.chad

Great TR and photos. How steep would you estimate the first ice step to be?

How many wedding rings could there be on Prusik?

Partner found.

Looking for a partner for moderate alpine rock this Saturday and Sunday, somewhere like WA Pass or Leavenworth. Example itineraries: WA Pass: Sat: Spontaneity Arete Sun: N Face Lexington (with some things on Concord) Leavenworth: Sat: E Ridge of N Ingalls Sun: S Face of The Mole (or something with a shorter approach...) Open to going elsewhere or doing other climbs in these areas, if you've got something in mind. A little about me: been climbing 4 years, a mix of snow, glacier, and rock. Some multipitch trad stuff I've done previously: S Face (The Tooth) S Arete (SEWS) Beckey Route (Liberty Bell) Spontaneity Arete (Le Petit Cheval) W Ridge (Prusik) SW Rib (SEWS) Saber and Midway (Castle Rock) I've got rope, rack, and car. In Seattle and would like to carpool as much as possible. Flexible on departure time (would prefer Friday to Saturday, though). Safety is paramount, so please have prior multipitch trad experience, and be a solid belayer and anchor builder. If interested, email me: ckl[ignore this, including the brackets]umb at google's email service.

While descending Mount Rainier on Sunday 6/14, a green bag containing tent poles for a Hilleberg Nallo 2 was dropped somewhere between Camp Schurman (9500 ft) and the toe of Interglacier (6700 ft). The route we took from Schurman descended the lower Emmons before crossing over to Interglacier around 8800 ft. We then descended on the Interglacier side of the ridge to a minor notch on the ridge, just southwest of Mount Ruth, around 8600 ft. (This notch is lower than Camp Curtis.) We took a short break at this notch and then continued down to the toe of Interglacier (6700 ft), passing prominent rocky outcroppings in the central glacier on the west side. My guess is the poles are most likely at the notch near Ruth (or the snow on/around it), or else somewhere on Interglacier below this notch. This area gets a pretty decent amount of traffic so hopefully if the poles are there someone will see them. A lone trekking pole (silver/yellow/green in color, if I recall) might also be found nearby the tent poles. If found, please respond here and/or pm me.

Thanks for the info. This weekend looks too warm for my liking so I'll have to hold out for next. In the mean time, any new information is much appreciated.

Thinking of heading down to try the Cooper Spur sometime soon, if it's still in. Looks great in YocumRidge's TR from 5/3, but we had some warm weather after that. Does anyone have more recent conditions information (particularly regarding snow coverage in the chimneys)?

I was in the area on Friday (5/8). Headed up NBC on Colchuck and descended Colchuck glacier. Continuous snow started a couple hundred or so feet above the lake. The couloir and northwest face were generally well-covered with snow, though there were a few moves on ice/rock. Snow was firm as long as it wasn't in the sun (weather.gov overnight low for Colchuck Lake/Dragontail was 30F, and skies were clear). The summit plateau on Colchuck was mostly snow-covered. Glacier was all snow-covered. At 1pm I was about to leave Colchuck Lake for the TH when I heard what sounded like rockfall coming off Dragontail. A few moments later snow started pouring out of the first couloir on Triple Couloirs, and continued (at a significant rate) for about 20 seconds. No idea what things will be like in 3 weeks

Describe it and I can get it back to you...

Here's a taste of what the Enchantments looked like in early August 2012: (This was taken from a relatively high and breezy spot.) The Enchanted Valley area does have some large trees. There are big trees before you get to the valley, too.

There are some nearby SNOTELs: http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/snow/

The north side of the West Peak also has a commonly-done 5.4 option; the rock quality there is decent (and supposedly much better than that on the scramble route).

I don't think the traverse would do much to complicate logistics. The East and Middle peaks are class 3 scrambles according to the OMR guide, so we wouldn't need any additional technical gear. (The Hoh Glacier will probably be a bit steeper and more crevassed than the Blue / Snow Dome, but in good conditions it should still be pretty straightforward.) We could surely do all three peaks in a day from Glacier Meadows if we get started reasonably early and keep a decent pace. Advantages would be getting to see more of the mountain and its glaciers (in particular the Hoh), and more time "climbing" for the long approach. I went up the West Peak in 2011 and it was a lot of fun, but I found myself wanting to see the other half of the mountain.

Any interest in traversing the three summits, or just up and down the West Peak?

due NE from the lower Blue, about 2.5 miles. Has anyone been here? How was it? Pictures up close or from the Bailey range maybe?