mvs

(meganerd's experience happened to me too, I'm going Whatcom pass next time - still a wussy)

awesome!

Awesome climb!!

Go to Koala Rock, nice two-three pitch 5.6. Brogan's Spire is kind of rotten and runout, but only 5.3 or so, and I thought it was fun.

Thanks for watching ("thank you for allow me to post"). Got carried away on that intro, too much vodka. The camera is a standard Panasonic miniDV camcorder of recent vintage, Theron do you have the model #?

RMeshew, DerWanderer, kks and I made a short climbing film of Condorphamine Addiction. Here is a tantalizing poster for the movie: Good music, a few neat scenes, a mysterious intro. Let me know what you think! Hi-res WMV, Low-res WMV. Also wrote a boring trip report here.

Matt, what is that Rebuffat climb? Looks like he's climbing 5.11 in mountain boots...

Darin, I admire your view on the accident! If that happens to me (OMFG, I hope not) I will think of your positive response.

Our party of three in the Icicle Sunday each got at least 2 on us. The canyon is writhing with them!

I just got back from installing a handline/fixed rope to get us all safely around the little corner

I saw an opportunity to get rid of the "boat anchor cam" right away. But I think that pro I have in the picture would prevent a pendulum across the face to directly below my belayer. It would keep the climber down in the 1st pitch cave, which I think is safer.

I've just accepted the fact that all my pantwear is uncool. I'm still a devotee of the shorts and polypro, I've got some hot centerfold spreads I'll hafta post.

It isn't clear from the photo, but my pants are brown and moist.

A cupla pics from the Col Rosa via ferrata, I ran up this before my wife woke up from a late night. I'd guess it is class 5.0. Looking down on part of the route: Looking down on beclouded Cortina: I surprised a herd of Ibex-like creatures. Euros don't start the mountain day until 9 am sharp, so it was very empty and beautiful. Wish I were going back this summer!

I'm not sure where Montebelluna is, but you'll likely go through Bolzano or Cortina on the way there. If you go into a bookstore in either town (the co-op in Cortina is a great place) you'll find Italian/German/English language books. I say that because often there is a whole book dedicated to just that valley, and you can't find it online. Be prepared to try and read an Italian or German guidebook instead! I've done a few of them around the Groedner Pass and Piz Boe. The "Via Della Trincee" north of Monte Rosa has incredible views, well worth a visit. For the harder ones, rock shoes make it more fun :-)

nice!

I agree. Folks like Ira Spring strongly believed that "green-bonding" was the way to get new generations to continue protecting wilderness areas. Busy parents certainly want their kids to experience the woods, but I think the majority of non-fanatic parents can be turned away by hassle and expense. I have seen a family like this at the Ingalls Lake trailhead - they drove away because they didn't have a pass (I advised them to hike, but they were cautious). Disappointing...

Awesome! It is pretty amazing how routefinding occurs even in the densest brush! But I thought you went on a trail to the left of this cliff? That should be the mish-mash in the background of the photo.

I added a bloated/extended TR at http://www.mountainwerks.org/cma/2004/whitehorseg.htm with some more pictures.

Paul, here is the annotated picture. Sadly, it can provide only the roughest idea of the route. Matt, thanks for the beta the other day! I'm glad there is a trail for a springtime ascent.

Climb: Whitehorse Mountain-Whitehorse Glacier Date of Climb: 3/13/2004 Trip Report: Robert Meshew and I started hiking at 6:30 am from the end of Mine Road. A party of four was gearing up to follow behind us. Soon we reached the first av debries cone, putting on crampons after a few hundred feet. We'd have them on all the way to the summit and beyond, as all the snow was frozen hard. Taking a left fork in the gully, we knew we should climb brush slopes on the left side of Snow Gulch. But it looked sketchy, so we climbed into the brushy/cliffy buttress on our right. Thick brush led to cliffs passed on the right. But more cliffs above required a tricky traverse left. Eventually we set up a belay and Robert led 40 feet left across a mossy cliff. After that, brushy slopes gave way to snow again, and a long crampon trip up scoured gullies to the left. We moved right into rolling domes of snow. There are some well-formed ice climbs on the right cliffs. A long steep headwall was a real calf-burner. We reached the basin below the summit, and saw a party of three topping out. The final 20 feet were very steep and icy, you might want a rope. The view from the top was just amazing. We set up a double rope rappel with our three new friends (Bob, Vlad, John), and hiked down the glacier to the High Pass notch (6000 feet). We thought we were taking the easy way down (to Lone Tree Pass and the Whitehorse Trail), but the snow conditions on the south side were bad for snowshoeing or walking. We settled for postholing our way across numerous slopes. We climbed up for 400 feet, then walked tiredly along the ridge to the west, eventually reaching Lone Tree Pass (4800 ft). We were able to remove crampons and glissade a while, but soon encountered scoured icy slopes again. We continued down along the left edge of a major stream, then decided to look for the trail in forest to the left at 2800 feet. We found it! Then we lost it. It was now getting dark, and we resorted to bushwhacking straight down and slightly left. John believed we'd find the trail on the other side of a slide alder field, so we crossed it. It was great to hear him announce he was standing on the trail. Yes, we would make it home tonight! In retrospect we all thought the descent was at least as hard as the climb up the glacier, and wished we had just descended the way we came. We boasted of our manly achievement at an Arlington diner until they kicked us out. Gear Notes: crampons, axe, 30 meter rope. snowshoes used on relatively short portions of the descent. Full-shank boots would have been great for the steep hard slopes. Approach Notes: Ha!

I looked for that sweet granite in Renton, I just couldn't find the cliff behind that school. I'd better read the instructions and try again...

Ooh! Meth lab? Where!

thanks for the votes on my snowpatch spire pic! Now I'll have to spend my whole life trying to top it, a futile endeavor which can only end in misery. Great contest, great idea. Love the humor category winner.

Skiing at Crystal Mtn Friday and Saturday - great views Friday. Shamefully slept in Sunday, went for a trail run at Cougar Mountain at sunset. I tried to scramble the troops for Index Sunday afternoon, but no one was having it :-(