chimbo

Trip: Olympics - Mt. Constance from Avalanche Canyon Date: 5/28/2009 Trip Report: Our group of four had a climbing reunion of sorts and chose Mt. Constance. I'm enjoying this weather window and the fact that the scree is covered with snow in my backyard range. I highly recommend bringing bikes for the washed out section of the Dosewallips. We camped at the lake where there was access to water and one dry spot. We approached the canyon at five but the snow was soft. We escaped the shadows of the canyon to catch the sun on the east side. Make sure to follow the chute directly across from "the thumb" on the other side of the canyon. Once you climb the broad chute and get to the other side of the ridge you are mostly traversing. The traverse had some exposed areas but the snow conditions were pretty good and we never used any pro. Approaching the summit. The views of the Olympics, the Sound and Canal, and the Cascades were great. The last section of the traverse had a fun scramble and gorgeous ridge leading up to the summit. Heading home. It was a quick turnaround from Mt. Deception but when your best friends are all in town how do you say no. This was a great cap to a great week in the Olympics. Gear Notes: Ice Ax, (we brought crampons but the snow was pretty soft), you could set pickets for some of the exposed sections and horn a few places along the traverse. We didn't use anything and you could certainly choose to go light on this one. Approach Notes: Take BIKES on the Dose washout! No snow until Lake Constance.

Trip: Olympics - Mt. Deception from Royal Basin Date: 5/25/2009 Trip Report: With the quick alpine season in the Olympics we headed up there over the holiday weekend. We had the whole upper basin to ourselves on Saturday night and shared it with a group of skiers and snowshoers on the second night. We climbed Deception and Martin from the basin and despite quite a bit of post-holing, it was a great weekend. From the Basin head west up the snow slopes and work left towards the saddle. From the backside descend to the glacier and then climb a short and steep snow slope to the south. This will take you to the summit ridge and a nice walk to the summit. This is a fun, little climb. Get an early start to avoid waist-deep post holing. Reach the summit ridge after crossing the small glacier and climbing a short, forty degree snow slope. Great views of the whole range from the summit. Gear Notes: Ax, crampons if you plan to climb early (recommended), rope (we roped up with two inexperienced climbers but it was unnecessary), a few pickets just in case. Approach Notes: No snow until lower meadows at about 4400 ft.

Does anyone have any info on current conditions for any of the routes on these mountains? I didn't see anything under the trip reports. Thanks