DPS

Yeah, we came through Genet basin. Good views of Hunter and Foraker from there.

I brought "A People's History of the United States" to read. I am sure the full Rib is a fine route, but was more than I wanted to take on.

Wazzumountaineer and I recently attempted Denali. We arrived on the glacier with about 100 pounds of gear, food, and fuel each. Our intended route, the Upper West Rib, was reportedly in poor condition so we eventually turned our attention to the West Buttress. 'Climbing' the West Buttress reminded me of pouring a concrete house foundation without the benefit of a pumper truck. Lots of load carrying. The weather was overcast and intermittently snowing everyday until we reached 14,000 feet, however, we were still able to move up the glacier and lost no days due to weather. We single carried to the camp at 11,000 feet on the second day, cached past Windy Corner to 13,500 feet on day three, and moved to the 14,000 foot camp on day 4. The 14,000 foot camp is the largest of the camps and hosts climbers from all over the world. We spent four nights here acclimatizing before moving up to the next camp at 17,200 feet. One of the most interesting aspects of Denali was observing the varying climbing styles of the different cultures. Asian parties tended to be large, with 10 or more climbers per rope (tied in ten to fifteen feet apart!) while Eastern Europeans carried no ropes or even ice axes! On day 6 we cached to 17,200 feet. This involved climbing a 50 degree snow headwall using fixed ropes installed by the park service. Going from the top of the fixed lines at 16,200 feet to the 17,200 foot camp involved climbing a rocky ridge, the most aesthetic section of the entire route. After caching our food and fuel we descended back to 14,000 feet and rested the following day. On day 8 we moved to 17,200 feet with our tent, sleeping bags and cold weather clothing. We set up camp and spent the night. The following day, day 9, we attempted the summit but were turned back at Denali Pass (18,200) by very strong winds and an approaching storm. It was in this section that a pair of twins from Ohio fell and died, a fact made even more tragic by the presence of fixed pickets every 40 meters. They did not use their rope above high camp. A series of storms were forecast to hit the mountain with winds up to 50 mph. Based on advice from Denali vets and the fact that we had limited food/fuel, we decided not to wait out the storms at 17,200 feet. We packed up our kits and headed down to 14,000. We still had time left and were in a good position to try to summit, however, the thought of waiting out a week or so of bad weather in our cramped tent was not very enticing. Making the climb from 14,000 to 17,200 for a third time was not very appealing either. Furthermore, the batteries on the satellite phone were just about dead and I knew that my wife would worry if I could not communicate with her for that long. We decided to head down to the landing strip and fly out ahead of the storm and catch an early flight home. GEAR NOTES: I went with a light bag (-10, cut large to accomodate extra clothing) a single 15mm Evazote yellow pad, a 4,500 cubic inch pack and light weight synthetic filled clothing. The clothing, sleeping system, and assorted gear I brought all worked well with a few exceptions. The weight savings of my -10 bag was significant, and kept me reasonably warm at high camp with my insulated clothing on. The tent poles on my Mountain Hardwear Annapurna have plastic tips that fit into grommets. On the second night I managed to break two of the tips but luckily we were able to repair them. The satellite phone was not reliable and most calls were dropped. Additionally, due to the cold, batteries lasted less than 10 minutes each. Fortunately I found someone in camp with a solar charger who kindly recharged one of the batteries. In the end the sat phone was more trouble, not to mention money, than it was worth. FOOD NOTES: I planned for 5,000 calories per day. I ate perhaps 2000-3,000 calories per day as most days were short (< 4 hours). Food was an area where significant weight savings could have been realized. PERSONAL NOTES: I brought a depressing book. This was a big mistake. I should have brought something fun to read. It is very useful to have a partner that can fix everything you break. The West Buttress is for the most part a really, really boring route. Being fast is not as helpful as being patient. I am even less patient than I am fast. I was not as hungry as I thought I would be. My sled wanted to kill me.

Wish I could go. Oh wait, I am!!!

No.

I tried on both the GoLight and the Wild Things belay jackets. My feeling was that the GoLight was considerably more bulky. I bought the Wild Things and like it quite a bit. Its very warm and I like the way it is cut.

The REI in Bellingham is right off of I-5 next to Haggens grocery store.

Good to know.

I did the easton last saturday. We did not finish via the roman wall, but we were relatively close to it.

Speak for yourself Alex, I'm 29.

Nice photos, it is almost like I was there.

I second the Mountain Hardwear Trango.

I did visit the summit, but I left my skis at about 9,700 feet. Snow was consolidated very well on the glacier in the morning and softened enough for easy skiing in the afternoon. A few large crevasses were open but easily avoided.

I have some skin adhesive residue stuck to my skis. Are there any solvents I could use to remove it without damaging the ski?

Climb: Mt Baker-Easton Glacier: Ski Date of Climb: 5/7/2005 Trip Report: A friend and I skied the Easton Glacier on Saturday. Conditions were generally good. Gear Notes: skis, ice axe Approach Notes: snow on most of approach, had to carry the skis a little ways.

Round laces also come untied easier. I've taken 6mm cord, pulled out the core and used the sheath as flat laces. It works pretty well.

That was us.

It is easier than Godzilla.

Thanks!

Has anyone been up to the Easton glacier recently? I would like to ski it and I am interested to know where the snow starts i.e how far will I have to carry the skis? How are the crevasses? Open?

We thanked you guys continuously for the great tracks. You must have worked hard to put them in. Good job!

Climb: Stuart-Stuart Glacier Coulir Date of Climb: 5/1/2005 Trip Report: After a flurry of emails last week, Juan, Wazzumountaineer, Heinrich and myself planned to climb the Stuart Glacier Couloir this weekend. Saturday morning Heinrich, Juan and I met at the Bellevue park and ride to carpool to the trail head where we were to meet Wazzumountaineer. On the way to Leavenworth we passed a PT Cruiser club with their freak flags a flying. We imagined what the conversations would be like at the coventions: "I had this baby up to 60!" We met at the trailhead and hiked to our camp below the Sherpa Glacier. The camp was deluxe with running water and boulders we could lounge on. The evening's entertainment consisted of watching a pair of climbers descend the Sherpa Glacier. The pair came through our camp where one got water and the other patiently answered our questions. They had climbed the Stuart Glacier Couloir that day and shared some beta with us. We went to bed under cloudy skies and awoke at 3:00 am to a beautiful, clear sky. By 4:00 we were leaving camp. We followed a great set of tracks put in by the climbers the day before which speeded our ascent greatly. In a couple of hours we were roping up below the couloir which looked fantastic. Wazzumountaineer and I climbed as a pair and Juan and Heinrich climbed as a pair. A collegiate atmosphere prevailed as we shared anchors and protection. The couloir was mostly 50 degree snow with one step of 70 degree ice that protected nicely with screws. From the west ridge notch we climbed snowy rock in our crampons for 5-6 pitches. The climbing was always interesting, but never too hard. Wazzumountaineer and I swung leads and I in turned enjoyed following and leading. The last pitch was my lead and what I remember as a casual solo in running shoes was very interesting in crampons with iced up cracks. I resorted to pulling on a fixed pin to get through a tough spot. Juan and Heinrich took an alternate route to the summit and by noon we were all on the summit. We descended the Sherpa Glacier. Juan and Heinrich downclimbed at a fantastic speed leaving Wazzumountaineer and I to methodically plod on. Soon enough we were packing camp and hiking out to a well deserved meal at Gustav's. Thanks to everyone for a fantastic trip! Gear Notes: 2 srews, bugaboo pitons (3), 6 nuts, camalots .75-2.0. Approach Notes: Snow

I did the standard route on Colchuck on Sunday. Made it to the trailhead in a Honda Accord. Snow was generally very soft but trail conditions are good with a boot pack all the way to the summit. Avoid crossing the lake. Made it across in the morning, but fell through coming out in the afternoon. A good trail is stomped out around the lake.

I bought my wife a pair of Aztars. In general they are a bit short and light for my taste, but are otherwise decent tools. I especially like the grips and leashes. If you plan on doing water ice I would get the Aztar over the Aztarex.

He better be, he's got to haul my fat ass up the big hill.