CascadeClimber

I'm confused now... This is a picture of what I'm pretty sure is "Enigma Gully", based on Phil's verification. But here is a picture of what Kam Leang calls "Slot Couloir": Though they are similar, I'm pretty sure they are not the same couloir. This is partly from the pics and partly from a conversation I had with Kam about how they accessed the couloir: Via the east side of Snoqualmie, without going to the summit. Can anyone clear this up?

Several years ago I was climbing at Smith when a non-local legend and entourage came up and started climbing next to us. At least two of the crew were long-time Valley folks. For the ensuing 45 minutes, I listened to (overheard) one story after another about lies that other non-local legends had told about their exploits in the Valley. According to these two, MANY claims of clean ascents, free ascents, solo ascents, speed records, etc., were distortions of the truth or wholly false, despite being published and well known. My point is that just because you read it, doesn't mean its true. And if you hold up the claims in a climbing rag to the same standard of truth, completeness, and accuracy as a textbook, then you are in for a lot of disappointment. The most honestly named climing book I've ever seen is "The Burgess Book of Lies". It's cool they got published. I haven't seen the article, but if ya gotta read between the lines to say they are claiming a first descent, then I don't see what the big deal is about. That aside, there are multiple couloirs on the northern aspects of Snoqualmie. Anyone have info on the others?

I heard through the grapevine that he survived the fall, but landed head first and suffocated. Either way, it's a bummer.

Damn! Congratulations on great trip: Fun, summits, sun. And an FA to boot! Post some pics when you get back?!?

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: One thing for sure is that I bet everyone was just trying to have fun but the upset ones never spoke up face to face as usual. Ray, I think you have it nailed right there. I know that I am guilty of not saying something to the guide when he said he was headed back to Icy BC (though I did not know he was the guide until later). And the woman who accused us carte blanche of being "fucking rude Americans" asked if we were all TRing and then cursed us under her breath as she left. I would have gladly let her lead what I was TRing, it would have been a pleasure to watch. And I bet the kids from UW would have done the same on the third pitch of Icy BC. It is awful damn easy to look down my nose at someone TRing something that I can lead, and to call someone crazy for leading something I can't. What did George Carlin say? Everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot and everyone who drives faster is a maniac.

Hey Lambone- How long did it take you to hike up to the helmet testing zone on Shriek? FWIW, we took 2:15 to get to the base of Night N Gale, including belaying the approach pitch. With the fear of avalanche in us we made it from the base of the route to the car in 1:15.

Dunno which one that is. We TR'd the first half of the route to the right of the third pitch of Icy BC. There was no one on the "Dale R" route to the left of the Dihedral and no one on the corner route between Deeping and Waite. (I think I have those straight...)

I saw them there on Saturday. I saw the guides in the lobby of the Reynolds on Sunday morning and asked them where they were going. So in truth, I don't know that they climbed on Icy BC Sunday, but that was their intention. Things were getting testy at Marble on Saturday. When we came down every climb except No Deductible had a TR on it, including two on the first pitch of Icy BC. I heard someone refer to the people on the top pitch of Icy BC as "fucking rude Americans".

Icy BC: Led all three pitches. A guided group monopolized the first pitch both days, luckily we got there before them on Saturday. Seems like poor form to let clients beat the hell out of one pitch of ice for two straight days. Old Dogs, New Picks: Looked to have decent coverage, but thin. Mixed crux 1/2 way up. Silk Degrees: No way. Top pillar unformed. Rest is discontinuous. Salmon Stakes: Looked bad from the road with binocs. Couldn't tell for sure, though. We helped a "Northwest Legend" figure out which one it was. Not sure if they went up to it or not. Shriek of the Sheep: Looked to be in from the road. Night N Gale: Wow! I was up there twice last year and it was never this fat. We climbed in two rope-stretching pitches. I got hit by a small sluff at the top belay and a pretty good sized slide boomed down (we thought it was an airplane) just after we finished the rap into the descent gully. There was a party behind us on the route, and I was really glad to see them okay when we got back to the base. They were climbing the first pitch and must have had a big scare. The approach pitch is a little thin. We opted to belay. A HUGE ripper came down sometime in the last couple weeks. There was old debris the entire lenght of the approach, and well into the trees. Phair Creek: Tried to get in there on Saturday evening. The road is a skating rink covered by six inches of snow. Got halfway up the road past the bridge, then slid backwards all the way back to the bridge. I thought we were going into the water for sure. I'll have pics and a TR up on my site later today.

Paducah, KYClimax, MI (and I-69 runs right past it!)Hell, MIBoring, OR [ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: CascadeClimber ]

I rapped down the south face on Saturday. As DBB postulated, there is a lot of loose snow on the ledges and blown into the nooks and crannies. No ice to speak of. Climbing would be gloved hands on rock or dry tooling, your choice. There was a party getting ready to start up as we touched down. Maybe they'll post some info from their ascent?

I have an I-tent and a Fitzroy. They are great. The Fitz is 6 pounds w/o the vestibule and is bomber. I've been almost completely buried by blowing and drifting snow in it. Sleeps three in a pinch. I like the vestibules for cooking in the winter. The I-tent is short. Two past climbing partners didn't fit in it at all. Definitely for the under six foot crowd. They both set up very taut- like a drum. You have to be very careful around them with the shovel (learned that the hard way). BD/Bibler stands behind the 100%. I took a year to make the decision to buy the first one. Kept trying to find something cheaper. Buying the second was a very easy decision. After all, how many times have you heard someone in the mountains say, "Damn, I wish I didn't have this really nice piece of gear."

Just to clarify- I posted it purely for our entertainment. It has to be the most ridiculous, frivilous lawsuit I've ever heard of. The Humane Society and their attorney should be ashamed of themselves and I hope the judge laughs them out of the courtroom. But if they win, I preactively retract everything I said about the Mountaineers.

Just noticed this online: ********************************************* Woman Sued Over Chat Room Criticism LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The Atlanta Humane Society has filed a $75,000 defamation lawsuit against a woman who called its executive director ``Mr. Kill'' in an Internet chat room. Kathi Mills, 31, criticized Bill Garrett after a television station reported that the society was killing animals without really trying to find them homes. Mills wrote in a Yahoo chat room that she was withdrawing her support from the society until it hires ``a leader who does not delight in slaughtering pets for fun and profit.'' According to the lawsuit, Mills also said: ``Bill Garrett is not worthy to lick the dog or cat poop off our shoes. He is evil and it is time for the Atlanta rescue community to unite in ending his long and tragic career.'' Mills, who runs an animal advocacy Web site from her home, said her comments were harsh but are protected by the Constitution. ``The fundamental issue here is that I was criticizing (Garrett's) performance, and the First Amendment guarantees I can do this,'' she said. ``They picked the wrong person. I'm prepared to fight it all the way.'' Garrett's attorney, Edward Greenblatt, said the comments were untrue and malicious. ``I'm a strong believer in the freedom of speech, but it does have its limitation,'' Greenblatt said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020109/tc/humane_society_lawsuit_1.html *********************************************

I like that: The Extreme Rock Climbing game is nearly blocking his view of the "Focusing on your Business" binder. But it is all okay, because the binder is filled with something else anyway, not the original contents. What is in it anyway? Beckey's secret list? A list of Ray and Mike's avatars? How about "Spray-der-man Buttress"? [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: CascadeClimber ]

You're missing two ultra-classics: The "Old" trail up Mt. Si and the "Cable Line" trail to West Tiger 3. -LorenLame-ass SkierLord of the Mountaineers Rejects

My wife rocks. I was not a climber, lame-ass skier, and Mounties Reject when we got married, so I can't even say she knew what she was getting into. She understands how important it is for me to get out, though she does not understand how scrumbing through some alder thicket or freezing my nads off on a wind-swept glacier at 2:00 AM could possibly be fun. I don't get out as much as I did before we had kids, but I get out plenty enough. What else can I say? She is a good woman and I feel lucky that she puts up with me. -LorenLame-ass SkierSelf proclaimed Lord of the Mountaineers Rejects

Let's take a look at the information presented here: - She swims- She dives- She runs- She cycles- She works out- She is a triathlete- She boulders- She climbs rock (sport and trad)- She climbs ice- She eats raw crustaceans- She has her own gear- She crosses rivers- She battles brush- She brings the beer- She looks nothing like the female gym teachers from high school and indeed appears to be very easy on the eyes- And she wants to share a room??? This is either the best troll ever (complete with a website), or the stuff that climber-dude dreams are made of. But which is it? Mr. Caveman, is that you??? -LorenLame-ass skierMountaineers Reject

It is a long story, but after several months I did get the money I paid for the climbing class back. I used it to drown my in Come on, anyone else out there willing to admit that the mounties kicked you out? Surely, I can't be the only one!

Talk, talk, talk. But how many of you have actually been kicked out of the Mountaineers? My basic climbing course story (greatly abbreviated): Snow 1- Hike up terrain trap on day 1 in three feet of fresh snow. Leader refuses to turn around despite the advice of most others in the group. Day 2 I dislocate my patella in a weird incident. Same leader 'requires' me to be littered down to the parking lot, claiming that it will be 'good practice for us'. I nearly get dumped with the litter several times. Snow 2- The leader sets us up under loose rock, against the advice and request of the others in the group. He says "We know there will be no rock fall because we've been watching for two days and nothing has fallen" (yes, he said this). Five minutes later a rock half the size of a car comes down, narrowly missing two five-person rope teams. A week later I get a phone call: "Yes hello Loren, we are asking that you no longer participate with the club because you are unsafe. With your knee, you put everyone you climb with in jeopardy." So there you have it, the sordid tale. I've outed myself: I tried to be a mountie, but in the end, I didn't have the right stuff. -Loren

Memories of Red. One weekend several years ago I snowshoed in for a planned bivy on the summit. But I was sick and our progress slow. We made camp on a small shelf perhaps 700 vertical feet below the summit on a ridge just south of the usual winter climbing route. As I fell asleep it was but 5F inside the tent, and frost was growing on the ceiling. I had on all my clothes and burrowed down into my sleeping bag. I awoke some hours later soaked in sweat. "What the hell is going on?" I checked the thermometer and found that the temperature was more than 40F inside the tent, and it was raining outside. Exhausted, but worried of being trapped by rising avalanche danger, we packed in the dark and rain and descended to safety in the trees below, where we spent the rest of the night and a good bit of the morning. Ya gotta love the Cascades. -Loren

Agreed with TTT. 36" is enough. The dark bamboo sticks with colored duct tape work great. Some people like to mark them with initials so you can be sure you are following the right ones on the way down. Try to save them for above the ledges, but also make sure you can get down from Muir in a whiteout. -Loren

Got back about an hour ago from the North Face of Chair. First, congrats to Colin for a fine solo (IMHO). There is ice on the route, especially the first pitch, but there is also a lot of granular snow over rock, making for poor sticks and unsure footing. Of note: A moderately sized slab release high above the approach gully (the one above Source Lake, not the one to the base of the route) ran the length of the gully. I'd guess two days ago? There was one set of downhill tracks in the debris, but none up. Not huge, but more than big enough to kill. I expected the snow to be much more stable than it was. Also of note: We were the only ones up there today! What gives? I'll have a TR and some pics up later today. Happy New Year all- Loren [ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: CascadeClimber ]

It is worth noting that Chris Grover's post is from May of 2000. Since that time BD has reduced their wholesale prices in the U.S. It was described to me as a "significant" reduction at the wholesale level (maybe someone in the know can enlighten us?), though it seems that retail prices only came down about 10% (anyone notice that Cobras are $269 this year instead of $300?). It's a move in the right direction by one company, but I don't think it is enough: My LaSportiva Nepal Top Extremes cost me $190 from Telemark-Pyrenees. Compare at $420 locally. -Loren

Am I missing a joke here? Lessee, Jon and Tim bust their asses to keep this site going at their own cost. Notice any ads? Me neither. That means that they are paying all the costs related to this site out of their own pockets. You like all the bells and whistles (Who's Online, etc.)? Those are not included in the UBB software; Jon and Tim make that shit work. Now they've asked that we keep one forum free of "spray" and the response is to call them and the moderators, who have also volunteered their time, "fuckheads" and "penises"? Again, unless I am missing some joke here, that is pretty uncool. -Loren