JasonG

Sweet! I've wondered about this one....

So....no ropes or glacier travel @Cascade Renegade? If so....Thornton Peak, West MacMillan Spire, and Mount Prophet would fit the bill. There are other options other than accessed by Hwy 20. But any of the above are still full on adventures where you could easily be hurt or killed if you aren't experienced in off trail travel and scrambling.

Well done, that's a big day!

I gathered that. We were chatting for a bit since he was lapping the upper part of the Boulder route (above the crater) while waiting for the Coleman to soften. He was telling us that he had done the Nooksack traverse (in a day) a couple days prior . His advice on how to get as fast as him? ...."volume". Ummmmm, yes. I think so! Though we didn't look closely.... We were doing a leisurely 2 day trip so it was nice to camp low on the ridge above the fixed line. It actually looked to be in fine shape, at least the part above the snow. Worked great as a handline, but you could have easily put a prussik on it if we had dug our harnesses out. There are many rings to rap off of using a rando rope on the way down, if you are so inclined.

Thanks for sharing your trip to a far flung corner of AK! Glad you made it back safe.

So true. The climbing is easier but at least I am working harder than ever.

We couldn't quite see around the corner so I don't have anything to report. Sorry! We may have hit it better than your Halloween ski, but I have to say that your idea for last weekend was perhaps a bit better. I plan to copy you (maybe not the exact lines, however) in the next couple of years!

It is true @Bronco! Mostly it is because snowshoeing is.....uh....fun? On that particular day I hate to admit that they were the proper tool though. We found zero good snow for skiing from 3800' to the summit. Mostly it was varying crusts over isothermic mush.

After using some beat up Scarpa Matrix and Voile mountain plates for the past 15 years, I finally upgraded this season. Atomic Backland Pros (heel hold isn't fantastic with the BOA system) with Phantom Link Levers (these are really great), Phantom Toe pieces/ski crampons, and Spark Dyno DH bindings. Pretty sweet set up, especially for the up! It still isn't perfect for down, but getting there. I wish someone would make a ground-up splitboard boot. I tried the Phantom slippers but sent them back- not really close to ideal in my book.

Well, I knew he wore Spanx for a reason.

It appears @olyclimber jokes may have been appropriate.

Well, sorry @Bronco.....this is a full size jpg from a 24mp DSLR (over 8mb file).

Trip: Kulshan - Boulder Trip Date: 05/16/2021 Trip Report: Reports from this past Sunday on the Coleman sounded.... uh..... busy. On the flip side of the mountain we camped and skied alone (though three parties skied it Saturday and one party ascended to ski a different line Sunday). Those willing to endure a few shenanigans can still escape the masses, I guess. Nevertheless, @cfire @Trent and @Kit were skeptical that I could find the mountain without a beat in cattle trail. But find it we did, and it ain't getting any easier. That is the funny thing about climbing as you age, it is painfully obvious that while the mountains don't change all that much over the decades, we certainly do. Though a young guy on the summit (Ingmar, ripping skier) told me that I was in my "prime years", I don't think any of us felt that way on the slog up. I know I certainly felt a bit different than I did when I first ascended the route in the 90's! Still, I think it was about 5.5 hours up to the summit from our camp at 4700', so I guess we aren't doing too terrible. Compared to the 8ish hour round trip (from the car!) of the three young dudes we ran into Saturday, however, it certainly isn't anything to brag about. But, sitting on the snow couch, sipping whiskey, chatting, and admiring the setting, it is hard to complain about a few creaky joints. We have a beautiful backyard, and that hasn't changed. Gear Notes: skis, ski crampons, boot crampons, helmet, axe, glacier gear Approach Notes: snow blocked road about a mile below TH. Snow patchy to about 3400' where it is more or less continuous to the summit. There are a few suspect snow bridges above the cleaver (9000+), everything well filled and easy below.

Trip: Beebe Mountain - NE ridge Trip Date: 05/02/2021 Trip Report: A few weeks ago, @Trent and I missed the Seattle memo that everyone was to leave town with their bikes and convene at the Ross Dam TH to bike the highway before it opened. Because of that we started early enough to be quite surprised upon our return to see a steady line of bikes on the highway, going both ways! We also missed the dude backing his Sprinter over a carbon fiber road bike in the parking lot (his bike, thankfully). Apparently they make quite the pop when they explode. But I digress. BEEBE! BEEEEEEBEEEEEEEEE! Why isn't this peak more popular, given the views and access? There isn't any brush to speak of and you are pretty much guaranteed solitude in the increasingly slammed North Cascades. Is everyone on the Birthday tour? Maybe the lines will form when the snow melts and people are stuck in traffic on 20. May as well pull over and grab a summit! Just be warned that there isn't flagging any longer. We pulled a ridiculous amount down on our way up, filling our pockets. C'mon people, it isn't a hard mountain to find! Oh, and just make sure you wax your snowshoes if you go early in the season. We saw what my wildlife biologist friends called wolverine tracks Gear Notes: Bikes and .....sigh....snowshoes Approach Notes: From Hwy 20 follow timbered ridge just south of Beebe Creek

Well, I trust @Bronco is just trying the "choose files" option at the bottom of the little box here and is running into size issues? I always re-size from Lightroom when I do TRs so I haven't ever had issues. Also, I don't have an iPhone. That also seems to be an issue, those HEIC files.

Yeah, they aren't compatible with the site.

That is a good question @bronco..... @olyclimber?? @jon??

Glad you had a good intro into the HWY 20 corridor! Just an FYI on a couple things....Neither Ruby or Silverstar are in NOCA- Ruby is in the Ross Lake Rec. Area (administered by NOCA, however), while Silverstar is in an unprotected area of the Okanogan Nat'l Forest. Highway 20 doesn't actually touch NOCA anywhere, though you can see into the park from it. Burgundy col isn't the col below the summit, between the summits, rather Burgundy col is on the north side of Burgundy spire.

Just to be clear, this is not me or anyone I know! Just sent to me.....

This week's installment of Slurpee Death, brought to you by Mount Shuksan..... tune in next Monday for the main event on the Coleman Headwall!

I hear bouldering is legit now.

Nice! Just when I thought I had seen all the non-death defying spring routes in there.

Is that the typical amount of snow for this time of year? Wow!

What I wonder, like @olyclimber, is why us @DanO? Why do you care about us so much and not the people over on TAY or Facebook, or wherever? Because, let's be honest, we're not that lovable. Except for @Bronco. He's a love machine!

Can I get a special title too, O Dark Elite Overlord?