CascadeClimber

I guess I'd expect that the other party would be considerate enough to ask if they could climb past and to call out when they knock shit loose. To just climb next to and then over another party without asking is rude and dangerous.

I've climbed it once in early spring/late winter. We were in for the weekend and camped just below the east side of the Castle. We went up to the Castle saddle and traversed the ridge east toward the unnamed point and then south down the ridge toward Unicorn. Near the low point we dropped onto the slope and traversed over until we could start up toward the col west of the summit. The slope up to the col was steep and it was a slog in the fresh powder. It was easy ground from there to the summit pinnacle. I soloed up in a little gully on the south-southwest side, probably 4th class, then belayed my partner up. We were able to make the rap with a 37 meter rope. We skied most the way back to the north-south ridge, and the turns from the col were some of the best I've had in the Cascades. The ridge is longer than it looks. It took us most of an entire day to get there and back from near Castle. The slopes would be a death-trap in bad avy conditions. -CC

Read the fine print folks folks, this is a BIG DEAL. Listen, both proposals specifically state that overnight users leaving from White River or Paradise (except those paying to stay in a hotel), will be required to ride a shuttle bus during peak months, regardless of the parking situation. Same is likely to be true of Mowich. The Carbon river road will be permanently closed as soon as it washes out again. This seems silly to me, given that climbers amount to about 10,000 of the 1.3 million visits each year. Send your comments, via email, to: mountrainiercomments@nps.com Note that if you include your name and address, they will be publicly available. -CC

***Rant Warning - Proceed with Caution*** Okay, I've been through this before, but please, for my education, list some specific things that the Seattle Mountaineers have done. It isn't that I don't believe that there are things, I just haven't ever seen a list of *specific* things. Here is my list: - Consistently go on trips with large numbers of people. - Consistently have an attitude that they have preferred rights to the Cascades because of "all they've done". - Consistently berate and chastise other climbers for doing things the "wrong" way. - Support the ridiculous Fee Demo program for the reason that "if we don't support it, we don't get a seat at the table to discuss it." Really? What kind of discussion is that, given that everyone there has to support the policy? - Try to run almost 200 people through the basic climbing course each year. - Consistently monopolize areas and routes trying to train all those people. - Consistently have a significant number of injuries each year and try to rationalize them as "to be expected given the number of trips we do." I've been on some of those trips and I see why people get hurt. It isn't just percentages. - Have an organizational belief that they represent climbers in the Northwest. To quote from Monty Python, “Well I didn’t vote for you!” I joined to find other people to climb with. And I did meet some great people. But in the few months that I was in the Basic class I repeatedly saw trip leaders ignore input from students about safety issues. In one case, on the Nisqually glacier, this attitude nearly cost several people their lives when a car-sized boulder fell *between* two rope teams. Five minutes earlier I had been one of a group of people who strongly suggested to the Training class leader that the area was not safe. Our suggestion was summarily dismissed. And that is why people get hurt on their trips. And who was here first is irrelevant. It is about who is here now and how they (we) behave. But for the record, and contrary to some beliefs, it was Native Americans who were here first, not the Mountaineers. -CC

Yes, yes, Victory Ridge Direct. I suggest that you take some of the new Omega Choss-Screws. Like maybe 300 or so. Seriously, though. Get to the North side of the mountain. It's like a whole different volcano there. The North ridge is entertaining and (though I haven't done it) the Adams glacier is supposed to be fun, too. -CC

Please define "quality" and "good". I'll preface my comments by saying that I was invited to cease my participation in the Mountaineers Basic course. The Seattle branch of the Mountaineers, IN MY OPINION, is very good at teaching what they teach. I happen to disagree, rather strongly, with the "what". I found it to be a very autocratic organization where I was strongly encouraged not to voice my opinion, especially if it was different from the leader's. In the end, I was ready to quit when they decruited me. To describe them in one word: "Traditional". And welcome to the area. There is a lot of fun climbing to do here, once you get the hang of the weather. And there are lots of great people here to climb with. -CC

I think BD is getting picked on a bit b/c they had the audacity to claim (on another site) that the price differential was due to "costs of sales and promotion*" in the U.S.", and because they coerced some non-U.S. shops into ceasing shipments back into the U.S. or artificially inflating the prices on those shipments. They are a class operation- good gear that they stand behind. But I see no reason that we should pay up to twice as much for the same equipment as folks in Canada and Europe. In some cases, like Scarpa, the gear is not manufactured by BD, just distributed. Sure, that neutrino biner is nice, but why is it $8 here and $4 elsewhere? And if the R&D is so costly, then don't revamp the whole line of T-Whatever boots (etc.) every year, for God's sake. If you are looking for other names, you can start with LifeLink. Dynafit products are about 80% more here than at some of the shops in Europe. And Climb High too, with all the Grivel products. Sorry if I am ranting a bit, but I just had MEC tell me this morning they wouldn't ship *any* climbing gear into the States anymore. I'll quit now. -CC *Read the response from BD here: http://www.backcountryworld.com/dcforum/equipment/334.html#2

Barry- I think you were finishing your first rap as we skied out of the notch. I wasn't envying you your walk out in the dark. I converted from snowshoeing to randonee (I won't hold the tele comment against you) a few years ago. We were 50 minutes from the notch to the lot. This is the first time I haven't had a snagged rope on that route. Sorry to hear about yours. Where did it hang up? -CC

I climbed the south face of the Tooth on Tuesday. There was little snow and a lot of *dry* rock. I was wishing for rock shoes instead of rando boots and it was so warm (45) that I was able to comfortably climb and belay the whole thing bare-handed. I left crampons and tools at the base. There was no ice on that northeast route that everyone is jonesing about. We skied from the little notch in 18" of heavy, wet snow that was remarkably stable. It got lighter as we got lower, due to the inversion. -CC

My two favorites (neither of which have been mentioned so far): - Kendall Mint cake: Three ingredients- Sugar, glucose syrup, oil of peppermint. Quick energy boost, doesn't make me thirsty, doesn't freeze, beautifully simple. Hillary took it to the summit of Everest in 1953. - Gookinaid: How can you go wrong with a name like that? An electrolyte replacement drink, not an energy drink. Favorite flavor- red. -CC

From a person who spent a year trying to avoid spending the money on AT gear: Before you *buy* skis and bindings designed to be used with your plastic (or leather) mountaineering boots, *rent* the setup and spend a day lift skiing in it. Make sure that you don't just cruise the groomed runs- get into some of that lovely Cascade off-piste. I suspect that you'll come to the same conclusion that I did: Backcountry skiing in climbing boots is for sadists. This is fine if you are a sadist, but my motto is "No pain- no pain". After my experiment I searched out Dynafit boots and bindings on sale. Happy ever since. -CC

Yeah, I was there last weekend (12/9-10). There is ice to climb, though it is a bit on the thin (and steep) side. We climbed at Crown Lake on Saturday and went up to Night N Gale on Sunday. Bridge Creek was not frozen, we had to get creative to cross it. I'll post the pics on my site when I get them back. -CC

It is still a work in progress, but I have some decent TRs at www.cascadeclimber.com (not to be confused with www.cascadeclimberS.com!) Climb on- CC