woodchips

One more piece of evidence that Bellingham Mountain Rescue is moving into the 21st century: we've now got a Facebook page! Keep an eye on us there for info on next years calendars and great fundraising events including !

Were you able to drive to the trailhead? How far is the road driveable?

Yeah, you need something to help pass those long nights in the snowcave this time of year!

That's what I've been doin, and may continue... just hoping there was something out there I was missing. Alot of the patrollers up at baker are using these: [img:center]http://www.gemplers.com/img/kinco-gloves-pigskin-22760.jpg[/img] Might give them a try for skiing.

I realize this may be a bit like the search for the lost city of gold, but I'm in the market for a new pair of gloves for skiing and climbing. I'm thinking a waterproof shell with removable liners would make the most sense (like BD guide gloves?) Those may be overkill, and rumor has it, not all that waterproof? I do want: waterproof (duh!), long gauntlet, and some color other than black, so I don't lose 'em in the bottom of the sleeping bag in the middle of the night. Ideas? Should I just stick to carrying two redundant pairs of insulated gloves rather than trying to have one pair of shells with two liners?

huh?

You can pop many locks with application of a simple crowbar and/or Z-angle pin stack. Makes getting locked in or out a non-issue unless you get caught in the act. Actually, not to harsh yer lock-poppin' buzz G, but most of those gates are locked with not one, not two, but 4 or 5 locks, and moreover are encased in these little fortified enclosures that Norman Schwartzkopf would have trouble penetrating. What he said about not busting locks... It's not going to help the situation in the long run. A slight tangent, but those multi-lock gates, in my experience, will open by unlocking ONE of the locks; there are multiple locks there for multiple users. That way if one user changes locks, not every user group has to change locks.

MEC has 'em.

What do y'all use a haul loop for? Trailing a second rope? I always climb on doubles when there's two followers, so maybe that's why I've never cared about a haul loop? Seems like you could always tie a piece of cord back there instead.

Found a single ski brake on the trail to Yellow Aster Butte, before turnoff to tomyhoi lake.. Not sure what brand.

Poor snow? What kind of poor snow? Sound like it's going to be pretty warm this weekend.

How much hiking from the trailhead till you hit snow and can start skinning? worth bringing running shoes for that section?

Biked/skinned it about a month ago. It's not bad. It's probably a total of 6 miles from the "official" parking to the washout. We were trying for a car to car trip, which made for a pretty long day, even though we turned around at Pumice ridge due to weather.

You can approach Cathedral Peak from the Chewuch river as well. It's a lot shorter drive than from the tonasket side. (It's about 30 - 45min north of Winthrop.) We did it last year via andrews creek about this time, and saw very little snow, and few people. One of my favorite trips. Ever.

The upside to this is fewer crowds on the coleman glacier side. We were up there yesterday, and saw no one on the CD. It's about four miles and 2000' from the washout to the trailhead, and bikeable nearly to the trailhead. Another week and you should be able to bike all the way.

So, are you saying that you can drive to the trailhead in a 4wd? Does anyone know when the construction starts up there?

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I've definitely seen tents in the area above bagley creek, very near the ski area (park at the upper lodge for this). It's FS land, so I don't think there's an issue with it. You might check with ski patrol up there so you don't get run over with a snow cat or anything. They're really friendly, and would likely point you to a good spot.

Grant, The NWAC site is the standard for forecasts around here; however, as the forecasts tend to cover all of western washington, the canadian forecast for the south coast of BC can be just as useful since Baker is so close to the border. Also, check www.turns-all-year.com for trip reports. Definitely the place that gets the most current reports, and is often cited on the NWAC site.

Any feedback on the new edition of the Red Beckey Guide? What's different? Worth checking out? I've got the 2nd edition, but of the beckey guides, it's the one I use the most, so wondering if I'm missing out without the new one.

BMW @ Backpackinglight.com

How about this stuff?: "climbing equipment" for sale on craigslist. Sounds like they don't know what they've got, didn't post a pic, and ask for "cash only". It's on whidbey. Anyone lose anything at Erie?

Thanks, Tony The question marks are a bit troublesome, but the terrain there doesn't look bad. That map is great! May spur some ideas for more adventures.

As of sunday (3/8), The road is plowed to the 8 mile marker (there's a campground there, dont remember the name.) Looks like people had continued to drive up the unplowed road from there (3 or 4 inches of snow.) Not sure how much further you can drive, but you can get to the Lookout Mt./ Monogram lake trailhead.

I'm interested in doing this traverse, as well. My thought is to start at Diablo, head out stetattle ridge, climb W Mcmillan, and exit Goodell Creek. We're thinking of either the W ridge or N face of Mcmillan; any thoughts on the feasibility of getting around either the N or S side of Mcmillan to the base of these routes?

I just talked to the county, and they said they THINK it's plowed to the seven mile marker.