mountainmandoug

Hey my name is Megan using a friend's account, my climbing partner and I got stuck in a white out and had to be rescued off the miuntain, however our pack did not. Looking for someone to help us out and grab our bags and return to us at the trail head. It's a purple osprey and gray Deuter pack. They are located on the North Ridge route about 200 feet from the summit in the area with the cerac girl pass. When travessing over the ceracas it's located off the trail in a small snow cave. Really in need of help to get them back and offering some cash for helping is out! Please contact via my cell phone 8656968395 Also shoot a text if you plan to retrieve them!

I am free over the long weekend and I would be interested in climbing the N face of Shuksan, a rout on Cutthroat peak, or maybe something you have in mind? I have quite a few years of experience, including some guiding and I volunteer in Mountain Rescue. Probably up for leading 5.8, easy alpine ice, or whatever glacier problem comes a long. I have all the toys, located in Bellingham, with reliable car. I could be tempted by pretty much any opportunity to get out.

I am free over the long weekend and I would be interested in climbing the N face of Shuksan, a rout on Cutthroat peak, or maybe something you have in mind? I have quite a few years of experience, including some guiding and I volunteer in Mountain Rescue. Probably up for leading 5.8, easy alpine ice, or whatever glacier problem comes a long. I have all the toys, located in Bellingham, with reliable car. I could be tempted by pretty much any opportunity to get out.

Miscellanious outdoor gear for sale: I am located in Bellingham and would prefer to meet up and sell for cash, but I can ship if you will pay for it. Stoic waterproof/breathable jacket and pants. Men's size medium. Both are a very breathable 3-layer fabric, more breathable than most gore-tex. They are in good condition with some minor discolouration on the jacket. The jacket is orange and has a close athletic fit, short to tuck into a harness, with pit-zips and one chest pocket. The pants are tan, with ankle zips, a built-in belt, and one small zipper pocket. The jacket weighs 14oz and the pants 10oz. Jacket $60 Pants $40 Montbell 40 litre rucksack. A light pack ideal for alpine climbing, back-country skiing, or light overnight trips. One top pocket, two side water-bottle pockets, four compression straps. 1 1/2 in webbing belt, shoulder straps with load lifters. No frame, just a stiff foam back-panel. This pack has some wear and tear, minor cut on one of the side pockets from a sharp rock, one broken buckle that I replaced with a triglide, and general scraps. Lots of life left. $25 Outdoor products gore-tex gaiters. New never used. $25 Black Diamond gore-tex gaiters. Lightly used. $18 Mountain Equipment co-op gore-tex mitts. Designed to go over warm gloves or mittents. Not seam-taped. $15 Seattle sports dry bag. Never used. I would estimate 40 litre. $10 Montbell stretch down sleeping bag. This is and old model without a zipper to save weight. The elastic baffle make it extremely comfortable to sleep in. Weighs 1 pound 7 ounces. Originally it was rated to 28 degrees but it has lost some loft over time. The shell and liner are in excellent shape. It has been hand washed with down soap. I would say it's warmth is comparable with most 40 degree bags now. $90 Golite puffy hat. Ear flaps that velcro under your your chin and brim to keep the snow out of your eyes. Only used once. $15 REI mountain axe. 85cm. Long and sturdy, I learned to climb with this thing. Moderate use but no sign of wearing out, waiting to teach another generation. $15 Ice hammer. 50cm strait shaft. Pounds pickets very well and climbs ice better than most strait-shaft tools. $25 CAMP kids climbing helmet. Fits and adult with a small head. Used quite a lot, but no major impacts. $20

I am in Bellingham and would like to go play, either some late-season alpine rock or some moderate trad climbing. Send me a PM.

Greetings. I have Thursday through Saturday free next week and I would like to go climb a mountain, or several. Washington Pass is the first place that comes to mind as I would like to climb several routs on the Liberty Bell massif as well as wanting to climb Cutthroat and Silver Star. Or I would be interested in the North Face of Shuksan, or any number of other alpine objectives. I am open to suggestions but probably not excited about a pure glacier slog. I have been alpine climbing for about 8 years although for the last couple of them other responsibilities have kept these pursuits on the back burner. I spent a couple of years dirt-bagging and a couple of seasons guiding. I am generally comfortable and fast on not-really-technical terrain and happy to solo 4th class and climb 55-degree snow with one alpine axe. I don't mind bushwhacking and I have been to several of the most remote spots in Washington. I haven't been climbing much trad yet this summer so probably need to stick to 5.7 or less in the mountains. I am primarily interested in longish aesthetic routs to summits more than hard technical climbs. I live in Bellingham and I have pretty much all the relevant toys, along with a reliable old Honda accord. Would love to find a few regular partners to get out with this summer. I have a list of projects that I am not all that serious about and I would probably be up for your ideas. Drop me a line.

I have Thursday off and I was thinking of wandering up the West Ridge of the North Twin. I have been up it twice in summer and would like to give it a go in winter/spring conditions. Or I could be tempted to do some other mellow alpine climb not to far from Bellingham. Drop me a line if you are free that day and want to get out. Douglas

Of course all situations are different, you need to have more than one trick in your bag. I work in outdoor education, and I spend a fair bit of time teaching teenage boys basic mountaineering skills and taking them places. A few things come to mind. Most people who teach ice-axe use don't make people practice enough. Spending significant time teaching skills can make things much safer, even if it is not as fun as actually going climbing. You want people to reach the point that you can grab them from behind and throw them down the slope and they will stop themselves (I do actually do this sometimes). In a lot of snow-travel situations, the easiest way to reduce the risk is to have some skilled person go first and kick really good steps. In a lot of conditions this can make falling essentially a non-issue for those not in front. Short-roping, on snow or on rock, is vastly different than normal roped travel or simul-climbing. It is a way to lend your skills to someone else. A lot of the situations you describe are probably better handled by short-roping than by simul-climbing, but it is hard to learn without going and taking several expensive classes. On rock in particular, don't underestimate the value of actively coaching people through every move. This is common in outdoor education, where you take a student through some tricky section with them right in front of you the whole time. You make sure they use the best hand and foot holds and you might reach up and hold them in balance sometimes. The moral support that keeps them from getting scared is just as important as the beta you are giving them. It is often best not to rely on people to tell you what they are and aren't comfortable with, but instead to set the tone of the trip that it will be out on the table the whole time. Frequently asking people how they feel about the terrain, asking them if they want a belay for the next section, and offering options are all good ways to reduce the tendency of people to not ask for protection because they are self-conscious.

Has anyone been up in the Hannegan Pass/ Ruth Peak area lately. How much snow is there at the pass?

Trip: Heliotrope-Mt. Baker - Crowded hazardous area Date: 11/18/2012 Trip Report: A friend and I decided to seek some first turns of the season on Heliotrope today and found sketchy snow conditions and very high winds. The hike in showed that roughly 4-6in had accumulated overnight, and I was speculating good bonding to the previous two layers due to the cooling trend. We took the climber's rout up to the top of the rib, mostly on bare crust, only to trigger a very small wind slab just climbers right of the top. The soft slab was 6-8in deep and around 30' across by 30' feet high. The slope was facing NW by N at about 5200 feet. I'd guess the slope angle at 40-45%. The cracks propagated across the entire slab instantly and it sagged down the hill onto a level spot. No one was hurt but we were both spooked a bit and decided to descend, as did the party. I did dig around a bit with my shovel but did not do a complete pit. It was fairly easy to see the windslab on top of a mild rain-crust. My first impression was that the bottom of the wind slab was acting as the sliding layer, since the rain-crust was barely feel able and soft. In any case sheer quality was high, 1+. We started down on the windward side of the rib and a skier from another party kicked off another slab on a slope of similar aspect about 100' below. We than cautiously make our way down the windblown ridge-crest into the trees. We skied a little bit of knee-deep powder right in the top of the trees and decided to call it a day. Gear Notes: Caution, humility. Approach Notes: 4'' of slush at the trailhead. Trail not ski-able yet. Bridge over the first creek is nice.

I have a PMI Verglass that's been on lots of glaciers and lots of not-very-technical climbs. It handles nicely and seems to be wearing fine. It is pretty stretchy for crevass rescue though.

Regarding the fund for the kids and the memorial climb, count me in as well.

It really sounds like your primary issues are related to getting a good fit from your packs. This can be real hazard of buying packs through mail-order or not getting fitted properly at a store. I would strongly recommend that you find someone who knows how to puzzle out getting a pack to fit however you are built and get an idea what you need to look for fit-wise before you buy another pack. If you happened to live in Bellingham I could do it for you, I learned quite a bit about it when I used to work in a gear shop. Otherwise talk to some knowledgable sales people at a place like Second Ascent in Seattle. It sounds like you already own pretty good packs, they just don't fit right. Getting recommendations from others who are not the same shape you are probably won't be that helpful in the end.

Rumor has it that American Alpine Institute in Bellingham has a pair in there pool.

As I recall the ice section was around 450ft. We got to choose between 85 degree bullet-hard ice in the sun or 75 degree rotten ice in the shade, and chose the latter. Follower would probably want two tools, or maybe an alpine axe and second tool if they are used to climbing ice with that combination. I suppose you could break it down into 100' pitches but that sounds slow and annoying.