bgratias

Trip: Twin Peaks - Wallowas - Date: 1/16/2010 Trip Report: This weekend I was finally able to summit my nemesis. Twin Peaks was one of the first mountains I tried to climb, and over the past couple of years I have failed repeatedly. Previous Attempts I was 0-5 going into this weekend, and I wasn't going to let a little post-holing and cloudy weather force me to go 0-6. Six of us started up Saturday morning. We all made it to the headwall at around 8750 feet, but it looked a little too technical for most of the group, and four of them turned back. Ryan and I kept going. To be fair, Steven (Sneaky_Steve) wanted to continue to the summit, but being the gentleman he is, he turned back with his girlfriend. Steven and Ashleigh The headwall was pretty rocky, but the short section we climbed had enough snow to make it fun. The tops of the clouds were only 100 feet or so above us when we reached the summit, but unfortunately they never broke up enough for us to see blue sky for more than a second. The summit block was about 20-30 feet of loose and snowy 5.2. Traversing away from the summit We downclimbed the headwall, and enjoyed perfect plunge-stepping on the way down. Gear Notes: Bike helmet. Approach Notes: Super icy road to the hurricane creek trailhead.

Nice Steven, I wouldn't mind checking that out with you guys next weekend...

I went to the base of the NE Buttress today, and didn't need snowshoes.

I am climbing on a 50cm adze and 50cm hammer. I had a 64cm adze, but it seemed too long to swing nicely, and the 57cm was too short to be any more useful than the 50cm.

I drilled and tapped it. This way I can remove it if I want to, and it doesn't really leave much of a mark when it's off. I think a self-tapping screw would work too, if you don't have a tapping set. I haven't really used the tool on anything serious yet, because I made the part very recently. I've mostly hung around on stuff at my house. I can't really speak to it's reliability, though it feels pretty solid. I'm planning on putting it to use this weekend though- I'll let you know how it performs and what its weaknesses are. I'll try to get some more detailed pictures up within the next day or two as well.

I just put a screw with a small head at the base of the grip on the palm side. That, combined with the camming action keeps it in place. I machined it out of aluminum, so it is super light and doesn't seem to affect the swing much.

I wanted to be able to use my venoms leashless, so I made a pinky rest for them. It works great as a pinky rest, but it also is able to slide up the shaft for effective plunging. It sticks above the bend and stays there until you slide it down again. This makes the venom pretty versatile. I think this attachment would work for axes similar to the venom as well...

I've been trying to get a pinky rest on my venoms for awhile, and have come up with something that works pretty well. It's a CNC'd pinky rest that slides up the handle and stays above the bend, when you want to plunge rather than swing. It's quick and easy to switch between plunging and swinging, and it's decently comfortable. I think this would work well on any axe with a uniformly sized shaft.

We didn't see anyone between leaving Glacier Vista and Ingraham Flats, which was nice. we didn't see anyone on the DC either though, probably because we summited at 2:30pm after leaving high camp at 4 (don't let our youth deceive you - we are slow.) Total Time: 23 hours It was pretty dry, but we were able to stay on snow above the ice steps.

Trip: Rainier - Kautz Glacier Date: 8/24/2009 Trip Report: My brother Ryan and I went up the Kautz this weekend. Lots of scree until the glacier, and then there are quite a few open crevasses. Nothing unmanageable though. We simuled the bottom ice step and climbed the second step in 4 pitches. We descended the DC. We were in thick fog until around 7500 feet. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230012.jpg[/img] Getting ready to see the sun for the first time. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/IMG_4310.jpg[/img] Coming out of the clouds. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230017.jpg[/img] On the way to camp below Camp Hazard, around 10300 feet. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230041.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230054.jpg[/img] The rappel notch - More of a downclimb than a rappel. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230067.jpg[/img] Second ice step from the bottom, middle and top. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230068.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230074.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230081.jpg[/img] Crevasses on the upper Kautz - Lots are open, but snow bridges are available for most. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/IMG_4345.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8230089.jpg[/img] Ryan on the Summit. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8240093.jpg[/img] Ryan Descending the DC. [img:left]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q277/bgratias/P8240095.jpg[/img] Gear Notes: Used 5 screws Approach Notes: Lots of scree up the fan