ajpederson

Trip: Mt. Thomson - West Ridge Date: 8/18/2013 Trip Report: With Highway 20 closed, the BOEALPS Basic Rock Class (BRC) decided to move graduation climbs a bit closer to home. We were headed out to climb this weekend, so decided to take a couple students with us and split up into 3 teams. After a little discussion, it was decided Mt. Thomson would be our objective. A stop for breakfast at the golf course in Northbend and a leisurely approach up had us at a nice campsite between Ridge and Gravel lakes for Saturday night. Taking the old trail through the Commonwealth Basin is a nice way to cut some mileage off the PCT. After a meal of grilled cheese and Fritos it was time for bed. Approaching the catwalk. Ridge Lake. The next morning we got started about 7:00 and hiked up and over Bumblebee Pass and up to the start of the route. There's a lot of scree to hike over, which for some reason I didn't take as a sign of the rock quality on the route. Mt. Thomson So many rocks. Once at the start of the route, we got roped up and started up. The first pitch was a fun chimney like feature after a step across. The second pitch seemed a bit runout, and we're not really sure if we went the right way. After that, a few more pitches of slab and face with some loose rock brought us to the summit. Getting ready for P1. Finishing up the slabs on P3. P5 slabs. Group summit shot. The descent involved 3 rappels and then a lot more scree to get back to the basin. Back over Bumblebee Pass, back to pack up camp, and then back out on the PCT and through the Commonwealth Basin trail. Heading down to find the first rappel. Apparently abandoned=shortcut. Overall a pretty fun weekend. The loose rock, sparse gear, and crappy descent definitely give this route more of an alpine feel than some other beginner routes of the same grade. -All pictures provided by Alicia. Gear Notes: Set of nuts, cams up to #2. Up to #3 for the others. Grilled Cheese. Approach Notes: The trail through the basin cuts a bunch off the PCT.

There were a couple people on skis, but the sun cups were big enough I wouldn't want to ski it.

We did Klawatti on Friday via the SW Buttress. We did one low 5th pitch off to climbers left of the camps at the col and then simuled up the ridge until the climbing got easy. For the most part its 4th and 3rd class, but pretty loose. We downclimbed and then did one rappel to reach the snow to climbers right of camp. The snow route looked to have a big crack through it.

Enjoy it. I did Paisano a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. Lots of clean rock, and really only one boring pitch on the whole thing.

The Paisano-Burgundy linkup looked clear. What were you looking for? Once we crossed over Burgundy Col, there was a lot more snow hanging up on stuff than on the highway side. Here's some more pictures you can look through if you want. My Flickr Alicia's Picasa

Trip: Silverstar - Burgundy Col to Silverstar Glacier Date: 6/22/2013 Trip Report: Headed in to Silverstar on Saturday with Alicia, Matt, and Sara. The weather was great when we started from the road in the morning. View from the road. (Alicia's pic) The trail up to the bench was just as steep as I remembered it, but nicer since it was a little wet, which kept the dust down. Heading up from the bench to Burgundy Col we ran into some snow patches, and took advantage of them when we could. Heading up to Burgundy Col (Alicia's pic) Once at the Col, we stopped to enjoy part of the alpine burritos from Qdoba that Sara convinced us to bring. MMMMMMMMMM.....Burrito From Burgundy Col, it was all snow to the start of the scramble to the summit. We all carried crampons, but it was warm and the top layer of snow was soft, so we didn't use them. The scramble had some snow on it, but was still a lot of fun. The clouds started to roll in just as we were starting to scramble to the summit. Scrambling Looking back down the scramble Riding a Flake Summit Rodeo? (Alicia's pic) Group summit shot (Alicia's pic) Back down to the snow to finish our burritos, then time to head back. The glissades down were nice and fast on soft snow. View from our lunch spot Jacket glissade diaper? (Alicia's pic) Glissading, apparently I was having fun (Alicia's pic) Of course the weather decided to clear back up as we were heading back down, so much for those great summit views. The hike out was the normal kitty litter fest, complete with a nice sliding maneuver by Matt that resulted in some dirty pants. Oops (Alicia's pic) A stop for raspberry chocolate chip ice cream at Cascadian Farm on the way home completed a great trip. Gear Notes: Alpine Burritos. Used ice axes, carried crampons but didn't need them. Approach Notes: Patches of snow above the bench, then snow from Burgundy Col to the scramble.

I think my position on passing can best be described in a couple short stories: 1. Let a "guide" and a couple pass us on Monkey Face at the bottom of the bolt ladder because there was going to be a proposal on top. Ended up taking hours to finish while we shivered in the monkey's mouth and had to rappel in the dark. Right: asked us to pass. Wrong: make sure you're faster than the people you're passing. 2. Guy traversed in above us on an alternate start to a route even though we said he was going to make a mess and we were already on route, then his two followers who were just starting climbing outside clustered the route for us and the group waiting behind us. Right: seemed friendly enough at the belays. Wrong: Didn't wait in line, didn't pass in a good spot. I really think the responsibility for passing falls on the group that wants to pass. Find a good spot to do it, have a plan, do it quickly, make sure you're faster, and be friendly about it. I generally go with the "guess I should have gotten up earlier" attitude and only try to pass when it won't inconvenience the lead group.

I climb at nowhere near the level that I'd ever notice the difference between most ropes, so I usually set some basic criteria then find the cheapest rope that meets them. The last rope I bought had to be in the mid to upper 9mm range for diameter, dry treated, 60m long, and bi-pattern if possible. I ended up finding an bi-pattern Edelweiss Laser for about $150 and I've been pretty happy with it. For the slight difference in feel or weight to other ropes, I couldn't justify spending the extra money. I'm sure a lot of other people have specific ropes or brands they love, but I've been pretty happy using this method for my last few ropes.

I made some once with milk jugs and zip ties. They worked for a while. The zip ties kept cracking and eventually i gave up and just bought some.

I've used woolite in the past with pretty good results. I run it through a second rinse cycle to make sure all the soap is gone. I also wash mine in a mesh laundry bag, which seems to reduce the tangles quite a bit.

Look at the ABC Huevos nuts. They're the same sizes as the BD ones and usually a little cheaper. When I first started I had cams from .3-3 with some doubles in the mid range of .5-2. When you start, most of the easier climbs are in this range. Then as I started to climb harder stuff I got smaller and bigger gear as needed. I do like my little mastercams though.

+1 for duct tape and finding boots that fit. I also know a lot of people that use liner socks, but I can never get them to stay up and they always end up bunched up under my foot. I had a similar problem when I was first starting. I used a pair of boots for months on just snow and never had a problem, but as soon as I did Rainier and had some trail to start the climb, this happened less than 2 miles into the trip: What made the difference for me was realizing that walking in stiff shank boots on a trail was different than softer hiking boots. I had to change my walk a bit to lift my foot a little more and roll up onto my toe less. My walk ended up being a little more flat footed than I normally would. Another option is if you know you're going to be on trail for a good chunk at the beginning of the climb, wear a pair of light running shoes until you get to the snow and swap into your boots there. Also, a good place to look for different ways to tie your shoes to prevent heel slip is running websites. Runners have a ton of different lacing patterns to do different things.

That's not a very nice thing to call your partner.

+1 for the Ferrosi. I love mine and it seems very durable.

Yeah, we were able to rap with a 60 because the Zipper was so full of snow, but i wouldn't recommend that for this early in the season. I think a 70 would reach if you don't want to carry two 60s.

I did The Zipper 12/22 last year and Lovers Lane 2/11. Both had little bits of ice, but would have been climbable before we were there.

Yeah, the weather was great except for the wind on the summit. Definitely way better than working.

Trip: Silver Peak - West Slope via Annette Lake Date: 11/27/2012 Trip Report: Took the day off Tuesday to get out on what was supposed to be the last sunny day before a long stretch of rain. Both Alicia and I had tried Silver Peak on different occasions and been turned around by conditions, so we figured that would be a good peak to try for. The trail to Annette lake was clear for about half way to the lake, then was an icy boot pack. Annette Lake (Alicia's Pic) Once to the lake we headed up into the woods and then the open slopes up Silver Peak. The snow was very icy, so we put on crampons before heading up the open slopes. There was enough snow to keep us on top of the rocks, so that was nice. Heading up the open slopes (Alicia's Pic) The traverse under the ridge was also pretty icy, so we pulled out ice axes for it. Start of the traverse (Alicia's Pic) Once across the traverse it was one more slope to the ridge. It was very windy on top, so we took a couple pictures quick and headed down. Alicia approaching the summit Summit views Rainier The descent and hike out were uneventful and made easier by the fact that the snow started to soften a bit from the sun. A stop for food at the brew pub in Issaquah ended a great day in the mountains and away from work. Gear Notes: AL crampons and axe were needed, but might be different now after all the new snow. Approach Notes: Annette Lake trail, then up.

I've never climbed with a charity climb, but the few people I know that have would probably have climbed the mountain guided if they hadn't gone with a charity group. So it really comes down to either paying a guide service, or raising some money for a cause.

Climb for Himalaya Children Knowing the people in charge and involved, I'm sure a very high percentage of the money makes it to the intended cause.

Nice work.

And you have some rope available if you run into a rescue situation.

South Arete on South Early Winter Spire 5.5 Beckey route on Liberty Bell 5.6 South Face on The Tooth 5.4 South Ridge on Ingalls Peak 5.4 NE Ridge of Black Peak 5.2

I have flat feet too and was having a similar problem when I first started with my AT boots. Ended up going and getting them re-fit and they added a foam wedge under my heel that positioned my foot in the boot better. I also noticed the arch blisters/soreness were worse when I had the clips really loose. Now I keep them all clipped down on the loosest clip and tighten the strap over just the liner, seems to work for me. Other thing is it seemed to get better over time as I broke my boots in more, and this took longer than any other footwear I've owned.

Aasgard and Colchuck Glacier on Saturday. The snow was pretty wet and soft in spots, don't think it froze Friday night. We got turned around by a big bergschrund at the base of the North East Buttress Couloir route on Colchuck.