Jason_Martin

Black Velvet is awesome right now... But it's going to start getting cold back there in the next few weeks. Early November it's still okay, but after mid-November, routes in the sun are the way to go. Jason

Cat in the Hat can be done in four pitches with a 60m rope. It's a nice climb. Ginger Cracks and Chrimson Chryslis are fun routes but require a bit more approach time. It's not hard to get Olive Oil and Geronimo in the same day. They are both fun 5.7 routes. Each can be done in four to five pitches with 60m ropes. Johnny Vegas to Solar Slab is a nice full day of 14 pithces at about 5.7. Be sure to bring double ropes and rappel the route. DO NOT DO THE "SUGGESTED" WALKOFF and DO NOT RAPPEL Johnny Vegas. Rappel down Solar Slab Gully. If you do these things you'll have a great day. Any route that can be approached relatively quickly that can be done relatively fast can be done in conjunction with The Great Red Book. Though the route spooks me because it and Olive Oil are the only two routes in Red Rock that have seen fatalities. Beware of the park closing times. A ticket after the gates close will cost you fifty bucks. I just got down here and it's still a bit warm. Give it another week or so and both routes in the sun and routes in the shade will be climbable. Give it a month and you won't want to do routes in the shade too much anymore. If you have specific questions feel free to email or PM me. Have a blast! Jason [ 10-12-2002, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

March with nice long days is still winter on Rainier... This is a great time to do Gib Ledges. More likely than not you'll be the only party in the muir hut. Jason

One idea that has been lost to the discussions which I think is a great idea is a First Ascent Forum. Many First Ascents have been posted on this site throughout the last couple years and I have really enjoyed reading these accounts. I think this might well be worth looking into. Jason

There really is very little snow on the route right now. Bare glacier ice is showing through everywhere. I understand there was some kind of skiing accident last weekend on the Squak. Someone skiied into a crevasse. Jason

The Kearney Book, "Classic Climbs in the Northwest" is by far the best of the three books. The reason it is best is exactly because it is biased. Kearney did all the routes in his book. Of the many many hundreds of routes he's done in the Northwest and the many first ascents he's been involved in, these are the routes he's come up with. He also has an excellent feel for what makes up a good route. Not only that, but he defines the terms in his introduction as to what makes a route good. Potterfield and Nelson don't do this. Recently, Kearney was complimented on his book. His response was that it's good because it has thirty years of climbing in the Northwest behind it. As far as I'm concerned the best of the three tick lists is the Kearney list. Jason [ 09-27-2002, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

I was up there last week and the route is still very doable. Just before the Crater at around 9000 feet one has three choices to by-pass some difficult crevasses. 1) Climb along a sketchy snowfin to attain the upper mountain. This is a great and fast way to go up, but a little scary going down. 2) Traverse to climbers right before the sketchy crevasses for about one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards and climb up between a few small crevasses and seracs. Traverse back left. This is a good way to come down. 3) If you can't see where to ascend in route number two, keep traversing right until you are on the Squak directly below Sherman Peak. Ascend here and then traverse back to the crater. There is one last little interesting section immediately after the preceding area, though not as difficult. There is crevasse that presses itself right up to the rocks below the crater. One can climb through the crevasse easily with one solid swing of the ice axe (piolet anch style) and climb out the other side. Alternately, it's not too hard to climb on the rocks around the crevasse, though they are a little loose. The route is really not in bad shape at all. It's been pretty cruser the last couple times I've done it. Jason

If you have a good novel, it's not a bad idea to cut it in half to cut down on weight. Unless it's a really crappy trip I usually don't read more than an hour or so a night and don't finish a half a novel. A pot scrubber is one of the most handy items I carry for longer trips. Seems simple, but it is nice to cook in a relatively clean pot. If you bend the upper half of your spoon, then you can set it in your pot while cooking and not lose it in the boiling water. Just take a lighter to the upper part of the spoon and allow the plastic to warm a bit, then bend... A metal spoon (what I have) is easier, just bend it. When it's really wet and my inner booties are soaked, it's often difficult to dry the entire inner boot in my sleeping bag. There are two things one can do to have dry feet the next day: 1) Take the footbed liner in your sleeping bag and dry this out. It often feels like one's whole foot is dry after doing this. 2) It was mentioned earlier to put a hot water bottle in the sleeping bag. If one puts the same bottle inside the inner bootie while cooking dinner and such, it will at least marginally begin the drying process. Just a few ideas I like... Hopefully these will be helpful to someone out there. Jason

Lots of rattlesnakes... But fun besides that.

I spend about five months a year in Vegas and I'll tell you one thing... I think I usually have about two weeks without visiting climbers sleeping on the floor. Jason

The Gypsum Mine is nothing compared to an 8400 unit development.

The guide will be out in September of 2003. Mountaineers Books will be publishing it. We had hoped to get it out for this winter, but the publishing industry is incredibly slow. We are in dire need of photos. Both action photos of people on routes and photos of routes. In particular, we're looking for overview photos of the following: 1) The Northwest Face of Colfax Peak in the Winter. 2) Overview Photos of Mt. Index in the Winter. 3) The Northwest Face of Dragontail Peak in the Winter. 4) The North Face of Abiel Peak in the Winter. 5) The Northeast Buttress of Chair Peak. If you have any of these, you may contact me at: j_dougie@yahoo.com Or Alex at: wastateice@yahoo.com Thanks for all the help. Jason

Just want to keep this thing on the boards for a few days... Jason [ 08-31-2002, 08:21 AM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

Red Rock Canyon on the outskirts of Las Vegas is under attack. Recently an English Developer bought the Gypsum Mine that is adjacent to the canyon. He plans to develop the area adding an 8400 home subdivision. This is essentially across the street from the small town of Blue Diamond near Mt. Wilson. The visual polution and the traffic will be horrendous. Much of what makes Red Rock what it is will be lost. To protest this, visit: www.redrock.org There are many lists of different politicans and their emails. They should be attacked from every front so that they understand the impact of what is going on to our community. If you want to keep Red Rock Pristine, please take some time and write a few emails. The more all of us write, the more these guys will feel the heat. Jason

This is actually a pretty cool challenge, beer or no beer. Though I agree with Forrest. I think the finish date should be a month later. May 15th Perhaps? Jason [ 08-28-2002, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

I was up there about three weeks ago. There was snow on the glacier at the time. However, there were definately places where one could see a little ice underneath. If the snow has melted off, you may need crampons. It's not very steep, but wouldn't be too fun without them if the conditions have deteriated to the point where there is exposed glacier ice. You probably can leave the ice tools at home. An ice axe for glacier walking may be helpful. Jason

Backcountry Waste: Who Gives A Shit?

Atlanta Climber, I've put together a list of cascade routes on my personal website for people who are in a very similar boat to yours. web page Hope this helps. Jason

The Strand on Hamilton Mountain is an elusive WI 6 that seldom comes into condition. It has a history that goes back to 1981 when Robert McGown and Mark Simpson made the first partial ascent. To date it has not seen a complete ascent. Unfortunately, there is ice on this thing once every four or five years. It is unlikely that it will be climbed by anyone but a person who watches it closely over the course of a cold winter and gets it when it on one of the very few days that it is in. Jason

I was up there about a week and a half ago. Four to five parties climbed the far left side. I don't know what the boot track was doing as I was looking down at them from the saddle between Colfax and Baker. It looks like the only disadvantage of climbing that side would be that one would miss out on the view into the crater. Oh well... Jason [ 08-21-2002, 04:14 PM: Message edited by: Jason Martin ]

Mice are a problem all over Mt. Baker right now. Keep your food away from them as a significant amount of the rodents in the Cascades carry the Hunta virus. I haven't climbed that particular route for about a month, but I've been on the mountain a lot. Many parties appear to be climbing up the left side of the glacier. Many have come over so far that they are ascending the Deming Glacier as opposed to the Easton. The shrund was not a problem a few weeks ago. And last year it was never a problem. I have not heard anything about it to indicate that it is a problem from others who are on the mountain as much as I am. Have a great trip! Jason

Most of it is... However, the very last section of the approach is covered by steep hard late summer snow. It's not fun to do in tennis shoes. Jason

Coleman Headwall no longer looks like it is in condition. One may be able to climb it if you are willing to expose yourself to the danger of climbing overhanging seracs. The route saw a lot of action in June and July. But it has seriously deteriated in the last few weeks. Jason

I own a pair. They do fit very well, and they climb quite well as well. I've done steep snow and a little ice in them as well as mid-fifth class rock climbing. The only problem that I have with them is that they seem to get wet rather easily. In the sloppy Cascade snow sometimes my feet are really quite wet in these boots. I have treated them, but they still leak a bit. Either early season or late season when the snow is not knee deep slush they are fine. Jason

I was up there on Sunday when this took place. We were descending to the saddle and discovered a guy with a broken leg. He had been glissading with crampons on. His partners had made him comfortable. We worked on him together, administering first aid. He was dehydrated and was getting cramps on and around the fracture... Not a real comfortable situation. We called for a patient evacuation and about two hours after the accident a large Navy helicopter came and picked him up. Good job to the injured party's team members. You guys did a good job. And good luck to the injured, I hope it wasn't too bad and that you're back on your feet soon. A lot of sketchiness in the mountains this year. It seems like a lot of simple basic safety is being ignored. Jason