Riley81

Way to get it! That's a scary looking traverse

Trip: Mt. Daniel/Cathedral Pass - Southeast ridge Date: 6/26/2011 Trip Report: I took my girlfriend and dog out on a backpacking/climbing trip this weekend on what I thought could be an easy climb up a good sized peak. It turned out that what Beckey describes as merely a hike along a ridge is not a hike along a ridge for someone with little experience on snow. For me it was a lesson in plausible vs. possible. Needless to say the sketchiest part of the trip was the traverse along the west side of Cathedral Rock which was composed of slushy snow in the afternoon and bulletproof snow in the morning. After approaching via the cathedral pass trail and attempting the traverse to peggy's pond my girlfriend found it to be above her paygrade with a loaded pack and did not want to head onward. We decided to camp at the pass for the night and I headed up the Southeast ridge at 6:30 AM the following morning. Made short work of the ridge under bluebird skies and hit the summit at 8:30. The only sketchy part was cutting under some large overhanging cornices along the upper part of the ridge. The trip down was fast easily glissading over 1500 feet of the route while skirting the along the north side of the Hyas creek glacier and following the path of a couple of ski mountaineers who had rode off the summit the previous day. Got pack to cathedral pass at 10:00 AM with my girlfirend pleasently suprised that I was back over an hour early. Great to get a summit in, but next time she gets to choose the destination. BTW there is an assload of snow up there right now. 2-4 feet at Cathedral pass. Cathedral Rock from the trailhead. Panorama of Hinman, Daniel and Cathedral from the pass. Sunrise on Cathedral Rock. Looking along the Southeast ridge. I traversed below the upper rock band on the ridge at 7200 ft. Glacier Peak. Mt. Ranier, Venus and Spade Lakes. Mt. Stuart. Another of Stuart cause the view of the North ridge is badass. Cute little pond below the Hyas Creek Glacier on the way back down. Gear Notes: Ultra light Shit to make the slog in bearable. Approach Notes: Green Beckey book. Constant snow started on the trail at 4400 feet where the slope breaks. A few downed trees on the trail.

Beat me to the punch. Maybe I'll post a few more pics of your ass tommorrow when I bring my camera in to work. Good times buddy, good times. :kisss:

Thanks Genepires.

I know it's not in the Skykomish Valley, but I think it is still in the guide book, as is Static Point which is in the Sultan Basin. If anybody has the Sky Valley Guide handy correct me if I'm wrong.

I am pretty sure Fun Forest is included in Sky valley rock as a toprope area with cracks that are hard to protect.

For them to reuse this culvert is CRAZY. It's like 100 feet long and they CLEANED IT OUT. Go Federal Government.

Way to get it. I like how you added a little flare to those first few ass shot pictures with the gear bundle and the focus on the rock. Definetly have to get on that this year.

Just giving the TR a little storyline and telling it how it is.

With a nauesiating headache and a smile in the morning when we came and got them, real troopers I tell yeah.

If Ultima thule wall is where I think it is then it is in the next inlet to the west. Hard to make it that far when there are good climbs only 5 minutes in the boat from our campsite. Definetly going to return there again and will hit up Ultima Thule.

Trip: Banks Lake - Orange Wall Area camping Date: 6/2/2011 Trip Report: My girlfirend and I went out to meet up with Mark (Hanman) and his family to spend a relaxing four day weekend at Banks lake. He had a private campsite picked out at the north end of the inlet below Orange wall were we could enjoy easy access to some spectacular climbing and a secluded campsite. Our weekend started out a little rough though with winds picking up in the afternoon on Thursday while we were trying to move six people two dogs and a plethora of stuff out to the campsite. Our successful route is in red and the detour route is in blue. Mark took me, my dog, and a load of gear on the first trip and made it no problem. But after returning to the boat launch the winds crept in and created a 3-4 foot chop which didn't do to well for our 12-foot skiff. With an occupied kayak tied to each side of the boat and hefty load the winds were too much and both kayaks capsized sending our signicifant others into the lake. Fortunatly the only losses were a life jacket and a bag of chips. Happy campers waiting out the wind. After waiting for 3 hours Mark brought his eldest daughter, dog, and another load to the site only to show up exhausted from fighting the waves. While I on the other hand was stir crazy from not knowing what was happening. So I gung hoed it back to the beach only knowing the location was right of the two big islands. Upon my arrival I found three unhappy ladies who were unwilling to assualt the windy lake. I gave my girlfriend no choice about leaving the beach, but I had to leave Marks wife and youngest at the beach to spend their first night at Banks lake alone at a random beach. We returned Friday morning during calmer winds to retrieve the stranded souls and enjoyed camping, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and climbing for the rest of the sunny weekend. Campsite as seen from the orange wall side of the Inlet. More personal view of the digs. Now to the climbing. Friday morning we decided to start out on the middle of Orange wall heading up the stunning 5 pitch, 5.10A, Heart of Stone. Author leading pitch 2 Heart of Stone 10A (HOS). Mark leading Pitch 3 HOS. Mark following Pitch 4 HOS. Pitch 3 and 4 both went at 5.8 and were described in "Rock Climbs of Central Washington" (The Book) as slightly gritty, but we both found them to be highly enjoyable. Mark leading the final pitch of HOS. Great positon and views. From the summit of Orange wall we took in the views and enjoyed a liesurly walk-off to the north back to our campsite. Hot tub with a view anyone? Campsite as seen from the walk-off. After enjoying the morning climb we hung out around the campsite fishing for bass, swimming and doing a little kayaking. Even dogs like kayaking. Later that evening Mark, my girlfirend and I returned to the south side of Orange wall to have a go at the 5.8, 4 pitch route Lesser Evil. As described by Mountiansloth in a TR from the previous weekend the start of this climb can be difficult, to say the least, to find. After searching for the start we found a belay bolt and I headed up the first 5.7 pitch that seemed more like 5.9+ only to get lost and drawn in by the second belay station of Highway 2. Needless to say after a 40+ foot 5th class runout across the mossiest portion of the wall I decided to bail and not subject my cohorts to the experience. No pics from this catastrophe. Way to get it Mountainsloth. Saturday brought more fun in the Orange Wall Area. For the morning climb we decided to hit up Seam-iotics on Post Modern wall, this 2 pitch 5.9 links up with Sky's the limit, 5.8 1 pitch to get you to the summit of Post Modern wall. This route was definetly the best of the trip with a full on chimney, and a 60-foot finger crack in a spectacular setting. The finish on Sky's the limit is the only way to go. Looking up the first pitch of Seam-iotics. Looking down through the chimney of pitch 1. Not quite big enough for back to foot climbing. Author leading pitch 2 finger crack. Looking down the awesome finger crack. Looking up Sky's the limit. Author following Sky's the limit. From the summit of Post Modern wall we enjoyed the views before rapping Differance, The route to the climbers left of Seam-iotics. 3 raps to the ground. Barker Canyon from Post Modern Wall Summit. Campsite as seen from Summit. Sweet Panorama looking South from Summit. After that enjoyable morning romp we headed back to camp for more of the same. We enjoyed beer from our onsite cooler. Mark Caught a good size Walleye. And I found a great cliff for jumping off just south of our camp site on the orange wall side. Along with good jumping the cliff provided an opportunity for a little DWS. Banks Lake DWS attempt 1 Banks Lake DWS success A Couple of videos if you're interested. That evening our climbing jaunt took us just south of Post Modern wall to a series of single pitch sport routes that allowed my girfriend to actually climb something instead of listen to me yell and curse about not falling, and watching out for rocks and such. We hit up Soup's on 5.8-, Paparazzi 5.9, and Celebrities 5.10b, all worth while face climbs. Sorry no pictures, forgot the camera. Of interesting note, for those still reading, a passing fisherman who was commenting on how crazy it was to rock climb, told of a great white wall of granite that was overhanging and stood 500-feet tall not far to the north of Banks lake. Maybe it was a fishermans tale, but maybe, just maybe it actually exists. I'm going to check it out some time soon, see what it's all about. Sunday was the day of departure and was nothing like arriving on Thursday. Sunrise Sunday morning. Can you find my dog? I love my dog. One load delivered to the cars Saturday night and two loads on sunday saw us leaving Barker Canyon by 9:30 AM. Mark and his family headed home while My girlfriend and I drove around the lake and took a quick stroll up Steamboat rock. Orange wall inlet as seen from Steamboat Rock. Post Modern wall, the prominent chimney of Seam-iotics can be seen in the lower right portion of the wall. It was a great trip with great friends. I can't wait to get back to Banks lake to enjoy more of what the area has to offer. Gear Notes: Full rack and draws for climbing, Plenty of water and TP for camping, The small-mouth love Blue Fox #5 spinners, and a boat slightly larger then 12-feet long might be useful if you plan to transport 6 or more people. A WDFW parking pass is required for Barker Canyon, but it is still cheaper then parking at Steamboat State Park. Approach Notes: Approach from Barker Canyon Boat Launch which is 10 mi N & W of Grand Coulee on Hwy 174 to Barker Canyon rd follow for 6.1 mi and turn left at the sign. There is a hiking route to Orange wall described in The Book, but it looks long. The rest is shown on the map.

We had a 12-foot skiff with a 5 horse engine. But the wind on Thrusday still presented a bit of an issue (understatement). Fortunatley Hannas wife and kids are real troopers. I'll post a TR in just a little while.

Hanman and I tried to do that route this last weekend and had very little luck starting out. Way to find your way through the first pitch.

Was the route you climbed on Orange wall called Lesser Evil?

I found it too be very dog friendly as did my dog. Definetly less strife with other climbers when it's not peak season, but there is lots of room to roam and get away from the crowds. Favorite campsite is #21, make sure to bring ALL the food you need as there is only one small general store with limited supplies, (Almo General Store) but spend some money there because climbers keep it going and they have great pizza. Batwings is an awesome climb. I am heading there in the end of September to avoid crowds and super hot weather. Hope you enjoy the trip. COR on a nice October Day.

Slab Daddy, Squire Creek wall. Slept on the 6th pitch ledge and fixed the 7th and 8th pitch before climbing 16 pitches the following morning. Also has one or two moves of A0 if you can't climb 11+. Fun time getting off in the dark and rain as well. Slab Daddy trip report

Thanks, I'll check it out.

How does the Cilo pack do for back support?

Thanks for the input. Think I 'm going to avoid the good deal I can get and wait to find the right fit without thinking about the price.

What do you think is the right pack for hauling climbing gear up to somewhere like Gunsight or the Ampitheater/Cathedral peak. I recently got a golite pinnacle which seems good for light backpacking, but I can't see trying to haul a rack and a rope in it. I was looking for something that was still light, but gave a little back support.

Sound like you aren't too fond of the equipment. Was mainly going to use it for approaching and backpacking, not techincal climbing. I can get the pack for around $80, but not sure I want to go cheap and get something that will just fall apart. Definetly not a fan of all the dangly stuff either. Thanks for the input.

Does anyone have experience with Alps Mountaineering equipment. I was thinking of getting the Denali or Orziba 4500 pack. Are they worth the investment for Cascades style Mountaineering?

Did it look like there was any activity for reparing the Road? Hanman said they put in a small access path around the first slide at MP ~2 to get equipment up to the second larger slide. Is that the case or am I living in a dream world?

pm sent.