SethKL

@lunger, ha! At some point I started referring to overheating as 'the meat is too hot!' I guess meat makes sense, to some minds at least I don't have a report of it. We found out because we called the Forest Service office attempting to get info on the road closures. The guy in the phone mentioned it and advised we be careful. In hindsight, I had no verification, but given Steph Abegg's Soviet rte report was so recent, I can see how Bonanza was 'in vogue'. I remember breaking foot hold and halting meat rain, slicing my fingertip badly on the first day. Nonetheless, all mountains have choss somewhere, but it's cool to see/hear where y'all found somewhat firm rock. Perhaps one day there will be a proper hard route up some of the steepest parts of that peak. That would be mega given the area's beauty and remoteness! A decade ago?! FMR. I don't know if I would do 'our' approach if it were today....and we waited-out rain for over 3days at the col and climbed without hammer or pins, like a couple psychos. I had been properly climbing for about 4years at that point; long enough to be dangerous but now I sometimes wonder 'what the heck was I thinking?'. Hope to run into you out there!

Hahaha! Is 'meat-rain' a term of your concocting? Its prudent. Bravo gents; getting out there and doing it on a serious and remote wall while maintaining the mind to stay smooth and safe is exceptional. Climbing such rock and navigating all else in the time you did speaks to y'all's high skill and strength. Great writing too, @lunger. Definitely rock quality that inspires contacting one's family and loved ones.

Thanks. Those guys hadn't heard of anything.

Checking if anyone has knowledge of ascents of the below feature (yellow line.) I found no info after consulting the web, Red Fred and asking the Method Valley ''ol timers' . We did not detect previous passage. Silver Star massif from west. Red flag is West Silver Star summit. Dashed YELLOW is line of ascent in question; a rib extending west, forming right wall of W Face Couloir (Allen, Keller '05) Photo & pilot by John Scurlock, taken from Mark Allen's TR http://alpinelines.blogspot.com/2008/10/fa-silverstar-mountain-west-face.html

Black Diamond Vision Harness. $100 ships free from 98862 (Winthrop, WA) Size Large New with tags https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/climbing-harnesses/vision-harness-BD651096_cfg.html

Well done gents! I wanted to share an observation of the under-roof-pins in P3 & 4: Due to the near constant (certainly this year) wetness in the crack these pins are in, they are corroded more than others on this route. A couple weeks ago a pin was *easily* tugged out from the P3 traverse (highlighted below (back-up pro noted!)) : the wet, corroded tip then fell to the talus, followed by the remaining once I threw it down. Bottom line: Said pins on these pitches are no longer in ideal condition.

Sold

Size Medium. No Rips or rubs. All buckles functional. Includes factory foam back pad/bivvy pad. Gently used once in snowy conditions. Stored inside ever since. Located in Seattle. 541-727-1869 Show your homies you know what'sup since '04. https://www.climbing.com/gear/wild-things-ice-sac-alpine-pack-review/ $50 OBO

Many climbs in the BL area are in, especially so by the middle of this week. Go get it!

scream [skrem] noun 1. long, loud, piercing cry expressing extreme emotion or pain. We (on "Tooth and Claw", Lexington Tower) were uncertain if: a)somebody was now broken, or b) my echo finally reached us. Relieved and stoked on ya'll's effort!

Looking for a pair Dynafit Denali skis in 176 cm or Cho Oyu in 174 cm in used or new condition. Not interested in shot-up and clapped-out skis (I have plenty). Skins would be great but not a deal breaker. Please PM me with what you got. Thanks.

Nice work Jiri and team! Pardon my inter-TR-posting, but I have a bit of info on the W side and skiing conditions per Water's question: On 05/25 at ca. 1 pm my partner and myself skied SW and W aspects of the NW ridge. Weather began as upper 20s and was ca upper 30s with sun (mostly) during the ski descent. Snow was tasty corn. I expect all W and SW aspects of the MT are consistent with what we had...the climbing was fabulous. Looking East from Woodpecker ridge Thousands of feet of corn Go get it! P.S. The following day we discovered Mt. Washington's W bowl to have enough snow for similar skiing (softer) from the base of pinnacle to treeline.

$80 Purchased a year ago and used 95% of the time in the gym. They are in excellent condition with no rips, scuffs, or foot odor. They have just been resoled (1/2 rand by Rubber Room) but not climbed in since. I am selling in order to down-size my gear heap. Free shipping to lower 48. Link to my C-list ad: http://medford.craigslist.org/spo/5009949241.html

Anastasia, I will be heading to the N. Cascades by the end of this week, climbing for about 1.5 weeks. Pretty flexible schedule and can carpool from PDX or SEA. I was hoping to check out Colfax and other good objectives. If your still looking for a partner shoot an email seth.keena at gmail dot com. Seth

Excellent work - we thank you!

Bump, for sale for $30 now.

$30. Worn on one 3 day trip. In great condition all around. Adhesive residue from price tags on toes (remove by trekking on glacier). Legendary quality. Pm with questions. Buyer pays shipping. Paypal unless otherwise arranged. Seth

SOLD

Red, blue and tan in color. Unknown model-year (think early Mugs Stumps). Very good condition with no holes, stains larger than a pencil eraser, or broken parts. waterproofing membrane beginning to peel on expansion tube. Includes: HDPE frame sheet, 3/4 length ThermaRest of similar vintage (metal valve), and 5 pieces of blank Himalayan Rescue Association stationary. $35 plus shipping. PM with your email to see photos.

2004 Rottefella Cobra R8 telemark bindings; sale includes a pair of extra bail, cartrage, and levers. The black cartridges have more wear than the silver, but are in fine shape. Includes all mounting hardware. Very reliable design. $65 OBO plus shipping.

Here are a pair http://www.geartrade.com/item/350952/tlt-5-performance-tf-alpine-touring-boot-whiteyel

Couple of informative overlays: G.E. image of the route (note:track line is not very accurate) This is the entire approach for our trip. Car(start biking) to high-camp(6900 ft) was 32 mi and +6100 ft, bivy 2 to high-camp was 1.7 miles and -1900 ft...earned that shower.

Thanks Max. Looks like you have been out amongst it this rock season too; nice work on the NIAD! Join us this winter in E. Sierra?

Trip: Bonanza Peak, Washington - FA: The Oregonian Route Date: 9/4/2013 Trip Report: First Ascent Trip Report The Oregonian Route a.k.a NW Buttress of SW Bonanza Peak (Slightly closer than the Soviet Route but also not really the “North Face”) 5.9+, 2200’ (1600’ new) Grade V A few other Statistics: Six days, 36 miles of hiking, 43 hours on route, 2 bivies We also wish to express our gratitude to Steph Abegg for her vision and research digging up the Soviet Route and documenting it. SW Bonanza Peak (right) and West Bonanza Peak (left) seen from the west. (Photo: Steph Abegg) 1. NW Buttress, “The Oregonian Route.” 5.9+ V. Keena and Bonnett 2013. 2. W Buttress, "The Soviet Route." 5.9+/5.10 V. Bershov et. al. 1975. (Overlay as documented by 3rd ascent party) When looking for some alpine mischief to get into this summer we stumbled across Steph Abegg’s excellent trip report from her third ascent of the Soviet Route. To our delight, we noticed a parallel buttress starting slightly uphill to the northeast. A bit shorter, probably a bit steeper, just as remote. Within moments we were smitten, ready for adventure, ready to go climb and explore the vertical world, ready to overcome obstacles… and of course there were many more than we had anticipated. Approaching Bonanza Peak has become increasingly complicated as of late due to the Holden Mine remediation to the east (the quickest approach). Since we were constrained by work schedules, we opted for a combination of mountain biking and hiking over about 30 miles from the west up the Suiattle River to Suiattle Pass. This approach offered shorter driving time, low cost, and schedule self-determination, but unfortunately no quality bushwhacking. The loaded rig. The west side approach also possessed the customary WA mountain road condition; limited use during construction. Riding past the work and gradually ascending the narrowing gravel road for 10 miles led to the FS-26 – Glacier Peak Wilderness boundary. We then hiked the following, respectively: Suattle River trail, PCT to Suiattle Pass, hiker trail to Cloudy Pass, finally cross country to Bonanza Col (South of Grant Glacier). MTB approach Great bridge near Suiattle River- PCT trail junction North Star Mtn and the cross country route taken to the Col (far right bench). High camp Finding ourselves still in dense fog and rain on a drab fourth dawn we were becoming worried about getting climbing weather before we’d have to pack up and leave. Just as the meteogram had predicted, however, the weather began to lift, just slightly, around midday (visit pataclimb.com for a great description on how to generate meteograms for climbing). With intermittent fog and less-frequent drizzle, we decided to pull the trigger. The approach and first afternoon of climbing was made continually challenging by the banks of fog and drizzle that continued to lethargically glide by. However we were grateful to have a “window” and excited to be climbing! We made the traverse from the top of the col, past the Soviet Route buttress, to the first climbing technicalities in an hour and a half (enough time to surf some stellar scree). Erik on the talus approach. At 3pm we began by making a somewhat sketchy approach-shoe traverse up the toe of the pocket glacier to the north. Gaining rock a few dozen yards uphill and left of the lowest point of the buttress, we were immediately making near-vertical 5.8-5.9 moves. The toe of the NW buttress. Climbing began on the upper left side Looking up from pitch one We continued ascending moderate terrain with more challenging moves for seven pitches to the lower ledge. The climbing was often loose, sparsely protected, somewhat lichen-covered, and wet, but with excellent position on the crest of the buttress. We only wish we could have seen the view! Erik making moves Banks of drizzle moving by added special "zest" to the evening. Seth Arriving at the lower ledge at about 10pm, we quickly prepped a flat talus surface and snuggled into our lightweight bivy system (1 bag + 1 foam + homemade nylon wedge + 1 small siltarp). We were excited to notice stars that night, and generally slept surprisingly well. We awoke at daybreak to clear skies(!) Morning light on N. Star Mtn and Glacier Peak from bivy 1 ledge. And… A near-vertical wall punctuated by several significant overhangs rose for over 600’ above our bivy ledge. Given the quality of the rock and length of the route, we considered beginning to rappel. As the light slowly increased, we were able to make out a small ledge system, traversing left to regain the buttress crest. This pitch ended up having the highest quality rock of the route and gave us the emotional pump we needed to keep going. It was 6:30am with the makings of good weather. First pitch of the day on great rock Working up and left around loose overhangs We continued for 8 pitches up arêtes and troughs, generally staying just left of the buttress crest, eventually reaching the talus field below the summit block. We climbed in micro-blocks of two pitches because we found leading over the loose and/or steep terrain mentally and emotionally taxing. We were surprised to notice that the rock was often better in the troughs and on vertical terrain, while the lower-angled arêtes tended to be looser. With a report of a party’s Soviet Route attempt ending in rockfall injury earlier this summer, we were very careful to position belays out of the line of fire. Up and slightly left (north) of the arete proper. Note the airborne rock- a constant working up the lesser vegetated troughs At the talus field, we considered bivying again since it was already 4pm, but decided to continue, breaking the remainder into two blocks: ascending the upper Soviet Route (Seth), and the descent (Erik). Some simul-climbing led us past the upper ledge (used to bivouac presumably by the Soviets) and on to the summit block. Three more pitches gained the summit in waning daylight. Summit of Bonanza SW looking west Summit of Bonanza SW looking north. Can you name any peaks? Looking east form the summit at the two higher sub peaks and Isella Glacier (right) THE DESCENT We had planned to descend the south ridge using rappels and down climbing. We had scoped the bottom portion of the ridge from camp, but standing on the summit saw a long section of sharp ridgeline leading down to what we had seen below. It looked like the descent would require several rappels down a loose knife-edge arête just to reach the ridgeline. That descent seemed like a bad idea even in the daylight, as did trying to bivy on the summit. Following previous party’s routes along the ridge to the northeast would also require extensive 4th/5th class climbing in the dark. As light faded, Erik spotted a talus bench between the upper and lower Isella Glacier, exposed by glacial recession. We quickly slung a boulder and started to descend as the ledge disappeared into darkness below us. A rope caught on the second rappel and was bravely fetched on lead by Seth. After three rappels we made our home again amongst talus, a few feet from the cliff edge. Though our thirteen hours of movement did evoked sound sleep, smashed up cheese wraps and celestial beauty were not missed. As the sun rose and we were pleased finally to be in position to benefit from its warming rays. As Erik brilliantly led the downward charge, we moved quickly in and out of technical terrain toward the toe of the main Isella Glacier far below. Erik and.. Seth, feeling fine in the shine (finally) Due to an excellent choice of rappel anchors we got to shower off in waterfalls during two rappels down to the sculpted bedrock below the glacial toe. We quickly coiled the ropes and walked out of the serac-fall zone, grateful to be back on terra firma! (belated) Summit Snickers. Background: Isella Glacier basin, the descent ledges, and the SW summit. The 2nd bivy was at the last snow patch before the summit Seth had to be back at work the following morning so we kept moving through camp and down the trail. Unbenounced to us, our last challenge still lay ahead. Six miles from the trailhead, tendinitis in Erik’s knees began limiting his ability to walk. Quickly Seth took all the weight while Erik staggered down the trail leaning on two trekking poles. Fortunately we were able to continue slowly to our bikes and arrived at the car just after 2 AM, twenty two hours after leaving our second bivy. A caffeinated drive, a divine shower at NOLS PNW, a quick goodbye, and Seth caught the 9:40am Edmonds/Kingston ferry with 12 minutes to spare! Gear Notes: Cams: triples in fingers, double to 2.5",single 3", and a tiny fella. Stoppers: rack of nuts and RPs. Two 60m ropes (we used an 8mm and a 9.6mm)and lots of single slings with a few doubles. Approach Notes: Park at mile post 11, FS-26 and give workers excess tomatoes to let you ride bikes past. Ride 10 miles to Glacier Peak Wilderness boundary. Hike Suiattle River trail taking PCT North at their junction. At Suiattle Pass take trail to Cloudy Pass. Navigate to Bonanza/North Star Col. 36+ miles total.. Or take the ferry/bus from Chelan.