OrygunJim

This seems like one of the few areas people go and have an AMAZING time not reaching their initial goals. Instead they succeed in a completely new and compelling way. What a huge payoff just being in a beautiful place that so few will ever see and sometimes these high camps make the trip when the gear has to stay in the pack. I think it's one of the more interesting aspects of Alpinism to find such satisfaction in "plan B". Much respect to you two for putting in major work in a big snow year up there. BTW Jeff, that helmet looks way sexier on you than it ever did on me.

The difference between Alpinist and Climbing at my house is that Climbing goes straight to the bathroom and Alpinist never, never leaves the den. Also...props to Wayne for the well-deserved recognition. He's worthy of a bio piece in Alpinist as far as I'm concerned.

Hey J, Long time no see. I was down there last year and can probably provide a little insight and lots of pictures of both Frey (Bariloche granite) and Fitz Roy (Chalten). Torres I only did some trekking as it is a bit more of a hassle to climb there. In Chalten there is a climber's museum (Rolo Garibotti's baby) that has a post-up board for those looking for partners that is pretty successful as a lot of people are just hanging out waiting to climb. Some have had other partners bail or get injured. It is worth the visit for the topos Rolando has constructed from photos, if nothing else. I might be moving to Corvallis in Fall so maybe I should come down and recon the town and we can get together for a beer and chat. In the meantime, you can see some pics here, just scroll to the Patagonia posts. www.buckandpixie.blogspot.com Fuerte y Suerte, James

thanks for the pic Piston, that's exactly why I want to get on that side of the mountain. totally different from the junk show on the trade routes. The degree of commitment helps filter the chaff when seeking online partners as well. Bug you make great points about the online process. Regardless the original goal stated in a partner post, I've ended up meeting cool people and climbing good routes sometimes as training for the bigger objective or sometimes because someone sends a pm and wants to climb something else. Putting yourself out there is the first step, whatever comes of it may very well be good in it's own right. And if you never ask, the answer is always no.

Ever thought about Tahoma Glacier route? 3 days and a little more work, but a beautiful side of the mountain not many people see. I've been trying to do this route for a few years now. A group of four with solid mountain skills would be ideal. I would be down for the Emmons if no one bites on the Tahoma. I would definitely not be interested in the DC. Also, you might have a little more luck posting this in the partners section of the forum.

couldn't agree more. more traffic = clean routes, bring the public. notice i wasn't trying to defend localism by posting all but the gps coordinates.

Koopa crack is on the Romona Falls trail loop, a cool wall that could prolly be much more developed. Not the crag in question, however. It is definitely not Tom,Dick,and Harry. Think more like right behind Dairy Queen in Rhododendron. You get just a glimpse of the wall up the ridge as you pass by. The Rhodie crag has been climbed by Govy inhabitants for decades and they probably appreciate the lack of publication on it's existence...Though the last walk I took up there it looked like it hadn't seen much action lately.

Wow, right from the horses' mouth. Thanks. Maybe one or two moves of .10a. cool position for sure. Loved that climb. Shapps point about the gorge is well taken. A friend and I were talking about Cruel Sister the other day, .10a? Couldn't even finish it on TR the first time. Def harder than Karate Crack.

Orgasmophoria ".10c" on the red wall. Great climb for 5.9, cool weird red rock and long. The first pitch Phantasmagoria is a pretty stout .10b edgefest though.

Hey dudes, We met in the parking lot before heading up on the 13th. I was the soloist going up the north ridge. For those going Down the NR route in the future there is a HUGE cairn (biggest on the whole route) at ca. 10500ft that marks a west descent you can take to get off the ridge early (highly recommended given the lack of quality lower on this route). It leads down to two moves of fourth class and a little bit of loose boulder hopping and puts you on a 45 degree snowfield that leads to the larger snowfield above Lake 7505. I suspect this would take a good hour off the scree hopping required by staying on the ridge proper. What I would really do in the future is set up a car shuttle on the south side and carry over if I did the glacier route. NR sucks all the way except the last 1500 ft. Wish I had known you guys were ccers. I would have asked how the hell you pronounce KaskadskyjKozak, that's been driving me nuts since I started following this website. One more thing, now that you've done it, is the NR worse than the Cascadian?

Donn taught me damn near everything about climbing, and I summited Jefferson last year with Jason. If there are two dudes more capable of dealing with/enduring this situation it is them. Both speak highly of Steph and her tirelessness and degree of focus as well. I wish I could embrace my friends now in their time of need...

Ozone or Broughton, mid morning start.

I thought that might have been a foolish question. The only retribution for my ignorance is to visit the dome and provide offerings of skin and blood. Any other heathens need a slab partner next week?

I'm not familiar with the area enough to recognize the fin in this shot. Name? Routes? Choss? Sublime? Bueler?

I both love and hate this image, for aesthetic and personal reasons. I once saw this view after an 18 hour day on Stuart on one hour of sleep. A personal high and low both at once, fuckin' climbing.