Tom_Sjolseth

Rad summed it up well. What a great adventure, thanks for sharing.

Nice work, gentlemen!

Summit registers that are at max capacity can be taken to the UW Library. You can actually go down to the library and view summit registers from times past (that is, if it didn't get stolen). A summit register cannister can be made from pvc tubing and end caps (one of which should be glued on to prevent moisture getting in). I keep one in my pack now with a weather-proof notebook and a pencil to replace any registers I find missing.

"Leave no trace" is the usual hypocritical cop-out. This has been an ongoing issue. Why someone would deem themselves so important that they can erase decades worth of history in one selfish action is beyond most with any common sense. Of course, you'll never hear anyone actually admit they are the ones doing it, probably because they know it's wrong (or they know all their friends will realize what an ass they are).

I actually bought it on your recommendation, and it's a great pack (and relatively inexpensive). Thanks. @Val.. I think most of us who've climbed it have felt that way at one time. I procrastinated quite a while before getting on it, but am glad I did. It's a serious route though, so you definitely want a strong team.

They need to do this bait thing more often.

Too funny about the cans - I remember you telling me that story when I ran into you about 10? years ago up at Terror Cirque. I had some empty, crushed Busch cans in the side pocket of my backpack left over from a cragging trip just prior to last year's ascent. The side pocket of my pack ripped on the brush (unbeknownst to me), spilling the cans (2). We found one of them this year (unfortunately, the other one is still on the mountain somewhere). I didn't notice the hole in my pack until I got to the bivy last year and noticed I only had one of three cans left. There are no peaks I can think of off the top of my head that replicate the snow experience found on JBerg's upper NE Buttress.. it's definitely one of a kind in my experience.

@Scott.. not likely to climb it seven times, but I wouldn't rule it out either. I can understand why Dallas was so drawn to this great mountain. @bobinc.. funny you should mention burning calories.. that topic came up for discussion on the ascent. Total body workout for sure. @Ivan.. no plastic tiger up there either of the three times I've been to the summit. I look forward to reading about your trip next month. Thanks for the comments. *Disclaimer* If the photo you are looking at is in any way, shape, or form pleasing to the eye, it was probably taken by Wayne or Sergio.

Trip: Johannesburg Mtn - NE Buttress Date: 8/21/2011 Trip Report: Johannesburg Mountain. Its N Face is one of the most striking facades in the North Cascades. A twenty-minute hike gets you to its base, but from there, the summit is a world away. In the 4600' of relief from the Cascade Pass parking area to the summit, this mountain has a bit of everything alpine - dramatic waterfalls, vertical brush, towering walls of rock, and eroding glaciers crumbling and falling to the valley below. Along with the sights, the sounds of Johannesburg are equally impressive. Rarely does a day go by where one cannot hear the mountain rumbling. The last time I climbed Johannesburg, I told myself that I wouldn't be back for a while.. that there were other, new places for me to go visit and enjoy. But for someone who lives and breathes the challenge of the North Cascades, I silently waited for another opportunity to arise to climb this iconic symbol of our great range. When Wayne told me he was interested in climbing it after four prior, failed attempts, my ears perked up. I knew that Sergio was also interested, so I asked him to come along. Eliciting an emphatic "sure" from Sergio, we were now a team of three. Wayne and Sergio met me at my place after work on Friday, and we were finally leaving Everett at 7:15. We arrived to a nearly-full parking lot just before 10PM, which was a bit surprising considering it was a Friday. We turned in soon after we arrived. We awoke at 6AM and put on harnesses & helmets (an approach rarity). Crossing upper Cascade River was easy this time compared with the past two times I've done it, thanks to a snow bridge left over from this Winter's huge avalanche debris piles. Within a half hour, the approach was done, and the climbing began. On last year's climb with Steph (Steph's TR), we got onto the rock at ~4400' in the C-J Couloir. That resulted in a rather sketchy pitch of ~5.7 with sparse pro. This time, we got onto the rock at the very base of the couloir, and didn't need the rope (class 3-4). I must have a bad memory or something, because the rest of the climb seemed a bit more difficult than I remembered - either by perception or reality, I'm not really sure. Wet brush and mud (and damp moss on rock) did make things a bit tougher this time around. But aside from conditions, the route finding seemed trickier, and whereas last year we didn't use a rope after the very first pitch out of the couloir, this time we roped up for a steep, loose, sketchy pitch just below the bivy site. Once through the sketchy pitch (~5.8 loose, which Wayne led), it was a short scramble on the exposed ridge crest to the bivy site, which was still as magnificent as ever. Perhaps this is what keeps me coming back? The next morning we awoke and continued up to the summit, with a few more challenges than I expected. A few crevasses and schrunds were open, and the arete was sharper in places than it was last year. Nobody had signed the summit register since Steph and I summitted last July. The register dates back to 2008, and this was my third time signing it. The descent was as expected, and we wound up making two rappels this time (on my prior two visits, I was able to down climb the entire descent route). I think some very careful rappelling is OK on this ridge, but a lot of the rock is pretty loose, so I personally feel that down climbing is safer. Back to the cars at 4:00. 17.5 hours of total climbing, which is exactly how long it took Steph and I. If you plan to rappel the entire E Ridge and/or don't hit the route finding almost exactly right, I would suggest making this a 3-day climb. The following photos are a mix of Wayne's, Sergio's, and mine... What have I gotten myself into? Half way through the approach. Low in the C-J Couloir. Typical scrambling on the NE Buttress. Sussing it out. Me scrambling. Slide Alder! Wayne and I in the brush, low on the buttress. A look up at C-J col from low on the route. Sergio and I scrambling. Sergio on all fours. Me scrambling just below the bivy. Looking down to the parking lot from high on the NE Buttress. Sergio topping out on the sketchy pitch. The steep, sketchy pitch. Wayne and his Mountain House. Judging from what I witnessed aftwards, he should probably stay away from anything containing chili. Wayne and I at camp. Mt. Baker at dawn. Good morning! The view from our bivy. Starting out from the bivy site. Sergio starting up the snow arete just above our bivy site. Wayne and Sergio. Wayne, Sergio, and the magical arete. Sergio negotiates some crevasses. Wayne end-running the bergschrund. Sergio kicks steps up the steep headwall below the summit. Me near the top of the snow. Wayne about to top out just below the summit. Sergio and I ascending the arete. Sergio and I pause to take in the sights on the snow arete. Sergio and I on the upper arete. A crevasse on the upper arete. That's my car way down there! Sergio and I about to top out on the snow. Sergio and Wayne scrambling the final bit to the summit. Sergio gives his victory pose. Hidden Lake Peaks and Mt. Baker. The Cascade Pass parking lot as seen from the summit of Johannesburg. Thanks for the climb! Sunlit hills below Johannesburg. Views from the summit. Sergio scrambling near the summit on the descent. Me pondering life on the descent. Spider, Formidable, and the Middle Cascade Glacier. Wayne and I down climbing on the E Ridge. Rappelling above C-J Col. Sergio frolicking in fields of wildflowers.

Thanks, everyone. @Ben.. I think for our purposes, the S side traverse was faster. The N side glaciers would definitely go, but there is more elevation loss and gain, and it is further that way. If you had skis, the glacier link-up would be a neat way to do it. I'm sure the Skoogs have done it. Heading out via the N Fork of the Sauk would be a neat way to finish off the trip.

Birddog and I linked up for a great traverse of the Dakobed Range this past weekend. The original plan was to climb Tenpeak and W Tenpeak from White River via Thunder Basin, but a sudden change of heart (mid-approach) led to us embarking on a rugged, scenic, and unique traverse. Day 1 From White River TH, it is ~7 miles to the turn off to Thunder Basin, the now standard approach to the Tenpeak massif. As we ascended the trail, the insects soon became oppressive. Just after Boulder Pass Trail, the White River Trail got very brushy. From that point on, we couldn’t see our feet, and could only barely make out the faint outline of a trail. After about 10 minutes of this, as I looked at the relatively brush-free cliffs just adjacent to us, I remembered a trip Paul Klenke and I shared where we climbed Clark and Luahna in a day via a watercourse draining Clark’s SE slopes - it was a very direct and trouble-free route, a from-scratch route that Paul Klenke is quite good at coming up with. I asked Geoff if he was interested in this route, and he said, “sure”. So it was settled, we were now doing a traverse. Since we didn’t leave the trailhead until about 4:30PM, we decided to camp on flat slabs just adjacent to the watercourse. We had a great sleep among clear skies. Day 2 The next morning we awoke and began climbing up the watercourse, crossing three times to avoid brush and cliffs. After about 1000’, the slabs and brush turn into very pleasant heather and abundant wildflowers. The wildflowers are in full bloom right now, and in combination with all the snow up high and the greenery and the cascading waterfalls, it was a sight! After about 4000’ of climbing, we finally topped out on a ridge overlooking Boulder Pass. We followed the ridge about 1 mile on or near its crest until we got to the slopes below Clark Mtn. The scramble of Clark on its S side is class 3. The summit register is a big white Mountaineers PVC tube placed by Art Freeman. As it was getting later in the day, we descended Clark in search of a campsite. We found a dry one with running water at 7700’ in the basin between Clark and Pt 7970. That evening, we headed up to the summit of Pt 7970 to get a view of the sunset. I’m glad we did, because we were treated to one of the neatest sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. Glacier Peak, Kololo, and the entire Tenpeak Massif were the dominant features. Splendid. Geoff ascending steep slopes below Clark Mtn. Looking down to White River. Tiger Lily. Lupine and Indian Paintbrush. The view towards Saul and Indian Head. Typical terrain on the approach to Clark Mtn. Wildflowers! Kololo, Tenpeak, and Glacier Peak. Geoff descending steep snow below Clark Mtn. The slopes we traverse. Mt. Saul and Indian Head. Geoff traversing. The antenna strapped to his backpack is actually connected to a tiny personal locator beacon implanted in his lower back.. Views to Glacier Peak. The Tenpeak massif and Glacier Peak. Louis Creek. That's a lot of water! Buck Mountain and Louis Creek Basin. Entiat Range beyond. A pinnacle above Boulder Pass. Geoff on the summit of Clark Mountain. Looking towards High and Buck Creek Passes. Clark Mountain. The gully we used to descend can be seen at upper right. Looking N to Fortress and Bonanza. Fortress and Bonanza. Sunset on Glacier Peak. Beautiful colors over Sloan Peak. Glacier Peak at Sunset. Sunset over the Monte Cristo Range. Sloan Peak peeking above the lucid cloud deck, bathed in reds and ambers. The last rays of light. Day 3 We were up and about at 7AM, but didn’t get moving until 8:30. Our goal this day was to traverse between 7400’-7800&.jpg’ over to Thunder Basin, then climb Tenpeak and W Tenpeak before setting up camp just below W Tenpeak. The traverse from Clark involves crossing some minor ribs, traversing some class 3 ledges and snowfields, then dropping down onto snow in Thunder Basin. Meanwhile, the views to Glacier Peak and Kololo were jaw-dropping. The amount of snow still present up there is almost unbelievable.. it looks like June! In one tricky spot descending into Thunder Basin, we made a 30m rappel onto snow. From here, it was just a matter of linking up snowfields for a traverse over to Tenpeak. We arrived at Tenpeak rather late, so we decided to just climb Tenpeak today and then find a camp site just below the summit block. The climb of Tenpeak was delightful, with some 5th class climbing up a leftward-trending crack about 50’ below the notch in the E Ridge. We found two rusty pitons on route, and two belay stations. Tenpeak doesn’t get climbed much.. in fact, we were the 7th party to sign the register since 2000, and only the 2nd party since 2005 (the other being Fay Pullen, Matt, and Mtn Mike)! With the Suiattle access taken away, this remote massif is now even more remote. After enjoying the sunshine and magnificent views to Glacier Peak and the Suiattle River headwaters, we rappelled back down to our gear, and proceeded down to ~7500’ where we found a suitable camp site on a rock and heather island. A thin layer of fog (or mosquitoes?) in the valley. The Tenpeak massif. Tenpeak. Geoff traversing ledges and wet heather. Rappelling into Upper Thunder Basin. Looking down into Thunder Basin. Geoff climbing up Tenpeak. Suiattle River headwaters below. Upper Suiattle River. Part of the Tenpeak massif with Buck Mountain beyond. Luahna and Clark. W Tenpeak and Kololo from the summit of Tenpeak. Kololo and the Honeycomb Glacier. Kololo, Honeycomb, and Glacier Peak. Can't get enough of the Suiattle River. What a unique view! Geoff on the summit of Tenpeak. Geoff enjoying a little sleepy time on the summit of Tenpeak. Swirling mist dances around one of the Tenpeaks. Looking back at our traverse. Day 4 The plan for this day was to climb W Tenpeak then descend and hike back to the TH. When we awoke, however, Geoff wasn’t feeling well, and graciously agreed to descend to the Upper Basin and wait for me while I climbed W Tenpeak - thanks, Geoff. :up: It took about an hour to gain the col just S of W Tenpeak, where I chased a family of goats up and out of sight. I stashed my overnight gear, and headed up with a rope, some slings, and some cams (just in case). The scrambling on lower W Tenpeak was very enjoyable, high alpine ridge climbing, with great views on both sides. Just as I got to where the ridge flattens out, the family of goats that I chased down low were now scurrying across seemingly impossible cliff bands to get away from me. They were pulling moves that rock jocks would envy! Near the summit, the climbing gets wildly exposed, but the climbing is fairly easy (low fifth). The rock was coated with flaky lichen, so I was very careful to concentrate 100% on every move, and not worry about the exposure (which, admittedly, was getting to me a little bit being unroped and with so much lichen to make things feel insecure). Just below the summit, I placed a cam in a crack and clipped my personal to it and made the move above the cam with security and confidence. The summit is a tiny perch with a stack of rocks for a summit cairn. There was a Fay Pullen register up there that was placed a few weeks ago when she, Matt, and Mtn Mike climbed it, and an old, rusty, empty tube. I added my name to the register and made my way back down, rappelling twice on the N Face. The trip back down Thunder Basin was entertaining, and much trail-finding shenanigans ensued. The climber’s paths into these basins are works of art, but take much concentration to keep on them. If these trails weren’t here, getting into the basin would be an epic bushwhack. Despite there being a "trail" here, don't expect brush-free travel. The mosquitoes on the way back to the TH were the absolute WORST I’VE EVER SEEN!! 100s of mosquitoes orbited and dive bombed me all the way back to the car. I wound up hiking in a head net and schoeller jacket (hot!!) just to avoid the little buggers. Bring Deet. One of the finest areas in the range. Trip Stats: -14,000' gain -25 miles Morning views from camp below Tenpeak. The White River Valley begins to heat up. Daniel and Hinman rise above the cloud deck. Looking back towards camp from my traverse to W Tenpeak. W Tenpeak. Glacier Peak as seen from the col between W Tenpeak and Tenpeak. This is one of the most amazing spots I've ever been to. W Tenpeak threatens. A little tarn on the way up to W Tenpeak. Looking SW from the notch in W Tenpeak's S Ridge. Enjoyable high ridge scrambling. "Yes" Peak. Looking up to the summit of W Tenpeak from the S Ridge. Glacier Peak sits watch above the clouds. Stunning views just below the summit of W Tenpeak. The climbing route above me. Lots of exposure here. Peering through the cloud deck at a lake-tarn at the toe of the Honeycomb Glacier. "" "". I've seen a few of these around. Tenpeak from the summit of W Tenpeak. Looking down from the summit of W Tenpeak. Upper Thunder Basin. Geoff enjoying some high alpine roaming on the descent into Lower Thunder Basin. The views on the descent. Thunder Creek. Brushy. The trail certainly helps.. if you can find it! Meadows in Lower Thunder Basin. Geoff headed for home.

I was just thinking about going into this area a few weeks ago, thanks for the reminder and the excellent photos. RIP Dallas and Roger.

What a loser. I have purchased some new summit registers and have distributed some to fellow peakbaggers who get out quite a bit, and we will be bringing them up from now on. Thanks for the heads up. Wayne.. link to the TR where you saw this??

Trip: Mt. Index - Main & Middle Peaks Date: 7/30/2011 Trip Report: FWB, Mike Collins, Fay Pullen and I connected for a wild and epic trip up the Middle and Main peaks of Index this past weekend. Fay and Mike shared the common goal of summitting all 100 peaks on both the Home Court and the Back Court Top 100 lists. Fay had only one to go, Middle Index. Mike had two, Middle Index and Chimney Rock. Before Sunday, only 2 people had finished both lists - Don Goodman, and Dick "Kangaroo" Kegel. As far as peaks go, Middle Index is definitely the most difficult and inaccessible peak on any list – including the Bulger and Top 100 x P400 lists. In fact, I’d wager it’s the most difficult peak (with 400’ of prominence) to climb in the state of Washington by its easiest route. It is an impressive massif of steep snow, rock, and heather. Even the trees are steep. The vertical relief on all sides is enormous – that one could be staring at a 4500’ drop on a mere 6000’ summit is impressive to me. Having climbed Middle Index before, I knew what to expect. My other three victims (err, partners) had an inkling, but didn’t really know the whole story until now. Our plan was to bivy on or around the summit of Main Peak on Friday, then wake up early Saturday, climb, then hike out Sunday. However, knowing how much technical terrain there is to cover, and that we had four people on our team, I knew there was a good chance we would need to have an “unplanned bivy” somewhere along the way. With that premonition and despite the solid forecast, I decided to bring a Sil Shelter along, just in case. Our approach was uneventful. It was relatively smooth sailing up the gully on the Main Peak. Cracks, holes, and moats were starting to open up though, exposing up to 100 foot drops to the creek below. Cracks that were seemingly firmly bridged on the way in were wide open after the two days we were up there. Care should be taken in this gully at this time of year. We spent the entire approach in clouds, but the sun made an appearance towards the end of the day. We set up camp on a strip of vegetation between snowfields about 200’ below the summit of Main Index. We all went to the summit that evening to take photos and scout out the route for the following day. The last time I climbed Middle Index, I did the traverse from North Peak to South Peak, so I was climbing in the opposite direction than we would be on this trip. Figuring out where to drop in was not easy, but eventually I found a spot I thought would go. We retired early that night, prepared for the guaranteed long day ahead of us. Saturday morning we awoke at 4AM, and got ready – we were moving by 5. We headed over to the spot Franklin and I had scouted the previous evening. Here, we made a double rope rappel (50m) off of a tree into a very steep and wild abyss. From this point forward, steep was the name of the game. The route from here is a blur of rappels, adrenaline-inducing climbing (and down climbing) on steep heather and towering cliff bands, and impressive vertical relief. No route description can do this complex, convoluted route justice. Excellent and precise route finding is imperative on this peak. Despite having already climbed it, route finding our way to Middle Peak was almost like climbing it for the first time. Everything is so steep, that most everything looks impossible until you’re right next to it. On the descent, losing our horizon was a constant problem, and not being able to see below us because of the degree of steepness was a hindrance. Just to get down to Main-Middle notch took the four of us nearly eight hours (nine double-rope rappels, and a lot of down climbing and traversing). And we were only ¼ of the way there! At this point, the writing was on the wall, and everyone pretty much just accepted that we were going to spend the night on the mountain. Everyone was OK with this, and we proceeded on. After this point, there was no changing our minds. We summited Middle Peak around 3PM – 10 hours after we left camp. At the same time, we saw a party topping out on N Index, and a party on the summit of Main. We found it amazing that these relatively seldom-climbed peaks had climbers on all three summits at the same time – probably a first. The summit register (that we couldn’t sign last year because we didn’t have a pencil and it was too wet to sign even if we did) was still there in the same spot I left it, so I don’t think it saw an ascent since then. In traditional Pullen fashion, Fay brought her own summit register and placed it on the summit. The summit register Nazis are facing a losing battle with her around – and rightfully so! After spending all of about 10 minutes on the summit, we headed back the way we came. As expected, climbing was again time-consuming and we were being very safe about everything. As darkness began to set in, we began to think about choosing a good spot to hang out and wait out the night. Bivy spots are hard to come by on these peaks, and a site that would accommodate four people is even rarer. We pressed on as long as we could without a break, trying to get as far as we could before darkness set in. Franklin had received an ominous forecast on his phone from the summit of Middle indicating that there was weather on the way (despite it not being forecasted before leaving town on Friday AM). With that knowledge, we were keen to get as much climbing out of the way as possible before things got wet. Being anywhere on this climb in the wet is a real-life nightmare, and for us, this nightmare was going to become a reality – it was just a matter of time now. At about 9:30PM under the last traces of light, we finally found an acceptable spot for the four of us. We finished the day immediately after climbing the technical crux of our entire route – 30m of vertical and sparsely protected “5.6”. Glad to have climbed this pitch before the rain set in, we settled in for a short, but cold night among some trees – a tree fort of sorts with steep heather on one side leading 4000’ down to the valley floor, and enormous vertical cliffs on the other. Luckily for us the night was short and dry, and we didn’t get too cold. Overnight though, we witnessed the cloud front as it moved towards us through the starlit sky. At this point we knew the 35% chance of precipitation that was forecasted on Franklin's phone was going to be 100% really soon. We set up the Sil Shelter using rock gear and guy lines tied around trees, just in case. Luckily, we didn't need it all night. Dawn arrived and we were socked in. Swirling clouds played hide and seek with the peaks of Mt. Index. The views were neat, but we had a very serious task at hand, and we needed to do as much as we could before the rain began. Just after climbing the first pitch from camp, the drizzle began. At first the drizzle was light, but it began to intensify as the wind picked up. In front of us, we had possibly the sketchiest part of the climb remaining.. the down-climb into, traverse across, and climb back out of a steep, loose, very exposed and very intimidating (when wet) class 4 or low-fifth gully. Leading up to the gully traverse is two and a half pitches of steep rock climbing. On my last trip here, Wayne and I free soloed this portion, the rope still in our packs. But this time, with the rock wet, free climbing it was out of the question. As I led up the steep, exposed rock, protection opportunities were nearly non-existent. On the first full 50m pitch, I found only one single gear placement, then an OK belay from two cams. On the next pitch, I found three gear placements, and only one cam for a belay. Between steep rock sections was steep, wet heather. The consequences of a fall were certain death, and the possibility of falling was quite high in the present conditions. Nevertheless, this was our only way off the mountain and we needed to figure it out before we had to spend another night (this time in the rain) on the mountain. Just before the route goes down into the gully, I could locate exactly zero places to build a reliable rappel anchor (if we had KBs, it would have been possible). We needed to come up with something as this was the only way off the mountain. At this point, I was psychologically spent and mentally tired from being up for 30 hours straight. I had already nodded off once waiting for Franklin to belay Fay and Mike up to the saddle, and I was hallucinating a bit from sleep deprivation mistaking Fay once - in her yellow coat - for sunshine. I asked Franklin to come up and help me look for anchors. I brought Franklin up to the belay, and he led led up on steep, sketchy, mossy, low-fifth rock and wet heather with no pro (~20m). He climbed to what I thought was an obvious horn, but as he went to check it out, he pulled it off and sent it tumbling down the gully (away from us). Darn. Working together over the course of about an hour and a half (me just below him, looking for potential cracks), we finally located three fairly good gear placements where Franklin built an anchor out of a #2 micro tcu and 2 small stoppers, equalized. I lowered him into the gully, but not before some apprehension on his part (understandable). The gear didn’t budge, and soon Franklin was on the other side of the gully belaying everyone over. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief, knowing the end of the climb was in sight and that we didn’t have to spend another night on the mountain – this time after being soaked all day by constant drizzle. Three more pitches brought us to where we could put away the rope. Another 200’ of class 3 scrambling and steep (albeit wet) heather got us back on the summit plateau of Main and a relatively easy path home (which still required rappels). The way out was relatively uneventful. Sort of. But we made it. Fay had done what only two other people have done – complete both the Home Court Top 100 and Back Court Top 100. Mike Collins is only one peak away from completing both of those same lists now, and should finish some time this season. Congrats to both of them. This was a great climb with an eclectic team. The climbing portion of this trip became a 42 hour non-stop marathon due to none of us getting any sleep during our open bivy. In the end, we all came together and achieved our goal – one that is pretty neat to those in the peakbagging world. Here are the photos I took. My photos didn't turn out that well, and I didn't take any on day 3 since all you would have seen was wet and swirling whiteout, but Franklin took a ton of photos, and should be posting some soon. The crew all set to go on Saturday morning. Mike scrambling down to the first rappel. Franklin on the summit of Main Peak as seen from camp. Good morning! Looking down on Middle and North Index from Main. Looking up at the summit of Main from our camp on night 1. Baker and Shuksan at dawn. Mike and Franklin help set up the first rappel. One of many gendarmes on the N face of Main Index. Steep rock on the N Face of Main. View towards Gunn and Baring from low on Middle Index. The summit of Middle Peak. Persis and a gendarme on Main. Mike rappelling into Main-Middle notch. Fay climbing into the moat. Fay smiles above Lake Serene. Looking N from Middle Index. Main Peak from Middle. Franklin smiles on the summit of Middle Index. Looking down from the summit of Middle Index. North and false Middle from Middle. Mike on the summit of Middle Index. Franklin and Mike down climbing Middle Peak. Scary minarets on the N Face of Main. Fay smiling after becoming only the third person to complete the Home Court Top 100. A portion of the route on the North Face of Main Index. Typical terrain on the N Face of Main Index. Gear Notes: Rain gear

Verry nice trip report! Thanks for the beautiful photos and a chance to journey vicariously to one of my favorite spots.

Very strong work, and nice to meet you. My TR here. Interestingly enough, on the way in on Friday one could have picked any number of ski lines from Cascade Pass to the lower basin. This afternoon, there was one that was barely hanging on and probably won't last more than a couple more days. Stuff is melting out FAST!

What a great.. err I meant lousy and repulsive.. peak. That summit register has seen a lot of action in the past few years.

Ice: Daniel on Slow Turning (WI5). Cody, WY. Alpine: On the summit of Big Four. Scenic: The Picket Range from the summit of N Despair.

I'm pretty new to this whole climbing thing, and it's nice to have someone like Wayne and Daniel to babysit me!!! But actually what I said to Wayne was [as I'm belaying Daniel], "you might want to watch the middle just in case he pulls taut". Wayne said, "Copy that". Meanwhile, I was clove-hitched into the [bomber] anchor with the rope. I was connected to my ice tools (equalized) with my personal anchor to support my stance, and to take some strain off the anchor in the event of a fall. Daniel [leading] said, "I might want to put a screw in". He was just thinking out loud.

It's "Beckey". Nice work.

One of my favorite rock routes. Nice work, and great photos.

If it's formed, the first pitch is probably WI3. In the conditions we found it, it was all rock for the first 15 or 20 feet, then a delicate tool placement into a tiny islet of delaminating snice that sounded pretty hollow when you swung into it. M4 or M5. There is good gear before you get off the ground on p1. If this route is fully formed and there's a ton of ice on it, it would be fairly straightforward. We caught it in thinnish conditions, but not as thin as Gyselinck found it. I thought it was a challenging route, far more so than Stuart Glacier Couloir. *I forgot to add, Wayne took the next flattest/dryest spot.*

Yeah.. I meant crack but said flake - sorry for the confusion. We went up another more difficult crack (5.9?) below where that photo was taken, which is just left of where you start to head up to go behind the detached block. I couldn't fit behind the detached block, so I downclimbed, went left, and up the said crack (overhanging).

I believe the chimney is actually standard (go up, left behind a flake, then back down to traverse to below the 5.7 flake). We went up a short crack that seemed harder than 5.7. Maybe I'm getting old and feeble.

Nice work, KK and co. Mike C and I did this as a day trip last year coming in from Toketie Creek. We surmised that no approach to The Mole is recommendable. However, Stefan went in there on a traverse from Mountaineer's Creek and they said that's the way to go (it took them 12 hours RT, despite having attempted both Rat and Hook Creeks beforehand).