Alex

Was skiing up at Alpental yesterday. The line within bounds of the ski area, off Armstrong Express, is in but thin, might be fun to scratch around on. If you are interested, please only climb there when the Alpental area is closed for skiing (eg, skin up to the base with skis, and then climb). In years past the patrol has kicked people out during business hours. The lower Alpental valley climbs, eg Alpental Falls, Alpental 2, 3, and 4 were not in.

I think it depends on what you are doing. I was on duals early in my climbing, then went to monos for a number of years, and am now back on dual points. The monos have more precision and are my choice for something "harder". The duals have a bit more stability and I like them on easier terrain or curtain-type stuff. But all the modern crampons are so much better than what was available like 20 years ago it won't really matter until you are good enough to not have to ask on the Interwebs

neat, thanks for the public service!

It tends to be off the grid and I only rarely get updates on the Methow unless I go myself, so good luck and tell us what you find! It's a magical place regardless of whether you send.

Interesting. I haven't updated the site for 2012-2013 so you are actually looking at last years conditions right now! But no, Alpental stuff isn't in, it's been dumping snow but not particularly cold. I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I should really do any conditions updates over there, as this format works so much better and requires no maintenance. I like how Gadd has done it too, I just don't have the energy to put in a UBB for just conditions as it would just be reinventing the wheel. Those Strobach conditions look pretty good for mid-December! While I have climbed some things there first week of December some years, it's usually pretty thin. Unholy looks far better than in most years, while some of the stuff on the right side likes more anaemic than usual. With all the precip we've been receiving there should be good ice at Strobach in January...I might even do a trip! :0

Hi All! I don't have any super secret beta on ice climbing in WA right now - it looks to be too warm still just about everywhere - but thought I'd get the ball rolling by starting the official thread

renders fine on Win8 x64 IE10

The coverage is going to be crap, even with this precip, at Thanksgiving. I would opt for (3)

Gosh Buck Mnt North Face I still remember that when Rolf posted it, so proud.

that stuff is where i learned to climb...

it really blows my mind that anyone would bother to "develop" that....

perfect trip!

Now that's pretty funny (both posts...!) Maybe Bob is talking in Quebecois?

I've placed a reasonable amount of bolts and here is some more advice for you please please please don't hand drill if your intent is to make safe placements. epoxy will only make it harder to service or replace well-placed hardware later. you really shouldn't need it. you're going to want to use a pipe cleaner and blow tube and thoroughly clean each hole so there is no dust, glue or no glue depending on the bolt, you might need a torque wrench to torque the bolt/nut to the correct tension.

I've never led it to the first bolt, always stick clipped. though this particular method is new and novel...

another vote for index itinerary: jap gardens to first anchor - relatively safe C1 except the start where you have to be really careful or youll deck city park - stout C1 but very safe with the bolt ladder to start. steel monkey - short but technical. i think the only good piece is the last one to te anchor. hb offsets ten percent - real creative clean aid

Nice! Great East Coast classic. I climbed it on Thanksgiving day once with a buddy and my fingers completely froze while leading the last pitch, so...no more gear placing until the top! Then screaming barfies, before I could belay my friend up. Ah, memories!

It's a nice climb. I found that roof move to be real easy, but whatever, it was a nice position. I took the pitch after the roof and it was definitely my favorite of the climb. Fun times!

sounds familiar. I did same trip with dps and my wife back in 2002(?), as the start of the TFT. After a lightening storm and rain near Torment summit, we decided to bail on TFT, ended up bivying anyway on the SE Face of Torment while trying to get down (it wasn't so bad, but we had to stay tied in), and went down next morning like you.

If you get a good weather window, eg 12-24 hours with clear skies and nothing in the forecast, no forecast storms, its a real treat. The weather will be your primary challenge. The S Side / Hogsback route is very doable winter-time climb.

definitely, the vapor plumes are extra cool

its not 5.8. if you think so you need to go climb some real 5.8s somewhere.

wheres the pics of la blonde??

I'm glad that water is important at Washington Pass. "Non-Climbing Gear A good supply of water is key, both for climbing days and for camping. Potable water is available at Tuolumne Store and the Tuolumne Campground. " http://www.supertopo.com/climbingareas/washington-pass.html

Nice, that's a great area!