JasonG

Hey Jason4! We crossed early on the advice of a couple of folks we ran into that were coming down from checking out the Mythic Wall (they didn't do any climbing). The travel wasn't terrible on the west side, but it wasn't great either until we hit the talus. Seemed like you might hit talus sooner on the side we went on though? How was the east side? I think it took us about 2 hours camp to trail, so it may be a bit faster than the side you were on. Yes, I don't think most folks will mind the change to Kloke Peak, at least I hope not!

I think it is two more years, as we need to wait 5 years after his passing. But that is a a good point, I should edit the name to be Kloke rather than Skookum to get folks used to the idea. I plan on getting the support of the climbing community, local climbing clubs, and elected officials in the process and will turn in the application along with letters of support on the 5th anniversary of his death. I think the proposed rename fits perfectly with the US Board of Geographic Names criteria. Dallas was on the first ascent of the peak, and it is not officially named on USGS maps. Both Fred and John Roper have expressed their support for the name change. I think it is fitting that a peak known as Skookum - tough, strong, durable, or reliable- could be renamed Kloke Peak. Dallas was the epitome of "Skookum"! As a plus, it is visible from the family home in Anacortes.

Now we're talking. "maggot-filled eyesockets of DEATH" is a phrase you just don't see everyday.

Excellent! Way to tick them off. I will have to make it to the southern end one of these days....

Trip: Twin Sisters Range - Green Creek Select Circuit - Green Creek Arete, NE ridge S. Twin, etc. Date: 7/7/2013 Trip Report: Inspired by Darin's excellent TR recently on this, Gord and I cast off on a Saturday afternoon for camp under the Green Creek arete. We had no intentions of ticking all he did, and I'm glad. Just completing the Green Creek Arete, NE ridge of S. Twin, Jaw's tooth, Skookum, and NW rib (Darin's) of Little Sister took us around 17 hours camp to car! What he accomplished was a pretty amazing feat, but I think the "Select" version of his circuit has much to recommend for the weekend warrior who prefers to travel with partner and rope (though simul-climbing on the extremely textured olivine leads to surprisingly bad rope drag, even with the rope doubled). Just be aware the the bushwack to camp and the stream crossings are the real deal, Darin's not joking! I don't have much to add to the excellent info out there on this great destination, but I do want to stress the quality of the climbing on this select circuit. As has been said, the Jaw's Tooth/Skookum combo is probably the highlight, but I really enjoyed the Green Creek Arete/S. Twin link up as well, having never climbed S. Twin before. And the whole area has a surprisingly remote feel, considering the proximity to the Puget Sound masses. Check it out! Crossing Green Creek en route to camp: Camp under the Green Creek Arete: Gordo sizing up the Arete from the base: Topping out on the Arete. Wicked!: Cinderella and Little Sister from the top of the Arete: Great views of Baker are a constant companion on the Circuit: View south to the Skagit foothills across the Green Creek Glacier: Gordo approves of the climbing on the Jaw's Tooth: RIP Dallas. You are missed! North Ridge of Skookum, love it!: Topping out on Little Sister with the day's tour behind Gordo: Gordo getting psyched for the 'shwack: Crossing Green Creek on the way back to the car: Crossing the Middle Fork Nooksack in the dark by feeble headlamp was surprisingly tricky. The rolling rocks thudding in the river below added to the drama: Gear Notes: We brought a light single 60m rope and a medium rack. Seemed about right if you are planning on belaying anything. 60m rope nice for rap off Jaw's tooth. Crampons and ice axe. We used rock shoes on the Jaw's tooth as it is pretty slabby. Approach Notes: Follow Darin. As he said, this is a circuit that is best done before late July most years. Snow is your friend.

Great climb, but I think most of us are more interested in the TR associated with the last photo!

Don't forget Forest's piece in "The Climbing Life"!! Just got my copy today, and it looks amazing as usual....The cover shot in particular is stunning.

I'm with Gene, sleeping bag compartments are useless. Cut it. Or, better yet, get a +20/30 bag and a smaller pack (40-50l). The 70l could still come in handy for 6+ day trips, but a smaller pack is way more versatile and lighter.

I think we all have climbs where we should have turned around, given our ability and the conditions, but didn't. Glad to hear that it sounds like you recognize this and will adjust future plans accordingly. Luck eventually runs out, unfortunately. That said, I'm glad you held it together and came out of this friends. LR is a pretty serious undertaking in the conditions you experienced, as you now well know!

Awesome! Thanks for the update.

Such a great climb, excellent! Too bad about the stove. I hope it wasn't a forgotten lighter (that happened to me last year). Did you have snaffles at that bivy? That particular ledge is the site of the worst battle I've yet had with those crazy buggers. It started with three coming down the slab above the ledge and the largest one jumping and landing square on my partner's face from several feet up. I saw the whole thing happen in my headlamp beam as I tried to wake him. Talk about a rude awakening! We battled three all night long as they tried to chew into everything we had. Two "moved on", but the last one stayed at it until there was light in the eastern sky. Yep, a 60m half works just fine and is my personal preference for TFT.

Oh, I'm saving some of the Hunter just for you! Yep, there will be plenty of summits for you when you return, stay safe up there!

If you would have kept going on the ridge towards Boston you can basically step onto the glacier with zero shenanigans (I think it is the second notch left from the summit where you traverse down to the glacier). A little bit of rock, but nothing like you guys did. More importantly, great work! That is a fun climb.

Western Southern Pickets. Kind of similar to Bear, but maybe a bit longer. Crescent Creek? To the saddle by the Chopping Block?

Hard, probably like this, only more difficult and committing. I remember climbing along the top of the Diamond on the summit ridge and dropping a rock down a bomb bay chimney the exited onto the Diamond. It overhung enough that the rock I dropped (didn't throw, just dropped) didn't touch the sides of the chimney nor the face for more than 1500' vert, maybe more. That face is WILD! Has it even been repeated?

Too true. Having just dabbled in the Pickets a bit, this is hard for me to wrap my mind around. Strong work!

That is one of my favorite TRs from the archives!

I've wondered if that face on Redoubt may be getting tougher as the years go on and the glacier thins. Seems like a narrow window when it is in reasonable shape these days. Ooops, sorry for contributing to the drift!

So cool! Thanks for updating the blog, I'd been wondering what you were up to. The part that cracks me up is how worried you were about the bears, not the pocket glacier or the incredible amount of solo climbing that lay ahead! Great story all around, a true gem.

Thanks! I read somewhere that they call this area the Snoqualmie Pickets- for good reason, it's a rugged area! I added some captions and a couple more photos... Yes Ivan, as always, whiskey was the key to our success. Thanks for pointing out the omission, I've fixed it. I should also add that for those mainly interested in bagging either peak independently, there are quicker ways than we went. The Lemah snow finger looks fast and interesting, and Chikamin is pretty quick from the PCT or other trails on the SE side of it. BUT Spectacle lake is a pretty spectacular spot, and worth a visit on its own. So, I guess to combine all three in one trip, as we did, isn't a bad way to go either.

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.