Alex

If you are doing the climb at a reasonable time of year, you can expect short sectios up to 45 degrees, snow and ice. Minimum gear is minimum gear for any glaciated route: ice axe, crampons, anchors and the means to extract yourself from a big hole. Difficulty on a scale of St Helens to Yocum Ridge is 5.St Helensd, not 5.Yocuma, or on a scale of 1-10, I found this route around a 4. Thanks, Alex

I believe that is Kevin McLane's new guide to SW BC. Very well done... Alex

On Monday, my friend Maurice and I went in to climb this in a day car to car as well, inspired by these reports. We left the car at 3am, reached Maude-Jack col at 8am after a long slog on scree, which sucked. Mo had a round of rot-gut going and the route didnt look particularly inspiring to me, so we actually didnt climb it, though we saw Erik, John and Kristins tracks...in fact we probably saw you guys camped out in a minivan in the parking lot when we left in the early morning hours....? Anyway, that basin is beautiful with lots of wildflowers, and we enjoyed lounging and snoozing at Maude-Jack col, scrambling up the N Ridge, and the views really are great! Back to the car by 2pm. This really is a one-day climb from Trinity, Cheers, Alex

should be pretty crowd free on a Monday. Have fun! Alex [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 07-07-2001).]

If we retro bolt the Infinite Spur, maybe we too can climb it in a day...?

Tom Breit and I were the second party you mention, Sunday. We tagged the top and were at the top of the N Ridge going down when you guys hit the summit plateu and were taking a break past the 'schrund. Long walk to that there summit! Anyway, should anyone have ideas to go climb Adams Gl. I would suggest you do it soon, as there are already some interesting bridges that, once gone, will make the route a lot trickier. Hope you get the Prophet back, Alex

Is this the Lisa that was MRNP climbing ranger on the North side of Rainier several years ago, mid-90s...?

I bought the Yosemite SuperTopos at Marmot in Bellevue. The book is really well done, worth the money... Alex

I usually just camp out in the vehicle at Blue Lake Trainhead. Not sure if this is permiitted/sanctioned or not, but the hairpin pullout underneath the Lib Bell group also works in a pinch. Alex

Thanks for all your input. A few comments, then I'll reveal my choice (made Friday, in Bremerton of all places). The Ford F250, Eurovan and Econoline were good suggestions for road tripping/living in, but a Toyota minivan offers the same clearance and better MPG, while allowing you to get into bed without exiting the vehicle (as you have to with any PU truck). But when it comes to commuting to work every day and parking in a parking garage, all these vehicles become a little more problematic, so ultimately I need something a little smaller and with shorter wheelbase. I did have a line on a cheap, large conversion van, but the whole MPG and commuting thing wins out.. The Subaru wagons are good. I drooled on both the Outback and Forrester, but my budget is arounf 4k, so neither of those two were within range, really. An early 90s GL wagon was in the running, however. I couldnt find any decent Tercel 4WD or Corrola AllTrac wagons. I couldnt find any decent Totyota LE 4WD vans on short notice, though I see one in good shape occaisionally aroung town. This isnt surprising, as when I bought mine originally about 4 or 5 years ago, it took about 3 months of searching to find a 4WD with manual tranny. But the Toyota van is a hideous maintenance problem, as the engine is under the drivers seat, so since I already know all about this particular cars issues, it wasnt so seriously sought after, either. Every MPV owner I asked cursed the car. Even though the MPV seems like it exactly what I wanted, the engine and tranny problems it seems to chronically have made me search for something else. I did however find two Honda Civic 4WD wagons. One was in great shape, an 89, with automatic tranny. The other was in similar great shape, a 91 (the last year they were made), with manual tranny but higher miles than the 89. I ended up driving both the 89 and 91, and committed to buying the 91. The reasons were: I realized I didnt need the clearance I had with the van, but I did need *some* clearance, and that for winter driving the 4WD would be desirable Comfortable for 3 grunts with gear. Zippy, good pick up and handling, acceptable turning radius Full-time 4WD and larger-than-the-avg-civic 1.6 L fuel injected engine. fuel economy - 30s is good! legendary Honda relability - I owned an 86 Honda Civic HB and know what it can take. Heat, electrical all works. Downsides: cant sleep in it really. not enough clearance to do real damage no towing package Thanks for everyones thoughful comments, good luck in finding your ultimate rig! [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 06-25-2001).]

One suggestion, if you have climbing experience, is to to the high route around Mt Rainier....basically involves a hell of alot o sidehilling and glacier crossing...but really nice...I think the traverse is pretty commonly done and is well-treated in one of those fold-out Rainier guides you can get at REI otherwise, the Olympics have epic traverses, days and days above treeline. Ptarmigan traverse as someone mentioned. You could always go to the Land o' Dru and do the Pemberton icecap. Or Pickets Traverse, N to S or S to N. I tried in 99, but ran away... Alex

This topic has been recently discussed in the ( http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000098.html ) xgk thread. Alot of people (myself included) find hanging stoves very convenient, and they do not necessarily spell DEATH to your tent. Go read that topic for some discussion... Alex

I use a 6mm rap line combined with a 70m 9.4 single PMI lead line for ultra-light trips where long rap retreats are a real possibility. Only actually rapped on it once..you dont notice the differential feed rates through the ATC until a ways down the rap, and (as you mention) if you have a biner on the rap sling there is no issue. Strength isnt really an issue, but I wouldnt rap on the 6mm for years and years like I do my thicker ropes, either.. Alex

Back in '95 I found what I thought was the ultimate climbing rig - the Toyota 4WD LE minivan - sitting off to the side on a dirt road at Red Rocks. The owner showed me the inside, where a futon mattress was set up, and there was wonderful space to store climbing gear for road trips. I bought an '87 Toyota 4WD minivan shortly thereafter, and have been driving semi-happily ever since...until 2 weeks ago when it died MIDSPAN ON 520!! It had some problems...no heat, poor electrical, very light rear so it wouldnt do well in wet weather, and easily the most tippy car I've ever driven, even more tippy than my 68 westfalia...so bad for Banff in the winter and ice climbing in general. Its time to replace the rig, on a budget. I am looking for the best combination of road-trip mobile, commuter car (30 mi RT a day to and from work), good MPG, good clearance, excellent reliability, can set more than 2. Not interested in something I can't put alot of crap into, or that I have to put money into.. After a little research, my "possible van replacement list" includes: another Toyota minivan (one with heat??) late 80s-91 Honda Civic FT4WD wagon early 90s Toyota Corolla All Trac wagon 1990 Audi 4WD/AWD (pre-cursor to Quattro?) Nissan Stanza 4WD wagon Subaru Legacy wagon old Nissan Pathfinder Mazda MPV - I have heard many horror stories about the MPV, so its about the lowest on the list.. something else?? What do you all drive? Experiences? Suggestions? Thanks, Alex [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 06-21-2001).]

yes, there are two..P. Alpamayo is alot "shorter" then the more famous Alpamayo in Peru...

Just a note about the Sherpa approach from Esmerelda Basin... agreed, totally doable in a long day. there is little water on the approach, so make sure you tank up before you leave the valley floor. You may or may not get meltwater higher up, but dont count on it. Trail is easy to follow to stuart-sherpa col, but once there you have to traverse some slabs. If wet or snow covered, these slabs are very dangerous! Forced us to turn around in October 98...

good one JMan! [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 06-11-2001).]

I'm pretty anti-, after watching myself, friends and family loose the edge on their intelligence for years, completely burn out and become vegetables, and/or become so needy for artificial stimulation that normal life is no longer interesting. For people close to me I care alot, for people distant from me I am content with them making their own choices. It doesnt matter what you are talking about, anything that causes some physiological response can be dangerous (in moderation or otherwise), and that includes the standard topics like alcohol and weed, but also diet, sweets, radical excercise, etc! However our culture has come to believe that something that *could* be bad for you can't possbily be *good* for you and thats just wrong. There are innumerable beneficial effects from many of the drugs and practices we label "bad" in this culture, and the trick is finding the balance and being informed. Everyone's different; for me, I don't need it so I don't use it. No, I would not climb with someone who is high. I've already seen that contribute directly to several climbing deaths, I don't need me or my partner to be the next statistic. The mountains are beatiful enough... Alex

smack XGK inside a Bibler would have to hang a half-inch off the floor (where it gets in the way) to not burn the tent up immediately. If you get the thing running, that tent would overheat big-time in a hurry unless it was VERY cold and the door was wide open. I use a hanging Markill (cartridge), something with far less BTU output than the XGK, inside my Bibler, and despite its well-thoughtout design and compactness, it still requires a bit of care when working inside the tent. You shouldnt need anything more than a Markill inside a Bibler in the Cascades. Jim Nelson sells them, they are a good stove. Bibler also makes a good hanging stove, but they are not as compact or as light as the Markill.. Hope it all works out.. Cheers, Alex [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 06-07-2001).]

pope, I must confess....I didn't even climb this weekend!! What ever shall my punishment be..? Sinfully, Alex

Ipsut Creek..?

http://students.washington.edu/andalkar/SkiClimb.html pretty nice layout Alex

wow! um, you might have company..we can all be nuts together. Alex

yeah, might as well just slap in a bolt...

Retro, is that where you slide down a WI5+ on your ass? Alex