Tom Beirne

Trip: Banks Lake - Spice Rack M10+ (a Salt and Pepper direct start) Trip Date: 02/17/2025 Trip Report: This line struck me the first time I visited banks. By no means an original thought, every mixed climbing pervert who ever drove by also looked at it and felt their pants tighten. How we got so lucky came down to three factors: great weather, getting passed over on a trip to the Rockies (I’m over it now), and JJ’s advertisement of his OnlyFans during a UIAA comp- resulting in a season ban. Looking for a cathartic substitute we pivoted to suffering upward. For the uninitiated, Salt and Pepper is the existing WI5 line conventionally approached via a short 5th class traverse from the left. This direct start provides two amazing mixed pitches and 15-25m of bonus ice depending on the main dagger's condition. Weekend 1: @ColonelCrag aka Christian Junkar, and JJ, aka Jedrzej Jablonski began this attempt’s reconnaissance in early Feb, aiding the start of pitch 1 to assess feasibility, then rap bolting an intermediate anchor at the dagger, along with a few permadraws in the roof. I joined for a caffeine induced day trip from Seattle, attempting to lead from the bottom. Several whips and rock releases later, the drill came up pitch 1. With dwindling sun, the p1 highpoint was fixed with an orange rope. Salt and Pepper’s main dagger was the biggest we’ve ever seen, adding 25m of ice climbing to the standard route. Weekend 2, Day 1: (More Development) Government Worker's Weekend (previously known as Presidents’) provided an ideal weather window with a cold snap in the single digits followed by several days of stabilizing temps. As expected, the dagger snapped. Left, right and middle towards the wall cleaved off, leaving just the optimal contact area at the wall and a thin curtain with a shower in the middle. Maybe 10m of bonus ice disappeared, forcing the line to continue further up the p2 rock roof, gaining the ice with several overhanging moves. The fixed orange rope had been buried by the breaking dagger, with perhaps 15m of it claimed by fallen ice. The visible rope was cut, leaving the buried rope to be fished out from the fall’s pool in summertime. We continued the development with Tom bolting bottom up and leading some sections, JJ bolting top-down, we met at the p1 anchor… dodging icefall from the roof releasing throughout the day. Typing this a week later, I still feel my back from top-stepping aiders while bolting overhead in the p1 roof. Meanwhile, Christian was rewarded for his patient belay with a micro-trax solo of the first two pitches on a fixed line and cleaned as much as possible with the given daylight. Day 2: (Send day) We slept in and began around noon. Christian led pitch 1 and easily danced up the pitch while tossing loose rocks over his shoulder. Having recently competed in finals at the Ouray Mixed Comp, his base strength and finesse made it look much easier than reality. JJ followed, while clipping a second single rope for me as the third, allowing us to “siege” or “caterpillar” the line. We opted for two single ropes as opposed to twins, for the ease of manipulation in the p2 roof. In retrospect, either method would work fine- though a twin rope might have too much give if you fell while following in the p2 roof to get back on. The pitch 1 dagger and subsequent traverse remain exposed to falling rock and ice and act as a decisive hazard crux following the technical crux. At the p1 anchor, we hauled a pig via tag line on the last climber. (The pig rested on the far right side of the anchor ledge, waiting to be tagged up to the p2 anchor belay cave. This pig contained water, snax, and normal boots and pons for JJ and CJ, who opted to wear comp boots for p1 and p2. I opted to wear normal boots and my standard 1100g development pons, and was not prepared for the resultant level of suffering.) JJ boldly led out p2, with delicate feet and only minor grunting in the power crux (a full stretch stein to v-notch). Leading the final 15m of ice in comp boots and no secondaries must have been terrible, considering the ice required heavy cleaning. JJ might have placed a single screw in the ice, then levitated to the belay cave on the right side. Once we gathered at p2 anchor, the pig joined us, only getting caught briefly on the dagger. With happy feet we finished the ice pitches about 4:30pm, the only snag being a brutal 3-man rope pull from the ground. The intermediate anchor needs improvement as noted elsewhere. Beers and ice cream followed, celebrating both the send and our luck. Route P1 M8+ 30m 8 bolts, 2-3 screws, 2 knife blades, .2-.4; belay from a bolt and ice screws on the ledge to the left of the first bolt. 10’ of choss gives way to better rock and generous bolts, then gains the left side of the dagger to the shelf, going right to one more bolt and connecting ice blobs to the upper shelf. Stubbies or knifeblades would be helpful in the upper ice. Bolted belay ledge includes a rap ring for bail. A single 60m can rap to the ledge, walking / downclimbing the rest of the way. P2 M10+ 30m 4 screws, 10 bolts, 7 permadraws… so bring 2 draws for hangers without permas, and draws for screws. We placed 2 screws and used 2 at the anchor. Climb rock for a move or two up towards the first bolt until you can step onto the dagger left. Traverse daggers for a couple of moves (screw optional) and then enter the roof following bolts leading to the upper dagger. Recommended to go left on the dagger and then back right to belay in a cave on the right of the main flow. This route could be aided after the starting dagger. P3 wi5 main flow P4 10m wi4 3min walk to the back of your lazy susan where the forgotten spices and flours remain untouched. Rap: V-thread from the top of P4. Bolted anchor on top of p3 to the right side. Double 60 to intermediate rap chains (located where p2 gains ice on the right side of the flow. This anchor needs fixing… the 6mm chain was too short and makes for high friction pull (3 men, 1 rope). Second ascent party should add quick links compatible with 6mm chain and rap rings. From here, a double 60m rap easily touches down. Gear Notes: Screws, KBs, .2-.4, draws, double 60m. Approach Notes: Start at the back of the cave, expect ice/rock shedding until at the start.

@Kyle M What happened to this project?

Looks fun Phil, thanks for the recon on Joe's Garage! Hopefully we'll see a return to cool temps soon. Why can't climate change go the other way...?

OVERVIEW This is an overdue report for several FAs. There certainly are other lines with potential and lots unexplored. Like most new routes, the rock here can vary in quality, though consistently solid granite. The vegetation has filled most cracks and lichen abounds. However, we did climb many stellar pitches without cleaning, and some with light excavation. Thar be lichen, wear some sunglasses for the overhanging cracks. Recommendation: Climb Ant and the Eel through Elevator Shaft roof for full value linkup. Whale and the Worm for a day 2 climb before heading home. APPROACH Ingalls Creek Trailhead, (see WTA), mile 8 or 9. There are maybe 2 or 3 nice creek camps between miles 8 and 10. On the way in, looking north (right) you should be able to spot the Elevator Shaft and roof, they stand out even in the ocean of of granite slabs. This is the crag. Once directly below the Elevator Shaft head ~45 minutes uphill total through brushy deadfall and talus, maybe 10 min to the talus field which you can follow almost all the way up. Either continue up to the wall then traverse right (some down climbing), or traverse through alder past a small waterfall just before the talus stops. Note there is a steep draw in this upper section, don't fall in while negotiating slide alder. These routes are listed left to right. ROUTES -Elevator Shaft, 11 something -Whale and the Worm, 10a/b -Ant and the Eel, 5.9+ The Elevator Shaft, 11 ? 2021 Sean Fujimori & Tom Beirne The stellar pitch is the 11a, which starts at the Big Ledge. You can get there via other routes, which we recommend. Seconding this route were Christian Junkar and Emma Sando, though they had more common sense than us to bail when the sun set. P1/P2 solo 5.6/5.7 slab with a view of the shaft roof. P3/P4 5.8 (broken up for rope drag) 5.8 corners ending at huge ledge. This was several years ago, but close enough to correct. P5 11? money pitch, Left facing corner, ~15-20' horizontal thin hands roof crack. Pull layback lip to a mellow slab and tree belay. No pictures - whipping on lichen ain't fun, so I was busy belaying. Sun set as I climbed, Emma and Christian bailed to camp. Sean - any pics of the roof? RAP: Short rap to fir tree 15m down and 10m climber right. Double 60m rap to elevator ledge, and from the last slab tree: double 60m to base. Whale and the Worm, 10a/b 2023 Tom Beirne, Sean Fujimori, Lydia Filipe Starts in the protected grove of the overhang with several rock benches and a large tree. Finishes on the Big Ledge connector. P1, 5.8 20m, Start on the right side of the diving board and diagonal traverse on top of the board into sideways squeeze chimney. Very strange, cool. Alternate direct start up short steep finger crack. Don't fear the drips, or the wet moss start. It gets better and remains dry afterward. P2, 10a/b 30m, Left facing corner crack, stay left at the split (two crack options, the right goes through a nootka rose). Fist crack trends left after the mantel to an overhanging hand/fist crack. Belay at the top to reduce rope drag. P3, 5.6 20' Traverse up and left through blocky 5.6 to the top slab. RAP: Small rap 10m to small pine at edge of slab, then double rope rap to base. Ant and the Eel 5.9+ Sean Fujimori, Tom Beirne, Lydia Felipe Start far right, walk a short 10m thru the greenery along the wall to a cave. P1, 60m, 5.9+. The Money Pitch! 3-star finger and hand crack, start at the entrance to the cave and follow crack up and left, when the crack transitions to fingers, reach far right for a jug ledge and mantel to continue the next crack system. Slab feet needed in crux mantel, very tricky if raining! This ends at the Big Ledge, so you can choose other routes from here. P2, 5.9+, 30m. Hand crack thru ocean spray bush with thoughtful mantels and slab feet with great hands and fingerlocks to bouldery top out. Belay at pine or dead tree. P3, 5.8 30m. Continue 20’ left past dead tree to wavy finger-eating crack, then traverse right in a nice finger crack under a small overhang. Pull onto ledge with some finesse. P4 5.7 70m, or break up into two pitches. Up the blocky slab, follow the veg direct via double chicken wing crack, to filled in finger crack and suffer or take the slab for an unprotected 15-20m runout. Over the small 5.6 roofs to a pine. Rap 1 From top of p4 pine, double 60 skier right to fir tree, 10m left of fall line. From fir, belay or walk down skier left 10m to next fir tree. This is the top of p3, dead tree left and pine on right. A double 60 could probably make it to the BIG LEDGE, BUT for rope pull ease and to reach the lowest pine on the edge of the slab for the final rap (which is a full double 60 to ground) we opted to: Rap2 30m to skier left or walk around low 5th moves to 15’ pine. Rap 3 Double 60 off pine to BIG LEDGE- to short pine skier right to fir on distant slab. Rap 4 Full double 60 to ground. Saddle bag and stay climber left of fall line ~5m going over the roof to prevent being in the tree. Free hang rappel to ground. Easy to get rope stuck in the tree, maybe worth trending climber right to avoid.

28 Aug 2023 @Tom Beirne @Doug_Hutchinson Jason Niebler A survival climb, with interesting moves masquerading behind a feral crag, unwilling the be tamed. You can go in with all the iron and cams you want, but the flakes will flex and handholds turn to kitty litter. We were lucky to depart the falls before dusk, when it's rumored that Tin Cup Joe emerges with hatchet in hand and menaces trespassers. This rock appeared visually the cleanest in the area, especially compared to the rock immediately above the lower falls. The higher we trespassed, the lower the quality. This TR is intended to serve as a placeholder for the curious, and in our case, the stupid. This applies to the visible cliffs above the first falls all the way up to the upper slabs: don't bother. Picture below: first rock cliff above Tin Cup, lookin' sus. Approach. Don't approach. Turn around, do something else. Take the standard trail shown on Gaia up to the falls, then cross just prior to the first falls. A very faint trail can be barely followed left of the falls for a few hours. Cross both falls climber right and head towards the upper slabs, which you glimpses of during creek crossings. P1 5.7 40m to gear anchor belay on decent ledge. Begin up easy 5.7 slabs, through some shrubbery, and turn the lip of an awkward layback to the belay. P2 5.9+ 40m to hanging tree belay. Move belay to on top of tree with #1,2,3 crack directly above. Trend up and right through balance ledges through the green patch, and into the chimney for fun short boulder problem. Protects well in the chimney. P3 5.6 30m left trending diagonal traverse to visible tree. Couple pro options down low, none after about 15m. Mind the house of cards. RAP: Two Successive double 60m raps, each from stalwart pines. Apologies to the mountain gods for this transgression, we will seek absolution through worthy missions ASAP. Ps, Happy Birthday Jason, hope you liked your gift.

Nicely done y'all! Any thoughts on ice formations for this aspect? Would you take / stash mountain bikes if doing it again? Good work getting up and down without incident.

Post-mortem on metal-metal-metal: Good catch! Yes, a basket hitch is definitely preferable. Only you can decide what's good enough for you. I was probably too comfortable and didn't want to slow down to fix it. As an homage to internet arguing, here's the flipside: avoiding triaxial loading is a best practice, but krabs are strong and overbuilt. They might seem tiny, but I haven't whipped and broken one yet (anecdotal evidence). That ice chandy will tear before a krab breaks (subjective). Since it's maritime ice, we're guessing kN here. https://www.alpinesavvy.com/blog/lets-talk-about-off-axis-carabiner-loading Second concern: metal on metal risk is unclipping due to radial size differences. At least this is what I've been taught with industrial fall protection doctrine. I'm sure there's a HowNot2 video on strength reduction for krab-on-krab action, but I'm willing to guess it's pretty negligible. The real concern here is the steep snow runout at the top. A picket for deadman, or even a grappling hook would be nice.

21 March 2023 -> the relatively unknown white pass ice was barely holding on. We decided not to climb on 22 March given the temps were too high too long. Observable horizontal fractures (3x) with high overnight temps. We lowered in off the tree, with a deadman picket on the snow bank out left to keep the rope from rubbing in the snow, or on the rock. Lowering directly off the tree will surely cut your rope. Set some screws right to keep away from the fractures. 70m rope touches ground. WI3 start to WI4+. Screws pulled out near end of day, no direct solar. Wind sustained 15 gust 25 from up the creek. WHERE: Clear Creek Cirque. Aka Clear Creek Falls overlook. Park at dog lake, walk east on hwy to the overlook parking (filled in by plow), jump the guard rail and walk down the hill and east to the top of the falls. Brutal 10min approach. With @sfuji Mid February probably best time to go for either the falls left or falls right. The rock is volcano choss / shale. Considered doing some mixed there but the ice was out, and the rock is always out. IMG_7859.HEIC

N. Chair released this avy on or around 3/15, natural release 4-5' crown and 300m wide. Just keep that in mind when dropping in for this area. We bailed for cross loaded slopes a few weeks prior. Great job getting out and getting after it y'all! Photo from NWAC, courtesy Trevor Kostanich.

Nice write up Priti! Glad we could do something mellow for our first line together. Recommended rack: 6-7 screws (red or yellow and 1x 22 fine), 12 alpine draws, 2KB (small&medium), 1 med LA, tricams, C4 .2-.75; double 60m ropes or single 70m might make the raps (2x). Conditions: This was at the end of a cold weather stretch. I had attempted the line several weeks prior (with Jason Niebler) and found the start of p2 roof to have running water under the verglas and wouldn't support body weight. So instead of pushing it, bailed in favor of the next cold cycle. The FA (this report) the verglass improved to 2-3inch thick! Perfect. Don't push it if you find conditions thin. Per the namesake, security gets worse the higher you go, graduating from tying off stubbies to connecting the syncopated ice with KBs in blank walls and turf sticks. But I think the movement quality is pretty high with the requisite existential questioning and bottomless bag of cascade climbing tricks. The protection is decent, and the p2 whips would be clean except for the snow topout, which would be a deck to the WI2/3 below the belayer on pitch 1 and above your skis. If this is pushing the grade but you are wicked clever with pro, I'd recommend this route. Bailing is possible back to the anchor throughout, except on the snow. The 2nd roof (just before the steep snow) offers one good .75, but is a house of cards otherwise. Definitely one of the more interesting lines for this zone, and a good one for the new guard of crushers.

This TR is from March 2022. But it looks "in" right now (15FEB23) insofar as cascades go. I spent a few months attempting to reset my cc password then forgot about it. Use it or lose it I guess. Here’s the dirt. Kurt Ross, Tucker Merrill and Tom climbed a flow on the far west aspect of snow lake (Snow Lake West) for two pitches (WI3+ and WI4+), looked at Steppenwolf above us, then rapped 60m (on doubles) to walk down the steep gully back to snow lake. March conditions provided anemic looking ice enroute and some instability in the snow. P1 WI3,30m? was delam’d in places, moated from the rock lower down, and flowing slightly. Tuck took this opportunity to sing Pat Benatar lyrics to us while cruising up and right to a ledge belay (C4 #2, blue totem). P2 WI4, 40m? Steller with a tree belay after the lip. Kurt walked up this using his single position grivel tools, showcasing the limits of skill over gear. A hot few months post-operation on my elbows, I was grimacing the entire way. Topside we discover the absence of head-lamps and start rapping before a thick fog descends upon us. Before rappelling from a tree and walking down the steep gulley, we note the perfect condition of the lines above us: Dracula, Son of Drac, Steppenwolf, Squeeze Play, Vertigo, and whatever else is up there. Is it an FA? Probably not. But we’re calling it "Snow Lake West" as a reference point, pending any other information popping up. I’ve compiled most Snow Lake Ice routes on CC below; if you know of any lines not represented here please comment with source. Below: Kurt sizes up the proposed line. Tuck on p2: This shot is upper snow lake zone. The left side you can see steppenwolf. Dracula, Son of Dracula and Squeeze play should be on the right side of the arete, but doesn’t appear formed in this photo. Coldiron and friend put up a mixed line in the middle (right side of and leads to snow ledge). Not sure what the rest of the flows are, but according to legend, everything in the cascades has been climbed. I disagree with this for mixed lines and believe the alpine barrier has been about M5-6 until recently. Yes I am aware of Roger’s lines, but those are data outliers, an anomaly of the 2000’s and I've referred his case to Scully and Mulder. Upper Tier of Snow Lake: Steppenwolf WI3 (J Street 2011) Dracula (below) / Son of Dracula / Squeeze Play (right of circle around arete, WI4-M3 Street 2011) Squeeze Play WI4 (Street 2011) middle left flow below Matt ? and Jeff Street, “Vertigo” WI3 https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/85139-tr-dracula-wi-5-30m-and-others/#comment-1051667 And Coldiron Line (2011) - same elevation as steppenwolfe and dracula, maybe 200’ right. https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/84104-201112-washington-ice-conditions/page/3/#comment-1043719 Snow Lake Ice - starts at snow lake. Oompa Loompa, WI3 (2009) https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/64803-tr-snow-lake-oompa-loompa-wi3-212009/?tab=comments#comment-861563 Slot Machine 25m WI5 (2011, Street) https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/84911-tr-slot-machine-50m-wi-5/?tab=comments#comment-1050086 Gambler's Fallacy, WI4+ M6+ (2023, Tom Beirne & Priti Wright) https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/106079-gambler’s-fallacy-fa-wi4-m6/#comment-1167929 Right side line, follows the corner through two roofs, tops out via steep snow to a high tree. Photo is damn deceptive, I wouldn't have tried the line if I knew how steep the snow was.

Returned!

Found abandoned and lonely on GNS, 16NOV just prior to sunset. Please PM with markings and we'll coordinate return. Tom

Jason, Have rack/rope, etc, looking to do some multi pitch climbing. Great weather Saturday for any route. I was initially planning on just showing up in Leavenworth, but maybe you'd be interested in Outer space? Tom