JasonG

When they fix the photo uploader I'll post up a TR with some images of the pipe and pipe cleaner!

La Nada

It shouldn't have changed much since the end of August, typically this route is not known to become impassible late season. But I haven't been up it in September in a long time (20 years!).

Annie's Pizza in Concrete!

Mike- It's midway along Teebone ridge, which is a major north/south oriented ridge to the west of the Eldorado/Isolation/Snowfield area. It's a pretty wild area, despite the proximity to Hwy 20.

Well worth the wait!! I can vouch for how nice the approach is from the south. You should be able to climb the Grim Reaper comfortably in three days from a camp below Little Devil or the basin to the south of Fallen Angel. More importantly, nice work digging another gem from range! That crux pitch looked quite clean from the Trapezoid so I'm not surprised that it is quality. I will get a TR up from our Teebone trip here pretty soon, we came out the day you went in, you may have seen our blue subaru along the road?

As is pretty clear, those pads work great for softmen as well. It is really hard not to have a good time with that crew! Porter- There are a bunch of Smoots over in the Olympics and I'm going to need your expertise!

I have problems with cramps as well and after doing some web research concur that nobody really understands them well. The military has done the most research and they have concluded that nothing really works consistently either, at least for most people. Being fitter is the best strategy I've found, but when you are pushing up against your limits those that have issues with cramps are going to suffer. I try and stay hydrated and not do days or a pace that totally depletes me. Basically, we have lost the genetic lottery (compared to our non-severely cramping partners). For me, it means I tend to stay away from steep, long rock climbs near my grade limit. Having bad arm cramps on lead is no fun and not fair to my partners. The older I get the more I gravitate to technically easier routes where having to stop and work out a cramp isn't usually life and/or limb threatening (and it is easier to dial the intensity and duration down a bit). If I am wrong here, I'd LOVE to hear a solution.

Wasn't that mainly due to dehydration? I found the Index traverse to be actually pretty fun without the extensive blue collar aspects so sustained on J-berg.

A piece of cake for you Eric. From the bivy upwards is pretty stellar. The lower buttress is certainly blue collar though! For most aspirants I think you nailed it Matt- happy to have climbed it but not anxious to repeat. Nice work, any north side route is an accomplishment on one of the "fearsome foursome"!

True. However, I think the judicious choice of destination and conditions are key. Eldorado, Sahale, Snowking, etc. in the height of summer are pretty darn safe, even for a group of kids (under the proper leadership of course).

I think it really depends on the leader. I trust my long-time climbing partners with my life and I would trust them with the life of my child as well. That said, I'm not pushing my kids into climbing! I've lost too many friends and had several close calls myself. No way around it, alpine climbing isn't inherently safe. Backpacking, backpacking is really nice.

In today's news of the obvious, scientists prove that Honnold isn't normal

It's out of print! Better get a used copy today before they all are hoarded. Going for >$600 on Amazon right now.... I had to keep checking for a few months until I found a cheap copy.

Damn. Happens even to the best I guess. Lucky

Aren't you in Morocco Mikey? You can't keep away from Cascade Climbers can you!

Yer just hopped up after your goatworthy ascent of a forgettable peak.

goatworthy! I'm going to use that.

Stillaguamish Represent! I've only been in there when its snow covered, is there a climber's path from maintained trail's end?

Yep, we skipped the Fields but got a good look down in there from the Squaw. Looks nice, I'll have to plan another trip in there sometime. The whole Rainier XC zone thing seems underutilized. Of course if we covered the kind of terrain you do in a trip we'd had no trouble visiting Elysian Fields in addition to Vernal Park!

Amen.

Trip: Old Desolate and Sluiskin (The Chief & the Squaw) - Standards Date: 8/27/2016 Trip Report: Chances are, if you've ever heard of Old Desolate or Sluiskin you have also heard of this book (and probably own a copy): Which means you're a Smooter! How many of you are there? Judging by the summit registers out there, quite a few less than are pursuing the Bulger list- which is great for those of us that like to have some solitude on a busy weekend in MRNP. But first our overly jocular team of Smooters had to get a permit, which was a little bit more entertaining than normal, even by NPS standards. Upon hearing that we were requesting a permit for the Vernal Park XC zone, the young Ranger said in a serious tone, "It's a long day to Vernal Park" "Well, we're staying overnight so we can hike until late." "I said it's a long day to Vernal Park." Ummmmmmmmmm, OK. After that awkward exchange the older ranger proceeded to issue our fearless leader Tim (94/100) the permit. Once he found out that we were headed to Sluiskin though, he had to get in on the act, "You know, the last guy that headed in to Sluiskin didn't come back." "What do you mean? Did he go out a different way or something?" "Well, I guess he came back, but it was in a body bag. You guys better be careful out there." Well. On that note, we arrived at the Carbon River TH to see that it was a free weekend in the park with cars jamming both sides of the road, overwhelming the small lot. The sort of chaos that seems to only be possible in national parks was in full effect- one dude stopped to ask where he missed the turn to Paradise! We had brought bikes to make the travel to the start of the real trail go quickly and these were worth their hassle. Don't forget them! The trail system in MRNP is so well maintained that the mileage goes by pretty quickly and soon we were leaving the Wonderland for surprisingly well-used elk trails that took us to Moraine Park and the huge talus fields on Old Desolate. Some rock hopping and meadow wandering saw us to the top of Ol' Dessie about 5-6 hours from leaving the cars. As you'll see below, it's quite a viewpoint! The strong winds were blowing dust around the Willis Wall and the ever-changing lenticulars provided extra interest. And not a soul around. Rock hopping off the back side of Desolate put us in the lovely and aptly named Vernal Park where we set up camp for the night in a meadow with a great view of the mountain. Sipping Hunter in the twilight, listening to music, and catching up (Scott had just flown in from fishing in AK)- it was a perfect end to the day. Well, that is until I slipped on some heather in my flip flops and gashed my hand on a rock. D'oh. We weren't really sure about the next part of our route as Jeff Smoot and Beckey describe accessing the high col between the Chief and the Squaw from Windy Gap. But I had taken a look at the aerials and maps and was pretty sure the directo from Vernal Park would go. And it did, quite easily. Mostly class 2 with a little bit of 3 near the top if you wanted to get out of the scree. We dropped packs at the col and first headed up and down the Chief (carefully! very exposed 4th class, you may want a rope for this) before scrambling up the Squaw (easy class 3). Great views from both, and still not a soul around. More rock hopping brought us to the trail and a nice lunch break at the not so Windy Gap with great views of the Yellowstone Cliffs. From there, endless switchbacks down steep forest, a quick foot soak in the Carbon, and kamikaze tourist slalom down the old road brought us to the traditional beers in the creek and Tim's Cascade chips at the rigs. I think we were back around 3:30 after a leisurely start in Vernal park that morning (0800?). Jeff Smoot sure knows how to pick them! Smooting is VERY serious business: Liberty Ridge: Gear Notes: Bikes! Carbon River Road is closed at the entrance to MRNP. Helmets. You may want rope and light rack for Sluiskin. There was a fatality here in 2015 Approach Notes: Moraine Park to Old Desolate. Descent to Vernal Park, slog talus to col between Chief and Squaw which are completed via standard routes. Descend easily to Windy Gap and the Northern Loop trail

I think the new version of the Alp will be perfect for you then. I had the same complaint with my 6ish year old pair and I absolutely love the new Alp. Best boot I've ever owned, and I've owned or tried on pretty much everything out there in its class. Assuming they fit, of course!

Nice work ticking one of the "fearsome foursome" (the words of Dallas Kloke describing Index, J-Burg, Nooksack Tower, and Big Four). As you now know, an ascent of the North Peak is an accomplishment! I too was almost chopped by a rock on that side of the mountain, glad you and your partner's reflexes were up to the task. While the Index traverse looks intimidating from the summit of the North Peak, I think it is better than going down way you came up. The rock quality is quite reasonable, the positions magnificent, and the descent off the Main peak much better than going down the North. I really feel that it is a classic traverse, deserving of much more attention than it currently gets.

What year of Trango Alps do you have? I just got the new ones a few months ago and they have a noticeably roomier toebox than the last iteration. They are really good boot, much better than the older version. If those still don't work (I'd try them on before ruling them out based on the fit of older LS models), Scarpa are a lot roomier. Emphasis on a lot, in my experience.