JasonG

I'm guessing a lightning storm and someone wanted out ASAP. Getting shocked can induce full panic!

Trip: 20th Anniversary Enchantments Madness - Enchantment, Little Annapurna, Cannon (100/100 Smoot), McClellan, Edward's Plateau Trip Date: 10/07/2022 Trip Report: "I love it when a plan comes together" -Hannibal And boy did the plan come together the first week of October this year. Well, actually it started in the late winter of this year when I managed to score (after 12+ years of trying) a core zone permit for Golden Week. Then, I was able to convince my parents and in-laws to take turns harassing our boys so they could stay in school for 5 days while my wife and I went up in the hills to celebrate 20 years of insanity together. And, after all that, managing to convince everyone to stand firm with the plan as COVID made its way through our house in the weeks leading up to the trip. It was close. My wife was day 6 from the start of symptoms as we shouldered packs to begin the slog up Asgaard. Would I get it on the trip? No time to think of that, we had ground to cover. And cover it we did. I hauled nearly all the group gear and alcohol (20th anniversary!) as my wife gamely hacked and gritted her way up nearly 5k to our camp for 4 nights at the base of Little Annapurna. At the last minute we had ditched all technical gear in case we weren't able to overcome sickness. This turned out to be a good call as there was plenty in there to do without a rope. hiking in on a Tuesday, I was struck by how mellow it was -very few people on the trail and we were able to find a most excellent camp overlooking Crystal Lake not in sight or sound of anyone. The USFS does a great job of managing the insanity up there (plus, overnight permits get rock star parking!), considering the crush of humanity that is beating down the door of the Enchantments. Colchuck: Our home for 4 nights: The next morning I was up and away to McClellan while Kim rested in camp. The larches were prime as I traversed across the north slopes of the peak, marveling at the lack of people. Soon, I found myself at the top (some engaging and exposed 3rd), just a couple hours after leaving camp. It is just oh so civilized to launch from a base in the core zone! Summit of McClellan: I quickly jetted back to camp, had lunch, and grabbed Kim for the scenic ramble (class 2) up Little Annapurna in the late afternoon. We waited a couple minutes for two Canadians to have their own time on top before scampering up for our turn. The smoke below added an ethereal vibe to the scene. The Nightmare Needles below were especially cool. Little Annapurna summit: Nightmare Needles, including Flagpole: And then it was back to camp for our evening ritual of wine, appetizers, and watching the sun set on Prusik and Temple: Day 3 was a momentous one for me. I was able to scramble Enchantment (tiny bit of 4th at the top) and Cannon (Class 3, Smoot 100/100 for me) but also found out on the summit of Cannon that Kloke Peak had become official via a text from a reporter at the Skagit Valley Herald. Wow! Returning to camp in a daze it was warm enough that I was able to go for a quick swim in the tarn next to our camp. So many good things packed into one day! McClellan from slopes of Enchantment: Talisman and Rune lakes: Upper Rat Creek drainage, Edward's Plateau, Temple Ridge, Prusik from Enchantment: North sides of Dragontail, Colchuck, Argonaut, Sherpa, and Stuart (L-R) from Enchantment: WR of Prusik head on: You should climb the full north ridge of Stuart: Summit views towards Stuart from Cannon: Smoot 100, Cannon!: Tahoma and Colchuck. NEBC front and center, site of my closest call ever in the mountains: Upper WR of Prusik: How could you not want to explore this valley? Perfection Lake is aptly named: On day 4 Kim was feeling a bit more recovered from Covid (day 10 since start of it) and so we set off to explore Edward's Plateau and the lakes along the way. What an amazing valley! I had always wanted to spend a day in there during larch season and we were not disappointed. We saw fresh bear tracks but no people, wandering around the magical setting for hours, swimming, and scrambling up close to the Mole (It's on the list!). We delayed returning to camp as long as possible, just getting back for appetizers as the sun set on, you guessed it, Prusik. Inspiring reflections in Inspiration Lake: Little Annapurna: North side of Temple Ridge: South face of the Mole is on the list!: Mesa Lake: Lake Earle: Kim and Enchantment Peak: Cliche for a reason. Prusik and Gnome tarn: And just like that, it was down to our last night. Five days goes fast during Golden Week with perfect weather. We drank our last wine as the moon came up over McClellan, marveling at our luck the past few days. We had seen fewer than 75 people over the course of four days and had reveled in the scenery and solitude each day, not sharing a summit with anyone. Looking forward to 20 more years with this lady!: But that was all about to change. Waking up on Day 5 (a Saturday) we started to hear folks streaming by on the trail. By the time we got rolling at 0900 the wave was about to crest Asgaard. Between camp and Colchuck Lake we counted (conservatively) 512 people! And then another 273 people between the lake the the trailhead! While it was a bit entertaining at first, it was highly annoying by the end to hike down against the tide. Most of the people on the trail didn't really have a clue as to how to hike a climbers trail or pass people efficiently. Many were zombie-like, stumbling upward in a fog towards anyone who looked like they were on the "trail". Several times, I would step a few feet off the "trail" (trying to let people pass uphill) only to have someone hike directly up to me, stopping a foot away and staring. "Sorry...... I'm not moving, the trail is over there". But I digress. The Enchantments are deservedly popular, especially during larch season. But don't bother putting your name in the lottery, you'll be dead before you pull a permit. Oh, and I never got Covid. Gear Notes: Love is all you need Approach Notes: For the love of all things holy, please don't hike in or out on a Saturday.

I love this! Choss shamed by none other than the legendary @seano-. This is a special day for me!!! And @seano-, that is the @runningdog in the photo above. You ran into both of us on Forbidden last year, or was it the year before? It was SO GREAT to see you out there in the hills!!

This needs more attention!!!!

Believe it or not, I don't like brush. But I do love good fall colors and a bite in the air. And my thinking was that the steep snow of summer would be more annoying than the talus/scree of fall. I could be wrong!

Maybe it was that I loved the drama of a dusting of snow Sorry, hijacking your TR!

Oh, I just thought that was because the scree/talus was covered in verglas when we did it one fall. Otherwise, I liked it! But nobody ever accused me of being normal.

Cool! I've always wondered about that one. I sort of liked ABP, so this sounds great!

Dammit Gordy! I thought I didn't have to aspire to the SE buttress. Now I got to get it done.

Love it! Thanks for the details on one of my favorite areas. I need to go back, that route looks great! Good to see that the old brass register hasn't been stolen....

The new name is live on Peak Bagger! https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=30752

I'm telling you, wool pants!

"I'll take the next pitch. I've got the right mitts for it!"

Whatever it takes to get a summit!

Get some wool pants @tanstaafl (like Dallas in first photo) and it is all good!

This thread needs a photo or two of Dallas! On the summit of Sauk, winter of 2010: Dallas on the sharp end at age 70, Big Kangaroo:

Thanks everyone! Does anyone know if there is an effort to get a peak named after Fred? Once they are gone five years you can begin the process. But, I've found that it can't be in a wilderness area. Not that I am volunteering for this! Happy to offer advice to someone though....

I'm working on getting it changed on PeakBagger already @Stefan...

Good catch! I emailed Fred and John Roper way back in 2010, not long after Dallas died. Here is what I sent: "Hi guys-I enjoyed talking to both of you at the Bulger Party last weekend, but I forgot to run a Dallas Memorial idea past both of you. Some of those in the climbing community up here (Skagit) are wondering about the feasibility of naming (re-naming?) a peak after Dallas in the North Cascades. I think both of you have extensive experience with the process, so I thought I would contact you to see what you thought. Please be honest, if you think this is a bad or unrealistic idea, feel free to say so.I know most attractive peaks (from a climber's perspective) have a name, even if not official on a USGS quad. While a non-descript rounded summit (presently just named by its elevation) somewhere might be feasible, we were thinking of something that had some Dallas history to it like Hayden or Skookum peaks (I believe Dallas was on the first ascent of both). Some folks also were thinking if a peak didn't work, maybe a face (like the NF of Davis) could be named after Dallas. Anyway, I appreciate you both taking the time to consider this- any advice you wish to share would be much appreciated." Here was Fred's reply (John liked it too): "I'll be glad to sign anything and of endorse it. Either Skookum or Hayden sounds perfect. it's nearly impossible to change an existing name once it's on maps. it takes a huge force of organization and lobbying efforts. Get hold of me anytime. Fred" Note that Fred did not use all caps for this reply! So, this has been a bit of a long road, to put it mildly......funny enough, I found out that "Kloke Peak" had become official a few days ago via text message from a reporter at the Skagit Valley Herald. Why text? I was on the summit of Cannon Mountain (Smoot 100/100 for me).

You beat me to it! Just watched the video and saw the ramp.... COME ON! https://gripped.com/video/mountain-biker-rides-classic-burgers-and-fries-in-squamish/

I would be cool if we could have donations fund the entire site all year, but I guess if not we'll have to go with ads. Maybe try donations for a few months and see what happens?

Yikes!

Few do. I need those veggie holds to winch my fat ass up!

Ah, I think we are defining the word "impressive" differently.

Trip: Mount Carrie - Smoot Direct Trip Date: 09/11/2022 Trip Report: Perhaps the only upside to shattering my thumb this spring is that I have been catching up on my Smoots this summer. In fact, I'm at 99 after an ascent of Carrie a few weeks ago with @cfire. With each peak, I'm pretty impressed with this list ( it is back in print!). Not many bad outings in the book and some are very, very good. This is one of them, not for any classic climbing but for jaw dropping views across the valley at the Olympus massif. And so you'd better like pictures of Olympus, because you're about to be assaulted. Given the long drive we did the trip over three reasonable days: Day 1 was up the Sol Duc to the High Divide (prepare for combat parking at the TH); Day 2 was out to Carrie and back; And Day 3 was finishing the High Divide West to the headwaters of the Bogachiel and back to the Sol Duc. Every day we saw bears out and about, fattening up on berries before the winter snows come. We also saw quite a few people doing the loop in a day (the Olympics version of the Enchantments thru hike?), since permits are hard to get. Despite that, this is a busy loop, lots of people everywhere but Carrie (we saw nobody on our ascent). But, as you'll see below, it is worth the hassle of planning ahead. The High Divide is about as Olympics as it gets! Heart Lake: Carrie in the smoke out there: Olympus! Summit views to the SE. No idea what most of these peaks are, but I know @olyclimber does!: We enjoyed watching the ravens on the summit. They were battling with each other and raptors that invaded "their" territory: Cumbre! Heading down, Hoh below: Carrie is choss pile on the right. Not as bad as it looks though! I lugged my tripod all the way in, but should have looked a bit more closely at the moon phase: The classic Sol Duc falls (I cropped out the crowds): The trusty Civic is still intact with beers inside! Gear Notes: Clothes, shoes, whiskey. Approach Notes: High Divide, clockwise