Jason_Martin

The problem with this question is that it neglects the reason most people fall into crevasses in the Cascades. Very few serious crevasse falls (falls where one goes in over his or her head) in the Cascades result from a snow bridge collapsing. Instead, the vast majority of serious falls in the Cascades take place because individuals slip above the crevasse and slide in. Years of "Accidents in North American Mountaineering" support this assertation in the Cascades. Though I don't have dates in front of me to show the months where most of the crevasse falls have taken place, it is still likely that such falls which start as a slip are most common when the glaciers are the most icy. This means that August and September are probably somewhat dangerous months. Jason

In the early morning the "normal" sport climbing areas at the pull-outs will be cool. But they will come into the sun at around ten. There are a number of walls that are in the shade for all or most of the day. Check out Angel Food Wall, Willow Creek Canyon, the south side of Ice Box Canyon, Dark Shadows area, Community Pillar/Magic Triangle Area, Rainbow Wall and Crimson Chrysalis, Lotta Balls area, Black Velvet Canyon, and Global Peak. In the afternoon, you can sport climb in Calico Basin. The season starts in Red Rock in October, so September is usually really not that bad. You may need a couple of days to acclimate to the heat, but most people are able to do it. Jason

The Cascades really have two distinct seasons for ice. The first is the winter/spring season where the routes are primarily melt fed water ice climbs and the second is the spring/summer season where the climbs are primarily steepish glacier ice and snow. It appears that the original poster is more interested in the latter type of climbing. Though often thought of as may and june climbs, both the North Ridge of Mount Baker and the Coleman Headwall are climbed through late september. However, expect harder conditions than predicted in the guidebooks. Other options not mentioned are the North Face of Mount Shuksan, the North Ridge of Forbidden as described in the Cascade Select guidebook, and Mount Buckner(if you can get across the shrund). If you dig carefully through Beckey guides you will find a number of lesser known small glaciated peaks throughout the range that have steepish routes on them that can be done later in the season. Spring and summer alpine ice in the cascades tend to be best before the glaciers open up too much and all the snow melts. Some of the approaches become quite difficult and as stated earlier, some of the climbs become more difficult and dangerous as well. Jason

Glacier Viewpoint is actually above the camp. To reach the camp, you must walk down from Glacier Viewpoint on the moraine to the flat heavily forested area. The official name of the area is Harrison Camp, not Camp Harris. The camp has been used by local guide services for years. The guides dubbed it Mirkwood in honor of the dark mossy nature of the camp. Tolkien was probably popular when they first started visiting the camp some years ago. Jason

I´m currently in Huaraz and I did the Normal Route on Tocllaraju yesterday. One interesting thing is that the Ishinca Valley is full of flies. A local guide told me that there were no flies until about three years ago. This is probably the result of global warming... Jason

The ice caves are nowhere near as good as baker. In addition to that, I belive that they can be a little dangerous... Jason

I grew up two houses away from the two women who were murdered. They have been family friends since I was 13. This is an utterly terrible loss...there really is nothing more senseless than taking a person´s life... Jason

The lower Coleman Glacier on Mount Baker is an excellent place to ice climb during the summer months. The approach is short and there is a lot to choose from. See the Washington Ice Guide for approach directions. Jason

Global Warming is Bad... I'm currently in Bolivia but haven't been here for a couple years. The bottom of the glacier in the condoriri region has melted back twenty to thirty feet in two years. Numerous routes have changed significantly or don't exist anymore. Some have become more difficult, while others especially waterfall routes don't seem to come in as often anymore. If you want to climb in South America, do it soon. I don't think the highest mountains will ever totally melt out, but the route selections are going to diminish a lot in the next ten to twenty years... Jason

Mornings are still cold with firm conditions. An ice axe would be nice. Jason

I had the very same experience there. And honestly, it's the main reason I haven't gone back there to climb again. Jason

I climbed the yellow line on Pequena Alpamyo, but we didn't traverse right. Instead we went straight up. The line traversing to the right was primarily composed of ice that was semi-detached from the rock and kind of scary. I'd agree with Dalius, Bolivia is super fun and not very crowded. I'm going back next month! Jason

There is a trick that may be useful when rappelling a popular route. Recently a tech tip in Climbing magazine dubbed this technique "saddlebags" for lack of a better term. The idea is to thread the rope (or ropes) and then to butterfly coil the remainder of the rope. After you are finished coiling, clip it through a sling to your harness. I often lay the rope in the center of the sling and then clip one biner to my harness and then clip the other biner to the biner that is already clipped. If you do this correctly, the rope will feed out of the sling through your rappel device. You will not have to throw the rope down the cliff at all. This is an especially good technique when it is difficult to hear or see parties below you. Jason

The Cosley-Houston route on Colfax Peak is in! Get it while it's hot...or cold as it may be! Jason

The line Gene and I attempted was the red line in the center of your topo. We really only climbed a pitch because at the time the ice was absolutely terrible. I'm psyched to hear that so many people are getting after that peak. It really is a little hidden gem. Jason

This system works very well...however, I've found that butterfly knots work much better than overhand knots. If you practice your crevasse rescue techniques, passing the knot through the system is not that big a deal. Where there is a problem sometimes is in the knot cutting deeply into the lip of the crevasse. Sometimes the knot entrenches itself so deeply that it is incredibly difficult to pull out of the lip. I've created a 9 to 1 and even a 12 to 1 pulley system to fix this. On a two man team, I usually put a few knots in the rope between myself and my partner. I'd rather have to deal with the problems that the knots cause following a crevasse fall than the problems caused by being at the bottom of a crevasse. Jason

Bull and shit. As a climber you well know mountain weather can change quickly. There is a difference surviving an extra 24 hours in the summer and during a blizzard. This all depends on the peak. The history of Big Four is full of forced bivys. The bigger the peak, the longer the window is before you should call out the rescue. On Chair Peak, I might wait 12 hours and feel like there's probably something wrong, but on Big Four or on J-Berg or other peaks of that type...climbers attempting those mountains in winter conditions should be able to deal with a blizzard and if they can't, then they shouldn't be up there. Based on the banter here, most people don't know how big Big Four really is. If you look at the notes in the Washington Ice Guide, you'll see that a large percentage of those on first ascents on the mountain were forced to bivy. I think that anyone attempting a route of such size in a day should get at least a 24 hour window before calling out the troops. Jason

I've submitted a bit to climbingredrocks.com...and I have to say that the new format lacks soul. The design of the old page, the way it looked and the rough edges gave it character. The new thing looks very professional and as such lacks that special something that made it an enjoyable site prior to the revamping... Jason

Have you guys heard about this? web page Sketchy! Jason

It is true that people climb routes in the shade throughout the winter. However, Red Rock has extremely varied temperatures throughout the cold season. Three weeks ago, there were three ice climbs on the North facing walls at the back of Oak Creek Canyon. These come in and go out throughout the winter. There is ice and streaks of ice in each of the canyons when it is cold. Obviously climbing a route like Epinephrine which is completely shaded in these conditions is less than ideal. The low winter sun also puts routes that are in the sun in the fall and spring in the sun for a much shorter period of time. The lower half of Cat in the Hat -- and even the upper half for an hour or so -- is in the shade much of the winter day. Geronimo is only in the sun for a couple hours in the morning. Stuff on the lower part of the Solar Slab Wall gets a great deal of shade by ten or eleven in the morning. If it is cloudy or windy, it doesn't matter too much if your in the shade or the sun. You'll be cold. On the other hand, yesterday it was 65 degrees or warmer on Solar Slab. Jason

I don't disagree with anything you said... But just my luck...Two thirds of the time I work with return clients who want to climb 5.7... Jason

Russ, Where did you find that route? I soloed Little Falls last week as it was falling apart...fun for awhile anyway. Jason

I do agree with this, but unfortunately not everyone understands this. But I also agree with the "Redneck Rule" that states that as soon as you put yourself underneath someone you are ultimately responsible for the consequences. In a previous post, you asked if I would climb under someone else. The answer is no, not unless I felt that I could mitigate the danger somehow. The same for if I were to rappel into a position where I would then be underneath someone. Now back to the first part about the etiquette of climbing beneath someone. In some cases it may be unintentionally rude to put this burden on another team. However, there are numerous long routes wherein one may not even be aware that there is another team on the route because they are so high. This brings us back to the idea that whoever is beneath must be aware of the potential consequences. The bottom team -- whether rappelling or climbing -- must be responsible for themselves. Making a comment to a leader who has put his team into a compromising position might be worthwhile. Unfortunately though, very few climbers are willing to listen to constructive criticism from other climbers while on a route. Jason

Ryland, I have mixed feelings about your story. The guy put himself and his less knowledgable partner into harms way by climbing beneath you. I wonder if you guys had a conversation about this when the guy showed up? I also wonder if you could read the inexperience below from above...? I think its clear that you guys were more experienced climbers, yet you made a choice to rappel into a situation where you'd be below the other guys. It is my feeling that though the inexperienced party may have been a danger to themselves, you guys made a choice which made them a danger to you. I understand that it would have sucked to wait for them to top out before rappelling, but perhaps that would have been the better choice. I think your partner's wish to "kick the guy's ass" is a little over the top. Unfortunately, on ice sometimes other parties must be thought of as objective danger...especially inexperienced parties... Jason

Sorry, I'm in Las Vegas rock climbing in the sun. I haven't had my finger on the pulse of what's going on over there recently. Jason