mvs

Thanks AJ, and thanks to everybody else who came! --Michael

Hi, don't mind me, just "refreshing"... --Michael

Hi all,My wife Kris and I will put on a slide show about a trip we took to the Dolomite Mountains. Place: Redmond REI storeTime: Wednesday, January 16th, 7:00 pm It lasts about 50 minutes. We got some pretty good climbing pictures on multipitch routes in the Cortina valley, and had an incredible time. So come clannish Cascadians! Rise from your caves! Come down from your icy redoubts! Let the heavens hear your mighty "Yawp"! Okay, nevermind about the yawp. Hope to see you,--Michael

Thank you Fred. Phil has a great report about the Main Peak, but was as curious as I am about the West Peak(s). Or it may be a clever feignt... --Michael

Hi folks,Has anyone been up there? It doesn't seem quite as difficult as the main peak (Beckey calls it a "taxing workout", which is better than a hazardous enigma any day). But it sports a south face route that ascends clean slabs, this sounds pretty interesting. It was first climbed in February! Thanks all,--Michael

Hi Drew,A glacier axe is enough, but don't forget crampons. There wasn't enough flat terrain for a tent, as the summit seemed to be mostly cornice. A better spot might be ~300 feet lower on the ridge at a relatively flat area below a rock step. I would hate to bivy up there in a snowstorm and have to worry about making it down without triggering a slide the next morning! Have fun!--Michael

Here are some conditions info: This morning I climbed Red Mountain via the Southwest Slope. Snow conditions were pretty good, with a packed trail leading to the end of the flat part of the Commonwealth Basin. I had hoped for very icy slopes, but settled for step kicking. Great views to Kendall and Snoqualmie Peaks on the way up, but the summit view was "cloud interior" and blowing snow. Out of the trees the travel was on wind slab which seemed stable, but was constantly loading with snow blown from the east. I saw no other parties. The steepness of the climb was fun, but probably best on a very cold day! 5 hours round trip. Happy climbing! --Michael Stanton

This might be the other web page: http://www.geocities.com/peterclimb/hall/hall.htm

John Lixvar and friends climbed the top 100. Really neat article about it here:http://boealps.org/echo/apr99.html#chapt1 --Michael quote: Originally posted by gearbot: Thanks Alpine Tom for the link. Great information there. Second question,has anyone out there climbed the highest 25 (50, 100) peaks in the state? How long did it take you? Is it worth it? Any interesting stories? G.B. [ 12-15-2001: Message edited by: gearbot ] [ 12-15-2001: Message edited by: gearbot ]

quote: Originally posted by Stefan: Does anybody know of any rock climbing potential on the island of Oahu? It's not technical climbing, but there are some great scrambling peaks. I was there last week and can recommend Olomana as a great scramble. There are ratty fixed ropes on some exposed sections. Also the standard route on Kaala (highest peak on the island at 4000 feet) is pretty athletic. For a long day, descend the Dupont route from the summit, then retrace your steps on the standard route. You can't exit the Dupont route without permission from several landowners (sigh). On the flight over I saw a video of technical climbing there, it reminded me of Frenchman's Coulee climbing. There were some obvious bolted cracks, but I was the only one gasping with indignation. Verdict - way too hot for climbing, either go to the ocean or scramble/hike the peaks! --Michael

quote: Originally posted by texplorer: Oh yea, when I start sloggin up a mountain I like to whistle the imperial march from star wars. Sometimes when I get up high I even wheeze like Vader. Holy cow, I do the exact same thing. The Imperial March has stuck with me since the third grade, and gets airtime during boring slogs, dicey frozen mud climbing, and everything in between. Any cheesy song from "The Sound of Music" is good too: "climb every mountain", "the hills are alive, etc." Oh I'm real fun. --Michael

I changed the domain name, it is now http://www.mountainwerks.org/cma Thanks,--Michael

This is a good illustrated trip report about the route: http://students.washington.edu/ericeh/Trips/Constance/MtConstance2.htm Congradulations, Marek --Michael

This guy got tired of being spammed. Look what he did to them. http://belps.freewebsites.com/index2.htm --Michael

Hi all, has anyone been up there in the last 1-2 weeks? I'd like to go this weekend, but am wondering if it is too late in the season. Thanks for any info! --Michael S.

I am known by a dozen names in a dozen worlds. Though my presence is felt in this world, I am not of it. Rather, my considerable girth can be discerned in the Fata Morgana. Some call me "Mango." Seriously, what do you mean "of two worlds?" Probably not me... When they say the area is closed does that mean to foot traffic as well? What would happen to you if a heat sensor caught you biking the road? Just wondering, --Michael

We tried to go to Static Point today, but the gate on the Sultan Basin road about 13 miles in is locked, with a sign that the area is closed for public safety. On the way out, we saw a sign at the junction with highway 2 (only visible if you are travelling west) that said the area was "closed for winter". There was a phone number of the public utility comission, but I didn't write this down. This may save someone a drive? --Michael S.

If it helps, I've ignored the rain forecast for Leavenworth 3 times this year, and been rewarded with partly cloudy skies once I get there. Dru, I can't stop looking at that GIF!

It is documented that the Irish have bad weather on weekends due to U.S. east coast smog produced during the work week. This sucks for them! Perhaps we're getting some of this from Asia?

You could go around Glacier Peak. I think this would provide more beauty and solitude. I was in the neighborhood last weekend, and the Buck Creek Pass (east side of the mountain) area was incredible.

I heartily second the Montrail Moraines recommendation, I love these boots for mountaineering. They don't have a full shank, so if you are on snow from the parking lot, you might take something beefier. But for the majority of trips in the Cascades I take (~4 miles of trail, then snow, finally 2000 feet of snow/hard snow), they are an excellent boot. --Michael

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"Little-league" style competition would have killed my love for climbing, had I been subjected to it. Thank god I wasn't twisting up 5.12 in 6th grade. It's the last thing I would want to do now. Not that I'd do anything but twist painfully off a 5.12! --Michael ps - however I'm sure young Aidan here would love a field trip to Little Si! Pitch it as a self-esteem workshop...submit a lesson plan!

I've also got the OR advanced bivy. The tiny poles make such a big difference in getting some sleep on a rainy/snowy night. They keep the fabric off your face and allow for ventilation too.