JasonG

We came out on 7/19 and had a great time. No problems to report, everything is pretty straightforward. We ended up climbing Formidable, LeConte, Sentinel, Spire Point, and Dome. All had great views, but some were a bit on the loose side (we went up the standard routes on all). Watch out for the marmots at White Rock Lakes, they're fiesty!! We took 7 days total, which was very nice and leisurely. We had enough time for a full day of R&R at WRL and another full day to climb Dome (we spent 4 hours on the summit, lounging in the sun and admiring the view). It was a bit crowded for us (~18 people on the trip between 4 parties), but still lived up to its reputation. Have fun!!

"Ice Cliff Glacier in good shape" - Could you see if the shrund was open leading to the upper couloir?? Thanks

So . . . how long was it taking folks to reach the lake with the boot back in and the road in good walking shape? Not that I'm planning on going or anything . . . Sounds like it is in real bad shape right now

Hargrove1- check your PM's

We wanted to take advantage of the great forecast and get out for a late season trip up the big R. Rumors were that Gib Ledges might be snow covered and in fine shape, so we headed up to Muir on Sat. under clear skies and warm temps. No new snow in a while made for great walking and we arrived at Muir with the afternoon masses. We slept in a bit and got going about 3:30 after a night of relative quiet in the shelter (there were only two others spending the night). Conditions were great for cramponing with firm icy snow the whole way up to Gib Rock. The low snow cover made the going a little trickier than it probably would be in the winter (had to detour around rock bands and cracks), but it still wasn't too bad. We started across the Ledges after a couple of hours and then ran out of snow at the point where you drop down a bit before continuing over to the chute. So lacking the desire to traverse steep choss, we turned around and found a good spot to watch the sunrise. It was so calm that you could have lit a candle up at 12,000'!! So even though we turned around quite a bit short we had a great time and had the mountain to ourselves. That's right NO other people were climbing from the Muir area this weekend-I was amazed. The route would go if you were made of tougher stuff than us, things looked fine once you got to the saddle next to Gib rock. I'd be curious if anyone else climbs the whole route in the next week or so what the conditions were like.

Thanks for the report Mike! If you wouldn't mind posting another conditions update a little closer to the weekend I know more than a few would be appreciative. Like Rodeo, I was thinking of trying to give it a go over this long weekend coming up. And whomever may have climbed it recently your input would be cool too. Thanks much!

I was also there in 97-98 and it did rain A LOT. It sounds like the El Nino this year is supposed to be a lot weaker than 97-but who knows. I agree on Zurbriggen-I think that is our plan instead of the Linda. I was also thinking of heading out via the Boys Gl, but I think I might try to fly out after learning that stat. Yikes!!!

I guess I should be a little more specific. I have the climbing guidebooks, have traveled down there before and realize that the Southern Alps are WAY more burly than the Cascades. That being said, I still think my wife and I could climb some of the big peaks down there and have a fun time doing it. I guess I'm mainly interested in how people thought some of the popular routes down there measure up to some of our Cascade Classics. For example, I think my wife and I would probably have fun on NZ climbs equivalent to local routes like Liberty Ridge, Frostbite Ridge, North Ridge of Forbidden, etc. etc. Although I realize like matt said, that the weather SUCKS! I think I've read that the best thing to have for NZ climbing is patience. We're bring lots of good books to the huts and I think we're going to cheat and fly in with a ton of food to wait out storms. Thanks again for any info, I appreciate it.

I already PM'd Dru about his trip but I though I would ask the whole group on their reccommendations/experiences climbing down in the Southern Alps. My wife and I are headed down from Dec. 15th-Feb 15th with the intent of climbing as much as possible and are mainly interested in alpine stuff like Aspiring, Cook, Tasman, and Tutuko. We aren't crazy hard or even very talented, so please don't tell us to climb NZ grade 5 stuff (this is supposed to be a fun honeymoon not a sufferfest). We are interested in what people thought was fun and worthwhile (for your average Cascade type of climber- i.e. moderate snow/ice/rock). Thanks for any info! Feel free to either post here(for the benefit of others who might be planning a trip) or PM me. Cheers

Hey JoshK- Is a TR forthcoming on the Price??? Sounded spicy with a lost crampon . . .

Just to bring things back on track-there is indeed a sign for "Longs Pass" at the junction with the ingalls creek trail. Not sure how new it is, but it's interesting that the FS signs a trail that isn't on a map and isn't maintained. Maybe I should buy a Trail Park Pass now . . .

If anyone is curious there is indeed an old snow patch just below the true summit on Stuart that lasted into late season this year (maybe a little heavier snow year than most though). As Jared said though it isn't that bad to carry water from the lake (we did). Beautiful area to bivy, even if a bit stormy!!

Thinking of heading up this weekend for an early fall bivy on the summit. Any easy-access snow near the summit?? Thanks.

You talking about this Heinrich? I don't think I've excluded anyone from from PMing me . . . drop me a line if you are trying to get ahold of me.

bringing this to the top. Anybody been on the NF recently? Moat or 'schrund problems?? Thanks for any info . . .

It was a heinous brush bash going DOWN into horseshoe basin from Buckner, I can't imagine coming up. Lots of cliffs and slide alder so big it'd qualify as old growth. As far as the east ridge goes, I second Dale's opinion. I climbed it in '99 and it is a long and chossy adventure. Not steep enough to rap easily, but too loose to downclimb safely solo. Good luck, you're in for one hell of a weekend. . . The plus side is the Fremont route on Logan is really nice-great views and pretty easy.

We had grand plans to do the enchainment, but got as far as Tszil, Rex's Pillar and the normal route on Matier (the shrunds looked bad from below on the north face route, turns out they would have been fine when looking down from above) before bailing partway up the south buttress on Joffre. Some T-storms were drifting our way and we thought it better to bail (probably if we were honest the real reason is we were tired and not feeling spunky enought to lead the 5.8 step in boots). Still, it was a great intro to the area and I would like to return for some of the other routes detailed in "Alpine Select". Spectacular country with miles and miles of mountains all around!

From Friday-Sunday the Joffre group was nice up in the great white north. T-storms all around but sunny overhead. We had the whole place to ourselves, just a few backpackers down at the lakes. Sounds like things were a bit wetter down here.

Rainy Pass repair in the U-District is good.

Although I can't speak about conditions in the last week or two, a month ago the ridge was getting pretty bare. Even though it was a bigger than normal snow year overall, the winds on the upper mountain last year must have been pretty crazy. When we climbed it (June 1-3), it was almost all old ice and neve with very little of this last year's snow on it. I've since read climbing reports from Gauthier that say most parties are experiencing significant amounts of rockfall at all times of the day and night, mainly due to the low snowcover on the ridge. There was a resuce a few weeks back after a guy was smacked on his way to thumb rock. It sounds to me like the route might be a little sketchy right now, but give Gator a ring and he could fill you in with the latest info.

I have to put a plug in for the south ridge of Victoria. Great ridge route with some exposed snow/ice and scrambling. Possibly the best part is staying at the Abbott pass hut and watching all of the flash bulbs going off down at the Chateau Lake Louise. In September the Larch will be golden making the hike in from Lake O'Hara quite scenic (that is when I did it a few years ago). Reservations on the shuttle bus into O'Hara are a MAJOR pain unless you have a hut reservation through the ACC (they have some spots reserved every day for people staying in their huts). Have a great trip, I'm envious . . . .

I got this back on sale (I think it is a 1-2 year old model) recently and it doesn't fit me right (I should have taken a little more time trying it on). I've used it only about 4 times and it is in perfect shape. It will fit people in the 6' tall range and is 4400 cu in (72L?) with a daisy chain on the back along with two tool holsters, ski slots, gear loops, etc., etc. A great pack for those 4-7 day alpine trips or wintertime ski touring. It's a climbing specific pack made with spectra so it's pretty light for its size and features (~ 4lbs). Anyways, I paid way too much for it but will sell it for $200 OBO. Send me a PM if you are interested.

Just a heads up to whomever may be heading in there in the next few weeks. The headwall is already pretty broken up (more so that it looks from below) and will be quite a bit more challenging once a few of the key bridges melt out more. Even in current conditions we had a couple of spicy 'schrund crossings that got our attention. Of course it didn't help that we were getting pounded by the weather yesterday either . . . we could have been off the best line by a little bit due to the bad visibility.

We did it as a three day trip a few weeks ago and it was very enjoyable and laid back. The first two days you are into camp by noon or 1pm giving you plenty of time to rest, hydrate, acclimate, throw rocks at each other, etc. Summit day is a bit longer, but you are still back to the cars in the afternoon with enough time to go out and have a big dinner in town. You guys certainly get the suffer points however . . .

Fred is not dead yet, although he might smell like it.