Devin27
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Posts posted by Devin27
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and this route, in my mind, was sort of the next level in that venue for us.
My climbing partner and I had the exact same thought last year prior to attempting Ice Cliff Glacier and came very close to a similar situation. We ended up having to do some heinous mixed climbing on the rock between the two cornice gullies to avoid huge chunks falling off that cornice when the weather turned warmer than we expected (we should have known better). Reading your report brings back haunting memories of my own near disaster on that route. I think the hazards of that route are often minimized by reports and guidebooks. That cornice can vary from an easy walk up to death trap depending on conditions.
Thank you for sharing your story and glad to hear you are ok
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Always nice to have a distraction from the lack of snow this year
1) Favorites I have climbed:
- Full Exum Ridge- Teton
- Wolf's Head
- NE Buttress- Bugaboo Spire
- Shuksan- Fisher Chimneys
- Ancient Art- Stolen Chimney
2) Capable of, but have not climbed and want to:
- Snowpatch Route on Snowpatch Spire
- Triple Couloirs on Dragontail
- Backbone Ridge on Dragontail
- Full North Ridge of Stuart
- South Ridge of Gimli
- Mox Peaks
3) Admire but will never climb.
- Beckey-Chouinard on S. Howser (Admire and I will eventually climb)
- Everest (Crowds and I like my toes)
- Winter Dance
- Any route on El Cap (who knows, maybe someday)
- Mooses tooth
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I have wide feet as well and love Scarpa brand boots as they seem to have a wider footbed across their line. I have the Mont Blanc GTX for winter and the Charmoz Pro for late spring and early summer climbs. The Charmoz is lighter but not as warm or waterproof as the Mont Blanc, but the MB is pretty heavy. Spend your money on the boots and get ones that fit. A large jacket from the thrift store will keep you warm either way, but a boot that is too tight or too big will ruin your day at best and could be dangerous at worst. Wear them on some local climbs to try them out before the big ones.
I climbed Hood in January and Rainier in early June and below is what I carried on both (take this with a grain of salt, I usually am cold when climbing and everyone has different opinions of speed vs weight, I tend to err on the side of caution.
wearing
-Smartwool Merino upper and lower base layers- 1/4 zip top with collar to neck
-Northface softshell jacket (not the lightest, but it does the job)
-REI gortex shell jacket
-OR Ferossi light softshell Pants
-North Face Gortex shell pants
in my pack
-Buff
-Thin hat for under my helmet
-warm hat (if camping)
-Marmot Zeus 800 fill down jacket
You learn best through experience. If you can get out on some local area climbs or snowshoes, that would be the best way to see how your system works without being committed to a big climb.
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Trip: Bozeman Ice Fest - Many
Date: 12/13/2014
Trip Report:
Finally got out to Montana to check out the Bozeman Ice Fest this year.
We rented an awesome townhouse a 10 minute walk from the festivities in town and spent 3 days climbing in Hyalite by day and enjoying he festival activities by evening and sitting in the rooftop hot tub by night.
Ilia, Jeff, Priti and I drove from Seattle while Laura, Jamie, Nathaniel and Kiersten flew into Bozeman directly. Driving was long and dull but uneventful. We got into town Wednesday afternoon in time to listen to Conrad Anker’s talk on climbing Winter Dance.
Thursday it was time to hit the canyon. None of us had been to Hyalite before so we decided to hunt around and get the lay of the land. I have had about a half dozen days on ice previously and only one on Waterfall ice, probably about 40 pitches total and 1 lead. We originally headed for Lower Greensleves to start but as we hiked past Genesis 1; which had a clinic on it; we found a party already on route so we kept hiking up to try and get on Hang Over. We weren’t sure exactly where we were going but the trail led us instead to Upper Greensleves (WI3) which was looking fat and awesome. I jumped on lead and we set a two rope TR from the base to the top. We all did some laps there and by then the sun was already starting to set (Damn short winter days), so it was back to town and on to the Ice Fest film festival (Won a pair of laser ice screws in the raffle) and the hot tub.
Next day the girls headed over to the All-Women’s clinic and the guys went back to track down Hang Over. This time we found it and jumped right on it. Steeper than Upper Greensleves; it was probably WI3+ with small sections of 4 in places; it was an awesome climb and probably my favorite from the weekend. After I set the TR we split the group and myself and Nathaniel went over to Genesis 2 wall while Jeff and Ilia wanted to both lead Hang Over. We found a bunch of people on G2 wall but waited out turn but everyone was really nice. We eventually set two lines on the wall, one on the right to the bolt anchors and another in the middle to the very top of the wall. That night in town was the speed climbing competition and after a short time watching we headed back to the hot tub (sensing a trend here?)
Saturday was clinic day for the other half of us with Aaron Mulkey. We took over the Amphitheater area and the clinic had TRs set on Fat Chance, Thin Chance and Switchback falls. They also tossed lines down two mixed routes next to Fat and Thin Chance. It was a day for laps and we got a ton. I counted somewhere near 15 but I honestly lost count and tons of good tips and technique improvements. The previously sunny and warm weather finally started to turn in the afternoon and snow and clouds came with dropping temps. Back in town we found snow and ice for watching the lead climbing competition but it was still really cool to watch.
All in total I got in somewhere around 6 led pitches and 25 top tope pitches throughout the 3 days. It was a really great time and I highly recommend it for new ice climbers and veterans alike.
Upper Greensleves Right flow
Upper Greensleves left flow
The famous Winter Dance in the distance
Climber on Hang Over as the sunsets
Ilia on Hang Over the next Morning
Steep to start, then it eases off before getting steep for the finish
Hang Over
Genesis 2 Wall
Making friends with other climbers on the route
Next day at the clinic. Climbing on Thin Chance
More ice on Thin Chance
Switchback Falls
Thin Chance and Fat Chance and some mixed climbing
Thin Chance and Fat Chance and some mixed climbing
Approach Notes:
Trails were hard and icy, so crampons from the car were nice. Granted this was before the fresh started falling
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Just got back from the festival. Climbed G2, Hang Over, Upper Green Sleeves, Fat Chance, Thin Chance and Switchback falls. All were in good shape through the warm weather but getting picked badly by Sunday but the freeze of today and yesterday should build them back up nicely. Reports said Dribbles and things back in the canyon out of the sun were good but we didnt get back there
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2nd the Wind River Range. If you are up for alpine climbing, definitely check out The Wolfs Head and Pingora, two 50 classics in an amazing location
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We did the route with two 60m ropes and ended up double rope rapping the whole thing. There are stations everywhere though so you should be fine with a 70m. The only concern I would have is the second rap station which is at the base of the final slab pitch. It is a single only piton that isn't the most confidence inspiring to rap off. There are a lot of rope eating flakes and rocks, so watch out when pulling your rope.
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Headed up to do East Ridge of Forbidden this weekend and looking for any condition reports for the route, Boston Basin approach or the east ledges descent.
Mainly curious about the current difficulty of the stream crossing, how much snow is in the basin and if crampons and mountaineering boots have been needed.
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2-ML-96330-ML-
Moving to North Cascades...
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Trip: Cascade Pass - Sahale, Buckner and Horseshoe
Date: 5/30/2014
Trip Report:
Spent a fantastic three days at Cascade Pass instructing a Boealps BCC Graduation Climb. We planned to climb Sahale, Buckner, Horseshoe and Boston (for instructors only). Boston turned out to have too much snow to be done safely, but we summited the other three on a gorgeous weekend. I have never been able to snag permits for Sahale camp, but the early season and partially closed road got us not only permits but solitude and untouched snow at the high camp for almost the whole weekend. We didn’t see another human being until our hike our on Sunday. 18 miles and 11,500 ft made for a great weekend in my favorite spot in the Cascades.
The following trip report was written by team lead Danika Globokar, photos by Devin Monas
Friday
Cascade River Rd was closed at the Boston Basin TH giving us an extra 2+ miles and 1200' gain to just get to the Cascade Pass Trail. We left the cars around 6:30am. Took the mostly-melted-out trail to about 4400', where it touches Soldier Boy Creek. We headed 2000' straight up the snowed-in creek basin rather than switch-backing to Cascade Pass, saving us a good couple of miles. Continued up to Sahale camp at ~7500' and arrived around 1pm. 5000 feet of gain in 6.5 hours. Dropped packs and set up camp. Pondered about doing Sahale Friday vs Sunday,and decided to just go for it since "what else are we going to do this afternoon?"
Roped up for glacier travel practice and headed up to Sahale, which is another 1100' of gain. Devin led up the 30-40 feet of 4th (1 or two moves low-5th) summit block, set up an anchor, and belayed me up. I belayed the first student as Devin set the rappel. There was a lot more snow up here than when I had previously climbed Sahale and added some spice to the route. fyi, if anyone was curious, don't try Boston Peak for at least another month or two. Sooo much snow on it still and it looks terrifying.
We started the whole summit block process at 3:15, and the first team was back at camp around 5:30, last team around 7:15pm. I was with the first team and we went down the gully to the east of Sahale camp which accesses Horseshoe Basin Wwe wanted to scope things out for our alpine start tomorrow. Good thing we did, as we found several large moats opening up which we were then able to avoid the next day. Bed around 10pm.
Dinner Friday
In the parking lot I had 3 students with packs weighing in at 51, 58 and 60 pounds respectively (luckily, they are three of the work-horses of the team). I didn't give the heavy packs a second thought, dismissing the weights as just a sign that the students hadn't learned how to pack after the overnight. Well. Shame on me for doubting them. The reason for the pack weights was discovered at dinner, when the students produced a full-size skillet, large propane canister and burner, and gourmet quesadilla fixings for the entire team. Also, an entire carrot cake for dessert. We ate like champions.
Saturday (morning)
Left camp at ~515, not truly desiring an alpine start after 6000' yesterday. Had to immediately drop ~1000' out of camp to access Horseshoe Basin the steep gully. The gully is just barely starting to melt out and is still easily accessible. The lower shortcut snow ramp is still in for the season and saved us a few hundred feet, all the upper ramps are out.
We had a couple of hours to ponder the best way up Buckner as we trudged across the never-ending basin. When we finally reached the slopes of Buckner, we choose to take a direct route up a steeper section on the left side of the face rather than going to the normal SW face route. We found firm conditions but good snow and we hit the summit col at noon, ~7 hours after leaving camp. There is a lot of debate on which is the true summit, but we were much closer to the SW summit so we decided to tag that and call it done.
Left the summit at 1pm. The original plan was that we all do Horseshoe..a 80' prominent bump on ripsaw ridge that is on the bulger list (but shouldn't be), which is guarded by a couple of 3rd-class, exposed rock gullies and a single 5.3 move at the top. Because of the time issues and the fact that students were bonking, we sent them back to Sahale camp with one instructor as the other instructors ran over to bag Horseshoe.
We found considerably more snow on the approach than the beta photos but were easily able to get to a large flat area on the left side of the peak at the base of the hidden gully. We first thought to climb directly up some loose class 3 and then hunted around the far left side of the summit block to find the true ascent gully. Unfortunately that gully was filled with loose snow, so we went back to the loose class 3 which was more than fun enough to make up for not being able to climb Boston on this trip. Most of this rock is falling apart and is fairly exposed but was still a fun climb (why on earth is this on the bulger list?)
I led the final ramp and the 5.3 move at the top. The 5.3 move is overhung (what the heck!?), but protectable. Suffice to say, we all summitted safely, signed our names in the summit register (placed in 1995, saw Luke Shy, Nathan Roberts, Jerry & Kathy Bailie on there), and a double rope rappel got us back to the packs after some minor rope pulling issues. Total detour time of 3 hours.
Basin was full of wet, post-holing snow that the rest of the team took care of by kicking a path in for us. Several sections of steps were gone due to wet-slides in the hot afternoon and we narrowly avoided a few wet slides that came down while we traversed across the basin. Matt D almost got taken out by a wet-slide, but Chris C saw it and yelled. "Run, Matt, RUN!" It was actually a close call, and we were all extra vigilant, and a bit spooked, on the way out. Things are getting sloppy out there, so be careful.
Sunday
Didn't set alarms, but all got up naturally around 6am. Packed and left camp by 7:30am. At this point we saw the first other people during the whole three day weekend, a team of two headed up Sahale. Back to the cars at 11:30.
Gear Notes:
Very small rack for Horseshoe. Think we placed a small nut and a #1 and .5 C4
Approach Notes:
Road is clear until a big block of snow at the parking lot, but gated at boston basin TH.
Trail is mostly snow free until at least 4,400. Mostly snow on the arm but some heather is starting to come out.
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We only went up to about 4400ft on the trail and then cut off into Solider boy creek to go direct to the arm and avoid the pass. The trail was some snow at the bottom and dry above until we turned off for the creek. I expect the trail is mostly snow free until the open slopes near the pass. You could still go direct up the basin to cascade pass on snow. Sahale arm is still almost all snow
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Road is gated at the Boston basin TH. There is a deep but small patch of snow basically 3 feet from the entrance to the cascade pass parking lot which is the only reason the road is still closed. Should be open soon though as it was melting fast. The parking lot itself is dry
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Was on Sahale over the weekend and it has melted a lot since that photo was taken on 5/10. Looked like the west ridge was mostly snow free. We found a fair amount of snow on ledges on Sahale and Boston, so I would expect similar on Forbidden and the TFT. I am writing up a full TR on our trip with lots of photos and should have it done tomorrow.
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The wonders of google
As of May 12: The road is gated at Johnson Cabin (milepost 21.1). Beyond the gate at Johnson Cabin, the road is snow-free to milepost 22, 1 mile short of the Cascade Pass trailhead. The last 0.5 mile is completely snow covered.
From the road to the base base of the east ridge, plan on about 4ish miles, but the vertical distance matters much more since you will gain over 5,000 ft
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An Update for anyone considering this route over the weekend. My partner and I did successfully climb the route on Thursday. That being said, I would not recommend this route until the temps drop and the cornices stabilize. There was significant snow and ice fall throughout from all sides of the route and the cornices are extremely unstable. We managed to avoid long term exposure to the cornice by following a snowy terrace to a open book rock pitch (5.8?) on the rocks right in between the two sets of cornices on the cliffs to the left side of the normal ascent gully. This pitch was difficult in boots and poorly protected, so I would not recommend it for a standard climbing route. While we were on the rock pitch a 25 ft section of the cornice; just to the left of the spot on the far right recent TRs have indicated were climbed to complete the route; collapsed and washed down the thankfully empty ascent gully. An hour later a 100 ft section of cornice released from high above the route on the right side which also hit the full route. The impact left a crater in the snow and shook the rocks where we were on the other side of the gully. The snow is highly unstable and the cornices have not yet all fallen, so be cautious out there.
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Any shots of the cornice or advice on how you got over it?
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@Lukas- Any issues with the bergshrund? Did you climb the icefall on the left side, and if so how much actual ice is on the route right now? Any other useful info?
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They said 900 permits were sold when we were at Lone Fir Sat night. I believe it seeing how many people were out there. Getting the 3am start we well worth it to avoid the crowds.
There is a boot highway right now so I would leave the snowshoes at home. With the heat it will be getting mushy in the afternoon though, so leave early.
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Thinking of climbing the Ice Cliff Glacier on Mt Stuart mid week this week and was wondering if anyone went up this weekend. With the fresh snow on Friday and the warming temps all week the ice fall hazard might be a bit high, but id like to get some recent observations if anyone was up.
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Hey all,
I find myself with vouchers for 4 Stevens Pass all day lift tickets and am not going to be able to use them. Valid for the 2013-2014 season only, so they must be used in the next month or so.
$40 each or $140 if you take all 4 at once. Located in Bothell, but commute daily to South Seattle so I can meet anywhere in between.
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2008 Black Diamond Stigma Skis- A great light backcountry ski, perfect for ski mountaineering or someone just getting into backcountry skiing. This is the ski I learned to ski the backcountry on. Want to upgrade some other equipment so they have to go.
Asking 100 for the skis.
The bases are in great condition with no repairs made or needed, there is a small chip in the top sheet on the tail of one ski about the size of a nickle and is purely cosmetic. Dimensions and info for the skis below. They are currently mounted with 2011 Fritschi Eagle 12 Size L (L: 330-365 mm) bindings which I will toss in for $300 for the whole setup. Otherwise I will pull the bindings off and just sell you the skis.
Length (cm) Nose/Waist/Rear (mm) Weight (g) Radius (m)
166 120/79/106 2800 16.50
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Another update to this (Will post some photos and such later). We also top roped rainbow falls all day Sunday and it was great. We rapped down from the tree above to reach the bolts anchors and also set a rope down on the left side of the wall next to the falls which had some thin but fun ice on it. A few climbers were top roping the tall chandeliers in the corner, but they had to dry tool the top because the ice was too fragile, might need to give that a while more.
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Did you by chance look over at the improbably traverse on guye and see if it still looked snow free?
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Trip: Black Peak - NE Ridge
Date: 7/27/2013
Trip Report:
Team- Devin Monas (Scribe) and Danika Globokar.
After calling the ranger station to discover that Boston Basin permits were gone for the entire weekend by noon on Friday, plans for Forbidden and Boston Peak were dashed and Danika and I quickly rallied to our backup plan for the 50 peaks weekend and headed for Black Peak. We knew there would be several other BOEALPS teams heading that way, so we decided to hike in to Wing Lake on Friday and make the climb Saturday to avoid crowding on the route. This would be my first technical alpine climb of the season (having spent the last two months abroad for work) and both of our longest to date.
We cruised the trail past Lake Anne and arrived at Heather Pass to gaze with wonder at our objective….and the endless boulder field that separated it from us. The hike to Wing Lake was uneventful and we arrived at our camp 3.5 hours from the car.
Lake Ann
Who loves boulder fields????
First view of Black
Given the nice weather and relatively short hike out (It would feel much less so later), we decided to get up with the sun and let the snow soften before we headed for the base of the NE Ridge and the technical portion of the climb.
Unfortunately, the bright half-moon served to eliminate any chance of seeing the milky way, but did light up Black nicely for some star shots.
We woke up the next morning as the sun hit the tent to discover that both of my trekking poles; which I had left next to the tent; were gone. Oddly, both of Danika’s poles which were right next to mine were untouched. A search of the area discovered one of my poles about 100 years from camp with chew marks on the handle. Seems a furry thief stole them in the night for the salt on the grips. An extensive search of the area showed no sign of my other pole, which means I have now lost two trekking poles in two weeks after dropping one on Unicorn
It wouldnt be a true cascades climb without choss
6:45am had us up and hiking and at the base of the NE Ridge in two hours. Roped and racked up, we simulclimbed the first section in three long pitches before pitching out the middle three pitch when the climbing turned from 4th to low 5th class.
Fortunately the climbing; while long and featuring great exposure; never got too difficult. One last simulpitch across the top of the ridge and up the summit block had us on the summit enjoying the views five hours after leaving the base of the ridge.
Adding our contribution to the 50 peaks for 50 years of BOEALPS!!!! (Hopefully we can count Black a few times)
Random team on the last pitch of the NE ridge
Wing Lake from above
All was great with the world……Then we began our descent into choss purgatory on the South Ridge route. I have heard the South Ridge wasn’t too bad, though I suspect people who have climbed this route may have suffering induced amnesia from down-climbing class 3 choss and kitty litter. We saw no sign of a trail once down 300 ft or so from the summit and proceed down the steep gullies following the path of slightly less resistance and the few carrins we could find.
Where is the descent trail?????
Finally down, now just pack camp, mile of trail, mile of boulder field and more trail....
A 1000 ft of choss later, we were blessedly back on snow and back in our camp. Stopped on the way out to chat with the ICC team headed in to climb the same route, then headed back to the car 13 hours after leaving camp that morning.
And just for fun, here is a happy chipmunk
Gear Notes:
60 m rope, kiwi coiled for simulclimbing
Set of chocks, BD cams .3-2. Needed the small gear much more often than the big. Bring lots of double runners and leave the singles at home
Approach Notes:
Hope you like boulder hopping because the snow is long gone
Rainier climbing and Longmire gate
in Climber's Board
Posted
The staff at the desk of the longmire hotel normally has the key to the gate.