DPS

Not sure if you will find this helpful, but in the many times I have used the log crossing, it has not moved from year to year. My guess is unless unusually heavy flodding occurs it should stay put. Its a big tree after all.

Shoot, I've climbed Liberty Bell by four different routes and met Jess on Denali, but I would totally fork out the dough to climb with John if I could still climb. He was my hero when I first started climbing.

You welcome. I'm sure folks like Gene and KurtHicks who have spent much more time on the mountain can give more and better advice.

Ok Cale, I'm appending my email here for your edification On my previous Alaska trips we were doing long, alpine style routes, climbing for as long as 19 hour days and ripping through 8,000 + calories a day. On Denali the camps are so close together that our longest days were no more than 5 hours, and those were round trips (double carry from 11k to 14k, 14k to 17k.) We planned on 5,000 calories per day but ate no more than 3,000 calories per day and we were eating a lot for entertainment. I make my menus by working from the amount of calories (3k per day) and come up with daily rations based on optimal ratios of fats, carbs, and proteins. I think 3,000 calories is a good number. You may eat more on climbing days and fewer on rest days but it will all balance out. Aim for roughly 25% of calories for breakie, 40-45% of calories for lunch on the move, and 30-35% of calories for dinner. One of my favorite breakfast treats is the 'Mountain Mocha'. Get a bottle of Medaglio D'Oro instant esspresso (I get it at Fred Meyer/Kroger). Mix one spoon full and one packet of instant hot cocoa for a morning cup of coffee that is really good. Bring plenty of other drink mixes: instant hot cider, hot jello, Nunn are my favorites. You will have a lot of down time to cook, so consider bringing foods that take some preparation for below 17k. Consider bringing a light weight aluminum fry pan for making pancakes. Make the mix ahead of time from Bisquick, powered milk and eggs. Butter or margarine in tubs is great for extra calories. On previous trips we even put it in our hot cocoa. For breakfast we took instant oatmeal (with margarine) and granoloa with powdered milk. Lunch was the usual on the go stuff; Cliff bars, candy bars, trail mix, hard salami, cheese. Bagels and peanut butter are great down low, where it is not too cold to spread, although you may need to store the bottle of PB in your sleeping bag at night. Instant rice and instant potatoes are light and starchy and make a great base for dinners. I made a pretty passable rissoto one evening. Freeze dried vegetatables, cheese, and salami added to either make a meal. Instant soups are great to add to your dinner menu. If you have an organic co-op type store (PCC in the Seattle area), they are a great source for tasty, dried soup mixes from the bulk bins. Otherwise packets of soup from the grocery are fine. For your days spent at 17k, consider freeze dried meals that you only have to add hot water to. It is cold and windy and hard to do anything much less make gourmet meals. We each took 5 dinners, plus breakfasts and lunch food. I personally dislike all of the prepacked, freeze dried meals - too much sugar, salt, MSG etc. Experiment with different brands, making a tasting party with your climbing group, to find a brand that you all like. We bought a lot of our non perishable food ahead of time and mailed it to our air taxi service care of our team's name. They were happy to hold onto it. Make sure to give yourself a month or so though. The last non perishible items (salami, cheese, etc) we picked up in Wasilla at Carrs. Traditionally the shuttle service stops here for last minute shopping. This tactic saved a day of shopping in Anchorage, as well as a night in a motel. Something to consider if vacation time is short. Shipping a big box by slow boat was only $20 and well worth saving a vacation day. Hope that helps.

email sent

Spearhead Traverse Mt Garibraldi

If earning a living does not enter the equation, then either Mazama or Leavenworth. If one needs to make a living I'll throw out Issaquah. Other than being a souless suburb populated by people who make a little bit of money all trying to look like they make a lot of money, it has awesome trail running, a 20 minute bus ride to downtown Seattle, 20 minutes to rock climbing at Exit 32/38, 30-40 minutes to Snoqualmie pass for alpine rock, mixed winter alpine climbing, back country and lift serviced skiing and a reasonable 2 hour drive to Leavenworth.

I'd classify that as a big maybe. Let me provide a little more context. When I climbed Adams in July I took crampons and an ice axe. They stayed on/in my pack the entire time. My partner also used neither, instead summiting in running shoes. Seven of my friends who have also climbed Adams reported no need for an ice axe. So from a sample size of 9 individuals on 4 separate trips, my experience is that these pieces of equipment are superfluous. If you are concerned about not having them, then taking a Grivel Air Tech Racing axe and pair of aluminum crampons will only add a couple pounds to your pack, tops. That way, if/when you don't use them, it won't have been as much effort as if you had carried a Raven and steel crampons up there. If I planned to climb Adams again in July I would leave axe and crampons behind. It's everyone's personal decision to carry whatever gear he or she feels is appropriate for a climb. Agreed that a climber may or many not need them on any given trip, but better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them. My recommendation is the same as yours, a Grivel Air Tech Racing axe and aluminum crampons, total weight of 1 pound and 12 ounces, adds little weight to the pack but adds a huge amount of security. I'm a big proponent of the light is right thing, but I think it is important to err on the side of safety when dispensing advice to climbers new to big PNW climbs.

Cascade River Road impassible to vehicle traffic at mile 17 (TH is at MP 20) http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/road-conditions.htm

Alcholism kills you slowly. Aslpinism will kill you quickly.

+1 I'd classify that as a big maybe.

I agree with ScaredSilly. Camping out is one of the more enjoyable aspects of climbing. Do it right and it only adds 10 lbs of gear to your kit, much of which can be shared with a partner.

The road beat up my high clearance truck enough that the fuel pump went out in Hood River. The mechanic surmised the dust and jostling clogged the filter and caused the pump the burn out. Fortunately we made it out ot I-85. Getting stuck way back in there would have been a major hassle.

You are welcome.

You will want to carry two - three liters on the hike from the parking lot to the Lunch Counter, as well as on summit day. You will need to drink another three or four liters at camp and another in the morning at breakfast. If it isn't entirely obvious, bring a stove to melt water from snow. Carrying enough water for a two day climb is simply not feasible. The Lunch Counter is the most popular camp site for the South Spur. I would bring a lightweight, hooded Primaloft belay jacket and warm gloves. Might not need it, but in bad weather you may need it. 20 degrees is probably the coldest you can realistically expect on the summit, but that would be unusually cold for July. One thing I have noticed is due to Mt Adam's proximity to the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River (world famous kite and sail boarding), the summit is unusually windy relative to other stratovolcanoes in the PNW, making it seem colder than it is. Relative to Mt Hood, Mt Baker, or Mt Rainier, South Spur on Mt Adams is the least technical. If this is your first big snow and ice climb, or if you have no waterfall climbing experience it will seem more technical than it really is. I would definitely bring an ice axe and crampons and have practice in using them. The snow may have melted out by then, but this is a rather big snow year and I wouldn't count on it.

Ball-nut?

Panasonic Lumix is a nice size, easy to use, has some manual controls (I think) and takes good photos.

Saw a hipter walking around Fremont wearing Royal Robbins rock climbing boots. I'm guessing he bought them at Second Bounce.

I'm not sure running shoes or gym shoes would polish the rock significantly more than rock shoes.

When I was younger I had a woody for speed. Looking back it is the bivis that are often very memorable.

For accuracy's sake, Roboboy and I climbed the Whitehorse Glacier CTC in 11 1/2 hours.

If you chase the weather this will be true. The weather on the west side has rougly a 50/50 chance of being nice any given time in June, but you can always drive east of the crest (Leavenworth, Mazama, Vantage) and usually find good weather.

Then you haven't found the great lines yet. Probably more like I'm not strong enough to climb the great lines yet.

The Silver Fox AKA Roboboy and I booted this CTC in 12 or 14 hours. The key for us was nailing the approach. I have heard horror stories about getting lost in dripping, mossy cliff, devel's club, and slide alder. We managed to find what may be the most reasonable approach with some luck and occasional flagging.

Exit 32/38 have a lot of sport climbing, although I'm not sure I would characterize it as quality. Gene's suggestions for bolted routes at Leavenworth are good. Condormorphine Addiction is a long (6 pitch?) 5.10 that is very popular. Aren't there some sport climbs in Mazama? Fun Rock, Serendipity Arete and Goats Wall?