Raoul Duke

This is probably not in the "findable" category, but I once stripped all the junk off a Sk'alp / Petzl 8007, and replaced the heel piece with a crampon part to make a nice light approach binding. See pic. It worked well for what it was, but I gave up skiing in climbing boots long ago...

All these are spoken for assuming Nate G takes the sabertooths...I'll update the post shortly.

Changes in footwear/mountain goals have left me with several pairs of crampons I don't need. - Petzl Darts, with leverlock rears. These are getting down there, but have some drytooling in them for sure. - Petzl Irvis front sections. These are only lightly used and still sharp. They can be used with the darts rears, above. - BD Sabretooths. Full auto. Heavily used, but life in them with some sharpening. The center bars have been cut, so they won't fit more than a size 9 boot without new bars. - Stubai 10-point aluminums. Full strap. Just cleaning the closet here, throw me some beer, or a 20, etc. Thanks!

+1 for Black Peak, especially NE ridge. The snow is just steep enough to feel like you're 'climbing' snow, and the rambling on the rock ridge is fun, easy and long enough to feel like you're rock climbing. And Wing Lake area is pretty. For reference, attached is a pic of the steepest bit of snow (06/12/16). The mountains call the shots, but in my personal experience you're a little less likely to get shut down by weather in the WA Pass area than the Cascade Pass area. And up in the WA pass area, SW Buttress of South Early Winter Spire is a great 5.8 that I've always thought was a bit of a gimme, in the sense the cruxes are short, and varied. Nice route, and something to think about if you've done the Beckey on Liberty Bell and want a little more.

Pretty close to John Douglass on this one. I've been uneventfully drinking straight out of lakes above treeline, any stream above treeline, and high-flow streams below treeline in the Cascades for 10+ years. When hiking on the Olympic beaches I bring tablets, reasoning that there is a lot of human/animal activity between me on the coast and the source of that water.

Hi Jon, I can't answer your question, but I've climbed Kebnekaise by the standard route and done a couple of other summits in the area. Feel free to send a PM if you have questions!

I started using neutrinos in 2001, and have kept buying them for consistency. And now I have a rack of indistinguishable biners anywhere from 2-16 years old, so some have seen a lot of miles and a few small falls here and there, normal wear and tear. I know there are rules of thumb about ropes and slings, but curious to know what other folks do about carabiners. I was thinking of just buying a big pile of new ones. Unnecessary? Wise? Thanks!

Sold

Speaking of which, you can make a very casual two night crossing of the border, spending night one in the Cabane du Trient (Switz) crossing the Col du Tour the next day to the Refuge Albert (France) and possibly climbing the Aiguille du Tour along the way if you enjoy loose 4th class. We did it in that direction and descended to Tour, 20 mins up valley from Chamonix on day 3. Lots of gentle and non technical glacier walking. You would need crampons and an ax, a 30m rope if you want to look like a sporty professional. Looking towards the col from the Trient Hut, easy country:

Thanks for the report! How did you negotiate the 4-person party minimum/bear issue?

A steady breeze and cool temps kept them at bay for us, but they are definitely up there.

Trip: Cathedral Peak - SE Buttress Date: 7/6/2016 Trip Report: Memorized every turn on the Colchuck Lake trail? Tired of waiting for the rap stations to clear at Washington Pass? Consider strapping on those running shoes and getting your golden granite fix on the SE Buttress of Cathedral Peak. We approached via Tungsten, and while yes that means 20 miles of hiking, I know of many North Cascades approaches that are more taxing with less mileage. From a camp at Upper Cathedral Lake, we were roped up in less than 30 minutes. We also went from the summit back to Upper Cathedral Lake in less than 30 minutes. Moral of the story, once you pay the price of admission, the Pasayten is very accessible country. We thought every pitch felt kinda 5.8. We probably deviated rightwards from the standard line on pitches 2 and 6. Who cares! There are so many corners up there, and the gear is always good. Also: if the 5.9+/5.10 pitch on the headwall gives you pause, know that the "5.6 chimney" to the right (on the topo in an earlier edition of Beckey) is a natural line that climbs well and drops you at a big ledge at the base of the final pitch. We were not in a .9+ mood after 8 pitches, but if you are, the headwall is clean and proud. At mile 17, there she is: Walking under the South Face on the way to Upper Cathedral Lake: Upper Cathedral views: Pitch 1, the 5.8 way: Our pitch 2, right of the chockstone chimney: Pitch 4: An easier step at the start of pitch 5: Starting the 5.6 headwall bypass: Final moves to 4th class ground on pitch 9: Summit views to the Southeast: The easy descent:

Sounds like you made your decision based on valley conditions, but here's a pic from the summit of Black Peak, June 12, anyways: BTW, I highly recommend the Goode summit bivy if conditions are favorable and it fits your itinerary!

Trip: Stuart - West Ridge Date: 10/24/2015 Trip Report: On Saturday Kevin and I got to confirm my theory that the West Ridge of Stuart would be a fun route to do in funky, shoulder-season sort of conditions. Sure, we had a couple "where are my crampons" moments on the north side traverse, but experience with the route above the W. Ridge notch, warm clothes and a profound eagerness to descend the Cascadian and then hike over Long's Pass in the dark were all helpful to making this a pretty fun day out in the hills. A few pictures: In the morning it was fall: Then higher up it was winter: And we got some sunshine on the top:

Looks like a great trip! Love the "someone's logging, someone's not" picture.

Agree or disagree with the style, first I say hats off to Rad for sharing his rationales and wanting to start a discussion. Here's the personal take of one climber who has never done an FA, happily clips bolts if they're there, and also likes the occasional lonely and committing line in the mountains: "alpine" 5.9/5.10 clip ups have a way of all feeling the same to me. I see pictures of this new route and I think, "oh, looks like Prime Rib, looks like Infinite Bliss, looks like Condomorphine Addiction." These are far from my most memorable climbs. But I've done them, and I'm happy to have them be an exception to the rule of adventurous trad as the best way of reaching the summits of the Cascades.

This, and other TRs this summer from the less visited areas of the Enchantments, are awesome, inspiring, and much appreciated!

I'll echo the thanks for posting this Greg. The comparison to other parks makes NCNP look pretty darn weird. Folks, I don't know much about the NPS works. Is there ever venue for public comment about a given park's practices? The way there would be if a municipality decided to undertake some new policy or construction? Or is the NPS just sort of a black box that does what it thinks best absent organized advocacy, litigation, or whatever?

Little conditions bump: Inspired much by the pictures here, we were up there on 7/19. A gentle rising traverse from the Snow Dome to the farthest left pass provides access to wrap around to the summit block. We figured that was "crystal" pass, but at any rate it's easy going with no complications. Also, internet beta didn't seem quite clear on this, but a single rappel with a 30m gets you to a downclimbable terrain off the summit block. No need for a 60. Here's the current route:

Nice work guys! Regarding your picture of the start, I remember looking for a leftward traverse too, thinking that the corner directly above looked spooky from the ground with the thought in my head that there was some sort of 4th class ledge system I was supposed to be looking for. At any rate, I ended up going straight up the corner and found lots of edges and cracks, mild by comparison to the later 5.8 pitches and a nice warm up for the day.

My partner and I both carried exactly this setup on the N. Ridge of Stuart last summer and thought it was probably enough, although we obviously need to work on trigger discipline... by the time we were back in the basin we only had 10 rounds left between the two of us. Pretty unsettling to hike out Mountaineer's Creek with a depleted response capability.

Left a pair of black Mammut size XL gloves and a red/white/blue hat next to the car at the Heliotrope trailhead on Saturday Nov. 8. Money and gratitude will come to you if you happen to see them and pick them up!

Incredible that a feature like that has waited until 2014 for an FA, long approach notwithstanding. Excellent work gentleman! So, the best illegal way to get in is... helicopter?

Chris, it's clear from your writing you have the potential to be a really great internet troll, but the 3 TR's in a row makes the whole thing seem kind of amateurish! Next time, get it right the first time.

I've been having this problem lately too. I find it's easiest if you get stoked before you try to crush. If that doesn't work, I've had some luck with being super stoked as well.