JasonG

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.

Sounds like you may want to try an un-insulated boot? The Cubes are touted as being "warm".

Yep, that's where the climber's path was pre-fire.

Seriously though, thanks for the descent and timing beta- great advice that I will take to heart when I make it up to give the route another go. Years ago we were turned back in late Sept. by verglas. It is perhaps the most stunning line for its grade I've ever seen.

Shhhhhhhhhhh.....

There are always party size restrictions in wilderness areas (Snowking, Cyclone, Found, etc. are all in the Glacier Peak Wilderness): GENERAL WILDERNESS REGULATIONS Maximum party-size is 12 in a group. A group is any combination of people and pack and saddle animals. Dogs are not counted as part of the group size limit.

Interesting, but I hope you fill us in on the climbing results in some TRs!

I really need to get in there, thanks!

Wow, that is a monster of a three day trip! It was pretty hot, but at least you got stung a few times. The bear sighting is interesting, we saw a dead deer right below the col leading to the Dome Glacier back in 2003. Looked to have died of exposure and wasn't eaten. I guess it is an animal trail thru the col? Crazy.

I seriously didn't think this face would ever be climbed after seeing it from the notch on the SW route. Just looking at it scared me, since I didn't find the SW route was all that easy and it was 1/10th as steep. You guys really pulled off an impressive ascent. More importantly, I'm glad you survived!

I don't know of anywhere where group size limits are less than 12 persons/stock (am I wrong here?). Getting a weekend permit for BB or the Enchantments on the other hand.....

Not quite Bronco, I just was waiting for you to give it the Gunn treatment.

Shhhhhhhhhhh, eh.

It truly has been cleaned up a great deal by all the Bulger traffic of the past several decades. We did our share to further clean things up. It really isn't bad at all and is pretty solid if you are on route. The rap route, on the other hand, has a lot of portable holds (plus poor gear) and looks dangerous to climb (fine to descend).

That approach is no joke, I still think it is the hardest in the range- at least to a "select" route. I love, love, love that last photo of you or your partner with the Sockeye. That, more than any other, says Bear Mountain to me. Thanks for the report, I have much respect for anyone who climbs any of the north face lines on Bear (we wimped out and climbed the easy summit ridge).