JasonG

1. Typically last week of July and first week of August, but depends on elevation and which side of crest you are on. A head net isn't a bad thing to bring, but if you go high enough, and stay away from lake basins they typically aren't terrible. 2. Just about average up high, with below average snowpack down low. West side will be fine in early August on most trails. 3. All your choices will take a lot less than a week to ten days, even if you move somewhat slow- you could probably do two out of the three. Devil's Dome and Copper ridge will have better views, but permits for the latter can be hard to come by. Don't need permits for Devil's Dome. Beaver loop is more of a forest walk (though with beautiful old growth). For a true week long trip I would highly recommend going up over Buck Creek Pass, over to Image Lake, and back over Cloudy Pass and Spider Gap. Would only entail a bit of road walking. Or walk the PCT north from Rainy Pass to Castle Pass, then west to Ross Lake and Desolation Peak. Catch a water taxi ride back to the highway and hitch back up to your car. 4. There is lots to see up here in the North Cascades (you don't have to be in NCNP), and on the trails outside of the park you don't need permits. If you are flexible, I wouldn't worry. Also, it isn't a bad idea to have an east side back up plan. The PCT option above is more on the east side, and I would also recommend Horseshoe Basin up on the far east side of the Pasayten. You are picking the right time to come. The last week of July and the first week of August are the driest of the whole year. Looking forward to the trip report!

. When your device is on your harness, it is hard to get a full 180 bend in the rope as it comes out of the device- your body is in the way. Putting the device on a sling gives the space you need to get a sharper bend in the rope, thus more friction. When I've done it, the reduction in effort needed to stop yourself is pretty noticeable.

Did you bring the pickles?

Interesting, I hadn't seen it before either. Looks like once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy to clip.

Glad it hit the spot. That is a fast time, nicely done.

Was your companion a dog, perhaps?

In light of the amount of action the HRT saw during the most recent Steelhead Haven Landslide, I hope that SnoCo is trying to figure out a way to fund them long term. Relying on donations from the public seems problematic at best. Helos aren't cheap.

Finally!

Depending on the spring, that is a bit early for the rock routes up here on the wet side- at least if you want them in their best (driest) condition. Shuksan and Baker should be in good shape if you get the weather. NE ridge of Black may be as well. WA pass, or the Stuart Range, will likely be climbable in if it is gloomy on this side.

Jay, here's another old school helmet: http://www.edelrid.de/en/Edelrid/Sports/Ultralight-red.html This is my favorite of the old ones, and pretty light too.

Thanks for that, I'll forward it to Pat. Sounds like Tim's time researching "The Good Rain" stuck with him. He's a fine writer.

I know, the two seismic signatures are certainly puzzling (at least to me, based on my recollection of the site this winter). I will be interested in what the geomorphs come up with in the final reports.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Expert-Erosion-on-satellite-photo-not-a-factor-in-slide-252985581.html I've worked on the Stillaguamish for more than 14 years and I do know that he isn't very familiar with the site. I don't make that statement lightly. Dave's a good guy though, and my boss had a productive talk with him today about the project we did in response to the 2006 slide.

This will come out in the months and years ahead as qualified folks puzzle through this. My take is that the river was well away from the failure plane and the failure rode over and entrained the old debris before barreling across the river. Dave Montgomery needs to stick to sites he's familiar with and hold off on suggesting causes.

That's a good question. Probably more than 200 but less than 1000. I don't think anyone knows for sure.

Impressive LiDAR isn't it? That "Large B" slide in particular was something that all of us in the office keyed in on when we first got the imagery in 2003. At the time, it was really sobering to see what the geology in this area is capable of. It sounds like many of the residents in this area weren't familiar with the data, unfortunately. SnoCo does have the LiDAR though, I'm just not sure if it is available to the public. I suspect that will change.

Well if it was a one, two event, the "lower" block was still quite high on the slope. the remains of the 2006 failure were low angle and extended 700' from the river to the head scarp. I will need to go back and look at the imagery post 2006 slide, but I'm not sure if there was a stair step above the 2006 scarp. Very interesting, thanks for the link.

Similar rotational motion, but very different geology: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2011077973_landslide15m.html

As Mr. mc said, they are very different. To my eye the Jumbo slide started with a chunk of cliff peeling off and impacting the slope below, causing a shallow rapid slide of mostly coarse material. The Steelhead Haven slide of 2014 is a classic deep seated rotational failure as described above.

That is a great blog! The writing is indeed top notch. Somehow I suspect that even a child won't stop you from climbing inhuman grades.

I'm with Off in that I can't see how the new helmets can be as safe as the old style for real serious rock or icefall, but it would be interesting if anyone could post up the actual test data. Of course, the comfort and lightness of the Sirocco was enough to seduce me away from my old Edelrid.

I think this was posted already, last summer or fall, but now I can't find it in the database. Weird. But just as great the second time around!

That's right Dan, I have fond memories of that trip. Unfortunately, I've not tied in with either you or Kurt in the years since....We need to rectify that!

That is one of the greatest spring climbs in the Cascades and usually not as easy as you'd think, esp. with rime on the summit rocks. Excellent work!

The LiDAR for the Hazel reach is sobering. In the last several thousand years there have been several slides larger than the one that we just witnessed. Dru nailed the geology, something that plagues the NF in several reaches. Think of it as a combination of of moraine and lake sediments from when the Puget Lobe blocked the NF valley mouth. The thing that is interesting to me is that, contrary to what the ST reported, the river was not actively cutting at the toe of the slide. We built a several thousand foot log revetment to keep the river away from the toe of the slide after the 2006 event. It was performing as designed and the material behind the crib wall (extending up to the old head scarp) was very low angle and not in danger of failing. This slide originated much higher (a couple hundred feet above the old head scarp) and overran the old debris, going very much farther than I had expected. Amazing.