nels0891

That traverse you guys planned on doing, from the top of the muir snowfield, is usually only done in the really early season to access the nisqually glacier and icefall routes.

The other two climbers that have been missing since last December on Mt. Hood were recently recovered. Heres the link I noticed someone already posted this on the Oregon Cascades forum, but I figured it would also be fitting on the main climbers board.

Would any competent climbers like to join me for the ptarmigan ridge route on rainier? it is a grade 4 alpine route with some ice climbing and rock climbing, so it is definitely not one of the walk up routes on rainier. I have a tent, and most of the other group gear. I can also drive. I was thinking some time next week would be ideal. Let me know if you are interested, ive been really wanting to do one of the harder routes but have had some partner difficulties. Looking forward to hearing from someone. Chase Nelson

I'm looking for someone that is interested in going up Liberty Ridge some time soon, while the route is still in shape. i'm a good technical climber, i actually just did the north ridge of mt baker this last weekend, so thats a pretty good indicator of my abilities for anybody wondering. I am available midweek and on weekends, so just give me a heads up if your interested. Chase

another partner of mine and i might do fuhrer finger some time during the next week, probably later in the week. im trying to convince him to do kautz glacier instead, so that would be a little more technical but if your interested in either of those routes, keep me posted.

MarkJ- We camped at the hogsback. its pretty straight forward to cross the glacier from there. We took the shortcut up the ridge, however i would make sure to do that only if the conditions are really solid and cold... there was plenty of evidence of avalanches and some rockfall. As we were heading up there, a fist sized rock also zipped by us on the way up. The decent also really shouldnt be all that bad if you get up to the top before too late in the afternoon.

Trip: Mt. Baker - North Ridge Date: 6/26/2010 Trip Report: My partner and I have had this climb on our list for quite a while and finally we got a chance to do it. After the drive from Tacoma to Bellingham to pick up Kurt, then from there to the trailhead, we hit the trail at around 6:30. We then set up camp at the bottom of the glacier, enjoyed a nice sunset, and a little bit of sleep. The route was in good condition, ice was solid. Remember to go as far left as you can once you reach the first ice step, it is the only spot that isnt nearly as steep as the rest. The ridge beyond that was very straight forward. After reaching the summit at about 3:30, the decent was really slow because the snow on the coleman-deming route was super sloppy. It was a really fun route, I definitely recommend it. Gear Notes: I would bring like 6 ice screws, and we had one picket which worked fine. If your group is not comfortable simul-climbing then i would pack along another picket. Approach Notes: Cross the Coleman glacier early so that you can get up on the ridge without the danger of rockfall and avalanche. Also when you get to the ice lobe... go left!!

PM sent

hahaha i really like this post.

I climbed Mount Stuart a year ago this weekend via the south side, the Cascadian Couloir. I also live part time in the Teanaway valley. Although this year has produced a very wet spring with a lot of late snow, last year the couloir was almost all melted out so I dont know how much snow will be left. From the Esmeralda trailhead, go up the trail to Longs Pass, then drop down the bowl to Ingalls Creek trail. From there head downstream for a quarter mile or so until you find the climbing trail take off to the left. On another note, have you looked at any of the avalanche warnings for this weekend? You really should check out the report from the NWAC for this weekend, it doesn't look very promising. With the recent snow we've gotten and the forecast for really warm weather this weekend, it is gearing up for some bad avalanches. In fact, with this report I wouldn't even consider being in that couloir... it would be an avalanche death trap. In most places the chute is deep enough that it would be extremely difficult to get to a safe spot in the event of an avalanche. I would seriously reconsider going up there this weekend, try finding some rock to climb or something. If you have any more questions about the area or the forecast, just message me and i'll try to help. Chase

To anybody that is interested, I am looking at many of the same climbs that everybody else here is. I am on summer vacation from school and have a very flexible work schedule so I am available pretty much any time to climb. I do pretty much any kind of climbing so if anybody is interested I would be ready to go. I boulder V5/6, sport 5.11, as well as a ton of glacier and alpine climbing. My plans so far for summer are the North Ridge of Mt. Baker, Liberty Ridge on Mt. Rainier, Little Tahoma, and a bunch of other technical climbs in the cascades, so if anybody wants to get in on the action just let me know. -Chase

The snow pack in the cascades and Mount Rainier area have been lower than normal lower than 5000 feet this winter, but normal above 5000 feet. The road splits off of hwy 410 at about 4000 feet so this might be a year that opens up a little earlier than normal. Within a few weekends of memorial day, before or after, i would consider normal for the hwy to open up, so in my opinion this year it would probably be on the earlier side. With that said... thats just my best guess with the info i have. I also am thinking about doing liberty ridge this spring and that is about our target date, so if you want to keep in contact about it I could give you any more recent information as i get it. also i just wouldnt mind knowing who else will be up on the mountain so feel free to send me a pm and we can exchange contact info.

what do you need a glacier for? just find some kind of drop off. for example, if you go early season up to paradise, there are a few places as you go shortly up the trail towards muir, the bowl off to the right drops off steep enough in some places to treat it as if it were the edge of a crevasse. This can also be a good alternative to dropping down into a crevasse because you can usually find a safe runout, and its easier to deal with than crevasse danger on a glacier. Thats just my opinion though, feel free to try it out. I can definitely appreciate the fun of being actually on the glacier at the same time.

Agreed! Obviously with any type of climbing stories, I dont want to be quick to throw out criticism because I wasnt there and its really hard to fully understand their situation just from a trip report. With that said, it almost seems like a classic case of Mount Rainier being slightly underestimated by what it can offer. I've recently been considering that route this summer myself so after all of the research I have been doing, it doesnt seem like the most educated decision. Most guidebooks seem to say that it is commonly underestimated despite all the difficulties that are present on the ridge. In another sense, I understand that they had come from a very long way to do that route and they all seemed to have considerable experience in a mountain setting. One more thing I noticed from that article that really surprised me... What is up with the little shelter of a tent they described? Especially given the forecast of possibly experiencing bad weather, wouldn't it be a wise choice to use a sturdier tent? And perhaps pay a little more care to not poke holes in it with your crampons? It really is good to hear that these people did not have a worse outcome however, as it seems as though it could have gone terribly worse.

thanks g-spotter, that worked perfect.

Does anybody know how I can contact Fred Beckey? I know that sounds odd, but I have a question I would really like to ask him. Thanks

Just to clear the record, dexamethasone IS used to tread HAPE and HACE.