JasonG

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.

We don't know what you're talking about.

I'm about as smart as a horse so that just might work. I'm going to start tonight. Thanks!

Awesome Dave, thanks! Will give it a shot. I think I've realized that laying off it just isn't going to work. I need to start PT.

Ok, so I guess I'm old. Since entering my 40's several years back, I can't seem to shake lingering tendon issues. Hips, fingers, knees, etc. Most recently, I've been plagued by sore tendons in my left elbow (seems like tennis elbow though I don't play tennis). It that hasn't gone away despite relative rest for the past several months. Any climbing that requires much grip strength is right out. I have no idea how I injured it, which seems to be the case for all my tendon maladies. I tried stretching and massage which helps in the moment, but it all stiffens pretty quick again, and remains painful. Any tips?

Spray still has what it takes

But was anyone called a knucklehead in your shooting range example?

The hills are dangerous. Period. Sanitizing TRs is perhaps one of the worst ideas for this site ever. This has been, and always will be, a game that demands attention to detail. It's your own responsibility to recognize dangers that can change by the day and hour, and especially when you are exceeding your own abilities. Don't depend on the internet to do it for you.