mountainmatt

I am looking to head up to Darrington this weekend and I would like to clear out the remaining trees blocking the road to the 3 O'clock trailhead. Does anyone have a good saw or a chainsaw that I could borrow for the weekend?

Nice work guys Looks like a nice route with a classic Beckey approach Glad the rock didn't take you down the slabs there Tim

Sweet! Way to get on it It must have been pretty fun to walk in the 50-60mph gusts How was the snow up top?

Way to go on the road block! There are probably about 5-10 more trees until you hit 3 O'clock TH. There is a HUGE pile of trees there to go further up towards Green Giant Buttress and other walls. Not sure about the deadfall left on the road to Exfoliation dome though...

Hey Eiji, Great seeing you guys out there as well! Sorry about the ice, but we all lost when that really big one came down from above (my left elbow is nice and swollen from a softball of ice). We have a few pics of you guys, PM me if you want them. There were only two teams on it, but about 100 people on the east ridge!

Did the route on Sunday (5/31/09) and its still in pretty good shape. The warm temperatures definitely make it a little sketchier, but the ice is still there and takes good screws. Go get some!

Nice work up there! Its always great to see pictures of the valley

Looks like a sweet trip guys! Don't you think you were sewing up that anchor a little bit?

Sweet! Looks like you guys had a great time up there. Thanks for all the shots of the conditions on various peaks

For those of you interested in climbing the $8000 route Eurpora, that is closed as well.

Headed up on Sunday to climb Silent running with my friend Martha. Approach: It takes an additional 50-60 minutes to get to the 3 O'clock parking lot (which will get easier as more snow melts). The trail to the base of 3 O'clock is in pretty good shape with only a little snow at the end. Martha and I cleared all of the trees from the road that we could move without a chainsaw on the hike out, but there are at least 5 that require a saw or multiple people to move. There is also one large rock that will require a couple of people to move it. Route: The first half of pitch 1 is totally under snow. Since there is little gear here, we just cruised up to the first belay and started from there. The rest of the route is dry with pitch 7 being a bit mossy. Such a fun route! The tree / avalanche that blocks the road (it will take a lot of sun or a ton of shoveling to clear it) Walking the snowy road Trees blocking the road beyond the 3 O'clock parking lot Base of silent running Exfoliation dome is melting out nicely

Absolutely Kevino! Props to Caldwell and company I was down there recently and watched them working on some of the higher pitches (it snowed later that afternoon). They were definitely adding bolts to a large featureless slab up high...

I just always go with the split it rule. Whether its poorly placed, you are bailing, etc. You are partners on the route together, so I figure its a 50:50 kinda thing. But Ivan is right, its always better to discuss these things over

Looks like they made it a little harder / more expensive to stay in Squamish this summer... http://www.mountainproject.com/v/pacific_northwest/squamish_chief_camping/106425374

Depends on how well you and your partner can swim Under these conditions you should just go cragging.

Awesome photos and TR! Nice trip for sure You didn't like Otto's route though? I thought it was pretty fun (especially the top out).

Eeek gads man! Glad you are ok!

Fricken sweet!

Just plain ol' awesome man! Makes me want to save up for a trip up there next year

Was the road to that point passable by a normal car or do you need high clearance? Not that much, maybe another 10 minutes or so?

I tend to agree with you eric8. Another example is the fifth force.

Trip: Yosemite - Various Date: 4/18/2009 Trip Report: I just returned from spending 7 days in the valley with my buddy Evan. We were treated to perfectly sunny days, mid 70 degree temperatures, and small crowds. Day 1: Link of ‘the Surprise’ (5p, 5.10a) to Selaginella (4p, 5.8). The first two pitches of the surprise were nothing special, but pitches 3 and 4 provided some fun finger cracks to the “surprise” slab exit. Salaginella was absolutely fantastic! Four really fun pitches that end about halfway up the upper falls trail. Day 2: Five open books including Munginella (3p, 5.6), Commitment (3p, 5.9), The Caverns (5p, 5.8). Munginella was a really fun and relaxed warm up for the day, definitely a classic. Commitment was also an excellent line that involved a difficult ‘committing’ move to exit the 5.9 roof section. The Caverns was the worst of the 4 routes we did on the Five open books cliff; the first pitch was wet, the third pitch was dirty and covered in biting ants (which were stirred up by a party ahead of us), followed by a wet and dirty fourth pitch, and a dirty loose “4th class” exit pitch. Day 3: Higher Cathedral Rock – Northeast Buttress of (12p, 5.9). This was a great route that worked me over. The opening pitches went without any trouble and we were at the base of pitch 6 by about noon. From here, the route is very exposed and the hard pitches are just beginning. The 5.9 finger crack was challenging but fun which led us to the base of the chimneys. Pitches 7 and 8 were full on chimneys that involved almost every trick on the book. I was exhausted by the time we hit the super exposed traverse on pitch 9. Pitch 10 was a nice long wandering series of features that led us to yet another offwidth / chimney pitch. We broke this last section into two pitches for rope drag and topped out just in time to watch the sun going down. A great route overall, but the chimneys definitely kicked my butt. Day 4: Much needed rest day. Showers, pizza, beer, and relaxing in El Cap meadows watching teams on Salathe and the Nose, as well as someone putting up a new free line near Reticent wall (Caldwell and Potter were both in town). Day 5: Lower Cathedral Spire – South by southwest (6p, 5.11a). Another awesome route! The approach is not pleasant as there really is no trail. Pitches 1-3 are relaxed 5.6 / 5.7. Pitch 4 provided a fun 5.9 section to a bouldery 5.10d with HUGE exposure. Pitch 5 provided a very hard 5.10 section of hand crack to a fun 5.11a lieback section. The remaining pitch wandered to the top and involved a nice tunnel exit (reminded me of the south face of Prussik a bit). There were fantastic views from the top in great weather. Day 6: Middle Cathedral Rock – Central Pillar of Frenzy (5p, 5.9). This is one of the best routes that I have ever done. Every pitch was excellent, the cracks took great pro, and there were fantastic views of the captain all day. There was still a lot of snow at the base which shortened the first pitch by about 40 feet. Day 7: Cragging at Church bowl. It started raining somewhere around 3 or 4 AM that morning, but we still wanted to try and get some climbing in. While the cracks were really wet, after French freeing the leads, we still got on some TR lines. The valley Leaning tower North dome, Royal arches, half dome Salliginella from the lower falls area Pitch 1 of Salliginella Pitch 3 of Salliginella Pitch 4 of Salliginella Half dome Approximate route of NEB Base of NEB Pitch 4 of NEB Pitch 5 of NEB Upper section of NEB Pitch 10 of NEB Upper and lower cathedral spires Matt on top of the lower cathedral spire El cap Central pillar of frenzy Gear Notes: Trad rack, rope, beer, and expensive valley pizza

Next time you go to Vantage, just bring one of these:

Nice work on Lev29! I was hoping to get on it this year but didn't get a chance.

I am in. I will throw in some gear to swap as well.