bedellympian

Frostbite is in one of the volumes (second?) of the red Nelson Potterfield Selected Climbs. But I agree, that one is great.

Eliot Headwall, Reid Headwall, Skylight/I-Rock on Hood. Further south where there is no current guidebook, never mind a select guide... Jeff Park Glacier on Jefferson East Buttress or Villard Rib to corkscrew finish on North Sister Emde-Ablao on Middle Sister Full Richardson to the summit or High Noon Couloir Direct on Broken Top Hard to pick one as those are all so different, but I could maybe say Jeff Park is the moderate mountaineering classic Emde-Ablao is the aesthetic steep ice classic.

Ya know, it's looking good now, but if I look at that UW time-height meteogram forecast it shows the freezing line going way up again, literally off the charts. The first step on the Right gully, for instance, is low. I think we need it to be freezing at night consistently and not getting too warm during the day for the ice to form, which sadly is not what I'm seeing after this storm cycle.

Seems like temps are dropping down again on Sunday, so hopefully we will see some ice building.

https://www.skihood.com/explore/live-web-cams https://timberlinelodge.com/webcams/ https://a.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt/rt/showtimeheight_d3.cgi?initmodel=GFS&yyyymmddhh=currentgfs&loc=kttd&locname=Troutdale,OR&latlon=45.55N,122.41W Long story short... not yet.

Thanks guys! Jason, are you in Bellingham? I went to college there so I'm pretty familiar with the trails. That was before I was into climbing anything beyond basic mountaineering and bouldering in the rock gym. Based on where we'll be I'm guessing a Sea to Sky mission will make the most sense if conditions allow. Though a view of Slesse and co in their winter attire would be incredible.

Hey all, Long way off, but wanted to see if anyone had ideas... I will be visiting family in Vancouver BC in late March this coming year. I will have my family with me and can't do any overnight missions, but could conceivably do a full day or shorter. Never been in that area during that time of year before. Seems like it's probably going to be too wet for rock climbing, plus I've spent lots of time in Squamish over the years. Never done any winter alpine stuff in SW BC. Seems like there is some pretty easy access mini alpine, like the Lions, but it's low elevation and I am thinking it will probably be too warm? Obviously, conditions and weather will be highly variable and that will determine if I do anything, but does anyone have any objectives that I should have on my radar? Open to rock, ice/mixed, skiing, or even just a fun scramble. Cragging to alpine. What's been good in the past? TR links?

That looks great. Always wanted to get back up there for something like this. Way to make it happen and thanks for the notes on logistics!

Trip: Dragtooth - North Buttress / The Dragway Trip Date: 08/19/2025 Trip Report: Got to sneak in a quick 24hr mission with my friend Miles while visiting family in Reno. We climbed the Dragway on the Dragtooth of Sawtooth Ridge because it was a short drive for High Sierra climbing, a "short" approach, and a short route. We failed to factor in the ridge traverse and descent as significant factors and it took a little longer than anticipated. Sawtooth Ridge is the NE boundary of Yosemite NP but this route is approached from Twin Lakes on the E side of the range, so you are in FS and Hoover Wilderness the entire day unless you drop off the ridge line to the W. The rock quality is good by N Cascades standards but poor by Sierra standards, as is apparently the case on much of Sawtooth Ridge. This route felt quite a bit harder than other 5.10s I've done down there, but if you like 5.10 OW and fists with the occasional thin stemming move you will have a good time. The descent has several options, none of which are great. We traversed the summit ridge for quite a while but didn't like how it looked so dropped down a gully to the W to some sandy slopes and reascended to the Matterhorn/Dragtooth Col. In retrospect continuing the ridge traverse just below the crest on the W side appears to go easily. The couloir from the col back to the E was pretty atrocious scree/dirt/ice. We opted for the skiers R couloir after the initial rappel, which appeared better than the L, but was quite awful by any standard, even Canadian Rockies! Maybe bring crampons? Or climb Matterhorn on the 400' of shattered 4th class ledges and descend the 3rd class dog route on that peak, which would add some mileage but would be way faster than waiting for a helicopter rescue after getting pounded in the couloir. Here are the pictures... Approach, Dragtooth with the route and the Matterhorn visible. Head up and R to the Tarn after the scree at the head of the valley. Creek next to the tarn. Horse Creek Tower on the R. Saddle to it's L is way to route. View of the route following obvious dihedral, note ice on the water. Sawtooth Ridge N of the Dragtooth. Route up close. 3rd pitch, 1st dihedral pitch Fun anchor shenanigans. Rest above Crux on Pitch 4. Sawtooth Ridge to N Last hard pitch, amazing splitter crack from fingers to wide hands. Looking over to Tuolumne. Miles on the summit. Ridge traverse shenanigans. Matterhorn is the prominent peak. Miles in the col, starting down the gully of choss. Yummy choss gully. Negotiating firm snow once out of the couloir. Matterhorn in the sun. Back in the meadow by the tarn. Route not visible from here. Just 3k' hike down to the car and a 2.5 hr drive home! Gear Notes: Doubles to 4 Approach Notes: Free day parking at Annett's Mono Village, Horse Creek Trail to the top of the scree field then climbers trail to the tarn and cross country to the route.

Personally I like it with snow. Definitely go North to South. I wore BD aluminum strap-on pons on Altras when I did it in June one year. Worked well enough but obviously you should test it first. This will give you a good idea of how much snow to expect... https://www.mtbachelor.com/the-mountain/webcams/

Figured I'd update this thread. Once our second was born last summer it was way harder to get the older sibling out by herself. This summer things have gotten back to "normal" (whatever that is). Some local highlights include TR sessions on the kid slab below Aggro Gully, climbing a rock "summit" on Misery Ridge, and self-selecting and topping out boulder problems at Widgi boulders. We also just did a trip to Washington where a quiet morning scramble up the back side of Castle Rock made for a great mini-summit, I short roped her up the scrambly bits with 20ft of cord. She also hiked Cutthroat Lake the next day and up to Heather Pass (Black Peak approach) and down under her own power on day 3. Took her backpacking for the first time in the Oregon Cascades this week (just one night, 1 mile hike in) and she loved it. Going bouldering with friends again this weekend and she literally screamed with joy and did a dance when I told her. How I lucked into this situation I have no idea. Oh, and her little sister is even more stoked at 18 months... climbs everything... but lacks the danger assessment of her older sibling... maybe destined for sport climbing rather than alpinism?

Which side are you approaching from? Could probably get eyes on it before you leave the TH if you're smart about it. I was up by the Prouty Glacier on South Sister today and was surprised at the amount of snow. The summits were socked in so I couldn't see the upper mountains. I would guess there will be some snow and some choss based on what I saw and my experience up on North.

Reminds me of an August trip with similar plans and outcome a few years back! Yikes!

Ah, that's unfortunate to hear.

Kyle Tarry and @Nick Sweeney tried it a few weeks ago too. Sounds like they had a similar experience.