kmfoerster

Perhaps I got too far into the nuts n' bolts of the route character that has been the regular as of recent years in early season. No matter what, anything we say here as to what had happened will be speculation. I think getting knocked off balance is by falling rock etc. is very likely when the route is in rotten condition. I witnessed some that wasn't far out of the line of fire. With all due respect man (seriously), I think what you're saying here is bonkers. Suppose someone just went for it on bad conditions at the cruxes. They are now going to fall in a way thats not conducive to self arrest. No the couloirs themselves are not crazy steep, but to say self arrest in them is relatively easy seems crazy to me. Maybe a little slip in the couloirs themselves would allow a proper self arrest. But a tumbling fall from blowing a move or a hold giving or getting hit with debris at one of the cruxes or hell even in the couloirs? I sincerely doubt it and I'm not sure that has anything to do with anyones risk tolerances. Maybe more so its that arresting a fall is not as easy as people would like to think on slopes steeper than what maybe people might glissade down. Especially on firm snow. I had a feeling that the question asked by Norman was going to lead to a bit of an irrelevant tangent. Truthfully I'm a bit bummed on that. I do find value in this discussion on how people rationalize when its okay to solo. I think there are few things in alpine climbing that gets taught to us that in reality shake out to being mostly lip service. I think that self arrest techniques are included in that and lose effectiveness as the slope angle increases. I don't think that just because a route is in prime conditions to solo all the sudden falling is no big deal. Deaths happen on "easy" terrain by experienced people all the time.

This is all very sad and sobering. My condolences to Rick's family and friends. I personally can't imagine soloing this in all but the best conditions, i.e. alot of firm snow and good ice. Perhaps conditions similar to what that face had in April of 2015 and 2017. Even then I would likely opt for a partner and a running belay. A friend and I climbed it in late March of 2019 and the section through the hidden and second couloir, or runnels and runnels bypass, and the section connecting the second and third couloir were pretty thin, insecure, and at times fairly scary. We ended up using the runnels bypass because the runnels proper proved too thin for us. Mostly involving dry tooling on slab or somewhat rotten rock covered by unconsolidated snow. I also remember because of the condition of the snow and what little ice there is that protection was less than ideal. I don't think I'd be able to reverse any of the moves through those sections safely if I would have had to. Judging by the time of the year being similar and looking at recent photos of the face I''d imagine the route was in very similar conditions. I think your conclusions on the route are spot on. Any fall unroped would lead to a very long slide and fall. I don't think theres any feature along the route that would cut a fall short. I hope this clears up some of the questions and I am very sorry for your loss.

If you dated this tr to sometime in late May I'd absolutely believe it.

Nice work! Quite the roll you're on.

As someone who has climbed TC's in awful conditions, I'd wait until you're sure its good. The north face of Dragontail is probably one of the most photographed aspects in the Cascades. I bet even so in winter. Social media is your friend on checking conditions of the face. You'll have to wade through 1000's of photos of bikini clad women in the foreground to get to the recent winter shots. You want to see wide, continuous white through the runnels between the hidden and second couloir. Most will tell you to wait until late March through April. Maybe May if it hasn't been warm.

Pick guards made from 3/4" vinyl tubing and some shock cord. Great for storage and transport.

Awesome! Looks super fun.

Cool. Didn't really feel like the juice was worth the squeeze on that one ya know?

I've found that exposed sandstone scrambling is very unappealing for me. Turned around just after this photo. SW Ridge of West Temple in Zion.

Nice work! This is really, really cool

May 2018. Walking out from Ptarmigan ski trip.

Congrats to them! Nope thats from the NW couloir trip in 2019. Maybe my favorite sunset I've witnessed/captured. Perfect, calm, clear early November evening.

Thanks Jason for starting this thread. Was worried I wasn’t going to my JasonG photo dosage anymore.

Thought the film was great! Some of the climbing was absolutely incredible. Marc mentions in the film how he started alpine climbing in jeans and polo t-shirts as in the Cheam peak TR above.

Newer than the Tooth Fairy?

Seeing it today!

A couple of DIY ice axe/tool carry options for packs with just a daisy chain system. A simple loop will work with and ice axe or tool that had a full size hammer or adze. I made some toggles out of aluminum similar to the Arcteryx packs. They'll hold an ice tool head if the hammer or whatever is too small to get captured by just a loop. Any toggle that will fit through the head on the narrow side but is still long enough to sufficiently hold the head will work. Plastic or metal toggles that get used for clothing can be found online. A loop of shock cord and a cord lock is used to hold the shaft of the axe.

@Trent everything is training for South Hozo!!

Trip: Dragontail Peak, NE Towers - This, My Friend Trip Date: 09/12/2021 Trip Report: Yesterday Kat and I climbed "This, My Friend" on the east aspect of Dragontail Peak. The route is only a year old at this point and is getting alot of attention, for good reason. Hats off to the FA party for the vision and the work cleaning this thing up. Its five pitches and all but a short connector pitch are 55m of clean, fun climbing. We got moving at the trailhead around 5am Sunday morning and reached the base of the route around 8am. I lead the first pitch which is also the crux of the route. The general consensus of this pitch so far is that its 5.10-. It starts with really easy climbing then heads straight up a shallow, flaring thin hands and ring lock crack followed by slightly easier terrain. Pro is tricky on this pitch, but I found three bomber #1 placements. From there Kat lead pitch 2, THE money pitch and an absolute gem. A full rope length of 5.9 awesome finger locks and perfect hands. Stupid good. After that, Kat lead the 5.meh connector pitch to the base of the headwall so I too could have a money pitch. Thanks again Kat. Pitch 4 goes up a clean headwall split by a 5.7 varying crack, mostly hands. Awesome jams peppered with knobs all around it. Pitch 5 is wandery 5.7 crack and face climbing to the summit of the East Pinnacle. From there we followed the descent description trending southwest down ramps and ledges to the Dragontail trail. We found a way that stayed in 3rd or 4th class terrain with only one spicy no falls allowed section. I built some cairns along the way. Its a quick hike back to the base following the Dragontail southside trail to Asgard. We got back to the base around 2pm. We both climbed with little packs to carry our shoes, puffies, and a little water. That all could fit on your harness if you want but I liked my harness being a bit less crowded. None of the climbing felt cumbersome with a small pack. The hike out went just fine and got back to the car around 5:30pm. This is an awesome route that will no doubt become a crowded classic due to the quality moderate climbing. Me starting the first pitch. it veers left from here: Part way through the first pitch: Kat on the 2nd pitch: Me starting up the pitch 4 headwall. Kat photo of the headwall cracks: Kat coming up the final moves of the Pitch 4 headwall: Last Pitch: Me coming up the last pitch: Coming down the steepest part of the descent: Gear Notes: 60m rope. At least a double rack of cams .2-2 and one #3. Metolius 00-1 proved quite useful too. With this route triples of certain sizes would not go unused. We had triples of .4-2, which we thought was just a bit overkill. If doing it again I'd bring triples of .75-2 instead. Selection of small to medium stoppers. 10 alpine draws and 2 double length slings. Seasonally dependent snow gear. Approach Notes: Colchuck Lake to Asgard pass. Cut over headed west on scree and talus at approximately 7300-7400'.

Dang those sx620’s seem pretty good. The price is right too!

Some of my more recent packs. 30l Climbing pack and a 18L packable daypack. Both are made from a dyneema and polyester hybrid fabric. Many awesome fabric options coming out now. Its and exciting time to be a hobby pack maker! Have been messing around with removable hip belt pockets for a bit now too. Maybe I'll post them too.

Same boat as Otto. I've been hesitant to pick up an RX100 though for a bit now just because friends of mine have had durability issues with them. Supposedly they've been getting better and better about that with each version. I'll be looking to take the next step up here soon I think. Wanting a bit more than my iPhone and Sony RX0.

What???

Your photos keep getting better and better. The circuit really is a fun outing and the rock in the sisters can be a dream to climb.

Awesome! You might catch some funny looks when telling the younger generation the route's acronymic name.