zoroastr

Post deleted by zoroastr

Climb: Sloan Peak-Sloan Glacier - solo day trip. Date of Climb: 8/20/2005 Trip Report: Thought I was going to have to work this morning, but last night my vicious taskmasters at M****soft relented, and, suddenly faced with the prospect of an entire mad weekend to myself, I naturally bolted for the hills. I resolved to get some payback on Sloan Peak's Corkscrew Route, a climb from which Erick Johnson, Rick Peder and I retreated in a previous early-season attempt, owing to deep powder on the scramble section. --Rick, if you see this, I still have your fleece jacket, and you're not getting it back. It's stylish, comfortable, and extremely well-travelled, having visited many interesting summits since you left it in my car two seasons ago... First glimpse of the Sloan Glacier--it was at this point I regretted packing only my 4-point crampons... I didn't shrink this shot much, to show what a mess the Sloan Gl. is right now. There are very few comfortable routes through this nightmare. If you're planning to get the route before the snows fly, don't delay. Approaching the top of the Sloan Glacier and the beginning of the scramble section--actually, there's a surprising amount of hiking left to do on the other side after leaving the snow. Here's a shot of that magnificent climbers' trail. Another shot of the backside climbers' path, approaching the scramble section. Note the rap sling at the top of the tower. The climbing on the tower looked low-5th--memo to self: bring rope and partner to snap kewl tower shots next time! The summit itself was awesome, but the parade route offers only 3rd-class climbing, and precious little of that. The spectacular Sloan Glacier traverse is really the highlight of the route. The morning's tea was served in antique Wedgewood with art deco flying bird design... Gear Notes: I brought: * inadequate, instep crampons--bring real ones. * axe * two Pop-Tarts, 2 bananas. Approach Notes: All clear up to the glacier. Owing to the condition of the Sloan Gl., though, this one's fading fast.

I didn't actually leave food on top, but that's a really interesting idea: stashing stuff on summits for other people to find. Earlier in the season when I was doing a conditioning hike along Banana Ridge in the I-90 Corridor, I found a Geocache--you probably have heard of this; it's a fascinationg hobby for people who are into GPS. Anyway, today I hiked up to the top of the little peaklet behind Gem lake to scope out some routes on other low-grade peaks in the area, and I was surprised to find a nice little cairned path up the hill. If you visit Gem Lake anytime soon, don't forget to take the extra 20 minutes to get up that hill--the views really open up and you can see the whole system of approach trails for Roosevelt and other bumps. I'm planning a big loop hike that'll go from the Melakwa lakes, to Roosevelt via Chair Peak Lk., then over to Gem and out to Alpental--low angle, but should be fun. --later

An entertaining read and fine pics--thanks!

Gr8 t.r. J'ever get the helmet back? I climbed with a guy once who threw his treking poles. Hilarious. Tough to keep a straight face...

Yeah...those things were nasty--the sub-summit turned out to be a much nicer place to hang out. Looking back, it seems that lots of the summits I've visited had large colonies of insects on 'em. Last season, the summit of Forbidden Peak was swarming with lady bugs--weird. Any idea why? Lack of predators, maybe? I dunno.

Climb: Chair Peak-N.E. Buttress - mini T.R. Date of Climb: 8/13/2005 Trip Report: Erick Johnson and I thought we'd try out his quickly healing ankle injury on something easy and short. The N.E. Butt. of Chair Peak fit the bill perfectly: laid-back, not too comitting, comfortable and familiar, like an old pair of shoes or a good friend. The only surprise on this day was the complete lack of others on the popular route. Sunny skies, gentle breezes, and solitude--does it get any better? Pretty Gem Lake seems to hang suspended above the vast expanse of Snow Lake, statistically the most visited of the Alpine Lakes. Photo taken from the start of the climbing route at the base of the N.E. Buttress... I hadn't done this route for years, but It seemed perfect for a local, mid-summer day climb. A pitch or two of easy 4-th class rock for starters, followed by a long rope carry over the low-angled heather of the mid-section, and finally, some enjoyable 4th-class ledges terminating in an interesting low 5th-class crux pitch to the final rap station [big tree]. A bit of exposed but realxed heather leads from here to the summit. Descent was accomplished via the first rap gulley to the south of the summit. A snow remnant in the basin near the Thumbtack will provide fresh, cold water for at least a couple more weeks. Erick Johnson, ankle throbbing, sorts out rope high on the Buttress, with Snow Lake in the distance below... John Cain looks south into a mid-August haze from a sub-summit of Chair... This one's out of focus, but funny. While descending "en rappel," I discovered this curious gnome cowering from my party-inflicted rockfall under an overhang in the rap gulley. Boots by Ringling Brothers... Of course, the day started with fresh-baked scones and a bit of "the cup that cheers but does not inebriate." In this case, served in Royal Chelsea fine bone china [England], with flying ducks pattern. The tea: C.T.C Fine Assam, from Upton Tea Importers. Gear Notes: I brought: * stout boots * small rack to 3". * shades and sunscreen * 1 box Chocolate Chip Pop-Tarts. * 2 bananas Approach Notes: Trail clear all the way in--enjoy!

My hat is lifted, gentlemen. Now that you're warmed up, I've been lately considering a one-day outing to Dome Peak....takers?

Awesome effort...rope snags SAWK!

Na, ja...ich kann aber nur wenig Deutsch, denn ich verbrachte erst vier Jahre in Westberlin. Dort arbeitete ich als uebersetzer bei der Amerikanischen Luftwaffe. ---Bergsteigen mach viel Spass!

Thanks! ...you a fellow tea freak? I caught the bug several years ago when I discovered that the "broken grades" from the Assam region of India have a body and strength that actually make them good substitutes for coffee. I get mine from Upton Tea on the web--a direct importer based on the east coast of the U.S. The china in the pic is my everyday shit; future T.R.'s will feature scone shots showing some of my nicer bone china pieces, which folks started giving me when I got a rep for being a tea fan. Thanks ...

Awesome trad route--very reminiscent of the E. Ridge Direct on Forbidden. Strong work!

Very nice mini-epic hike! Must give that one a try...thanks for the t.r. )

Fisher brand Cranberry and Orange - with a friend's homeade blackberry jam. "Add water, knead and bake" ..basically sums up my cooking abilities....

I'm in awe... Congratulations on a great climb.

Re: Mineral Peak - I'm probably heading up that thing again this weekend to do it right, and I'll snap some Mineral Peak shots. I'm not much into peak recognition, and don't have nearly the encyclopedic knowledge of the 'Scades that you have, Klenke, although I'd like to someday. I'm always amazed at the sheer number of your Summitpost entries--strong work! BTW: is that a German name? Wenn ich fragen darf, was ist deine Heimatstadt? Re: Camera - Canon Powershot A510, the first camera I've ever had that produces something other than just vague blurs. --Cheers ---Here are a couple more snaps, one looking back at Ruth from the upper slopes of Icy and showing the location of the World's Shittiest Gully, the other showing the scones I made before leaving for the hills. Can you tell I haven't had the camera long? Be nice, or I'll start posting my baby pictures--you have been warned....

Climb: Ruth Peak / Icy Peak Traverse - solo day climb-standard rts. - both peaks Date of Climb: 8/6/2005 Trip Report: Saturday, with my climbing partner still on the injured list, I again turned to something more aerobically than technically challenging. The climb up Ruth Peak and then over to Icy Peak was recommended by Erick Johnson as a good, long day. After seeing the nice windbreaks someone had built atop Ruth, though, I realized what a great two-day outing this would make. Here's a shot of Ruth from the approach trail. The trail moves up the obvious ridge and onto the glacier for a relaxed, easy snow climb. I started from the car at 9:30 a.m. and topped out on Ruth at noon. The whole thing took 11 hours, mainly due to route-finding snafus atop Icy. I met a friendly group of Ruth summiteers on the way, and spent a nice half-hour with them on top before proceeding to Icy. Here they are starting their snow climb... Balancing atop Ruth Peak, with Shuksan in the distance, and Baker further beyond... Goal #2 for the day: Icy Peak as seen from a point about halfway up the slender, and at times exposed, approach ridge that leads to the upper glacier. Icy has a rather complex summit system. In fact, I wasted over three hours exploring the back side of the peak and climbing the wrong summit tower. Suggestion: study the beta on this one carefully before heading out. After leaving the glacier on Icy, the climber can see the various summit towers from the opposite side of the peak. I mistakenly made a descending traverse across the ice field at lower right, then climbed the right-hand tower only to discover that it wasn't quite as high as the left. A shot of one of the towers I climbed. It was a fun ridge climb, that trasitioned from class 3 ledges, to a short class 4 section, with some low-5th moves at the top--all wasted effort, of course, since this tower was actually lower than the true summit [grrr!]. Gear Notes: brought... *axe [needed] *crampons [not needed] *2 bananas, box of Safeway generic Pop-Tarts (at best, a pale imitation of the genuine article) Approach Notes: bare trail, then glacier, then easy rock--assuming you find the right tower.

Damn. There I go again. I must remember not to give voice to what every other man is secretly thinking but is to hypochritically puritanical to admit. Actually, you can relax, ladies...I've never even somked pot, and I'm old enough that the only thing a young prostitute could possibly give me is a quick trip to the E.R. ---cheers.

...bored, so jumping in with both size 13's... ...[sigh] if only the Great Unwashed were as contemplative! In most cases, it's a simple search for pleasure--be it sexual, gustatory, etc.--and the avoidance of pain. Ever been to White Center? "Stone walls do not a prison make, etc., etc..." Sure, but whom are you describing? Certainly not the vulgar herd! Judging from the rampant, global spread of consumer culture and it's animalistic, grab-with-both-hands ethos, I'd say there are plenty of counterexamples to your claim who've yet to make the realization that "freedom does not come from external situations or circumstance." ...poetry. ...come on...this one's clearly not worthy of you...next? ...paging Shirley Mclain...Ms. Mclain, are you there? ...eyelids getting heavy now...drifting...drifting...zzzzzzzzzz I agree, but unfortunately, there's no check box on my tax return for "Multi-Dimensional Being." Tell me one thing only: how deep do I have to go to create a bag of coke and a sixteen-year-old prostitute? hmmm?

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0325/news-rei.php

Do yourself a huge favor by not strapping half the REI inventory to your back. The couple of times I've done the Kautz GL. route, I was astounded at the packs some folks were lugging--enough to make a seasoned sherpa do a double take! Basic glacier travel and crevasse rescue equipment should suffice to get you through what is essentially a well-beaten boot track over a moderate snow climb. Of course, the neat thing about the Kautz is that it offers some more sporty options en route. Here's a crappy pick from one of our trips about 15 years ago.... --cheers

It's frustrating to read awesome TR's like this one and see these postage stamp-sized pics. Great climbs like yours deserve correspondingly grand image sizes. Don't even bother with the local Gallery tool; if your ISP gives you some storage space, or if there's any server on the internet where you can store your shots, just use the IMAGE tag to link to them in your report. The FAQ link from the CC homepage walks you through it. --hope this helps...

Thanks for the nice comments 'bout my snaps. Of course, I cropped and shrank 'em way down--the originals are huge res [1600 X 1200] shots that whould never fit a screen. The images are tweaked for gamma, color saturation and sometimes contrast, using ThumbsPlus, the greatest file editor/sorter ever, IMHO. --thanks again

I just did it solo this morning--see my T.R. Seriously, once you're on route, it never goes above class 4 in the standard central gulley. There's always a convenient ledge to catch the highly improbable slip, and the scrambling itself is pure pleasure--lots of jug handles and bomber footholds. I'm not a serious rock climber. I've never owned a pair of rock shoes, and have never ventured above 5.7 routes in my Frankenstein signature Vasque moutaineering boots, and honestly, once I was on the route, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. It took about 20 minutes.--cheers

Climb: Mount Shuksan-Sulphide Glacier - solo day climb Date of Climb: 8/2/2005 Trip Report: Hello... Just a quick T.R. about a nice day in the hills--sorry about some of the pics being a bit large, including this shot of my constant hiking compnaion, Mt. Baker.... My partner's still out with a bad ankle, so I took off this morning to grab the Sulphide Glacier Route on Shuksan. Left Bellevue around 5:30 a.m. and was on trail by 8:30, and in the glacier boot track by 10:30. Took it easy on the glacier, listening to tunes, snacking, and doing plenty of slack-jawed gaping at the incredible scenery. Much cooler today than a few days ago when I was in the same area--never seemed to get much over mid-to-upper 70's, with just enough occasional cloud cover to cool things off without obscuring the views. The summit pyramid was fairly straighforward, involving a short rising traverse of a small remnant snowfield [large, established boot track, 40-degree slope], followed by 20 minutes of easy ledges, interrupted occasionally by short one and two-move 3rd and 4th-class scrambles. Here's a shot of the pyramid above a heavily-crevassed Sulphide Glacier [easily skirted by keeping to the boot track to the west and probing apparent bridges]... Heard some distant voices as I approached the pyramid, and eventually noticed a large party strung-out along the route. It turned out to be a guided group finishing a 30-day outing in the Mt. Baker area. Fortunately, all but two of their group were on top by the time I hit the route, and the last two graciously allowed me to climb through. Our intimate group of 13 kicked it on top for a while. They hadn't had any news from the outside world for a month, so I filled them in on the latest gossip--Middle East, London, Major League steroid scandals, etc.... A parting shot of distant Baker Lake from the Sulphide Gl. Gear Notes: I brought an axe, crampons for the upper snowfield, small day pack with tunes and Rice Krispy Treats [the 11th Essential]. Approach Notes: Several lunar craters on USFS Road 1152, small cars beware. Abundant salmonberries on the approach trail--come hungry, leave satisfied.