JasonG

The SE side of Baker Lake. I had extra room once @Alisse confirmed that the summit beers were covered.

Index in Winter IS most certainly MEGA! Well done @Doug_Hutchinson and Mik!!

I hadn't heard that before, but so perfect!

You'll have to ask @Kitor @Alisse. I feel like both were present at different points of the day. And yes, way more ass-kicking than expected! My left knee still isn't quite right from the abuse.

Trip: WELKER! - Whacky Wallow Trip Date: 01/18/2021 Trip Report: You can all feel sorry for @Alisse. She was desperate enough this week to reach out to @Kit and myself to try and climb a mountain somewhere. And so we convinced her that she might as well go where few have gone before.....WELKER! And since it was winter, it would be the WELKER WHACKY WALLOW. Now doesn't that just sound fun? Well, it wasn't, at least not in the traditional sense. It didn't help that JGAP lost his nerve quite high on the NW ridge, muttering that his "mountain sense" demanded an easier route with less danger of bodily harm. @Alisse seemed unconvinced, but nevertheless went along with the ignominious descent and shuffle to the North ridge, where much bodily harm was endured by the team anyways, while post-holing in less than ideal conditions. We were crazy alright, but not crazy enough to bring snowshoes. Didn't it rain several inches up here? Why wasn't this crust thick enough for my fat ass? Why do bad things happen to bad people? Why does fat need to be punished? Why would a nice young lady pack beers to the summit for two jackasses? We might never know the answers to these questions, but we do know that WELKER has quite a good view and is maaaaaaaaaaaybe worth the work to climb. Oh, and that @Alisse is a saint...... despite what @Kit says. (captions, in time) Gear Notes: Whatever you think will lessen the pain. Summit beers are key. Approach Notes: Ha!

Proper!

Oooooooh, thanks for jogging my memory. The Brothers traverse is quite good and not really worse than 4th class (although I think we did some running belays). No permit shenanigans either as @rat points out. And yes, you could easily spend a few days scrambling peaks in the Goat Rocks- Gilbert, Ives, Old Snowy. Or you could traverse the Tatoosh peaks in MRNP and admire the mountain you just climbed?

I don't think there are many (any?) moderately technical ridges like that in WA. Here are a few options though: West ridge of North Twin Sister? Regular route on Tomyhoi? West Ridge of Columbia? I'm biased, of course, but I think you should spend most of your extra 4 days climbing Jacob's Ladder on Mt. Prophet.

Yeah, 12, 4, and 4/3 refer to the grid cell size (how long on a side the squares for model output). So you hit it right, less detail as you increase grid size. And yes, for whatever reason, they don't run the 4/3 as far out, maybe due to computing limitations?

Thanks @bedellympian!! This looks to be another good tool. Right now I am just using the loops of column integrated cloud water and the 1 hr. precip on the 4km grids

I haven't used those yet off the atmos site. I will have to spend more time with your x axis description. So.....it is for a 36 hour window?

Hahaha. Because I am not into it as much as you are. Sorry for the confusion. Carry on with your quest.

Exactly, which is what I want. The Sony RX100 Mk II is 28mm, at its widest, which isn't wide enough for me

No. 28mm isn't wide enough for my tastes climbing. Would be interested in Mk III or IV

I was hoping that they would have come way down in price by now, at least for the Mk III. But no.....

I wish I could convince the finance minister to get a new RX100.... but probably won't happen.

I have a P&S (Canon S120, which has been replaced with the G5X) case on my shoulder harness of my backpack for routes where my DSLR gets in the way (so, mid fifth and up at my choss pup ability). I use a velcro strap to wrap tightly around shoulder strap, then use case attached to that (something simple like this). Wrist laynard on camera is clipped to sway straps at top of shoulder strap with non-climbing biner to keep me from dropping it. Will work in rain and brush no problem, though in car wash situations I will put it inside my pack since I am not taking photos anyways. Never destroyed a camera in the Cascades, which I often marvel at, esp. given the terrain and weather. I am careful not to ever drop them though.

What is the going rate for that one? I keep wondering if I'm going to be able to retire on my complete collection one of these days.

Thanks for the report and glad you guys made safe decisions for your team!

OR used to make pretty sweet insulated sleeves for 0.5 and 1L water bottles. It looks like they don't any longer, at least for the 0.5l size? I find that is a nice size to keep on your pack waist strap in really cold conditions, with the rest of your fluids in your pack.

Major Junkshow reporting for duty, sir!

Trip: Mount Ann - The path of powder, part deux Trip Date: 12/28/2020 Trip Report: Well, @Alisse is right. We need more ski TRs! Or at least more pretty pictures of snowy mountains. Which is what this is, more or less. It was a typical day for @Trent ,@kmfoerster, and I in the Baker backcountry so not much to report other than good snow, great company, and a fun day out and about. After a couple laps on the north side of Ann my legs were tired on the grind out of Swift Creek, but that isn't new. Hoping the freezing level comes down and the skies clear after all this weather! Gear Notes: Skis people (or a splitboard if you are slow, like me)! I saw snowshoe tracks further down Swift Creek than I ever had before. What is wrong with people??!! Approach Notes: Follow the skin track

Thanks for the detail. I thought that they couldn't close it off if you weren't buying a ticket, but I understand the uphill travel analogy. I'm sure that they would make the argument that it is impacting safety or something like that. Still though, it is sort of fun to tweak Duncan now and again. Just to feel alive.

Trip: Mount Curtis Gilbert - West Route Trip Date: 07/11/2020 Trip Report: The catch up from last summer continues.....We're in early July at this point. Most all the federal lands are back open, the snow is melting fast, and the high alpine is calling! And, of course, there are still Smoots to be ticked. Luckily for me @Juan Sharp isn't too picky so it didn't take much arm twisting to get him to make the drive way south to the Goat Rocks and Mount Curtis Gilbert. We opted for the short and sweet approach via the Snowgrass Flats TH, thence to the PCT and Cispus Basin. It was all very short and civilized with great weather and views. First look of Gilbert (R) and Goat Citadel (center) Klickitat from the hike in Juan crossing a scenic stream just before Cispus Basin The man, the myth, the Juan at camp. The blown out hulk of Loowit to the south (R). We kept it Covid friendly and slept in two tents. Shortly after I took this picture, I busted the filter and ring on my go-to lens. Oops. Both my lens, and wrist, though unrelated to one another. The next day dawned clear, earlier than either of us would have liked, and so we had no excuse to stay in camp, starting the engaging slog/scramble using goat paths and steep snow to the mellow area near the summit. Crampons, axe, and helmet kept it reasonable, but there was certainly a lot of loose rock and steep snow to keep your attention. And the views! A rare photo of me (R), thanks Juan! Without too much trouble or head scratching we reached the summit in a few hours, having it to ourselves this glorious day. Views were expansive, from well north of Tahoma way down past Wy'east into central Oregon. It was a great day to tick a Smoot with a good friend. I can't really say much more. Maybe because it was 6 months ago and my memory isn't what is used to be! We must have descended and hiked out at some point, but my memory of the details are hazy. Suffice to say that it was smooth and we got home all in one piece. Another great weekend in the Cascades! Gear Notes: crampons, axe, helmet Approach Notes: PCT to Cispus basin. Good camps above and below the trail

I have a Jamis Expat with disc brakes but no suspension. Maybe rim brakes are OK, but you drop a few thousand feet down a steep, bumpy, dirt road? It felt just barely OK on my bike, while my partners were loving it on their mountain bikes.