Grant789

I hope that just means more fun routes keep popping up to spread us mouth breathers out 😉, heard Mt Hardy is a cool looking face!

@danLeskosky We used our 70. If I remember correctly, Kurt tied in midway and tied the bag to the end of the rope. The pitch was less than 35 m so hauling was no big deal with our single rope.

Trip: Porcupine Peak - Salad Days 5.11a Trip Date: 08/23/2025 Trip Report: Climbing and Crowds on a Newish Classic Liza, Kurt, Marc, and I headed out over the weekend to climb the newish @dberdinka and @lunger route, hoping for some fun, remote climbing in one of our favorite zones. After a solid week in the Sawtooths earlier this month, Marc and Liza were feeling strong and psyched to push their grade. A climb with bolted anchors, mostly in the 5.8–5.9 range with a single splitter 5.11- pitch sounded like just the ticket. We left Easy Pass trailhead around 8:30 a.m. and made quick time along the PCT before turning off on the climber’s trail toward the base. Following the approach line on Mountain Project’s map turned out to be super helpful. The first 400 feet of trail were a bit schwacky, but we soon hit a more established path. Liza and Kurt had climbed Arrested Development (5.10-) the year before and found the climber’s trail felt way more "developed" than last season. The approach took us about 1.5 hours. When we arrived at the base, two parties were already on route with one finishing P2, the other starting P1. As we snacked and racked up, three more teams arrived behind us. We were expecting maybe one other group… not SEVEN! But everyone was friendly and in good spirits. Liza and Kurt headed up first, with Marc and me climbing behind. Some highlights from the day: P1 (5.8) starts with a fun, heady mantle protected by a bomber cam just below—great start. P2 (5.9) was a blast: good jams, a wide layback crack, a delicate face move, and then a bolted jug haul to the anchor. Super varied and enjoyable. P3 (5.11-/10+?) was the crux: Liza and Marc led it and totally crushed it, especially considering it was their first 5.11- trad pitch. Liza took a quick rest for finger pain and Marc got the onsight. Tape on the left pinky was nice beta. This pitch gobbles up nuts and will take all the 0.2s and 0.3s you’ve got. P4-6 (5.8/5.9) The next three pitches served up moderate jamming, laybacking, stemming, and some delicate bolt-protected face moves between crack systems. By then, four of the teams (including us) were stacked on top of each other, climbing around and over each other. Fortunately, everyone was having a great time and the vibe stayed positive and chatty. After a quick scramble pitch, four teams topped out at the false summit together, took one look at the awkward mantle to the true summit, and collectively said “nah.” Instead, took some photos and all combined our 70m ropes for a mega party rappel down the route using all the techniques (carabiner block, simul rappel, gri-gris, ATCs, single-strand, double-strand)! The rappels were straightforward. Though it’s unclear whether the party-rappel saved us time or cost us some, but it sure was fun. Unfortunately, one of the ropes got a coreshot on the final rappel…. We packed up and made it back to the cars by 7 p.m., tired and happy. Final thoughts: The climbing was well protected throughout. The rock was a bit slipperier than expected. A great route for pushing into the low 5.11 range in an alpine setting. Thanks to Darin and Eric for putting up this route and all the work to clean and bolt it! Party climbing! Cruxing Summit selfie! Gear Notes: We brought triples 0.3-0.5, doubles 0.2 and 0.75-1, singles 2-4, and a set of nuts (many sm-med). An ideal rack would be doubles 0.4-1, single 2-3, set of nuts (many sm-med), and as many 0.2-0.3 cams as you want to carry (triples or quad). Approach Notes: Follow PCT until

EMS looks awesome! Nice work!

Awesome work! Been curious about rock in the marble creek drainage for a while and glad to see some climbing out there!

Nice work! I'm the opposite sort of soft to you. Was fine with the mud scramble to get onto the forbidden glacier, but HATED that loose chimney pitch!

There is some mighty fine looking rock up there!

Very cool seeing gunsight getting climbed! Nice work and glad you all were able to get the hiker a rescue!

Thanks! It totally felt like something you would have done in the pickets!

Ugh sorry about your car. Thank you for putting in those boot tracks, they were great to follow! Navigating the snow and slabs in the dark is a classic! We did the same 4 years ago on the West Ridge and didnt get to lower camp until 3am....

Trip: Forbidden Peak - NW Face Trip Date: 07/13/2025-07/14/2025 Trip Report: This has been on my list for a while given the high praise in guidebooks. Checking rec.gov on Monday, somehow permits to Boston Basin were available for this Sun-Mon that Alex, Liza, and I had saved for this route. With Liza and my previous experience on W Ridge, we figured this would go smoothly, but as is tradition with Forbidden, we were a bit slower than expected. Day 1: Approach to bivy on base of NW Face We left the Boston Basin trailhead at 8:45 am. The trail was brushy as usual and the river crossings had easy rocks to hop over. After a bathroom break at the lower boston we made our way to Sharkfin Col. We shot up a snow finger arching right towards Sharkfin and scrambled up and left in a gully about 200 feet before the big notch at the end of the snow finger. Two raps down to Boston Glacier over/in and out of the two bergschrunds. We made quick work of the Boston Glacier (thanks to some faint tracks likely from the day before) and scrambled the classic “potato chip” gully/col up to the Forbidden Glacier. With the crumbling rock/sand combination, this required the full body tension of precarious slab climbing with the added bonus of explosive holds that kept things spicy. Walking down the Forbidden Glacier was very chill and there were some rocks that were poking out in the middle that had water flowing over them which allowed us to fill up before crossing below the route and ascending the glacier on the other side. We saw tracks from a team that did the NW Face Var of the N Ridge (Scary!). We then navigated around crevasses on the west side of the rib to a snow ramp onto the rib at ~7,600 feet. This was smooth sailing for the most part, but the little snow finger to get onto the rock is thinning out so threw in a picket given the large bergschrund right below us to ease our nerves. The snow finger didn’t look like it would last much longer than a week or two, so additional shenanigans may be needed later in the season. By 8 pm we found a small bivy, which we adjusted to make decently comfortable for all three of us and set up camp under clear skies with views of Moraine Lake. Luckily we had no bugs or snafflehounds overnight, just very gusty wind and the occasional sound of rockfall echoing around the cirque. Day 2: Ascent and descent We woke up and made breakfast as the clouds came and went, occasionally completely surrounding us in grey. After breakfast we made a quick 4th/low 5th pitch to the base of the knife edge starting around 8 am. All of us were stiff from the day before and were grateful for the warmup. The knife edge was very fun and super chill! A short section of crumbly rock, but otherwise quite solid. Clouds rolled in and out making it hard to suss out the route above us. The crux pitch took some figuring out and I’m still not sure if I did it right. The first bit was one quick 5.8 move that was quite fun above the old piton and perfect finger-sized gear. The second bit was a weird overhanging hand/fist crack that felt burlier than I expected. I pulled up into the crack then switched to the face to make use of some great footholds. The chimney pitch was quite loose, with multiple death blocks that I stepped on to avoid the crumbly rock-sand. I did not enjoy leading that…. After the chimney pitch it was fun ridge romping up cleaner rock. I was a bit gassed so I handed the lead to Liza. Luckily the clouds cleared and we had some fun sunny climbing. Liza made the mistake of shooting left onto the face rather than staying on the true ridgeline once the ridgeline got more licheny. This led to harder climbing on what looked like cleaner rock, but it had minimal protection and hid multiple death blocks that threatened a scary rope-cutting incident. She shot back over to the ridgeline on the right for more fun and cleaner rock climbing to the summit by 4 pm. No major mistakes happened, but we were way slower than expected with the fatigue, weather, and figuring out our simul dynamic with this trio. We ended pitching out more than we needed to. At this point the clouds started rolling in, so we decided to high tail out. As we began the rappels along the ridge, the wind picked up and it started to rain. This was probably the low point of the day as sideways rain blasted us along the knife edge rappels. After two raps along the ridge, we did two raps down the west side to an easy 4th class ramp that meets the first ⅓ of the W Ridge. We added some tat to some of the weathered stations. Four double raps down the Cat Scratch and we were out hiking! It was great knowing the descent beta from when we did the W Ridge four years ago. Luckily it was still light when we navigated the snow field and slabs below. We got back to the car by 11 pm. Overall: This was an engaging adventure that required a bit of everything. Knowing the W Ridge descent was very helpful. The climbing was not as good as we expected, but the knife edge and some of the upper ridge were a blast. The position, line itself, and the approach are amazing. 4 star line with 2 star climbing (though with more traffic/trundling could be 3-4 star climbing). Overall, an engaging experience, but we are still quite confused as to why this route isn’t called NW Rib because the only time we were climbing what I would call a “face” we were definitely off route… Heading up the snow finger towards Sharkfin (rap we used is just to the left, rather than up in the notch straight ahead): Chossy scramble up to Forbidden Glacier: Snow finger to access the base of the route: Looking down on the the snow finger and the bergshrund below it: Morning at the bivy spot: Looking back down the knife edge: Cruxing: Alex pulling the weird crux move: Liza following the crux: Solid exposure! Summit selfie: W Ridge descent: Gear Notes: Singles 0.2-2 with doubles 0.4-1. 1 picket. Axes. Crampons. Having another 0.3 would have been nice. Approach Notes: Boston glacier approach

Awesome bivy spot!

Thanks both! Chicken fried steak and a Methow Blonde at Three Fingered Jack's is hard to beat!

May 31, 2025 Cutthroat Peak: South Buttress - West Ridge (Shoulder Season Attempt #2) This was my second shoulder-season attempt of the South Buttress - West Ridge of Cutthroat Peak, and my second time bailing due to conditions. The first was back in October 2023, when we turned around after climbing the chimney in icy conditions and finding snow blocking us high up in the notch. This time, an incoming rainstorm shut us down. Alex and I had a lazy start, leaving the trailhead at 8 a.m., thinking we had plenty of time and daylight. The forecast called for partly cloudy skies all day. Since I’d been on the route before, I figured it was a perfect re-attempt to ease into alpine season. Alex was also getting back into trad climbing after a summer or two focused on running, so we thought this would be a great way to get her back in the saddle. We bushwhacked a bit trying to find a creek crossing, then made our way into the meadow and started the climb toward Cutthroat. Such a cool area, it really has that mini-Alaska feel. But it was hot heading uphill in my thick climbing pants. About halfway up, I started overheating badly. I ended up stripping down and hiking in my underwear... a first for me. We reached the gully, which was still snow-filled. After a snack break, we strapped on crampons and pulled out our axes. The snow climb was straightforward and fun, with a snow bridge and a bulge/bridge midway up for a little added spice. The bridge probably won’t last more than another week or two before it turns some rock/snow shenanigans. Off the snow, we roped up and reached the ridge crest by 11. From there, it was mostly mellow ramp scrambling with a few low-5th class moves. The wind was noticeable along any exposed sections, and about halfway up, it started getting colder. Low, dark clouds began to roll in. We checked the inReach forecast, moderate rain was expected by 3 p.m. Still feeling optimistic, we decided to keep going for a bit, knowing we might have to bail. Alex led the chimney and chockstone pitch and started getting comfortable on lead again. I took over for Pitch 6, leading flakes and cracks, which was super fun climbing. But as I belayed, I looked south and saw the nearby Southwest Cutthroat Peak getting swallowed by clouds. By the time Alex joined me at the belay, the clouds had drifted in below us. With visibility dropping and no knowledge of the West Ridge descent route, we decided it would be more fun get beers in town with our friend rather than get caught in bad weather. Descending the South Buttress was a bit of a mess. Lots of faffing about to find rap anchors through snow and brush. Visibility kept getting worse and it started lightly snowing. In trying to rappel as far down as we could to avoid the snow gully, we got the rope stuck and had to leave some gear behind. And we still ended up above the snow gully. Classic. Eventually, we put crampons back on and used our axes to downclimb the gully in light rain. The hike out went quickly, despite a fat marmot on the trail looking like it wanted to fight us. The rain picked up as we moved down, and the upper half of Cutthroat vanished into the clouds. At the creek crossing, we were soaked and tired and just walked straight through the water instead of finding a better route. We got back to the car around 5:30 p.m. All in all, it was still a fun and engaging day in the mountains. Maybe this route’s just saving itself for a mid-summer send. Gear: Single rack, slings, crampons, axe. Captain underpants Up the gully Bailing Downclimbing near the snow step/bridge AK vibes (sans road) Who needs a log? Bailed

For sure @wayne! Sorry took a while, didn't see notifications.