Le Piston

I like the Osprey Aether 85 for big loads. Very comfortable and not too heavy.

I've been wanting to do this, but wonder if it's not too late in the season. I could only do it in a weekend though (15-16th or 22-23rd)

Some stout climbing there gentlemen! Thanks for the TR and pictures. Sounds like a character building exit out.

Great pictures! I was supposed to go there this summer...maybe next summer. Thanks for the stoke!

Val, you're an animal! Looks like a great trip. Thanks once again for posting.

I've been using Biwell on my leather boots since I was a teen (hate to admit...over 30 years) and I love it. I'm sure the Nikwax works just fine. I think Marmot still carries it if you want to try it. Tvash brings up a good point, I always wash and dry my leather before aplying. By the way, it will discolor the leather a bit.

Sweet pictures...thanks for posting your adventure. I love that area!

Yes, Chipmunk Creek basin is to the east of Glacier...not quite due east, but close enough.

Trip: Mt. Maude - Standard Date: 9/4/2012 Trip Report: This isn't much of a climb (It ain't the North Face), but it's in a spectacular area and is in the shameless peakbaggers list. My original plan was to do a solo recon for a future trip to South Spectacle Butte. Instead of the ususal Leroy Basin approach, I decided to try the Carne Mountain high route. The first half of the trail is steep, but easy to follow. The second half involved some cross-country connect-the-trail routefinding. I wound up making camp on a ridge above Chipmunk Creek basin. The view was pretty nice!Tuesday dawned clear, with great views of Glacier Peak. I decided to head straight up to the ridge and drop down to the Ice Lakes basin. It involved some steep hard snow descent and 3rd class rock, but took me right where I wanted to be. After dropping down to upper Ice Lake and snapping some pictures, I headed up an easy snow slope and onto easier trail up to the summit of Maude. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to the top, where I of course enjoyed a summit treat. I am looking forward to coming back here when the larch trees have turned color. I took the regular approach trail down to the junction with the Carne trail and packed up for home. Gear Notes: Glad to have the crampons and ice axe for the hard snow portion. Approach Notes: Water is sparse, but still there along the route. Carne Mountain trail is a bit hard to follow, but cross-country travel usually gets you back on it.

Welcome to my world...I usually take my pack in the back yard (my wife don't want it smelling up the house post climbing trip) grab the hose, some liquid soap, a sponge and scrub away. Then its rinse with the hose and air dry. Smells good again. I've never tried the stuff rob mentioned, but it sounds like just the thing for multiday stank.

Way to get it done Val. Looks like fun...nice TR! I hope to do this climb before I get too old. I got stoked after seeing it from Trapper last fall.

Trip: Fortress and Chiwawa - Fortress East Ridge, Chiwawa SE Face Date: 8/13/2012 Trip Report: My climbing partner once told me the lowest form of climber was the peak bagger. I must have been a bad influence on him, because he has joined the club with a vengeance! We had the weekend free and decided to knock off a couple more "top 100" Washington peaks, and decided to try Fortress and Chiwawa. We got an early start Saturday morning at the Buck Creek/Trinity trailhead and made good time to Chiwawa Basin. There are nice camp sites here by the river crossing, but knowing we had a long Sunday ahead we decided to camp in the upper basin (approx. 5500 ft.)We got up about 5:00 a.m. Sunday and did a part bushwhack, part trail hike up towards the East Ridge of Fortress.There is a moderately steep snowfield that gets you onto the ridge about 8300 feet.From there it's a loose 3-4th class scramble along the crest and up a short chimney to the summit. We met another party on top who came up from Buck Creek Pass. The views are pretty nice up there! We downclimbed the route and traversed over (mostly snow) to the col below Chiwawa approx.7300 ft. We had thought of doing the West Ridge, but ended up doing the scree fest Southwest Face/Ridge.We shared another traditional Ritter Sport summit chocolate reward.It was nice to see a different aspect of Fortress.It was a long, hot descent back to camp. We especially enjoyed the bushwhack part where you couldn't see your feet. It made for a long day, especially with the torment of ravenous flies and skeeters, but a lot of beautiful scenery. Fortress is a fun climb, Chiwawa is a rubble heap, but at least it's off the peak bagging list now. Gear Notes: Ice axe, crampons, and helmet. We brought a rope and small rock rack but it ended up staying in the pack. Approach Notes: A few minor blowdowns on the trail. When going from Chiwawa Basin to upper basin, stay out of the marshy downed tree mess by getting into the trees climbers left (unless you enjoy bushwhacking). Lots of running water below 8000 feet. Even more bugs! The Chiwawa river is too wide to jump, but only calf deep.

I have always liked Mammut ropes and had quite a few over the years, but my alltime favorite rope for alpine climbing was the Beal Stinger....like butter to handle and plenty durable.

Sweet! The creeks sure went down in volume from when I was there last month...we had to ford twice. Glad you had good weather and much fun. Suffering seems to be part of the entry fee into the Pickets. Thanks for the video!

If it isn't too late, you might also look at the BD Icon. It also takes AAA or the rechargeable battery. I got it to replace the Mammut Lucido TX1 that up and died on me. The Icon, like my previous BD headlamps works like a champ and is dependable.

That looks like a great one person ultralight tent, but pretty narrow for two compared to the BD Firstlight. It looks like more headroom. Thanks for sharing your impressions and experiences. I'd like to try one just to compare to my Firstlight.

Loved the trip report and pictures. I see the mountain roads in Bolivia are much like in Ecuador...my bus ride was scarier than the climbing! Nice work gentlemen! I've wanted to go to Bolivia for several years...thanks for the stoke.

Thanks for the great pics and sharing your trip. I was supposed to climb in Chamonix this summer, but couldn't coordinate my schedule with my climbing partner. The outhouse reminded me of one bolted onto a cliff near the Obergabelhorn in Switzerland...talk about exposure!

There is a bench about 7000-7200 feet with level tent spots and running water (at least last week) east of Windy Pass which would make a great camp spot. I walked by it in June and wished I had stayed there instead of by Little Caroline Lake.

Congrats on a great climb and thank you for sharing the trip and pictures.

Trip: Cashmere Mountain consolation - North Ridge Date: 7/19/2012 Trip Report: My four day climbing trip into the Southern Pickets being foiled, my friend Rod and I wanted to climb something in a day, given the narrow weather window. He had not yet climbed Cashmere (I had just done it June 30th) so up we went. My body wasn't fully recovered from the previous day's 10 miles bushwhacking, but we made good time up the Eightmile Creek trail. It was hot going and the bugs were out in force, but the trail is in excellent shape and the expanding views helped. Last month I was able to cut crosscountry on snow from Little Caroline Lake (thus avoiding going up to Windy Pass) but most of the snow is gone, so up to Windy Pass we went. This adds distance to the approach, but also great views...especially Glacier Peak. We arrived at the saddle (about 8000 feet) and took a break. We got onto the North face and traversed on easy ground and two snow patches to the North ridge. The snowpatches are a bit runout, but the snow was soft and easy to manage. Once on the North Ridge, class 3 terrain takes you right up to the summit. There were swarms of lady bugs and flying ants, so we only stayed long enough for traditional Ritter Sport summit shots and a few pictures. Cashmere makes for a long, but scenic day climb of 17 miles round-trip...it wasn't Degenhardt and the Chopping Block, but a nice consolation. Gear Notes: Took ice axe, crampons, and helmet. Only used the helmet because of some loose rock on the north ridge. Approach Notes: Lots of ravenous flies and skeeters. Right now there are plenty of little creeks for water along the trail. The trail is in great shape with a few muddy spots.

By comfort level, I mean how comfortable you feel moving on the terrain given the factors of angle, exposure, snow conditions, and experience. As far as the tools go, I'm always looking for ways to save weight (being an old fart) while maintaining performance in my gear. Don't get me wrong, I love my Venoms for alpine climbing.

I'm not BirdDog, but thank you anyway. Sorry if I gave the impression that one picture included all those peaks...I was just generally speaking to the views. Here is a shot of Redoubt.

Not a foolish question. It depends on your comfort level and conditions. I've got a BD Venom hammer that works well on snow and short ice sections, and have used a picket for downclimbing steep firm snow. I've been considering a Petzl Sum'tec hammer which is 4 oz. lighter than my Venom.

The road is clear to the trailhead. As far as skiing down, I met a guy on splitboards who was thinking of doing just that. This picture may help.