Whatcomboy

Nice. In no time those lads will be waiting for the 'old man' to catch up.

"crepuscular sky"?, I had to look that word up.

Wow! Nice pics. That is a great trip.

Ya got to admit, CC is a tough crowd.

Good for you summiting. Mount Rainier Rocks!

Trip: Grand Teton - Upper Exum Date: 7/18/2012 Trip Report: A road trip to Grand Teton National Park got the 3 of us to Jenny Lake ranger station where we got a back country permit from very helpful climbing rangers with good beta for the mountain. Hiking in the next day we set up the tent in the moraine just as a good hail and thunder storm blew over. A 4am start got us to the saddle just as sunrise showed the upper mountain. Pictures do not do this mountain justice. The approach was not obvious but finally found the Wall Street ledge where we roped up. Dark clouds caused anxiety as we headed up interesting, not too dificult climbing with good exposure. We had the route to ourselves until close to the top where we met another 3 person team and joined them at the 13,770 summit in clear skies. We headed down to the rap station together for a single rope rap followed by a double rope rap to the exit gullies. Glad for no thunderstorms because we were late getting off. Had planned to climb the Middle Teton the next day but took a rest day instead then hiked out. Took a boat shuttle across Jenny Lake and climbed 11,400 Mount St. John. Would like to come back as there are a lot of peaks in this range to climb.

After 4 trips into the Pickets by various routes with the same partner, I have always wondered about the speed and difficulty of going for help alone. Sounds like you did a good job rescuing your guys.

Great suggestion -- i wonder why I've never done this I agree. Some of my most fun times have been climbing on these smaller, less committing peaks. They are gems in beautiful surroundings.

Sig, just plan on early to mid July for good weather and post up for a partner here, somebody I'm sure would go with you up Baker, Rainier, Shuksan, etc...

Trip: South Early Winter Spire - Southwest Arete Date: 7/4/2012 Trip Report: Got to Blue Lake parking lot at 8am and found it all plowed out. Discovered I made a huge rookie mistake of forgetting my sunglasses. Doh! A skier showed up and gave me a beater pair of not so dark shades to wear. Figured it be ok since we'd be on rock most of the time. If traveling up high on glacier all day it would have been a no go. Anyway, it's snow all the way to the base of SEWS. The first couple moves are the crux with mellow climbing, some simo, fun short chimney move, a little scrambling then across the whale back which has a new bolt if you need it. The whole route takes pro real well. Warm and sunny on top in tee shirts. We were followed by a guide with two clients. Some downclimbing with 3 raps gets you down. As we were hiking back out two guys we had talked to on the way up were slowly decending the snow gully from Liberty Bell. One slipped and slid into the rocks, bounced back onto snow, slid some more and back into rocks. I yelled to them a couple times and finally answered back OK. Whew! That gully stays icy cause it doesn't get much sun. Take an ice ax if heading for Liberty Bell. chimney whale back Liberty Bell Summit West Gear Notes: small rack, took 60m rope but could go shorter

Way to go Sig. Glad you had success. What's next?

O.K. which one of you guys snuck in and climbed the ferris wheel at Seattle waterfront? http://mynorthwest.com/11/697964/Great-Wheel-claims-climber-not-part-of-publicity-stunt

What? Sorry to hear this. I have much respect for the climbing Rangers.

I never leave home without them. For snow slogging you just get in a rhythm. Coming down steep slopes this old guys knees like em.

I didn't know him but reading about Mark I feel he was a great man. My condolences to Mark's family.

Way to go Ben. You should be happy.

Somebody should build one of those jingle trucks around here just for laughs.

Another amazing TR Dan.

Good attitude. We have done that before. Poke the head out of tent, socked in or raining, bummer. Catch a couple hours of sleep, look again and clear sky, go for it.

Thanks for the updates and work. Hope to ride my bicycle from Bellingham to Winthrop this summer.

Never had a problem yet with any quality lightweight tent that time of year camping at Muir. Shelter works but much prefer the tent myself. 15or20 deg. bag. Plan on biggy crevasses.

Funny, I'm on Kauai Island right now, checking my favorite site for latest stuff back in PNW and I read this. Heading over there tomorrow for a hike and exploring.

Good slide show.

Yup, that gondola website is a slick one. I'm sure many of the locals will support it. Tourism, progress, jobs, etc. Heck I'd probably ride it except it will cost too much. Every time we climb Ranier my buddy from Europe says if this was the Alps we'd ride a gondola up to Muir Hut, drink beer and then start walking. Beautiful British Columbia, where we cut it, drill it, mine it...

Stay out of the Cascades will ya.