mthorman

Nice job Doug and Cecil! Looks like a fun route with great views!

Great trip report! I love to see pictures and TRs from the more seldom climbed areas of the Cascades.

Nice TR. I remember accidentally dropping a carabiner once off of Outer Space. I need to get down to Smith and climb Monkey Face!

Personally, I would not use a Petzl Micro Traxion or any other toothed device (handle ascender, Tibloc etc) in any situation with the potential to shock load the device. I am sure you will get differing opinions on this topic. According to the Petzl user manual you can use a Micro Traxion in a situation that would have a fall factor of 1 or less. http://www.petzl.com/files/all/product-experience/SPORT/PE-MICROTRAXION-SP-EN.pdf Theoretically you shouldn't ever have a fall factor greater than 1 in a crevasse incident, however, I would much rather arrest the fall and then put the device into the system. To me it is just a risk versus a reward....potential risk is there and reward isn't very high (in my opinion).

Trip: Washington Pass - South Early Winters Spire - Direct East Buttress Date: 8/8/2013 Trip Report: Climbed the Direct East Buttress on SEWS with Chris (aka Ol' Toby on here). We met up the evening before to go over gear and finalize a route. Had a super fun day with beautiful weather on a terrific climb. Chris led the crux pitches in style while I pulled on a few draws wearing the pack. At the top we were greeted by a welcoming party of mountain goats. We descended the South Arete in approach shoes with no problems. Never bothered to pull the rope out for any raps. Most of it felt Class 3/4 with minimal exposure and just a few sparse Class 5 moves above large ledges. Round trip for us was 8 hours car to car. We used the new Super Topo "Washington Pass" guidebook. Found it to be accurate and helpful with the route description and topo. The East Buttress looms above us with the early morning sun rays. Looking down the East Buttress to hwy 20 far below from the top of pitch 4. Me at a belay near the top of the buttress. Chris surveying the valley far below. Gear Notes: 70m rope - useful to link pitches double set of cams to 4" - although that was a little overkill 14 alpine draws - used them all Approach Notes: Scrambled up from the hairpin.

Trip: Jack Mountain - South Face attempt Date: 8/7/2013 Trip Report: With a couple days off I drove on Tuesday from Spokane to the North Cascades to enjoy the mountains. I decided to head up and check out Jack Mountain. I got a little late start and finally hit the Canyon Creek trail just before 5pm. A couple hours later, and 4,000 ft higher I arrived at Crater Lake for the night. The next morning dawned crisp and clear and I was up and moving before 6am. I decided to head around Crater Peak to the northeast in order to bypass Jerry Glacier. Conditions were great and the terrain was beautiful, however I turned around at the base of the South Face of Jack. I had a climbing partner lined up to do the Direct East Buttress of South Early Winter Spire the next day. And I got to calculating the time and realized that I wouldn't be back to the car until at least 9pm. I didn't want to push it too late with a big climbing day the next day. Turned around and decided to cross Jerry Glacier on the way back. The glacier is still very easy to navigate with the crevasses being concentrated into only a few areas. Camp at Crater Lake Early morning light on the surrounding peaks. First view of Jack Mountain from point 7054 Jack and Crater Mountains reflected in the crystal clear water of a small alpine pond. A look back at Jerry Glacier. A Panorama shot of Jack with other Cascade peaks dotting the horizon. Gear Notes: Took strap crampons and an ax but didn't really need either as the snow was pretty minimal except for the glacier which was soft. Approach Notes: Followed a great trail all the way up to "point 7054" (basically the saddle to the east of Crater Peak). Lots of different route variations to choose from just to get to the south face.

check out this topic from a couple weeks ago. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1109331/Searchpage/1/Main/93274/Words/slesse/Search/true/Pocket_Glacier_gone_Re_Slesse_#Post1109331

So what is everyone's favorite or preferred footwear combination for the TFT? Mountaineering boots, hiking boots, approach shoes, and/or rock shoes? If you just took 1 pair which which would it be?

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Great report and awesome photos!!! Keep it up!

Awesome TR guys! Looks like it was a great trip!

Thanks for the report Wes. I had heard there had been an accident, but didn't know any of the details. I am glad it wasn't any more serious, and I hope your friend makes a full recovery soon. You are so right about the close climbing community. Almost every person I have met up in the alpine is courteous and wouldn't think twice about helping out a stranded or injured climber.

Great job on putting up a new route! The climbing looks really fun and the top and description are great. Way to get after it.

Love all the pics. It looks like a fun mellow route!

Sounds like you are on the right path. I have owned a couple Bluewater ropes (never the Lightning Pro) and been happy with them. Check out this link too, it looks like the Lightning Pro came in #7. http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Climbing-Rope-Reviews

When I was up last Monday we were post holing from about 6000 ft to 9000 ft. Beyond that the crust was thick enough to hold our weight. However with the nice weather and warm temperatures of late you will probably be post holing above 9000 feet as well. Closest place that I know of to rent snowshoes is in Clackamas at REI.

Hope you get better weather than we did, Darren!

Nice! That would have been helpful last week. I was up on Adams last Monday but had to use the alternate trailhead which added a couple more miles and 1500 ft of elevation gain.

Trip: Eldorado Peak - East Ridge Date: 5/18/2013 Trip Report: With a short 2 day window Doug and I decided to give the east ridge of Eldorado Peak a go even though the weather report wasn't the best. We left Spokane at 5am on the long drive to the trailhead. After stopping in Marblemount for a permit we were finally on the trail by 11:30am. The creek crossing was easy and we started up the steep trail in the rain. In the first talus field, Doug had a fight with a rock and lost, leaving a large knot on his leg. We finally reached snow about the 4,000' mark and the going became easier. The weather however continued to shower us with drizzle and then snow once we got high enough. Visibility was often down to 100 ft our less. After several hours of slogging through the snow with no visibility we finally reached the edge of the Eldorado Glacier just as the sun was starting to break through the clouds. We stopped briefly to talk with a few other climbers, but decided to continue on and camp at the base of the east ridge. As we were crossing Eldorado Glacier there was just enough sun and blue sky to get a good look at the east ridge. After a short search we found a level spot for our campsite in the shelter of a rock with the best view anyone could ask for. Unfortunately the sun and blue sky didn't last long and soon it was snowing again. After setting up camp, melting water, and eating our supper it was time to get some shut eye. The next morning we stayed in bed while checking the weather hoping it would improve. But with no improvement we put the crampons on and headed out of camp by 5:30am. As we started up the ridge we immediately found tracks from teams ahead of us. We reached the beginning of the knife edge ridge just as the lead team was starting up it. Since visibility was still low and nobody was sure if the summit was large enough to pass, we waited for that team to summit and then come back down the ridge. Just as we were roping up to start the ridge the clouds cleared and the sun came out. It was perfect timing for us! A couple minutes later and we were standing on the summit looking out above the clouds to neighboring peaks. After a few summit pictures we descended the knife edge and then headed down into the clouds on our way back to camp. W packed up camp and started out with visibility now down to 50 feet. The snow was much softer than the day before even though it was still early morning and without skis the decent was a long snow slog. Finally around 5,000 ft visibility improved. We reached the car just after 1pm and then drove the 6 hours back to Spokane. The following pictures are a mix from both Doug and I. Doug's leg after the fight with the rock. The typical weather and visibility for most of the trip. The east ridge. We camped at the base just below the last rock outcrop. A panorama view from our campsite. Too bad this view was only visible for a few minutes! Starting up the east ridge with climbers above. Doug on the knife edge ridge. Me on the knife edge ridge. Summit shot. Gear Notes: Crampons, ice ax, and rope. Approach Notes: Steep and muddy down low. We took snowshoes but didn't use.

I am assuming by the reference to Liberty Bell that you are looking for longer alpine routes not just a day of roadside cragging. Check out Harrison Peak and Chimney Rock. Both are up in the Selkirks of northern ID and both have moderate multipitch trad routes on them.

Awesome weather and a sweet trip!

I am looking for climbing partners in the Spokane area. Weekends sometimes work, but I have lots of time mid week as well. I am up for local day cragging or longer multipitch routes in the Selkirks. I have all my own gear, and lead Trad up 5.9 and sport into the 5.11 range. Comfortable on single or multipitch leading. Looking forward to hearing from some of you.