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ajpederson

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Posts posted by ajpederson

  1. Trip: Lane Peak - The Zipper

     

    Date: 11/21/2015

     

    Trip Report:

    Lina and I headed down to Rainier park with ice gear and touring gear with the intention to decide on what we would do when we got there based on how things looked. From the parking lot at Narada Falls it looked like there was snow and ice in The Zipper, so we headed that way.

     

    The snow on the approach in was thin, so there was a lot of exposed boulders and brush.

     

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    Hiking in.

     

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    Bushwhacking to the base of the route.

     

    Once we were in The Zipper we found a few short pitches of ice, which were great for getting Lina her first leads with ice tools. Further up we got to a point where I've usually climbed around a big chock stone to its right. There wasn't any ice and my dry tooling skills are limited, so we had to get creative. I was able to climb a short bit of ice then squeeze through behind the chock stone. I then hauled up our packs and belayed Lina through the hole. It was kind of a fun way to get past that obstacle.

     

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    Rope going up through the hole.

     

    After that it was just nice steep snow to the top of The Zipper. We wanted to make sure we made the gate closing and to try beat the rush of people from Paradise down the road, so we headed out rather than going for the summit. The hike out was interesting, as the normal descent gully is a stream and frozen rocks right now.

     

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    Descending the frozen stream.

     

    The rest of the hike out was uneventful and the day was capped off with burgers at Bruno's.

     

    This was the thinnest conditions I've ever climbed this route in, and it added some unique challenges on the approach, descent, and on the route. Overall a lot of fun and a great day in the mountains getting Lina her first ice leading.

     

    Gear Notes:

    Brought a couple short screws, and some rock gear. No screw placements, maybe could have found a couple spots for a picket if we brought one.

     

    Approach Notes:

    Bushwhacking and barely covered boulder fields.

  2. Climbed this on Saturday, and it is really a lot of fun. We were mostly able to stay below the snow on the traverse to the start of the route, except for one spot. It won't be too long until you won't have to be on the snow at all. If you're comfortable at the grade, I'd recommend simul-climbing for a bit and combining the first two pitches to get to the nice bolted anchor.

     

    I have no idea what those blocks are attached to on the fourth pitch, but they sure are fun to pull up on. Also, the belay before the last pitch is pretty wild to hang at for a while.

     

    We also saw a helicopter land at the beach on Copper Lake for a while, then leave. Its always weird to be above things that are flying.

  3. My dad had a hip resurfacing when he was in his early 50's. Climbed Rainier a little over a year after that. Coming down was rougher on it than going up. He lost some hip mobility, which is challenging with rock climbing sometimes. But overall he's much more mobile and happier than before he had it done.

  4. I can't speak to this specific piece of gear, but can give you some insight from a previous job designing and testing parachutes. Stitching is usually designed to be stronger than what is being stitched. The failure point during testing is almost always the point where the material goes from double to single thickness. On this piece of gear, that would be just toward the center from the stitching. That, combined with knowing that knots are weak points, would lead me to believe that the stitching should be the strongest of the three you have listed.

  5. Trip: Mount Baker - North Ridge

     

    Date: 7/27/2014

     

    Trip Report:

    Three of us headed out to climb the North Ridge of Mt Baker on Saturday. We made short work of the hike up to the 6,500 foot camp with great views the whole way up.

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    Hiking up.

     

    After having some lunch and setting up camp we decided to scout the route across the glacier. We crossed the glacier, investigated a few different start options, and then headed back to camp.

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    Glacier scouting.

     

    Back at camp we decided to go with the hourglass feature as our approach if we could get bast the bergshcrund. We were up early the next morning and ready to go back across our scouted route. We made good time to the bergschrund, passing a few groups along the way.

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    Morning climbing.

     

    We got through the bergschrund by entering it on the climbers right side and using a ramp to get into the hourglass. We wet up a belay at the bottom of the ice ridge, opting to climb the lowest angle route possible. Andrew led up the 2 pitches of ice, his second time leading ice. The angle backed off not far into the second pitch and was perfect for pickets and moving quickly.

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    Andrew leading the first pitch.

     

    Above the ice pitches Ilia led us up two long running belays before transitioning back to standard glacier travel.

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    Steep snow above the ice.

     

    Based on a recommendation from the team behind us we decided to traverse out left toward the top to get to the summit. This involved a traverse across a steeper slope, and then a little crevasse navigation.

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    Traverse.

     

    We reached the summit and relaxed a bit before heading down to pack up camp and get back to the car. Took 3.5 hours from the summit to the car. The Coleman-Deming route was in great shape, and there were quite a few people skiing down.

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    Me, Ilia, and Andrew on the summit.

     

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    Descending the trail.

     

    *All photos taken by Ilia.

     

    Gear Notes:

    8 screws - would need less if more comfortable ice climbing

    3 pickets - nice for the steep snow above the ice

     

    Approach Notes:

    Trail is in great shape. Glacier crossing is pretty direct at 6,500 feet.

  6. BUMP for updated prices.

     

    All prices are OBO, with pickup in Seattle. Pics can be seen here.

     

    $130 - CiloGear 60L Worksack, Size Meduim: Great pack for carrying a lot of stuff. Some cosmetic wear that doesn't affect functionality. All original straps included.

     

    $100 - Asolo Hiking Boots: Women's US 8/Eur 40. Lightweight with Gore-Tex lining. Used for 5 - 7 hikes.

     

    FREE - Pair of Green Dynafit Zzero 4 touring ski boots: Size 25. They have small cracks in the plastic by the Dynafit binding pin inserts. I tried to send them back to Dynafit, but the boots are too old to warranty. I wouldn't ski them with tech bindings like Dynafit or G3, but the cracks shouldn't cause a problem with other touring bindings like Fritschi or Marker.

  7. All prices are OBO, with pickup in Seattle. I can either send or add pics of the ski boots later if people want. Pics of other items can be seen here.

     

    $150 - CiloGear 60L Worksack, Size Meduim: Great pack for carrying a lot of stuff. Minor cosmetic wear that doesn't affect functionality. All original straps included.

     

    $30 - Lafuma 30°F X950 Pro Sleeping Bag – Synthetic: Lightweight synthetic sleeping bag in good shape. Minimal use. - SOLD

    $10 - Selkirk 3 Person Dome Tent: Non-technical tent (partial rain fly), ideal for summer camping. [7' x 7' x 52", square dome tent] - SOLD

     

    $5 - Energizer Headlamp: Has high beam, low beam, and red light modes. - SOLD

     

    $20 - Brunton Raptor Piezo Stove: Used a few times before getting Jetboil - SOLD

     

    $120 - Asolo Hiking Boots: Women's US 8/Eur 40. Lightweight with Gore-Tex lining. Used for 5 - 7 hikes.

     

    $60 - Garmin eTrex Vista H GPS: One scratch on screen from crampons. No topos, black and white. Would add waypoints before trip to assist in navigating. - SOLD

     

    $10 - GCI Quick-E-Seat: Small seat with cup holder. Folds up and has a built in strap for carrying. - SOLD

     

    $30 - GSI Pinnacle Soloist - Pot/bowl: Pot and bowl that nest inside each other with enough room for a large canister of fuel too. Handle locks lid down to keep everything together. Used 3 or 4 times. Used a few times before getting Jetboil - SOLD

     

    $20 - Pair of Green Dynafit Zzero 4 touring ski boots: Size 25. They have small cracks in the plastic by the Dynafit binding pin inserts. I tried to send them back to Dynafit, but the boots are too old to warranty. I wouldn't ski them with tech bindings like Dynafit or G3, but the cracks shouldn't cause a problem with other touring bindings like Fritschi or Marker.

     

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