jared_j

Nice! Glad to see you got it done!

David, I am interested in 11th-13th if you're still around. I'm 28, consider myself very fit, have plenty of glacier travel and rock climbing experience. I can climb 'till Sunday, and would also be interested in adjacent summits. If you're still free, give me a call on my cell at (858)945-2475. I live in Seattle. Jared

I had a trip planned, and after asking me to juggle my schedule, my partners have now fallen through completely. I have days off of work tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, and it would be nice to get out. Right now, I'm interested in strenuous but technically moderate alpine objectives - NE Ridge Triumph, E ridge of Inspiration, Stuart N Ridge, Early Morning Spire. I'm also open to suggestions. Weather is choice, let's take advantage. I'm a Seattle dweller, lead 5.10 at the crags, 5.9 is my comfort level in the alpine. Let me know ASAP if you're interested in getting out starting on Thursday. My email is janowiak.jared@gmail.com.

I had a big trip planned originally for Wed-Sat; my partners now need to do Thu-Sun, and I've already got tomorrow off and I'm not lookin' to go to work. I live in Seattle, and I'm thinking either cragging at Index or maybe Infinite Bliss on Garfield (if you're experienced and comfortable with simulclimbing). I consider myself solid on trad at 5.9 and bolts at 5.10. I'm 28, fit, and open to climbing with someone who is similar for IB, or just about anyone who wants to hit up Index. Email me at janowiak.jared@gmail.com if interested.

PM Sent.

Introspect about what kind of climbing you enjoy; what is aesthetic to you. There are so many routes that receive praise from the Beckey, Nelson, and Kearney books that are also 'hard'. I ask myself what looks like a good line, what sounds like fun climbing, what receives praise from people who got on it. Taking this approach to selecting climbs has led me not in the direction of the scariest/poorly protected/loosey-goosey (e.g. Index, Nooksack) but surprisingly towards some climbs that are not as challenging technically but just hella fun. If fun for you equals hardcore all the time, well, then ignore this comment. Also, there's tons of Pickets beta on the web if you google it. Check out Wayne Wallace's homepage, Steph Abegg's page, the big traverse trip report written by Theron Welch, et al. No shortage.

I was able to drive all the way to the trailhead. I've got a low-dragging Corolla that took a few dings to the tailpipe on the way up, and the gravel/dirt/rock road is loosest where it is steepest. It would be way less stressful with a 4WD. Otherwise, no blowdowns, no ruts that presented any problems passing. The road labelling is a little confusing. You want FS 4096, which is the next road you can turn on heading north on Mountain Loop Highway after you pass 4080 (which is the Elliot Creek / Goat Lake access).

Used the Bedal Creek approach this past weekend to approach Sloan but was shut down due to weather. Good trail the whole way, easy to follow, maybe 2 hours to the basin below the northern edge of the 'West Face' as described in Beckey. We were back there wanting to get to the south side of the mountain, and planned on cross-country over the three flanks shown on the USGS quad to get to the southeastern edge of the peak. We made it up to the first flank (trail goes all the way to the saddle here) and hung out before turning around due to rain/snow. We saw a good dusting of snow on the trees higher up when the sky briefly cleared on our way up. Shortly after we left, we got hammered by serious rain and hail. My guess is that there's some fresh stuff up there on the rock.

Sorry; to be more clear, the Daniel glacier on Mt. Daniel. Those pics are informative. Looks like a nice hike/scramble still. Thanks!

Anyone been up the Daniel glacier lately? Are there a bunch of cracks open on it?

The first pic here is the Colchuck glacier as seen from the base of Serpentine a few weeks ago; might be a little thin for climbing. FYI; maybe you're thinking a different route, though.

Viewing the arguments of this debate in context of the actors involved is useful for making sense out of the whole thing. (1) There is a history of climbing clubs as a means for some people to learn climbing technique and network with other climbers; this book describes some of that history in case your skeptical of this assertion. (2) These clubs exist due to a large investment of time and energy from some subset of their members. In certain cases, such as the WAC and The Mountaineers, there are tangible assets such as cabins and publishing operations. (3) As organizations with tangible and intangible assets, these clubs tend to operate from a paradigm of promoting safety easily and efficiently to new members in the forms of classes. The skills taught in these classes are legitimate and useful, even if they do not take the students up to the state of the art of practice. (4) Some people are critical thinkers, some are not. Much as some people take a couple of courses in college on a subject and consider themselves experts, some people will walk away from being instructed in a method thinking that it is the method. Some people may also teach as though that is the case. The Mountaineers (or the WAC, or the Bushwhackers, or the Boealps) cannot help it if their students walk away from their courses rigid-minded. I posit that such rigidity has its roots in personality traits and experience of life to date, much less than a recreational course taken as an adult. My point? People who are open-minded and critical thinkers are likely to view instruction (organized in a course, from a guide, from their homies, or even just reading FotH ) as an addition to their toolkit for the mountains rather than gospel. I don't think blame for people being rigid can be laid at the feet of the clubs.

Holy sh*t you got hit by lightning? That's a major notch in the 'mountain hardman' category. Great pics! It'd be fun to get out on another climb with ya.

bump - can I single rope rap down the N Face without leaving gear (besides webbing/rings) and without tricky downclimbing? Thanks!

Thanks for answering the questions about water availability. Can the route be rapped with a single rope without leaving gear (besides webbing, rap rings)? Guidebooks suggest doubles, but we'd like to go with just one.

The Cold Cold World Valdez is not quite as light as the MEC pack, but is quite bomber, has very comfortable shoulder straps, and a nice slim profile. I use mine all the friggin' time. I like the concept of the Cilogear packs, but in practice I did not prefer their strap setup.

Very sobering having two accidents take place on the route after recently getting on it. Condolences to her loved ones.

The Suunto X-Lander is issued to some enlisted military folk. It is, in my opinion, way more durable than the Vector. It has got a very good scratch-resistant crystal face. If you poke around on craigslist, you can find one. Searching "Suunto X-Lander craigslist.org", I found a guy in North Dakota to sell me a slightly used one for less scratch than a new Vector. YMMV

I know, I know, another Serpentine Arete trip report. I had been itching to do this route for awhile as a barometer for my ability / readiness to jump on some bigger routes. Wayne1112 was parter-less for the weekend, and agreed to get out with me. The weather was great, we didn't hit any snags, and overall it was a great day in the mountains. We left the already crowded Stuart Lakes / Mountaineer Creek parking lot around 5:15am, making quick time up the trail to Colchuck Lake and up into the basin below Dragontail. By the time we made our way up alongside the very melted out Colchuck glacier, we discovered there were 3 parties ahead of us on Serpentine, and 3 parties were headed up Backbone. Cool Views of melted out Colchuck Glacier and Colchuck Peak: While eating and drinking getting ready to climb, it was cool to ponder the more serious routes over on the slabs west: Wayne and I agreed that it'd be optimal to try and pass the parties as quickly as possible. It was also friggin' cold in the shade, and neither of us wanted to hang around - my hands were numb just from touching the rock scrambling up! There is solid 4th class terrain slightly left of the beginning of the route we were able to quickly scramble to overtake the first two belaying parties. From there, Wayne led a pitch up to the base of the good pitches. Here we met another party. It appeared the party's leader on the pitch, Lisa, was taking a line up a dihedral on the left. There was a sweet handcrack in a corner that appeared open; I started up it. Lisa merged over to it, and so I hung out off of a piece. She was very unnerved by our attempt to pass her, and wasn't shy about letting us know. She had some choice words, and I think we made her feel very uncomfortable by attempting to pass. Sorry! It's the way of the world on easily accessed moderate terrain. Wayne led the next fun pitch, then we transitioned to simulclimbing the rest of the route. I asked to be on the front of the rope, feeling that the stronger and more experienced partner (Wayne) should second. This worked well, I occasionally got a quick belay at a short 5th class step. It was pretty chilly out, and I was grateful for the near continuous movement to stay warm! Cool view of the lake from higher up on the route: We tried to climb a fun finger crack just below the summit, but after about 40 feet it got mossier, steeper, and the smearing opportunities quickly vanished. Wayne's speculation about it's difficulty made me a little nervous about getting up it even on TR, but fortunately I was able to clean it without event, pendulum over to the easier ground, and top out. Here's a pic of Wayne on it: After this fun diversion, we were on the summit at noon. It was nice to finally have the sun warming us up after climbing a few hours in the shade. Cool view of the Dragontail summit ridge: Mount Stuart + my hand: After a half hour of eating lunch and packing up, we start to descend the backside. There's awesome views down into the Enchantments here: We took tennis shoes, aluminum 'pons, and a single ski pole each. I was a little nervous heading down the steep snow slope on the backside, but I'm relatively new to the whole tennis shoes / strap-on crampons thing. I'd advise at least crampons and a ski pole to anyone heading up there with approach/tennis shoes right now. If you hit the snowfield later in the day (we were going down 12:30ish), it might be softened up a little more by the sun and easier to negotiate sans 'pons. Before bitch-slapping your knees, Aasgard Pass gives you a nice view down to the lake: Also cool are the awesome views of the eastern / northern aspects of Dragontail from the Aasgard descent: We got down to the lake and re-fueled, heading off around 2:15 and making it back to the car by 4:15. I was very happy with doing this route 11 hours car to car; it was faster than I expected. I am also appreciative of Wayne, a far stronger and experienced climber, roping up with me and accomodating my comfort level in terms of when to belay and when to simul. Unsolicited words of advice to aspirants of this route: IMHO, this route rewards the swift-moving. Being fit, comfortable running it out a bit more than you would at the crag, quickly constructing adequate anchors, and simulclimbing smoothly all contribute to having a good time on this climb. Placing pro every ten feet, trying to construct John Long - approved anchors, and belaying each pitch would make this climb tedious and less fun. I say this as someone aspiring to bigger and more challenging climbs. That said, it can be (it was for me, anyways) a great experience and confidence builder.

From "The Eiger Sanction" - something like... Older/wiser climber: "If we continue, we're sure to die..." Younger/brasher climber: "Yes, but we shall go forth in style!"

Looking for a partner to climb Serpentine Arete on Dragontail Saturday August 2nd car to car; tons of folks want to do it, no one I know seems to be free this weekend. We're both likely to have a good time if: you're fit, know how to move fast, solid on 5.8+ in the alpine, comfortable simulclimbing low angle 4th / 5th. (These all describe me). We likely wouldn't be a good match for this outing if you're : a weirdo, not solid on gear placement and anchor skills, inexperienced in the alpine, haven't climbed in a long time but read the internet a lot. (These don't describe me, at least I think I'm not a weirdo). I'm in Seattle, can drive, and looking to head out after work tomorrow (Friday) evening and get a very early start (like 4am-ish). If you're interested, PM me (preferably with a contact #). I'll check this evening.

PM Sent

Anyone tried this? Are conditions on Boston Basin approach tough right now? I haven't been up there this year, the guidebooks allude to lots of stream crossings and I'm concerned with the high snowpack year that what might normally be little streams are flowing heavily right now. Also, how stressful is the 'loose 3rd/4th' traverse off this route? Thanks!

Anyone know of an ice axe that has a hammer instead of an adze that is as long as a more typical glacier - walking piolet rather than a technical ice tool? The BD Venom and Grivel Air Tech Evo seem to be only available in shorter lengths. I think such a tool would be handy for summer alpine rock routes in the Cascades where one might carry an axe for approach purposes but also may need to place a pin or two. I never seem to use the adze anyhoo.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, the Beckey guide description of the Tooth's north ridge looks good. Infinite bliss might also be a decent idea; might as well see what all the fuss is about..