d.b

Acquired. Would take one or two cheap HMS lockers if anyone has some local, but otherwise I'm set.

How many old carabiners can I get for $25? As long as they're full strength, I'm not picky. Pickup in Seattle, or ship to Seattle.

Tricams acquired -- thanks Dan! Still seeking hexes.

Heading to the Midwest and East Coast this summer. I'd like to round out my rack with more passive gear. If anyone has hexes or tricams taking up space in the closet, please get in touch!

Hi All, Thanks for the many comments. I totally agree with the philosophy of testing one limit at a time (Rad hit it on the head with examples)! I'll keep cragging (and hopefully get stronger) and backpacking (and hopefully get better at off-trail navigation). The Tooth was definitely in my wheelhouse today, so I'm looking forward to trying Ingalls and other similar routes soon. Sahale looks like a fun day out, and from what I can tell, takes a piece or two of gear. West Ridge of Sherpa sounds like another great addition to the list! I'll start reading about Kangaroo, Half Moon, and I'll take any other ideas ya'll come up with too. Fingers crossed for a lot of straightforward climbs, and a safe (sexy?) epic here and there! D

Thanks for the reply, Jason! A little sad to hear that my options for this in the Cascades will be limited. On the other hand, though, 5 or 6 of these should keep me busy for a while. And maybe I'll be ready to move onto harder climbing once I've done them. I'll put Ingall's at the top of the list, and check out SEWS and North Twin Sister. Thanks for the recs! D

Hi All, I am looking to step out from the crag to easy alpine climbs. I have ~3 years of experience climbing. I am not particularly strong, but I am confident on the grades I lead (~5.10 sport, ~5.5 gear). I just did The Tooth last weekend and really enjoyed it! I'd like to climb more routes like this, that end at the top of a peak and have an hours-long approach. What other routes would you recommend for someone cutting their teeth on alpine rock? I'm happy with a long walk (including an overnight bivy), snow travel, glacier travel, and lots of 'boring' easy fifth class you can protect. I'm hoping to avoid the phenomenon of loose, unprotectable fourth class -- I really appreciated how secure The Tooth was in this regard. A few routes that I've come across that seem to check these boxes are the NE ridge of Black Peak, S ridge of Ingalls, and maybe W ridge of Prusik if I could get a permit. Thanks for looking at this! David