Gaucho Argentino

Bad Ass, Dude !! You used a gri-gri... Why not to go up with a prusik? I'm trying to get into the technical-solo climbing, but still learning. Feedback is appreciated. Kudos ! Gaucho A.

Awesome trip ! Thanks for the great number of routes, Buddies. Never been there, for the way you guys are smearing in some pics, rock seems to be pretty sticky. Does it help to go up a notch on what you can climb on trad? I do not know if you could do it, but the 5.10s in there, how do they compare to, let's say, Vantage, Leavenworth, Index? Cheers!! Gaucho A.

Then at least I do not feel that retarded for shouting and whistling every 50 yards !! Thanks for helping with my self-steem :-))

Great climb, Dudes !!

Cool, KK... Did IW make it to the concert?!

Cool pics ! Funny, I was the same w/e on the other side of Sahale, Horseshoe Basin, and there was no snow at all, almost completely dry except for a few old snow patches... This w/e things will change, though...

Well, I know bear poo is solid and black, but we saw a bear in Rainier couple of weeks ago eating berries. Berries in a kinda liquid poo = bear with diarrhea?? Just in case I was shouting ACDC's Black in Black all the way to the upper basin

Trip: Mount Buckner - Solo - SW Slope - Date: 10/20/2010 Trip Report: Friday last night I got some w/e plans cancelled, and the weather was going to be awesome to be in the city. Decided to go Solo for Buckner, SW slope, nothing that technical, but a long one… Besides one tip (if you want it) in here, straightforward climb and a number of nice pictures (at least I think so… ) In the trail to Horseshoe Basin… [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA160046.jpg[/img] Someone knows what kind of animal’s poo is this? [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA1600531.jpg[/img] Here is the tip: I read that once you get to the mine in the “entrance” to the basin, there is a boot path on the right. But then you should have to bushwack much more because you will have to traverse to the upper basin, and besides everyone says the path is very difficult to find … Instead I followed the trail all the way to end of the lower basin, and when you look at your right and see this gully, cross the creek and start bushwacking uphill, is only ~1000’, not pleasant, but not impossible… [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA1600551.jpg[/img] Orange sunset over Sahale [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA1600651.jpg[/img] Home Sweet Home at 7000’, higher spot with water to have an easy Sunday… [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA1600701.jpg[/img] The night was really chilly and the condensation inside my vivy sack was frozen in the morning, what was actually cool because it did not make the down wet… For some reason the camera gave me an “empty battery” signal, I wanted to cry, I would not be able to take pics on the summit, but I guess was the cold, because when I tried again on the top, it was fine, made videos and everything… Couple of summit pics, GOOD TIMES !! With Eldo and Baker in the background [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA170075.jpg[/img] [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/PA1700801.jpg[/img] Thanks Franklin B. for the new register on the top, no one had been there since August… Time to go down, and the bushwacking seemed to be more difficult down than up, may be just tired. At the car at 9p, totally dark for two hours already. So boring the switchbacks in Cascade Pass Trail, there are 39 of them (I count them, not much to do while going down in the dark)… Overall, amazing outing… Cheers to you all !! Gaucho A.[/size][/size] Gear Notes: Down jacket, pants, boots, sleeping bag... poor goose... Approach Notes: Long trail in good condition, some bushwack, some scree and boulders

Hell, Yeah !! Awesome trips, girls and pal... Are the three of you Russians? I'll need to get some more Argentinean climbers up here and do the challenge Patagonia VS. Siberia :-))... How many miles RT of hicking/climbing is the trip?

And thanks for the link to the ice axes, Lowell. They are awesome. Talk about saving one or two ounces, these babies look heavy !! Still I was thinking more on pictures of real climbers on steep sections of ice in the Cascades in the near past (60s to 80s) with these "ice tools", without the super-duper tools we have these days. I believe they will look bad ass ...

Thanks, V-Girl... Slowly getting there with the help of good climbers around... I still need to get help to compose pictures with sharks jumping out of the ice in my posts, though ;-))

Great pics capturing the fall colors, and nice climb to put in the "to do" list... Thanks!

And now that I look more carefully, check out at the Skoog's "Ice Tools"... Dude, back in the day climbing might have been even more sketchy :-). It would be cool if you or anyone else in cc.com could put together pics showing climbing with gear from 30-40 years back...

Hi, Lowell... I'm kinda new to climbing in the NW (less than 2 years), but read quite a bit about the Skoog brothers in many climbs and first ascents, thanks for your comments and your pictures... Sorry to read about your brother's accident in my country, my friend... Great picture of him with all the cans of food, everyone bitches me about the weight of my SPAM, but everyone loves an slice of hot fried SPAM after the long day !! (I actually take a small frying pan, the ones for making one egg)... :-))... Again, thanks for your pictures and never surrender... Gaucho A.

Trip: Mesahchie Peak / Mesahchie Ice Fall Coloir - Date: 10/2/2010 Trip Report: On Sat 10/2/10, Shannon and I went to climb the Mesahchie Ice Fall Coloir. This was my first ice climb (it was supposed to be Observation Rock the w/e before climbing with KKKK, but we found snow http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=980254)… And it is my first TR on cc.com, so we’ll see how I do. For full disclosure, Shannon organized this climb, and we took pictures with his camera. Here are a link to his site where you can find them, and a trip report he wrote himself. http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonpahl/MesahchieIcefall http://mountaineersforums.org/forums/99692/ShowThread.aspx#99692 Weather was coming in on Sunday, so together with reports of chossy rock, we left the rock part to the summit open as an option… We took off on Sat 7 am to Easy Pass from Seattle. All the way we were driving under clouds, and a little rain, although the forecast called for sunshine all day long… we were like “what the f…?!!”, until like 5 miles from the pass, where the clouds suddenly disappear and a perfect shiny Sat morning received us at the TH. Yuuhuuu !!! Gearing up, up we go at ~11am… Easy trail to Easy pass, plenty of time, so easy pace. We run into a lady that had a dog the size of a cow, asked him for a ride up, he did not want… Up to easy pass From the W most point of the pass before a sharp turn going downhill, start traversing. We look up, and it looked to cliffy, so we decided to traverse at ~6500’… wrong move, lots more of scree. Go up to 6800’ and traverse all the time at this altitude, and you’ll make it in no time to Mesachie Col. We camped below the col at ~3p, and were eating and enjoying the views of Black Peak, Logan, the fall colors until like 7p. Time to nap for an early start… There is not a really flat spot, and Shannon says he cannot really sleep if it is not flat. We plan to get up at 5… SPAM for dinner :-)) 6.30 am (10.5 hrs later), Shannon (who supposedly could not sleep on this “uneven” terrain), wakes up and says it might be a good idea to start climbing :-))… One more slice of SPAM and we are spamming uphill to the col, down to the glacier (interesting down climbing to gain the glacier, with a beautiful moat waiting for you, but doable)… Glacier traverse, beautiful morning, perfect temps, solid ice below the crampons, what else could you ask for? Shannon went for the first pitch, to break the ice in the lower broken glacier… lots of fun, ice screws went in like babies… Shannon leading pitch one I went for the second pitch of the climb and my first pitch on ice ever, more ice screws, dude, it’s awesome !! From there on we simul-climbed the upper solid snow section, pickets in here, very solid, to the base of the coloir, where there was only an icy bridge on the right to gain the upper part. Shannon let me lead this last part: one more ice screw here, and up the steep coloir we go… Starting the pitch in the coloir Got to place a beautiful nut and one cam on the rock on the sides, good feeling to have some solid protection, not a good thing to slide all the way down to the bottom of the coloir. One rope length and we start simul-climbing, Up in the coloir one more rope length, and we are at the top of the notch in the ridge. Beautiful views of the mountains around, of the valley with the fall colors and the clouds filling it up, Shannon enjoying the views... Lunch, and start traversing to your left towards camp, maintaining as much the elevation as possible, you’ll end up in front of your camping spot. By this time we were into the clouds, with not much visibility, but traversing at 6800’ made the way back to Easy Pass much easier than the way in… At the car at 6p, Wet Burrito at 8p, home at 9.30… Thanks, Shannon, for a great trip, Buddy, overall a difficult to forget first ice climb… Gear Notes: -40m half rope. -5 ice screws -3 pickets (4 would be better) -a few pieces of rock pro will help in the upper part of the coloir Approach Notes: Side hilling is kinda annoying...

KK... Thanks to you and DC for another great climbing w/e, Buddy !! So bad I could not trick you guys the second time with the "it's the summit" thing, it worked the first time to keep going ;-), so bad you had your "quota" of night descents full, it would have been cool to descend the gully at night with rain/snow... well, may be not... If I ever figure out how to post pictures, I'll post some more :-) --Gaucho A.

Beautiful pics, Dude ! The Glacier looks pretty broken, no ice falling at all?

Beautiful pics... Shucksan is such a beauty...

Beautiful pics... Shucksan is such a beauty...

Awesome, Dude. I'm from Argentina, but never got to climb down there. Thanks for showing the awesome climbing we have in Patagonia !!

Hi, KKKK... Awesome, Dude. Did any rope stuck and had to go prusiking up to get it??!! ;-)