Alex

I must be getting old, because I thought I just read a thread on a climbing bbs about absolutely nothing.

looks perfect. n face athabasca one of my all time favs!

I think if you are asking whether it's possible to approach Eldorado, then hang a right and traverse under Torment and through Boston basin to Sahale arm, and come back down the arm, or some variation that goes through Boston Basin, the answer is yes. This area is extremely well frequented and there is no travel difficulty once above treeline, plus there is ample fresh water. The trip might take 2 days if yountake your time but can be done in a day. If you are asking whether you can do the loop around the back side of Torment, over the N side of Forbidden, this is a much more serious trip that requires much more time this time of year. Its commonly called the Forbidden Traverse if done as the classic ski tour starting on Sahale arm and ending on the Eldo plateau, via sharkfin col.

West Ridge of Stuart. Edit: ok, probably not the best route to "get started on the alpine stuff" as its a pretty long day (or two)... but still one of the best outings of its kind in the NW

Second that, the 8$ bits at Home Depot wont last nearly as many holes as something more quality.

october will be very sketchy with weather.... but... bailey range traverse on olympic penninsula 4-7 days. ptarmigan traverse north cascade 4-7 days ESPECIALLY if you throw in a detour to Trapper Lake for fishing pasayten wilderness (do a search here) to amphitheater and cathedral peak etc. this might be best for October

its often completely overcrowded, and has limited hours.

i would use gasoline. gasoline has no adverse effect on tree sap, but once your Nylon 6 rope is completely saturated with gasoline, lay it out in the sand to air out, then light it on fire. The tree sap will now be removed.

hey Rudi I also have a gas powered ryobi impact drill you might want to try out

Yeah. The TE6A with battery is immensely heavy. 2 batteries and drill and bits and bolts easily weighs 50-60 pounds. Rad and I know from humping this shit into the various crags last 4-5 years, now we understand why the gridbolters stay so close to the roads! So I know how it is. I think best bet is to take it and try it out on random boulder at 38 or Index. If you get several good holes - tight, clean, 3+ inch deep - out of a single battery, it's worth it. I used both powers 5-piece bolts and Fixe and other stuff, but for Powers especially the deeper holes are needed. Then you should have him take a torque wrench and torque to the correct tightness for the bolt. The Powers heads shear off pretty easy so the torque wrench is a must for safe placement of Powers bolts.

id be surprised if you got more than 4 holes on a full charge. my hilti te6a 36v gets about 11 holes per charge.

you go girl!

late sept will be few bugs but cold and short days, youll be trying to climb in the sun so some routes like n side pingora might be too cold. only one time i was there was a week in mid sept and it was super nice, no one around but quite chilly

when i climbed the e ridge, we went pretty much straight up from the staircase, no travering n. it ws never more than class 4, we never roped up. so i think you went too far right. cj col to the car via dougs direct circa 4.5 hours sounds spot on to me

How about... http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1076565/gonew/1/REI_Kindercone_Sleeping_Bags#UNREAD

So, what was it like? It was 19 years ago. It was scary. It was dark. I think had it been daylight, I would have backed off. I've never gone back.

im not trying to chestbeat, but ive actually soloed that headwall, at night. it wasnt so bad, the night time made the exposure less terrifying

sick amount of snow. feels like 1999, which was a 150% snowpack year!

the descent off the corkscrew looks like it won't go all the way down, but it does. barely. i remember that part of the route being the most unknown, but it didnt take overly long...

more attacks on Polish Bob please, I love the noob telling Bob he's from Montreal en Francais!!

Yes, the first low angled section is polished granite and fantastically clean, but most exposed to rockfall. The next section all the way through the mandatory unprotected "4th" - which is a lot of pitches - can be a bit friable at times. It isn't as exposed as generally you are on the climbers left of the face, but my experience is that really there is no where to hide from rockfall from above if you are on the lower half of the route. You might not see folks who are really high up from the first slabby pitches, but I would be on high alert if it's not O-dark-30 when you are starting up the route and someone may be ahead of you! The most likely scenario is that folks rapp'ing back down the route are going to kick some stuff off. Second and third pic of this TR show that danger zone...

Its a good route but you're about 10 years late for any debate. When I climbed it we had plenty of time, but you have to be reasonably fast. We simulclimbed the first 8 pitches or so as a single block. The route is great training for speed. I wouldn't climb under another party on this route!

Nice to do the Skyladder with skis! Everything looks very snowy, since I've done those routes only in August!

Awesome pics

It is MID APRIL! people, geez, rock climbing?! Hello?!