JasonG

I wouldn't want to camp anywhere near the toe of Liberty Ridge on the Carbon. If you camp further down, the summit day is way too long for someone like me. But I'm sure it could be done by the fit and motivated.

By June the skiing won't be that great at this rate, so the safe bet is to not split the team @Alisse, esp. if you partner hasn't done a lot of glacier travel. While the Coleman isn't terribly gnarly by glacial standards you can easily get into trouble, especially if the weather turns. Also, you'll want him to go over two person rescue and be very familiar with what to do, for your own benefit if nothing else. Getting to the NR is often involved with lots of bridges (looks OK right now though). I did very realistic two person practice last Saturday with a partner who jumped into a glide crack. It was fairly exciting, and I knew it was about to happen. You need to be prepped and dialed to pull it off without incident. I skied the Coleman on Monday and the cracks are starting to open.....I'll post some pics tonight or tomorrow....

I was wondering how the heat treated you guys? For sure you had better weather, but we worried what would happen if it got warm given how the snow pack was still winter like. We really wanted to try the NF of Adamant but conditions were too unsettled. Did you get to some of the bigger objectives @Doug_Hutchinson? Most of those photos above were taking on three days. We had a solid two days of storm. Only one day was totally bluebird, the rest in and out. My first time in there and I can see why they need a lottery!

Yeah @kurthicks, let's hear about your brush with fame.

Trip: Sahale - South side - Ski from the summit tower Trip Date: 05/08/2018 Trip Report: Does the database need yet another Sahale TR? Maybe not, but the views are still as good as always up there. As is the ski down Soldier Boy creek. And if you go midweek, you'll have nobody to disturb your wanderings. Well, except for the locals. They eyed us warily but didn't break from their routine as we glided past. North Cascades National Park turns 50 this year and it is every bit as grand today as it was in 1968. Next time I'll bring enough gear to tag the top. CJ condition photo for you extremo types Hey bear (not telephoto) I bet you knew the CJ was named for Cascade (L) and Johannesburg Mtns We saw some Ptarmigan feeding on last year's berries, clothed in their winter plumage (telephoto) We stopped at the rock of the summit block The dragon was awakened this spring. Gunsight (L) and Sinister in the distance. The Triplets The summit ridge of Spider peeking out Time to go down! Spring is here Gear Notes: skis. Rope and tiny rack if you want to climb to the summit Approach Notes: Road open to gate at MP 20 (one past Eldo parking area).

Thanks @G-spotter!

Yeah Kurt! What an accomplishment getting this to see the light of day.

Ah! And yes, you're right on the Southern Pickets in that photo.

The Twin Sisters are hidden by Baker in your photo above....Dome is on the right in the second photo (but I don't see Goode or Black?). It's sure nice up that side of Silverstar!

Ah....May on Eldo. The month of Slupree Death (apologies to @skykilo). You'll get it next time! Is the most scenic crapper in the world melted out yet?

Whoah @chucK, that's pretty crazy. So it was a big rockfall that started it?

The granite sidewalk!!! So, so amazing up there.

@chucK!!!!!

I've seen his scar! Crazy. I've also watched my wife cartwheel uncontrollably past me down that slope. Definitely pay attention at the top, and face in if you are wondering.

The west ridge of the North Twin is an uber classic, but with a very long approach (road gated down at the river). I would recommend it, but it is a lot of elevation gain. Push a bike! And if you don't want to deal with steep snow, downclimb the route instead of descending the North Face. It is steep and has been the site of many accidents over the years. Oh yeah. There is probably 10' of snow at Cascade pass maybe closer to 20' up by the summit. It was a good winter. But don't worry, some of the campsites on the moraine are already melting out and the snow will keep the hordes away for awhile. The road has been heavily damaged by the winter storms so it will likely be a walk of a couple miles to the TH. This will make getting a permit much easier (they are often hard to get).

You see what you get. I heard it was due to some of their grants or something that they couldn't make it very user friendly. But, if you spend a bit of time with it, it really isn't THAT bad. And I've not found anything that predicts timing of precip or clouds any better. It also give you an indication of whether the clouds are going to be high or low and in your face. 24-48 hours out (farther out is just a guess for any of the models, skill degrades dramatically after a couple days) it is the best thing going for the Cascades since the underlying model was tweaked for our specific terrain by UW researchers. Look at the 4km or 1 1/3 km grids, 1 hour precip, and column Integrated cloud water loops. Or use the flashy websites and bring a rain jacket.

UW , of course. Go Dawgs! But that site is cool @Rad. Uses the Euro which is the global gold standard. Still, 9km grid is pretty coarse. The UW has 4km and less.

That's really interesting @jon! A great spot to get inspiration. We stopped to watch two ptarmigan in white browse the melted out bits yesterday, after passing a bear munching on new growth down below. Clouds were blowing by the peaks. It was a magical day. We didn't see anyone on our tour- it was a great reminder of why I stay in the Skagit, year after year (although I sometimes have to go during the week to find solitude these days).

Agree with others that Stuart/Ingalls should be high on your list. And the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell!

If you want spectacular, put Sahale at the top of your list. Hard to beat the views for the effort. I was just up skiing next to the summit block yesterday and the view is fantastic as always:

Good advice above. Most of the high peaks in late May/early June time frame will involve steep snow to access the routes. There is a lot of snow in the hills now, but maybe it will come off quick if we get a warm spell? Aside from maybe the West ridge of Forbidden, and south face of Ingalls all of the routes will have your typical loose rock of the alpine. I would take Guye, Gilbert, Reynolds, Crescent off your list, they don't get much traffic and will have more loose rock. Given your experience and comfort on rock rather than steep snow I think focusing on the Stuart range and WA pass might be the best. But even those will likely have steep snow at that time of year. Lastly, the weather is likely to be challenging. There is always cragging in the Icicle or Goat wall for longer multi-pitch if the high peaks are socked in.

True, early does mitigate some of the hazard. Yep, that's the north peak of Hozomeen. The right skyline is a recommended route, provided you find someone to lead the first bit!

Excellent @Alisse, glad you found a willing person to suffer with you. That is an EARLY start! Wow! I often don't start skinning until 8 or 9, but I guess I like my sleep too much. And, do you have a photo of the mountain in question? I'm guessing you're talking about Hozomeen.

I did this the first time I went up the Reid! Then I went back and went left a few years later. Both had fun bits, but going left seems a bit longer and more sustained? Hard to say since the second time was a lot icier and more technical.