JasonG

Ouch. Glad you made it down safe!

Post up some TRs from over there please!

Jon and Porter are aware and are scrambling to fix it. I have a TR in the wings for when it is up and running....

Although I hate to say it....Gaia. It has completely changed how I navigate in the hills. But knowing map/compass/altimeter techniques is a good fall back. Most importantly though I think is knowing where the route is supposed to go on the map and how to translate contours to a mental image of what you should be looking for. That and paying attention on the way up so you can remember key turns on the descent. This mental map sense is remarkably accurate once you dial it in. Traveling in a whiteout on a glacier though is a whole different story. Unless you have a good track and wands to follow you'll want to have a GPS/smartphone app to help you (and spare batteries!).

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.