mthorman

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I tend not to get involved in these debates, however I wanted to thank AlpineMonkey, Water, and Fairweather for providing specific examples. Many times it seems there is more theory and opinion thrown around during these conversations. But I appreciate the facts and statistics from cases that have happened in previous years. I think we can all agree that the amount of climbers at Icicle and most every other "wilderness" climbing location has increased over the last 20 years. And I think we can also agree that we want these locations to be as we best remembered them for when our kids climb. However things get muddy when we talk about how to manage, preserve, and maintain these areas. My personal opinion is that there is a fine line to walk between both sides. I don't think climbers need signs telling them turn by turn how to get to cliffs. I mean look at the recent FS rescue story about climbers on 4th and low 5th class terrain in over their heads. If climbers can walk to the cliffs with no knowledge of the climb or area what has that helped? I personally enjoy spending hours researching routes before I go. To me it is part of the fun and it also allows me to be familiar with the ascent, descent etc. On the flip side I also have seen numerous times where climbers AND other backcountry users are not following LNT practices (Leave no Trace). Specifics usually include poop, garbage, and erosion due to trail short cutting. Personally I don't know what the answer. I do think that if everyone who went to the outdoors took a little more personal responsibility of the area they were in, we would be a lot better off in 50 years. I just want to close by saying that I hope this new program does not turn this area into more of a permit nightmare than it already is. I mean do you need a discover pass or northwest FS pass for parking. You need an overnight permit for the enchantments but if you bivy outside of the zones you are ok. My point is that I hope someday when my kids want to climb Outer Space they don't have to pay $20 and put in for a lottery drawing in March so they can climb it in August!

Awesome job man! I love the combination of the various different sports.

Awesome trip report through some GREAT country! Love the photos too!

Personally I have simul climbed numerous times on 3rd or 4th class where my newer partner was not comfortable being unroped. Most of the time I find that this "gray area" is usually easy going for my new partner, they just aren't comfortable mentally with the terrain. I find simul climbing to work well and be a fairly quick alternative.

This looks like a super cool route with wide variety of types of climbing. Great job!

Love the photos!! Great job getting it done.

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.