Alex

as far as "mountain towns in the Puget Sound area" - hmmm Tacoma? It certainly has that frontier feel to it! North Bend, WA might be worth a look. Its growing really rapidly tho so dont know how long it will be considered a town. Bellingham is a good suggestion, especially if you DONT have to try and find a job there! Good climbing nearby, right on the sound so you can head down to Larabee State Park and put the kayak in the water, etc.

couple of places come to mind: Leadville, CO: I lived here a while, nice place. Rock climbing sucks, but the biking, whitewater, skiing, and hiking make up for it. Lake Placid, NY: very Banff-like flavor, good climbing too Leavenworth, WA: some kayaking, good climbing, terrible ambiance, tho, and hot in the summer Mazama, WA: if you can affoard it! The highway closes in the winter giving you 1) real mountian town feel 2) real climbing with no crowds, ever! Other runner-ups: Sand Point, ID. Cheap to live there! Good skiing. Southern Canadian Rockies nearby for ice climbing Pinedale WY? Its not Jackson, but its where all the real people live anyway.

regularly track daytime temperatures in Ephrata and Spokane, WA.

sticky rubber grips better in cold

Went to Banff over Thanksgiving, here's whats up. General: not much snow except in the alpine, and warm weather everywhere. Rogers Pass: on the East side of the pass are some really nice looking lines to 5 that are probably not climbed often. Really compelling looking, but huge av terrain. Western Rockies: Kicking Horse has construction as you know, so you cant park or climb at the most easily accessible stuff. Pretty Nuts is there but very thin, Riverview is in but thin, everything else is not. In Field, nothing on Mt Dennis; Silk Tassel is in, Superbok out, Masseys out, some of the Yoho climbs look ok from the road. Temps in Field and Lake Louise in the early am about -5. In Louise, Louise Falls is in 5/5+ shape (it was climbed Sun am by two local guys), while Linda Ice Nine (Saturday, 4) is in good shape and holding up well to alot of traffic. Few parties (we were the only one on Sat of 5) are climbing the final crux pillar at steep and pumpy/wet 4. Parkway: Murchison. The Chinook is doing a real number on the Eastern Rockies. Banff: Rundle climbs...Trophy wall has all but come apart in the chinook. Professors in, most hardcores climbing it to Sacre Bleu. Sky Pilot looks in. Nothing else. KCountry: King Creek was reported in but wet a week ago by some people we met on Linda Ice Nine. Mt Kidd only has the first 10m approach pitch to Kidd Falls and Sinatra (Thurs, 2) and the first pitch on Sinatra is on the verge of melting out. Evan Thomas creek has been reported in, but it was like +6 when we were on Sinatra so I can't imagine Moonlight and Snowline survived the Chinook. Amadeus is dead. Ghost: Drove into the parking lot in the North Ghost and climbed the first few hundred meters of streambed on this House of Sky, past the first 3 WI2 steps (Friday). The streambed was dry above that (we think!!). We met two WA state climbers at the base of the route driving a Toyota truck...Layton? GBU is non-existant. Valley of the Birds approach pitch very thin. Burning Drowning was supposed to be in a few weeks ago but we didnt walk that far, it was really warm, maybe +5 during the day. Sorcerer is in and was climbed Fri by some locals driving an Outback. Hydro is in. Big Drip - that thing is huge!! Alex

mt dickerman and mnt loop highway are in Washington. get to Granite Falls, head east. Alex

I find it disturbing that pope is still thinking about this idea almost a year later. Check the date on the original post.

I climbed it Sat in great weather w/ partner. No one else in the upper valley, very nice place to be. Scoped out some very impressive looking rock climbs nearby, and will have to come back with the rock shoes and a rack next summer and send them! I wouldnt suggest you solo it the first time up it, but it is a nice solo once you've done it once or twice... Alex

yes, summit of Gothic, just a few weeks ago

I've got one up on you, chucKanut!

you were just lurking for that werentcha?

damn [ 11-20-2002, 08:39 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]

dont look now, but it was 16C in Calgary today, who knows what kinda season they are gonna get

quote: Originally posted by dberdinka: Complete North Buttress of Bear Mtn Girth Pillar on Mount Stuart Thin Red Line North Buttress of Fury North Buttress of Terror North Buttress of Nooksack Tower North Rib of Slesse Ptarmigan Ridge on Rainier Anything technical in winter I've done all those, but have failed miserably on * South Buttress Directissima of Der Tooth * Direct NW Buttress of Mt Marrymoor, Klewin Finish * N Face Granite Mountain, Cougars variation * Howdoyoupronouncethis Rodeo, on the intimidating and sheer North Wall of Si Spire * The crazy link up of Cougar, Tiger, Bear, and Lions-oh-My! in the Central Cascades in winter Now THAT shit is hard!

Gib Ledges has to be one of the most commonly climbed routes on Rainier in winter. I kinda dislike Rainier as it really is pretty much a 2 day outing, instead of Mt Hood which is 1 day... Not a volcano, but someone mentioned baker, so I thought I would add that NF Shuksan in winter is commonly climbed, very easy access on skis in mid-later season, lots of ground Mt Baker, dunno, I think that access road to Coleman side gets snowed in, and thats a fairly long road. More non-volcanoes, but Stuart Range is very accessible in winter and many routes up there are commonly climbed (attempted anyway) throughout a normal year; weather tends to be on the good side and it tends to be colder there. Suffer fest is only related to how far into the range you go: light suffer == Colchuck Lake/Colchuck Peak (still great conditioning!), medium suffer == Stuart Lake/N Side of Stuart, and so on. Little Anapurna and backside of DTail for non-technical routes. Adams on skis is not bad, its not like the approach is 10 miles of uphill really, its just 10 miles. You even get to camp in the trees ifnyawanna. I still think Hood is it as far as winter wonderland access goes, just cant beat driving up to TLine and getting instantly blasted as you step out of your car! [ 11-18-2002, 06:49 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]

it IS only mid november! the ice will come, might be Christmas, though, which is normal. desert climbs typically only come in in January. need 2 weeks of good cold weather and itll all be good. Alex

a few things Ben Manfredi, did you ever take some pix of the Strobach climbs when you went in there a few years ago? I have Larrys originals which are still the best I have seen, but looking for some others if they are out there. Other rare pictures: looking for pictures specifically of Palisades - February Falls Anything in Quincy Wildlife Area Rainy Lake - an overview shot of Rainy Lake Right and Left? I've got nice action shots on the climb, but looking for something that shows both complete lines Mazama - a picture of goat wall in good conditions? perhaps too much to ask for Mountaineers Creek - anyone ever get a good shot of this commonly climbed ice from Mntrs creek road? Entiat - Tyee Falls Mt Rainier - Skookum??? White Pass - Horsetail if you have it, the only times I've been up there with camera, the damn thing was running water

nice thing about sailing: when it sucks in the mountains, its good on the water! Round the County race - a 2 day race around San Juan County. On Sat you leave Westsound on Orcas and sail down around Lopez and San Juan to Roche Harbor. A rockin good time at Roche, then the next morning from Roche up around San Juan, top of Orcas, Waldron, and back to Westsound. Sat, blustery conditions (20kts) to weather to a long beam reach along the south end of the islands. Sun, full conditions (25-30 knots) tight reach to close hauled all the way back 35 miles to the finish line. First Sight goes to weather, day 1. Nice rockin' beam reach under spin along the South end of San Juan island to the finish line. [ 11-15-2002, 01:09 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]

Lose to Oracle 3 times in a row? Was the round one performance just bullshit? These guys are all great sailors and their boat points higher than any other, you cant tell me Chris Dickson makes such a big damn difference on the helm of USA-76!?!?!?! Even Oracle breaks their spin pole and they didnt make up ANY ground on that downwind leg. WTF? WHAT THE FUCK??? Better start winning or the McKees are gonna have to call Tacoma home when they get back! Argh!

I really wouldnt want to know what Dru's "secret spot" was!!

many times, highly recommended. speaking of which, if the weather is ok thats what I plan to do Saturday... Alex

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: Send your resume to recompense@hotmail last I heard, you were doing the sysadmin thing mike, so pls send resume to mikeadamson69@hotmail

good one!

There are several approaches that have been used to these climbing areas over the years. Even armed what I am writing here it is essential that you come prepared with map and compass. The US Forest Service map to Wenatchee National Forest, or the Green Trails map #304, Rimrock, or whatever you like. climbers should always bring skis or snowshoes, and a shovel. The approach to the Motherlode area: Drive to the Tieton River Road, near Rimrock Lake on US Route 12, from either White Pass or Yakima. Turn onto Tieton River Road, plowed in winter, and proceed 2 miles, passing Goose Egg Mountain. The first option is to turn onto Milk Creek Road, Forest Service road 570, drive a hundred yards and make an obvious left uphill. climb steady switchbacks and the winding road past Kloochman Rock on the right to its junction with 1201. Turn right onto 1201 and proceed past several large clear-cuts to road 609. Park here, and follow road 609 to where it terminates at a clear-cut, a quarter mile further. Strobach Mountain is visible directly to the south, only thirty minutes away, but the ice climbs are hidden by trees. Travel south through the forest, staying high, towards Strobach Mountain to the south. The second option is to continue past Milk Creek to Forest Service road 1202. Proceed up this road for several miles, then leave the road and bushwhack Southeast through the forest to the right hand side of the Motherlode area. The third option, to approach Dome Peak climbs, is to take road 1202 to where it is gated, and continue up the road up several switchbacks to where it comes close to Dome Peak. Several clearcuts here offer views of the climbs in this area. Bushwhack directly to the base of these routes from the clearcuts in about 45 minutes from the clearcuts. Once you do the approach a few times and become familiar with the area, it gets vastly easier. Alex

paul, right on. for the record, Dec 31st is the official cutoff day. Alex