Joanne

Hi Porter, I took the AR in 2007. I have previously taken BCEP and ICS too. I think BCEP is a great intro to those who have absolutely no idea about mountaineering. It gives you a taste to come back more in ICS. ICS is a great course that teaches you more on mountaineering but gives you a little taste on rock. In AR, you get to learn more about rock climbing. It is not a class that will teach you how to climb 5.12 but concentrate more on rock skills such as gear placement and evaluation, rock rescue, aid skills, niffy tricks, etc. It is a very time taking class so if you plan to take it, you have to be committed for a lot of weekend to AR. If you do take the class you will get to meet some of the most skilled climbers in Portland and learn from them. Good luck in making the decision, have fun!

Yes, the lip pitch has mostly fixed gear and bolt ladder after the lip. I think I placed maybe 3 pieces total on that pitch. We almost wish someone will retro bolt the 3rd pitch due to the crappy copper heads you have to aid on but I guess it gives the route a character.

It's actually not a bad climb if you know how to be fast and efficient. My husband and I just did it last weekend, did the ascent in less than 8 hour even though we got stuck behind a slower party for 4 pitches. Most of the aid pitch are fixed and bolt ladder and upper pitches are very moderate. Check out our TR. http://joannestamplis.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/washington-pass-liberty-crack/

We were at the Cirque just a month ago and did the Wolf's Head and NE Buttress Pingora. The approach is long, way longer than the so call 7 miles more like 9 miles. Definitely don't follow the standard trail and do the shortcut version instead because the standard trail is very dumb (gain and loose elevation so many times). I think it took us 4-5 hours to get to camp. No permit is needed, bring water filter as I heard water is quite polluted there due to heavy traffic. Also, depending when you go, mosquito net might be a good idea. We were swamped by them. Wolf's Head is very fun and a must do route. The descent for this is less enjoyable due to loose terrain at the col. NE Buttress Pingora is also a great route and descent is so easy. First pitch is the trickiest to find but when you find it, it will get you to the good stuff. I had to downclimb and backtrack a few times until I finally so the 5.8 traverse. PM if you need more info. Have fun!

We haven't done much in the cascade but hoping to do more soon. Here's our personal website: http://joannestamplis.wordpress.com/ Feel free to visit and comment.