DPS

Sorry for your loss, I hope you get it recovered or at least the loss is covered by insurance. This is not a 'I told you so' but, I've always maintained that TNF duffle bags scream 'Steal me!', while army-navy surplus OD green duffle bags fly under the radar. I also refuse to put any kind of sticker on my car indicating what kind of goodies might be inside.

I have yet to climb with anyone who trains with Crossfit who is more fit that I was when all I was doing was trail running , working construction and bouldering during the week with alpine climbing on the weekends.

Raise $1,000,000 and climb all 14 8,000 meter peaks. Go big or go home I guess. Best of luck.

I want to go on record as having only served briefly on the periphery of this campaign. Additionally, I was only friends with that young Russian woman.

I want to go on record as having only served briefly on the periphery of this campaign. Additionally, I was only friends with that young Russian woman. NO COLLUSION!

Biggest concerns are weather and avalanches. Check both forecasts before going. On the south side as Ivan suggests, you could skin all the way to the bergschrund, a few hundred feet below the summit. As for best month, I suppose that might be late February. A bit longer days than early winter and there is typically a high pressure system that builds around President's Day weekend. Make sure you all have avy gear and training, synthetic belay jacket, extra food and plenty of fuel for the stove.

I did this route a few years ago with very little information and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pitches after the first rotten pitch. Here is a TR from my trip: You were right to climb it with snow. That scree was among the worst I've experienced: https://www.summitpost.org/north-ridge-of-half-moon-kangaroo-ridge/863616

This route needs a direct start and finish. There are a lot of high quality pitches (more than Serpentine Arete IMHO) but also a lot of 4th class and one really, really, really unpleasant pitch. Following the ridge crest the entire way would eliminate those sections. Also, Ice Cliff Arete needs a direct start. Anybody want to do some adventurous rock climbing?

The past 18 years I have climbed Rainier using a BD Betamid tarp, except for North side routes in winter. Staked and guyed out properly I have rode out 30+ MPH winds in exposed bivi sites with no trouble. Also, consider using the Muir shelter. It gets a bad rap but you can save the weight of the tent. Choosing a sheltered camp site, digging in and properly staking/guying out your Hubba Hubba tent should be fine. I find the parachute style tent anchors are superior in snow to traditional stakes.

If you are genuinely interested in becoming a professional guide, get certified. You will need wilderness first responder (WFR) first aid, leave no trace (LNT) certification, and avalanche training (if ski or alpine guiding). You will need to take courses and exams through the AMGA to work towards guide certification. You can work concurrently for a reputable guide service for a few seasons while taking courses as a guide aspirant before striking out on your own. The days of any Johnny rock jock with a rope calling themselves a guide are thankfully over. One thing I learned from trying my hand at guiding is it is NOT climbing. Guiding requires a huge tool box and skills, both technical and soft, which you would not necessarily pick up from recreational climbing. This is where the AMGA courses, exams, and certifications come in. The two traits all good guides have in common are, from my experience, a mellow, unflappable disposition and a dedication to their profession. Traditionally, only guide services could obtain permits. Now there is the a guide coop for obtaining permits for certified guides: http://www.certifiedguidescooperative.com/. Also, independent guides can piggy back on other guide services permits. I recommend contacting Chris Simmons, a full IFMGA certified guide who has worked all over the world and is the consummate professional guide. He could give you a better perspective of what it entails to go from working for a guide service to striking out on ones own. https://simmonsmountain.works/

Nice work. Aaron Zabriske and I climbed the Beckey variation a number of years ago and came to a similar conclusion. Better than some of the more famous routes in the neighborhood. I've thought about a direct route, starting at the buttress crest and climbing the final head wall directly, even if it meant aid climbing. I think that would offer a pure line without the 4th class interspersed with 5th class pitches. More sustained and solid climbing.

Not to be a jerk or anything, but if you see going climbing as a serious impediment to becoming a mountain guide, maybe you should think twice about your plan.

Butter. Lots of butter. Put it in everything: morning oatmeal, hot chocolate, instant rice. I made a very passable risotto at 14k with instant rice, cheese, salami, and chicken broth. Lots of drinks; instant apple cider, hot chocolate, instant soups. We budgeted 5,000 calories a day based on previous trips to the AK range putting in long days. The days on Denali were quite short with lots of rest days so we ended up eating maybe 3,500 calories a day.

A lot of excellent advice from very experienced climbers here. Late June gives you a lot of options from alpine rock, alpine cragging, alpine ice, and glacier routes. I would recommend having alternate plans in case you can't get permits for your first choice or the weather is inclement. Mountains east of the crest often enjoy good weather when the west side is raining. Washington Pass, Stuart Range, and Enchantments offer a lot of variety, better chance of good weather, and non-permit options. A few specific recommendations: Mt. Triumph. High quality Skagit gneiss, amazing views into the Pickets, and a straight forward approach. Permits are very limited though. Mt. Stuart. Good time for the Ice Cliff Arete, North Ridge, Ice Cliff Glacier as you can still probably descend via Sherpa Glacier making the approach and descent from Mountaineer's Creek straight forward. No permits needed other than the ones you get at the trailhead, which you do need to have. Mt. Shuksan. North Face, Price Glacier both challenging and iconic routes on this most iconic of Cascades mountains. No limited permits necessary. Mt. Baker. North Ridge, Coleman Headwall. No limited permits necessary. I would second the recommendation to start your trip mid week and queue up an hour before the ranger station opens to increase your odds of getting a permit. You will very likely be challenged by a ranger in Boston Basin to see your permit. It used to be that if a ranger caught you without a permit they could issue you one on the spot. Too many people are enjoying our mountains for that now, the rangers have become very strict with permits. 20 years ago, I was hiking out from a day trip up Colchuck Peak with Alex. I was breaking in a new pair of boots and developed some mighty blisters and was moving really slowly so Alex hiked ahead with our permit. Naturally, I bumped into a ranger who asked to see my permit. I told him Alex had it and was hiking ahead of me (a likely story). The ranger hiked all the way out from Colchuck Lake with me to check our permit at the trail head. I would add that in my experience back country rangers are good people and are doing their best to preserve an increasingly burdened fragile alpine environment. They aren't rangers because they enjoy being hard asses, they love the mountains as much as climbers.

That is early, typically the road opens Memorial Day Weekend. Having made the approach to North side routes in winter three times from the Snow Park at Crystal Mountain Blvd. I can attest it adds a long way, around 12 miles one way and full two days for the round trip. I went into do Curtis Ridge the weekend before the road opened, and we were able to drive Hwy 410 to White River road, and then road bicycles the five or six miles to White River campground. That wasn't bad at all. Last time I did Lib Ridge we decided on a leisurely three day trip and we camped right before dropping onto the Carbon on good, flat dirt. We then crossed the Carbon early the next morning.