Eric Anderson

Probably a little late into summer to look for a deal but my wife and I want to start ski touring this winter and we're each looking for a full AT setup. Male: 5'9", size 10.5 boot Female: 5'1", size 6 boot If anyone knows of stores anywhere in the PNW that still has closeouts on old merchandise, used or demos that'd be great too.

Solid restaurant beta. Asked a friend, this place checks out - thanks. Any thoughts on the route at this time of year?

Thanks for the info, planning on heading up there in a couple weeks. Hope the glacier is holding up enough to have a path. Burger conditions at Bison Run noted. Will make alternate plans.

I didn't lead and I'm not sure exactly what my partner placed but there were only 3 pieces. There's a solid hex nut and a sling that were already there. We used a 60m glacier rope since we had 4-person team on the glacier anyways. We could have left some slings and gear behind but the rest of our pack was pretty light so it wasn't bad at all. My pack was 42lbs with food, water and camera gear. Definitely an awesome climb!

4 of us set out the morning of July 5th for an attempt of Mt Olympus. Our goal was to climb it in 3 days, perhaps a bit ambitious given the way weather seems to work out for us on our past climbs but with a favorable looking forecast, we were optimistic. Thursday was the 4th of July making beer and BBQ a requirement but with a 3am departure from Seattle I was responsible and limited myself to a 6-pack and was in bed by midnight. After stopping halfway for a nourishing McD’s breakfast, we arrived at the trailhead shortly after 8am for the usual gear sort and hit the trail by 8:30. A mere 17.5 miles separated us from our campsite. I had never been in the Hoh Rain Forest before but it’s beautiful although it took me a few miles to wake up and start enjoying it. The trail is in great condition and very flat for the first 10 or 12 miles so you can keep a quick pace. Shortly before the ranger station I was behind my group taking photos and started walking quick to catch up while still looking around snapping shots. I heard a buzz and looked down and saw I was about to step on a cluster of bees. I tried to jump over them and took off running but not before feeling a few stings. I ran to the ranger station hoping they’d have some kind of ointment but of course they were closed and I resorted to the ‘after sting’ wipes in my first aid kit. Some research after getting home makes me think they were bald-faced hornets which explains why I didn’t have stingers in my leg or why it hurt so much for just having 6 stings! The pain went away and left an annoying itch and we pressed on. After Elk Lake the trail begins to climb and narrow. Eventually we came to the cable ladder which was annoying but not difficult. The tree it is attached to looks very suspect though. After about 10.5 hours we reached Glacier Basin and chugged a bunch of water and tried to cram some calories. It was pretty nice to not have to dig out tent platforms for once and other than the mosquitos the camp was pretty nice. We originally aimed to get started by 3am as we heard the route was breaking up a bit and there might be dicey spots near the top but after the long hike in our beds felt too nice and it was close to 4:30 before we were moving. Leaving Glacier Basin the route quickly turned to snow and we alternated between rock and snow as we headed up to the ridge for our first and very breathtaking view of Olympus and the Blue Glacier. After climbing down the ridge we made the easy walk across Blue Glacier and headed up Snow Dome. Initially climbing up our progress was slow but the conditions were perfect and we averaged 1200’ an hour w/o exertion to the top of snow dome. The wind picked up a bit which felt great as it was already feeling warm out. Ahead of us we could see other parties navigating the larger crevasses opening up but the route looked straightforward and ended up being so until we reached the gap between rocks before you go around to the backside to access the false summit. After weaving through the larger crevasses there is a steep section you traverse and a large moat had opened on the uphill side that was about a 15’ drop down. We followed the tracks on the flatter part which ran along the moat, this turned out to be the most ‘exciting’ part on the way to the false summit but passed without incident. A short section up after that and a couple more easy snowbridges and we found ourselves on the false summit. From the false summit is a steep gully that two of went down and up to reach the summit block (2 in our party didn’t have rock experience.) We had to wait our turn to climb but it gave us a chance to explore our options. There is a long class 3 or 4 (I heard it called both) approach to the summit that looked nasty. We opted as did everyone else that day for the shorter and easy 5.5ish climb to the top. On top we found about 7 or 8 others for a total of 10 at the top which I’d assume is one of the larger groups ever on top. Many took advantage of the perfect weather and route conditions and we were able to enjoy 45 minutes at the top enjoying the views of the 100s of nearby peaks. It feels very remote up there as none of the major cities are viewable. The trip down also passed without any issues. We were a bit nervous to be heading out late in the day but the snow felt perfect. We camped at Martin Creek on the way down which was also a great camp area. Permits are required there but it was empty so we stopped and made camp anyways. I had a bit more time to enjoy the surroundings on the way out as I tried to trick myself into forgetting about the 18 miles of hiking that remained. This was a great climb and easily my favorite so far. Stats: 44 miles, ~9k’, 11 hours driving and 6 hornet stings Video:

Anyone climbed in Kyrgyzstan/Kyrgyz Republic? If so, I'd love to see any links from blogs/trip reports and know of any books or other info you've found helpful. I've recently found out I'll be moving there for awhile and it sounds like the climbing is excellent.

Went up on Saturday, conditions were perfect. The Crystal Pass route might only have a week left.

Great to know! Was there running water at Glacier Meadows or did you have to melt? What route did you take up to the summit block? Jsigler, we'll be a day behind you, aiming to summit on 7/6, see you up there.

Our group is heading up July 5th, I'd love to hear any feedback as well. I stopped by the ranger station yesterday and he said he spoke to a few people who went up the last couple weeks but he didn't want to tell me any info.

There were a few sleds around, they don't bother me much but I can see how the route would be annoying if they did. The road was packed with cars on our way out, probably about 30-40 that showed up on Saturday, a few that parked like dicks. We were hoping to go give the route another shot but I think we'll have to make it midweek so the crowds aren't too bad since the CD route is closed.

On Friday 5 of us headed up to the Easton Glacier after news of the washed out road on the North side altered our plans. We hit the trail around 3, a bit later than we’d like but the sun was out and it was quiet. The road is closed about 2/3 of a mile from the TH and it looks like it will be several weeks until it melts out. We setup camp at about 6000’ and the clouds lifted to 15k or so giving us great views of Whitehorse, Glacier Peak and the many less prominent peaks in the Central Cascades. We made the poor decision of starting at 5am for the summit and the lack of a bootpath to follow or an overnight freeze left us initially sinking to about ankles. Above 8k we started periodically postholing to our thighs. The clouds came in and brought periodic snow showers, other than a brief moment at 9500’ we had only a few hundred feet of visibility. We were a little tired when we hit the saddle between Sherman Peak and the Roman Wall and we could no longer see the route as the skin tracks we were following disappeared so we turned around. The way down we had very soft snow and often sunk up to our waist. Three of us punched through snow bridges, I fell in the deepest, about up to my waist. We saw about 4 more crevasses that had opened up along the route during the day. On the way down we saw at least 60 people heading up for summit attempts on Sunday. I’m sure quite a few of them had better luck than we did. Beautiful mountain, I wish I had skis.

Prob too late for you but we went up Friday, started around 5am Saturday. No bootpath to follow, we were sinking about 12" most of the time on the way up and were wiped by the time we got to the saddle between Baker and Sherman and turned around. It was really warm on the way down and 3 out of 5 of us punched through. About 60 people went up Saturday, not sure if they are all trying to summit. I think the route will start winding quite a bit soon.

We're going up that weekend, see you up there.

Thanks for the feedback, looks like a lot more snow than last year when we went up there. Kozak, did you summit? Did it look like there was a big slide like last year?

Anyone been up Whitehorse lately? A buddy and I are hoping to go up there this weekend if the conditions are right, I'm having trouble finding any recent info. Thanks

I don't have input on your suggested loop but another option if you don't feel comfortable with the loop is Leavenworth Shuttle. You can reserve it in advance, $20 per person for a shuttle between the two trailheads.

This is the view directly to the right of the gap. The photo above shows the route well, the gap was all pretty straightforward. The section between Ingraham Flats to the toe of the DC was starting to shift pretty high and was re-routed between our ascent and descent so it might be interesting by this weekend. Ya, I'm just being self-deprecating so I appear more humble, I'm pretty proud of our group. The climb without any issues in less than stellar weather. But I do want to go up some more challenging routes next, maybe something on the West side. Just what every photographer loves to hear It was two different cameras and a cell phone.

*Warning, this is a TR of the DC route, nothing epic to be found Third time's a charm! After two years of avalanche conditions, bad weather (and probably inadequate conditioning,) things aligned for a successful summit last weekend. Coming off a week of vacation on the beach I intended to fly home the day before I was to drive up to Paradise to meet my group to spend a night at Paradise Inn before heading up. A Rainier trip wouldn't be complete without a few extra hurdles, this time it was 3 mechanical delays on flights in a row followed by a lost bag meaning I got home 30 hours late. We got a nice view of Rainier on the flight home. It was funny flying by and being able to spot where my buddies were enjoying their dinner. I told one of the flight crew I was supposed to be there now getting ready to climb it. He said 'really? what's the weather supposed to be like?' I told him 'iffy' and he kinda laughed and said 'I'll say, iffy!' (They had altered their flight path to avoid lightning.) Poor weather was in the forecast so the group decided to leave Paradise in the late morning meaning I got to sleep in my own bed and head out early in the morning after getting at least a little rest. I drove through non-stop thunder and lightning and saw a bolt hit Rainier as I drove up. We sat in the lodge for a couple hours waiting for the rain to clear and when it turned from a downpour to a drizzle we headed up. We made ok time to Muir, about 4.5 hours and enjoyed much better weather as melted snow and ate. Our original plan called for a rest day at Muir but the forecast told us we'd be leaving that night. We slept for around an hour and woke around midnight to crystal clear skies. Ate, geared up and headed up around 1:30am. Skies were clear but the winds were a steady 40mph blowing ice pellets in our face which got pretty old We made good time from Muir, just over 5.5 hours from Muir to the true summit Shortly after 7am, 7/21/12, I had the highest feet in Washington Way down was slow but uneventful Victory beer in the parking lot was delicious I was incredibly happy to summit Rainier but I think I'm done with the DC, the crowds were pretty annoying. Baker and Glacier Peak next year to do all the WA volcanoes and then more technical or ski ascents of Rainier are in my future I think.

Climbed it this past weekend. Road is open all the way to the TH although turning around the last bit is tricky if the spots are all taken. Something like 380 people registered to climb Friday-Sunday. Route was in great shape and an easy climb. I don't know enough about the route to say which we went but we went up and down two different routes below the LC. We could see people taking all kinds of routes up.

High-clearance trucks have been able to make it about 1/4 mile to the TH, by this weekend I think most cars should be able to get that close.

I just spoke to the ranger station to check on road conditions for our planned trip two weekends from now. She said two parties made it somewhere from 1.5 to 2 miles to the trailhead and the snow is melting fast. It should be driveable to 1 to 1.5 miles from the TH for any car within a week or less depending on the weather.

Looking at heading up there this weekend. Anyone been up or seen a report from the last week or two?

Where are you at? I might get this for my brother if your near Seattle.

Glad it worked out for you. A buddy and I made it out on Friday, had to make it a quick trip since we didn't start until 9:30. On the way down we ran into the ranger setting up camp just after coming out of the trees and she was speculating about how crummy the weather was. Did she tell you about avalanche danger if you passed her? She said they were considering encouraging people to turn around depending on how things looked Saturday and Sunday morning.

The SMC stakes are great. Besides gripping the snow better than the cheap wire stakes it's also nice you can clip/tie the guy lines right into the stakes so you don't lose any of them when you set them up as a deadman. In the summer I haven't found a shovel to be necessary but we usually bring one for convenience if there are a few of us.