mountainsloth

crazy formations!

that looks like a beautiful area. Great outing!

Trip: Banks Lake - Various Date: 10/10/2012 Trip Report: Another trip to Banks lake without seeing a single other climber or human-powered boater. Paradise is a lonely place After my last visit, there was one climb that continued to linger in my mind... PRIME CUT! taken 2011. We made a quick visit to this classic and it was just as lovely as I remember. Thank you Mr Whitelaw and Brooks. We tried a mixed line to the left of Prime Cut but found it much harder than expected. Anyone know what it goes at and who put it up? Also, these two climbs deserve a bolted 2nd pitch through hueco'ed roofs. Next mission of the day, find a camp. We aimed our canoe West figuring we would find something nice closer to the more remote walls. Within 30 minutes we found this... Exploration of the beachy saddle gave us a sweet camp, great climbing, and the obvious name of our home for 2 nights... Camp Wind Puke! It was apparent that many drunken teens made this their home as well. When the wind picked up in the afternoon we put two and two together making sure to watch were we stepped The cliff in our camp had some obvious lines. The one right above our tent and the wind puke sign showed signs of being climbed via top-rope with spots for gear above that had been cleaned out. The route has some pretty great moves with some hidden holds and tricky sequences on slightly overhung rock. Should probably be named Wind Puke, no? Figuring out the sequence on TR I only TR'ed it because it needed a bolt half way up to protect the 5.11 crux. The other two lines we climbed were new and took about 30 minutes of cleaning each before we sent them on lead. 5.9ish 5.7ish Brother making a lap on the 5.9 FYI, none of the climbs have any hardware. The next morning was leisurely with another lap on Wind Puke and then packed up the canoe for a trip to the Post Modern Wall. We had our eyes set on a 2 pitch 5.9 called Seam-iotics linked up with a 3rd pitch called Sky's the Limit. The obvious chimney, center photo ends the first pitch. my bro coming up through the chimney The book boasted the 2nd pitch as the best crack climb in Banks and I might have to agree. 60 ft of a perfect 1 inch crack with occasional features for feet! Brossif enjoying lovely fingers The 3rd pitch was a bolted slab following small edges. Fantastic! After tagging the summit, we began setting up for a rappel. The "Rock Climbs of Central Washington" guide does not mention the descent off "Sky's the limit" but we assumed you could rappel it with a 70M rope since the lower two pitches stated you could. We were wrong. I found a single bolt with very old tat that I removed and began to replace. The bolt looked solid but upon further inspection the hanger and bolt both wiggled in the bolt hole!! F that! Plan B... I slung a horizontal horn and made sure to angle my rappel in the proper direction. We thought about climbing the adjacent 10b but the heat had kicked in so we defaulted to Banks Lake's other amazing pastime, swimming and cliff diving! On the way back to camp we checked out some of the other cliffs around. We found this block perched precariously and quickly skedaddled. Back at camp, more silliness, laps on our camp crag, and dinner convinced us to crawl into the tent early. Day 3 dawned bright and sunny like every day this Summer. Feeling beat with the climbing canoeing combo, we decided to take a leisurely canoe around the islands east of us, West of HWY rock. The water was near glass and made for very pleasant paddling. camp entering the canyon between islands Steamboat rock! The canyon The potential for possible first ascents is pretty staggering. lets play a game of pick your line! There is always next time Banks is certainly a Washington climbing gem. If you haven't made it out to Banks yet, then your either missing a boat or you prefer the crowds. Gear Notes: Full rack of cams and nuts. Doubles were helpful on quite a few climbs. Approach Notes: 4+ hrs from Seattle to the Boat launch just North of Steamboat rock state park. Don't forget your Discover Pass! Canoe to the islands in the middle of the upper lake and pick your camp and route. The bigger walls (up to 5 pitches) are to the West.

yea, we walked on it only after checking out the snow tunnel. We actually approached the buttress the correct way but we were just playing around on the snow. I too heard plenty of snow breaking off it in the afternoon.

wow, looks like a grand adventure!

My wife and I made it out there about a month ago to visit sweet lady Martha. She took very nice care of us for a night. We also climbed the first 3 pitches of the buttress. the valley the buttress the giant pile of snow at the base the 3rd pitch variation another vote for at least one of the top 3 best places to climb in the PNW

cool, thanks for the info. The lookout idea makes more sense than mining but I did also see steel wiring and wooden 2x4s down low on the shoulder as well. Judging from my position, NE rib sounds about right Tyson.

Trip: Crater Mountain - Standard Date: 9/6/2012 Trip Report: I had another mid-week break with no one to climb with so I was looking for a mellow outing to a summit that offered a great bivy. Crater Mountain did not disappoint. There is basically a trail going all the way to the top of this sucker with maybe 2 moves of class 3. The route looks improbable but goes quite easily aside from the long uphill slog through a ridiculous amount of switchbacks. Aside from a few backpackers, I had the place to myself. The hike in was long but traveled through a surprisingly varied forest. Dougie Fresh with a nut Frilled Fungi Pearly Everlasting? cool mushroom/plant growth All of my favorite aspects of solo travel through the mountains presented themselves in these two days of Summmer fun. Looking south along the trail The trail brought me to a tiny and very shallow lake at the base of the south face. The trail continues West up the shoulder but I had ideas of camping near Jerry Lakes so I went right around the lake aiming for the pass between the two peaks of Crater. First views of the Jerry Glacier and the South side of Jack Mountain. That South face sure looks like sketchy crap! Since it was later in the day than I had hoped I scratched my idea of heading to Jerry Lakes and cut across the snowfield below Crater's South face back over to the West shoulder where I met up with the trail. The geology was quite interesting along the way with very unique stones. I found the trail, set up my bivy and ate an early dinner. With about 1.5 hrs of daylight left I set my eyes on Crater's summit for some golden hour time up high. Jack with Hozomeen in the background Its amazing how much mining evidence I found up there! Jack with a lonely alpine tree The alpine foliage was at times, stunning The views of Jack and the Ross Lake peaks were pretty As was the HWY 20 valley heading east. It was cool to see the contrast of dry, glacier free peaks to the NE to the heavily glaciated peaks SW of the valley. I enjoyed the summit with dessert and quickly headed back down. I rolled into "camp" just as the Sunset was hitting its peak. From my bivy I had 270 degree views of the North Cascades. Pasayaten Wilderness Mt Baker and the Picket Range area and the mind-blowing sunset West The view South was a bit washed out but included everything from Black Peak through Goode/Logan to Colonial Peak area. The next morning I packed up, and headed out, whistling goodbye to my marmot friends and smelling the butterscotch smells of the Ponderosa Pines all the way back down. Side note, anyone know what this amazing squarish rock face is S/SE of the Colonial Complex? I couldn't seem to pick it out on the N. Cascades Nat'l Geo Map. Gear Notes: quads of cams up to 6, a full rack of iron, and a lot of guts Approach Notes: Devils Dome Loop to an unlabeled spur trail that brings you underneath the S face of Crater Mtn. follow the trail up the W shoulder and follow the spray-painted signs up high (yup, I said spray-paint)

What a great day romp. Climbing in the snow is not too bad. Exposed at times, but completely doable.

nice work Andrew! Looks fun.

looks like my TR was helpful. Glad for that. I have a nack for being an easy critic. That place just makes me smile, dirty cracks or clean. Glad you guys had such great luck and good times!

every time i see photos of this place it blows my mind. it looks like Washington's own mini Bugaboos. Thanks for sharing, it looked like a great adventure.

yes, more visitors please! that place is sweet!

i climbed penny for the first time this year. the crux is definitely tricky but a hidden hold shows up if you look hard enough. Definitely worth doing if you have climbed all the others on the north butt

bits o class 5 but not sustained. I found it mostly 4th and low 5th. The gear was not plentiful or stellar anyway.

looks superb!

i wonder if everyone can be happy and only open half the road?

Trip: Mt Thompson - West Ridge - Solo Date: 9/7/2012 Trip Report: Its tough having a mid week weekend. No one is ever around to climb. Looks like another adventure on my own. Mt Thompson has been on the back-burner for just such an occasion. Weather looked iffy for an August day but figured it would at least be a nice walk in the mountains if nothing more. I took the PCT up to Kendall ridge and the catwalk. It dawned on me that I have been climbing and skiing around Snoqualmie Pass so many times but NEVER in the Summer! Red Mountain IS actually RED! The PCT was fast and easy. I made it to above Alaska Lake in a few hours. The sub-alpine forests were impressive Where is this granite coming from!? Up and over Bumble Bee Pass via a short but steep climbers trail brought me into the basin underneath Thompson. My first views of Thompson were veiled in disappointment. The mountain hid only occasionally giving me glimpses of her true self. What a tease. I began to ascend the talus and scree below aiming for the West ridge. The rock was unlike anything I have come across in my mountain travels. Look at those crystals! The clouds descended further and with them a cold, wet, and cloud-filled wind. Doubt began to weave its way in between the repetitive soundtrack looping in my brain. I reached the ridge, greeted by 30mph gusts of the same cold, wet, and cloud-filled wind, dropping temps well below what I was prepared for and cutting visibility to less than 20 feet ... but I began climbing anyway. 40 feet up, my hands began to feel the sting of the wind. I couldn't see for certain my path ahead. The doubt and unease pushed through the random melodies to the front of my thoughts and urged me to descend... so I obeyed. Working my way back through the upper part of the talus and scree disappointment set in. I sat and chewed over the growing list of pros and cons of turning around. Wait 30 minutes and see, maybe the wind will die down and the visibility will improve. I did, and it did. Back up I go, only to be greeted by the return of wind and clouds. ARRRRGGGHHH!! Frustration reared its miserable head again. This time I descended to a wall just below the ridge that blocked the wind. Again, I wait. I bide my time.... hello butt mushroom! 20 mins later it clears again... for the moment. At this point I made up my mind. The ridge is short and easy. Just GO!!! The next 30 mins are a blur of rock. Little flows through my mind except rock and the air around it. At one point the clouds and wind move back in, but there is little I can do so I let go of the unease and grip tighter to the rock. I reach the false summit and realize I need to tackle this last gorilla... Do you see him? With a last little bit of exposed climbing I am on the summit feeling like I walked through a worm hole. The weather backed off as if realizing that I had won. I am excited to see familiar names in the summit register. hello Josh and Gimp! I am also excited by the new vantage of the alpine lakes wilderness. Looking into Burnt Boot Creek valley. What a lovely waterfall! Life is good. The descent was pretty straight forward and found myself back up to Bumble Bee pass in the blink of an eye. There are two rap stations if you do not want to down climb two short 4th class sections. A notch view back to Bumble Bee Pass Back in Thompson Basin Back on the PCT I cruise the catwalk looking, listening, and smelling the fragrant air. It feels wonderful when a day in the alpine unfolds like it has today. Even the Pikas and Marmots seemed to share the joy with me. Solo climbing however easy or hard is a psychological game. Having no second opinion is tough, but in this overpopulated world, self reliance becomes a harder skill to hone, and I can think of no better place to do so than the mountains. I may downsize the objective, but the process of decision making is simplified. No other opinion matters but your own. The quiet becomes shockingly powerful and beautiful. Without the constant conversation of a partner, you open your senses to the nuances of a world so often unnoticed. For these reasons I have come to embrace my solo trips to the mountains. Gear Notes: Bring extra layers, its Fall up in the mountains! Approach Notes: PCT to above Alaska lake. Take the climbers trail above over Bumble Bee Pass.

amazing orgy!

cool! i drove through this area last year and had a feeling there must be some development.

I always wondered about the nok glacier and headwall. Didn't think it would be skiied though. Super rad.

stellar! I too am impressed with how we have ALL kept the bear population out of our human population in the Olympics. I always see them on backpacking trips, but from a distance, the way it should be. Hardcore wife, you must have found a good one. Happy anniversary.

see my squamish pics. She climbed Rock On with us

EPIC!!!!

so much granite!