Lisa_D

what a beautiful place...and a great adventure!

slogged up Baker in a whiteout...

yeah, I'm not sure what the policy is.. but it sure is tempting to drive up there, isn't it?! The bike ride down is super fun, though.

The turn off in the picture is for the NORTH twin. To access the South Twin, keep going straight past this turnoff, left at the road intersection, then to the end of the road where they've blocked it off and you must continue on a trail.

wow. that really sucks. Having something stolen is the most frustrating, helpless feeling ever.

Really scary.. as a new trad leader, this is what I'm hoping to avoid.. Wow. Glad everything worked out for the best, though!

Trip: Twin Sister Range - North Twin Sister, West Ridge Date: 7/1/2007 Trip Report: Sunday, five of us climbed the North Twin Sister, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. This was my second ascent of the peak. The first, exactly 13 months earlier, was actually my first-ever climb. It was fun to compare my two experiences, and see how much more I enjoyed the exposure and challenges of the climb! Starting at 8:30, we biked up the logging roads, which are nicely graded but then turn to single track. Rumor has it that the gates are open during the week from 8-5. We saw someone's SUV parked up there, and are not sure which route they took to get in. At 10:30 we locked our bikes, then spent an hour accidentally scouting out the approach for the South Twin. The map we had showed several trails, but is outdated. I felt kind of silly for not remembering the turn from my climb the year before, but I guess I wasn't paying attention! Look for the log and the cairn. THIS, my friends, is the correct turn for the North Twin: By 11:30 we were back on route, hiking up a steep and slightly overgrown trail. At 1:00 we were scrambling the delightful west ridge. The rock is wonderfully solid, abounding in good holds and fun, challenging variations. For the best exposure and fun "class 4.5" moves, stick to the crest rather than the lower climber's path. At 2:30, we reached the summit. Glorious views abounded, and we relaxed there for an hour. Two of the guys are Swiss engineering interns--they brought amazing chocolate to share and claimed to be the first Swiss party to summit the mighty North Twin! At 3:30 we began our descent, downclimbing the ridge for 100 feet or so, then plunge-stepping and glissading down the north face. The snow is still in decent shape, although some wet slides happened, revealing harder snow underneath. Definitely bring an axe, especially as the melting continues this week. We got to the bikes and flew down the hill, arriving at the car by 5:30. We all had a great time. Highly recommended for a quick, enjoyable day trip. Great variety, scenery, scrambling, and an exhilarating bike ride down! Sometime soon, I'll be back for the South Twin! Gear Notes: bikes, ice axes, Swiss Chocolate. Approach Notes: good beta here, on my cousin's webpage: http://sabegg.googlepages.com/northtwinsistertripreport

looks beautiful!

Yeah, my finger dexterity suffers a bit sometimes, and I have issues with my back and shoulders. But the bigger issue is being distracted by climbing and not having a consistent practice routine. you're at UW? Are you involved in the music program there at all?

that's too bad.. I was hoping to do Hadley as a nice day hike. It's supposed to be a nice trip!

nice trip--this is definitely on my to-do list!

scary--glad you guys didn't get it. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll add another vote for login problems. Thanks for asking for input!

sweet! way to go, you two!

and good times were had by all!

looks amazing. Way to go! Steph, I look forward to seeing you when you get back and hearing more about your climbing!!

Goddess? lol. It was mostly hard work. I've played since age 7 and spent the past 4 years practicing 2-4 hours a day.

I'm a violin performance major (although I've been slacking recently because of climbing). I've been wanting to play this piece for years and now I've finally started it! What a project.

Getting rained out in Leavenworth= fast conditioning hike to Nada Lake. Great workout..but let's have some sun already!

Endless talus fields. Followed by more talus. Impromptu North Cascades bushwhacks. Being a mosquito magnet.

I've been into Sibelius lately. I'm playing his violin concerto, so have been listening to a lot of other things he wrote.

I will be sure not to do that one...glad you escaped unharmed.

That first pitch of Overexposure looked fun...but I wouldn't want to lead it either!

Trip: Liberty Bell - Beckey Route Date: 6/2/2007 Trip Report: Saturday, June 2, Lee (kwangkoo) and I climbed the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell. It was our first climb with a partner of similar experience and strength, as opposed to tagging along with more experienced climbers. Really fun to figure things out for ourselves! Starting out from the Blue Lake trailhead at 7:15 AM, we kicked steps up the gully. We made good time to the Liberty-Concord notch. Enjoying the view, Lee took an artfully-framed shot of Silver Star: I took the first pitch--my first alpine lead! The climbing was easy, but it felt fun to be on the sharp end of the rope after following all spring. Lee led the second, awkward chimney pitch. He styled it, even while wearing the pack, which he'd forgotten to give me at the belay station! After the third pitch, we soloed to the summit. We enjoyed spectacular views, eating lunch and chatting with Joe, Sam, Tamora (sp?), and Steve (goatboy), a fun group of people who seem to have done a lot of great climbing. Turns out I met Joe and Sam in the Eldorado parking lot last June--small world! Originally, we'd intended to climb the North Face of Concord Tower as well, but the bottom pitch was wet and Lee was craving a PBR. So, down we went, plunge-stepping and glissading, taking a bonus detour through the Early Winters creek drainage and coming out on the road a half mile from the trailhead. Happy with our climb, we relaxed at the parking lot (ok, I admit, PBR tastes good after a climb, especially with chips!). A really fun day on a classic route--more climbs to come! Gear Notes: Don't forget slings like we did, or you'll have to use clunky old webbing! Approach Notes: Gully still filled with snow, but things are melting out fast--Significant change since I'd been in the area a week earlier.

Thanks, I actually took the pictures. That sunset was pretty great. ...Being the photographer was the least I could do when Blake and mythosgirl were such fine ropeguns!