dave schultz

Firstlight. Period.

Looking for a partner for something this weekend. Weather looks funky, high freezing levels, rain and snow. I'm up for anything from ski touring at Baker or Rainier (or anywhere in between) to rock climbing at Vantage or Smith Rock (or anywhere in between). Maybe aid climbing in the rain?? Let me know, TIA Dave

I am looking for a partner for Friday-sat for either a rainier shot, the spearhead traverse, a climb up shuksan or baker, or a tour into the elderado/boston basin area. I can start either Friday AM or Thursday AM. I would also be interested in a single push of shuksan, baker, or rainier on Saturday; or perhaps a link up of two or possibly three volcanos starting Friday PM and going late into Saturday. TIA Dave

Very nice!! I'm glad someone got out to Index and tagged that while it was in. How many more days do people think it will still be in?

Looking for a partner for mount index, north peak ... Single push, probably will get a bivy somewhere.....Starting Saturday.

I am also looking for something, with the same general ability and gear. I get off work around 8am on Saturday in Everett, and open for overnighting it somewhere. Washington Ice has some Snoqualmie routes in it, not too many, though.

Over the past weekend it looks pretty baked out and hacked out. The drop in freezing level should make it at least solid and frozen. Though I don't know how good it might still be structurally. I opted for solo night skiing on Herman vice solo night ice climbing on Pan Dome.

bump for differnt dates.

Looking for a partner for something technical on Saturday and/or Sunday. Ideas are: Mount Index, Mt Baker (Coleman Headwall), Chair Peak, Big Four, Drury Falls, Banks Lake, Elderado Peak (NWF Couloir), Colonial Peak (NF), Mt Rainier (Nisqually Ice Cliff), Mt Shuksan (NWC or NF), Hood (Yokum Ridge?), something in the Enchantments, or and any other idea. Would also be interested in making ski descents. Looks like we will have cold conditions (freezing level near sea level until Sunday) and no precip until Saturday afternoon. I get off work at around 8am on Saturday and can head out from there. Dave

Anyone been up to Baker recently with a condition report on Pan Dome Falls? TIA Dave

HAHA ... Yea ... that would be for a different TR. I don't think I will ever make that mistake again. Though, having read some of the other accidents that happened recently, I feel a little better about not trying to press on without the proper footwear (though looking back I do wish we would have pressed on a little farther).

Trip: 22-28 January Canadian Rockies Date: 1/22/2014 to 1/28/2014 Trip Report: I was out of town with work from the end of March, 2013 to mid-December, 2013 and was planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies for the end of January. I floated the idea out on the partners forum and Michael picked me up on the offer. Michael and I climbed the North Face of Mt Hood last March so I knew I would be going with good company. He had been able to get on some ice in Utah, but I was unable to get on any ice since getting back from work, and so my first swings would be on this trip. I was hoping to be efficiently leading WI4 on this trip, but ended up being a sketchy-at-best WI4 leader. The harder WI3 and WI3-4 ended up being out ticket. Thus a lot of the CLASSIC routes were JUST out of our league … next time. Below is a relatively short write up for the seven days. 21 January Michael arrived in the early afternoon and I got off work mid-afternoon. We sorted gear, loaded the truck, and took a short nap before our anticipated midnight departure. 22 January We left Everett at 1230am, drove throughout the night and arrived at Kicking Horse Canyon, just east of Golden, BC around noon (a forgotten time zone change, and longer than expected border crossing being the cause of late first day start). We climbed the first half of the first pitch of Lady Killer (top half was rotten ice) and the first pitch and a half of Pretty Nuts (we ran out of daylight on second pitch, and we only had one headlamp between the two of us). We then drove to Banff and slept in the truck’s front seats, finally going to sleep around midnight. 23 January We got a late start due to the late night, and the fact that the temp was around 7°F. We finally started making the approach in to Cascade Falls around 930 or 10am (a party was already topping out on the second pitch). We soloed all the approach ice and cruised up the two main pitches of ice. There is an optional short third pitch that we chose to climb to get a look at the upper basin. What an incredible sight, probably worth bringing skis to ski some of the tight lines when the avi conditions are good. We took the walk off option, requiring one rappel. We then relocated down to Canmore and scouted the start for the next day, at Grotto Canyon. Then went back to town for some internet, and again slept in the truck, falling sleep around 8pm this time. Cascade Falls from the start of the approach ice. Avalanche terrain above Cascade Falls, with more snow this looks like it would also be very good skiing. This is an example of the use of smaller than normal hardware, and was prevalent throughout the trip. 24 January We got a very early start, arriving at Grotto Falls before it was even light enough to climb without a headlamp. We cruised up the super picked out and easy two pitches, wishing we had spent our time somewhere else. We chatted with some climbers who were on His and we decided to head over to check out the Junkyard. The Junkyard is by the Canmore Nordic Center and is actually a pretty good destination. We climbed the main section and then did some multi-pitch cruising a little further beyond the main flow, a good place to get some easy mileage in. We thought Grotto Canyon was well below its advertised quality (though would be an attractive night-time destination) and that Junkyard was well above its advertised quality. Our next destination was Ghost, so we started heading in that direction. We arrived at the main entrance around 9pm to discover that my tire chains DID NOT FIT!!! WTF. After about 30 minutes of denial and trying to figure out the secret, we gave up. Not exactly sure how we would recover and what we would do the next day, we settled on a route that was on and off the “to-do” list frequently, but with the new window of time, and since it was close, we opted for Corie Dubh Integral. We made the drive to the start, and once again, slept in the truck, getting to sleep around midnight (again). The Junkyard main flow. The sign entering the Ghost River Wilderness area. 25 January Like the 23rd, we got a late start and justified it “so we could see the descent ridge” and “make the approach in the daylight.” We started the approach at 9am, and the daylight didn’t help as we still went 750 feet up the wrong drainage, but we still kept going, delaying the decision about whether to continue or not until later. We ended up with a half mile traverse though everything from terribly unstable scree to waist deep sugar snow – a machete would have helped, and we almost ran out of patience. We finally broke through and found the ice, we cramponed up and racked the ice gear, but ended up soloing all of the ice into the upper amphitheater. We then replaced all the ice gear with the light alpine rock rack and started the first rock pitch at around 1pm (still not having decided if we would press on to the top or rappel down at some point). The guide says the first pitch is the crux, and if you follow the line of least resistance that is probably the case. The second pitch was a short, but very exposed, section of third or fourth class. We then soloed the “three rope-lengths of scree” to start the next section of climbing. The third pitch was super thin and with very poor protection, I would say nearly equal in difficulty to the first pitch, and was short since it wrapped hard around a corner after making about a 20 foot traverse. There were then about 3 pitches of consistently moderate climbing to the summit ridge. We topped out just in time to see the sunset and put the gear away with natural light. We made the ridge descent in the dark – it’s a good thing we got a look at it in the morning. The ridge deposited us about 1 mile from where we parked, and we were lucky enough to hitch a ride after walking about half that distance. We then drove back into Canmore and ate dinner at the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company and debated what we would do next. After our elk burger we decided an easy day at the Junkyard testing out different gear combinations would be a good “rest day” activity followed by a session at the Elevation Place, the Canadian recreation club, complete with a pool, hot tub, shower, and climbing wall. We drove to the Junkyard and, you guessed it, slept in the truck. Bushwacking traverse to get into the correct drainage. Michael following the first and “crux” pitch of CDI. Dave coiling the rope between the technical climbing on the rock section of CDI. This area was labeled as a scree for about three rope lengths. A view looking east from high on the CDI. This was the third belayed pitch, and the first after the long section of scree. I found it to be nearly as challenging as the first “crux” pitch, thin and poorly protected with a tough traverse at the top and then up and around a corner. Michael following the third pitch. Dave coiling the rope at dusk. The descent via headlamp. We messed the approach up, but we nailed the descent, following the ridge the entire length back down to the road really made it very simple. 26 January We got a leisurely start and Michael and I both wore our ski boots. I switched my BD Cyborgs to be mono-point and brought my Neves. I also brought my 40 Below Overboots to try climbing in them. We set up a TR on the steep section of the main flow and went to town, doing laps with different pieces of gear to get a sense of the differences and pros and cons of each. The conclusion: (1) the mono-point seemed to give better first-kick sticks and they seemed more secure, (2) the Neves did not have as large a performance penalty as originally expected, and (3) the ski boots climbed just as good as I had originally thought, which was VERY GOOD. The results: (1) my Cyborgs are now sporting mono-points (though no anti-balling plates, I’ll just wait until that burns me and then buy the Stingers), (2) I have no qualms about using my ski boots when the approach requires skis, and (3) the I will almost always bring the Neves when doing lightweight ski mountaineering or alpine ice routes. We also did some single tool climbing practice and down-climbing practice. We then headed into town to go to Elevation Place; we showered and got into the hot tub, which was amazing. There was big slide, which was way better than expected (I actually thought I was going to fly out of the tubes on the way down). We hung out in the steam room for about 5 minutes, where we chatted with some of the locals who all seemed to know all about the ice climbs in the area. We then hit up the climbing wall, so much for a rest day, but it was included in the admission price, so what the hell. Then we brought out jetboil into the coffee lounge and cooked up some dinner, fortunately the jetboil was so fast we got the boiled water before we got in trouble for using a stove in their building. We finished up and started driving north, not sure of out next destination. We settled on Bow Falls, got to the parking lot, and slept in the truck. 27 January It was a very cold morning, about -5°F but we managed to get a reasonable start at about 7:45am, it ended up being a very straightforward and simple, albeit longer, approach. We got to the falls and started climbing around 10am on completely virgin and bulletproof ice. We climbed two pitches to the start of the top tier. The top tier proved to be just a little too steep; combining with our fatigue and the challenging conditions rapped back down and did another long pitch up slightly more mellow terrain before calling it a day. We retraced our steps and were back at the truck in time for sunset. We then headed north to the Weeping Wall, and after about a 45 minute drive we were there. We needed water, so the guide said there was a hostel 30 minutes down the road, which without much thought we took to be 30 minutes north, since we had not seen anything on our drive from Bow Lake. It turns out the hostel was 30 minutes south of the Weeping Wall, and after 30 minutes it we decided it was better to go to Jasper to get water and diesel rather than spend the time to boil water from the crappy road-side snow. We picked up some water, and got directions to the Jasper Hostel; we even went to the Hostel’s parking lot, but decided that we might as well sleep in the truck for one more night. So we drove about 30 minutes south, and slept in the truck, and decided to finish the drive in the morning. The approach across Bow Lake. The view from up on the falls. This was the view from high on the falls. 28 January We woke up a little later than planned, and made the drive back south to the Weeping Wall, the lowest temperature we saw was -16°F. We racked up at the truck and made the arduous 5 minute approach. We thought we would climb Sniveling Gulley, as it was the easiest route and after 6 days we were pretty worn down. Once we got there, the Gulley looked pretty baked out and crappy. We opted then for a line up the left side of the Lower Wall, for about 40m to a section of v-threads below another tier of steep climbing. We decided that we would just rap from here and call it a trip. We descended and walked back to the truck, loaded the gear back up, and started the long drive back to Everett around noon. We stopped at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center to get the beta on skiing there for a potential future trip: very similar to Rainier’s bureaucratic mousetrap, though without the Longmire gate. We arrived in Everett around 166 hrs after we left. Final takeaways and lessons learned (in no particular order): 1) Incorporate legitimate rest days when going on longer trips, our “rest day” was not “restful” enough. 2) The Canadian Rockies are HUGE! We spent a week up there, hit many of the major areas, but we still barely scratched the surface. 3) Double check your tire chains to make sure they fit. 4) It is possible to dirt-bag it in the truck in the winter, and though we slept pretty well every night, it probably contributed to a decline in our performance as the week progressed. A hostel every other night or every third night would probably be a better compromise. 5) Elevation Place in Canmore is the SHIT. 6) Good Earth Café in Canmore is a great place to get wifi and an afternoon snack. 7) Corie Dubh Integral is one of the finest climbs I have done, and a must do for anyone making the trip to Canmore. 8) We brought a large selection of ropes (2x60m 9.2mm single/double, 1x50m 10.2mm single, 2x80m 7.8mm double/twin) which allowed a lot of flexibility in terms of length and style and allowed us to get a lot of climbing days with the ropes we brought. 9) The truck has a navigation system which made traveling very easy, using the map in the guide to identify where we wanted to go and finding it on the navigation system. Without it, using maps and/or a portable GPS system would have made it much more challenging. 10) This was a fantastic trip, with a great partner. I highly recommend getting out there and getting after it. 11) We had the third volume of Waterfall Ice, and it proved to be an invaluable asset. We also found a new book, published I guess very recently called “Ice Lines,” which had about 50 very well detailed routes in them, running the range of grades from WI3-WI6. 12) We found lots of the rappel stations had with either a single small rappel ring or a single small chain link. I would suggest bringing some extra links to double them up or bring the proper larger sized link and replace them when you come across them. This was our home for the trip. **all photos are taken via iPhone and are mostly Michael's, some of mine are strewn in there**

Jon - welcome. I too relocated from the NE. I would HIGHLY reccomed an avy level 1 course. Numerous places offer them, best way to start getting up to speed.

I take mine completely apart and store in my pack (just make sure you don't forget any of the parts). When I need them I take them out and put them back together. Takes almost no space and avoids strapping stuff on the outside of my pack.

Jacob, you interested in heading to Smith on Friday? I have Fri-Sun off and am entertaining the idea of going to Smith. I am a low 5.10 trad leader. I would be coming from Everett. 239-two-three-three-2002

haha - no water or alpine ice anywhere in the PNW for the near future. there is a good forum about where to go for the ice, but its proabably in Canada - where i am going next week. I'm pretty sold on Index Friday and probably a Rainier bid on Sat-Sun (or a ski tour on Friday, with Rainier on Sat-Sun). I'm actually still very undecided. 239-two-three-three-2002

Any takers for Index on Friday?? Looks like it will be pretty warm ...

I have a window of three days off of work Friday morning the 17th at about 8am through Monday morning around 6am. Ideally I would like to get on some water or alpine ice, and willing to make a pretty long drive if someone is also game. Otherwise, any other technical climbing/skiing would be great; if conditions don't present a good option for any climbing then I would like to get out for multi-day (preferred) or single day ski tours. Located in Everett, but willing to drive pretty far to get the goods. Thanks, Dave

Many places do not allow dogs. Almost all national parks restrict dog access to parking lots of very specific trails. For example: Teton National Park, no dogs anywhere except parking lots; NCNP, no dogs (except on a leash and on the PCT). On a cross country trip we took our dog to Vedauwoo and the Wind Rive Range, those were essentially the only two majoy areas we could go. I'm also pretty sure dogs are not allowed up on MRNP.

La Sportiva. Some of the best ski mountaineering skies out there.

A nice big fat slice of humble pie. After this you will be much more aware; we are all always learning more. Very nice write up.

I almost always carry and use the GiGi when climbing multipitch routes. I find that it works very well, but there are three drawbacks: 1) There is very, very little resistance when rappelling, especially with skinny ropes. I view this as a good thing, and mitigate it by using a prussik backup for every single rappel and I know that there will be little resistance and am thus ready and prepared for it. Another option is to use more than one biner which creates more friction for the rope (by then you are cancelling one of the benefits). 2) You cannot belay a leader. There are probably a way to actually belay a leader with one, but I never have and probably never will. Simple solution, the leader carries the GiGi for belaying the second, and the second has an ATC (I only have ATC guides, but it does not matter since it is for belaying the leader). A team of two will almost always have two belay devices, I always go with one GiGi and one ATC guide. 3) The very skinny ropes have trouble biting when belaying the second. I think KONG states less than 8mm is too skinny for the GiGi to effectively belay. If I am using ropes less than 8mm I don't use the GiGi. I use it because it is lighter, smaller, simpler, and easier. It also makes managing two followers a lot easier. My 2 cents, hope it helps.

Looks like a super fun day, way to get something when not much is out to be had.

By "end" I mean there was a gate that was about a mile or so past where you would part for the Elderado approach, I think the approach for Boston Basin would have been a little bit further along past the closed gate; but the limiting factor was the gate, not the road condition.

That was the plan, but got started too late (didn't think the road would even go) and since I had never been there before and I was not going to get far enough before it got dark I bailed rather than risk bivying in a bad spot.