still_climbin

"Driver carries less than 50 rounds of ammunition"

Anyone used the Black Diamond Verdict skis? How are they on steeps, pow, etc?

Lots of avy opportunity on Fuhrer Finger since its basically a 3,000 ft funnel. Even iffy on the approach.

Too bad this is limited to NW routes. I spent a year on business in Wash DC. My three outstanding climbing memories from there are the massive number of climbers per square foot on Carder Rocks (Beltway and the Potomic River), grabbing a jug on Seneca Rock and learning that it was a six foot black snake, and discovering poison ivy.

Speed rapelling-cross...with spikey shoes and tights.

Its Dustin Hoffman.

CALL OUT THE ARMY! No, seriously, if DNR supports the closure but doesn't have the funds you might approach the 864th Engineer Battalion at Ft Lewis to see if they would disabble the road as a training excerecise. The key is that the project cannot be funded or otherwise take bread from the mouths of local contractors. Years ago I was with the 15th Engineers at Ft. Lewis and met the Forest Service Ranger at Verlot on the Stilli. He was a climber and through the friendship we took on three cool projects including airlifting materials to the summit of the south peak of Three Fingers to assist volunteers in restoring the lookout station for climber's use. Combat engineers do a great job of disabling roads using cratering charges or timber labyrinths.

The MASTER Spraymaster

A snafflehound once ate my pack in the BUGS. I deserve a Buggaboo patch with a snafflehound in the forground.

The other side of this blob was a route known as the Apron Direct, about 50 feet of slabs followed by 50 feet of face. I took my first 35 ft leader fall on that route onto a single piece of protection called a "JAM NUT" purchased from REI (from the UK)in 1970 in the interest of "clean climbing" promoted by Y. Choinard. Scared the Sh*t out of my partner. It had an impact on my thinking,(not to mention a few beers with the crew)and the attitude of the WAZZU Alpine Club at that time toward using what now has become the standard. Those were great times!

WAZZU-- I checked out the Kevin Poque site you mentioned and was suprized to see Granite Point. Unfortunately the Marty Bland link did't work so I can't see what's going on now days. In the OLD DAYS Granite Point was much larger and a great place to learn cracks, faces and slabs...even a few short leads. Classics like Skin Graft Crack all were lost when the dam was built. I'd sell my soul to have Granite Point near the Tri Cities today.

You might try some of the slabs and boulders at Vernita, 40 minutes north of Richland and west of the Vernita Bridge. Its all basalt but highly erroded from the Missoula floods which makes it more interesting. Not sure how access is now that an orchard has been planted at the base of some of the best slabs.

I wanna moose patch.

Where can you get a Blizzard Bag? Sounds like something to look into for back country skiing emergencies or solo anything.

When I was eight my father took me on a day hike high in the Wallowas of NE Oregon. I never forgot the excitement I felt at the beauty and isolation. After that it was all backpacking and fishing, the more romote and further off-trail the lake the better. When I was 12 I talked a couple of buddies on a scouting trip into climbing 9000 ft Lookout Peak in the Wallowas. The Scoutmaster never found out but I was hooked from then on. By the time I was at WSU and had access to more climbers it became a religion. That was all in the sixties and since then I've continued climbing with various degrees of passion. Now, my son is into it and I find great joy in letting him lead the hard stuff while I clean.. Ahh, the life of a climbing sage!

Rock can be a real issue on the route even in high snow years and I'm skeptical about soloing in those conditions. During my first attempt at Lib Ridge, in June of 1975, we were hit by rockfall just below Thumb Rock. We played dodgeball but one of my two partners, a climber visiting from the UK, was hit in the arm, chest and backpack by a watermelon-sized boulder and knocked uncouncious. Fortuately we were roped due to respect for Ranier on earlier climbs and after several hours managed to get our Brittish friend down onto the Carbon. Within two minutes a dump truck-sized load of rock scoured the entire gully we had decended. Fortunately, after a camp on the Carbon we were able to walk out the next day. My friend only suffered a badly bruised arm and chest but the outcome would have been far different if we had not been roped.

I agree, Mission was awesome Sunday, especially after the blizzard hit and we had the mountain to ourselves.

How about going from this: web page to this: web page

I second the Sage XP, but I like 9.5 ft 9 weight with a sink tip for the searun guys.

It's mind bending to think that mountainering could be replaced by a gymnasium.

WOW! Very lucky you two were there, radio and all.

The Ptarmigan Traverse is not a typical backpacking adventure. Although it's not particularly challenging to experienced mountaineers in a technical sense, it is several days of strenuous travel with a whole range of mountaineering hazards and some surprises. For instance when I did the Traverse during an August we encountered extensive cravasses on the Le Conte and had to climb about 15-20 ft of verticle ice from a collapsed snow bridge to make it through. It was easy (actually fun) for the experienced in the group but challenging for one or two of the spouses. If your backpacking group has not traveled meaningful distances offtrail, on snow and glacier, or experienced climbing exposure (e.g. traversing the Red Ledge) your group may not succeed and your time could have been spent more pleasurably elsewhere. I'd sugggest you spend time this winter learning general mountaineering skills including safe glacier travel and spend June and July taking practice trips that include less ambitious off trail backpacking. Perhaps try hikes like Boston Basin and Colchuck/Aasgard Pass/Enchantments that offer a small taste of off trail and snow. With that said, go for it and have a blast.

Enjoyed the trip report and pictures. I just found this web site and reading reports like yours brings back memories. I climbed along the edge of the "Fin" in July,1971 and gave it that name in the AAJ route description we published that year. We intended to do the Fin's crest but couldn't find a reasonable entry onto the Fin once we got into the couliour to its east. At that time we had no clue that Mark Weigelt had done Backbone the year before or that Jim Wickwire had crossed the face of the Fin a month earlier. Any way, your pictures of the Fin have me thinking I'd like to return and try again.