JasonG

Excellent weekend Brett! Thanks for the reminder that this is something I need to make happen once again, post kiddos, with my own wife.

Really? Every time I have been up Hood in the last 10 years the Hogsback has been in the same spot. I just thought that the Old Chute was easier way to go in the last couple of years, probably due to the glacier thinning above the 'schrund, making the entrance to the pearly gates a bit trickier than it was decades ago. To get to the old chute you traverse west off the line of the hogsback, or at least that is the way it was last time I was up there about a year ago.

You may not like what Kurt wrote, but he's a damn fine guide and climber. And, more importantly, Kurt is a great person who loves the mountains, and teaching people new skills. Just like almost every other guide I've met.

Excellent day, eh? We were taking a break at the col when you came zipping by on the descent. Now you will know the Grouse Creek path for an easier go of it next time. Once you have it dialed, it goes quite fast.

Wow, it is melting fast!

I've always thought that MEC branded stuff was tough to beat for the money: http://www.mec.ca/shop/mens-waterproof-breathables/50089+50796/?h=10+50089+50020+50106+50022

Those be leashes.

Trip: Mt Baker - Coleman Deming Date: 5/7/2013 Trip Report: I thought folks might be interested in a conditions update for this popular locale. You can drive to about 2700' up the Glacier Creek Rd., still ~2.5 miles or so short of the TH- see reply below for more recent info. There is still some road walking, but it is mostly skinnable. Grouse Creek is in fine shape for skiing/skinning, though the snow was slow on Tuesday afternoon. Glacier is well filled with solid bridges over the few crevasses that you do need to cross. We found perfect skinning conditions (no crampons needed) with a 0730 start from the road, and I think it took us about 9.5 hours RT with breaks. It was t-shirt weather for most of the day with almost no wind at the summit, perhaps the best weather I've ever had on Baker. Such a great destination to have in our backyard! The Objective Scott skinning with Thunder Gl. behind Catching our breath after moving fast through the danger zone at the col. 8000+ feet above the car and Kit is ready to get off the pain train. A meeting of cultures on the summit. I love this view of Colfax Gear Notes: we brought glacier gear and boot crampons, but didn't need any of it. Approach Notes: skis, we saw deep post holes from those without.

I finally got around to adding captions. I would be especially interested if someone could identify the peak with the ski jump cornice near the top.

I know, Darin sets a high bar for us dads! Nice work, I need to get down there, preferably with Casey as my ropegun And, as usual, the images are fantastic!

You put your sleeping pad inside your sleeping bag? Or you probably mean inside your pack?

And I'll try to remember to add captions in the next couple of days....

Trip: Spearhead Traverse - Blackcomb to Whistler Date: 4/22/2013 Trip Report: The Spearhead! Gordo admires the view from just before Decker I had been wanting to make this trip happen for the last several years but, for a variety of factors, it never seemed to materialize. When Gordo and Scott did the trip a couple years ago, I thought I had missed the boat. Luckily it is as good as everyone says, and they could be convinced to give it another go. Gear responsibilities sorted, Scott picked me up way too early Sunday morning for the drive north in the rain (it wasn't supposed to rain!) to pick up Gordo in Van. Our first setback occurred at the border when Scott and I realized that the duty free store at the Peace Arch only works if you are going south, not north. We had no whiskey, sort of a major deal, but we decided to wait until Whistler and see what we could find before pushing the panic button. We picked up Gordo up only slightly late continued north, in the intermittent rain to Whis (Gordo informed me that those in the know don't say Whistler). Not much was open in Whistler but a gear store, so we popped in to see where one could find some whiskey at 0900 on a Sunday morning. They laughed, even more so when we said we were serious. Fortunately it turns out, if you are willing to pay top dollar, that there is a private liquor store where you can get royally gouged for a bottle of Wiser's Deluxe on a Sunday morning. Check, on to lift tickets. Buying a single ride lift ticket at Blackcomb is only slightly less difficult than trying cross into Canada with a handgun. I was amazed that they had to physically see every bit of avlanche gear plus skins before they would sell be a ticket. Nevertheless, getting put through 20 questions and paying $50 is an OK trade for 5K of elevation gain, sans skinning. With the drive, and Whis shenanigans, we weren't skinning out of the area until nearly 11am. But this gave the raging blizzard of the morning time to blow through and by the time we left Blackcomb it was only somewhat socked in and flurries. I had Gordo and Scott guiding me so I wasn't worried. Basically we followed the traditional route out past Decker, Trorey, Pattison, and through the Shudder/Tremor col, up to the summit of Shudder and down to a big wind cirque for our first camp of the trip. It was scenic, windy, and COLD. I think it was around -13C inside the Hilleberg that first night, and it was then that we started to realize that the Whistler Alpine forecast is probably for somewhere below 2000m. The next day we got a slow start and continued on the traditional route past Quiver, Macbeth, and Iago to the Diavolo Gl. where we stopped for the second night. En route, we half heartedly tried for Macbeth after dropping packs, but left too much gear behind to feel comfortable going all the way to the top. Next time! Also in this section, my splitboard got away from me and ended up on Lawsuit lake. D'Oh!! Thanks to Gordo for trying to chase it down and bringing it part of the way back up. Truly embarassing, I hope that is the first and last time that happens to me. We got into camp on the Diavolo early and talked about skiing something on Cheakamus, but in the end just sat around in the sun eating and hydrating in preparation for a longer day the next. The second night wasn't nearly as cold as the first due to some high clouds, but we still got a later start after things warmed up a bit. Partway up to the col above camp we dropped some of our stuff and headed up Fitzsimmons, hoping to ski from high on the peak. Breakable crust dashed those hopes several hundred meters below the top, but we had a fun romp up and down, enjoying the spectacular views down the excellent north face ski line. We quickly booted/skied back to our stuff and and skinned up and over the summit of Benvolio, and on to the summit of Overlord. Great views and solitude were the theme all along this stretch, the highlight for me of the whole trip probably. The ski down and around Overlord was still surprisingly good given all the sun, and soon we were skinning up to the Whirlwind/Fissile col where we readied for the first somewhat bad descent of the whole trip (crusty/icy snow). Still, when you are in such surroundings, it is hard to complain. We especially enjoyed the views over to the Castle Towers, where Scott, Gordo, Kit and myself were over New Year's this year. So much good ski terrain up there! We opted to continue to Flute rather than exit Singing pass and the next section started to drag, but we didn't have hordes to annoy us (Gordo says this part is usually mobbed when Whistler is open) since Whistler had closed recently. The Flute summit was empty so we had a nice break looking over the terrain we had covered over the past three days. I can't believe it has been done in less than half a day!! While it would be cool to cover so much ground so quickly, I really enjoyed the relaxed peak bagging of our trip. The scenery is so nice, it is never boring, no matter how slow you go. The run down into the village was surprisingly fun on soft spring snow, and we skidded to a stop right in the midst of the fashionista hordes within a half hour or so of leaving the Flute summit. It was surreal, and a jarring re-entry into lowland life. Pretty funny too. Bring on the huts! Skinning up below Decker Gordo and Scott scoping the route ahead A windy passing through the Shudder/Tremor col Descending Shudder to camp Camp 1 Skinning up to Ripsaw ridge on the morning of day 2 Fitzsimmons Icefall Macbeth Col, quite the view. Camp 2 on the Diavolo Gl. Cheakamus Peak. Gordo's not sold on the idea of eating uncooked Ramen Shortly after leaving camp on day 3 Summit of Fitzsimmons Mamquam! Does anyone know what this peak is?? Scott and Gordo looking small below the summit of Overlord Skiing down and around Overlord The traverse is complete! Gear Notes: Don't forget the Whiskey. Whippet works for peak bagging. Boot crampons helpful for Fitzsimmons. Approach Notes: You can't miss it.

D'Oh! I should have read the gear notes. I have one on backorder and am really looking forward to it. Anyway, strong, fast work was usual Mr. Frieh! I have to think that those smash and grab ascents must seem like a dream when you are back at your office on a Monday morning...very cool.

Sweet! How do you like that new Sirocco?

.....from Argentina! http://twoblindtoride.org/index.html I ran into them on my ride home from work today along a lonely stretch of old Hwy 99. Curious as to where they were headed with the heavy load, I rode along and talked with them for a few minutes about their trip before they told me that they were both legally blind! Amazing, an inspiring story for sure, and not the first adventure that these two have been on. Good luck and God speed Christi and Tauru!

I suspect that the crux will be battling the brush below 2K. The topo and photos make the actual route higher up look pretty reasonable. Of course most of it is threatened by avalanches, so be careful if the forecasted sustained warming occurs. May is the month of slurpee death after all.

Maybe, but there is probably a bit more to the story. Regardless, sounds like the Sherpas got way out of control. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316109/Jonathan-Griffith-British-photographer-injured-terrifying-fight-climbers-Sherpas-close-peak-Mount-Everest.html

Finally got around to adding captions..... Yeah, we thought that the SE face did look a little leaner as well. There appeared to be a couple of old crown lines and a lot of debris below the face. Maybe an avi cycle stripped a bunch off?

Excellent! Much less snow than last year, eh? TR like this always make me realize how torn I am in the spring....ski or rock? Skiing usually wins out, and my climbing ability reflects it.

Ha! I'll try that next time I'm angling for a hall pass from the wife and kiddos- "But I'm on assignment for cc.com!" Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you like the photos.

Trip: Silverstar - Silverstar Creek Date: 4/17/2013 Trip Report: After a week of summer it is hard for me to believe we were skiing boot top powder last Wednesday. But it's true! As most of you know, Hwy 20 opened last Tuesday afternoon, and I was able to rally a crew of the usual suspects to take off from work and enjoy a winterish spring day up in the North Cascades. The weather forecast wasn't perfect, but in retrospect it preserved the snow and made for a fantastic ski. We got a painfully early start so that we could try and beat the weather forecasted to come in later in the day. Still, with the long drive, carpool shenanigans, gas stop, etc., we weren't skinning until about 8:45ish. Lucky for us there were four folks about an hour in front of us breaking trail, and we made quick work up the valley from the highway. Coverage was surprisingly good down low and we were able to skin from the highway (ski crampons helpful). We we broke out of the heavy trees we were all impressed by the view (none of us had been this way before), and my pace slowed considerably to take some photos. Siverstar creek is an amazingly scenic valley, especially in winter conditions. As we ascended higher, the clouds got lower, and a light snow began to fall. The winds weren't bad though, and avi conditions seemed reasonable, so upwards we went on the well set track. We arrived at the col just below the summit and ditched the skis for the final boot/scramble to the top, which was a little spicier than I last remembered it. Thankfully we had Fausto to lead the Gordo step and show us the way. I think it took us about 4 hours to get to the summit, which was much faster than any of us thought. View were predictably limited, but dramatic, making for a memorable ski down, down, down to the valley floor. As we had noted on the way up, it skied much better than expected, ranking as one of my best runs of the season. We were back at the car less than seven hours after leaving, giving us enough time to head down to Early Winters campground for dinner with Scott and Meghan. Many thanks to them for the fine food and drink, and a fitting end to a spectacular day! The Wine Spires: Ski up and down the prominent glacier: Scenic skinning midway up the valley: The view west from just below the summit: Gordo Fausto is a handsome man. Book your trip with him today, dates are filling up fast!: Big Country: This dinner was almost better than the ski, thanks Meghan!: Gear Notes: ski crampons Approach Notes: Silverstar Creek

I heard that Silverstar skied pretty well on Wednesday.

Yep, I think Scott's saying "Dan skied that!??"

Jason- you would be completely fine on Larrabee. It is somewhat steep, but not extremely so. I did put my SLR away for the descent (and forgot my little camera, thus no descent pics) to make sure that I was prepared and carried my ice axe, but it turned out to have softened enough to be pretty fun and not very stressful. Since I am on a split, this kind of stuff (45 degree firm/chunky snow) is about at the limits of what I find fun for going down. Most compentent skiers, with twice the effective edge as a split, wouldn't think twice about it. It is a great trip, and I certainly would recommend it for folks, esp. if you stare at it year after year from the Baker backcountry! There are some truly steep lines off Larrabee though that Dan, the Hummels, etc. ski. Those are impressive and out of my league! Just dropping off the summit to the east to access them looks scary. And yes, we should get out in the hills again!