Le Piston

That is great. My friend Rod will be happy (his crampons) We figured he lost them in the slide alder. It made the hard snow a little sportier...I chopped and kicked steps for him on the way up. We actually found someone's jacket on the other side of the slide alder. It must hunger for gear. Your climb in one day is more impressive...well done!

Very cool! Nice work gentlemen. Great pictures.

Trip: Argonaut Peak - South Route Date: 6/8/2013 Trip Report: My friend Rod and I wanted to climb Argonaut and cross another peak off the 100 highest list. We decided to try the South Route with an approach via Beverly Creek to Fourth Creek. You can't see Argonaut until just about the Boundary junction. The trail is quite nice until you drop down into Fourth Creek basin, when creek and trail are often the same. A fording of Ingalls Creek is needed (about thigh high) to reach camping near the Ingalls Creek trail. We headed East about 250 yards to just before a small creek(I left a cairn) and headed North by Northwest up game trails through forest. At approx. 5200 feet we bashed through slide alder and crossed a small creek (there is an overgrown game trail that is easier to find coming back)and headed up the ridge west of a major drainage gulley from the summit At about 6200 feet we dropped into the gulley and headed up snow to about 7100-7200 feet where the gulley forks. There were tracks taking the right gully from the previous day (which we took on the way down), but we went up the left fork until we got onto rock leading up to the East Ridge. A gully/chimney at 8200 feet is the "crux"...4th class chockstone with a convenient rap sling. A short 3rd class scramble east leads to the West/Main summit block. We went under the leaning block and scrambled to the top. We enjoyed our traditional Ritter Sport and enjoyed the views. We saw a couple climbers over on Colchuck...the only people we encountered since leaving the trailhead. We found the snow pleasantly softer on the way down and plunge-stepped most of it back to the ridge where we started and headed back to camp. It was a fun climb...except for the alder bashing (only a few hundred feet worth) and fording frigid Ingalls Creek. A small price for the awesome views Gear Notes: Helmet, Ice axe and crampons...welcome on the firm snow gulley in the morning...it was steeper than I was expecting.

There are lots of good trip reports here to get beta. Are doing the standard East Ridge route on Eldorado and the Northwest Ridge on Dorado Needle? If so, I'd suggest camping at the base of Eldorado's East Ridge. It makes a convenient base for both peaks. Getting to Dorado Needle from there head North to the col between Tepeh Towers (approx 8050 ft). Drop down onto the McAllister Glacier heading Northwest. There were crevasses open when I climbed it, so we had to weave around a bit. There was steep snow leading up to the base of the Northwest Ridge. There was about 2 pitches of lower-mid 5th class rock to the summit. We took a small rack up to 2.5 inches. We did one rappel and downclimbed back to the snow. I hope that helps. Do check out the trip reports. This picture is from the col at Tepeh Towers. Cheers!

Nice work Matt...way to get 'er done. Enjoyed the pictures!

John, I might be in the neighborhood of Leavenworth Saturday or Sunday evening. I still owe you a beer at South for breaking trail up Colchuck. If I go, I'll PM you with my cell phone #.

I second DPS. I've used down bags in the Cascades for many years and find the increased warmth to weight/bulk ratio of down to be worth the cost and care to keep it dry. I have the Western Mountaineering Ultralight. It compresses to bread loaf size, 20 degree F. rating, and weighs 1 lb. 13 oz. It's held up 15 years so far as my go-to 3 season bag. Feathered Friends, Marmot, and Montbell also make fine down bags. If you really want synthetic, consider options like The North Face Fission or Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina. Hope that helps!

I was there at the same time...alas with the family and not climbing. Small world. Sounds like you did some fun routes. Thanks for sharing

Very sad...the man was truly one of our climbing greats. My condolences to his family, friends, and partners.

Nice Pics! That is a fun climb in a very scenic area. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing. Gaston was a great climber and a great source of climbing wisdom and technique. I still remember English language climbing magazines in the 70's referring to him as "Ghastly Rabbitfat"...all in fun of course. He put out some great books as well.

I have the Salewa Ravens, a lighter boot than you were looking at. I was always a diehard LaSportiva Trango fan, but these boots are ultra comfortable on my feet and climb just as well. I use the Grivel Air Tech Newmatic crampons...they work great! I hope this helps.

Mount Baker from tarn near Park Butte.

If you really want to stick to single wall, you might look at the Black Diamond Skylight. It weighs a tad under 5 pounds, 88 inches long, same material as the Firstlight (and wider). A couple long double walls to consider: MSR Fury at 94 inches, and my personal favorite the Hilleberg Jannu at 93 inches. The Jannu is pretty pricey, but very well made. Good luck!

I have a BD Skylight that goes a bit over 4 pounds and really like for two people (a lot more room than the Firstlight and more stable in wind) but also have the Hilleberg Jannu which goes around 6 pounds and is a bomber 4 season tent which has great features. There are plenty more tents that could meet your needs, but I have had good experience with these two. Good luck!

If it's sustained 5.8+ or above, I like my Mythos as well (which replaced my Kaukulators). I wear a very thin liner sock for comfort. If it's mostly mid-fifth class with a few harder moves I'm with G-spotter with the Guide Tennies...they are much more comfortable for a long day.

Thanks for the TR. I love climbing up there...extremely beautiful. But, the rock quality adds a couple grades in difficulty/fear factor in my opinion. Some of my most scared moments climbing were on Canadian Rockies rock. It keeps things "interesting" eh?

Nice photos Caleb. I got rained off this a few years back and hope to get back up there before I get too old and fat. I thought Mt. Assiniboine was the Matterhorn of Canada?

I like both approaches...the Colchuck Lake route has some cool views of Stuart, a nice waterfall, and of course Colchuck Lake. I really lucked out on the last perfect weather weekend of October. The larches were just a bit past prime, but still beautiful. Thanks for the comments guys.

Trip: Enchantment and Cannon Peaks Fall finale - Standard Date: 10/7/2012 Trip Report: I was fortunate enough to score a "Core" Enchantments permit for 4 days and decided to combine checking a couple more peaks off the wish list with my friend Rod and some leisurely picture taking. I was wondering if we'd be cancelling the trip as I coughed my way over Blewett Pass to meet Rod at the ranger station in Leavenworth...lots of smoke from fires. Even at the trailhead, it was pretty smokey. The original plan had been to approach via Aasgard Pass, but the road was closed due to fires. By the time we were at Nada Lake, the smoke was gone and my lungs were happier. I was happy to set up camp at Lake Vivian, with nice views of Prusik Peak and not too far to our chosen peaks. We went cross country to Prusik Pass, remembering previous climbs and wishing we were climbing it again. We headed west from the pass and soon were at the blocky 4th class summit of Enchantment Peak. We again enjoyed our traditional summit treat.The views were still pretty nice...even with the surrounding smoke. We went back to the pass and dropped down and headed northwest to Cannon. The summit is a small exposed slab of 3-4th class climbing. There was only room for one at a time at the summit. He enjoyed a well earned summit treat! We considered throwing McClellan into the day, but were content (and tired), so decided to leave it for another trip. Rod left early Monday morning and I stayed another day to roam the Enchantments and relax. It was just the sort of trip I wanted...great weather, great views, and a great climbing partner. Gear Notes: Just a helmet...these are scramble peaks. Approach Notes: As of last weekend, the Enchantments could only be accessed via Snow Creek trail. The smoke was a lot less when I hiked out on Tuesday.

It didn't suck...far from it! Loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing such a cool place and your adventures there.

Matt, I have the days off, but will have to broach the subject with the wife later...not wise for me right now when I'm leaving tommorow for 4 days and already getting some grief from her. I'll get back to you...hopefully with good news!

I was thinking Golden Horn/Tower one of the next two weekends...Sorry, I've already got a partner for this weekend.

Do you have either of the following two weekends free? I'm hoping to head up to the Enchantments this coming weekend...scored a Core Enchantments permit!

I've had a couple friends who were OSAT leaders and I had confidence in their skills. I went on a couple of group trips with them. The experience and skill level in the group varied, but great folks and enjoyed my trips with them.