Lowell_Skoog

Mark, check your private messages for a note from me. Thanks.

There are lots of great traverses in the North Cascades. In addition to the Pickets, Snowfield-Eldorado, and the Ptarmigan, I've done these: Logan high route (Rainy Pass to Cascade Pass) Ragged Ridge (Easy Pass to July 4th Pass) Backbone Ridge (Little Devil to Eldorado) Buckindy Range (Green Mtn to Snowking Mtn) Hanging Gardens (Dome Peak to Image Lake) Suiattle high route (Image Lake to Glacier Peak) I did these trips on skis, so I wouldn't have summertime beta, if that's what you're looking for. You can find short descriptions of these trips here: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/ms/lds-journal.html

I've nearly finished reading this book. I figured it was required reading for the history project I'm working on. The book is really a "pre-mountaineering" history, although it does cover the early volcano ascents. It also covers early climbs and exploration by non-mountaineers (miners, surveyors, foresters and so on). It provides much more background on some of the early climbs that are just mentioned in the Cascade Alpine Guides. I think Fred Beckey has done a great service digging up this material and publishing it in one place. The notes in the back of the book are a gold mine for anyone interested in pursuing Cascade history further. That said, I think most readers will find the book rather dry.

Yes

Not sure what you mean by "standard Goodell Creek aproach, then the Barrier". If you mean the approach to Terror basin, no, that's not the best way. The best way climbs up the right side of the toe of the Barrier directly from the valley of Terror creek. I don't remember what Jim's book says about it, but Fred's book has a pretty accurate description of it, as I recall.

A few years ago I went with three friends to climb the N buttress. We approached from Goodell Creek, crossed Crescent Ck cirque, and planned to descend from Himmelhorn col to the base of the face. The problem was that it was late August in a dry year. When we got to Himmelhorn col (not trivial due to melt-out) and looked down into McMillan cirque, our stomachs turned because of the melted out crappy gully. One of our party had kicked steps up it with no problems about a month earlier. We bailed after that, with two of us bagging the standard route on Terror as consolation.

I haven't climbed this face yet (but want to). My understanding is that the Cooper route was mis-rated in Beckey's and Nelson's books. I can't recall whether Alan Kearney told me that himself, or somebody who talked to Alan. Based on the little that I know, I'd go prepared for something stiffer than class 4.

You might also consider doing what I call the SW buttress. It's a cross between the south face and the west ridge that I did a few years ago with my brother Carl. You start with the first pitch or two of the south face route, then where the south face route angles right up a ramp, you continue straight up toward the crest of the buttress that forms the lower extension of the west ridge. There is some good rock and nice climbing and the overall difficulty of the climb is about II-III, 5.8. One nice feature of this climb is that you can leave your boots at the bottom and rappel back down the route. (We didn't think of that until we descended the W ridge gully, after carrying our boots, ice axes and crampons over the top.) It's a nice route.

About 10 years ago Don and Natala Goodman traversed the Cascade crest from the Canadian border (Depot Creek) to the south end of the Ptarmigan Traverse. I don't know if they came out Downey Creek or went all the way to Image Lake. They placed several caches and started the trip in late July. I've done the entire route from the border to Glacier Peak on skis, except the section between Depot basin and Whatcom Pass. That was in several segments, not in one push. Last June, Matt Firth and Bob Nielsen skied from Diablo Lake to Holden in a single one-week outing. Any segment of this high route makes a great trip. A fine trip that may never have been done in one push would be a horseshoe traverse around Thunder and Fisher Creeks, starting and ending at Diablo Lake. This would include Ragged Ridge, the Logan High Route, and the Cascade Pass to Snowfield traverse. I've done the three segments separately and they are all great trips.

Here are the results from the men's racing division (20 racers): Andrew McLean, 2.31.38 Brendon O'Neil, 2.32.51 Miki Knizka, 2.32.53 Women's racing (5 racers): Polly Samuels, 3.06.53 Dawn French, 3.12.58 Heather Paul, 3.13.10 Men's recreational (17 racers): Bob Lowe, 1.45.18 Matthew Collins, 1.50.19 Jerry Sanchez, 1.57.01 Women's recreational (7 racers): Holly Walker, 2.35.38 Tana Beus, 2.39.01 Sarah Bruce, 2.45.07 The course started and finished at the race shack near the foot of Big Chief. It climbed Hogsback to the knoll at the top of Cloud 9, then skied down to Skid Road. Then it climbed to the Tye Mill saddle and skied down Gemini to the base of the Southern Cross chair. It climbed to the top of Southern Cross, then skied Big Chief bowl to the starting point, where the recreational race finished. The racing division continued up Skyline Express and climbed Nancy Chute to the top of Seventh Heaven. The final descent went down Cloud 9 and Rock'n Blue to the finish. It was snowing hard the whole time and the leaders did a lot of trail breaking. On the climb up Andromeda Face a group of six exchanged the lead while a lone racer climbed the groomed slopes of Orion and passed them all. (He was later overtaken and finished 6th.) On the descents it was hard to see due to the driving snow and many racers finished the course soaking wet. It was interesting to watch the lead switch back and forth. Brendon O'Neil was the fastest climber generally, but had skinning trouble in several places. He was in the lead starting up Nancy Chute, but was overtaken by Andrew right near the top. Miki Knizka also managed to pass Brendon there (he took his skis off and was penalized a minute for it) but Brendon squeaked by him on the descent. The rallies are getting more competitive. Most of the top racing division finishers have done several races this season and traveled to the race from other parts of the country. The Life-Link guys are aware that some Northwest skiers chose not to enter this year due to the higher fee. They want to get the cost down and build the race into a sort of backcountry skiing festival that will be attractive to many skiers. I suggested that they consider age groups (like the Pole-Pedal-Paddle in Bend) or maybe a Dad's division. -- Hey, looks like they've posted the full results already: http://www.life-link.com/raceresults_stevens.htm

I had a backcountry trip planned this weekend, but the stormy weather scotched it. I think I'll do the Stevens Race on Sunday. I checked out the course maps and it looks like a real fox chase. Tally-ho!

I have a slide of the N face of Triumph taken in 1986 during a winter ascent of Mt Despair. However, I don't have a slide scanner. So, that probably doesn't help you much.

Anybody have a report from the Alpental rando race on 2/23? I decided to go backcountry skiing with friends instead of racing. Great day!

A quote from Arnold Lunn, pioneer British ski mountaineer and inventor of the modern slalom: "I am by no means sorry that it is only piste competitions which are eligible for Olympic medal rewards, and that the mastery of real ski-ing on natural snow, with its exacting demands on the mind no less than the body, remains the monopoly of those for whom ski-ing is its own reward." And: "The highest form of skiing cannot, praise be to heaven, be tested competitively. Olympic medals are not and should not be awarded to ski mountaineers, for mountaineering is not a sport. It is a vocation." I have mixed feelings about rando rallies. I did the Alpental race last year and enjoyed it. I met some people and won a nice prize. But I think these races will become less fun for recreational skiers as time goes on--more oriented toward professionals, more competitive, and more commercial. I haven't decided whether to enter any races this year. I think it will depend on whether I've got anything better to do that day, and how full my wallet feels. The $70 fee ($50 to enter, $20 for an unused lift ticket) seems too high. The notion that some of the fee is donated to local avalanche centers feels like a ploy. I did some checking in old scrapbooks and I believe that the Silver Skis races were free to entrants. I'm sure that the first race in 1934 was. In those days the race sponsors actually sponsored the race.

I think it is probably a first winter ascent. A friend and I went in to do it in 1988, but we were moving too slow to take advantage of our weather window. We scrambled up E. MacMillan instead. Some other friends attempted Inspiration a few years before that, but turned around low on the peak. I've always had it in the back of my mind to return, but just haven't been doing much winter climbing the past few years. Congratulations on your climb! p.s. When we went in 1988, the approach was quite a bit harder than in summer. We had a fair amount of snow below treeline, and we did much of the climb out of Goodell Creek on skis. We camped only a little above treeline our first day, which is why our attempt failed.

After I announced my February 11 talk in Bellingham, the Tacoma Mountaineers contacted me to speak at their April 18 meeting. The meeting has a program for new members at 6:30 pm followed by a social hour. The show will start between 7:30 and 8 pm. (I think the schedule is still soft.) I'm posting this so anyone thinking about driving to the Feb 11 show in Bellingham will have another option. I'll post more details about the Tacoma show in the beginning of April. http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/project/presentations.html

Pre-announcement: "The Snowy Range" in Tacoma, Friday Apr 18 After I announced my February 11 talk in Bellingham, the Tacoma Mountaineers contacted me to speak at their April 18 meeting. The meeting has a program for new members at 6:30 pm followed by a social hour. The show will start between 7:30 and 8 pm. (I think the schedule is still soft.) I'm posting this so anyone thinking about driving to the Feb 11 show in Bellingham will have another option. I'll post more details about the Tacoma show in the beginning of April.

Thanks for setting this up and providing examples. Now I can create bookmarks for searches like Last two days threads which is something I've wanted for a long time.

I've spoken to Hank Reasoner and hope he will make it to the show. Hank made the first recorded ski ascent of Mt Shuksan in 1941 with Otto Trott. He was a founding member of the Mt Baker ski patrol and operated the rope tow up there before World War II. We've only spoken on the phone and I'm hoping to meet him in person. It's great to meet people from the Golden Age of the sport.

I've climbed all these peaks except Rahm, but they were all on separate trips. (I like the area.) One could probably climb Spickard, Rahm and Custer in a single day from a high camp at the saddle above Silver Lake, or maybe even from Ouzel Lake. Spickard and Rahm are easy. If the east ridge of Custer went well, that would be the way to do it. We did the south ridge and it was really terrible rock. There's a place on the ridge that literally quivers as you traverse it. The basic plan would be to approach via Depot Creek, camp at Ouzel Lake, climb the standard route on Redoubt and return, optionally moving camp up to the saddle above Silver Lake. Then do the other peaks from there. I'd recommend going before mid July, to take advantage of snow for glissading.

Traditionally, "Ptarmigan Traverse" refers to the route between Cascade Pass and Dome Peak. Doing the traverse does not require climbing any of the peaks. Some purists (e.g. Harvey Manning) feel that Dome is a key part of the trip and that unless you climb Dome you haven't really done The Traverse. But most people call it good if they make it to Spire Point and hike out from there, skipping Dome. I believe all the one-day parties have done it that way. I don't think anyone has ever repeated the itinerary of the original Ptarmigans in its entirely. For a two-day traverse, you should bivi somewhere between Yang Yang Lakes and White Rock Lakes. My one-day ski traverse in 1988 is summarized here: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/ms/lds-journal.html#lds-journal-p462 I think doing it on foot in late summer might be quicker since you'd be traveling lighter. The appeal of skiing a long day trip like this is the feeling of flow. But by all means, don't limit yourself to one style of trip. I've done the Ptarmigan four times--three times on skis, once on foot--with times varying from 21 hours to seven days. On the week-long trip we climbed ten peaks. On the day trip we climbed none. But they were both wonderful trips.

I'll give my talk on Washington ski mountaineering history at the February 11 meeting of the Bellingham Mountaineers, 7pm at Bellingham Public Library (210 Central Avenue). Admission is free. The presentation describes nearly 100 years of ski mountaineering in Washington, from 1909 to the present. It covers skiing on Mount Rainier before World War I, pioneering ascents of all the major peaks, the Silver Skis races of the 1930s, the World War II mountain troops, the post-war boom in downhill skiing and wilderness preservation, the telemark revival, and the modern development of high ski traverses and steep skiing. The program is illustrated with B&W and color slides plus a movie filmed in 1939. Here's a link to my website presentations page: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/project/presentations.html This is the last presentation I expect to give in western Washington for some time, as I am moving into the writing phase of my book.

I'll give my talk on Washington ski mountaineering history in the Methow Valley on Tuesday, January 7, 2003, at 7pm at the Merc Theatre in Twisp. The talk will be hosted by the The Methow Conservancy and North Cascade Mountain Guides. Admission is free. The presentation describes nearly 100 years of ski mountaineering in Washington, from 1909 to the present. It covers skiing on Mount Rainier before World War I, pioneering ascents of all the major peaks, the Silver Skis races of the 1930s, the World War II mountain troops, the post-war boom in downhill skiing and wilderness preservation, the telemark revival, and the modern development of high ski traverses and steep skiing. The program is illustrated with B&W and color slides plus a movie filmed in 1939. Here's a link to my website presentations page: http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/project/presentations.html I'm scheduled to do one more presentation this winter, on February 11 in Bellingham. I'll post another announcement when the date gets closer. (See the above website in the meantime.)

It appears that the "Today's topics" and "Last 48 hours" pages display each message individually, rather than showing each topic just once. Is that correct or am I missing something? Anyway, if that is the case, I'd like to complain. I find that interface unusable for somebody who wants to catch up on recent TOPICS, not individual MESSAGES. I don't want to scan through pages and pages of messages to find interesting topics.

I have a pair of whippets, but I think they are absurdly expensive. I also am not 100% confident in their security. Last spring while starting a tour on the North Cascades highway, I clawed the top of the snowbank next to the road with my whippet, cranked on it, and the pick came loose. It is held onto the shaft by a cheesey spring-latch. I've never actually arrested with them. A whippet is nice to supplement an ice axe when climbing moderate hard snow, like on the north face of Mt Buckner or something like that. I used Ramer self arrest poles for years before whippets came out and I still like them. Most of the time I ski with one Ramer and one whippet, on the theory that you never know what the snow conditions will be like. I think arrest grips are most useful for security for climbing, "extreme skinning" and for catching a minor slip the moment it starts. Did you know that back in the 1930s, when NW ski mountaineers carried super long ice axes, it was common practice to ski glaciers with both ski poles in one hand and the axe (held like a self-arrest pole) in the other? It's an old concept!