Alex

It was warm(er) this weekend in the Icicle. I've gone into Colchuck Lake early in the winter season several times before and even in a normal snow year the route does not get to the point where it can be "easily" climbed until later in the season. If you are looking for thin snow cover, that classic verglassed rock band guarding the lower third of the route, and sketch central on the upper NE face, then anytime soon should be good.

I disagree, Syd Barret Floyd wasnt that interesting musically, Pink Floyd really only came into their own starting with Atom Heart Mother and then later albums from 73-81 (Final Cut is still one of my favs), but the stuff that is called "Pink Floyd" post 1981 is nothing but David Gilmour solo stuff re-packaged with the two other original band members. In their most recent album I heard some hints of retro pre-breakup floyd, but still mostly idle Gilmour stuff.

Something sat afternoon through Sunday. PMs

in my experience 1) straight shafts are not nearly as comfortable, so you dont have as nice an experience on steep ice (bashed knuckles, hands greasing off the shaft, pumping out easier) and comfort makes a difference for confidence, which makes a difference for leading on ice alot! 2) the people who can climb really hard can climb really hard on pretty much any tools. So don't imagine that by going to the Quark Ergo your lead grade will suddenly be WI5. 3) straight shafts still really nice for snow climbing in the alpine

Climb: Entiat-Carne Mountain High Route Date of Climb: 10/8/2005 Trip Report: Seeing that the larches had turned but that snow line was descending mas rapido while cragging in the Icicle last weekend, I decided that it was high time to get on one of the October trips I had planned before it really was too late this year. So with the semi-decent forecast for Saturday, my wife and I headed over to the Entiat bright and early Saturday morning to do the Carne Mountain High Route, a traverse from Carne Mountain to Leroy Basin in the Entiat. I had been messing around in the range for a few years, but only last June had ventured to try this (reasonable day-trip) traverse. In June I had lost the trail under snow and in the clouds and ended up descending down Chipmunk Creek, not even half way along from Leroy Basin. Visibility had been poor and I figured I had just lost "the trail" and that if I went just before the snow flew it would be easy going. At the trailhead we were greeted with that full-on winter feeling: dark forboding clouds and a very low snow line! Man, it was depressing and exhilarating at the same time! We were also a little bit late getting out of the house so we resolved to get to the top of Carne Mountian and see what the whole thing looked like. Carne Basin did not dissapoint! There is a real larch forest up there, in this sheltered basin, and it was really awesome! On the summit, where we encountered a Mountaineers party of 10 coming down, we scoped out the rest of the traverse. My wife, practical as ever, figured we would just go for it if we could get to Leroy Basin by dark. So we did. The traverse was under 6 inches of snow, but the way looked fairly straightforward and at least we had a map (this time!). Armed with the knowledge that I could at least get down Chipmunk creek again should the weather turn sour, we set off. At first the trail is very easy to follow. Then it becomes less easy. Then it becomes pretty hard. Finally, about a third of the way along from Carne Mountain through Box Creek, we pretty much lost it entirely. Looking at the map we could pretty much figure out where it went, but it required gaining a bit of elevation to go through a high saddle, and it was under alot of snow so we decided to stay low. There was a faint path here, too, with a few isolated cairns. We were only half a drainage away from Chipmunk creek, where I knew I could figure out how to get to Leroy Basin again going the way I had come in June, so we continued on this path. For the most part, this section of the Carne Route is actually pretty well-travelled: you can tell that alot of people have gotten lost and have 'schwacked their way across the Chipmunk Creek basin. The day wore on and the larches were awesome, the newly fallen snow was awesome, the travel was awesome. It snowed on us a little bit, it was pretty cold. Really "fresh" weather! The travel was pretty stress free, since I knew a/the way to Leroy Basin from Chipmunk Creek (it requires slogging up a long grassy slope to gain a goat trail that skirts a large cliffband). As the afternoon progressed it got colder and it was really awesome just moving all the time, getting great views, feeling October in full force. We got to the notch overlooking Leroy Basin in late afternoon, ate the last of the sandwiches, and made our way down into Leroy Basin, here a few parties were camped out for the weekend. We basically ran down the Leroy Basin trail (so much erosion!) on wobbly quads, and got to the main trail at 6. Hiked out the last mile or so in the dark. In the last few hundred yards to the car, in the deep trees, we got buzzed by a large owl! Sooo cool! Gear Notes: map, good boots, extra layers, visibility all very useful Approach Notes: There is snow above 6500 and its sticking.

I think Nepal Extremes would be a bad idea on Denali. On some of the lower elevation peaks (lets say, below 14,000) maybe they might work.

yes, statics are used for toproping. They do have *some* streatch, just not as much as dynamic ropes. But yes, if you end up being inattentive as a belayer and allow 10 fet of penalty slack into the system, then falls even on TR become dangerous.

touche!

Look, I appreciate your desire to defend your product and brand, but you are stating full retail prices. There is no doubt your product is a quality down product and perhaps they are not overpriced compared to other makers in your product's space. Perhaps I should have qualified my statement with "I've found bro deals and sale items for every down product known to man, every year, except Feathered Friends stuff." As a counter point to your statement, then,.. TNF Nuptse in new condition bought at Second Ascent last week in my size, 70$. <edit>I should further clarify that my own personal belief is that brand name has little or no real value when starting to contemplate the higher end/higher quality outdoor products, such as MHW, TNF, Feathered Friends, Marmot, and so on. Some of this belief comes from working in the space for many years, some of it comes from buying, and some of it comes from pure experience seeing all the hardmen out there in Canada all winter wearing rags and still sending M11. All the makers make good products, good garments, nice down garments with very good materials, workmanship, quality control, etc. FF is no exception. So in the end (and the reason I made my post) is that price becomes the real and overriding descriminator. And the unfortunate thing (and perhaps this is a true compliment to FF stuff) is that I have never found any used FF gear for sale, but I *have* found other new or used down products for sale for much less than what I would have paid new at a retail outlet. Its just part of my game. But my belief might not be shared by everyone, and I am sure there are people who swear their <FF,Marmot,TNF/> jacket is the absolute bomb.</edit>

they cost alot.

Adequate instruction. Gear is just gear, without a brain it means nothing. 1) Please better define "coast range". Washington Cascades? BC Coast Range? Oregon? 2) "Upcoming season" ...like, Summer time? Gear will vary depending on whether you are here in June or August or October. With those things in mind, here is a non-exhaustive list of things you will need to have or be able to borrow to do simple, overnight "alpine" trips in the Washington Cascades and Oregon. When coming up with this list I thought "what would I take on an overnight trip to the W Ridge of Forbidden?" * instruction in self arrest, crevasse rescue, trad climbing, safe snow travel and climbing. RMI, AAI, the other AAI and other such outfits offer 6-21 day courses. The Mountaineers, BoeAlps and other such climbing clubs also offer basic courses that might meet your needs for less cost. Ideally, someone who is experienced will take you along some basic trips...if you post here under Climbing Partners someone might take you out. * the 30L pack might be too small. 40L probably better for summer trips, larger for winter trips. I have 3 packs: summit pack for day trips in the Summer, a 40L pack for most things, and a Dana Terraplane for the long winter trips. * sleeping bag. If buying just 1, get a 20 degree down bag. * bivy sack/ tent. Essential. * basic stove. In the Spring you might be melting snow for water. * basic ice axe * basic strap on crampons * helmet * trad rock climbing rack - set of nuts, set of cams from green alien/yellow TCU size to #3 camalot. * PROBABLY need floatation of some sort eventually - snowshoes or AT skis "Alpine climbing" is simply rock and snow and ice climbing farther from the road than "cragging". So mostly you need good camping gear, good camping skills, good boots, trad leading gear, and other stuff to execute the cross country travel. If by "coast range" you mean "BC Coast Range", you would supplement this list with a helicopter. Alex

Ice Floss 60m works well for ice climbing

anyone getting tired of decent products being discontinued like, a year or two after they are introduced??

True dat.

Actually, I heard they just went to grad school...

These are the best known/most accessible beginner routes you can do now... The Tooth - still the best after all these years! W Ridge N Twin Sister - very short climb for the very long approach. Better as a solo conditioning thing. S Arete S Early Winters Spire - combine with Liberty Bell! Beckey Route on Liberty Bell - classic first-timer's climb. S Ridge Ingalls - a fine first alpine climb, more climbing than Twin Sister for about the same approach (unless you live in the Ham). I once took a housemate up this route for his first rock climb ever, went fine. W Ridge Prussik - casual climb that wont be crowded Others ------------------- Guye - dont recommend as a first climb, little real climbing other than Improbable Traverse and the like, which would freak a newbie second out! W Ridge Forbidden - a newbie route, but with the couloir questionable I would wait til next June. N Ridge Mixup - another newbie route, but a very exposed approach the final couple hundred feet so it would depend on your bro's head space. W Ridge Thompson - long walk, but well known route. Will be a long dawn-to-dusk day trip this time of year. Lundin - another long walk for short route in the Snoqualmie Pass area. Still, not a bad choice for a quick day trip.

I am spending most of Nov in Banff but do not currently have a partner lined up for the first week I am there.

dox, whats all that brown stuff in that bong??

Just looking at the amount of possible climbing in the pictures makes my heart ache...now where's the gondola!?!

The only thing missing is a Bosch and machete. With such an assortment of tools ('hoe, bosch, bivy sack, etc) you could beat any Cascades route into submission!

Last I checked Berchtesgaden, where Alex and Thomas grew up, was in Germany.

Canada is the 51st state...

Yes, I saw the two Fisher Creeks. The one drains directly into Grizzly and only runs a mile or two, but comes from Fisher Pass perhaps explaining its naming. The other drains Fisher Basin above Fisher peak...anyway, a whole lot of Fishers there..!

For an experienced computer professional, that figure (7,000 a month) is probably median. But the reality is that for someone to make that kind of money on a sustained basis, they have to want to work

Climb: Fisher Peak-West Ridge Date of Climb: 9/18/2005 Trip Report: Ever since I saw http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/phot...1&route_id= on SummitPost this past Summer, I thought about going into Fisher Basin in the fall. After my trip to Black Peak last week and with a half decent forcast for Sat and Sun, the idea solidified into the plan for the next available weekend. Fisher Basin, from the picture, epitomized what I thought true alpine wilderness might be: treeline tundras reminiscent of the Brooks Range, fall colors, territory that a Grizzly or moose could find appealing. Indeed, the last known Grizzly in the Cascades was shot in Fisher Basin in 1968, a year before the NOCA park came into being. Coupled with the glowing write up of Silent Lakes, it seemed like the place to go! We left Seattle at a civilized 6am and drove up to Easy Pass TH. The clouds socked in everything, but it was not raining, nor would it. This was my first time to this area, and the trail up to Easy Pass is nice, and with the swirling clouds made things very mysterious! Going over Easy Pass and descending into Fisher Basin out of the clouds was like entering into a private world, with the cloud deck obscuring everything above 6000'. We worked our way up the basin, trying to find the steep "snow couloir" that lead to Silent Lakes. I had forgotten the map but it didnt matter, in the end there is really only one breach in the large rock ramparts that could lead to the higher plateu on the Grizzly-Fisher divide, but it had already long been snow free. So much for the crampons. This is a loose rock couloir (hug cliff climbers left) that is thankfully fairly short. Finally, we topped out and encountered the upper Silent Lake, 5 hours from the car. Silent Lakes is clearly not visited often, there were no signs of previous parties except for 1 bootprint and some dogprints. The lake is crystal clear. Things were still socked in, though Black was visible through the wisps of cloud, and a cold wind blew, so we set up the tent and just crashed out for a few hours, before officially going to sleep at 7pm. Silent Lakes lived up to its name, and the night was eerie. No wind, the sky cleared and full moon shone, it was the type of night and the type of place that you could still imagine a Grizzly roaming the North Cascades, looking for the last huckleberry feast before a long winter's sleep. It was very cold, below freezing here at 7000. Despite 3 layers, I eventually got cold enough around 5am to stay awake the last few hours before dawn. The camp site was shaded by Fisher Peak all morning, which made it hard to warm up, and while our plan had just been to have a leisurly camping trip, the adventurous side kicked in and by 7am we were scrambling up the alpine heather benches that form the lower West ridge of Fisher Peak, wearing everything we had, to see if we could scramble this summit. I had also left the route descriptions for Arriva and Fisher at home, so it was more like Beckey in 1940 than anything else. The West Ridge is doubtless now the defacto standard ascent route of Fisher, though one could scarcly tell by the lack of human signs. In general there is no climbers path, there are no cairns, nothing. Every once in a while there were telltale signs of some previous passage, and there is 1 cairn about 3/4 of the way up in a loose rock couloir, but this is a fine, lonely North Cascades scramble. We summitted in an hour, with some minimal 4th class rock difficulties, but didnt stay long. Back at the tent we packed up and descended into Fisher Basin again, the morning cloudbank had finally dissapated and a cold wind was blowing. It was the first time we truely saw the basin, as the previous day it had been mostly in cloud. Moving down the valley, grazing blueberries, made this one of the finest Fall outings I've had in the Cascades, it lived up to the promise of that picture. Nearing treeline again, my wife and I worried a little about how to pick up the trail again, then I saw it.."Its the rock! The rock in the picture!" I recognized the large rock in the picture I had seen, and took my own version. The trip back to Easy Pass went quickly, and we enjoyed another perfect Fall day, eating blueberries and enjoying the many shades of reds, oranges, and yellowish greens in the alpine meadows. The West Ridge of Fisher is not a technical climb, but is an exposed scrambling route to a seldom-visited summit. If you are looking for a two-day trip filled with solitude above treeline, this is a great one into the heart of the North Cascades. Gear Notes: crampons might be useful in earlier season or in heavier snow years