manninjo

Fortunately (or unfortunately) not a mtn biker!

I understand there are a few of you on here that call Skagit home. From a climber-who-doesnt-mind-driving perspective, Mt. Vernon seems to offer plenty of options: Riverstone Rock Gym, 10 mins; Mt. Erie, 20-30 mins; Chuckanut sandstone, 20-30 mins; top secret Skagit sport crag and other spots, 20-30 mins; Darrington, 1hr; Index, 1hr 15mins; Newhalem, 1.5hrs; Washington Pass, 2.5 hrs; Squamish, 2.5 - 3hrs etc. What's the community like and what are folks' thoughts on living there? Is it a good spot to be a climber? If someone was renting part of their house, are there enough outdoors-minded folks in the rental market? I'm coming from Bellingham as a home base the last several years.

Trip: Tahoma / Mt. Rainier - Gibraltar Ledges Trip Date: 03/13/2021 Trip Report: @aikidjoe and I hiked / climbed Gibraltar Ledges on Saturday, March 13th. Left the parking lot Friday evening about 5:30pm and returned about the same time Saturday. Skinned to Muir with a great track(s) and easy snow conditions. Had our fingers crossed that the hut would be open - alas, four to six folks had set up in there. Given we're not done with the plague quite yet, we elected to dig a little double-wide snow coffin and settle in for an open bivy. Thankfully the wind was light and our 20 degree bags were sufficient. I want to thank the gentleman who came out of the hut and insisted we stay in there, the gesture was appreciated! We felt good sleeping out despite the insistence that there was 'no covid' in the hut. After a solid 6+ hour sleep, we left Muir about 6am. A superb bootpack led all the way up to, across, and out of the ledges. Roped up at the shoulder of Gib Rock (~12,500), shortly after Joseph put his whole left leg in a hidden crack. Wands on the upper mountain were helpful in navigating crevasses and led pretty nicely to the top. We ran into three skiers who got to enjoy some chalky, not really icy snow on the upper mountain. There was also one set of ski tracks in Gib Chute which appeared to be in great shape. Looking down the Ingraham, it was clear no one was descending that way and getting down it would be a pain with how broken up the glacier was. We hit the summit crater about noon and decided to call that good, based on having to re-cross the ledges in the afternoon sun, as well as some threatening clouds gathering on the other side of the summit zone. Descending was made easier by whoever left the wands up there. Not to let Joseph be outdone, I also managed to put a whole leg in a crack that was thinly covered by some wind transported snow. Getting back across the ledges after noon was a tad stressful, fortunately no rockfall occurred on the way through. The nice snow we had skinning up the night before had transformed into a crusty nightmare just below Muir. It got softer and more consistent by Pan Face, which made for some fun turns on tired legs. No trip to Rainier is complete without a wildlife sighting - this parking lot fox was pretty tame and hardly wild. Can't believe it had been almost 4 years since my last time up Rainier, almost forgot how much fun the slog can be! It helps to have great weather, a solid partner, and nice folks ahead to break all the trail. To paraphrase a dear friend, the mark of a good weekend is whether or not one's soul was refreshed. By that measure, it was certainly a soul refreshing weekend. Spring is here and the mountains are calling! Gear Notes: 60m skinny cord, glacier gear, sunscreen, warm layers, splitboard w/ ski boots Approach Notes: Well established trail all the way

Size small. Free, no cracks. Pick up near Garfield High School in Seattle.

Sweet topo!

Burly! Thanks for posting this.

We were vaguely aware of a walk off climbers' right, it did look somewhat improbable due to the steep canyon sides and bushwacky forest on the horizon... good to hear that it goes, sounds like a viable alternative to finagling rappel anchors and downclimbing.

I've wondered about the holes in my circa 2010 smartwool base layers, also considered some kind of critter was responsible in some way. Sounds like it could be just normal planned obsolescence for these things. Still useable but getting a bit long in the tooth. Definitely always air dry these things as well. The icebreaker stuff I have is not holding up nearly as well.

Looking for an ice climbing partner for lowland ice near Hope BC this weekend. I would be driving from Bellingham and could carpool from there. Looking to lead or swing leads on the longer wi2-wi3 routes that are confirmed to be in shape right now and at least through this weekend. They didn't come into shape last year and won't be here for long! Email is best to communicate and my username, manninjo, is the address at the email service provider @gmail.com Cheers, Joe

Sweet trip!

Randkluft, nice one!

Trip: Colchuck Lake - Ice/Dragontail + Colchuck conditions Trip Date: 02/11/2018 Trip Report: Went up to Colchuck lake on Saturday thinking there may have been enough melt freeze lately to make ice fat on Dragontail, probably still too early this year. Some ice on the northern aspects but looked pretty spicy through zoomed in views. We climbed a neat consolation ice line on the lower flanks of Colchuck Balanced Rock and enjoyed the sunny and windless alpine ambience instead. Skinning the road required a fair bit of walking but booting up the summer trail was easy with a snowshoe track packed down. Nice and consolidated snowpack made for easy traveling. I feel like alpine climbing in the Cascades you can have good ice, good snow, or good weather. Oftentimes you can choose one. Getting two or three to align is elusive, rewarding when it happens though. Here are some conditions photos from February 10+11 of Triple Couloirs, Gerber-Sink, and an ice flow coming down the lower flanks of CBR with some vintage tat at the top. Gear Notes: Cascade winter grab bag. Two ropes would be nice Approach Notes: From Icicle Creek

Sent you a PM about the tech bindings, thanks.

Thank you for the system update, it looks like a big improvement over the ubb software! I went to message someone privately regarding an item on the yardsale, and it said my message inbox was full. If I go to my profile, I do not see an inbox anywhere or place to delete messages... is there something I am missing here?