JasonG
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Posts posted by JasonG
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Trip: Columbia Peak - West Ridge
Trip Date: 09/02/2023
Trip Report:Every 20 years, the classics probably need to be repeated. And, as I was reminded Saturday, the west ridge of Columbia is a classic Cascadian scramble. It has many good ingredients: a bike portion to keep the masses away (~8 miles RT-bring full suspension for the cushy experience); decent trail to access the alpine without bush bashing (Poodle Dog pass/Twin Lakes trails); enough real scrambling to get your attention on the way up and down (short bit of 4th and a good amount of 3rd); and a commanding viewpoint of the central Cascades (pictures below). A great day out, all in all!
A funny aside- on the way up, quite high near the summit (not the two ladies in the comments below that I ran into in the morning), I ran into a couple of young mountain runner dudes on their way down. I was traveling in the opposite style- I had my typically bigger than I need pack, large camera, and yellow pad. In short, a dead giveaway. "Are you @JasonG?"
A classic Cascadian trail scene:
Wilman's Spires and Peak. Worth climbing all of them!
Twin Lakes, Spire Mountain and Gunn Peak:
South to Daniel and Hinman from the summit of Columbia:
The view SE:
NE to Dakobed, Monte Cristo, and Kyes Peaks:
Dakobed and Monte Cristo:
Columbia Peak. West ridge is the prominent spur that descends down and left from the summit. Easier than it looks!
Glacier Basin Peaks from the trail down from Poodle Dog Pass:
I was amazed that I had the only bike locked to the rack in Monte Cristo. Don't forget this key piece of gear!
Gear Notes:
bike, helmet
Approach Notes:
old road to monte cristo, trail to twin lakes, and then up!-
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Damn. I really need to do some climbing in the Alps.
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Actually, I didn't.... I was more going for who is the least likely on this board to skip through alpine meadows in song? As you know, Easy Ridge is that pleasant. I picked you, but please provide someone less likely, if it's not @rat.
But I do agree that the classic photo of @layton is a great visual for my description!
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Trip: Ruth, Mineral, and the not so Easy way to Easy Peak - Mineral Mountain High Route
Trip Date: 08/12/2023
Trip Report:"This route goes from Hannegan Pass to join the Easy Ridge High Route. It is an arduous approach to the Northern Pickets. The most gruesome moments of green hell and cliffs are at Chilliwack Pass: the rest is alpine nectar."
- Routes and Rocks In the Mt. Challenger Quadrangle. Tabor and Crowder. 1968
And so it goes- the yin and yang of North Cascades High routes. I like "alpine nectar" as much as anyone, and so does @BrettS, so we chose to ignore the first part of that description and headed out to find out for ourselves. As expected with a description like that, NOCA permits in Glacier were a breeze. A welcome break from the madness of Saturday mornings in Marblemount.
Then ......we went into the hills for three days and walked a lot - sometimes on a trail, sometimes hovering over the ground on brush, sometimes skipping through alpine meadows that would make @rat break out in song. We had nice camps, we had tunes, we had whiskey and too much camera gear. The verdict- either we are getting toughened up, or forgetful, but I don't think either of us found the crux to be much of a "green hell"- more "black flies and heat" hell. Regardless, the trip certainly traverses some of the more scenic ridge lines in the range, and exit out Easy Ridge is especially, well, easy. Same with the entry via Hannegan Pass and Mount Ruth. The middle involves..... some shenanigans, but you knew that. Pretty pictures never tell the full story in the North Cascades.
Both our camps near Ruth and on the summit of Easy Peak were highlights, as was the midday swim in the tarn below Easy Peak. Lowlights, as mentioned earlier, were the heat and bugs. But, having the Tom Selleck of the alpine along made it all seem like a breeze.
Ruth from Hannegan trail:
Alpine nectar!
Blum and Icy:
Go do the North Ridge of Blum!
Slesse, the Haunted House of the Chilliwack:
If you see this, you are about to start the shenanigans:
The view distracts from the sidehill of green steepness:
@BrettS past most of the shenanigans:
This summer has been really hard on the glaciers:
Crowder and Pioneer in front of the Southern Pickets:
Get your autograph pens ready!
Rare @JasonG sighting in the wild:
Alpine nectar!
Summit of Easy Peak:
Southern Pickets:
Pioneer and the mysterious depths of the Baker River:
Late season insanity around Kulshan and Shuksan:
Tomyhoi at sunset:
I've never seen Challenger looking so grim:
Putting in the work on the photos....Now do you see why I carry that yellow pad?
The smoke teased, but never fully engulfed us:
Looking across the border into Canada, where there is another fire:
A tad soft, unfortunately, but the Hozomeens at sunrise:
Spickard and the Mox Peaks:
Alpine Nectar!
fin:
Gear Notes:
We were able to avoid all ice and didn't need anything other than helmets. No glacier gear needed if you go around on Ruth
Approach Notes:
Follow Tabor and Crowder. Find yourself a copy of Routes and Rocks!-
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I'm guessing Martin or Jeff flew a brown falcon from one of the belays.
Great work staying safe and getting up a tricky looking route!
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I think you're looking for Sulphide glacier conditions. Usually you can make it happen very late in the season, but be prepared to walk on bare ice for stretches. I don't have first hand info this year, however.
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I need to go back....been a few decades!
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And hot damn-that is quite the climb!
Well done surviving the exit exam for a choss doctorate!
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Sorry @Sam Boyce, the board doesn't support .heic files. You have to convert to .jpg and reattach.
Because you are a prolific poster of the gnar here, I would also be so bold as to suggest to change the settings on your phone to take .jpg from here on out. 😄
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Holy crap. My mom would say to go for a hike instead.
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On 8/24/2023 at 7:43 PM, geosean said:
Haha, you came with credentials!
That's right, the JGAP seal of approval! Like a Michelin star, it means .....uhhhhh, something.
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Damn. Thanks for the heads up, for everything.
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Closed again....
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apparently the fire is now on the north side of Hwy 20.....
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@Josh Lewis!!!!!
Good to see you around these parts. Post up some of your recent adventures for us geezers!
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Wow, blast from the past @Phil K!!
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So awesome! The old wisdom was that the glacier got hard late season, but maybe that is changing as the ice retreats?
I have to admit that this is one of my favorite NCNP climbs so it is tempting to go back. But that is a looooooong walk now!!! (I was lucky and climbed prior to the washout in 2003)
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This looks really cool!
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Trip: Mount Webb and MacDonald Peak - Standards
Trip Date: 08/05/2023
Trip Report:The Chilliwack is not far from the North Sound. I once knew this, but sort of forgot it over the years. Thanks to @geosean, I now know it once again. We were casting about last week for day trip ideas and he suggested Lindeman. I countered with Rexford, and we settled on Mount Webb and MacDonald Peak after taking a look at the forecast for afternoon thunderstorm (didn't happen, but oh well). Both of these peaks are very straightforward Class 2/3 rambles from a good trail and easy to reach trailhead (2wd, paved nearly the entire way). But make sure you have a good breakfast and get a decently early start- it is around 6k vert and 16 miles to tag both of them (my legs are sore today but @geosean is probably running a 10k to cool down). The views, however, are quite good, and would be even better without the smoke that sullied our day. A bonus, for me, was getting a few ideas for new peaks to climb. I will be back!
Chilliwack Lake near the start of the trail:
Our pal Jim beat us to the summit of MacDonald:
NF of Lindeman from MacDonald:
The one, the only @geosean on top of MacDonald:
NE face of Rexford with Slesse behind:
@geosean on summit of Webb:
Heading down Webb:
Chilliwack Lake again from the bridge over the outlet. We watch returning adult sockeye (note gillnet in the lake) under the bridge for a bit on the return. Cool to see!
Gear Notes:
Nothing beyond hiking gear needed after snow melts
Approach Notes:
Radium Lake trail from Chilliwack lake, and then up!-
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Yes it was! It definitely got my attention. And yes, let's test that shoulder out in September!
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Trip: Graywolf Ridge to Walkinshaw - Standard
Trip Date: 07/16/2023
Trip Report:When it looks like a hot and hazy weekend, I often catch myself looking west to the Olympics. If the Cascades are baking and smokey, the Olympics can often be a good deal cooler and clearer. Such was the case a couple weekends ago when I was casting about for solo trip options for a couple days. After reviewing a too warm (for me) forecast for the North Cascades, I settled on a traverse of Graywolf ridge to Walkinshaw. My brother, @ZakG , signed on last minute, gear considerations and meeting time discussed, and we met early on a Saturday to catch the Edmonds ferry to Kingston.
The hike up to Baldy was uneventful, if steep, warm and muggy. We lunched on the lower false summit and headed up to the true summit for mug shots and a gander at the route ahead
We had only seen a couple people so far on the trip and we headed off into solitude to the top of Graywolf
For whatever reason, the USGS marker on Graywolf looked immaculate and solid gold, despite being placed in 1930??!
And then it was off to South Graywolf, and our bivy for the night. Strangely, we couldn't find any flowing water below the large snowfields on the peak, and had to scrounge slushy water from a depression near the base of one. Water is an issue on this ridge!
We arrived on the summit of South Graywolf in the late afternoon and settled in for a beautiful evening. Great flat summit for a bivy, but no shelter and no water nearby.
The night was clear and relatively calm, with no snaffles. We awoke to another beautiful day, though it promised to be warm. Off we headed to Walkinshaw.
We stopped at the col south of South Graywolf to drop our overnight gear. Lo and behold we ran into a soloist, Derek, from Longview, WA. I'm not sure who was more surprised. And so, being neighborly, Derek offered to join forces with us to keep rockfall under control. We had a great time getting to know each other, while conferring over the best way upwards. It was a bit steeper than any of us were expecting but never really severe. There was maybe one small section of 4th class low down on the face, but mostly it was reasonable, if exposed, Cl. 3 ground. The rock was solid, for the Olympics, but a helmet was definitely warranted. Within an hour or so, we found ourselves on top.
Anybody know who these "Truckers" are who placed this register
Cool peak history in there...
And great views into the Needles
After almost an hour on top we carefully retraced our steps down the peak and back to our gear. We bid Derek adieu as he headed up South Graywolf, and we hammered the knees down to the Royal Basin trail. No brush on the descent from the South Graywolf-Walkinshaw col (if you are on the right path), but plenty of hard dirt and cemented scree- we were glad to be down that slope and onto the unexpectedly pleasant trail. I had forgotten how nice it is!
And then, the usual- chips, beer, change of clothes at the car, followed by battling the masses back to the busy Puget lowlands. 2 hour ferry wait! But a pleasant weekend all around....
Gear Notes:
Boots, poles, helmet, maybe ice axe and crampons early season
Approach Notes:
Baldy trail up and Royal Basin trail out-
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Damn!!! Such a cool mountain and climb. Glad you made it up and down safe! I have never climbed in the Alps, but would like to. I had written the Matterhorn off the list.....and it might stay that way. But so many others! -
Yep, too high on the East ledges descent, but sounds like you knew that. Pretty accurate assessment of the the East Ridge as well- pretty awesome mountain to have that route as its least "classic".
Definitely my favorite peak in the North Cascades! By favorite I mean the mountain I've climbed the most times by the greatest number of routes. That is how I figure it at least, it is like picking your favorite child. I have one more unique ramble on that peak left to try I think, but I have no doubt that I will climb it as long as I can afterwards.
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[TR] Columbia Peak - West Ridge 09/02/2023
in North Cascades
Posted
Ha! I thought that was you @tanstaafl, but I didn't want to be weirdly friendly like I had been stalking you on the internet or something.