JasonG

Nice work Gene and Curt!!! I love that link-up, tons of great climbing. And don't feel bad, it is a long day from the road, no matter your age.

Trip: Lemah and Chikamin - Standards Date: 6/30/2013 Trip Report: Aside from Leor's TR, there isn't much in the database for Lemah and only a little more for Chikamin. Though not climbing per se, both peaks have a great deal of alpine flavor and are in a rugged neck of the woods for the Alpine lakes. My verdict is that they are both worth a visit for the peak bagger, though maybe not the way that we linked them. It started with Zak, my brother, sending out an email invite this spring to his annual climbing trip. I've tried to make it on several of these trips over the years, but it had been a couple years, so this year I was glad when the date and destination allowed me to join Zak, Brad, and Justin. We were bound for Spectacle Lake for a couple nights to link up Lemah and Chikamin. We began the journey with a muggy and buggy hike up the Cooper River, past Pete lake and up to Spectacle Lake. A lack of a couple bridges made for some stream crossing shenanigans, greatly aided by alternative footwear. We arrived at a mostly empty Spectacle lake in about 5.5 hours or so, only finding patchy snow along the way. The next day we were away by 0500 and soon were 'schwacking around the Lake towards the low saddle SE of the summit. This was somewhat unpleasant, but certainly not terrible. Once at the saddle we continue up the ridge until an easy snow ramp lead north down into the basin on the east side of Lemah. Easy snow led up to a nasty moat that stretched all the way across, about 600' or so below the summit. We found a way onto the rock on the north side, but it involved some 4th class and steep snow (with a bad consequence fall) so Brad and Justin waited while Zak and I continued carefully to the top. The final bit was easy class 3 if you wrapped around to the NW corner of the final rocks. No register. We made it back down to Brad and Justin and traversed below Lemah II and I on our way to a steep snow gully that led over the shoulder of Lemah I. This was a bit steeper and firmer than it looked from below, but went just fine, and soon we were looking down a steep talus and meadow slope to the pass above Chikamin lake. A wild little cirque! At this point the heat and long day began to wear on the team, but we pressed on to the north ridge of Chikamin. This proved to be a bit steeper and looser than we were expecting, so we wrapped around the SW side of the peak to gain the regular route ~150' below the summit. Steep snow and class 3 was the theme on the traverse around, but the summit was mostly class 2 with a short bit of solid and fun class 3. The views were grand as usual, and it was fun to stand on a peak that I had looked at so many times driving by on I-90. But it was getting late and we had unknown terrain between us and camp. We began the descent by dropping SE to Glacier Lake and traversing around it's north side. This was mostly on snow and went fast. We crossed the outlet of the lake (KEY!) and worked our way skier's right down and towards Spectacle lake. This section was pretty brushy, but snow again helped us. Then we got to the lake and spent about a half hour or more in some pretty bad brush and steep terrain, finally finding a fisherman trail that we followed around to our camp on the peninsula. It was a long day, more than 14 hours camp to camp with many breaks. Luckily we had Crown Royal waiting for us. On day three we got a lazy start, but were prompted to move out in the morning as it became obvious that it was going to be very hot. Justin's heels had gotten destroyed the day before and he didn't exactly know how the hike out and stream crossings would go. Waking up in the middle of the night with his heels sticking to his sleeping bag didn't inspire confidence either. Amazingly though, with enough leukotape and gauze, Justin powered out in impressive style, and about 5 hours after leaving we were changing into cotton (bliss!) and barreling into Roslyn for burgers and beer. Until 2014 and the next Zak trip, here are some photos: Chikamin and Lemah from Pete Lake: Impressive waterfall on the trail below Spectacle Lake: Spectacle Lake! Chikamin on the middle/left and Lemah on the right (in cloud) Lemah II and III: Chimney Rock and Summit Chief from the saddle: Approaching Lemah. We went up the obvious snow to the left of the summit, although you can't see the nasty spanning moat low down: Likely unclimbed spires on Lemah II: Zak on the final scramble up Lemah: Steep snow gully on the south side of Lemah II: Slogging around Chikamin lake: Descending Chikamin, Spectacle Lake is visible on the right: Short, solid, class 3 step below the summit: Glacial scouring is evident all around Spectacle lake: Fording a very cold Lemah Creek on the return: Gear Notes: Ice axe, helmet, crampons (maybe). Stream shoes/crocs. Whiskey Approach Notes: Good trail to Spectacle Lake.

Or maybe they took a north side detour, just for fun? Sounds like they weren't short on energy. Entertaining read!

Wow! I had no idea such a glacial cave system existed around here.

Sounds like a good story, do tell.

Thanks Curt! I won't be able to make it, but I'm glad it is out on the web for all to see and hopefully attend.

What's this I hear about a work party meeting at the Darrington RS at 1000 this coming Saturday?

Yeah, keep the Selkirk TRs coming!! Great images, engaging stories, and tons of high quality moderate climbing. I've enjoyed every one of them, and have added to my Roger's Pass tick list.

Uh, that's a chipmunk.

I started to sweat just looking at those photos, wow. I can see why Seahpo doesn't get climbed that much, and I bet Jagged ridge has been done only a handful of times. Truly a wild trip, amazing.

Excellent work, that is a cool climb to one of the more memorable summits around! And, you were smart to go early in the year when the gully is soft snow and bring the bikes for a fast exit.

In addition to what was mentioned previously: Cadet West Ridge of Columbia Gothic Tomyhoi Black Corteo The above are all scrambles and are really nice day trips.

PM Ross, Teleross here. He is in SoCal now, if I remember correctly, and should be in the know. SuperTopo gets quite a bit of use in Cali though.

Just bring a rat trap, they're light. Welcome to the jungle.

Thanks for adding to the list Darin, looks like some fantastic climbing, esp. the South Twin and Skookum portions of your trip. Tthat is a huge amount of terrain to cover in a day, very cool! Loved the images as well, we were admiring the Range from Sherman on Saturday and talking about going back in there. But, as you mentioned, admission to the valley doesn't come free. Some classic 'shwacking to get in there.

Kevino- Drop me a line when you are over this way and I'll be happy to take some glamour shots of you. Maybe we'll even go skiing. Scott- It is tough being in the mountains with Gordo, the adoring masses almost are too much. BTW, thanks for those Kokanees, we put them to good use!

Talk to Colin: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/685563/ Or Mark Westman: http://www.markwestmanimages.com/ They climbed it together a few years back.

Interesting to see why there are a range of ski packs made. To each, their own . .. . Over the years, there were enough avalanches where the surviving members' avi gear was ripped from the outside of their packs to warrant the change in instruction. Pack designers took heed as well, making for an easy change in behavior.

Well, I was talking an insulated sleeve for the hose as it travels down the shoulder strap. I've never had the bladder itself freeze in the pack, but hoses are an entirely different story in the winter. "Front pack" for skins? Like a separate pack? I often use my shovel on tours, it comes in handy to investigate the snow pack- but I've never had to dig anyone out, thankfully.

Trip: Sherman Peak - Squak Gl. Date: 6/22/2013 Trip Report: More of a conditions update than anything else for this mellow and mildly popular ski destination.... You still can't drive quite all the way to the TH, though quite close. With the Heliotrope TH out of commission, it is a zoo on this side of the mountain! Expect 100+ people on a weekend day. We started skinning a couple hundred feet above the cars, though pretty soon you will probably need to use the trail for this section. As you would expect, the Squak Gl is easily skinned this time of year. We brought glacier gear but never roped up and crossed few obvious bridges. Ski conditions were quite sticky with the new snow from the past week not yet corn. Low down (<6000') there was a short bit of fast corn, before the sun cups began to get annoying. We tried and failed to take the drainage all the way through the canyon and had to hike back up and boot down the rib we came up in the morning. All in all it was a forgettable ski, but the views were anything but. Sherman has a fantastic view (Neither Gordo or I had been up it before), and a very cool summit ridge finish, making for a fun alpine outing. I will certainly return again to ski it with some better corn conditions. And, I will probably again have the summit to myself, which is always a welcome change on a busy Baker weekend. Squak Gl. and Sherman Peak. Lincoln and Colfax are constant companions on this tour. Gordo, just after the crater right turn. Gordo Glamour shot. Don't even try to resist! The summit! Airier than I was expecting. How many people do you count on the Easton and Squak? We counted 45+ (not all in this frame) Don't go this way! Better make sure you have enough Kokanee for Gordo. When Gordo gets mad, Gordo gets strong! Gear Notes: skis! We saw many suffering without flotation, or with, in the case of snow shoes. Approach Notes: Follow the early season masses, then turn right at the crater.

Strong work!!! I will order a copy for sure. Thanks for keeping Dallas's dream alive and improving on it. Again, many thanks!!

Thanks for the detailed review! A couple questions/thoughts: No insulated hydration sleeve? This seems problematic for the winter. Only one snack pocket on the hip belt? Seems like the wet stuff is packed with the rest of your stuff, without a way to get to it separately from the rest of your gear? Can you cram skins in that same pouch with the shovel? Personally I much prefer the style of the BD Revelation. But, like most good packs, they've stopped making the non Avalung version. Still, you can find them online for not much. A little bigger than the Cilo pack, but I've found it often welcome when carrying an SLR and climbing gear. I've had it for a few years, and I've yet to see anything I like better. It's a fantastic ski pack.

Right, crampons. I forgot that most folks don't know how to put crampons on and wouldn't see the potential mis-match coming before their trip. Still, if they are that clueless, I sure wouldn't trust their self arrest or crampon skills to be up to the Old Chute.

A person's choice of boots won't help all that much if they don't know what they're doing.

If you tell me whose initials are written on it, I will get it back to you. Found around 5500' below the Squak on 6/22 in the late afternoon.