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jesselillis

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  1. I've just moved to Montreal. I'm looking for the Montreal/Quebec equivalent of Whitelaw's 'Weekend Rock' (Washington), which was the first guidebook I purchased when I moved to Seattle 5 years ago, and I found invaluable in getting my bearings as to where the climbing was, what sort was in each place, etc. Anyone have any ideas?
  2. Trip: Bugaboo Provincial Park - Date: 8/4/2012 Trip Report: Bugaboos: Trip Report August 3-11, 2012; with Dan Nelson 30-second overview Between August 3 and 11, Dan and I climbed in the Bugaboos Provincial Park in BC. We had a phenomenal combination of good weather and good luck. We climbed W. Ridge on Pigeon (awesome), McTech Arete on Cresent Spire (good), Wildflowers on Snowpatch (dirty, but still good), and Becky-Choinard (B-C) on South Howser Tower (exhausting/awesome). Drive, Parking lot and Approach Left Friday evening. Bivied off some random bit of road in Idaho and finished drive Saturday, arriving in parking lot sometime around 1300. The parking lot had a lot of cars in it (est. 70 Scant chicken wire remained for porcupine-proofing car tires, spent some time foraging for sticks and rocks to support such. Took off on trail around 1500 with packs easily weighing 80+ (lots of good food and way too many ropes). Approach straightforward, hot, took maybe 2.45 hrs. A helicopter landed almost immediately after we arrived and picked up a young woman from a guided (hiking?) party with a leg injury. Hut We opted to stay in the hut. Despite 2.5x the cost of camping at Applebee ($25/person/night v $10/person/night), and longer approaches, we prioritized not being uncomfortable should notorious Bugs weather come in, and carrying no stoves/tents/etc. The hut has electric outlets, toasters, stovetops, cookware, copies of the Atkinson guidebook for sale (42CAN), and a bin of 'scrap paper' that is really printouts of route descriptions (some laminated) left by parties that have since departed (very handy). The hut is (as expected) noisy; earplugs are essential. Climbs (approaches and descents) Our number 1 objective was B-C, a route we expected to challenge us in numerous ways, as well as receiving the high praise of just about everyone we knew who had climbed it. It took us a few days to get to it, and then we were too spent to do anything else. Sunday-Pigeon, W. Ridge (5.4)- We opted to do this route on our first day to get a bit of the lay of the land. The Atkinson book recommended climbing it to scope the descents on Bugaboo, Snowpatch, Crescent, etc. The Bugaboo Col was in terrific condition: 40 minutes from hut (0700) to base (0740), another 20 to get up it (0800), and another 60 min to get to base of Pigeon (0900). Three parties were ahead of us on route, another arrived shortly after us and another shortly after them. Despite the cluster of folks, the route is mellow enough to accommodate numerous parties on slight variations of the same route. Dan and I simul-climbed and passed two parties pitching it out, while one party behind us (free-soloing) passed us. Overall a terrific route with great views; simul-climbing it took us 2 hours to summit. As indicated (Atkinson?), likely the best 5.4 I've ever climbed. Descent backtracks route, straightforward (passed two more parties ascending, and one descending). There is a throne-style toilet at the base of this climb (nice view), in response to numerous folks using that area for that sort of business (also one at top of Bugaboo/Snowpatch Col). Monday- Crescent Spire, McTech Arete (5.10)- This was our second climb to give us an idea of what 5.10 in the Bugs feels like, without committing to a lot of pitches (5). The approach here is a little quicker, 30 minutes to Applebee (0630) from the Kain hut (0600), and another 40 to the base of the Tower (0710, shorter if you trust the ice on the lake). We were fortunate to be the first party, two others arrived while I was leading the first pitch. It's a good route, the 5.10 pitch is definitely the best one, and the 5.9 dihedral/roof pitch is a good long one. A party of 4 shooting new BD gear followed us up and made for good conversation at the belays. Apparently having a testicle removed will greatly augment the comfort of your harness. We summited around 1230, after reading mountainsloth's TR, I was hoping to catch Dan tearing up at the top, but no such luck. Descent straightforward from chains at top. Tuesday- Snowpatch, Wildflowers (5.9)- We'd intended to do B-C next, but some weather was coming in so we opted for something less committing, and figured this would be a good way to get our transitions dialed on sustained 5.9. This climb is also on the Mt. Project classic climbs list. I don't think it should be. The route is covered in lichen and a fair bit of it is loose. It is in the shade for most of the day, which makes it cold, and it is slow to dry. The last pitch is wacky and fun, but one of our ropes got stuck while I was leading (no doubt could have been avoided, but resulted in an awkward anchor in flaring cracks with crappy pro), which made me bitter towards the climb. Nevertheless, it is a decent route that is worth doing if you don’t mind some funk and dirt. Most of the climbing is quite good, just don’t expect perfect clean cracks the whole way. Views are nice from Snowpatch summit. Similar approach as Pigeon (up to Bugaboo/Snowpatch col, then traverse under West face until reaching base of route, ~75 minutes from Kain). Descent is 6 or 7 single rope rappels (we avoided double rope rappels where we could, hoping to avoid stuck ropes) down back to base. The rap line is clean, easy and straightforward with new bolted stations. Luckily no storms, though a significant crevasse opened on the Crescent glacier (ascending to the Bugaboo/Snowpatch Col). Wednesday- rest day. Snowpatch took us longer than we'd hoped (Dan says we should have taken the IV grade more seriously), and weather was again supposed to come in. It did. Showers and hail storms intermittently through the day. I read through all the 'scrap-paper' iterations of beta for the BC route. Dan watched movies on his iphone. Thursday- S.Howser Tower, Becky-Choinard (5.10)- Here we go! Knowing that we are not 'fast' climbers, and opting for more time to screw things up with less pressure from the dark and fatigue (and to be on the summit with some light in the sky and be able to easily see rap stations), we decided to bring gear to bivy on the pitch 10 ledge... yup, heavy packs (6L water, bivy gear, food, ice axes, crampons, etc.). We left Kain hut at 0300, 0630 E. Crk bivy (last water). We started roped climbing close to 0800. The pitches were varied and fun. After the first crux pitch (5.9 small roof/flake move), I screwed up my lead by taking us up the wrong crack. Having received some beta from another party that several of the 5.8 pitches felt like 5.10, I pressed on, thinking I was just being soft, until I found myself pulling on a piece, and then another, and then barely able to get in my finger tips. Sometime around then, I realized I should have traversed to the dihedral crack about 50 feet lower. I climbed the crack furthest climbers left (closest to the top of the photo above). We reached the pitch 10 ledge around 2000, enjoyed the sunset and set up our bivies. We we blessed with a warm, dry night. Friday- Got started at 0830, the 5.10 wide crack felt hard on early-morning cramped up muscles, but was mercifully short. I was disappointed not to be able to enjoy this pitch, but suppose that's one of the trade-offs of overnighting on route. The remaining pitches were similarly varied and progressively more enjoyable as our bodies warmed and the heavy follower pack lightened. At some point my shoes decided to crap out, both laces broke and the leather of one blew). From the top of the chimney above the 5.10+ crux move (1520), we found the rappel followed by 200-300 ft of 4th with some 5th moves, to be challenging enough to merit roping up. Talking to others and reading enough TRs it seems as if this is not uncommon. When the book says ‘mostly 4th with some 5th class moves’ I usually interpret this to mean low 5th, while here it’s more like 5.8, or it at least feels that way by the time you’re up there. Arrived on the summit around 1800. The rappels (on (1) 70m double rope) went unexpectedly well, largely due to our mutual scrutiny of the 'new' (2008) rappel route. Some of those stations would be tough to find without such scrutiny, and doing it in the daylight definitely helped. Back on the Vowell glacier by 2030 and to the hut by 2245. bergshrund Saturday- pack up and go. We'd planned to either climb Bugaboo N. Ridge (if we got back early and felt good), Surf's Up (if we got back less early and felt ok) or go home (if we got back late and felt less than ok). With little motivation and an impending drive cross-country a few days later, we opted to head out and start the drive back Seattle. Left the hut around 1000 (carrying way more food than we'd hoped), back to car by 1145 (no porcupine damage). Was surprised by the chaos of chicken wire (far fewer cars), that was more or less strewn about and in unusable condition, despite signage requesting rolling and stacking in pens designed for such. Back in Seattle sometime in the early AM Sunday. Gear notes and mishaps I only brought 1.5L water capacity. To climb with 3L for B-C, I had to scrounge water containers. Approach shoes + aluminum crampons were fine for footwear. We didn’t use the #4 or #5 camalots that we brought. Things that were not needed Soap (plenty at the hut) Battery charger (hut has electricity) There are a lot of places to visit, a lot of places to climb. Usually I favor the new over the wonderful, but already experienced. But this place... I'll be back.
  3. I occasionally climb alpine climbs with one (not two) double (aka: half) rope. 60m, 8.1-8.5mm (depending on who owns them). Is this unsafe? I gather that a second rope (of any diameter) offers a margin of safety in the event of catastrophic rope failure- either when rock fall cuts a rope, or a rope is cut over a sharp edge during a lead fall (I don't think either happens often). I also gather that folks like to have two ropes for double length rappels. I tend to avoid these as I have a knack for getting ropes (especialy skinny ones!) stuck. So in the absense of catastropic failure (would those failures really be so much less likely on a rope rated as a 'single'?) and acknowledging the inability for long rappels, are there other reasons (I'm primarily looking for reasons related to safety, not convenience or economy of rope life) to avoid climbing with just one double rope?
  4. Is there a sufficient chicken wire cache at the parking lot that I can bank on there being some when I get there to wrap my car? [Just to clarify I am not asking if I need to use it (I plan to); I'm asking if I need to bring my own, or if there is sufficient discarded wire on hand that I can use that] Thanks
  5. Trip: Dragontail - Backbone Ridge Date: 6/25/2012 Trip Report: Backbone Ridge- Dragontail Trip Report June 25-26, 2012; with Seth Bushinsky Pre-trip planning/events Seth and I had hoped to climb Slesse but opted not to after consideration of weather and recommendations of cc.com old-timers (concerns regarding pocket glacier); maybe we'll give it a go next month. Backbone ridge was on a list of climbs we could probably do in a day, but since we had two, we envisioned a link up of Dragontail and then Stanley-Burgner Route on Prussik, which would mean carrying full packs up and over on Backbone Ridge. 30 second summary Drove to Leavenworth Monday night and slept at Stuart Lake TH. Hiked into Apline Lakes Wilderness early Tuesday morning, and got shut down by weather/route condition on Backbone ridge. Spent most of day sleeping at Colchuck Lake. Better weather Wednesday allowed us to to climb it, though we may have been off route for as much as the first half of the climb. Totally missed out on Prussik. Backbone Ridge Pitches our climb broke down like this: Started at notch between start of Serpentine and Backbone ridge. P1 Jesse on lead, up 200 feet easy scrambling, bring up Seth. P2 Seth on lead, start simul-climbing towards cleaner rock on climbers right side of the crest P3 Switch over lead, still simul-climbing, some icy slabs (stayed right of crest from here to P6) P4 Notch forces us onto steeper terrain, sketchy pitch of broken rock, shallow cracks and ice P5 Climbing between side of crest and slabs, lots of easy terrain with a few fun chimney/offwidth moves P6 Seth takes lead to bring us on to top of crest P7 Seth on lead, simul-climb to base of fin P8 Seth takes first pitch of fin P8.5 Switch leads, Jesse up to base of 'twin crack' pitch P9 Jesse leads up twin cracks P10 Short pitch to flake/block, with some fun moves P11 Long fun pitch starts with finger crack and tricky feet, then traverses under huge block on big crack for feet, then to vertical offwidth P12 Last awesome pitch traverses across top of fin to a notch with feet in good crack and hands either in crack or scumming along fin; pitch through notch (to other side of fin) P13 Seth leads off, short section on cold (shaded) side of fin, before turning through another notch back to sunny side. P14 A short exposed step, and then a simul-scramble to the summit Narrative of climb Ruined this section up by not writing it up before taking off for Wonderland trail. Neither of us had a good picture of what the route looked like, so we missed the early traverse leftwards and the classic offwidth- this might have been snow-covered still, but maybe that's just wishful thinking. Instead we climbed the seam/slabs at the junction of the slabs and the right side of the crest until we were forced up onto the crest. From there we climbed along the crest to the fin and then got back on route as best we could. The fin pitches were the most fun (relatively clean rock, free of ice, only a few patches of snow), though they ended awkwardly traversing to the shaded side of the fin and back again, ultimately to a steep scramble on mixed terrain to the summit. While I'm pretty sure we were on N&P's route for some of the Fin, I think we may have taken a different crack system at some point. The vertical offwidth we encountered (to make up for the one we missed!) was too notable/enjoyable/long to not be in the pitch by pitch description we were "following". Descent: walk off South side of Dragontail back to Aasgard Pass, then back down to lake, took less than an hour due to snow in excellent glissade conditions. Back to car: the return to the TH was surprisingly easy. mellow, fairly rapid. Back to Seattle: Seth drove, so I only had to try and stay awake. Variably successful. Other If you're going to miss the offwidth pitch that needs a #5 for protection there really is no need to go buy a #5 the night before the climb… Time/Event Summary time landmark/event Tuesday 0030 Stuart Lake TH, sleep in parking lot 0545 get up 0630 start hiking, overcast 0700 bridge over creek 0720 Colchuck trail split, light rain 0815 arrive at S end of lake, overcast, light rain 0930 top of morraine, even with base of Serpentine and Backbone routes, lots of snow and wind, leave packs to go check out base of climbs 1030 back at packs and opt to attempt Serpentine 1130 abandon attempts (ice, snow, wind) 1300 campsite by colchuck, set up tent, etc. 1400 down for 'nap' 2030 up from 'nap', dinner 2215 down for bed Wednesday 0700 up, clear and cold → GO 0800 leave camp 1000 200 ft up route, SB takes off (P2) as leader simul climbing/scrambling 1120 notch between clean rock above and slabby broken rock we had been scrambling. P3 Switch simul lead, some easy slab, but lowest angle bits have ice on them. Crest wall and slabs forces us steeply upwards, time to pitch it out: P4-broken shallow cracks, wet and scary; P5- | slabs and sidewall of crest, some interesting offwidth/chimney moves 1330 P6- SB takes lead, 1 pitch brings us to top of crest, P7 simul to base of fin 1400 SB starts up first pitch on fin on lead (P8), JCL leads short section of P8.5 1525 bottom of P9 (fin P3, twin cracks to ledge) 1625 JCL to top of P10 (fin P4, had a couple sporty moves, some insecure rock) which led off from left side of ledge at top of P9 1650 SB to top of P10 (fin-P4); J up P11 (most fun pitch, traverse+offwidth) 1715 JCL at end of traversing P12 (now on shady side of fin); SB takes lead (P13) back to sunny side; P14 is a simul to the summit 1830 summit 1930 top of asgaard pass 2030 back in camp (glissading made descent fast!) 2130 hiking 2215 colchuck TH split 2300 car, quick scare on car battery 0200 back in Seattle Gear Notes: 50L pack, no avy gear, 60m 8.4mm rope, BD cams .3-5, nuts 4-11, 8 alpine draws, 2 quick draws, 3 double-length runners, whippet, katoonah spikes
  6. Do you live in Seattle? Do you have a copy of the Bugaboos climbing guide book? The Bugaboos - One of the World's Great Alpine Rockclimbing Centres Chris Atkinson and Marc Piche Would you consider lending it out? I'd happily leave a deposit with you for the cost of replacing it, should I damage it in any way. If it would make the difference, I'd also consider 'renting' your copy for a reasonable price. I'm moving to the East coast in a few weeks (have to hit the Bugs first!) and can't really justify buying my own copy now. Obviously I'd pick it up from you.
  7. See those 4 plastic rectangle-buckle-esk-things (not quite D-rings, not quite triglides), 2 above and 2 below the horizontal cinch straps? They look like they could be used to attach a vertical strap (or two) to the side of the pack. I can't think of a reason to do that. Maybe you have some idea?
  8. Hi Don (or anyone else interested in chiming in) Of the hundreds of lovely routes available (and do-able even in foul weather with a deep, sloppy snowpack in June), if you were to recommend one or three, which would they be? Lacking the experience of years in the cascades, my choices are usually motivated by either SCC or Steph Abeggs photos.
  9. My partner and I are planning to climb Slesse end of this month. If you've approached the route prior to the Pocket Glacier sliding, could you recount such here? Is Nelson's SCCvI early season approach description the best option? Can you add any details to that description?
  10. $30, barely used a versatile all-purpose climbing shoe technical enough for hard trad climbs or when sized comfortably can be used on long all-day routes -Super stiff midsole for better edging and support for extended use -Relaxed heel rand for a comfortable fit -Asymmetrical toe profile (KA-1 last) Material Details -Sole: 4.2mm TRAX® XT-5 high friction rubber -Rand: 2.2mm TRAX® duro-rand -Upper: Non-stretch Synthratek synthetic upper -Lining: Nylon lining -Midsole: MX-2 2mm stiff full-length midsole + MX-1 1mm full-length midsole
  11. Have you used international websites to find climbing partners in other countries? Specifically I'm looking to find a climbing partner in Madrid. Maybe you have one I can contact? More likely (only slightly more) you have seen some sort of climbing forum (like this one!) for climbers in Spain. Any direction would be appreciated.
  12. Been to the bugaboos? Did you camp at Appleby or stay at the Kain hut? Did you wish you'd done the other? I'm planning my first trip this summer. Was planning on the hut, but JPark highly recommended the Appleby campsite for proximity to climbs. I'm a bit leary of some notorious weather coming in and being much less comfortable in tent. Then again, when was alpine climbing about comfort? Other opinions?
  13. Free. I never use it. I haven't in 10(?) years. You probably won't either, but maybe you are one of those people that collects old gear for the purposes of showing new climbers how heavy/cumbersome gear used to be. It looks more or less like the cams here http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1359850&tn=20 As much as I can't stand it taking up room in my gear bin, I also can't quite bear to dump it in the trash. Pick up on UW campus or North Greenlake.
  14. DPS, downey, I'm sorry to say I did not find the gear either of you left. I will however keep an eye out for both next time I'm on route.
  15. Trip: Dragontail - Triple Couloirs Date: 4/29/2012 Trip Report: time elevation landmark/event 1230 2100 leave car, start hiking 1400 3400 trailhead 1440 4000 bridge over creek 1500 4500 Colchuck trail split 1630 5570 arrive at lake 1715 5572 finish setting up camp 1900 5571 dinner 2100 5570 in tent, trying to sleep – 0330 5570 wake up 0415 5571 leave camp 0610 6350 start up first couloir 0730 6700 bottom of runnels 1030 7000 top of runnels; bottom of 2nd couloir 1130 7400 top of 2nd couloir; bottom of transition to 3rd couloir 1220 7550 Jesse bottom of third couloir 1240 7550 Jesse finishes building anchor 1310 7550 Dan bottom of third couloir 1430 8350 top of third couloir 1530 8550 summit 1730 5572 back to camp 1830 5570 hiking out 2015 3400 trailhead 2200 2098 back to car 2215 2100 start drive back 0045 0290 back in Seattle Narrative Snowshoes to ~6000ft, donned crampons and roped up with kiwi coils and ~80 feet of rope between us. First couloir and found excellent neve snow, easy to kick steps and get something akin to purchase with ice tools. ~200 feet into first couloir, first of two additional parties (actually one group of four, climbing as two parties) passed us, moving quickly through the center of the couloir. That party anchored to await their second party at base of runnels. Runnels were in adequate condition to climb, but not proctectable ice. We pitched this section out (4 pitches). 1st: trivial (firm snow in rock dihedral), 2nd: one tricky mixed move (M3), 3rd: overhanging mixed (M6?) move that caused us to traverse left around it (to a poor gear anchor), 4th: most akin to ice, unprotectable (WI2+) to above crux (unnerving due to poor anchor below). Dan led 2nd couloir rapidly (2 pickets in ~600 feet). Mixed (M2) transition to the third couloir- wasted a ton of time looking for decent gear. Dan led last couloir and another ~200 feet of easy snow/mixed brought us to the summit. Descent: about 90 minutes. Snow varied from steep and hard to postholing. Retrospective thoughts: - Walking separately across a frozen lake is a bad idea - We got pretty lucky on the snow conditions and the weather. The sun came out while we were in the third couloir and the snow got soft quickly. Some clouds spared us some of the potential for deterioration, but disconcerting evidence of loose wet slides was apparent on multiple aspects of nearby peaks. - The rock is awful. Wasted tons of time scraping away at it looking for decent gear placements for anchors. Piton placement attempts dislodged rock. - When to rope up on a climb like this is still a tricky decision. While climbing in the (largely unprotected) couloirs a (unlikely) leader fall would have likely killed both of us, though a (potentially lethal) second fall could likely be arrested by a leader. If both climbers of equal ability, perhaps better to climb unroped? But then, what to do with the rope? In and out of a pack would be a hassle/time sink. Gear Notes: avy gear, 70m 8.1mm rope, BD cams .5-2, nuts 4-11, 3 pitons, 4 screws (2x 10, 13cm), 2 pickets, 8 double runners, alpine bod harness, 1 BD viper, 1 Petzl Aztar Approach Notes: Road to trailhead closed, no snow apparent from road. I brought a kids sled with the hope of sledding out the return on the snow covered road if it were closed. No luck, left it in the car. ~2+ miles on bare (easily bikable/drivable) road, then another 1+ with increasing snow cover to TH. From TH to lake, passed exiting lone female (no gear, not interested in chatting) and a group of 4 exiting snowsliders (3 AT, 1 splitboard) who reported marginal sliding conditions on their overnight stay. Found slowshoes to be best means of approach given conditions.
  16. Name it and we'll figure out how to reunite you
  17. Looking for recommendations on lodging as close to the South Fork climbs as possible. Also for looking for recommendations on climbs. Quick approached and long sustained WI4 would be ideal. Classics WI3-5 would be good too. Any other beta at all (special gear, eateries, mishaps, whathaveyou) much appreciated.
  18. Out to Source Lake Sunday- SLL looked in challenging condition. Headed to Rap Wall and tried to get up a mixed line above and right of the main wall. The left line here https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab=mq#photos/108513109565806365011/albums/5685494167627091649 Bailed after only ~20 feet: surprisingly brittle ice, crappy pro, AT boots, nerves... Initially I tried to access the top for a TR by continuing up and left, but couldn't easily manage the steep snow, not adhered to the rock. After an unnerving fall soloing, returned to the base for the lead attempt. Can one access the top of the rap wall from the left (looking at wall from base)? Could one traverse across the top?
  19. seeking recommendations for inexpensive hotel motel accommodation close to hyalite thanks
  20. I'll do that. It would be a pretty terrific service to this forum if you did see any of those lines come in, to post that information- ideally with a picture. Cheers
  21. Anyone been up there and climbed anything? I just got a vague report from a friend that he was up there and saw a few nice ice lines.
  22. Thanks for replies thus far. Coming from Seattle. Planning to drive, I believe the distances/times are comparable but if roads get shut down more between Seattle and one of two venues, that would be excellent to know. Happy leading WI4, and very happy with multiple pitches of WI4. Have been on sharp end on WI5, though more stressed than psyched. It would be nice to change that, though maybe not in an environment that is 'humbling'. Some backcountry ski experience and avy training.
  23. I have about 6 days first week of January. I haven't been to Cody or Canmore. If you have been, and can spew some pros and cons for each, I'd like to hear 'em.
  24. Looking to climb Chianti and Burgundy this week. Anyone know if there is water available in the col? Ice ax/crampons necessary this time of year? Thanks
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