Jason_Martin

Nice Job Coley... It was indeed Polish Bob who emailed me. I'll be in touch with you about this craziness you guys managed to pull off. Congrats guys. Jason

Just got an email from a guy who reported that they completed a seven pitch mixed route on the East Face of Pyramid Peak. He rated the route D with mixed ground up to ninety degrees, WI 3. Supposedly there is one pitch of M4. That's all the beta he gave me. Hopefully, he or one of the others on this climb will decide to post a complete trip report. Jason

I just read a response on another thread concerning the "Golden Piton Awards" that were put together by Climbing magazine. I was really depressed by these awards. I thought I was actually going to read about some things that I hadn't heard about. But instead it was stuff on Dean Potter and Beth Rodden. Dean Potter and Beth Rodden are everywhere. They are in the advertisements and they are in the articles. Seeing them win awards in this so called competition really irked me. Yes, their ascents were great. Yes, they were really hard. Yes, they deserve press for this kind of stuff... But come on. Do they really need awards for recognition? I think this kind of award should have one major prerequisite. Anyone competing for the Golden Piton award -- or any other award put together by the climbing press -- should be unsponsered and unaffiliated. Jason

Wayne, You're buddy is the one who gave me the beta. Based on the info I have it IS probably the hardest climb in the state. If nothing else it is definately the hardest ice/mixed climb that I have beta on. Jason

The hardest modern mixed route in the state (i.e. bolted route) is a route called Guru on the Rap Wall in Alpental. The route goes at M9 and to my knowledge has only seen one complete ascent. Sean Issac told me that he believes the gentleman who completed this route is the first to do a route at this grade inside the boarders of Washington State. There are a number of extremely hard mixed routes that are more alpine in nature. For example, Goat's Beard in Mazama is seldom in good condition and often requires hard mixed climbing. The hardest ice/mixed route in the state is down near Camus on Hamilton Mountain. The ice climbing on the route is in the WI 6 range and there are many mixed moves. To date this route has never seen a complete ascent. It is by all standards (including rock, alpine, ice and mixed) perhaps the hardest and most commiting climb in Washington State. Jason

There are a couple things you can do for your bladder. 1) If you decide to put your bladder in your pack, you may keep the bite valve in your collar. If you blow the water back into the bladder after every time you drink, less freezing will take place. 2) If you actually wear the camelbak backpack under your coat it will not freeze. Once again, keeping the tube under the jacket will help out immensely. Good Luck, Jason

Erik and others, I agree that perhaps the original traverse is far more grand than the glacier and trail trek between these peaks. However, it seems that the vast majority of those who "do" the traverse merely tag a few summits in between their trekking. I was on the traverse last summer and nearly everyone I met had only climbed one or two mountians -- if any at all -- while traveling in this backcountry region. The vast majority of those who have completed this in a day call what they did the Ptarmigan Traverse. I would guess that those who have skied it in a day certainly did not stay on the crest, but followed the somewhat non-technical glacier portions and snow-covered trails. I think the term traverse in and of itself is somewhat undefined regionally. In the Sierras people have very staunch ideas about what a traverse entails. In the Cascades, many will avoid technical difficulties. As a result it feels as if we in the Cascades have two types of traverses which might be defined as technical and non-technical. I believe that it would be quite difficult to repeat what the original Ptarmigan Club did in a day. The vast majority of those who set foot in this area do nothing at all like that which Bill Cox, Ray Clough, Tom Myers, and Calder Bressler did way back in 1938 wearing hob nail boots. Jason

Dumpster Diver, The Ptarmigan Traverse is mostly glacier walking and high trails. This is not spray. The traverse has been done several times in a day by several parties. The standard traverse goes below and between most of the major peaks and doesn't go over them. As a result, doing it in a day generally doesn't entail any peak bagging. Jason

Last summer Joe S. and Andrew W. were able to complete the entire traverse on foot in fifteen hours. They wore approach shoes and each carried a single ski pole with a whippet on it. They did it in mid-August so there was no snow on any of the trail portions. They certainly were interested in doing it fast, but that was only part of it. Their work schedules simply didn't permit them to take multiple days to do it. Joe guided the traverse a couple weeks before the two of them decided to do it fast. Previous knowledge of the area certainly helped with their speedy traverse. Jason

The most difficult aspect of this discussion is the need to see exactly what people are referring too... That said, I'm going to respond in words and hope that it makes sense. There is actually more controversy about the figure eight tied the way it is shown in iceclimber's link than there is about the Euro Death Knot. In theory the figure eight tied in this fashion is more likely to roll out of itself than the EDK. The Euro Death Knot is reffered to as such because it is possible that were the knot tied too close to the end of the ropes it will roll out of itself. I personally have not seen this happen nor have any first hand knowledge of injuries or death as a result of this. I use the Euro Death Knot all the time and have not had a problem. However, because it has a scary name and looks a little simplistic I always double check the knot to make sure that it is dressed and that it is well away from the ends of the rope. I have recently adopted the EDK for my cordelletes as well. This is nice because I can untie them and do all sorts of things with them that I couldn't do when they were tied together with a permenately welded double fishermans knot. In October I attended a seminar wherein some well respected guides talked about the advantages and disadvantages of these knots. KC Baum, an AMGA certified rock guide, presented a modification to the EDK which I now use on a daily basis. All he did was add a second overhand knot above the first. In other words he had two EDK's stacked on top of one another. This seems to make a knot that looks a little sketchy feel a whole lot safer. Jason

John, A lot of these guys simply don't remember exactly where they went. i.e. the whole "I climbed the North Face of Big Four" phenomenon I talked about in the previous post. That compounded by twenty years makes it very difficult to identify what's going on. I did look into Becky's source for what he purports to be the original 1974 line. He credited his source as an obscure magazine called "Off Belay." I got a copy of this magazine and found that it sighted a very different ascent than Fred reported. Indeed the line written up in there was completed by Warren Stage and Dan Gold, not Carlstad and Folsom. Somewhere in his research, Fred made a mistake. The Alan Kearny line doesn't purport to follow Carlstad and Folsom's line. The line drawn in Kearny's guide may have been a first ascent, that is if an obscure climber named Jack Lewis didn't complete it before him in the eighties. Lot's of questions and too few answers. Jason

Jim is going to call the line in the drawing the Calstad/Folsom line. He spent a long time with Cal Folsom going over the photo and discussing where their original route was and he believes that this is where it went. He also has a drawing from Bart Paull which shows the Spindrift Couloir as being in the next gully over. If this is really where the Spindrift Couloir is located it is far more likely that the 1996 climb by Paull and Littauer was a first ascent. In my research I've found that many people have had a tremendously hard time identifying their exact route. Some approached the face and climbed the most feasable line which may or may not have been exactly where they thought it was. Others climbed it so long ago that they aren't sure where they climbed anymore. It appears that in the early seventies there was a rush on Big Four. But it also appears that most people referred to it as simply the North Face of Big Four... In many cases, they did not discuss their exact route. The result twenty years later is all of this confusion. It is likely that both gullies on the far right hand side of the face are very similar in nature. From a pure climbing perspective it really doesn't matter who did what first. But from a historical perspective, I can assure you that Jim and I are both doing our best to present as accurate information as possible in our books. I've spent many many hours researching this mountain as has Jim... It is likely that with the publication of his book in the spring and my book in the fall, even more information will filter in concerning the history of this mountain. I will personally continue to do my best to present as good information as possible. Jason

I looked into this rather seriously as I work in the mountians and often have to do day to day business via cell phone. From what I've learned, you have to have a phone that will provide both digital and analog services. I'm no techie so I'm not really sure what the major differences are. However, I do know that in most cases no reception will be found on a phone that only does digital. Sometimes phones are advertised as having both digital and analog. Though the reality is that they don't flip between the two settings effectively. Sometimes you have to manually switch the phone from digital to analog, then it will work. Many of the new fangled phones promote ways to check email and such on them. My experience is that these do not work in the mountains at all. These systems require a digital signal that is seldom available in the mountains. Obviously, the higher you are the more likely it is to work. I can generally get reception above five thousand feet on Cascade volcanos. On peaks near the freeway -- such as Snoqualmie Pass type peaks -- reception is available much lower. Reception may also be lower if you are near a ski resort, they tend to have towers in the vicinity. My phone is a Motorola flip phone with Verizon. It works pretty good. Jason

I didn't mean to say that SAR is bad. And I agree that anybody who puts in time to help others is doing a good thing. However, there are definately those in these organizations that should be in the mountains and there are those who should be driving the vans. In my one experience with SAR, those who were assisting in the rescue were out of shape and were adding to the hazard at hand. They had a really really hard time keeping up with the rest of us involved in the rescue. Now I know lots of SAR guys who are in shape and would have been fine. A lot of them read this board. So I don't want to sound like I'm putting SAR down. I think it is an important if not necessary resource in the Pacific Northwest and I appreciate all of you who are putting in time with the organization. Jason

In Vegas for a few more days then back up to Seatown. It has been quite windy here. I was blown off the crux of a sport route yesterday morning. Red Rocks got snow yesterday afternoon. Jason

It all depends on the locals. In some places it's quite good, whereas in others it's quite bad. Some SAR guys are in shape and some aren't, but in my experience there tends to be trends. In some cases the guys work out and practice their skills, whereas in others they sit around and admire the stickers on their cars. Jason

The situation as it is stated here is actually quite serious. It is also somewhat unlikely. However, knowing what to do in the situation can only be a good thing. The following response is assuming that you are on a multi-pitch route in a remote area. In a populated area, help may be availble from other climbers. If the route is only a pitch long, the best thing to do is to lower the victim to the ground instead of screwing around with all kinds of other stuff. First and foremost, if it is possible, (i.e. there is no gear between you and the climber) then the best thing to do is to haul the climber up. This can be done with a Z-C pully system which is actually much easier to visualize on the rock than it is on the snow. If the climber is conscious, but cannot climb one could still haul the climber up and have him retrieve gear that is in place as he is hauled. If the climber is unconscious and there is a bit of rope at the belay, then the best thing to do is to escape the belay using the munter mule knot and to rappel down to him on the other end of the rope. A belay escape can be quite difficult if belaying directly off the harness. It is a little easier if the belay is redirected. And it is a lot easier if one is belaying directly off the anchor. Here is a situation where an extra rope is nice. If there is a loose haul line or anything of the sort, don't forget about it. Something like this might make the whole rescue easier to deal with. In the absolute worst case scenario -- you're many pitches off deck, there's no one around to help, the climber is unconscious on the other end of the rope, there is no haul line to rappel, there's a lot of gear between you and the climber, there's not enough rope to rappel down to him -- then perhaps some of these other ideas might be effective. In other words using a sling or a cord as a prussik to descend to the climber is not a bad idea, but it should truly be a last resort I think this is a good subject. Thinking about a worst case scenario prepares people for more likely scenarios. Jason

Just a reminder to all our contributers, it's getting closer and closer to our deadline. On December 15th we need all the info available. Here's a new question... Does anybody know anything about the mixed routes being put up on the opposite side of Mountaineers Creek above Bridge Creek Campground? Please email me if you have any info. Jason

Thanks Dale, we'll definately be in touch on that. I'm still in dire need of a photo of the Northwest Face of Mt. Stuart in the winter. If anyone has one or knows someone who has one, please let me know. Jason [ 11-25-2002, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

Alex and I are getting close to our deadline. We need all of our beta and info for "Washington Ice: A Climbing Guide" by December 15th. We are definately getting down to the wire, so if you have information or photos, please send them to us. I am specifically looking for photos of the following: 1) Northwest Face of Colfax Peak in Winter? 2) Northwest Face of Mt. Stuart in Winter? 3) Any Photos of Ice Climbing in Mt. Rainier National Park? As far as information is concerned, does anyone have any first or even second hand knowledge of: 1) Two waterfall ice climbs near Nada Lake? 2) Two waterfall ice climbs above Snow Lake? 3) A climb near (or above?) the golf course in Leavenworth? 4) The climb left of "Mikey's Gully" in Mt. Rainier National Park? 5) Any information at all concerning winter climbs of Big Four Mountain prior to 1995? Feel free to add to this list Alex. My email is j_dougie@yahoo.com and I can be reached at (206)459-8753. Alex's email is: wastateice@yahoo.com Thanks to all who have helped with this project. Jason [ 11-18-2002, 09:37 AM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

Mark Twight

The Northwest Face Couloir on Mt. Stuart is supposed to be some kind of old skool classic. Apparentley in the eighties this was a testpiece climb... Considered far more difficult than Triple Couloirs and the like. Anybody done it in the last couple years? Sorry about the weird triple post thing, my computer -- or maybe my mouse trigger finger -- doesn't seem to want to work right. Jason [ 11-14-2002, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

[ 11-14-2002, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

[ 11-14-2002, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

[ 11-14-2002, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]