Le Piston

If a former climbing buddy hadn't christened me long ago, I might have taken a similar name...myself being an old fart climber and father of 3. I love that climb and never seem to tire of it or the scenery. Glad you had a good time with the fruit of your loins. Keep up the trail reports!

Did you get to use the new tools...and how did they work out? Nice pictures and TR.

I second the Platypus. It is so nice to fill it with Gatorade and hydrate on the fly. You just have to keep it away from sharp objects and not pull out the mouthpiece on accident(cold Gatorade showers are no fun...at least alone).

Nice job! Looks like you stole one on the weather and got down before it got nasty. That is one sweet looking route...thanks for the TR.

After my favorite Sony digital camera died, I replaced it with a Canon A1000 IS. It takes AA batteries, has an optical viewfinder, zooms well, and takes pretty good pictures (you can look at my photos in the Gallery). If it had a little wider angle lens it would just about be perfect. There are a bunch of good cameras out there...depending on what features you want. Good luck!

Nice TR and Pics. I also like the goat picture...sweet! I've only done the Serpentine...a much less difficult and clasic route on that big hunk of rock. That looks like a great route...totally deserving it's status. Do you have a picture of Spanky's nice rack?

Another vote for the Lucidio. I used to use a BD Gemini, which I liked...but the Lucidio is much brigher for early a.m. navigation. I've heard several complaints about BD headlamps not being durable, but never had any problems with my Gemini.

Nate F had a good idea. You can get other suggested gear lists online (Alpine Ascents, AMGA, etc) if you enter Mount Rainier climbing gear list...it will give you multiple possibilities. Then you can decide on group vs. personal gear. I still use lists to make sure I didn't forget something important for a trip. I trust you also know how to safely use the gear (self arrest, crevasse rescue, etc.) Good luck on your climb!

I don't consider it rock climbing unless I leave a little DNA behind. No blood...it's 4th class scrambling.

I hope you guys make it back in there. If the "Oracle" was more open to repeating climbs I'd try to arrange a rematch with someone who's climbed it before. Spider was the last of the Ptarmigan Traverse peaks he wanted to climb. Formidable is beautiful...I'd have rather done it than Spider.

That looked like a sweet climb! Nice work. The rock looks really clean from your pictures. I'm impressed by the blog report's quality. Why do so many great areas in Canada have such crappy road approaches?

I have both tools and have had great luck with them for what I like to climb. I use the adze axe stand alone sometimes instead of my BD Raven Pro when I want a shorter axe...it works just fine. If you want ice tools for steep/vertical ice, you'd do better getting Cobras or Aztar/Aztarex as Maxtrax suggests. The Venom does well for most moderate alpine snow and ice.

If you aren't just limited to glacier climbs, I've always liked taking people to Sahale, Ruth, Ingalls, and South Early Winters Spire for their first tastes of alpine climbing. I've also done Baker in August and think it is far prettier than Adams.

Likewise I enjoyed meeting you and Haley. I was truly sorry you didn't summit Formidable and wished Rod was into repeating it...Formidable looks like a much nicer climb. Thanks for the steps by the way...much appreciated on the way out. I got tons of pictures, even some panoramas (which I will include) Good luck on your next climbing project! Cheers!

I've been mistaken before, but it appeared to have a hump and was bigger than most black bears I've seen. Here's a picture...I'm open to more expert opinions.

Trip: Spider and Magic - South Face sort of Date: 7/4/2009 Trip Report: My friend Rod had one last Ptarmigan Traverse peak left to bag and convinced me to go with him instead of heading for a rematch with Spickard. It is a beautiful area, so the arm twisting was minimal. The snow conditions on the hike in were pretty nice. We took a short break at Cache Col and then descended to Kool Aide lake and set up a sweet camp near the outlet (running water beats melting snow any day)We saw a grizzly about 200 yards below our camp, which was really cool. We were soon joined by Haley and Valerie, who came in to climb Formidable. I was smitten by Formidable and wished I was going there...what a beautiful peak! But, I was in to climb Spider with my friend and didn't want to let him down. I thought the trip was over in the morning, as I ate some bad peanut butter on my English Muffins and puked three times on the way to the Red Ledges. Once past the ledges my stomach seemed to settle down so we pressed on to the Spider/Formidable col following Haley and Valerie We dropped down and headed for what we thought was the Southeast Gulley on Spider. We ended up going up the South face on steep snow and horrible rock to the long ridge The traverse was airy and a little spooky with all the holds suspect. The summit was awesome though, with killer views. The last register entry was 2006. Names like Skoog (multiple times), Viesturs, and Klenke caught my eye. Now the fun part came...descending was downright scary. The gulley was slimy, loose, and steep. I felt great relief when I was able to traverse over to 50 degree snow to downclimb. I've never been happier to get to level ground before...I was totally gripped. We ran into the girls on their way back from Formidable. It was a long slog back to the Red Ledges, but the snow was still in good shape...though the tracks were pretty melted We came back to goats in the campThe following day we went up and I climbed Magic. My friend waited on the false summit and let me solo to the true summit. We came back down to more goats, packed up, and headed to the land of cold drinks and burgers. I hope to go back for Formidable some day...what a beautiful area Gear Notes: I wished I had 2 tools for the steep snow, but made do with an axe and picket. No rock pro needed, as there isn't enough solid rock for more than psychological pro. Approach Notes: Some breaking through snow into rocks above Cascade Pass. Otherwise conditions were great for approach.

You can be treated to bad conditions any month on Rainier. It can be sunny on the approach and by night have high winds, snow, or whatever crap she decides to throw your way. A bomber mountaineering tent is nice, but not a sure thing. I've seen a poorly secured North Face Mountain 25 with a kid in it become a kite at Muir and almost wind up in a crevasse (saved by a quick ranger) I usually use my BD Firstlight for most of my trips, which most people consider a 3 season tent. If you secure your tent well and build a wind block you should be fine. I wish you fair weather and a great trip!

I don't know if this is a better suggestion, just another possibility. I like the Black Diamond Speed 28 (they also make a bit larger version). It is light, durable, simple, and comfortable. I've had mine for 5 years and use it a lot for day climbs and used it in the Alps for hut-to-hut climbing. There are lots of good options out there (almost too many)...good luck in your quest!

Trip: Dorado Needle - Northwest Ridge Date: 6/30/2009 Trip Report: My friend Rod and I hoped to climb Dorado Needle last summer along with Eldorado and Klawatti in one day. Due to trouble getting off Klawatti, it wasn't to be. So, this summer we wanted a rematch. After to lovely trudge up to the Eldorado Glacier, we set up camp in the rocks below the East ridge.We considered tagging Eldorado again, but wanted to save our strength for Dorado Needle and possibly Austera. The night brought chilly brisk wind and a few showers and we awoke 0330 to socked in conditions. So, we slept until the weather cleared and got a "crack of 9" alpine start. We were glad to be roped up as my partner found a crevasse on the way to the col near Tepeh Towers. We dropped down onto the McAllister glacier and wound our way up to the northwest ridge. The snow bridge on one of the larger crevasses was sagging but sturdy. The snow slope below the ridge led all the way up to the rock, with a snow bridge over the schrund climbers rightThere are two pitches of fun mid 5th class rock on mostly clean rock to the summit...which unfortunately was socked in at the time.We downclimbed and rapped the ridge back to the snow. We thought about doing Austera, but decided with the late start and the prospect of sleeping in our own beds to head out. This was a fun climb and we had the peak to ourselves away from the masses on Eldorado. Gear Notes: Standard glacier climbing gear and small rock rack to 2.5 inches. Approach Notes: The boulder fields are mostly free of snow. There is a lot less snow than last year, so more open cracks. Rodents at camp able to foil my rock bunkers and get to my garbage and food bags.

I'm with genepires...don't do it! You'll likely regret it. These axes are hard to find and are very cool.

I have 3 kids, work full time and pull call for emergencies...so I feel your pain. Finding time and balancing responsibilities is a challenge. That suck wind feeling is enough to motivate me alone. I go up Mt. Si with incrementally heavy packs after work when trying to get in shape for Spring/Summer/Fall climbing in addition to the gym workouts. An MP3 player helps a lot. I'm also close to a climbing rock which I can boulder on to get some contact strength in my hands and work on balance. You just have to be creative. There are hikes and climbing rocks (UW, Marymoor, etc) close by. Good luck!

As too often happens, it isn't ME in the picture, but this one on Forbidden is my favorite.

Totally agree...Black Diamond makes great gear and backs it up well. I've only had one BD product that failed me, their gaiters that broke a strap on my third climb of the season 2 years ago.

Thank you for the correction...but I guess talking about Carbonic Anhydrase inhibition wouldn't interest most people, but you are correct. I echo your point about acclimatizing...it is safer and better to take your time and do it right (besides usually more enjoyable)

One cautionary note. It is an osmotic diuretic, so it is important to stay up on the hydration (you piss like the proverbial racehorse) and can cause blurry vision (as I experienced once or twice) It isn't a total replacement for acclimatization...but can help. There are other herbal supplements that have shown to be helpful (Ginko, etc)