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Trip: Mt. Buckner - North Face (Approached via Sahale Glacier) Date: 7/16/2011 Trip Report: In short, this route is very much in. We didn't encounter any significant issues and in fact were rather lucky - we didn't get rained on (much), and someone reached the summit from the south so we could follow their tracks down through the clouds that lingered on the summit all day. He had also picked up Alex's camera down at the Sahale arm where Alex had dropped it on Saturday. We camped at one of the great bivy spots at the base of the Sahale Glacier and started up to Sahale at ~5 a.m. After taking a few steps up the rocky summit to Sahale, we opted to keep crampons on and go around right (staying on snow). The trip over to the Boston Glacier went better than expected, but definitely knocked a few rocks loose. We roped up for the Boston Glacier and didn't have any issues during the traverse. We had intended to swing leads after using one picket per rope length (we brought 3), but Alex used a combination of pickets and rock gear so that we never needed to swing leads. We went right over the bergschrund in the middle, where a low-consequences, surmountable 3-foot gap presented itself. Swinging left around some rocks might be the easier way to go. The snow was a bit softer than optimal, but I really won't complain. Horseshoe basin is well filled-in and a direct line across to the snow gully exit went smoothly. There's about as much snow there as there was when I was there last year (June 26, 2010). Approximate timeline 5:30 - leave TH 9:05 p.m. - arrive camp at Sahale Glacier 10:30 Zzzzz 4 a.m. - alarm goes off 5 - leave camp 7:10 - Boston Glacier 7:30 - start across Boston Glacier 9:10 - base of North Face 9:30 - start up North Face 11:15 - summit 11:45 - start down from summit 1 p.m. - other side of Horseshoe Basin 2 p.m. - Back at camp 2:45 - start down from camp 5:10 - back at car Pictures: Gear Notes: - Used 2 tools, probably would have been fine with one - Brought 3 pickets, used 2 - Used 3 cams in the 0.5-1 range. - 1 nut - 60m half rope - Waterproof camera

Trip: Bonanza - Mary Green Glacier Date: 7/3/2011 Trip Report: Conditions summary: - Snow consistent above Holden Lake - Wet slabs (waterfalls) not an issue at the moment, but snow is melting out fast. - Glacier is in good condition - Bergschrund not a problem when we crossed it (got around it easily to climber's right July 4) - It took us almost twice as long to descend back to Holden Pass as it did for us to get to the summit from Holden Pass; because of soft snow and loose rock during our descent (which started around 11 a.m.), we ended up rappeling/belaying many pitches (~8). 1-2 feet of loose snow over steep rock with an unpleasant runout can be a bit unsettling, to say the least. All in all, though, a very satisfying trip! Pictures here: Gear Notes: Used: - 60 m double rope - a couple of cams, slings - Pickets (3) - Webbing for rappels - Ice axe, whippet Brought, but not worth the extra weight: - skis, snowshoes Approach Notes: Trail not fully melted out to the lake, but it's pretty easy to get there (just try not to lose your climbing partners in there... but if you do, the lake it a pretty place to wait for them!). Getting around the east side of the lake involved a bit of slide alder/wet feet, but went pretty quickly.

If you were in the area of Storm King (North Cascades, WA) in the last 4 days, Search and Rescue would love to get more information from you. Please contact Kelly Bush at the Marblemount Ranger Station: 360-854-7249. ============= He went for Storm King this weekend. His tent was found at 2 mile camp on Park Creek on Sunday night by two rangers, who then went back and checked on Monday morning and it was still there. His permit was through Sunday. His camera and binoculars were still in the tent, and his sleeping bag was in the stuff sack. I forgot to ask about his backpack. I expect it is missing, since it wasn't mentioned. He checked in to the Stehekin ranger station at 11:11 AM on Friday and was expected home on Sunday. He left quickly after that (probably to catch the bus to High Bridge). It takes about 4 hours to hike from High Bridge to 2 mile camp. That would put him there around 4:00 or 5:00 PM (due to the bus ride...most likely 5:00 PM). Most likely he did not go for the summit on the same day he hiked in to camp. He would have climbed Storm King on Saturday and came out on Sunday.

The route is indeed in great shape, but do watch out for the monster also seen by another party a couple of weeks ago:

Some more climb notes: We were hoping to put on skis/skins from camp, but there were some icy bits + crevasses so we carried them instead. In the last 700' or so of (snow) climbing, the snow softened up enough that we were doing some postholing. Fortunately we got to put on skins + skis for the last hundred yards or so. Also, Fritschi binding brakes poking you in the back == no fun. Our GPS track: The wildflowers were amazing!