Alex

Generally speaking if you head up the cattrack on the w side of the valley, and stay high in the first open boulder field (as you approach the "Kiddie Cliff"), and then hug the left side of the first large slide path leading up to Tooth area (I think it might be called Mushroom Slide) you'll be as sheltered as possible in that valley. But the av conditions really do suck right now. Once you are out in that bowl below the Tooth, you'll be exposed to some real av slopes, albeit not big ones, on the opposite (Tooth) side of the valley, leading up to Pineapple Pass. The approach up to Pineapple Pass is a prime av slope!

Oh it definitely freezes, it's just been too warm the last week now for that to happen. Good on you for getting out and thanks for the pics!

That's terrible!

I had her first, youz alls had sloppy seconds.

I spent one season living in Concrete. Since WA 20 closes in the winter, Marblemount is very very quiet in the winter. If you want lift-served skiing you have to head back out to I-5 and up to Mt Baker. If you want backcountry, the outlook is very good if you are willing to suck up and do approaches from the valley bottoms in winter.

pics?

If Alpental is still closed on Mondays, go hike their ski hill.

Thanks for the feedback, I will double-check the coords....

Just for reference, alpental falls is actually the route in the background of your last pic. What you were on is Alpental 4, basically the bottom cliffband of Phantom Slide.

Really cool Craig! I'm certain that just about everything in the Palisades is private. Good on you for asking permission!

That's a pretty big If. I'm not planning on heading there anytime soon.

OMG you beat Sky to a FIRST DESCENT! Ski sickness!!

awesome to see everyone getting out!!

If you mean the green sling at the top of the right hand route (wi3), I left that on Wed.

Alicia Seattle-ites are spoiled. There are few towns ANYWHERE that offer quality climbing so close to town, or a climbing season or SKI SEASON as long! Its just that even here we can find things to complain about. But if any one of us were to start talking about New York City? Chicago? Dallas? LA? San Francisco? Seattle has them all beat by miles! Sure each of these places has some redeeming factors, but nothing offers the package Seattle does. Someone mentioned Salt Lake City....SLC is *great* for skiing and climbing, but there are other...ummm....reasons not to live there that you might weigh too. Reality is that if Sheffield is really all that, and you're really so single-sport focussed that the lack of DAILY natural rock climbing would prevent you from moving to a different country and land of volcanoes, glaciers and deep green forests and thousands of square miles of wilderness, then I'd say stay there.

That p2 of Here Today Gone Tomorrow looks fun!

RE: Black Ice. CYA - I am not sure, but you can most likely get around to the top of that by climbing up very steeply through trees along the right side? I've never actually climbed the route, as it's only been in once or twice that I am aware of, ever. AlpineDave and CascadeClimber said there was a ton of gear at the top to rap from. I am not sure your brother would have much fun at the Black Ice ice, as CYA has a difficult mixed start, and the other route has an unsavory approach through steep snow covered brush. Setting up a TR on either would be a lot of work Haystack on top of Si is a fantasically long hike for scratching around. While it's in the book, I wouldnt recommend that as a destination ever. I think your best bet close to Seattle in the coming couple days would be Franklin Falls. Other ideas that come to mind are Fuggs Falls out at Vantage, and Umptanum Falls near Ellensburg, for easy access to their respective tops without having to do any climbing. Both are 2 hour drives, though.

CascadeClimber, AlpineDave, and myself were all out at Black Ice this morning having a fun time on CYA and "Unnamed" to the right of CYA. That stuff is in and totally leadable. Pics later.

I've updated my conditions page: http://www.wastateice.net/Conditions.aspx Some pictures of my outing today are here: http://www.wastateice.net/SnoqualmieDec08.htm It may look a little grim, but I'm heading out tomorrow morning as any time spent farting around on the ice in the cold beats time sitting in my office, doing work.

General impressions: thin. We've got the cold. Now we need water. http://www.wastateice.net/SnoqualmieDec08.htm

New BD Cobras, check.

I was up there about an hour ago, and will post some pics later tonight.

Ah, ok. Looks similar from below!

...

I'm skeptical of alpine ice: up until before this system arrived, there was NO snow at Snoqualmie Pass. Then this system arrived, first warm and wet then turning very cold, with continued precip. So my --> guess <--- is that there is some smattering of a base, frozen hard now, covered by light and fluffy pow. I think water ice is where it's at this week, personally.