending funds.

Priority goes to those who don't need me to ship anything. I'd rather meet somewhere between Seattle and Everett and exchange cash. I have three people interested so far..

I've got two 80L packs (both size L) that are taking up valuable room in the storage closet. One is an Arc'Teryx Bora 80 (Black). This pack has seen about 60 days of use. It has some rips in the side water bottle pockets from carrying pickets, and one broken buckle on the side which is easily fixed. I bet you could get another three years out of this pack no problem. If you're looking for a great high-capacity backpack and don't want to spend a ton of money, buy this pack. $30. The other one is a Montbell Expedition 80 backpack (Gray). It's probably seen 30 days of use. The only thing wrong with the pack is the zipper on the map pocket (underneath the lid) is non-functional. A little sewing savvy and it's good as new (if you even care to use that pocket - it doesn't affect the lid compartments, only the tiny map pocket). $30. Don't let the cheap price fool you.. these are in perfectly acceptable shape and are immediately ready for use. PM me or reply to this post.

Wayne's got a bunch of great shots - I didn't bring a camera. It was very chandeliery in spots and we were knocking down a good amount of ice, but some of the ice was really great. We were barraged with spindrift pretty much the entire way. It takes some balls to lead this climb in these conditions, and Wayne and Daniel apparently have them! I found the climb to be steeper and more difficult than it looks from the ground. Wayne made it look too easy though. We climbed in two teams of two.. Daniel and I, and Wayne and powderhound. Wayne and Daniel each led the business.

Wow, what a line. Wayne, powderhound, Daniel Jeffrey and I climbed this today. A very fun and aesthetic line so close to the parking lot. Thanks to Wayne, powderhound, and especially Daniel Jeffrey for a great climb.

That looks sweet! Nice work.

Nice work, thanks for the reports. Wayne posted a topo showing LA Express and others here.

That pitch is the upper ice step on the Right Gully variation. Such a fun pitch, but short. dougd.. coming down the spur was pretty good if you're comfortable with downclimbing steep snow. We reverse front-pointed about 1200'?? on everything from firm neve, to sugar, to alpine ice (near the top). Here's a crappy iPhone photo looking down the upper spur..

I saw the video.. you guys had a good excuse.