tthirloway

I climbed Serpentine in early October a couple years ago, before any big snowfalls. Most of it was dry and great, but higher up there were some snow patches that had to be crossed. They were in the gullies and were pretty hard to avoid. I'd guess there would be even more up there now, but probably still climbable.

What are the best towns in Washington? Outside of Seattle and Bellingham, where can you be close to climbing and still enjoy the town? Is Leavenworth worth a damn? Winthrop/Twisp? They're probably all a lot nicer than Tacoma...

Any thoughts on the Tetons? Looks like there are some good routes and accessibility is good. But I've never been climbing there... Thanks for all the ideas so far.

Where's the best spot in the lower 48 for alpine climbing in December (outside of Washington)? Say you have 3-4 days to spend, where would you go? Would an ice festival be a better choice? I have some frequent flier miles that need to get spent. Right now I'm thinking of the Tetons or the Bozeman Ice fest. What is going to be the most bang for my buck?

I was up there just last week. The Quien Sabe still looked good, and the Taboo glacier was in great shape, so I would expect the Quien Sabe to be similar. Have fun.

I have July 8th-17th off work. Looking to do some 2 or 3-day trips, but I'm flexible. I was thinking of Coleman Headwall, NR Stuart, Rainier (Lib ridge?, Kautz...) but I'm always open to other suggestions. If you have some time, let me know! tyler PM me or tthirloway at gmail dot com

bump

The freezing level is dropping way down with hopefully some clear weather coming on Tuesday. I was thinking Curtis or Liberty Ridge on Rainier or Ice Cliff or Stuart Glacier on Stuart. I'm open to other suggestions too. PM me.

Ditto what chesterboo said.

I have some time off work from July 9-17 and was hoping to do a long trip. I was thinking about the Bugaboos and/or other alpine routes in Canada, or staying local - Pickets maybe? I'm open to other ideas, PM me if interested. tyler

Are there any special requirements for cutting dynamic rope? Or does the regular cut and singe work the same as for static cord? Thanks for any insight.

Thanks, this looks like some great stuff.

Thanks for all the good advice here. Since I started having some running-related foot/knee/ankle problems last year, I've been looking more into the type of shoes described here; that is, wide toe boxes and little or no arch support. Is there any more literature that someone can recommend about problems associated with over-engineered footwear, benefits of simpler, "barefoot style" footwear or recommendations for running/athletic shoes that haven't been mentioned here yet? Also, I've heard of shoes being widened before, but how or where is that done? Thanks, tyler

Nice job guys! Those are some great pics.

You're going to need a chainsaw - but it would only save you a mile and a half of walking, so...

As of yesterday, the road was blocked by trees at about mile 18.5, with a couple more downed trees across the road before the gate at mile 20. After mile 20, the road is significantly washed out in a couple places, but it's easy enough to get across the wash-outs on foot.

The start of the NE Slab route on the Tooth is partially hidden in this pic, so it's hard to tell if it's in. When I climbed it last winter, there was some reasonably good ice (I think) on the first pitch, but the second pitch was about 2 inches of unprotectable, but solid, ice over rock. Anything else, and I don't think it would have been climbable. From what I've heard, that's about as good as it gets on this route. Third pitch, from what I remember, was mostly snow... but maybe Scott remembers better than I do.

Now that summer is quickly approaching... If you had one week off for a climbing trip during the summer, what is the best destination for a roadtrip? Any type of climbing, preferably within reasonable driving distance of Seattle/Portland. Go.

I have Saturday off; probably my only day off between February and May. I was thinking a long day in the Enchantments maybe - starting Friday night or early Saturday morning - Dragontail, Stuart or Colchuck... Or maybe something shorter around Snoqualmie Pass. I'm open to other ideas too. Anybody? PM me. -tyler

I've been looking into the Cilo packs but wasn't sure about the fit. Can anyone comment on how they fit narrow vs. wide shoulders? Also, most of the people who had posted on this thread before had just received their Cilo packs and hadn't tried them out. Now that you've had some time to use them, what do you think? Thanks.

REI will take back anything they sell, including climbing gear. For the most part, the gear gets destroyed and the cost gets eaten not by the manufacturer but by the REI employees. So really, it's much better to make an informed decision on the gear you're buying and take responsibility for getting the "right" stuff.

Be careful with that. Last winter my calves got really sore after running too much, I ignored it and ended up with an achilles injury for several months. Still not sure what it was, but it was a bitch to get over. Even during the more painful stages of the injury I was still able to climb/hike with my boots on even when I wasn't able to run or even walk long distances normally. I have a feeling that with rest and stretching I would have been able to avoid it.

PM sent.

Not that it will help you much Scott, but sometime this year BD is supposed to come out with a new Cobra that will have a fang attachment.

Next week I have Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday (and maybe Wednesday and Thursday) off. I really want to get out - depending on weather, conditions etc, I was thinking Hood, Shuksan, Baker, Eldorado, Dragontail, Stuart, Colchuck, Chair, or ice climbing someplace, but I'm always open to suggestions. Anybody have some free time? PM me.