MtnClimbr

Filthy dabbers...? That doesn't sound good. Looks like those are super aggressive climbing shoes in the first pic. That cave looks great...!

Let me know if you head out thursday or friday, I wouldn't mind catching up with you guys. I'll be moving to Omak full time for work this wednesday (tomorrow). Thanks Drater, sweet pics, looks like fun.

I am going to be moving to Omak in the next two weeks... Anyone know if there is any update on the local climbing situation? Or a better question: is there any non-Reservation climbing nearby? There is a lot of rock in the area. Know of someone that has local knowledge? I'd love to talk with them... Thanks!

The next time you curse the fact that it's Monday, just think of it as proof that you made it through another weekend without killing yourself by doing something stupid. (Phil Garding) I think climbers should get credit just for remembering what their jobs are on Mondays... (Gary Clark)

I just bought a pair of Alp's too. I agree with the nifty lace lock things, they work great. Now we'll just have to see if they add any wear to the laces...

Yeah, bad idea asking climbing advice in spray. Well, as long as we are going down that road...

So I've been expanding my trad rack recently. Just curious, where you all of you go when you plan on buying pro? Maybe there are some secret online jems that I don't know about yet. Online sites? Local stores? USED gear? Mountain gear has C4s/TCUs/others and others at 25% off right now, that doesn't seem bad...so I bought a few.

Like Tom said, there's nothing that hurts more than a rip in a brand new pair of $200+ pants. I've put ice axe and crampon rips in my high $$$ pants the first few times out, now they're my 'beater' glisading pants. Too bad... I now have a nice pair of Arc'teryx Theta AR bibs for inclement weather climbing/backcountry tele skiing. For merely summer glisading, I take the ripped pair. It depends on how much $ you are willing to spend...and if you can stand a rip in them with out crying. For August climbing like Adams etc, I'd just get the cheaper pair.

great climbing pics. Bonanza is on my list as well... Sounds great!

Trip: Maroon Peak - Solo - Colorado Date: 6/26/2008 Trip Report: I was down in Colorado for a week for some work - Maroon Bells and Capitol were both on my list. Maroon was a shorter hike in so I opted for that. After searching for a climbing partner online for a week or so, with no takers, I decided to head to the mountains solo. No sense just sitting in the hotel room on my day off with a weather forecast of perfect… I was staying in New Castle and decided that I would get better sleep in the hotel than in the rental car at the trail head. So, at midnight I woke up and made the drive to Aspen after 3 hrs of sleep. From Aspen, it is only a short drive to Maroon Lake and the trail head. There is a $10 fee you have to pay to park ‘overnight’. I started hiking at 2am. The weather was fantastic and the stars were out in full. The moon lit up the peaks with a pale glow and I could see my route from the car. Looked great, plenty of snow with the deep pack this winter. I had intended to take the Bell Cord couloir, but by my own mistake, took a different route (more on that later). After a short approach (maybe 2 mi or so) I hit the snow. Trekking poles went away and the ice axe and crampons came out of the pack. Once I climbed up a short stretch, I entered what I thought was the Bell Cord. I climbed for a while and ended up hitting a 3 story tall sheer wall of rock. No way I’m climbing over that solo… So I headed back down a ways and continued up to the left. After making my way through the ‘garbage chute’ (a narrow snow corridor with rock walls to either side) I made it to another basin. This is where you need to traverse to the right to head up the Bell Cord. I took a look, and decided to continue heading up the snow (Variation 24.3V in Roach’s book). There was still plenty of snow in the Bell Cord and 2 other teams of two went up it on that day. Looking up the route I took (to the right): Some wet snow slide: Looking back at Maroon lake and Pyramid: After finishing the couloir to the right of Southeast couloir (Var 24.3V), I reached a small col just north of point 13,753. From here, an ascending traverse along the south ridge and east face will get you to the summit (class 3 and 4). Class 3 and 4 to the summit: The weather on the summit was absolutely gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky. I guess this is not common on a summer afternoon in Colorado where afternoon thunderstorms are quite frequent. I had to turn down an offer from another team to bag North Maroon as well due to an upset stomach (tried a new flavor of power bar – some new flavor – creamy citrus or something). On the summit with N.Maroon in the background: I ended up spending 1.5 hrs on the summit trying to fight the upwelling power bar and dehydrated head ache. I should have just gone down, but resting and enjoying the views felt the best at the time. Down climbing the class 3 and 4 loose rock led me back to the col…glasading down the couloir. I was out of water and saw a little trickle on a cliff near by. So I decided to wet my mouth. I went over and got under the trickle when I heard some cracking and falling rock. Just then, 5 huge boulders and a table sized ‘blade’ rock ripped down the glasade tube that I had just been in… Wow, I had just broken one of my basic mountain rules – get off the mountain early to avoid rock fall. A scary near miss. I'm sure everyone that has spent some time in the mountains have a rock fall story as well... The glasade/down climb back to the base was eventless, luckily. But I was watching my back, looking for rock the whole time. There are busses that take about 10 million people from Aspen to the Maroon Bells every day, and the valley was flooded with them. I stopped and talked to just about half of them on my way back to the car. The weather was great, lots of snow pack, and a beautiful mountain. Fun times. Gear Notes: Crampons and ice axe. I took a rope for rappels if needed, not really needed. Approach Notes: Super easy short approach.

Trip: Cashmere - Eight Mile TR Date: 6/21/2008 Trip Report: Having a new climber with us, we decided to opt for a less technical climb. We have recently been enjoying the Alpine Lakes area, so decided to go back. Cashmere seemed like a good choice and it still needed to be checked off the 'list'. We started from the Eight Mile TR, although I have heard there are other alternatives. The trail was in good condition with a few stream crossings. Leaving little eight mile lake, heading towards caroline. There was some snow covering the trail once you reach caroline. So from there on, your own route finding is necessary, but fairly straight forward. After we got above the tree line, we had some lunch with great views to the south. Beef Jerkey? sure. Stuart next trip? yes. Dragontail, Colchuck, Stuart, etc. The final push to the summit is pretty simple, I would guess that every person up there has found a different route. Basically just class 3, some class 4 if you want to make it fun. To find the easiest path, traverse around to the north before you start to ascend the rock. Currently, there are a few steep snow crossings. Class 3 to the summit. Cashmere summit is great to stand atop, with very dramatic views of the enchantments. It is always fun to take a 'step back' and see the mountains you've climbed recently from a distance. Cashmere summit with Stuart in the distance. A memorable summit pose. Overall, we had a great climb, a little rain never hurt anyone (except for me... I'm mellllting!). Crew members from bellingham didn't seem to mind. The trail is feels a lot longer than it really is, especially on the trip back down. 15 miles round trip or something like that. Sore feet, tons of mosquitoes down low, great times! Gear Notes: Bring DEET! We loaded it on in the morning, but it wore off before we got back down. A small canister would have been nice to have... Approach Notes: Its a long hike, bring comfy hiking boots.

I agree totally. I use "Colorado's Fourteeners" every time I'm down there...

Hey Jared, I was just going to put up a post just like yours! I will be in CO the week of June 22-28 for work. I might be able to sneak off for a day of climbing as well. I am typically in CO just about every month for a week or so, but my work is coming to an end down there... I climbed Mt of the Holy Cross last summer. Great climb, pretty easy class 3 to the summit. Anyways, if you can make it out there to climb on the 27 or 28th, let me know, we can meet up (I'll have a rental car). I was thinking something around Aspen, since thats where I'll be working (Capitol, Maroon Bells, other?). If not, I'll just find something to solo. Have fun! -Brian

I can't believe how much that snow melted off in just a few weeks. What were the temps up there? Man, last weekend was gorgeous!

Anyone checked these out yet? I just ran across them online. I was thinking about getting the Trango Evos, but might wait for these to come out. MooseJaw says they'll have them by mid June...Mountain Gear by the beginning of July. The main issues with the Trango Evos (from what I've read in reviews) is the fraying with the side fabric and the lack of durability where the laces rub. Check out the picks below closely, I think they fixed both issues with the ALP. Thoughts anyone? Anybody own the Evo's and have suggestions on one or the other? Thanks a bunch! The new La Sportiva Trango ALP: La Sportiva Trango Evo:

Thats what we did, great alternative...no pro needed. Plus, its a neat scramble.

Sweet. I can't believe the lake melted out so fast. I was just up there a couple weeks ago and it was completely frozen over. Too bad there were so many people up there... Those climbs have become very popular.

Nice! Great pics at Pandora's box. We watched you guys go up from our tent at the lake. There was a large avalanche that occurred just after you reached the col that covered much of your steps up the glacier...good timing...

We had a group go up about an hour ahead of us, they kicked steps the whole way, allowing us to have a pretty easy ascent. I think your steps were melted away by the rain Saturday night... Were you in the group that went up Saturday afternoon? We watched a crew of 4 or 5 reach the col just before an avalanche covered a large portion of their path. We also watched a bus sized rock fall down the cliff to the left of Asgard pass and down to the lake. Lots of snow/rock activity on Saturday, pretty amazing.

I think it was. See pic below... There was a steep snow section just below this point (see the other team peering over the edge). It was probably better to rap down it given the condition, but it was possible to down climb if you don't have a rope. Backtracking 100 ft or so down our route and then back up the granite ridge seemed to be easier and worked out well for us. Is pandora's box the area, or this perched rock...?

Trip: Colchuck and Dragontail - Colchuck Col Date: 5/25/2008 Trip Report: I’ve been a ‘lurker’ on CC.com for a while now, but decided it was time for me to give back. This is a trip report for a climb that we did up Colchuck and Dragontail via Colchuck col on 5/25/08. We’ll have to see if I can get the pictures to show up… Given the dismal weather forecast for Memorial weekend, we weren’t sure that it would take a turn in our favor, but decided that it was worth a try. As it turned out, all of the rain came at night and posed no problems for climbing. Plus, there were no crowds! Dragontail and Colchuck: The climb began on Saturday with a hike in to Colchuck Lake. We set up camp and enjoyed the absolutely amazing views. The rain began about 7 or 8 pm and it poured all night, but it was only partly cloudy in the morning. The route we took was very straight forward, beginning by heading up Colchuck Glacier. Colchuck Glacier: Near Colchuck col: When you reach the col between Dragontail and Colchuck, head up to the right towards Colchuck’s summit. Very easy climbing, maybe class 2 or 3. The snow was a little soft with some post-holing occurring, but other than that, no issues. Heading up Colchuck: Heading back to the col was simple and quick. When back at the col, we headed up Dragontail. After a while, we reached a section that required some steep down climbing. The team ahead of us decided to rope up on this section and set up a rap station. We didn’t bring a rope or harnesses up with us, so we down climbed about 100 ft and scampered up a rock section just along the ridge. The route to the summit is fairly straight forward (which ever ‘summit’ you choose…). The glasade section down Asgard pass is as fun and quick as it gets! Dragontail near Asgard Pass: Overall, the views were amazing and we couldn’t be happier with the lack of crowds on the mountain. This was a great time of year to be on the mountains with plentiful snow. I am always curious about how long routes take before I head out to the mountain, for others who are curious, here were our times… From Colchuck Lake to the Col – 2 hrs. The col to Colchuck summit – 1 hr. Back to the col - .5 hrs. The col to Dragontail Summit – 2 hrs (and that’s taking it really slow and enjoying the views!). Down Asgard pass to the lake - 1 hr (give or take). These peaks look very impressive, but it actually takes very little time to bag them both. Go for it! Gear Notes: We brought crampons, but didn't use them. Hiking poles and an ice axe are always great.