Le Piston
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Posts posted by Le Piston
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Would either of these work for you?
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If it is a dark grey Head glove, it's indeed mine. That would be very cool!
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Glad you made it through that alive and in one piece. I have spent an unexpected night out in an emergency bivi sack...and am convinced it kept a cold uncomfortable night from becoming a body retrieval. I always have one in my pack now. It's always a balance between keeping weight down so you can move more efficiently and the safety margin. Thanks for sharing the experience. I've wanted to do that route for a while.
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I also lost a glove...another offering to Argonaut.
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Certainly not as many as you! My partner is the serious one (somewhere in the 60's), I'm in the 30's and not worried about bagging all of them.
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Yes it was blue without a hood. We had seen tracks going in, so didn't know if the owner would be coming back to get it, so I put it up in a bush so it would be easily seen.
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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!
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Very cool! Nice work gentlemen. Great pictures.
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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.
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Crampons sold (Thanks Jake...hope they get you up Rainier)
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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!
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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 #.
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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!
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Jetboil and 65cm axe sold (Thanks Gene!), Cams sold.
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I have some Granite Gear Size Large mittens that might interest you.
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Do you have a tent?
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Got a bunch of well cared for gear to sell...prefer local (greater Seattle area)to avoid shipping hassles.Sierra Designs Summit Tent 2-Person/4 Season Single Wall with vestibule $200
Metolius 4 Cams sizes 1,2,4,6,9,and 10. $15 each or all six for $75.
Metulius 3 Cams sizes 0,1, and 3 $12.50 each.
Grivel G12 Crampons Universal bindings with anti-bot $65. 
Grivel 3rd Tool $50Jetboil Stove $25
Primus 2 Liter Pot with integral heat exchanger $17.
15 Black Diamond Wiregate Biners $40
7 Black Diamond Oval Biners $20.
Grivel Ice Axe 65cm shaft $20.
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I have some older Granite Gear insulated mitts size Large if you're interested.
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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
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Very sad...the man was truly one of our climbing greats. My condolences to his family, friends, and partners.
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Nice Pics! That is a fun climb in a very scenic area. Thanks for sharing.
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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.
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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.
Good mountains to do solo
in Climber's Board
Posted
In addition to the above excellent suggestions I like Sahale, Maude, and Cashmere for solo scrambles. I've done South Early Winters Spire South Couloir as an early season solo. A good book to check out is "75 Scambles in Washington: Classic Routes to the Summits". Enjoy!