PuckerJunkie

The fact that money is involved (~$1000 to get up Rainier) fundamentally corrupts the whole process. Several examples have already been listed. When I first started climbing I paid that kind of money, but honestly I learned more from "Freedom of the Hills" and my first trip up the south side of hood. And that only cost me a couple hundred bucks to buy the gear, which I still have. Guide services are a waste of money. And frankly, as far as I'm concerned, a guided summit doesn't count.

Nice work on figuring that out! A buddy and me were gonna give it a shot this weekend but opted not to since neither of us have been on the DC in either direction. Last year I attempted the same climb but my partner got sick, right about where you took your 3rd posted pic. Looked almost exactly the same. There is another fairly wide snow chute (well it was snow last July) to the left of the waterfall when you climb off the Nisqually, you can actually see it in the contours on Google terrain. So after the Wilson, was it just a rockfest or is there any snow left to walk on before the ice?

Hey everybody, Anyone been up on the east or west ridges of Forbidden recenlty? I am particularly curious about how technical getting off the glacier for either route will be. If we can avoid carrying up a bunch of stuff that we won't use, that would be great! Thanks!

I am planning a trip to Boston Basin and I am wondering if anyone knows what the etiquette is (if there is any...) regarding how you stake your place in line for a first-come first-serve permit. I would think you should be sitting in front of the door, but I am concerned that someone sleeping in a car may think that they were "in-line" first. The thing is that there are other things to do in the Cascades so if there are 5 people sleeping on the porch, we'll head elsewhere. But how do you know what someone in a car is there for... I have never had to deal with this issue and we are coming from Portland so knowing the rules ahead of time would be ideal!

I agree with the easy-to-hard approach mentioned several times already. That's what I did. You might try starting out on overhung stuff (no decking potential) until you fall. That way you can see how you react with less consequences. I don't think there is anyway you can replicate that feeling in a course. Start with sport and get/make a stick-clip so you can try harder stuff, and of course fall, with less consequences. Maybe this is obvious, but I am constantly calculating how the fall will go. Where will I swing, how much rope is out, how far will I drag the belayer, etc. I feel like I usually know when I am gonna go so there is usually some sort of move I can do to keep my feet between my face and the rock. Tell you're belayer you're gonna go so they can maybe get some slack in. Though this last weekend I fell completely unexpectedly for the first time, just popped off sideways on a super easy move and got reeeeeely lucky I didn't crack my head open, lol! For me, there aren't many things more exhilarating than working a crux above the last piece. That head-game is what makes it fun! TRing is pretty safe, leading is not. Leading trad is really not:)

I ran into a (reasonably sane) guy at Smith this past weekend who said he "heard" that the west branching knife ridge is all rock and the biggest issue is the schrund. I would love to get some confirmation on this as well as how gnarly the schrund crossing is right now...

Let's go do Kautz... weather is perfect!!!

Really awesome pics. I am always puzzled when I see people with those honkin cameras. I think, what do they need THAT giant contraption for. Now I get it:) Keep up the good work!

PM'd you.

My first choice would be Forbidden, but I'll climb anything over the next few days. Weather is perfect. Left you a voicemail. -Alex

The weather is way too awesome to pass up. Anyone interested in a 2-dayer starting Sunday. I'd be up for anything from skiing the DC to Forbidden. Have also been interested in Sahale for a while. Basically I just want to climb something while the sun is out. If we can get a ski out of it, even better!!!

PM'd you.

Just PM'd you northwestrider. I'm gonna be at Smith as well, at least on Saturday. I was gonna post to offer spots in my truck from Corvallis and also look for a partner for some multipitch sport. I was hoping to do Wherever I May Roam, which is too difficult for the other(s) in my group. Myself and at least one other are leaving Friday night and had plans to head back to Corvallis on Sat night.

Hey all, I just signed up to find partners. Been in Oregon since September, pretty much came here to climb. I am into alpine mostly but love the rock as well. Upcoming projects include Sahale (Quien Sabe), Rainier (Kautz), Washington (N ridge), Baker (?), Glacier(?)... Anyway, I'll be at Smith tomorrow if anyone wants to play around on some bolted 5.8-9. Maybe we will stick clip some bolts on a few low end 5.10s. Alex eganaj77@gmail.com 484-955-7849