Jason4

Reading all the comments on access at MRNP here and over on TAY makes me very thankful that we don't have problems like that on the north end. I have no interest in dealing with national parks as long as our current division of land management protects further new development. I might be persuaded to change my mind if there were a new ski area on Hwy 20 though.

I'd be surprised if snow had as much to do with rockfall and dislodging loose rock as water and melt/freeze cycles. Of course, a healthy snow pack leads to running water on the rocks. Edited to say that we have been lacking on the freeze half of melt/freeze around here. I also shouldn't be taken as any sort of an expert in geology or hydrology.

I've walked from the gate to the CPTH, it's not a very long walk and I wouldn't let it discourage you from Sahale if it's what you really want to do. That said, Eldorado is the obvious destination given the closure.

--AAI Guide Braden Downey and partner Will Hinckley made the second ascent of the Polish Route on Colfax Peak next to Mt. Baker this week. Many climbers have attempted this line since its first ascent well over a decade ago, but Braden and his partner were the first to succeed! From here: http://blog.alpineinstitute.com/2015/01/climbing-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and_15.html That's the only thing I know of online other than a few pictures from the guys on FB.

I think June might be too late for a Forbidden Circumnav to be enjoyable on skis this year. I was on Eldorado in June last year and it was just barely skiable down to Morraine Lake off of Forbidden, I doubt it's skiable now this year. My GF got up on Baker on Jan 29 and made it to 9400', somewhere on the Roman Wall above the CD col. She said the Coleman was really broken up and pretty spooky. I was up there last April and stuff that I skinned and rode across was still wide open gapers. This last storm should have helped up at the 8000' level but I'm not sure it did much on the Coleman glacier where the biggest holes are.

I ski tour a lot more than I climb on snow and I always have one whippet when I'm touring. I've gotten so used to it as part of my kit that I grab it for slogs too and think of it as having another half axe to supplement the one that I'm carrying on my pack. I was on Eldorado last June in deep slush and was happy with a Venom in my uphill hand and the Whippet in the downhill hand collapsed most of the way down. I have arrested a slide with the Whippet on frozen corn early in the morning last April. Without it I would have slid several hundred feet into trees but I managed to stop myself about 50 feet from where I lost my edge on a questionable kick turn.

Thanks for sharing the details, it's a tough story to read. I have a friend who broke his back racing snowboards 15 years ago. He was told then that he probably wouldn't walk again and certainly never snowboard. As part of his recovery he got really into body building and also into skiing in one of the chairs. The last time I saw him was 10 years ago, it was his first day back on a snowboard and I had just sprained my ankle that morning so I jumped in his ski chair. It was a humbling experience but a great way to get out and enjoy the mountains. Good luck with the recovery, the depression at 6 weeks always seems like the hardest part to deal with for me.

I heard from someone that was up today that you can basically drive to the trail head. Edit: She just said that there was a RAV4 parked at the TH.

Braden Downey and Will Hinckley got it between rain storms. I was hoping they would put up a trip report here, they posted it to FB first. I talked to Braden the other day about it and it sounds like he really enjoyed the route.

Port Townsend puts you in within driving distance of Hurricane Ridge but that's hit or miss. It also puts you sort of close to Mervin Mfg. Would Sequim or Port Angeles work?

Bellingham has good sailing too. I'd actually prefer to see people leave B'ham so I won't try too hard to talk you into it but why are you resistant to B'ham?

Hidden Wave is still in business which is impressive considering the online competition. I try to support them whenever I can and try to send friends and coworkers there. It is a small snowboard shop that's worth checking out for work if you know something about skateboarding, screen printing, and mountain bikes too but I think the staff is pretty limited.

What kind of ski industry work are you looking for? At first pass I would recommend Bellingham over Anacortes for what you're looking for. Squamish is 2 hours from driveway to parking lot (plus border times), Baker is an hour and 18 minutes from driveway to Heather Meadows with bus traffic and I live on the south side of town. We have our own climbing gym now to pass the time in the winters. We lose out on Mt Erie but we have a mythical big wall with a 45 minute drive and a 2 hour approach instead. If you already have a significant other and can work from home I'd be tempted to live up river on Hwy 20 and buy a snowmobile for real North Cascades adventures year round. It rains here. A lot. I'm actually kind of hopeful that all the rain and the miserable snow conditions this year will spread rumors that it's no longer a very nice place to live.

The strength of the Mountaineers is the size of the club but it's also the biggest weakness. There are lots of opportunities to find partners and you know what kind of an education someone coming out of their basic class has. Because of the size of the club there is a lot of bureaucracy and they have to instruct more or less to the lowest common denominator which means that students that excel are more likely to get bored. I think the Mounties basic class is worthwhile as long as you have the time to commit to going to class and getting out on the climbs. Having been involved with the Bellingham branch and the Everett branch I'll also say that each branch has it's own cast of characters and it's own branch personality. Don't judge the entire club based on the big branches.

I'm pretty sure the road is closed for the season until June 1 but somebody should double check me on that. I think the closure is near the bridge across the middle fork that is used to access Dailey Prairie.

I heard a rumor about the Polish route... Plus I had to bump this because I couldn't stand seeing a month old post about Rainier as the most recent TR in the NC section.

As far as I know the only mod was adding a hitch for a bike rack. I don't know how hard it would be to mod the tail gate to open from the inside but I could see that being pretty handy. Let me know if you want more info about the car, it's posted on Craigslist in Bellingham. I'd give you a link here but I can't get to CL from my work computer.

As luck would have it my GF is selling a 2005 Element with AWD and a manual transmission, it already has a hitch on it too but isn't wired for a trailer. She's selling it because her living is not as transient as it once was and we need a truck. It's been a great car for sleeping at the trailhead and still gets 25mpg.

I know you're looking for something further south but if you don't find it then give AAI in Bellingham a call. Grab a split and make a weekend of it near Baker.

Won't a tight slackline get close?

Won't a tight slackline get close?

I tried on a pair of Scarpa Rebels (the regular version, not the integrated gaiter version) a couple of weeks ago and I think those will be my next pair of mountain boots. That way I can keep all of my crampons as step-in only and share 'pons between my AT boots and my mountain boots.

I suspect the news got it wrong. I was below Liberty Bell on the west side headed for SEWS when the chopper flew up the valley following Hwy 20 from the west, through the pass and then I could hear it somewhere on the other side of the hairpin. When I got to the ridge at the base of the South Arete I watched the helicopter fly south from the other side of the hairpin. Two other climbers at the ridge said that there plan was to climb Spontaneity Arete yesterday but they talked to SAR members either late Saturday or early Sunday and said something about someone rapp'ing off their rope and other party members needing rescue. I don't really have any more details than that but I know that the Blue Lake TH was really quiet when I was there at 8am and 4pm yesterday and I didn't see any commotion on the west side of the LB group. I was hoping to find out more info about what happened.

I think the heli crew has been very busy lately, I watched a helicopter land near the Heather Meadows interpretive center on Saturday and another one flying around the hairpin at Washington Pass yesterday. I don't know if I could pick out the difference between a standard life flight heli and the HRT heli so I'm not sure who I was watching on either day.

I was up climbing at WaPass today and saw a SAR helicopter fly by the hairpin. Another party that was on SEWS today said that they talked to SAR members about helping a party on Spontaneity Arete last night and going back in today for more work.