Pete_H

In Supertopo guides all roads lead to Toulumne Meadows.

I tapped by hand turning my drill press and that seemed to work well.

A little further below in Mazama there's water; and beer and espresso too.

Awesome. Love the Euro TR's!

Could it possibly be the First Plaid Ascent of the Full North Ridge?

Crescent Creek? To the saddle by the Chopping Block? Yup. Terror / Rake area. Across the barrier from McMillan Spires, etc.

Ha. I remember getting a couple yellowjacket stings a couple times on the way down right around there. Quite the sting-in-the-tail on that route.

Mounting plates a lot heavier though but indeed some upsides.

I put some in a couple pair of my skis. They've worked well so far. I've heard the binding freedoms are better though. I did the work myself and it was pretty easy. Helped to have a drill press. Don't use the heavy duty thread locker or use too much. You'll end up backing the insert out when you take the screw out. I learned this the hard way. Good discussion on binding inserts on Lou Dawson's site: wildsnow.com

The W Ridge of Forbidden is the classic but that's N Cascades and maybe further than you want to go. Still doable in a long day from Seattle. I'd do the Serpentine Arete on Dragontail if you're headed to that area. It sees more traffic than the Gerber-Sink and is probably cleaner. Definitely don't need cramps / axe for the approach but there could still be some snow on the descent. Also, W Ridge of Stuart might fit the bill. Closer to Seattle consider W Ridge of Thompson or W Face of Vesper.

I don't know. Getting over your head and bailing on a route is one thing. Calling for a heli-rescue because you couldn't get out of a situation on your own when no one is injured is another and deserves some shit talking in the internets.

Nice work! Josh Lewis gets after it.

You want alpine ice or rock? If you want snow / ice then volcanoes will be your only bet. If you want alpine rock in the southern cascades, you're SOL.

http://www.climbing.com/news/solo-times-3-on-the-chief/ Solo Times 3 on the Chief By Dougald MacDonald 8/8/13 - Twenty-year-old Squamish local Marc-Andre Leclerc soloed three full-length routes on the Chief, the biggest cliff in this British Columbia climbing mecca, in one of the most impressive one-day link-ups ever at Squamish. Using a mix of free and aid techniques, Leclerc began climbing at 5 a.m. on the Grand Wall (5.11a A0), starting with The Flake (5.10), and finishing on the Upper Black Dyke (5.10c). He carried no rope and free-soloed most of the line, using daisy chains for protection on the route's two bolt ladders and on Perry's Lieback (bolt-protected 11a). After a total of 16 guidebook pitches, he topped out around 7 a.m. After running down the steep trail and wooden steps to the base of the wall, Leclerc grabbed a rope and rack and headed up Uncle Ben's, a classic Squamish aid line (5.10 C2+, 10 pitches). Here he used "an array of sometimes questionable techniques, such as unroped aid climbing on three daisy chains, making [rope] loops off belays to avoid having to clean, and free-soloing a few pitches. He belayed only three pitches and topped out at 2 p.m. after six hours on the climb, "beating my previous time by three hours and possibly setting a new speed record." Next up, after a lunch break in the boulders at the base of the Chief, was University Wall (C2 or 5.12-, 7 pitches). Leclerc rope-soloed the entire route, mostly aid climbing but freeing easier sections on most pitches. He finished just before 10 p.m., having spent six hours on the route. Together, the three-route link-up—a total of 34 guidebook pitches—required 17 hours, with about 14 hours of climbing time. "It was such a good day!" Leclerc said in an email. "I nicknamed my link-up the 'OG Classic' after the old boys who did the FAs of these three routes. They were definitely the original gangstas of Squamish Wall climbing." Leclerc made headlines in July by soloing two massive routes on British Columbia's famed Slesse Mountain in a single day. Date of ascents: August 5, 2013 Source: Marc-Andre Leclerc

If I were you I'd go to The Canadian Rockies or Montana in the late fall to get some time on vertical ice and get comfortable swinging tools and placing ice pro and such. I think you would enjoy winter alpine climbing more if your skills are solid.

I'd recommend the Boardman Tasker Omnibus. In particular, Peter Boardman's "The Shining Mountain." But don't take my word for it.

Nice. Sounds like a good resource.

That climbs not so great.

Getting to GITM from Stuart Lake wouldn't be too bad but I think you'd want at least some l/w crampons to cross Stuart Glacier. You'd probably also be better off camping closer to the peak, like on the Sherpa or Ice Cliff Glacier moraine. Anything on CBR / Colchuck / D-Tail isn't all that close to Stuart Lake or "the Stuart Zone." Well, far enough anyway that you'd want to base camp closer to Colchuck Lake. I haven't done GITM yet but from what I understand its still a bit dirty. If you're looking for clean granite, I might consider W Face CBR and Acid Baby or Valkyrie on Enchantment Peak near Asgard Pass. Its not Stuart but logistically a lot easier and close together.

Don't haul its only 5.9-

In the 90's the rumor was that a famous french sport climber would make his girlfriend carry his pack up the hill to the crag so he wouldn't develop more leg muscle. I've tried to convince my wife she needs to carry my pack for the same reason but its never worked.

This seems to be a superior way to descend NEWS, which I'll use in the future. Perhaps the old anchors in the gully should just be removed to allay the concerns over the proliferation of fixed hardware.

If you're looking for the aid experience why not go for Thin Red Line instead of Lib Crack? Then you'll have to wear those fruity and painful rock dancin' shoes even less.

British dudes sure like carrying on about their cock'n balls

A friend in need is a friend indeed.