JasonG

Shrundy

Trip: Ulalach - via Squire Creek Pass Trip Date: 10/24/2017 Trip Report: Long live the mighty Cascade Climbers! My first TR on the new software, so we'll see how this goes..... Remember when it hadn't rained in months? When summer just didn't seem to end? This harkens back to that time, when the call of the fall spirited us away from work midweek. When nobody but us and the wolves roamed the high country of the Darrington hills (see below). It was also an excuse for Scott and I to harass the rest of our crew from a North Cascades summit via modern technology. This is becoming increasingly important, I hear. In case you're wondering Ulalach (think Ooo la la- Chinook for "onion") has great cell service. But more importantly, it is lonely up there. We didn't see much in the way of evidence of passage, and we honestly had to think a bit to puzzle the way to the top. It helped that I've started to not research climbs as thoroughly as in years' past. In this age of ridiculous beta, tuning out is a great way to increase the adventure, even on a day trip. Even if I had done some research, I wouldn't have found out that we could expect to see wolf tracks superimposed upon ours on the descent. Apparently this was news to the USFS, NPS and tribal wildlife bios that I consulted upon our return. Hopefully the Darrington locals can tolerate their new neighbors. Viva la mystery of the North Cascades! And the new software makes captioning WAY easier..... I'll actually label these, where it makes sense to: Darrington's version of the deepwater solo: Whitechuck from the trail below Squire Creek Pass: Ulalach!: Scott admires the mighty east face of Three Fingers from Squire Creek Pass: Whitehorse: Three Fingers: Salish Peak! North Peak of Three Fingers: Del Campo (L) and Big Four (R): Put Jumbo on your list!: The upper Squire Creek Valley, with Liberty on the left and Three Fingers on the right: Squire Creek Wall: Scott breathing deep the oniony glory of Ulalach: The hills are alive! There were pup tracks with the mama. They followed our tracks for a half mile or so, just below the pass.: Exfoliation Dome, perhaps the toughest summit to reach in WA under 5000': Gear Notes: Helmet. Ample opportunities for 5th class climbing off the scramble route. Approach Notes: Squire Creek Pass trail from Clear Creek road. From the pass follow your nose north. Stay on the east side of the ridge at first, until you can traverse into a saddle just south of the peak. From here, you will want to stay mostly on the ridge until forced to a right side ledge at a step. Follow weaknesses up and left back to ridge and finish on the west (left) side, pulling on shrubbery.

Yessssssssssss!!!! This is a big step. Many thanks to Porter and Jon for their hard work!

The best epitaph for old Fred.

The classic east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, 700m.

I loved it, though bittersweet. Lowell is one of the greats in Cascadian history, not only for his first ascents/descents but his impressive drive to preserve and distribute the ski history of our range. Despite the painful losses endured and his advancing age, I bet Lowell can still drop me in the skin track.

CHAMONIX

Agreed. Thanks for that Dawg!

WHO HAS BECKEY'S BLACK BOOK NOW??!!

"CHECK OUT THE BLONDE, SHE LOOKS LIKE A MOVIE STAR!" FB in a not so subtle whisper at the base of a Skaha crag, while looking at a group of underage girls (less than 30 feet away). I wish I would have saved his voicemails.....He truly was a legend in his own time. Climb on, Fred.

I share your outrage and puppy love.

Oh.....I thought you were selling it all before going on a death defying expedition to the Pamirs. But puppies are pretty cool too. sickie

Well....I'm afraid to say I don't know. Given the drive and itinerary I was thinking I wouldn't have much time for fishing and this proved true. I was second guessing my decision on the drive, but am glad I left the fishing gear behind. Cooney lake was far too windy to fish comfortably and Boiling Lake was down so low that there was a big ring of mud to access the water. Lots of fish in Boiling though, even if it was 2/3rds frozen over in the morning!

If you got snacks, I'm sure Lucas would be game. You'll have to clear it with Meg though, which is the crux.

That's actually not far off the story behind Lucas. His original owners were neighbors of Scott and Meg who divorced and split town some years back. Lucas didn't fit into either of their plans and the neighborhood committed to keeping him fed and sheltered. Scott and Meg became the de facto owners of Lucas and have acclimated him to the choss life. He's taken to it admirably and probably has 10 of the 100 highest under his belt.

After arriving to a packed TH, filled with bike racks and trucks, I was expecting the worst. But there are a lot of trail miles served by that parking area and people spread out. We would communicate with the moto/mtn bikers as to our party size, they would do the same, and everyone would get past each other without incident. The noise from the motos was a bit surprising, but since we didn't have that many motorized parties (~4?) over the course of the three days, it was totally fine. If it became (resumed being?) really popular with the moto crowd I could see there being issues. It's hard to say (for me) what it was like in these areas 30+ years ago when Harvey and Ira were still active... I know use patterns can and do change dramatically over the decades. I've certainly seen it firsthand in my stomping grounds on the west side.

Thanks everyone! Yeah Steve, we certainly missed you and Holli! Buckaroo- Lucas made it up all three peaks. It was impressive to watch him work up through the boulderfields, especially since he is about 12 or so (he's like an old Tibetan Lama, nobody is quite sure how old he is). Glad you like the long exposure shot, since I was starting to regret lugging the tripod all over the place.

Thanks Stefan! I always start typing up TRs, look at the photos, and think I'm wasting my time. The words don't ever work for me like the images do. Glad you caught the story in the photos, that's always the goal.

Trip: Switchback, Martin, and Bigelow Larchiness - The Dog routes Date: 10/8/2017 Trip Report: Nagging tendon issues have kept me away from real technical climbing this summer. Thankfully, the Cascades are infinitely scalable, and I've been able to shift my focus to scrambles and easy mountaineering objectives. The latest peak bagging mission earlier this month happened to overlap with the Alpine larch insanity that grips the North Cascades every October and, most importantly, a weekend when my parents could watch our boys. As a bonus, Scott and Megan were able to join as well. Oh, and Lucas, MOUNTAIN DOG! My wife and I met climbing, but we rarely get out in the hills together any more. That's why it was a special treat on this trip to hang with good friends, tag some summits, eat chocolate, and share some drinks around the fire. Even after all these years, I'm struck by what a beautiful backyard we have. Especially during larch season..... Gear Notes: Standard hiking fare. We didn't feel helmets were necessary. Approach Notes: Crater Creek trailhead. We went clockwise, but the other way would be fine as well. We camped at Cooney and Boiling lakes. Switchback and Martin on Day 2, Bigelow on day 3 and out. We only ran into a few motorcycles and mtn. bikes on day 1. All were respectful.

This accident, and the aftermath, has been haunting me all week. I can't shake it.

Enter a "media tag" and select the YouTube option....fixed it for you using my new found powers!

You need to get in there Phil! The hike in from the river isn't bad at all and the ridge running over towards the Devil's Tongue stellar. Even if no peaks are climbed it is a great fall destination. Thanks Mr. Sloth! It is mainly the result of spending way too much time looking at maps and Fred's books, and liking to get away from the crowds. The Cascades never cease to impress me, year after year, with surprising nooks and crannies. And I hate to admit that I hadn't seen that video before Ivan. Damn. Glad I haven't been cut down . . .. . yet.

Ugh.

But that open book is certainly worth doing at least once! Not without danger to attain, as you mention.