Sidviscous

We both strongly disliked the North Ridge descent. A carspot on the south side may be in order next time... What is it about North Ridge descent that is undesireable? Loose?

Ha! Yeah that's because it's a windbreaker...

I was glad to have them. The couloir was 1000ft of 40 degree sloppy snow with the schrund looming below. The bridge over the schrund was also pretty steep.

Trip: Mt. Stuart - Complete North Ridge Date: 7/7/2013 Trip Report: Vernman23 and I climbed the CNR Sunday from a bivy in Mountaineer’s basin. We found all pitches dry. Plenty of snow left at the 8200 notch. The north face above the Icefall Glacier is currently sheading it’s winter coat. Lots snow slab blocks were sliding off all day and night. The party ahead of us was originally planning to do the Girth Pillar by crossing over from the lower North Ridge but opted not to because of the falling slabs. We made it to the top in time for the afternoon thunderheads to form. We wasted little time heading down but we still got caught mid-way down Sherpa couloir with hail, rock fall, and lightning strikes on nearby ridges. We found shelter in a dry protected alcove and waited out the storm here: We down climbed the schrund on a steep snow bridge on the far west (skier’s left). When we got back Mountaineer's basin was flooded and the creek was running brown. Note: mosquitos are nearly Alaska bad in the Mountaineer’s basin. Also note: don’t leave your shoes out at night if you want them to be in one piece in the morning.

They have sold.

Two 19cm older style Express, one 19cm Turbo, one 22cm Turbo. Each has only been placed a couple of times, is sharp, and free of any major dings or scratches on the teeth, tube, and threads. Each comes with thread protector and end cap. The hangers have been lightly oiled to prevent rust. $25 a piece for the Express, $20 for the Turbos. -West Seattle

Also here's an overlay of route we took on the face.

I think the South Face could be more pleaseant with more snow coverage if a person was comfortable downclimbing steep snow (and I'm pretty sure Wayne is ). Also Jason Hummel, Kyle Miller, and crew went up the Nohokomeen Glacier and Headwall in May. That didn't look like a bad way to do it either. Cascade Crusades- Nohokomeen Glacier

Trip: Jack Mountain - South Face Date: 8/11/2012 Trip Report: Although prominent, the long approach and descriptions of the loose nature of the easiest route probably make Jack Mt. one of the least climbed of the 9000ers in Washington. When my dad and I arrived at the trailhead, we were surprised to find another party of two gearing up for the South Face. We had been debating whether to take the East Ridge with a South Face descent or just take the South Face. Ultimately we decided on taking the South Face route because we were pushing for a 2 day and it seemed faster. It did not sound like there were many snow difficulties, so to save weight we left crampons and boots and only took light hiking shoes and ice cleats. We started up the trail at about 11am. After crossing two bridges we passed the other party of two which ended up being the last time we saw them (on the way out we saw their tracks and camp). The mosquitoes kept us moving past the scenic Crater Lake and up the Crater Mt. trail. We were at the 7100ft Jerry Glacier Pass by 4pm. From here we got our first intimidating view of the 1500ft South Face of Jack. We donned glacier gear, rope, and harnesses and made a slightly descending traverse to 7000ft to a ramp shortcut described in the Cascade Alpine guide. The ramp was not exactly easy to spot, but it looked like it would go. We made an exposed step across the randkluft and onto the rock. The ramp climbs left to right for about 100-150ft and involves some exposed, awkward (but easy) moves right below the top. (My dad emerging from the crawling underneath the bulge) From the top of the ramp we ascended scree and snow a short distance to the top of the ridge. We then traversed above the steep slopes at about 7200ft on the west side of large hump. Below here we descended along the heathery ridge with Jerry lakes to our right and the depths of the Crater Creek basin to our left. At the 6600ft gap above Jerry Lakes we descended to the snow basin below the water fall at 5800ft. We then climbed up through a series of heathery steps to about 6000ft and made camp next to a small stream at 6:30pm. From camp the snow fields looked impossibly steep for our shoes and ice cleats. We set two alarms for 5am and went to sleep with apprehension about the following day. With ear plugs in we slept through both alarms and didn’t wake till about 5:40am. After a quick breakfast we started up the alp slope to 7100ft on the SE shoulder. We traversed the scree to the snow field at the base of the South Face. We used the small moat to avoid the hard snow field. As has been described in other TR’s, we traversed under the face until we were more or less directly above the 7200ft rocky knob. From the snow’s edge we climbed a short blocky stretch to gain a steep ramp ascending left to right. After 400-500ft of steep scrambling the grade eased off. We made our way up and to the left to cross a small water course then ascended directly up essentially paralleling the South East Ridge to the upper snowfield at 8500ft. The snow was hard and steep and we were unable to kick steps so we tediously chopped steps to climb and traverse the snow field west to a rock rib. We then crossed another small snowfield (again west) to the moat below the steep walls of the summit pyramid. To avoid the steep snow, we continued climbing in the moat under and around the base of the summit pyramid and up to a steep rock gully that continued off to right (NE) of a rap sling on a horn. A few minutes more of steep scrambling brought us to the summit. (From the summit looking east. NE glacier on left.) (From the summit looking west. Nohokomeen glacier on right.) After signing the register and calling home to update our arrival time, we started the long arduous descent. We tried to keep rock fall to a minimum but it was nearly impossible. The entire upper third of the face is shattered and loose. In 2 hours we were off the face. We were back to the truck by 8pm. All in all this was an enjoyable climb. The approach was long, but most of it was scenic. It also involved substantial sections of cross country travel without a trail, however there was no bushwhacking- a rarity in the cascades. The face itself was not technically difficult but required some route finding and efficiency to complete in a reasonable amount of time. The loose rock didn't hinder us much on the ascent but it was a problem on the descent. Notes: -The Jerry Glacier seemed pretty benign with the exception of one large crack across the breadth of the glacier where the surface angle changes. We brought glacier gear but we probably would have been pretty comfortable without it considering the conditions. -Taking the ramp from the Jerry glacier to the ridge is a way to save some elevation loss/gain but after calculating it out, it probably amounts to less than 500ft. The ramp is also more severe in terms of exposure and difficulty than anything we encountered on the South Face of Jack. Some of the moves at the top were awkward to do with big packs on. Coming down those moves was worse. We were also surprised at how much had melted in just 24 hours. On Friday we just stepped across the randkluft but Saturday it was a jump. Later season it may become impassable. If I were to do it again, I would consider the Jerry lakes route to save the hassle, especially on the way out. We didn't see anything obvious to rap from at the top and we only had a 30m rope. Perhaps a couple pins and a longer rope could solve the problem. -We brought a 30m 8mm rope and slings but would've traded them for crampons. With some creativity, a person could find some places for pro but we were pretty comfortable without the rope. The exposure was pretty minimal in most places. -Doing Jack in two days was a little rough but doable. -Historical note: Apparently the small guard station cabin you pass before the second bridge was built by 3 Seattle shipwrights turned prospectors in 1902. The larger structure across the creek (1/8mi SW of the bridge) was a barn built in the 30's. Both structures were later used by the Forest Service. Timeline: 8/10/12 11am depart car 4pm Jerry Glacier Pass 6:30pm camp ~5960ft 8/11/12 6:15am depart camp 7am SE Shoulder of Jack 10am Summit 12:30pm SE shoulder 1pm camp 1:45pm depart 2:45pm ridge above Jerry lakes 3:30pm top of ramp to Jerry Glacier 5:15pm Jerry Glacier Pass (lost an hour fishing my pack out after dropping it in the randkluft). 6:15pm Crater Mt. Trail 8pm car.

Vern and I were a little skeptical about how well a shotgun was going to work when we saw them. The first shot proved us wrong. Hard to tell in the first pic but the lower two deathcicles are in motion. The one impacting was probably 10'- 15' and the bigger one was probably 25'- 30'. It appeared that it was just the percussion from the gun that made the big one go as it looked like the smaller one took the hit. Scary. Probably not good to climb under those babies. Thanks for the pre-climbing entertainment. We we're sorry to hear about the other guys ankle. The fall sounded pretty bad from around the corner.

Excellent! Can't wait to give this one a try. Is Oso 50m pitches as well?

"Sloan is a large gneissose granitic mass (tonalite gneiss) with a curious form." - Cascade Alpine Guide. Thanks for the TR with photo-overlays. Way to pull off a FA and bag the summit despite the impending darkness. Sounds like a long day!

Trip: Squire Creek Valley - Slab Daddy Date: 9/6/2011 Trip Report: Vernman23 and I climbed Slab Daddy Aug 28-29. It was a mostly enjoyable climb although the first day was oppressively hot. My appetite for slab climbing will be more than satiated for quite some time after completing this route. Notes Directions: As you arrive in Darrington on 530 (Arlington-Darrington Rd.) eastbound, take a right on Fullerton Ave (where 530 makes a slight bend to head due east). In 4 blocks, take another right on Darrington St. which turns into Squire Creek Rd. Follow the main road until it dead ends at the trailhead. Approach: Not wanting to roast at the balcony bivy we left the car a little before 2pm. The old logging road trail was quick and easy and the start of the climbers trail was obvious. There is a 36in diameter tree across the stream about 200ft upstream of the old crossing. It is good sized so if it remains in place after the winter storms and spring melt, it’ll be a good alternative to wading. We arrived at the base of the route at 3pm. Route: Day 1 It had only rained once in the past 2 weeks so the first pitch was completely dry and there was no need to bypass it as other parties had done. We found some damaged (bent) hangers early on but nothing too bad. However, there is still a severely damaged bolt (very loose in the hole but does not pull all the way out) midway through pitch 8. Its ability to hold a fall is quite questionable but it made me feel better to clip it anyway. Sweaty palms and hot shoes made friction in the heat of the day a little less than reliable. This, plus the added weight from overnight packs made the climbing slow going. I really don’t recommend climbing this route on a hot day. The temperature rose dramatically after leaving the valley floor and the rock has E.S.E. exposure which puts it directly in the sun for much of the day. The tops of our feet blistered in hot shoes. We arrived at the balcony bivy at 7pm. I think I read somewhere that it would hold 3 people but that would probably be pretty cozy. The bivy was an awesome place to spend the night though. The sky was clear and stars were out. We saw several shooting stars and just before drifting to sleep there was bright flash high in the sky that we concluded was probably the space station. Also, in case anyone is interested, Vern found that there is spotty 3g service from the bivy although it was not strong enough to stream netflix. Day 2 I awoke early to find the entire valley below the bivy was socked in. Our bivy bags were covered in dew but the sky was clear above. We had a meager breakfast and then I got a slap-in-the-face wake up leading slabby 5.10 (albeit well protected) on pitch 12 from the balcony. We had much less weight but the progressive difficulty of the climbing and strength-sapping heat from the day before kept our pace slow. On pitch 15 the route dog legs on thin slabby moves between bolts 3 and 4 resulting in a run out of 20ft+. A fall here would result in a very nasty ~40ft pendulum. The absence of a bolt to protect the dog leg here seemed a little out of character compared to the rest of the route but perhaps the first acentionists were trying to eliminate extra rope drag. On pitch 19, Vern was able to eliminate most of the run-out on the undercling by placing his #3 C4 high in the corner then he moved out and placed the #4 far to the left in the undercling. He then stepped back to retrieve the #3 and used it again above. On pitch 21, I reached out across the blankish slab for the first move of the pitch and took a surprisingly long cheese-grating fall that left little bits of elbow and knuckle streaked across the rough granite slab. Upon reaching the 5.10 crux on the final pitch, both of us were so spent we couldn’t help but French free the last move. We arrived at the top at about 12:45pm tired and thirsty. Descent: We spent about 15min on top, drank the last of our water and then started down. On the very first rap, the rope got hopelessly stuck and Vern mercifully volunteered to climb back up using an ascender and a tibloc. By the time the rope was freed and he rapped back down we had killed nearly an hour on the first rap. Luckily, the rest of the descent was pretty straight forward and we simul-rapped to the bivy, gulped down most of our near-boiling water stash, packed up our gear and triple bagged Vern's steamy bag-o-poo. We simul-rapped the remaining pitches arriving at the bottom about 5:30. Hats off to David Whitelaw and crew for aligning the rapels so well. It was nice to not have to mess with a complicated descent after a long day. Note: the very last rap can be bypassed with 50m ropes by angling to climber’s right. We packed up the gear and were back to the car a little after 6pm. Additional Notes Water: Our plan was to fill our water bag at the sources shown on the topo at the top of pitch 9. The lower puddle was quite scummy but upper pool yielded about a gallon of mosquito larva flavored water. There was probably only about 2 gallons left in the puddle after we had filled up. Rock fall: On the lower pitches we heard what sounded like some very large rock fall above on the headwall but only one piece of golf ball sized shrapnel made it down to us. When we arrived at the balcony bivy we were a bit unnerved to find a dinner plate sized chunk of granite in the middle of the bivy area. However, overall the route had much less loose rock than other long routes such as Infinite Bliss. Gear: -singles to #4 C4 -set of nuts -5 quick draws -5 alpine draws -H20 filter -bivy sacks -small tarp -50m single rope -50m half rope for rap While rapping the upper pitches we noticed a large, yellow item on a jumble of rocks high in gully to the SE (next slab down the valley from Slab Daddy). It appeared to be slightly lower in elevation than the balcony bivy. Did the wind claim someone’s tarp or bivy sack from the balcony perhaps?