DPS

I've never heard of anybody doing the NR Stuart in ski boots. What is gained by wearing boots? I personally would rather not carry the weight of boots in my pack while climbing, and really like approaching in the lightest foot wear possible.

I had a FF Widgeon, which I recently sold. I think the only difference between it and the Snowbunting is the amount of loft. You can call FF to verify that. I'm not sure about construction techniques, but I felt the quality of FF and WM were comparable (I also have a WM Super Apache). One thing about the Widgeon is it felt rather constricting compared to my WM bag in terms of girth, and I'm not an especially big guy. I did use it on Denali so I was wearing most of my insulation, expect my parka, which I draped over the top at 17k.

I really dig my La Sportiva Boulders. I've owned a number of approach shoes and these offer the best compromise between hiking support and climbing performance of any I have used.

Thanks!

How did Ptarmigan and Curtis Ridges look? Was there much ice on Curtis?

Thanks for posting. The owner is happy to get the photos back.

Best thing to do is inquire with the rangers when you register. They will be able to give you much more accurate information than anybody here.

I recognize a couple of folks in those photos.

Nice! I saw this line a few years ago while hanging out at Mr. Purple Nice Guy pass (named by Pat Gallagher). Looked like a cool route, but hard!

What about the temporal inconsistency of grades? 10 years ago 5.10 was doable, now 5.8 is barely doable.

Deservedly so.

Gerrit, Curtis Ridge, you and me, Memorial Day Weekend.

Here is an article that you may find helpful with links to downloadable maps and suggested gear lists: http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=507227&confirm_post=7

Just bring an LED headlamp. Princeton Tec, Petzl, Black Diamond all make good ones.

I just re-read my trip report which was written in 2000, although the ascent occurred in 1998: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=50381

Nice job! I climbed this route in 1998 and I vividly recall the giant cornice. I aided rock on the left side until features ran out, then aided the cornice directly using pickets. Your suggested rating confirms what we thought; WI3-, 5.8, A1. We didn't do much dry tooling back then, pulling rock moves through a couple of those chock stones felt like 5.10 in big boots, crampons, and gloves, which we thought meant it was about 5.8 which is about M4ish.

Yep. I heard the story from two guys who were on that trip. NR Stuart in November as I recall. One of the fellows was named Joah(?). That was 20 years ago, my memory is a bit hazy.

Stacy Moon?

Nothing I hate more than taking my toddler to the crags and then having to watch them because a dog is on the loose.

In the near future Cauthorn-Wilson route on Cutthroat Peak, Early Winters' Couloir, West Face of Silver Star, Curtis or Ptarmigan Ridges on Rainier. If access to Cascade Pass remains open next winter then NW Couloir on Eldorado, NE Buttress of J'Berg, The Misunderstanding on Mixup, the route Kurt did on the East Face of Sahale, or TFT would all be solid objectives. Cosley Houston on Colfax, North Face, NW Face of Mt Shuksan further north.

Regarding the 'Seatttle Freeze', if you have an activity you like, such as climbing, it is relatively easy to meet new friends. Also, to pile onto what others have said, post in the partner wanted forum and include a brief resume high lighting the level you are comfortable climbing (e.g. lead sport climbing to 5.9, trad to 5.7, completed a glacier skills class, etc.), as well as a few objectives that you have in mind for the next couple of months. Hint: volcano season is just around the corner. If you are looking for a mentor situation, offer to drive, buy beer, etc. in exchange of tutelage. There are a lot of very experienced climbers on this board who are past their sturm and drang years who still love getting out into the hills and enjoy passing along their hard won wisdom to the next generation.

I know some folks had been considering it, looking for partners and what not, but I don't think it got climbed.

This was a long time ago, but I vaguely recall Alex mentioning something about some in-situ gear he found in addition to the gear he left. One thing I have learned in the Cascades is that fixed gear often does not indicate the correct route, but rather that someone has bailed from there.

I don't know if that particular pitch had been climbed before, or if the exact runnels you climbed leading to the North Face Bowl had been climbed or not. I do believe that gear was left by Alex when he did the Hidden Couloir to the North Face Bowl, and then attempted to exit via the pitch behind the Fin, but lowered/rapped off to climb the easier exit pitches climber's left. I remember this very well because in February 2000 I attempted TC, but the crux runnels were completely bare, dry rock, so we exited via 3 60 meter pitches (5.7 in summer ~ M4 in winter) to the NF Bowl, which was 1/4" of snice over compact rock slabs. We climbed the entire bowl with no pro, only finding a crack in a boulder into which I welded a #2 angle piton at the very top. The pin is probably still there. The exit pitch behind the Fin was clearly visible, but Alex had warned me to not to take this, so we climbed the lower (left) option which was about M4. Alex did have a trip report on his web site, but it looks like he took it down. Or maybe that was here on CC.COM

It sounds like you climbed a direct variation of the North Face route. The typical exit to the North Face bowl is climber's left of the pitch you climbed behind the Fin. The fixed gear you found sounds like it might be Alex's who rapped off that pitch to find the easier exit pitches.