Todd Anderson

Plenty of static lines can hold leader falls, they just result in extreme damage to the leader. Where did you read/hear this? I read the OGL review and can't find anything about holding leader falls.

Thanks for the input!

Based on the conditions you saw, do you think it's insane to do an Enchantments thru-hike this weekend with a group that has (a) very little backpacking experience, and (b) no snow floatation equipment? I know Aasgard Pass would very challenging and probably a no-go for such a group; but that aside, are we going to be postholing the entire way?

I'm interested in all of those. I've been ogling a few Index climbs for a while, but would be down for anything. I'm relatively new to the area, so have never climbed at Index and only been to Leavenworth for bouldering. Have done ~175 pitches at Squamish, though.

Thanks for the responses. Erik, I've been thinking about Phantom/the Slot and my eventual destination is UW, so it sounds like we're in a similar metaphorical boat. Tuesday and Thursday I don't have anything until 12:30....

It seems like the snowpack keeps going to shit over the weekends, then slowly improving during the week. If I have to be at work at 10am, are there good tours I can do before work? Kendall Knob and Snoqualmie Pass as a whole comes to mind, but I'm not too familiar with the Cascades beyond Snoqualmie. Thanks!

The Black Dike is usually out sometime in March. If it turns out to be a cold rest of the winter, it might be climbable at the end of March. If you try it in above-freezing temperatures be prepared for microwave-to-car-sized blocks to fall on you on the approach and during the climb; in other words, don't do it if it's warm out. I have been to Cannon twice around the end of March/first week of April, and both times we saw huge rockfall in the Black Dike/Whitney G area. Can't say much about the Adirondacks.

For judgements on avy danger in new (to me) areas, I use the forecast provided by the Northwest Avalanche Center combined with the "avalanche danger" description/rating in Martin & Krawarik's Washington Ice book. For example, WA Ice lists the avalanche danger for Franklin Falls as "moderate on the far left side of the falls, minimal on the right side". Various Alpental areas are given "moderate" to "serious". Then, I'd check the NWAC forecast, which says avalanche danger will be "considerable" tomorrow (since there has been a lot of wet snow and rain recently). In light of these ratings, I wouldn't do a climb with a "serious" WA Ice avalanche danger rating, and I would watch out for potential slide areas, signs of recent avalanches, etc. even in areas of "moderate" avalanche danger. You have to make your own choices about which combinations of avy danger ratings you feel comfortable with. Not sure if the ice will hold up until Friday, or what the current state of it is in the Alpental areas. NOAA thinks it will be warm (highs above freezing) and potentially rainy between now and Friday.

Dre, if conditions improve slightly over the next week I would be interested in going back. The better avy forecast day next weekend might be reserved for some alpine fun; not sure about my partner situation though. Made it back up to Franklin Falls today. The ice quality has deteriorated significantly since Saturday; it was holding its shape (i.e. not falling down) but very soft. I climbed the leftmost column in the photo below, which touched down just out of frame. Once I got to the cave under the deathcicles I realized I probably couldn't climb them without knocking down some/most/all of the ice, so I rapped back down. If the big hanging icicle on the upper left touches down and it gets a bit colder, it could be a pretty cool line. Maybe WI4? I set my anchor pretty far back from the edge, and had maybe 4m left of my 60m rope at the bottom, so I would guess it's 35 or 40m from the ground to the trees. There are some other icy steps to the right of my rope line, which might be okay. They would be a lot more fun if the snow on top of the steps consolidated. The snow had the beginnings of crust on top, but was mostly pretty loose. This made for interesting slogging just to the right of the ice lines, which looked a lot more straightforward from the ground....

Finally made it to Franklin Falls. There was an interesting line on the right side, which unfortunately didn't make it into the first photo. I was just hiking with friends, so I didn't bother bringing a rope. I'll probably come back Monday to do the whole pitch.

Other good resources for trip reports to common hiking destinations like Franklin falls are NWHikers.net and the WHC FB group. These groups are very active and post a lot of pictures. Thanks bellows and yikes! This is my first season in the PNW, every bit of beta helps!

Thanks hacim, sounds like I should look somewhere else. Strobach, anyone?

Has anyone been up to Snoqualmie Pass area climbs recently? I was thinking about checking out Franklin Falls, but I guess it might be pretty damp.

I moved to Seattle in August, so I'm not very familiar with the winter climbing scene here. This is also the first winter away from ski racing, meaning I'll have time to climb every weekend. I have been leading on rock since 2011, and I consider myself fairly competent on long multipitch rock routes, e.g. several up or on Cannon Cliff, NH; the Original Route on Rainbow Wall in Red Rocks, NV; and simul fun in the Wind Rivers, WY. However, I have almost no experience when it comes to ice climbing and mountaineering (because I was always skiing instead). I have followed ice up to WI5+ (Mindbender, Lake Willoughby, VT), but I could count the number of ice and mixed pitches I've done (TR'd or followed) on both hands. I've never led ice. With that in mind, is anyone interested in taking an ice/alpine n00b up easy winter routes on weekends? Even if you just need someone to belay you on your project, that's okay, as long as I get to thrutch up it on TR afterwards. I would love to get my first ice lead in sometime this winter. I'll be out of town Dec 18-Jan 3, but on virtually all other weekends (including this one) I'm interested in activities involving a combination of tools, axes, skis, etc.

Nice work, and great photos!

I was thinking about checking out Dragontail or Colchuck sometime Thursday-Sunday. Does anyone know the condition of the Colchuck glacier?

70L is probably fine for Rainier. I feel like anything larger would be pretty awful for a carry-over, but I'm sure some/many will disagree here. If you're okay with the idea of a frameless pack, I would suggest a Cold Cold World Chaos. The size medium is 66L, the large is 70L, and both have huge brains and 12-15" extension sleeves. I have the medium, and it's lighter and carries better than my Osprey Variant 52. It's probably worth noting that the Variant series is made with pretty heavy fabrics, but then so is the Chaos. According to the website, the Chaos weighs 3 lbs 12 oz, but I haven't weighed mine. Randy at CCW can do some customizations, as long as you don't get too crazy. My two gripes with the Chaos that I would have fixed if I got it directly from him (rather than eBay) are (1) there's no hydration port, so if you want to use a water bladder you need to improvise, and (2) the ski slots are pretty narrow, and definitely won't fit modern fat skis. The other feature that is often changed is the orientation of the shoulder strap adjustment buckles; Randy likes to put them in a pull-up position, which feels weird to a lot of people. I think it's fine. CCW packs have a reputation for lasting a long, long time. That may or may not be important to you, but it does tend to help their resale value. Anyway, here's the website: http://coldcoldworldpacks.com/chaos.htm

How did they work? I am in the process of acquiring 404s for skiing with my Nepal Evos. I was planning on mounting them to some kind of metal-edged, sidecut, waxless, 160cm/75mm touring ski; what sort of skis do you (and others) find to work well with Silvrettas?

You five are coming from Portland, right? If there's any interest from Seattle area people I could potentially drive another group.