chimbo

Trip: Tenaya Peak - NW Buttress 5.7 variation Date: 10/10/2009 Trip Report: I'm in a masters in education program so I teach in the mornings and work for an after school program in the afternoons. The after school program is in one of Oakland's toughest middle schools and I'm quickly learning to decipher when I'm being told to fuck off in more languages than I'll be able to learn in one lifetime. It was a tough week and I was looking forward to some fresh air and solitary granite. Last weekend while cragging in the Valley I took a couple of nice whippers and it didn't seem like I could stay on anything. All in all I was needing something to feel positive about. Fourteen pitches of 5.0 to 5.5 climbing with a few 5.7 moves thrown in for fun?.... Now this is the type of ego booster I'm looking for! Tenaya Peak The Sierra saw it's first snow last week and there was some left on the route. A few other parties bailed but that seemed unnecessary. I mean I tell people I'm an alpinist, often times they don't know what that means but it sounds kind of cool. I haven't felt like one too often since I moved down here so maybe some snow and ice would help me redeem myself. Justin following in the cold. Tenaya Lake in the background. Half way up the climb everything was going great. It was one of those crisp fall days where it just feels good to be outside and the views were fantastic. We simul-climbed everything to this point and then decided to pitch out a 5.5 section since we were running into more snow and ice. A couple of fun moves brought me to a featureless, low angle slab. I kept cruising upward but found myself running out of options and rope. What looked fine from below was really ice disguised by shade. I continued towards a corner with a nice crack eager to place something. The higher I got the worse the ice was and pretty soon I was trapped. The crack was sufficiently guarded and now I had to down-climb icy, low angle slabs? This was supposed to be confidence building. How did I find myself 80 feet above my last piece down climbing a featureless face with splotches of ice? "Climber falls on Tenaya Peak"... now that simply is not the way to go out in style. Well, here we go. I started down and began traversing to the right until I found a few ledges above with trees- anchor please. I delicately moved across some snow and sized up the last unprotect moves I'd make before safety. When I became a student again they made me get health insurance plus that membership to the AAC comes with medevac right? A few moderate moves and I was sitting in the snow tying into those trees. A little more than I had bargained for but I guess that was an ego booster? Maybe? We avoided ice and snow for the rest of the climb and started to take in some sunshine as we got higher. Heading towards the top. Summit shot. The W. Ridge of Mt. Conness is in the center/background. Definitely my favorite thing I've done down here. Matthes Crest which looks like a blast. Checking out the route on the descent. Tuolmne Meadows. Some beautiful scenery right off of 120 by Tioga Pass. I'm pretty sure this is near Dana Plateau. Heading east with Lee Vining Canyon below. It sounds like Tioga Pass might close this week due to snow which would be a shame. You've got to love the solitude of fall climbing but all good things must come to an end. Now back to take on middle school. Gear Notes: .5 to 3 Approach Notes: Approach?

I didn't take a ton of pictures on this one since it was pushing my grade a bit and I spent more time wining about the heat. Solid climbing on the entire route. We linked up first four pitches so did the whole route in 10. Some fun hand and finger cracks with some nice liebacks. The bolt ladder went smoothly which was a relief since I'm as green as they come on aid routes. The crux was a 5.9 roof that was excellent. I figured I'd take some shots of the group ahead of us since we spent an hour waiting for them to get off a tiny belay ledge. This was an awesome climb and I still can't get over how easy it is to access great multi-pitch routes down here. No wonder that it's not easy to find alpine partners. I checked out the 50 classics of NA after my partner told me that the route we just climbed was on there. That's a pretty interesting list considering it has everything from a short aid route in the valley to the Cassin Ridge. I saw it was put together in '79 and wonder if someone has put together an update since then or if most of these routes still hold up.

Trip: Middle Cathedral - East Buttress 5.9 A0 Date: 9/20/2009 Trip Report: Last weekend, before climbing Mt. Conness on Sunday, I sent spent Saturday craging in the Valley. We did a couple multi-pitch climbs and I persistently nagged anyone around me about whether or not they were looking for partners in the weeks ahead. It paid off and I went up again this weekend and climbed the East Buttress as a long day trip. It's definitely not a bad place to spend a day with great views of El Cap and the Valley below. It wasn't crowded with only two other groups on route but we did end up spending some time waiting. Overall not too bad for one of the "50 NA Classics" that starts 15 minutes from the road.

Nice work.

Nice seeing a TR from the Olympics. Even though the climbing is marginal the trips always seem to be memorable. I've definitely heard people talk about a plane wreck in that area but don't know about the details.

Trip: Mt. Conness - West Ridge Date: 9/13/2009 Trip Report: On Sunday Justin (another CC) and I climbed the West Ridge of Mt. Conness. After climbing in the valley on Saturday this was exactly what we were looking for. The approach was not as cush as Cathedral which definitely kept the crowds away. We shared the route with one other group led by another Washington climber that Justin knew well but hadn't seen in years. Small world The west ridge is on the left skyline. Checking out the route. Justin following on the lower section. There was some fun exposed climbing along the crest of the ridge. Justin coming over the ridge to reach the upper section of the climb. Sam and his group. To the West To the East I enjoyed this climb quite a bit. I think the guide book calls it a 12 pitch 5.6 but we simulclimbed most of it. I definitely recommend it to anyone who ends up in Yosemite and wants to get away from the crowds.

Yeah it wasn't that bad this time but definitely interesting.

Trip: Cathedral Peak - SE Buttress Date: 8/29/2009 Trip Report: I just moved down here from PT so I was anxious check out the Sierra. We did a six pitch 5.6/5.7 classic in the Tuolumne area of Yosemite. SE Buttress of Cathedral Peak 10,991 ft. A pretty cush hike in had me missing slide alder. Echo Peaks The route had a bit of everything... a fun chimney, face climbing with huge knobs, and a few nice cracks. No wonder it gets crowded. Paul following the first pitch. Looking back at Paul and the first three pitches from inside the chimney. These guys were the first nice people from England I've ever met. They're here to climb The Nose on El Cap. Eichorn Pinnacle is on the bottom right. The only downside to this great trip was the fact that the Park Service caught the forrest on fire. No access to the valley and some smokey air. Gear Notes: Free soloing seems popular here. Approach Notes: Their fire cut of power at the entrance station so if you try to pay with a credit card they let you in for free.

Awesome photos and TR on your site. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, Jay. Please keep this stuff coming.

Great pictures as usual.

Trip: Prusik Peak - West Ridge Date: 7/27/2009 Trip Report: On July 27th Dave, Matt, and I climbed the West Ridge of Prusik Peak. There are plenty of great TRs on this classic so I'll simply add some photos. I planned to end my alpine season by climbing the complete N. Ridge of Mt. Stuart with some other friends. It wasn't to be as rain and lightning chased off the mountain about 1/3 of the way up on the 28th. You've got to love those night rappels. Now I'm off to Alaska..... for the longline season .

That third picture is awesome. Nice job and thanks for sharing.

Trip: Mt. Triumph - NE Ridge Date: 7/15/2009 Trip Report: On July 15th Dave and I (Tyler) climbed Mt. Triumph via the North East Ridge. We hiked to the lower Thornton Lake on the evening of the 14th which took a few hours. We lost a bit of time on the morning of the 15th by getting off-route on the approach up to the notch at 5700 ft. From the notch we traversed easy terrain on the glacier to reach the NE ridge. We climbed eight pitches plus some simul-climbing to reach the summit around 5PM (hence the great evening light towards the end). We finished rapping the route as the sun set and crossed the glacier in darkness. We bivied on the notch at 5700 and hiked out early this morning. Shot taken at the notch at 5700 ft. with the NE ridge on the right skyline. Dave following pitch 2. Dave leading pitch 3. Dave about to follow on the knifey ridge with big exposure... definitely my favorite part of the climb. Summit pyramid. Dave leading the crux pitch. Me enjoying the summit. Down-climbing to the first rap station. Dave having fun as we try to get off the route before darkness. The views on this climb were stunning, especially in the evening light. I couldn't keep from gazing towards the Pickets and thinking about all the possibilities. Sadly, I won't have time to get there this summer so I'll be hanging this shot on the fridge to remind me of what I'll be missing when I move from WA next month. There were a few loose flakes but overall the rock was good. Not many hard moves on this route but plenty of run-outs. Thanks to Dave for a great climb as this was one of my favorites. Gear Notes: Cams to 3 and we used some larger stoppers. I chose to forego crampons on the glacier while Dave used them... matter of preference. Approach Notes: There is quite a bit of snow covering the stream between the first and second lake so crossing was not an issue. We made the silly mistake of passing the gully that leads to the notch at 5700. Stay to the right of the second lake and head up the obvious gully staring you in the face. There are some great bivy spots with water at the notch.

Sounds like a very rewarding climb. Any idea if Goode is regularly climbed?

Nice work. I plan on heading up there to do the Traverse this week even though the weather looks poor. Sounds like it was a great climb.

That's one of those climbs that you never want to end once you get on the rock. Good work.

Nice photos and great views.

Trip: North Cascades - North Ridge, Baker Date: 7/2/2009 Trip Report: On July 2 Brandon, Leif, and I (Tyler) climbed the North Ridge. We arrived to Merkwood on the night of the 30th after biking from the washout and then spent the 1st on the seracs before moving camp to Hogsback. We left camp on the 2nd at 2AM and traversed over the Coleman and a number of large crevasses to the beginning of the apron. By 6AM we were at our first pitch a few hundred ft. below the crux. We chose to protect four pitches with three people and did not start simul-climbing on the upper portion of the ridge until noon. We reached the summit at 2PM and returned to camp at 5PM. A very long and rewarding day. The traverse over the Coleman to reach the beginning of the route was straightforward and all the crevasses had solid bridges (lots of snow cover on the lower glaciers). The snow and ice conditions were great and even with high temps, the upper part of the route was still pretty firm in the afternoon. We followed a direct line to the summit but protected a few sketchy snow bridges (not sure how much longer that will be feasible). Views from above Merkwood Views from Hogsback Approaching the crux (It looked like you could access an ice pitch from the rock on the right hand side of this photo. I imagine this would shorten the route a bit). Brandon leading the crux. Roosevelt Glacier. My heart sunk a few times hearing huge icefall down there mid-climbing. Brandon traversing below the crest of the ridge before gaining the upper portion of the route. Approaching the summit after crossing a few bridges that didn't inspire confidence. Finally reaching the summit area after 12 hours on route. Leif (to the right) and I on the true summit. We certainly could have shaved off time by simul-climbing two of our four pitches but I'll chalk that up as a learning experience. Descending the Coleman was a piece of cake as that route is not broken up at all. There had definitely been groups on the route before us and I imagine it will start to get more busy. It was nice to have such a popular mountain all to ourselves. Thanks to Brandon and Leif for a great trip. Brandon is the climbing ranger on the mountain so say hello the next time you're up there. Gear Notes: Picket per person and 12 screws (we were able to make most of our anchors with just screws). Approach Notes: Bikes are the way to go but a bit awkward with packs (not a bad idea to have a pump or patch kit handy).

I was thinking about you guys on the Arete when that weather rolled in. How did you fair? What route were those guys on over on Colchuck? There was definitely a creepy vibe after that lightening struck so close. I hope everyone is alright.

Trip: Alpine Lakes - Colchuck and Dragontail from Colchuck Col Date: 6/14/2009 Trip Report: I've wanted to check out the Stuart Range since last summer so after a day at Leavenworth, a friend and I went in for a day trip on Colchuck and Dragontail. It's a long drive from the peninsula but well worth it. We left the trailhead at 4:45 and were at the lake around 7:30. The night before we met a couple of guys heading up one of glaciers on Stuart... TR? Colchuck in the morning sun. There was an obvious boot pack going up the glacier to the col. We saw quite a few groups coming down on Saturday night and there were only a handful of us on the mountain on Sunday. A few groups below us right before the Col. The South side of the Col with Rainier barely visible in the background. Stuart from Colchuck. Summit shot from Colchuck. Some weather was building up and at this point my friend decided she was content for the day. I decided to hustle up Dragontail before the fun stuff showed up. Looking back down the route up Dragontail from the backside of the Col. Heading up the snowfinger. The moderate traverse to the South side of Dragontail. It was fun to mix up some rock climbing on Saturday with this trip. I've never been to this area and the amount of routes available was pretty inspiring. I met some nice people on the trip as well. I'm a pretty big baby when it comes to lightening and was awfully glad to be off the mountain when that rolled in around 1:30. Anyone have any good stories... There seemed to be a few groups heading up right before it unloaded. Gear Notes: Ax (no crampons or rope). Approach Notes: No snow at Lake.

The Brothers are nice on the eastern side and there is a rock route on Washington that is decent. You could do Constance in a day but it would be pretty long. Bring a bike to ride the Dose road that washed out until the trail up to Lake Constance. Gain 3400 ft. in 2 miles to reach the lake and then do the climb from there. This would be a long day. Besides Olympus I wouldn't recommend much during the summer as the scree is not much fun to negotiate. Spring is the best time to climb in the Olympics in my opinion. Lots of beautiful hiking so you can definitely stay busy.

Does anyone know how much snow you'd encounter on the approach? Any recommendations about one approach over another?

Anyone have information about the washout and when the road might open back up?

I heard some rumors that there was a bad washout that complicates driving to this area. Any truth to that?