DPS
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I was there a month ago. Expect lots of new snow. Bring floation.
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Carloyn,
Wawterfall ice is merely a footnote in the story of Washington climbing. There are a lot of people sniffing around for water ice and finding it, albeit with long approaches often facilitated by snow mobiles. I would never recommend coming to Washington to climb waterfall ice, it is simply too fickle. The real deal in Washington is alpine ice which is far more ubiquitious and reliable.
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Winter/spring is the best time of year for TC, probably best by April. After all the snow this past week the route would likely be very dangerous for a while. As of one month ago the second couloir had white stuff in it, but it was hard to tell if it was ice. If the 2nd couloir is not in you have two options. Continue up the Hidden couloir a bit further, until able to traverse back left and down climb or rappel into the second couloir. I tried this option and couldn't figure it out. A party behind us tried it and were never seen again. I did the north face end-run. This might actually be the most difficult of the three options depending on conditions. I encountered up to 6 pitches of 5.7-5.8 mixed climbing; 3 to gain the face, 3 to gain the 3rd couloir.
My rack consisted of 4 screws, two bugaboos, #1,2,3 angles, Stoppers size 6-12, Camalots size .75-2. The pins were very valuable, particularly the angles, the # 2 cam could have been left at home, the smaller stoppers were used. The screws were not used.
I would watch the weather and have at it when conditions are stable and cold. If you arrive and the route is not in shape you can do NE Couloir on Colchuck Peak, a nice alternative.
[ 03-18-2002: Message edited by: danielpatricksmith ]
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I doubt it will be cold or rainy. I was there in January '95 and we climbed in T shirts. It rained for about an hour one evening and the event made the front page of the newspaper.
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Grivel Air Racing Tech. Everything you need in an axe and nothing more. Very comfortable to hold in piloet cane position. Reasonably priced at Barrabes
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Hmmm, I just made my 6th ascent of Chair Peak in winter, so I suppose that would be on my list. Also Orbit and Outer Space I have done a few times and enjoyed every trip up. The Tooth, South Face of course.
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Bronco,
The short answer is hauling takes time. It is much faster to pull on a nut than try to haul.
The route was really not that burly, perhaps 5.8 at the most. The overhanging sections were mercifully short, but were definitely overhanging. If the steep sections were longer than they were, it would have made sense to haul.
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McHale packs are built way tougher than any other pack on the market. My partner uses a Chaos which he got a couple of years after my SARC. Already it is showing significant signs of wear including rips in the thin fabric etc.
There are no cool features on the SARC only purely functional ones. A huge top lid, 'wand' pockets that are removable and can fit 1 liter bottles, flukes, SLR cameras etc. You can order a stripped down version with no central zipper, a smaller hip belt, spectra rip stop fabric etc and get a really light pack.
What you get for the extra money is unparalled quality and a truly custom fit, no need for load lifter straps etc, because the pack fits your body. Dan McHale is an expert at fitting packs.
My partner and I climbed a mixed route on Hunter. He complained that the frameless Chaos was constricting his diaphram on the overhanging rock bands, my McHale was hardly noticeable despite 6 days worth of food and fuel on board. So much for frameless packs climbing better.
I used an Andinista on a fairly long approach and climb. My back took two weeks to recover from the 'sausage' that rolled around on my back.
The SARC is the most versatile pack I have used. I can take the wand and top pockets off and have a light pack suitable for 3 day trips or leave the pockets on and climb routes in the Alaska Range. Worth every penny.
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I have used both the Andinista and the Chaos. Both pale in comparison to the McHale light SARC. Carrys weight better and climbs better. Pure function.http://www.mchalepacks.com/ultralight/detail/ULsarc01.htm
[ 03-12-2002: Message edited by: danielpatricksmith ]
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I'll be taking that trade.
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I knew that Cascade Desgins and MSR were owned by the same company. I find it interesting that they both manufacture products (water bladders, cookware, treking poles) that directly compete with each other.
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Biff, is that the sound you make when your girlfriend drops you? I agree with Alex, wholeheartedly.
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I just picked up a 10+ year old XKG I had brought in for cleaning. They charged me 20$. For that price I got a new fuel bottle, new pump, a shaker jet upgrade, new manual, new maintainance kit, new wind screen and heat reflector, new carrying bag, new style pot supports, and the stove now looks brand new. I got the same treatment with my Whisperlite too. If I did not know better I might think the girl behind the counter gave me a bunch of extras because she has a thing for old men with beards.
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Having gone from using 21 ft of 5.5 mm tech cord to a Web-o-lette, I can fully recommend the Web-o-lette. Much less bulky than the cord and plenty strong. Only drawback is you can't cut it up for rappel anchors.
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Cutthroat East face. Tried it last spring. It is likely in but getting to it would require a snow mobile until the road opens.
Triple Couloirs looked to be in fine shape last weekend. More ice than when I climbed it.
NY Gully is likely to be climbable right now. Colin climbed it with very little ice in the gulley.
Index peaks. Been too warm for those to be in is my feeling.
I climbed a 4 pitch waterfall at mile 22 on the Cascade River road in December, the routes you mention were in with a fair amount of running water. Getting in there would be an expedition. Check out Phil Fortier's site for there attempt.
[ 02-26-2002: Message edited by: danielpatricksmith ]
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Nobody,
No that is not exactly true, but at ambient tempartures and using the suggested contact time, iodine is not very effective against Giardia spores. Much more effective is chlorine dioxide, even more effective than bleach (calcium hypochloride). Of course boiling kills everything, except thermophilic bacteria, but thermophiles are likely to be in creek water. BTW, the notion that Cryptosporidium does not affect healthy folks is contrary to epideimilogical data. While it is true that most deaths associated with Crypto are in immunocompromised individuals, several thousand healthy people were hospitalized in Milwaukee in the early 90s from a crypto outbreak.
Dan
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Fat blue ice, top to bottom.
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Iodine tablets are ineffective against Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium sp. I prefer chlorine dioxide based treatments such as Aqua Mira.
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My partner and his girl did this route and reported the last pitch to be crappy old bolts spaced too far apart to aid without a cheater stick. The other option is to free it.
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The approach for Triple Couloirs starts from Bridge Creek campground, nearly ten miles to the base of the route.
The route looked to be in fine shape and had more ice on it than when I did it a couple of years ago. The crux ice runnel in particular appeared to be well iced but it is hard to be sure.
Head the warnings on avalanche danger, I watched the whole route slide 5 minutes after skiing away when I thought it too hazardous.
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The approach for Triple Couloirs starts from Bridge Creek campground, nearly ten miles to the base of the route.
The route looked to be in fine shape and had more ice on it than when I did it a couple of years ago. The crux ice runnel in particular appeared to be well iced but it is hard to be sure.
Head the warnings on avalanche danger, I watched the whole route slide 5 minutes after skiing away when I thought it too hazardous.
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Sell or trade Lowe Lightfang crampons. Good condition. Cheap! Make on offer. Will consider trade. No reasonable offer refused. email me if interesteed: daniel.smith@metrokc.gov
[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: danielpatricksmith ]
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Terrapin,
Your main consideration will be what peaks are accessible at that time of year. Certainly W Ridge of N Twin is a good choice and can be very good in the winter. Baker and Shuksan will require a longer approach than is typical in summer. A ski ascent of the Sulphide glacier on Shuksan would be a fine objective with probable lower avalanche danger than other routes on the mountain.
Other areas with good winter climbs include the Snoqualmie Pass region (Chair, Red Mtn, the Tooth)and the Tatoosh Range (Pinnacle Peak, Plummer Peak, etc).
Bear in mind that the Cascades typically recieve a lot of snowfall in March and avalanche danger can be considerable. The weather can be downright miserable. Be prepared to drive a ways if you really want to climb. Rock climbing at Vantage or Smith Rocks are usually good rain day alternatives.
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I have a great 'epic' story about a friend of mine with whom I went to school with at WWU. He rode his bike out to Larrabe and was bouldering on a steep traverse. He popped off and landed with one foot in a tide pool. As he continued to fall over his ankle snapped. He instictively put out his hand to catch his fall and broke his wrist. So, he gets on his bike with a broken ankle and wrist and starts to ride home when he discovers he has a flat tire. He has to stop and pump up the tire every so often. He makes it back to town and is heading up the final hill to his apartment and he falls over bloodying himself further. I think at that point I would have just layed in the road and waited to be run over and get it over with.
North Cascades Hwy to open late.
in North Cascades
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