DPS

I'm surprised the Mountaineers are not insisting on the use of knotted rappel rope ends and Prusiks or autoblocks. Little excuse not to use both.

I'm sure you will have plenty of free time to practice your climbing skills now that you are in medical school. =) Just out of curiosity, what medical school is this? My understanding was that for in state students, the UW med school either placed students in their first two years in Seattle or Spokane (or Alaska, Montana, or Idaho if you are from those states). Are they now placing students in Yakima, or is this for WSU?

Not sure who manufacturers it, but somebody makes a brass punch for puncturing the cans. Obviously the brass does not have the propensity to strike a spark.

Dispensing of the used canisters properly appears to be a big pain. One can't just chuck them into the recycle bin. I read in some climber's memoir that the Russian teams reused canisters by refilled from a larger container and a needle used to pump up basket balls. Definitely not a recommended practice, but one way to recycle the tins. I suppose liability concerns prevents manufacturers from reusing the containers.

And the pitons were still probably still in place.

Good point. I would do a ton of research and have a lot of back up plans should your first, second, third, etc. choices be full up. Boston Basin permits go fast, as do Mt. Triumph permits. I've never had a problem getting a permit for the Boston Glacier, which puts the North Ridge, NW Face of North Ridge, and NW Arete of Forbidden within reach. Also, NF Buckner is accessed from the Boston as well. Eldorado Peak was mentioned, which has the West Arete, NW Face, East Ridge. Also Dorado Needle can be accessed from Eldorado. Washington Pass with the Liberty Bell group, Kangaroo Ridge, Wine Spires and Valsiliki Ridge are outside of the wilderness area and offer alpine cragging at its finest.

Everything on Forbidden is climbable car to car in a day, especially the West Ridge, so that is always an option.

What makes you think that? They seem to be in the business of removing anchors. They pulled the bolted descent route and cleaned all of the anchors from the West Ridge. Hard to imagine them adding anchors.

So, I've done a couple of these peaks in winter. It seems like the Tatoosh Traverse would be very cool, and accessible, in winter. Must add that one to the list of winter traverses I'll never do which include the Stuart Range traverse (NW Face Stuart, West Face Couloir Sherpa, something on Argonaut, West Face of Colchuck, and something on the NF of Dragontail or possibly NE Couloir) and TFT in winter, or the Cascade Pass traverse (Eldorado, Torment, Forbidden, Shark Fin, Sahale), and the Alpental Traverse (Denny-Tooth, Hemlock, Bryant, Chair, NF Snoqualmie, Guye Peak).

I actually prefer the Fisher Chimneys to the North Face for its variety. Descending via Sulphide would require a long car shuttle. Early season you can descend White Salmon.

I have climbed Fisher Chimneys four times, and descended it six times. I've only managed to find the correct route up twice, finding adventurous climbing the other two times. Bonus 5th class escapades with fixed pickets in rock cracks for pro and pieces of a broken helmet for the alpine ambiance. Oddly, one of the times I managed to find the correct chimney was during an attempt on the North Face with the Haley boys. Go figure.

I recall a story of man showing up at Camp Muir wearing cut off shorts and a giant knife asking one of the guides (may have even been big Lou) "What does it take for a real man to climb this mountain?" I believe the answer was along the lines of "When one walks by I'' be sure to ask him."

I recently purchased and returned or sold four 30 liter packs (including MH, Patagonia, Gregory, and Norrona) attempting to find a suitable replacement for my Serratus Genie, which despite its low cost and non techy material lasted for 48 hard seasons. I finally bit the bullet and had Randy at CCW build a custom Ozone. Looking forward to getting it in the mail.

I've skied a few of the volcanoes as well as other glaciated peaks (Adams, Hood, Baker, Shuksan, etc.) but never Rainier above 10k. I've always been too chicken. Maybe I was just being smart? I saw the same thing on Denali, and really don't understand the not roping up on Denali and Rainier. What are you proving, that you can walk through a mine field without stepping on one? I see it as different than soloing technical routes like Infinite Spur or Moonflower Buttress, those routes demand extreme skill. Nothing inherently difficult about walking unroped on a glacier.

You do realize you are responding to a university professor with a Ph.D. in theoretical mathematics, right? I took an old, beat up MSR XGK stove to MSR in Seattle for their $35.00 service. The dude behind the counter just reached into a bin and handed me a brand new stove, wind screen, and pump. I also mailed an old, beat up MSR XGK for their cleaning service and received back a brand new stove, pump, BOTTLE, and wind screen. In both cases, it was definitely worth the cost. Something to consider.

The NCNP is the second least visited of all National Parks. I suspect 90% of the crowds visit a very small handful of easily accessible areas (Cascade Pass, Baker, Shuksan, etc.). The lack of roads and trails are part of what make NCNP unique, but also what lead to overcrowding in a few areas. Most folks do not have more than the weekend to go climbing which puts most of the park out of reach. I think the answer is a three day work week. Let's face it, with the amount of time I spend on this board, I really only work three days worth anyway.

Well, thank goodness for that. A .357 six shooter wasn't enough to keep those rowdy climbers in line. Gotta have a 16 round capacity, 9mm Luger round, semi auto to keep the peace.

I had a climbing partner who was a ranger out of Marblemount for a summer before becoming the youngest guide at AAI. He said when he encountered parties w/out a permit and would radio in and issue a permit on the spot. Hard to imagine that happening in today's climate. There was also a ranger at the front desk whom I went to graduate school with. She was nice. Frankly, Kelly's revolver scares me.

Juan and I tried to get an overnight permit for TFT a couple of years ago. We were told all the Boston Basin permits were taken. I promised the ranger we would bivi on the Boston Glacier side. His response: "Doubtful". We were given a permit for the NW Arete on the Boston Glacier side, but it seemed completely arbitrary.

I watched Dwayner down solo a thin, slippery 5.10 in flip flops so 5.13 would not surprise me.

And that is how to humble brag. Nice work! Which route did you climb?

Learned it the hard way.

Someone needs to remind that girl that boots and tights season starts in September.

I know a number of folks who have gone that fast, pretty much every climber who has at one time set the speed record came through Muir in 60 minutes or less.

If Damnation = 5.9, Saber = 5.4, Scary Canary = 5.8, etc. then I would argue Castle Rock has maintained its traditional ratings and is slightly incongruous with routes on SCW and in the Icicle Valley. In my mind Godzilla at Index is the 5.9 by which other 5.9' should be compared to.