Alex

fun!

The lack of activity speaks volumes. NOCA is pretty far from Yosemite. the closest thing to free camping moderately close would likely be Early Winters campground E of Washington Pass. Not free, but fairly cheap. As for hitching, if you want to run the risk of not getting picked up one or both ways and blowing a day of climbing and/or dinner and sleep, then there might be enough traffic on the weekends on 20 to try this, but during the week its probably best to use your own car and stack the odds in your favor. Alex

Hi, due to a remodel I am mired in, I am not climbing. I was wondering if any of you are electricians and willing to take on a small electrical job. Give me a buzz on email or send me a PM if interested and I will give you the details. Thanks!

I tried this with overnight gear in 1998(?? I dont remember actually) and it wasnt a good experience...too long of an approach for too short a climb for overnight gear. Campsites are not that easy to find and the whole thing just turns into a grind Do it in a day. The approach is long but casual from Esmerelda Basin. The approach is longer and not casual, but more rewarding, via Sherpa or Ice Cliff Glacier. There is still snow in Cascadian, providing water up high and sometimes hastening the trip down. Cheers, Alex

I found Crooked Thumb in the Pickets to be a tottering pile of choss. I have heard other bad things about the Pickets in general, but dont know first-hand. I found Challenger to be OK, but not condidence inspiring really.

Pictures of this year's Victoria, B.C. to Maui yacht race (http://www.mountainwerks.org/alexk/sail/vicmaui02.htm) [ 07-16-2002, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]

go for it!

you might try and search the site for "Thin Red Line"...? Alex

[ 06-18-2002, 10:34 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]

Jens, yes the rock in the lower cirque seems to be real nice. This and a few other places in the Cascades (Challenger, West and Middle from the South) inspire me to hump in a big load, base camp it for a week, and just do new routes. If you broke up the approach and return by a few days, even the boulderfields on the way would be comletely tolerable. And what a great place to camp! As to GP, man, it looks like a chosspile. Dan and I have both though about it in a day car to car, but to be honest it looks pretty uninspiring.

still lots of snow at the base and on the route proper. I was surprised to read the TR of N Ridge just now, it seems like this would be pretty darn early to go in for this route, right on!

John, yeah like III AI2 bro, like two trains passing in the night!

Ice Cliff Glacier With a rare 2 days off to play on the weekend, I started asking the usual suspects what the plan was. Consensus was that Forbidden, Little Tahoma, skiing the Sulphide, or something of that nature would be interesting; then people started backing out of anything that might require 2 days. So Ice Cliff Glacier in a day car-to-car it was to be. Of course, for an ice route with hazard like this we didnt want to be particularly late on the route, and with the approach we figured that a 3am start from the trailhead was in order..which meant a midnight start from Seattle. It had been 95 degrees in Chelan the day before, and we all agreed that if it was hot and there was activity on the route, we would opt for Sherpa Glacier - West Ridge of Sherpa instead. We left the car at 3 and made good time. Only one of us had been on this approach before, but we found the bushwacking mild and made it to the base of the route in 3 hours. The route looked to be in fine shape, with no significant bergschrund problem or cornice guarding the exit. We didn't wait around, and climbed through the lower ice cliff on an AI2 weakness on the left. We were all climbing very slowly at this point, starting to feel the effects of the approach and altitude. The seracwall started coming alive about an hour after we passed it, but by then we were tackling the schrund on the left and started motoring up the final couloir with perfect step-kicking conditions. Dan showed us where he had fallen and almost died 4 years earlier. His gear was all still there, and he climbed up a short ways and retrieved the lowest piece, a #3 camalot. We were climbing faster again, unroped up the couloir, and we topped out at 10:30. A cold wind was blowing, and hordes trudged up the steeper slopes at the top of Cascadian Couloir without ice axes. We had all been to the summit of Stuart, and our plan was to climb the West Ridge of Sherpa. But the weather looked unsettled, and we were all pretty pooped. So we abandoned all that and headed down. The decent route was found after traversing rotten oatmeal snowslopes for 10 min to an obvious col. Looking down looked a little intimdating, and I briefly argued that it wasnt the right one for some reason, but thankfully no one listened to me very much. Once in the couloir, the downclimbing was very casual and quick. We decended to the flatter glacier and roped up for a short time, to where the rock slabs began. From there it was plunge stepping to the base of the glaciers. The long return to the car found us bonking through the boulderfields back towards Stuart Lake trail. Between the mosquitos and the fatigue, the beauty of the route and environs was dulled a bit. We got back to the trail in 2 hours or so, and motored back down to the trailhead. Surprisingly few people on the trail! We reached the car at around 4:30; me, slower due to some swollen feet, at 5:00. Plenty of time to head over to Gustavs and eat some fatty calories before the sleepy drive home.

quote: Originally posted by gapertimmy: We both chewed her ass better than her chewing yours I guess. Munch!

wow 151 from a camelback....speechless....

I suggest, since the honorable (and despicable) members of this board have taken it upon themselves to form a social wing (Pub Club), that we take it one step further ####################### ANNUAL OUTING!!!! ####################### The Annual Outing is our chance for a new tradition in the Pacific Northwest. Its an opportunity to bag a local peak/climb a local route in the finest style, using the finest ethics There should probably be some guidelines to how we decide what the common climbing obvective should be: * We should get as large a group as possible, so we can completely limit ourselves for destinations * It should coincide with a Mountaineers Outing. I would be very interested to see the facial expressions when an even larger herd of climbers, drinkin', tokin' and smokin' goes marching past on the sacred trail, not wearing their helmets. * Everyone needs to bring one of the 10 non-essentials, to be shared with the group * Everyone gets to take a turn at the table going head-to-head with Capt Caveman Suggestions on locations? Muir Hut? Da Toof? Monte Cristo townsite? [ 06-13-2002, 10:44 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: mvs, Alex, marek, Peter Pubic, and you internet police chill. No idea what you are talking about or what this thread is referring to... Alex

Its super important that when you wash head to toe after being exposed, you DONT use hot/warm water. Close your pores with cold water, otherwise you'll be very unhappy. Alex

hey nice to see you tried to get out anyway! this route is usually easiest a little later in the summer, July-ish in a normal year currently the snow levels would dictate bids on Sulphide, NF Shuksan or White Salmon Glacier for this peak

N Face of Luna Alex

barf WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? This thread started off great, with cocksuckers and hoodstahs from Cali and HATE HATE HATE Now I am feeling the love - Steamer actually congratulaing Anna, people saying hoostahs are welcome in Washington, people making up, civil tone, apologies, making friends, meeting for pub clubs! Ug! This is Spray dammit, I log on here to be entertained, not to make friends!

I think what we need is a quiz! Jon, Tim, to arms! You could take the GAPE TEST on cc.com and rate how much of a gaper...you...um...your friends, yeah, your friends...are! The very last question should be "You take tests to see if you are a qualified gaper"

This has been a tragic week http://www.msnbc.com/news/759138.asp My thoughts go out to the rescue crew and the victims. With the coming weekend of warm, sunny weather, lets hope that those people planning trips to the peaks remain smart and alert. I know I always hate pointing out when people are being fools, but I would suggest that if you are heading out, don't be embarrassed to call people on idiotic behavior in the mountains. We don't need any more of these accidents.

"First time on Rainier" doesnt hold water with me. My first attempt on Mt Rainier was Liberty Ridge too, in early April, and my party was rolled by a storm when we were at Thumb Rock. We were lucky and got down the mountain and back to the edge of the Carbon and relative safety. It sounds like this party took a risk, like many parties before them, and tried to tough it out in very poor conditions. They did nothing wrong, besides follow their dreams. Things did not work out. My thoughts for the survivors and families. Alex [ 05-30-2002, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]

Dan-it looks like from drawing on the link that you didn't go all the way to the very top of the main couloir on your first try (left a bit below the summit). Basically, high on the face all the couloir options run out. We followed the path of least resistance initially, but even that necked down and got pretty damn steep and ended it a 10-15 ft sloping rock chimney. Not alot of positive holds there. With a little more snow it might have been casual, but it was bare and not easily passable. We didnt see any easier way from that point, though with less snow and perhaps some rock shoes some of the options would be completely probable. But, it sounds like you guys had a hell of a time trying to get past it. I guess I'm wondering if I was looking at the same rock step that thwarted you guys. Maybe so, maybe not...? My only reason for being so particular (other than I'm a dork) is that I'm thinking of heading up there this weekend to give it a go if things get cold and freeze. You might have a tough time topping out. Basically, if you try the way we went successfully, and there isnt any ice over the WI 2+ ice step, you might get shut down. It was very thin ice even in the middle of winter, I dont know what its like now with a high freezing level. If you try the variation that we initially backed off of, you might get higher, but its hard to say. Certainly with drier rock and no crampons on you might get past it. Alex