bellows

Excellent trip report! That looks like a beautiful route, thanks for the stoke.

Nice pictures! I like the one of the purple flowers with J-Berg in the background. I remember hiking by them on the way out a week ago. Fun climb.

Trip: Torment Forbidden Traverse - TFT Date: 7/19/2015 Trip Report: Wojtek and I & Will and Guy climbed the TFT as two parties of two over the weekend. It was gorgeous. Looking at the traverse from Boston Basin on Saturday morning: Views of Johannesberg never get old: Crossing a broken Taboo glacier to the sharp notch leading to the south ridge of Torment: From the notch we climbed a short pitch to get to the bottom of the gray dihedral, then two long simul pitches brought us fairly quickly to the summit of Torment. Lots of familiar faces in the register which was fun to read through while enjoying the views: Forbidden, still a day away: Easy simul-downclimbing and traversing brought us to the north side rap. With the huge moat and a secondary bergshrund we used both ropes and did a big 70m single rappel to get to easier snow below: 4th class around a rib gave us our first view of the steep snow traverse which looked pretty melted out: Wojtek and I chose to skip the snow traverse and climb directly up on the ridge. Tedious route finding found us in a hideously loose steep chimney just right of the crest, then a short rappel, finally easier climbing put us on the ridge proper and more solid rock: After the gendarme we eventually met back up with Will and Guy who saw us fighting the chimney and decided to take the steep snow/ice traverse. They had decent things to say about their choice, using a picket and a couple screws along with two tools to make it across. After that point things got decidedly easier and we pushed on with the WR of Forbidden getting ever closer: Finally to the west ridge notch bivys where we spent a beautiful Saturday night: Sunday morning had us climbing the highly enjoyable west ridge all by ourselves: Forbidden summit: To make a true traverse, we took the sketchy east ledges descent. My first (and last) time taking that route down. To steal a quote from my friend Colin - this is how I choose to remember the east ledges: All in all it was a really fun route. I've had my eye on it for a couple years and it all came together very quickly and went really well. It's doable in a day, but why rush through such fun terrain! Gear Notes: Screws and a second tool if you want to take the steep snow/ice traverse. Approach Notes: Stay on the trail all the way through the upper Forbidden bivys even when it seems like the trail is not being very direct.

Right on, nice work Greg! Way to sneak into that weather window.

Right on, nice pics. We were impressed at your ski tracks exiting the face over the bergshrund.

Sorry, can't help you on the south side, we came in from the north. But here's a trip report from last saturday that might help you decide: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2015-06-14.6354050512

I climbed it yesterday and added a trip report to the database. In short, it's very climbable right now for a competent party with good crevasse navigation & rescue skills and comfort level on steep snow. We did lots of front pointing and french technique leaving only crampons prints in the hard snow and also crossed numerous snow bridges over big crevasses. If that's your skill level then go for it! I really enjoyed the route.

Trip: Mount Adams - Adams Glacier Date: 6/15/2015 Trip Report: Yesterday was total Type 1 fun! Light & fast through an engaging crevassed glacier with steep enough terrain to keep us entertained but not steep enough to trip the anxiety meter. Greg and I left the cars at 2AM Monday morning, reaching the snowfield just above the pea-soup lake in time for sunrise lighting up the big tahoma: We roped up at flattish terrain by a rubble island ~8200’ and I headed out towards the far right side of the glacier: Getting steeper at ~9000’: We thought we’d tackle the icefall at ~10,000’ directly since it looked more interesting, however once we got in the middle of it there were too many crevasses and jumbled ice blocks to really make it work. Instead we rapped ~20’ into the belly of the beast and traversed out right across a snow bridge towards the NFNWR. Looking back as I escaped the icefall: A few hundred feet up we traversed back onto the Adams Glacier proper and from there weaved in & around crevasses up to the top: It was cool to have the top all to ourselves: A tedious descent down the quickly melting out North Ridge put us back in the meadows mid afternoon. Parting shot at a good looking mountain: On the way out we didn’t notice any bugs until I stopped at a creek to cool off my feet. Seconds later I looked down to DOZENS of mosquitos, everywhere! Milliseconds later we were hustling back down the trail. Overall the route is in excellent shape for those with good crevasse navigation & rescue skills and comfort level on steep 45 degree snow. We didn’t see any critical bridges or areas that would be show stoppers if melted out and I’d guess the route could stay in climbable shape for several more weeks if not longer. Enjoy! Gear Notes: Pickets were bomber. Screws weren't necessary.

Anyone recognize any of these climbers? We found some of your gear near Ptarmigan Ridge high camp last weekend. Email me djcbellows at gmail and I'll get it back to you.

Anyone recognize any of these climbers? We found some of your gear near Ptarmigan Ridge high camp last weekend. Email me djcbellows at gmail and I'll get it back to you.

Hey Nick, this is the best I got, looking down on the Mowich from the rock step around 12,000' We saw a couple headlamps early morning descending from near Observation Rock onto the North Mowich so someone out there has some recent beta. Good luck!

Amazing photos as always. The Olympics are cool. Thanks for the inspiration, I'm adding it to my to-do list short list!

Trip: Mount Rainier - Ptarmigan Ridge Date: 6/7/2015 Trip Report: Ptarmigan Ridge is in great condition right now. Mowich Lake Road is still closed, but that just means you don’t have to do the car dance and you get a nice tour of the north side glaciers from the White River approach. Greg M and I left the cars predawn at 3AM on Saturday. The early start let us get across the Winthrop and Carbon Glaciers in firm conditions, leaving only crampon prints. Things started softening as we headed up the Russell Glacier ~8AM but nothing too bad, maybe ankle deep snow at the worst. We got into high camp at 10,200 at the base of the route just before noon and set up our tent, rested, melted snow, and watched a pair of climbers slowly making their way up Liberty Ridge. Looking across the Winthrop to lower Curtis Ridge. We followed the boot pack low around the ridge and found a pretty straight forward entrance down to the Carbon ~7200’. Awesome views of the north face of Rainier from lower Curtis Ridge: Crossing the Carbon and up the Russell was easy peasy: Views of the impressive Ptarmigan Ice Cliff above camp and the upper part of the route to the right: We left camp at 1AM Sunday and dropped down a few hundred feet to the bergshrund leading to snow slopes trending left as we climbed. The snow hadn’t quite frozen overnight but was still stiff enough to be secure, and also saving our calves up the 1800’ of steep snow to the big rock buttress where the route splits left/right. We chose the right hand variation. Greg leading below the buttress: A few couple hundred feet past the buttess we reached a half pitch of water ice. The climbing was a little stiffer than we had thought it would be (AI3 maybe?). Although it might have been the elevation & isolation making it feel harder. Overall it wasn’t bad and it took screws well. From there we traversed snow and 4th class rock and up to the short 5.4 rock step. We brought a couple nuts and a hex to protect the rock section, but didn’t use them, instead I clipped a perfectly placed angle piton, made a big reach to a jug, and pulled over the step. After that it was just a long hike up the Liberty Cap Glacier in boot deep compacted powder: Finally over Liberty Cap summit, down the saddle, and an easier hike up to the tippy-top in an existing boot pack. Columbia Crest cheese: Fantastic climb, get on it, the boot pack is now in! Side note, near the Ptarmigan Ridge high camp we picked up a pair of jackets, a camera, and a few other items that looked like they were blown off the ridge pretty recently. PM me and I’ll get the stuff back to you. Gear Notes: We brought pickets, screws, and an ultra-light rock rack. Didn't use the rock pro. Approach Notes: White River. Leave early!

I was up on the Coleman-Deming this weekend. Plenty of skiers out enjoying turns. There are a few bridges in the 8000' to 9000' range to watch out for but nothing too gnarly. Pumice Ridge still covered in snow. Hogsback fully melted out. Here's a pic looking down from the Roman Wall over much of the route: TLDR: go for it!

Right on, nice trip report! The Olympics are cool.

Wow! One of the best trip reports I've read on this site. Awesome job Buckaroo. Thanks for reviving the thread Jason, I missed it the first time around too. I probably mistook it for some random peak in China.

Right on, nice send! With skis on your back no less, I'm impressed, that's awesome.

My guess is with clear nights and an early start it will still be in really good condition this weekend. Last weekend freezing levels were forecasted at 8-9000' but with clear skies and radiant cooling the snow & ice froze up really well all the way down to the lake.

I've had good luck on Cascade volcanoes in all kinds of weather in an REI Arete ASL tent. The ASL stands for All Season Light and I think they sell it as a "3.5 season" tent. It's been a happy medium for me between my true four season tent (MH Trango) and my alpine climbing tent (BD Firstlight). I have 50+ days in the Arete, including using it on Ecuador volcanoes, Mexico volcanoes, and plenty of trips on Rainier, Baker, etc. and it's held up great. Set up is a breeze with full sleeves/pockets for the two main poles. If the weather is decent you can consider leaving the fly at home and get by in light sprinkles with the full nylon interior. It can get a little hot in good weather but otherwise it's been my go-to general mountaineering tent for the past four years in all seasons. No issues with winds up to 40 mph or so. Added bonus, if you don't like it REI has the best return policy around.

Trip: Dragontail Peak - Triple Couloirs Date: 5/3/2015 Trip Report: Triple Couloirs was in hero shape on Sunday. Two beautiful pitches up the runnels and a fun pitch with solid ice in the second to third couloir transition. Bucket steps up the couloirs themselves eases the calf strain. Nate G and I had our mind on Gerber-Sink on the hike in but in the early dawn it looked thin and we didn’t bring enough mojo. No regrets though, we heard some pretty big rockfall on the route while we were lounging at the bottom of the third couloir where the G-S joins it. Apparently there were two climbers (in blue jackets) on the route at some point during the day, hope they didn’t have to deal with the rockfall we heard. Nice view of the route from the far side of the lake, taken on the way out: Easy entrance on the far left side: Friendly party of two ahead of us on the route. They were fun to chat with as we sporadically met up with them at belays. Bucket steps! Views of Stuart never get old: Colchuck Lake, melted out for travel: My second time on the route, a walk in the park compared to last year. What a difference conditions can make. If you've ever wanted to get on the route in cruiser conditions, now is the time. Approach Notes: Dirt trail to Colchuck lake. You can no longer cross the lake, but you can walk along the south edge of the lake on the beach/ice debris and avoid much of the boulder field.

Proud send! Great pics too.

Damn, sounds like a sufferfest. Any sign of the lost gear from this rescue? http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1134645/Mt_Stuart_accident#Post1134645 From your description of wallowing I'm guessing it may be all buried under snow right now.

Trip: Colfax Peak - North Face "Ford's Theatre" 500' AI4+ (FA) Date: 4/20/2015 Trip Report: Yesterday, Andrew Fabian and I skipped work and put up a fourth route on the north face of Colfax. The previous three noted in the Alpinist blog after Colin Haley put up his route earlier this month. I spotted the potential route back in February when I climbed to the col west of Colfax to get a cell phone call out to my wife. I’ve been itching to get on it ever since. Most of the route is hidden from the approach and previous beta has only speculated about seeps coming out of the rock forming the lower ice. ref: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/738732/2 It does indeed connect to upper snowfields and eventually tops out with the last 100’ of the Cosley-Houston. The route is in great shape, climbing 3 pitches of steep ice before mellowing out on steep snow gullies to the eventual summit. It’s a spectacular setting, with amazing views of Lincoln Peak and the Thunder Glacier cirque, and the Salish Sea far off in the distance. The climbing is fun and sustained, but with not many belay options after the first pitch. A bold party could likely combine the second and third pitches into one long pitch and avoid hanging screw belays. Big credit to Andrew for making the route go and rope gunning the hard pitches! Typical view of the North Face of Colfax. Polish route center left (hanging pillar not touching down). Cosley-Houston center right. The bottom portion of Ford's Theatre just visible to the right before it disappears behind rock buttresses. Before commiting to the climb we hiked up to Point 8704 to get a good view of the route and verify it would go, center left over Andrew's shoulder. Heading up to the base of the climb. I led the first pitch, a short 20m WI3 pitch to a great belay cave and nice stance. Enough snow gets blown into the cave to create a bomber picket anchor, saving screws for the next lead. Pitch 2 immediately gets down to business with a short free standing pillar and continuing up steep hard ice. Here Andrew leads out, with Lincoln Peak watching the action on Ford's Theatre while Assassin Spire creeps up right of Lincoln and the Wilkes-Booth route sneaks up from behind... Andrew stopped at a hanging belay ~30m up the WI4+ second pitch. From here we hung/aided/gumbied across an awkward traverse to move the belay before Andrew fired the last ice pitch, also AI4+. Steep! Looking down from the new belay for the final ice pitch. Steep snow Looking up the last 100' shared with Cosley-Houston All smiles on top: Overall we thought it's an outstanding route, slightly harder than Cosley-Houston but a good alternative for anyone looking for something new. With the snow fields feeding it from above I'm guessing that if C-H and the Polish are "in", so is this route. Gear Notes: We took 10 screws of various length. A couple more would have been nice. Pickets were also key for a bomber belay anchor on pitch one and for the top of the last ice pitch. Also nice for the upper snow fields. Small rock rack and pins carried but not used. Approach Notes: No sweat!

Sweet, nice job Nate! Looks like a fun climb with a little bit of everything thrown at you.

Yes, you're correct. The gage measured 184kg at failure in the video, I converted that to the more familiar pounds since I don't have an automatic feel for the magnitude of kilograms.