Lowell_Skoog

Does anybody know of other climbs that people have done in the Northwest using bikes instead of cars to reach the mountains? I'm thinking this might be an interesting article for a future issue of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal. PM me if you have any leads. I'm aware of the speed bike/ascent of Rainier done earlier this year that was reported on Mike Gauthier's blog: http://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/2008/07/another-record-puget-sound-to-summit-in.html A friend of mine bicycled round-trip from Seattle to climb Mt Stuart a couple years ago. That was a multi-day trip.

Update: The Mountaineers History Committee is continuing to prepare for Saturday's "History Grab" event at the Mountaineers clubhouse. While selecting photo/printing plates that we'll be keeping, we discovered a second plate of the 1938 inside-cover pictured above. This artwork was used on both the front and back covers, so two plates were made. (Note that the second plate is not as clean as the one shown above. A qualified printer would probably know how to clean it, but I have not looked into that.) We'll be offering the second plate in a silent auction on Saturday. The silent auction will conclude at 2:30 p.m. If you'd like to bid on this item, make sure to come to the History Grab before the auction closes. We may be auctioning other items as well, but final decisions haven't been made yet. There are hundreds of photo plates of various quality for you to look at--probably close to a thousand of them. Hundreds of Mountaineer Annuals will also be available spanning many decades--although there are no complete sets available. If you're interested in Northwest mountaineering history, I think you will enjoy this event. Details: The Mountaineers History Grab 300 Third Ave. West, Seattle Saturday, September 20, 2008, 12 to 5 p.m. (All proceeds from this event support Mountaineer historical projects)

Inside front cover of 1938 Mountaineer Annual. Left: copper printing plate; right: printed page. Artwork by Clark E. Schurman. (Note: This item will not be available at the History Grab.) ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Mountaineers History Grab! Before moving to the club's new Magnuson Park facility the Mountaineers History Committee is disposing of extra materials that won't be moved. On Saturday, September 20, collectors and history buffs will have a chance to obtain some of these materials: 1. Mountaineer Annuals, 1920s-1990s The History Committee has hundreds of Mountaineer Annuals that need to go. We have pulled aside all the annuals we need to keep. Extra copies will be made available at the History Grab. 2. Halftone Printing Plates, 1910s-1960s Photos in early Mountaineer Annuals were printed using halftone plates, each made by engraving an image on a copper sheet mounted on wood. The History Committee has pulled aside a selection of these plates that we'll be keeping, but there are hundreds more that we don't need to keep. For mountaineering and history buffs, these plates are unique collectibles. 3. Logistics Materials at the History Grab will be made available in several ways. Some items will be free for the taking. Others will be offered for sale at a fixed price and still others may be offered in a silent auction. Details are being worked out by the History Committee and all proceeds will go to Mountaineer historical projects. Come grab a piece of mountaineering history! Where: The Mountaineers clubhouse 300 Third Ave. West, Seattle When: Saturday, September 20, 2008, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Beautiful pictures Leor and Jason! It's nice to see a dusting of new snow up there. Chiwawa offers a great summit bivi, if you're into that sort of thing.

Nice looking climb! Those pictures of the McAllister icefall make me want to go back in there during the ski season. It looks like the icefall has lost a fair bit of mass since 1973, especially on the looker's right side. Hope it holds up a while longer...

Thanks Pat and Jason. Good points. I don't have a problem with hardening campsites in heavily used areas. To me that is less objectionable than imposing strict quotas. I just think we should always be asking ourselves when it's appropriate. In the past few years I've often put the rocks back after camping in a spot that seemed untouched, or only lightly touched, when I arrived. If you never do this the sites just proliferate without end. Maybe having a permanent bivi at Dome col is okay, but I asked the question because your picture revealed SO MUCH site modification. Where do we draw the line? "No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." --Voltaire

Black Peak day climb, 7/8/07. I was just passing through. Here's what it looked like before I knocked the wall down and redistributed the rocks: It's possible to erase these things, even if you don't carry a sleeping pad. Hands don't weigh anything.

I know I'm going to sound like an old grouch, but don't you think this bivi site is a little excessive? I mean, it must be visible from space! And there's a flat glacier right next to it. The following picture was taken within spitting distance of the site in 1985. There was no prepared bivi site at that time, as far as I can remember. I think this bivi site should be erased and people should go back to camping on snow here. Great trip report otherwise. I love that area.

One thing that makes Alan Kearney's book unique (and that he felt was important in writing it) is that he climbed every route listed in his book, so you can count on a consistent degree of accuracy. That's not true of most "selected climbs" books. (Disclaimer: Alan is a friend.)

"Though we climbed no summits, I felt more satisfaction than on many climbs. Though we saw no new country, the country seemed new to me. I realized that hurrying through the mountains does not necessarily mean losing sensitivity to them. Rather it can be a way to embrace them more fully. It was an experience I would gladly repeat." --Flight of the Ptarmigan

The Ptarmigan Traverse was first hiked in a day in the mid-1980s, I believe. I met one of the guys who did it, but I don't remember his name. I don't know how long they took. Joe Stock and a friend named Andrew hiked the route in 15 hours, 40 minutes on September 4, 2004. Joe submitted a brief story about the trip to the 2005 NWMJ but we decided not to publish it. (I still have Joe's original story and I also have his address.) I don't know if other people have been trying to set speed records. My brother Carl and I probably did the first one-day ski traverse in 1988. (Story here.) Our intention was just to ski the route in a day, so I don't know if we could have gone faster. I believe the route has been skied in a day several times since then. When Carl and I skied the Ptarmigan in 1988 we did most of the trip in plastic mountaineering boots. I think walking the route in lightweight shoes would be faster and you wouldn't need to take ski gear. But skiing was what we wanted to do.

Looks like Graybeard to me.

Glad you're okay. Gear is just stuff. It would be a community service if future guidebook writers would swear off the term "pocket glacier" when referring to Slesse's NE buttress. It's not a glacier and thinking about it like a glacier will continue to get people killed. How about "seasonally disintegrating snow patch"?

It depends on what the climb out of Thunder Creek to Primus/Tricouni is like. I have not been that way. It seems like it could be Cascade river crossing and bushwack horror show, but I really don't know. On the other hand there's a pretty well established climbers trail up from Pyramid Lake to the Colonial glacier area.

There is a tricky ridge to cross SSW of Mt Torment. Typically this will require a rappel or two with packs. It's rather slabby. Here's the story of Don and Natala Goodman's trip: http://www.mountaineers.org/NWMJ/05/051_GrandTour1.html

Trip: Natal Peak, NNE Ridge (FA?) Date: 7/13/2008 Trip Report: On July 13, my brother Gordy and I climbed the NNE ridge of Natal Peak, pictured above. Our route climbed the obvious ridge in the center of the photo, accessing the route from the lower left snowfields via the major heather ramp. We didn't climb the lower part of the ridge, where the rock in the photo is darker. Natal Peak is on the Cascade Crest between Mt Logan and Black Peak, just west of Indecision Peak and about a mile ESE of Fisher Pass. We chose this destination because it was one of the few places we could think of that satisfied my desire for a scenic view and Gordy's desire for a place he'd never been before. From the col SW of Mt Arriva, we descended an unpleasant gully to the west. I've descended this gully on snow several times during ski traverses in this area. I had no idea it would be so ugly without snow. The gully seems to have been scoured by flash floods and the crux is a section of crumbly rock and hardpan dirt. We managed to get down without problems and without using a rope. This was the only unpleasant section of the trip. We climbed Indecision Peak via the standard SW route. The Beckey guide rates this class 3 and 4, but the class 4 climbing (if any) is really minimal. We didn't use a rope going up or down. Since our time was limited, we initially decided to climb Natal Peak by the easiest way, which appeared to be the east ridge (left skyline above) accessed by a narrow snow couloir. But as we approached the peak the NNE ridge drew us like a magnet. We figured it was worth going that way even if it meant a late return to the car. The heather ramp was simple and the ridge was enjoyable and pretty straightforward. We did some roped simul-climbing and I'd call the route Grade I-II, class 5.0. The summit view is as good as any in the North Cascades, with Goode, Logan, Ragged Ridge, Arriva and Black towering nearby. We descended the east ridge and NE couloir. This ridge provided quick class 3 downclimbing. The NE couloir had continuous snow, but it was only five feet wide in places, so it won't last long. I suspect that this would be a poor descent route when snow-free. Beckey's guidebook says that the "NWW ridge" was climbed by Mark Allaback and John Roper in 1981. I don't know if the NNE ridge has been climbed before. Whatever the case, it was a very enjoyable outing.

I recommend the route that Keith describes. Continue south to Image Lake and exit east to Holden Village. This variation adds about 50% to the length of the standard Cascade Pass to Downey Creek traverse. But it involves no brush. There's a story about skiing this route in 2000 here (including a map): http://www.alpenglow.org/skiing/ptarmigan-2000/index.html

The conventional wisdom about skiing in mountaineering boots is not wrong, but it is conventional. If you have good skiing skills and are willing to adapt your technique and expectations, mountaineering boots can take you far. I've skied all over the Cascades in them. My current setup based on Dynafit gear can be seen in the middle photo on this page: http://www.alpenglow.org/skiing/stampede-2007/index.html I also have regular alpine touring (ski) boots, but when I want to go far, I use mountaineering boots.

A member of the original Ptarmigan Climbing Club, Will F. Thompson was one of the greats. See Harvey Manning's story of the Ptarmigans ("Ptarmigans and their Ptrips") in the 1958 Mountaineer Annual. There is also this: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/comm/thompson-will.html

I think they got the units wrong. 120km is about right. 120 miles is wrong.

I did the circuit on skis in May 2006. Here is a trip report: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=4673.0 We also did the trip in a clockwise direction. You should be careful at the place where you traverse from the Reid Glacier onto lower Yocum ridge. It's a steep traverse and in the morning shadows it is likely to be frozen. We skied across it and found ourselves somewhat gripped in the middle of the traverse. We made it across okay but the next morning a skier fell there and had a nasty accident. The Oregonian story about his accident is posted in the TAY trip report thread above.

Wolf Bauer is high on my list.

Lix, Are you referring to Bela Vadasz? I've heard several rumors that he skied the Coleman Headwall back in the 1990s. The Apr/May 1994 issue of Couloir magazine included a photo of Mimi Vadasz carrying skis up the route. Perhaps it was taken when he (they?) skied it. I have been documenting the history of Cascade ski mountaineering on the following website: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/ I will eventually be putting much of this material into a book. Bela Vadasz is on my list of people to contact. If you have any tips about things to talk to him about, or if you could suggest the best way to get in touch with him, let me know. Thanks! Lowell Skoog, Seattle lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org

Bump. Last call for the last showing of this program. Come support the Northwest Avalanche Center and go Skiing Above the Clouds!

On Wednesday, March 19, I'll present my program about skiing the Cascade Crest at Marmot Mountain Works in Bellevue. The program is a benefit for the Northwest Avalanche Center. Details below: Wednesday - March 19, 2008 7:00 pm NWAC benefit, $5 admission Marmot Mountain Works 827 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA More information about the show can be found here. The full story of my Cascade Crest ski journey can be found starting on this page. I expect this to be the last public presentation of this program. Thanks to Marmot for providing one more showing (and NWAC benefit) in the Seattle area. The folks at Marmot have requested that you RSVP to 425-453-1515 so they know how many people to expect. I hope to see you there!