JasonG

You didn't miss anything Ben, I wasn't clear that the register was on Wilmans Peak, not the spire. I found the remnants of the spire register at the base, sans cap or paper. It did have a small trowel for burying poo though....

Was there much snow still on the north side rock of Torment? Good effort, it is a bit tougher to climb with packs, that's for sure! At least you got a good feel of what to expect next time, and a summit as well. Torment is a great prize in and of itself.

DAMN. That is an impressive three day effort! Having been all through that country (over many more days) I can imagine how tired you must have been cramming that into a weekend. That buttress is pretty intimidating looking, well done!

If you want to have a good trip, three days for Rainier summit, with two days spent moving up the mountain. I can't stress this enough. That and only going if the forecast is perfect (clear with <30mph winds forecast for summit). Go somewhere else in WA if the forecast sucks. Have fun! Just got back from the summit last night and the mountain is in good shape.....

To be fair, the bad section of the old road is early on. It is still worth bringing bikes, even with pushing them for a bit. There was a new road put in, but my understanding was that they obliterated it on the way out after the mine remediation work. From what we could see around Monte Cristo, this seemed to be the case. The gully to East Wilman's has TONS of snow. The NW ramp on Wilmans, however, was boney. Surprisingly so. I think it was ripped apart by climax slides this winter/spring. Yeah Scott! Warmed the hearts of Steve and I to see your names in there, and not a tech bro in sight. And you should know that us Skagitonians are way into tennis!

It did seem harder, but I thought that was just the 42 year old me whining (and my poor memory fading)! You could see where some rock had let go and there were a couple moves that I didn't remember from before. Interesting. Yes, good to see you Brett! And Doug, not totally better, but a bit of improvement.....

Trip: Wilmans Peak and East Wilmans Spire - Wilmans- NW face, East Spire- Standard Date: 6/17/2017 Trip Report: My tennis elbow was still bothering me last weekend (getting better though thanks to advice I gathered from the fitness forum), so the North Cascades Blue Collar Tour extended its run. The Wilmans massif was the next stop and the NW face certainly delivered- hauling bikes over the Sauk on a slippery log, discontinuous snow forcing forays onto slimy, exposed 4th class rock, and a glide crack dodging descent that left no room for error. Interestingly, the summit register of Wilmans peak had been hit by lightning, melting the plastic bag inside, which I replaced. It appeared that Wilmans hadn't been climbed since 2009, which actually surprised us- until we started the descent to East Wilmans. As with most Blue Collar Tours, the rope stayed stowed until we came upon some real 5th class climbing on East Wilmans. This is also where we ran into a friend of mine and his partner who where on their own mission to the unmistakable table-top sized summit with a three piton anchor. We lounged with them for a bit too long as the weather slowly deteriorated and were treated to rain on the hike and bike to the cars. Strangely, when I last climbed East Wilmans about a dozen years ago I also knew the only other party on the mountain. The Blue Collar Club isn't large, but they are consistent. Gear Notes: Bikes are a must for the road to Monte Cristo. Helmet, axe, crampons, light rack to 3", 60m half rope (for East Wilmans). We used rock shoes but you can climb it in boots too. It's about 5.6. Approach Notes: Standard approach to Glacier Basin, head up towards East Wilmans, then hang a left to the NW ramp of Wilmans where the gully narrows. Plan on about a 11-12 hour RT including long summit breaks.

Oh, the North Ridge is high quality as well! Aside from Stuart, I can't think of another mountain in the Cascades with as many five star routes (OK, maybe Prusik?). But none match the alpine ambiance of Forbidden.

The Stehekin road was closed at High Bridge after the Oct 2003 flood, I think.

Ah, yes, I interpreted your comment wrong. It is quite good. Certainly on par with the east and west ridges, if only for the outrageous positions. Rock quality is a bit less, but still fine.

You know "many" that have climbed the NW face? That does surprise me. It really feels like you are off the beaten track on it, but I climbed it years ago.

Thanks for the history lesson. Amazing stories on that last link.

Excellent! Perhaps my favorite mountain to climb in the North Cascades, it is nice to see that Forbidden is coming into shape. Love the pic of the NW face, more should check that route out- it's a grand adventure.

Wow, I never would have guessed.

Ohhhhhhhhhh, that. I'm impressed that you were on the Trapezoid recently! It doesn't seem to see a lot of traffic.

It think so- it's like being a factory worker with terrible benefits and a bankrupt pension fund. No safety net!

Love it! The history, the brush, the fire on Jumbo, the death blocks, all of it. Darrington to the core. Thanks and keep up the good work!

Trip: Jumbo - juuuuuummmmbbbbboooooo!!!! Date: 6/10/2017 Trip Report: The North Cascades "Blue Collar Tour" continued last weekend with Jumbo as its next stop. Cloudy murk was the theme of the day, but Kit and I were pleasantly surprised to find a relatively brush free route, aided by a long neglected miner's trail that greatly sped our ascent to about the 3000' level. Here, careful attention to the map and our Choss Dawg sensibilities were needed to ferret out the path to the easy slopes above 4000'. The final snowfields were as straightforward as the lower route convoluted, leading to the aesthetic and exposed summit knife edge (class 3, and over far too soon). A particular treat when climbing Jumbo are the pastoral views down into the heart of Darrington, Sauk Prairie and the NF Stillaguamish. Oh, and Squire Creek wall. It's rather large, if you didn't know. I almost forgot the tennis elbow that got me started on the Blue Collar Tour this spring! Gear Notes: crampons, axe, helmet Approach Notes: Find the old trail, past the landslide, and about 300' before the washed out culvert. Summitpost has a good description of the route. If you nail it, your life will be pretty easy. If you botch it, you may never make the summit so pay attention!

Whoah http://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/from-snoqualmie-pass-to-the-canadian-border-in-34-days-on-skis/

No bias there.

Thanks, and I know! That's a lot of choss - you all know I'm not much of a technical climber.

I honestly never expected such quick and useful advice guys, thanks so much! Doug, what sort of exercises did your PT give you?

Funny, we were talking about your winter ascent this weekend! That was impressively fast. We didn't have great views either on this trip and I'm torn about going back during better weather. The burn doesn't make the lower slopes much fun, not that they were much fun before. Here is some interesting history about the survey markers on the summit: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=TQ0488 The light bulbs we found on the summit look newer than the old suveys, not sure what the story was there. I wish I could have seen the old register with Dallas's entry from 1971!

Thanks Stefan. Some good discussion over there.

Trip: Davis Peak - South Ridge Date: 6/3/2017 Trip Report: Which peak in Washington has the largest vertical drop, within one horizontal mile of the summit? Before this weekend I would have guessed Slesse, J-burg, Goode, Hozomeen.....and I would have been wrong. Strangely enough, it's Davis Peak, a summit that Fred says "is seldom visited because of the very rugged approach and rocky flanks." One hundred and twelve years after the first ascent this still holds true, if the last few years are any indication (the historic register that went back many decades disappeared about 10 years ago, and was replaced in 2013). How seldom, one might wonder? About one party a year makes the trek. So that means that if you were thinking of going up this year, too bad, it's done for the season, Park Service is all out of permits. But for those going NEXT year, the one thing that you won't find in the Beckey guide is that a fire burned most of the south side of Davis in 2015. An impressive amount too- at least the bottom 3,000 vertical feet. This adds considerable enjoyment to the ascent, and perhaps a little danger if you believe in widowmakers. However, if you have an entertaining crew along as we did this past weekend, the minor challenges of the ascent actually serve as the punchlines to an otherwise lighthearted ramble up fire-scorched slabs. It's all so civilized. Gear Notes: Helmet, axe, crampons. The scramble is exposed 3rd/4th out of the notch, so a rope is your choice. We didn't bring one and it felt fine. Approach Notes: Fred has an accurate description. Prepare for shenanigans at all elevation bands. With generous stops and a summit nap it was about 10-11 hours RT.