Lisa_D

I've always wondered why they didn't put in a train... ferry would cool too.

Great place. When Steph and I climbed Wolf's Head, we got a little more than we bargained for too! Our guidebook said "this route requires a sense of whimsey" and didn't tell us much more than that. When I was following, some of the traverse pitches were a bit scary for me.

yep, we were protecting from snaffles and optimistically chose not to worry about bears.

I'm looking into Bugaboo routes too since I'm hoping to go there later in Aug. Pigeon Spire could probably be done on approach day if you started early, since it is really short. I'm in the 5.8 trad leading range too, and I'm planning to solo & simul it - don't know specifics for the rack, sorry. There are other possible short outings for approach day, like scrambling East Post spire. The Kain route on Bugaboo spire is a 5.6 with lots of scrambling (?) and it's also the descent route off the mtn, which would make it easy to turn around if you ran out of time. You could try that for your main objective. Or on your full day just go for the NE Ridge of Bugaboo and be prepared for a long outing.

Our West ridge descent consisted of simuling back to the "crux" block. Then we made 3 rappels from established stations on the north side of the crest - kind of sideways, traversing rappels, but not so bad that we were afraid of a pendulum. Then we simuled quickly down to just below the notch, where we waited and then braved down climbing/rapping the steep snow... Loose class 3 sounds better than what we went through going down that snow couloir. (The other gully to climber's left of the couloir doesn't look any better - we saw a rope that had gotten stuck there, and as Shannon said in her trip report it looks really, really loose!) The East Ledges might be unnerving because it's new territory. rapping into the unknown is always a little scary. Descending the west ridge is sticking with the devil you know... basically, there's no easy way off this mountain!

I was there in early Sept last year and the mtn had been plastered in verglas and the chimneys on the Owen-Spalding were filled with ice. We had been planning to do the Exum ridge but I opted out because I was afraid of the descent... encountering snow and ice while scrambling down 4th class gullies sounded too scary for me. My partner ended up making the climb, and she said it was freezing cold and icy in the chimneys on the way down.

very scenic!

I ran a half marathon on the 6 month anniversary of my surgery, then started climbing 2 years after surgery (had never climbed before). I waited for 3 years before skiing again, but that's because I was really afraid of re-injury and I didn't miss skiing a whole lot. To me, nothing is worth having ACL surgery again! My doctor told me that since I had a patellar graft, the tendon they borrowed from would need 3 years to heal completely. And my surgery knee is really strong, but the ACL in my other knee could be more at risk..

How about "treacherous falling chunk of ice"?

scary. Glad you guys made it out safely.

Depends on whether you want technical and off trail travel. The Pickets are incredible, but are not easy to navigate and probably require some climbing gear and knowledge of its use. Years ago, my family did a nice one-way hike in the Glacier Peak wilderness area, called Fire Mtn-Meadow Mtn, I think. The Olympic Peninsula has some great trail systems too.

Yeah, Steph! Success in the Pickets!

*Pack one more energy bar than you think you need. *I've never had my camelbak leak or rupture, but I always have a Nalgene along too. *Fortify your high camp against snaffles. *Carry a bit of duct tape. *ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a headlamp! *Don't be fooled by "easy" ratings such as the West Ridge of Forbidden being 5.6. On this (and most mountains), the rock climbing is the easy, fun part - alpine climbs have a lot more involved than a day at the crags. *Be careful descending loose gullies. Stay close, wear helmets, and only stop in sheltered areas. Be even more careful if you have to pull your rappel rope in an area with loose rock. *Read Accidents in North American Mountaineering and start to gain a situational awareness for how things can go wrong and steps you can take to prevent bad situations from starting in the first place. *Get good at using an ice axe and going down steep snow. Do not count on self arrest. In certain conditions it's not completely reliable. Think of it as a last resort, and hopefully you will prevent needing to self arrest through solid footwork, good balance, and self-belay. *Research the route thoroughly before you go. Sounds obvious, but... *Listen to your gut instinct. If something doesn't seem right, question and check the thinking of other party members, even if you feel like a newbie with nothing to offer or no authority. *The climb is only half over at the summit. 80% of accidents happen on the way down..we hear this over and over, but it's very true.

just got back from the West Ridge. Low camp- summit in 4 hours, down in 7 due to a bottleneck of climbers descending the ridge and rapping into the couloir. In hindsight, the East Ledges might have been nice... The snow bridges on the couloir are only going to get skinnier! Go soon! Snow conditions were good, even for someone like me who is cautious on steep snow - solid self belays and steps available the whole way. Take care near where rock meets snow and make sure you're on solid snow. Downclimbing the snow couloir, someone slipped on a slab that was underneath about 10 inches of snow and was very lucky to stop.

The only protective measure we took last year was to put our food on top of giant boulders. There are many around the camp areas, and they often have large sticks for hanging bags.

At the top of the snow finger in the couloir leading to the West Ridge of Forbidden, my rock shoe got bumped and fell into the moat. Purple Evolv womens' climbing shoe. Thankfully I'd already done the rock climb. We dug from both sides but couldn't quite reach it. When the snow melts out more, perhaps someone will see it?

I have several family and friends who work at Beyond. Sounds like awesome training for the guides, and a spectacular setting!!

Goat Wall in Mazama has a 10 pitch 5.9 sport route. It's ok for when everything else is rainy, but I wouldn't drive all the way over there to do it. I'd second the recommendations for Squamish!

way to get it. I was on the attempt last summer Sometime I'll have to go back and climb the thing.

amazing.

I was just there Sat. Conditions are still excellent and the trail is easy if you follow the tape. The leftward route he mentions was really straightforward and easy. All snow bridges were huge and solid. Go get it while it's good!

AMAZING pics. Brought me back to that amazing place. Too bad about the bugs - I was there in early Sept and there were none. ...why "certain death" on Pingora?

Let the speculation begin! Last season, Murphy's law was usually the best predictor. If I went climbing, it rained--but only after I'd done the approach. If I stayed home, the weather was gorgeous. Hoping for something different this year..

Temple-High Priest was my first ever multi-day climb. It was 100 degrees in L-worth that weekend. That approach is hard.

beautiful photos.