Alex

doh! not fishing, finishing!

I remember that. I don't know who built it, but I remember it still being up in BB around 1998. 'twas probably wiped out by avalanches eventually, unless some intrepid climbers/rangers thought it was an eyesore (doubt it)

You can see most of the route in this photo, you hike down the CassPass trail below Sahale Arm until it starts curving left as to go towards Horseshoe Basin. 'Schwack (short) through the timber to nice alpine medows and creek bottom below Pelton. Here ford creek. Head up large talus blocks towards small circle of snow in this pic to a small col. Some goat paths throughout. The descent down to Trapper Lake from this point is down a very steep alpine grassy hillside. We did it with full packs, so its not too bad. But it would be very dangerous when wet! We camped at the head of the lake, where the S Glacier runoff feeds Trapper Lake. Awesome place to be. Awesome fishing. S Glacier is an awesome route. Everything about this area is superlative!

If that really is the bridge over Downey, then the parking lot for the trailhead isnt more than 100 yards further up the road. However, it means you won't be able to park there. Not sure where the next best parking spot is on the West side of the bridge. The area sees alot of use, I would expect to have to hoof it for a ways on the weekend.

these are the pieces I've taken the longest falls on "successfully" #2 Camalot blue alien green alien Smileys/Black Diamond screw these are the pieces that were not up to snuff (i.e. broke) Black Diamond #1 wired nut (ground fall) yellow alien (ground fall)

Yes, Lithium bats better for cold. Nice trip. I remember doing Daniel Memorial Day weekend in a day car-to-car some years back, and it being a slog because the trail was still buried then. Real pretty area and a great view of ths Stuart Range.

Because Cottonwood camp (the start of the brushbash/cimb to Trapper lake) is now a 13 mile hike from the end of the Stehekin Road. The trail to the Pelton Basin dropdown point to trapper lake is also a few more miles from the road due to washouts from Boston Creek. Trapper Lake is an easy 4 hours from Cascade Pass trailhead, though, with no real bushwacking and only a small river ford. Fine fishing in that lake. One of my first ever and still most memorable trips in NOCA was to Trapper Lake with Eric Bindseil, Geoff Radford, Toni et al. Good Times!!

wow, now i wish i didnt have a job

There are some common reference points. In the granitic North Cascades, the crest isnt too well defined as the hydrology is more complex. Rainy Pass in highway 20 is probably the best reference point. Along the border, I think it would be Hannegan Pass. That makes Baker and Shuksan both West of the crest. Moving S, Stevens Pass is the clear hydrological apex along route 2. Moving S, Snoqualmie Pass is the clear apex of the crest on I90. This makes the Stuart Range and all its satellite peaks East of the crest. (I've heard that Stampede Pass is also used?) Moving S, Chinook and White Passes represent the crest of the Cascades in the Mt Rainier area. Mt Rainier itself is well West of the crest. Moving S, around the Adams and St Helens area, there are a heckuva lot of foothills and no roads that traverse the range until you get to the Columbia, but I think Adams might be East of the crest, while St Helens is on or West. Its alot easier in Oregon, where the volcanoes more clearly demarcate the boundary.

I would wager no one has been up it in the last 3 weeks, if not this year. Gator/Mt Rainier Park could prob tell you diffinitively.

Tips and quotes (from my wife!) <when asked why she didnt return my calls the first 6 months> "When I first met you, you were way too desperate, way too easy!" <when asked why she finally did return my calls> "I hadnt had any in a while, so I figured what the hell" <when asked what she liked about me to even consider returning my call> "Shoulders, body, strong chin" <when asked why she kept hanging out with me after the six month mark> "We had already moved in together by that point, and I needed the low rent" <when asked why she agreed to marry me> "We were still living together, and I still needed the low rent" Mike: In short, if you got something a woman wants/needs, and you keep perstering her, you too can have one!!! Alex

Sat - worked on the house all day, mudding and taping, painting some walls. Worked on the boat. Watched Harry Potter 2. Sun - worked on the house most of the day, tried to get out to 38 in the evening but it was soaking wet. Tried to go to gym, but it was closed. Listened to Mariners choke again. Watched Thirteen. Monday - worked ou the house most of the day. Got plain sick of it!!#?!@ Tried to go to 32, but weather looked suck towards the East, so went to gym and pulled plastic til 7. Finally some exercise! Went shopping to Home Depot, home and watched The Godfather (I'd never seen it!)

wait, no, minx you're hot too, that would just be a damn waste.

alright and we do have Beyonce...! Or is Beyonce canadian too? Alls I know is like every climbing chix I've ever met from the Great White North was hotter than a Smith summer.

5?? 5 would be some record or something. I can scarce remember the time when I've seen more than 1 or 2 real Prana-clad climbing bettys at Smith. Americans are fat, weak, and ugly. Oh Canada!

The weekend

Yeah, you were one system too far left. The route we took went up to where the main gully "splits", up about another 2-300 vert of the main (left) branch, then traversed left a short way over a thin rock rib, straight up past some AI2+, then a step right to the final pitch below the main notch you see just up and to the right of your guys bail point.

Wow, there is very little snow on DTail already!

matt_m, if you were with a girl, it was us. Otherwise, it wasnt. But everyone who headed up there knows the feeling of almost taking a digger onto route 2 from the moss-covered wet slabs! Alex

totally !!

shapp, at what point did you pass groundfall potential? Yes, its true people often whip right up City Park. However, this thread is about someone learning to aid climb, and asking about City Park as a good learning tool. As such, let em sew it up and learn how to bounce something before they crater their first day out!

In a similar vein to another post, Marmot's current sale isnt too bad. They have some clothing that's pretty fairly priced. Last night I picked up a pair of sz L shoeller pants and nice sz L pat Synchilla thingy. I was most surprised that they had any sz L things at all, but there were still good items to be had here and there.

I've done the route, and I think its a worthy route to do IF you are also doing other things in the area. Don't drive all the way from Seattle just to climb this route. I have other, better, suggestions for you if that's your plan. As far as "hard/easy", I think that as its published, it is easier: there are a few harder moves to what I would call Leavenworth 5.9, but the climb is not sustained. There is one move in particular (a crux move) that goes pretty easy if you are 6' or over and can reach, but much harder if you are short. Most of the pitches are mediochre quality (compared to what you are surrounded with at WA Pass!!!) The last pitch is very good, though.

I think thats still close, but as you say the campaign hasnt really even started yet. I would like to see a popular and electoral vote that can't be hijacked by the Supreme Court or other family members who hold Governorships of Florida.