DPS

Kyle really has done an excellent job. I hope with community involvement we can build it out to be the most comprehensive Cascades winter alpine and ice climbing resource available.

I think you guys are climbing enough: https://www.climbing.com/news/semi-rad-are-you-climbing-enough/

Many climbers have made link ups of Stuart Range and Enchantments peaks. I doubt every single peak and spire has been enchained though.

Sobo! Good to hear from you! I'm pretty sure my boss rues the day she introduced me to cc.com. Wasted soooo much company time.

I climbed When my partner and I climbed it in June 2000 I definitely had the same thoughts. We felt the best choice was to move fast as there was some exposure to seracs. We roped up for the glacier and pitched out one 50 meter, vertical pitch at about 1/3 height. The rest we climbed un-roped. High on the route I heard a huge 'boom'. I thought the serac had let loose and all I could do was dig in my tools and put my head down. I peeked up to see if anything was going to kill me and saw a jet buzz Mt. Baker, close enough to clearly see its markings identifying it as a Canadian Air Force jet. The noise was its sonic boom. It took a few minutes to get my heart rate and breathing back under control.

I had a colleague who had worked as a guide for Mt Travel Sobek, guiding 22,000 ft mountains in the Andes. He had never been able to climb above 12,500 ft on Rainier. Some people just need more time to acclimatize/ A typical two or three day schedule is not enough time to really acclimatize, at that pace you are essentially out running altitude sickness.

I have the Phantom 6000, not sure what vintage, a couple of years old though. The sole is very flat - no rocker, so hiking on trails or roads is not as comfortable. The sole is very rigid, which is nice for ice climbing.

I have a relatively wide forefoot but otherwise a low volume foot with a high arch. Scarpa Phantom 6000 ticks all the boxes. I have a similar shaped foot and Scarpas fit me well. I've not used it a lot, but I have not had any durability issues, but I don't expect to get the same mileage I got out of my Invernos. Currently 50% off at Backcountry.com

Has anybody used the new BD forged picks? Are they as tough as Grivel/Petzl?

You may want to check the list of closures. Many of your objectives are off limits through September 30. https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/climbing-area-closures-and-restrictions-due-to-covid-19

Perhaps this is tangent to the thread, but Yocum Ridge was short listed (top 100) for 50 Classic Climbs in NA.

@kmfoerster, that looks like a well sewn pack. Did you take a class to learn to sew or are you self taught?

So, not a mod I made, but mods I requested. Randy Radcliff at Cold Cold World customized an Ozone to meet my specs, all to get a pack as simple and functional as my Serratus Genie worn thread bare by 48 seasons of hard use. Still cost less than similarly sized CiloGear or WildThings packs, the only other packs in contention. Full 201D Dyneema Grid fabric Ice axe and crampon attachment system Side daisy chains for securing pickets, foam pad, trekking poles, or skis Weight: 1 lb., 8 oz. (Roughly, used a bathroom scale)

This reminds me of when crazypolishbob/glassgowkiss refuted Colin Haley and Mark Bunker's winter ascent of the Upper NR Stuart because he was there and did not see any tracks. There was another fellow who refuted Colin's report of soloing the NF Robson in a day and a half. I certainly believe lando's claim. Having had my own go around with the Yocum Ridge I can say with some authority that it is not technically difficult, just really scary and dangerous. I'm sure lando is perfectly capable of climbing the rig. Why would someone lie about climbing a route that maybe 10 other people in the world care about anyway? I feel that in this game you really have nothing to gain by making false claims, especially a route on Mt. Hood.

-

I can see Artem's point. When neither belay anchors nor protection will hold a fall the rope merely binds everyone's fate. Those are the kind of routes that I try to avoid. That said, I recently soloed an alpine ice route I've wanted to do for 20 years but I have never seen in protectable conditions. Soloing the route felt like the safer option, a judgment call made looking through the lens of 30 years of experience.

Tatoosh Lane Peak Various couloirs on the NF Pinnacle Peak North Ridge

JayB, didn't you and Paco (Eric Sweet) put up a route on Shuksan? Satan's Sidewalk, or am I thinking of someone else.

Just to jot down a few more routes while they are in my head: Mount Hood: (Much info on Wayne Wallace's blog: https://waynewallace.wordpress.com/?s=hood) North Face Left Gulley North Face Right Gulley Black Spider https://waynewallace.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/the-black-spider/ Three Little Monkeys: The Pencil Arachnophobia: Elliot Glacier Headwall Reid Glacier Headwall Yocum Ridge Illumination Rock (Topo from Wayne Wallace) Johannesberg Peak NEB NE Face Mixup Peak West Face The Misunderstanding Sahale Peak East Face Couloir

@Kyle M I did not get your email. Daniel-p-smith@hotmail.com.

@Kyle M, I sent you a PM.

Nice list, there are a few of these floating around. Yours adds a couple of new routes. There has been a winter alpine guide book in the works for some time. I was expecting to get a draft for review, but that was a few years ago. If someone was industrious they would create a web based guide book to winter ascents and your blog is a good start. (Hint, hint).

This begs the question how much is a s#*t ton of money? Is s#*t a different unit of measurement from metric or imperial tons?

Nice work boys! Looked like conditions are as good as they get on that route. When my partner I attempted it 20 years ago we had a disagreement on the route. I said we needed to follow the left traversing kitty litter and verglass covered sloping ramp/ledge to the OBVIOUS dihedral/gulley system. He disagreed and insisted that we needed continue up the broad couloir. He is more stubborn that I am so up the couloir we went and discovered fun ice and mixed climbing. After we pulled the final obstacle I told him that was definitely not NY Gulley. He said 'I know, but there was no f'ing way I was going to cross that ramp'. The route we climbed has been since described variously as NJ Turnpike (our name) and LA Express.

Scott Darsney funded his K2 trip with a bank loan to 'buy furniture' or something.