JonParker

That looks really fun (except for the shwacking) and beautiful, thanks for posting!

I’m in good hiking shape and permitless, so looking to do this car to car. Ive done Backbone ridge and Acid Baby c2c in recent weeks and would love to go back there for one more this summer. Ideally Monday 8/26 but I could be talked into other days. Give me a shout if interested, thanks!

Yeah, I also found the access to the ridge to be slightly harrowing late July last year. I expected a fairly direct approach from the rap across the glacier to the ridge, but we kept butting up against crevasses that weren’t visible from above, so this forced us down and to the right. As we neared the ridge the terrain became steep, icy, and riddled with crevasses. Some pro would have been nice but we had none. After traversing above gaping crevasses we reached a moat too wide to cross so I made a bollard, rapped about 10 feet into it, then scrambled up the rock on the other side and found a spot for a gear anchor for my partner. This was probably around 200 feet above the toe of the ridge and the rock climbing was immediately straightforward once on the ridge. I think it was a good place to get on, but very exposed on the way there.

Awesome! Saw your headlamps when I woke up for the ICG. For what it’s worth I found the booting totally miserable both the way there and back

Thinking of bivying at the road end Friday night and climbing car to car on Saturday. PM me if looking for a partner and we can hash it out.

Great climbing with you!

Also interested. Climbed NEB on 1/27 and ran into a party on the way out who did the N Face and reported that it was great. Feel free to drop a line

Thinking about it, preferably Sunday. If you’re interested let me know.

I’m free 8/30 - 9/1 and hoping for another hit of the n cascades good stuff. I had early morning spire on the brain, maybe dorado needle too, but my partner lost some days off. Get in touch if that sounds good or if you want to do something similar. Thanks!

Thanks @ccox42 !

Thanks @JasonG that looks like no kinds of fun

Anyone done this approach this year? Or this time of year in the last couple years? I haven't found much info on it and I'm wondering what the rap anchors are like and if I should expect moat shenanigans. Appreciate any info.

Bump. Weather’s looking so good. If you have the same dates free but Buckners not your thing, be advised that I really just wanna go climb something. Some rock would be nice too.

Wanna take Monday off and do Buckner or something similar? Let me know. I’d like to approach from Boston basin trail and tag Sahale. Then take horseshoe basin + salahe arm on the way back.

Chair's NEB has been on my mind. I'm free on the 10th, and could get free for the 11th.

What kind of traction do you use for this madness?

KaskadskyjKozak, There was also a ranger on the trail to Boston Basin who checked our permit, which is a good thing. But yeah, the interaction at the WIC was pretty weird. I do think he was a climbing ranger FWIW. We could definitely use clearer guidance on which zones encompass which bivy spots. Where is it written which zone the NR bivy is in? I took the map at face value.

our rap way is clear on the Boston moat near the bivy moonrise moonset higher snowfield, can bypass on left

No, the map hasn't changed. It clearly shows the Forbidden zone starting on the north side of the mountain. But it does also include the weasel words: Cross country zone boundaries as indicated are approximate. Ranger roulette is right.

Trip: Forbidden - North Ridge Date: 7/9/2017 Trip Report: A friend and I climbed the North ridge of Forbidden last weekend. The first difficulty came at the ranger station. I asked for a permit for the Forbidden Zone. Ranger: where are you heading? Me: We're doing the north ridge of Forbidden. Ranger: Forbidden is in the Boston Basin zone, which is full. Me: no, no, we're doing the north ridge, we're going to bivy on the north ridge, won't set foot in boston basin until the hike out. Ranger: Doesn't matter. The whole mountain is in Boston Basin. Me: huh?! Ranger: Doesn't matter what anyone says. Even some rangers don't know this. It's all Boston Basin. Me: Why does the map show the North ridge in the Forbidden Zone? Ranger: Some artist drew it that way. Me: I don't understand. What do people in Boston Basin and on the west ridge have to do with the North Ridge? What's the Forbidden zone for then? Ranger: (something I didn't really follow about glacial recession, long waits on the West ridge route, yada yada) Me: uh weird, ok, can we get a permit for the Boston Glacier then? Ranger: I'm giving you a permit for Forbidden. I trust you to Do the Right Thing. Me: o . . . k . . . thanks Ranger hands me a NCNP card: be our eyes and ears out there. Me: smile and nod (WTF was that all about?) I had tweaked my knee earlier in the week, so I was worried it could prevent me from even getting past Sharkfin but I was pleasantly surprised not to be in any pain. Near Boston Basin we forked off to the right following rock and streams (camp spots here that I didn't know about?) up to Quien Sabe and filled up at the last running water. We went straight towards what I think is Sharkfin col but found a moat just slightly too great to get across. So we headed up and right through an awful gully to another rap anchor. Maybe this is the alternate? It's the one with a chockstone and as of now, a couple nuts and some yellow cord. After one 30m rap we were still above a tall schrund with no easy way down. In the snow I found a small rock with a cord around it that apparently served as somebody's second rap anchor. I'm sure it was buried under more snow when it was used, but still, wow, that's some trust. I placed a nut in an exposed rock and a second rap got us down to the Boston. Traversing over to the north ridge was pretty simple, very few crevasses to deal with. I enjoyed the ice worms and jade colored drips on the rocks. Our path to the bivy involved a moat that will become very difficult quite soon, but there are probably other ways to get up there. Searching for and doing the rap to the Boston had eaten up a lot of time so it was time for dinner by the time we got to the bivy. We spent the evening melting snow in painfully small batches and melting our brains with the incredible views. Next morning we slowly got going a little after 6am after warming up some. We improvised our approach, from short pitches to running belays and scrambling. We had to cross one snowfield early on but we were able to bypass the large one higher up. I think it was just past the higher snowfield that we seemed to have lost the easiest route. Some steep climbing through sketchy bullshit got us back on the ridge crest. As we neared the summit, clouds began to build on the south side, spilling over the east and west ridges and straight down to the glaciers below. We rushed through the scramble of the last two hundred feet to the summit with visibility on the south side disappearing. I've wanted to do this climb for years. The position and scenery did not disappoint. The rock itself . . . it's not great. I was hoping for more sustained low 5th but it was almost all <5th scrambling. There also didn't seem to be many cracks in the few steep spots, so I rarely placed pro. But I was still very happy to be cruising up a beautiful ridge in such an amazing place. We had planned to do the east ledges descent. I did that descent last year and found it to be undeserving of its scary reputation. It's steep for sure, but pretty solid. Scouring around the summit and the last little bit of the east ridge, I could not find the first rap. It's possible I missed it, but I'm pretty sure it's not there. So we headed down the west ridge. This took a goddamn long time. When we reached the gully some parties were rapping it. But the snow was in good condition for downclimbing, and seems like it will continue to be that way for at least a couple more weeks. Eventually we made it to Boston Basin, much later and thirstier than we anticipated. The main creek crossing past Boston Basin was quite a sight, too much to wade through. But we crossed on snow a little higher up. From there, it was just a matter of getting home without falling asleep.

A lot of ground to cover in 3 days. Trying to get to easy ridge on day 1 to make days 2-3 manageable. I'd like to do a side trip to Whatcom peak too if there's enough time. I'm coming from Seattle. Willing to drive but my car gets hot (no AC).

We were there on the route that day. We expected to start the ice pitch on the corner but instead we started around 10 yards to the right of it due to that big drop off. The first 10-12 feet was almost vertical. I had to cut my first couple steps. Smooth sailing after that and the ice actually seemed quite good.

Thanks for the conditions update. If anyone else is thinking of doing this climb in the next couple weeks and looking for a partner, let me know. I'm hoping to go from cascade pass and tag Sahale on the way. Weekdays and fast pace preferred.

So good!

I hear the call of the long slog this summer. Challenger, Olympus, Goode, Bonanza . . . hoping to do a warmup on a sunny day this weekend. Snowking comes to mind. Send me a message if you're up for that, or for other long slogs.