Lisa_D

Thanks for the pictures! I haven't been able to get to the mountains for awhile.. miss it a lot.

Gorgeous photography, and very appropriate for a WWU student to know how to work AND play (I'm a Western alum)! Too bad about the test.

That was a beautiful weekend, but very hot! Nuun tablets are nice for days like that. Nice climb on an amazing mountain -- probably my favorite mountain since I grew up in Bellingham.

beautiful.

Aside from the rather obvious option of skiing... Your mentality will change: you'll find yourself running for the door when the sun comes out, or even when the rain stops! In absence of money, time and energy can get you some fun. I think you can volunteer at Stone Gardens a certain # of hours per week, belaying other people or kids in exchange and get a free pass to climb. (Or maybe a discount? I don't climb there so am unsure.) There are some free outdoor practice crags at the UW Rock or the Mountaineers headquarters in Magnusen Park - the Mounties put up some new crack climbs that are apparently pretty fun and a harder workout than the ones that were there before. Volunteering at the food bank is a great way to contribute to the community and get some of your groceries for free while you're at it. They don't really answer email, but you could try showing up and ask about volunteering. Put fenders & lights on your bike and get around town on 2 wheels. There is surprisingly decent biking here. Go trail running for cross training; the woods are pretty even in the rain. Seattle has great city parks with lots of trails; see if you can visit all of them. The biggest and most interesting ones IMO are Magnusen Park and Discovery Park. Cyclocross racing is pretty fun and I'm going to try it this year. It seems a bit silly; hopping over barriers with a road bike that's wearing knobby tires?! but people seem to love it and it's a great local scene if you're into biking. Also, I like to read this weather blog, because it helps me understand the storm systems and predict when the weather will clear and where/when it will rain. The weather patterns here are actually pretty dynamic and interesting, and can be beautiful in their own way! It's more fun when you know the reasons behind the weather. For seasonal depression, get a SAD lamp for $150. I start using mine right about now and it REALLY HELPS. Sometimes you can get super cheap airfare to Vegas for a Red Rocks or Zion climbing fix. I heard November is good. I was there one March and it was a bit chilly in the shaded climbs but nice in the sun.

This is the best I have, and I don't know if it's enough detail or the right spot. From what I saw there was still snow, pretty continuous. Crampons probably a good idea if you're thinking of going up Dragontail.

We have a Surly Cross Check & Kona Jake the Snake. We have been in grad school and I just finished my masters in June. Jon is almost done with his PhD. We spent a year working our pro deals to get the gear for cheap, and saved every penny possible to afford taking the summer off. We did the 7 week bike trip for $1900 and a lot of that was spent on high quality groceries. It was totally worth it, even if we're on a bit of a spending freeze right now!

professional bike fits and nice expensive bike shorts help a lot! No overuse injuries, blisters, or saddle sores on the whole trip.

scary about that refrigerator-sized block! It looks like you had a gorgeous day out otherwise.

We rode Highway 20 from Bham to Sandpoint, then did a huge 1000 mile loop in Montana including Yellowstone and Glacier. It was an awesome and cheap way to do a long trip and we met amazing people. TR here: http://students.washington.edu/climb/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6486

yep it was crystal clear that day and I've been checking his website to see if he posted photos yet. I didn't find anything so far, but am not sure if I looked in the right section.

Wow, what an effort! You've gotten out lots this summer. Will part of you be glad when the cozy, rainy, shorter days come around?

Trip: Prusik Peak - West Ridge Date: 9/1/2011 Trip Report: After our 2 month bike trip, it's been a month of mellow, gorgeous climbs for Jon and me (though Jon has been on some much bigger trips without me). With good weather and open schedules, Jon and I headed out for a midweek ascent of Prusik Peak. At the 7:45 AM permit lottery, we were lucky enough to get a permit for the core zone, where neither of us had ever camped. This was good fortune for us, since on weekends there can be up to 18 groups vying for the permit! The familiar Colchuck Lake trail went quickly, and soon we were trudging up Aasgard Pass, which always takes a little longer than you think it will. Then, the other-worldly upper Enchantment Basin greeted us. For early September, it was very snowy. We walked through the inviting trails of the upper basin. We found a camp near Prusik. It was windy and much colder than we’d anticipated, but at least there were no insects. The next morning, we waited until the West Ridge warmed up a bit. The climb was straightforward, fun, and beautiful. We alternated leads. Here, Jon makes the ridge traverse portion look easy by walking most of it (I had carefully led this section with hands and feet..) My favorite part was leading the lieback/corner near the top. And the alpine hors d’oeuvres. From the top of the lieback corner, there’s an off-width crack that continues straight up to a tough-looking chimney. Out of bigger gear, I brought Jon up to look at it. Fortunately, by walking climbers right on the ledge, we found a shiny bolt, clipped it, and then went up faceholds to a narrow but easy chimney. Too soon, we were at the summit. Our single 70 meter rope worked decently for the rappels, but at one point we missed a helpful intermediate station and traversed across a licheny cliff, lured by the sight of shiny rap bolts below. That’s never a good sign. We reached the bolts, but when we pulled the rope, it wouldn’t budge. Sure enough, it was caught on “the horn of evil.” Jon aided up a dirty crack and was able to free the rope. He then used the intermediate rap station and came back to the bolts. Conclusion: double ropes would be nice, but if you have a single rope keep a sharp eye out for intermediate stations. Soon, we were scrambling down and found a great view of Prusik. What a gorgeous piece of granite. We dreamed of climbing the South Face, but neither of us has cragged this year and we wanted to swing leads in style. Or, family legend holds that Aunt and Uncle Abegg once climbed the WR of Prusik twice in a day. Then there was the idea of climbing it again and bivying on the summit! … Nah. This trip was not the time for such ambitions. We opted for a delicious Thai noodle dinner at camp. The third day was leisurely and enjoyable. Neither of us had been to Crystal Lake, so we went there and relaxed by its shores with a book. The solitude and silence were amazing. We hiked through the Enchantments and walked up Little Annapurna. The sky was very clear (and we saw a little yellow airplane flying over us!).. and there’s a great spot for jumping photos at the summit. From the top of Little Annapurna, we dropped 3000’ down to Colchuck Lake in just over two hours, knees and muscles burning from the steep trail. We stopped at the small lake near Colchuck for warm swimming and an early dinner. We could have pushed to hike out all at once, but it was early in the day and our bodies thanked us for having rest and food before the final 5 mile walk down to the car. The trail still went on forever, but it wasn’t too painful. See you again soon, Enchantments!

Two 50 classics in 2 days! Nice work. It's always fun to get into a new part of the Cascades.

Trip: Ruth-Icy Traverse - Date: 9/11/2011 Trip Report: Short version: Jon and I teamed up with Kevin and Doug for the Ruth-Icy traverse, a scenic alpine walk known for its gorgeous views and interesting terrain. Longer version: Despite the recent heat and sun, shorter days and a few orange leaves on the tree outside hint at autumn creeping in. After finishing graduate school and enjoying a summer of freedom, the reality of making a career in this economy was weighing on me (and my bank account). Jon is in the thick of finishing his very complex dissertation and needed to clear his mind. A trip to the alpine was in order for the Toners! We called our friends Kevin and Doug and selected the Ruth-Icy traverse. The Hannegan trail was hot, buggy, and very uncomfortable as we hiked up on Saturday. Yikes! Sometimes you have to push through discomfort to get to the rewards and perspective of the high country. I was reminded of my job search and decision making process: it can be an unpleasant slog, and it’s important to remember that something better lies ahead. We reached the base of the Ruth Glacier in four hours from the car. After a quick break, we hiked to the summit. Snow conditions on Ruth are good, with nice sun cups and softer snow on top of a firmer base. No need for crampons in the middle of the day. I can be a little afraid of snow, but the snow on this trip was very mellow, nice snow that I actually enjoyed. The moon rose over the Pickets. At Ruth’s rocky and flat summit, we camped in the company of Shuksan, Baker, Hagan, Bacon, Blum, the Pickets, Triumph, Despair, Spickard, and Redoubt. Some mosquitoes and “wanna-bees” followed us there, but it wasn’t unbearable. We used our melt/filter system to fill up on water, ate like kings, and enjoyed a vivid sunset. It was a warm night under the stars and full moon. We awoke to haze and the faint smell of smoke from the Olympic Peninsula fires. Leaving camp at 8 AM, we hiked from the summit of Ruth down a rocky class 2 ridge to the notch. Rather than going down the middle of the gully (known by some as the “death gully”), we followed good cairns down the hillside, which was a steep trail/scramble with only a few moves that required hands. It had some loose rock, but nothing bad. I think we all trundled one or two things that day, but staying close together kept us safe and worry-free. Once down, we reached the notch between Ruth and Icy. We crossed some easy snow with a great scenic background. Kevin donned crampons and hiked up the glacier (no crevasse issues on the left side of the glacier, check Scurlock’s photos from 2005). Jon wore tennis shoes and shorts for the trip, and elected to scramble the rocky ridge up the left side of Icy. Doug and I joined him. The ridge was nice, solid rock at the crest, with great views of Shuksan, the Pickets, and the wild Spillaway Glacier. We enjoyed hearing the wild glaciers rumble and watched several big cascades of ice roll down. The sounds of the alpine—glaciers rumbling, distant waterfalls, footsteps crunching —are some of the best medicines for our crowded lives and minds. The pleasant ridge took us nearly to the top of the Icy Glacier. We cramponed easily across the glacier, steering well clear of the few open cracks in the snow, reaching rock again at the wide saddle to the right of Icy’s summits. From the saddle, it was some easy snow and some class 2-3 loose rock to the base of the summit pyramid. The looseness was better when we stayed higher toward the crest, and there was always a decent path to pick out. The summit gully is the first gully you come to, light-colored, fairly clean, and obvious. It’s class 3-4, and some of the holds are a bit slabby. It was fun to climb freely and quickly up this rock. We topped out on the satisfying summit, signed the register, took a few photos, then harnessed up for the descent. I had carried our 30 m rando rope all the way up and didn’t want it to be training weight, so we tied one end of it securely to the good rap slings. 3 of us made an easy single-strand rappel down the gully. Jon cleaned the rope and soloed down. We could have down-climbed, but it might have taken longer and some of the holds were a bit slabby in boots. Bring a 60m rope to rappel with if nobody in the party wants to solo down. Here’s a picture of the gully with the guys descending. We cramponed easily down the Icy glacier, then scrambled up up up again to the summit of Ruth. Our climb of Icy was 5.5 hours round trip at a comfortable pace. We lingered for a few moments, sad to be leaving the beauty of the high country, then hiked down to the car. A quick stop at Chair 9 capped off a great trip and we were home before dark. Parting shot: Gear Notes: Crampons were helpful, even with the hot weather. Rope and harness used only for descending the summit gully. Approach Notes: flies on the trail!

Getting a permit is possible. We went to the lottery at 7:45 AM midweek and there was only 1 other party (also climbers) who wanted a permit for the core zone. We teamed up and shared the permit, but had to hike and camp reasonably close together. Weekends are probably a very different story! I've heard there are up to 18 groups who want a permit to camp in the core zone.

Ok, I'm definitely not ready for summer to be over (and it's going to be 80/sunny for the next week at least and I'm pretty underemployed right now so I can enjoy it..) but that is a great trip!

Awesome! You guys really packed it in. I want to see the Phelps Creek area. Also, it was good to finally meet you!

Excellent TR! How was the traverse underneath Whatcom Peak?

That was a really fun TR! I did a 7 week bicycle tour to Yellowstone and Glacier this summer. It's a great way to travel!

An easy 17 mile trail takes you here: the North Ridge of Whatcom Peak. (this was taken last Wednesday from Whatcom Pass). Since I don't do scary snow, this halted our attempt on Challenger, but if you like that kind of stuff this looks pretty thrilling, at least from far away! Maybe it's not so bad once you're on it. I didn't want to find out.

Amazing photographs: looking at them, I could imagine what it might be like to climb that route. Thanks for taking us there vicariously!

We scanned and emailed a copy of the park pass once, and that worked pretty well too. (you also have a record of the sent email in case they question you)

Fun trip! The col looks like it's in much better shape than when I was there last August. I had a friend go to the Bugs around this time but he reported rime ice on many routes. It looks like you hit it just right!

Great trip. It's amazing how much snow remains! If I ever climb the NE route on Pingora again I'll be sure to look for that bypass on the flare pitch.