jordansahls

I never knew Nick, but I have known more than a few people in mountain rescue units, and I don't think any of them would sit on the sidelines, no matter how irresponsible the circumstances that led to their being called in for help. It seems the nature of such people to foster a compassion that compels them to action, often times in complete odds to self-preservation. Maybe it is because climbers are a small tribe, and we "take care of our own". I don't know. I won't make the usual asinine statement that "he died doing what he loved", because that is total bullshit. No rational person wants to die in the mountains or truly believes that he will. However, the time approaches when we can no longer escape the law of averages and so must face our own certain and imminent death. While it is no consolation to the family members left behind, Nick's death stands as a statement of sacrifice and selflessness that few of us will be able to achieve before our lights fail. I hope that his family can find that small measure of peace afforded to the grieving after the shock of his passing fades.

I was up that way 3 weeks ago and climbed Piasano pinnacle. The rock was dry with very few snow patches on route, but it gets a bit of sun exposure. I would think that the liberty bell group is fine to climb. There will be snow on the approaches but anything south facing is going to be mostly dry.

Awesome, I have always wanted to get out to that area.

So. . . your point is that Steck is not Messner? Glad we got that sorted out.

Last weekend I made a jaunt up Iron peak and got a good look at the Cascadian on Stuart. It looked climbable/skiable, but probably not for much longer. Things are starting to thin out a bit.

Perhaps it is just your pair? I have been climbing 2 seasons on a pair of grivel x-monster ice tools and I have not had any problems. I was in Ouray this last January and climbed on a whole assortment of ice tools and the x-monsters did a fine job.

It's certainly a haul, but I think camping on Edwards Mesa softens the blow a little. Also, good work on the climb. That area is so cool.

Because you are skiing you are going to want to summit before the snow softens up too much, but not so early that you are going to have to wait a long time for conditions to form. With a slow-medium pace I would estimate around 8-12 hours to the summit from the car. I would say a 10ish am summit time is adequate, so you are going to want to get a 12am-2am start from the car. Really, it is hard to give you an accurate travel and summit timeframe (take a large grain of salt with the above estimation). What route are you climbing? Have you done over 7k vert in a day? Traveling in heavily crevassed terrain at night is not a good way to introduce oneself to more advanced glacier travel. What is keeping you from taking 2 days to climb Baker? The first day would give you a better idea about how quickly you can cover terrain which would be useful on summit day. It also gives you the ability to suss out snow conditions and your intended route of travel.

Not really recent, but I was up there 3 weeks ago. There was still a lot of snow down low. I would expect that the lower elevation snow is drying up fast. If you're skiing you should be able to make it down to the basin at the head of Silverstar creek. Not sure about how far you can make it via burgundy col. If that fails you can always try for Black peak, which is always a good ski this time of year (this is assuming that you're skiing).

Wow, thanks for all the info. I understand that such a prestine place as Squamish is going to have crowds, I expect it. I just don't want to end up on one of the conga lines.

So I'm planning on getting up to Squamish here soon and I need some suggestions for routes. I'm looking for moderate climbs in the 5.7-9 range, multipitch that don't get overcrowded on the weekend (not Diedre). Any climbs somewhat off the beaten path that match my requirments? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Nothing, different strokes and all that. I grew up in a small town but have found that, like BootsandPants, I enjoy the balance between city life and the mountains. Seattle is certainly different in that the outdoors are never far away. It makes the whole "urban" thing bareable, otherwise I would be sitting at Index in a wife beater drinking a coors (seriously). That and I enjoy the social life of the city, always something to do.

+ 1 million. In addition to driving back and forth to seattle for work every day, there is the additional downside that when you get back home at night you FUCKING LIVE IN INDEX. Yeah, I can't imagine living in that little slice of Methopotamia. I'd say go east of the crest (l-worth, for example) or Seattle. As much as the traffic and passive aggressive people of the city piss me off sometimes, Seattle is a really, *really* nice place to live. Centrally located, surrounded by water and mountains and all the big metro area amenities are the payback for dealing with the rain. I can't imagine dealing with the wet-side weather and also living in a total shithole like Index. :lmao: I was driving through Baring and someone had painted over the sign so it read "welcome to Boring". There are worse places than Index.

+1

It's hard to say. When I was there it had snowed a few inches but the route looked much like the late season TR's I have seen floating around the interweb. A bit of a scramble getting to the icefall and then a couple of pitches of moderate angle ice, but I'm just guessing.

I was out there during the early fall this year to check out the Entiat icefall route. I ended up doing some weird north face variation due to time constaints but the icefall looked to be in. Not sure if that helps but I can tell you the icefall is still there.

Trip: Silver Star - silver star creek Date: 4/21/2012 Trip Report: With the awesome weather forecast a couple of friends and I decided to head out Winthrop-way to enjoy the snow and sun. It was an awesome trip. The snow was not the best and made for slow skiing, it was a weird combination of slush and powder up high but was still enjoyable. I have to say that the Silver Star creek route is an amazing spring skiing route. I would love to hit it again here when the snow starts to corn up. Pictures: Looking up towards Silver Star Brian enjoying the views Climbing up through the sluff Breaking trail Stoked to be on top (some more than others) Me skiing down Elena getting her turns in looking back towards the car End of a wonderful day in the sun and snow (coors optional) Approach Notes: Drive the long way round.

"You Damn kids get off my rock with your street shoes"!!!!!!!!

My Dad learned to climb from the mountaineers. He tought me all of the "old" techniques first. His rational, and the one the mountaineers tought at the time, was that it was best to learn how to perform the essential techniques as if you had minimal or no special equipment. Sure there are many better tools today, but it's always good to have the basic should you drop your belay device/harness/gear rack/what-have-you.

Not 100% sure just yet. I will most likely just hang out around Washington, climb at the pass, leavenworth, enchantments, ect. I'm hopeing to knock out Liberty and Ptarmigan Ridges, Ptarmigan traverse, Torment-Forbidden traverse, Johannesburg NE face, Goode NE buttress, Backbone ridge w/fin, serpentine arete, Stuart complete North ridge, Slesse NE buttress, blah, blah. Maybe plan a trip into the Waddington range, or go back to the Bugaboos. We will see how much actually happens. I'm just excited to spend a few months outside.

Leave my job at the end of June and climb like a filthy, smelly, dirt bagging monkey for a few months until the start of grad school in September.

Ha ha, my reading comprehension skills suck. I have never carried a stove in a summit pack on Rainier (carry over routes excluded). Assuming that you hydrate at camp before summit day, 2 liters should be enough. It has always been enough for me, but everyone is different. If you sweat like crazy or tend to get extra thirsty, or if you just want to be safe, it's not going to add much weight to bring a small stove and a little fuel.

It depends on what route and what time of year you are climbing. I climbed the Kautz last July and did not bring a stove because there was running water at the 9500 camp. Instead I brought a water filter. This method has worked for me on a couple of different routes on other mountains like Baker and Adams. Still, I find this approach only works later in the climbing season. I carry no more than 2 liters at time. Usually this is enough on summit day. However, I spend most of the time at camp re-hydrating. If you are heading up sometime in the late spring/early summer you are better off bringing a stove. Hauling enough water from the car is going to weight infinity more than a stove and some fuel.

Rad.

Last winter? winter is over?