Val Zephyr

I think we saw your green tent on the way out. I was wondering what the rest of the peak was really like. It sounds like it would have been a long day with no beer and campfire afterward. I think we made the right call However, good bivi sites on the north ridge... that might be worth checking out someday. I do love the alpine bivi.

Trip: Mesahchie - Icefall and Couloir Date: 10/16/2010 Trip Report: Mesahchie (meaning “wicked” in Chinook jargon) is located near Rainy Pass in the North Cascades and reaches 8785', making it one of Washington's highest 100 peaks. Even better, it is surrounded by other huge summits like Goode and Logan. We weren't after a summit this time though. Instead, Ian and I decided to team up for an ascent of Mesahchie Peak's icefall and couloir route. I have been interested in this route since I went on a scrambling trip along Mesahchie's east ridge with Evan J and Kevin S in fall of 2007. We randomly ran into Jim and Obadiah who had found a much more interesting way to tackle this peak than ourselves. We scrambled along the east ridge to arrive at the top of the icefall and couloir route just as our fellow UWCCer's were finishing the steep couloir portion. Jim and Obadiah ascending Mesahchie glacier in fall of 2007: So earlier last week, Ian and I began discussing our own attempt. The conditions were good, the weather was great, the only problem was that we would have to miss the UWCC fall campout Of course the thought of a one-day attempt instantly crossed my mind, but I quickly shot it down. The route is involved and the approach/deproach are tedious. Not to mention daylight hours are quickly dissipating. The following morning I got an e-mail from Ian “I'm in 98.98% but I have another proposal... possibly silly and I'm fine if you don't like it. Now, light and fast with bivy gear is not as light and fast as doing it in one push without sleeping gear.” Do two silly ideas equal a good idea? The route description on summitpost also had an opion on the matter. “My opinion as a day trip: It's a long way, a lot farther than what a map might show because of the terrain encountered. Ergo, I wouldn't recommend it in a day--especially if doing the ice route. Ice climbing necessitates bringing heavy gear, so it's not as if one would travel really light for the traverse. A two-day endeavor with a bivy at either of the bivy sites would be the best option. In this case, get an early start on the second day to ensure ample time to get out before dark. Climbing to Mesahchie Col and then descending to near the start of the ice climb should not be a problem in the early morning crepuscule. If the other climbers in your party are not fast or as competent, then a day hike is out of the question. A two-day hike may even be questionable depending on the time of year and the number of daylight hours.” Hhhhhmmmm.... well, my favorite trips always stem from silly ideas, so this ended up really being an easy call. Every once in a while two silly ideas can add up to a great one! We left the trailhead at 4am Saturday, made Easy Pass by 6am, and the col by 8am. We took a nice break at the col in the morning sunshine before we dipped onto the north side and shadow for nearly the rest of the day. The snow finger no longer reaches the col on the left side, so we opted to rappel down to the glacier below to prevent accidently falling into a deep moat. We hiked along the glacier and were beginning up the icefall by around 10am. This was the crux of the route for me: solid blue water ice for ~90m. Good climbing! I put in 2 screws and found a good two screw anchor at about 60m. The angle mellows considerably after this for another 30m of ice then I ran out the rest of the 70m rope on good snice! Ian lead a simulclimbing pitch up the mid section of the glacier to the base of the couloir. Arriving at the top of the glacier to find a deep moat, he attempted to butt-scoot the final few feet to a good belay. This was hilarious! The final difficulty was gaining the couloir. This currently involves climbing into and back out of a small berschrund. I ran out the 70m rope again, finding some nice rock pro along the way. Ian finished to the top and we were back in the sunshine be 3pm! First view of the route (couloir is not yet visible) Ian on the first pitch Second pitch Ian scooting to a good belay. The couloir is now visible on the left. Final climb up the couloir We decided to forgo the summit. It didn't look any more inviting than the last time I had been here. Instead we booked it back to the trailhead, arriving at 8:30, giving up plently of time to get back at sit around the campfire with the rest of the UWCC! Ian, thanks for being a fantastic partner and tipping the scale for a one-day climb! Gear Notes: 5 ice screws 4 pickets small assortment of rock pro Approach Notes: Light packs were awesome for the approach/deproach! I'd recommend this as a one-day trip with a trailhead bivy.

Hopefully! Plus, by the 22nd, you won't have to be concerned with permits. That was also part of the inspiration for our unconventional bivy.

Trip: Prusik Peak - West Ridge Date: 10/3/2010 Trip Report: The past two summers I've made a Prusik-in-a-day trip. This usually takes just over 20 hours to complete: kind of a long day. This year I decided to change it up a bit: Prusik in 2 days with a little rest right in the very middle of the trip. Allison, Lucas and I took off Friday night and caught a little October-fest action in the beer garden before arriving at the Stuart Lake trailhead for a little sleep. We started up the trail just after 5 am and made good time to Colchuck lake. The larch season is in full swing right now. Enough about the approach though, I think you've heard about this area at least a half a dozen times from me alone. I will leave this at: It was really pretty. We arrived at the base at 1:30 and began our ascent. This was a the first time I've led anything above low-fifth with a pack on. Let alone an overnight pack filled with three mini wine bottles and 3 avacados; so much for going ultra light. The awkwardness of the pack quickly subsided and, as always, I thoroughly enjoyed the five pitches to the summit. We arrived at the top in fading light and wedged ourselves in between the rock “railings” on the summit. These railings were a lot of the inspiration for this climb. It is amazing that this pointy summit has a flat spot big enough for...uh...2.5 people, and a safety railing to keep them from rolling off in the middle of the night. We celebrated our climb with wine and chocolate and then attempted to get a little sleep. We had a range of theories for going light on our ascent. I had a 40 degree bag, ½ three season mat and an emergency bivy. For me, this system was perfect (only 36 ounces) and I'll be doing this from now on. Lucas was inspired to go a little lighter: extra clothes, a full bivy, but no sleeping bag. This also worked to some degree. Allison's theory was: screw light and fast, I'll carry my zero degree bag, full bivy and full mat, but at least I'll get some good sleep. At around midnight, the unthinkable happened: rain! A worried, “are we going to have to rappel now?” came from Allison's bivy. “Nope, we're staying put”. I tucked further into my bivy and began to mentally prepare for a horrible morning full of wet rappels. Thankfully the rain was short-lived and we awoke to an amazing birds-eye view of the Enchantments. We had a few issues rappelling. I will never try to run the rope straight over the lip of the summit block again, but rather down the corner. Though over the lip worked the last two times with some friction as we pulled it, this time the amount of the friction on the rope was completely ridiculous and required all three of us pulling on it to get it to come down. We weren't done yet; as my Petzel Fuse tried desperately to remain on the mountain, sometimes twisting itself around horns and rocks in puzzling positions. Finally though, we were down and motivated by thoughts of a real dinner which helped us book it out fast to the car. I believe that this was Lucas' first alpine rock and Allison's second. They both got thrown in fast with a full-value experience of carrying an overnight pack on a rock route and a nearly 8000' summit bivy in October! Anyways, thanks a ton you guys for going along with me for this! Photos! If anyone found a red #1 cam up there Sunday, it's mine. I'm perplexed as to how and where we lost it, but it's missing and is likely at a belay somewhere on the route. Thanks!

Hello, I lost a red #1 cam somewhere on the west ridge of Prusik Peak last Saturday. It isn't stuck anywhere, but probably just got left behind on one of the belay stations. e-mail me at valerie_wall@hotmail.com if you find it. Thanks!!

pm sent

Cool pic John, Thanks! It was nice to meet you guys up there. I hope your trip up Rainier went just as well! We should have a Sisters' trip in CO; it is between here and Baltimore after all.

Awesome climb! V, are you a fan of alpine ice now?

Trip: Mt Ruth - Date: 5/9/2010 Trip Report: Sam, Andy, Markus, Nathan and I took advantage of some awesome late season snow and skied Mt. Ruth. Skiing Ruth has been something on my tick-list since before I even owed bc skis; it did not disappoint. We had perfect snow conditions and a wide open canvas of snow in which to carve turns. Nathan and I arrived at the trailhead at 4 pm Saturday and hiked/skinned in to the valley reach the base of Ruth by dinner. We made camp here: Last light on Ruth Just as the sun reached our camp on Sunday morning, we were joined by Sam, Andy and Markus who had spent the night at the trailhead. We booted up to gain the NR of Ruth, just south of Hannegan Pass. From here it was an easy skin up to the summit. The views from here are spectacular. The are, perhaps, even better than the view from Shuksan, because from here the view includes Shuksan. Gaining the NR Hiking up the NR What a view! After the sun warmed and softened the first couple inches of snow, we skied the best backcountry spring corn that I've had yet! Skiing down Ruth Approach Notes: The road to the trailhead is snow-free to within 0.1 miles of the parking area. We booted the first ~3/4 mile, then you can skin the rest of the way, except a creek crossing and one slide alder crossing. Staying low in the valley minimized the need for carrying skis over brush.

Hey, nice job on the route! That climb was one of my favorite days out this season. The rappel was kind of intimidating. So, for future reference on this route, the tip that I got was from a group that went up just a couple weeks before I did. The snow depth was still fairly low at this time. They said that with the low snow, a rappel with a single 60m rope appeared to not quite reach the zipper and the person on rappel decided to climb back up to the rap tree, they found another adventurous decent from the sounds of it. It is a long rappel, but with a little more snow, I bet that a 60m would make it most of the time. Having an extra rap line really gives some piece of mind though.

Le Piston- There will be a rematch with Formidable (not Redoubt)this summer! Goatboy- Approach from Narada Falls parking area. Go straight up the slope to the road to reflection lakes. When the road turns 90 degrees (first turn), continue straight ahead down through the trees. You'll enter a meadow. Continue a short distance to the base of the route. You'll see the whole route from Both the Parking lot and the meadow (in good weather). This is a short approach (maybe 1.5-2 miles). No floatation need right now. Enjoy!

Trip: Lane Peak - Lover's Lane Date: 2/20/2010 Trip Report: Carolina and I climbed Lane peak via Lover’s Lane today in perfect conditions. I attempted this route last December and found it with much skimpier coverage. Today was nothing but nice, plastic, every-swing-sticks climbing for the entire length of the couloir. The route goes up the leftmost couloir Approaching; route in center We climbed the route in two simulclimbing leads. I took the first lead just below the WI2 step (now more of a steep solid snow step). I continued up the couloir, placing 4 pickets, and stopped a rope-length below what I think was the easy mixed step (now also just steep solid snow). Carolina took the next lead to the top of the couloir. She anchored to a tree just below the snow arete at the top of the couloir. I continued up and peered over the other side and became quite pleased that Carolina had such a solid tree anchor. The snow arete was soft and mildly corniced. I carefully swam in steep powder over to the rap tree. A 0.5 camalot above the rap tree protected the powder swim traverse over the abyss of the zipper for Carolina to join me at the rap tree. Peering into the Zipper from this vantage point was pretty cool! We made a double rope rappel into the Zipper (I got some helpful advice that a single does not make it! ). We were now transplanted 2/3 of the way into the Zipper Route. Two routes for the price of one! Looking up the Zipper Carolina topping out on the Zipper route with the rap tree at the top of Lover’s Lane draw in. Lastly, we had to try to stand on the tippy-top. This was probably the trickiest part of the whole climb; completely because of different snow conditions on this side. We plunged up much nastier, looser snow on the south face, protecting the final ¼ pitch to the summit ridge. We stopped here, as the last bit looked too sketchy (loose snow over rock). We were literally a stone’s throw away at this point and could peer over the north side; close enough! This was a fine climb and we are curious why it does not see more ascents. We felt that the added steeper sections and rappel make it an overall more interesting objective.

Hey, Here are a few photos that I took last weekend. I'm also hoping to get up this route this season. I'll probably give it a try in a few weeks depending what the weather does. If you make it up there, let me know what shape it's in. Thanks! http://students.washington.edu/climb/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=5331

Here's a link to my TR on the UWCC forum. It looks like the ice did thicken up a bit overnight. http://students.washington.edu/climb/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=5248

Thanks for getting this TR up so fast. My climbing partner saw this Saturday evening, and we were able to make it out there on Sunday to climb it. Fun Route!

I'll take them.

I'm not an expert either, but Hayley reported seeing a Grizzly in Boston Basin near the base of Forbidden last August. She said that it was much larger than a black bear, lighter in color, and had the characteristic hump. Anything is possible.

Nice TR. I was hoping to get to see a few pics of your Spider Mountain adventure. It was fun to talk with you guys up there. Here's a pic of your awesome camp; complete with goats!

Hi, I am a member of the UWCC and one of our club members dropped a petzl Quark on Hood last winter. It's a long shot, but it would be great to get it back.

I was up there last Saturday. The area is still holding quite a bit of snow.

Has anyone been up to see how far you can drive on Chiwawa River road? Thanks!

How far can you drive up the road? Is the gate just past the Eldorado trailhead open? Thanks!

Yuck! Way to tough it out hiking up Aasgard without skis or snowshoes.

Wow, Lisa, great photo of the Falcon! That must have been quite an exciting pitch. Jon, I believe that this is the second one of your trips to Leavenworth that ended with some poor soul's bathroom issues posted online. Hehe!

Wow! Nicely done guys.