Jason_Martin

Brukb, Your friend wasn't lying to you. Coleman Headwall is pitched out bottom to top as often as it is soloed. Depending on your skill, you may find it an easy route to simul-climb or perhaps to solo. There are spots here and there that you may feel more comfortable pitching out. Guides -- while guiding -- often pitch out the whole thing. It tends to take somewhere between the high teens and the low twenties to do this. The route changes rather drastically year to year and thus is not subject to the same type of pitch analysis that one might put on "Diedre." I know of people who have done the route as late as October. They found a true alpine ice climb that required a substantial amount of skill and technique. The last time I saw the route -- a couple of weeks ago -- it looked dirty and unpleasant. I believe this is a lingering result of the low snow year. Good Luck, Jason

Killing innocent people doesn't solve anything. Neither does perpetuating prejudice against those with different beliefs. Yeah, the people who are responsible need to pay. But the people who ARE NOT responsible should not suffer.

Icypeak, It appears that the other post concerns ice climbing. If you are climbing the Coleman/Deming route, ascend via the climbers trail up Heliotrope Ridge. "Mirkwood" is the camp that the forest service calls the "Harrison Camp." This camp can be found a little ways below survey rock at 5000 feet on the ridgeline. There is a small trail below this camp that will bring you out onto the base of the icefall where many people go to ice climb. To reach this camp, continue straight on the heliotrope ridge trail at the junction. Do not ascend the climbers trail. You will have to cross a number of small creeks. Eventually you will reach Survey Rock. This is an overlook of the Coleman Glacier. Descend the ridgeline to the flat campspot at 5000 feet. This is NOT a good place to climb the Coleman/Deming route from. It is a good place to use as an ice climbing base camp. Jason

Matt told me this story awhile ago. From what I understand he was only a way a short time... A few hours, maybe over night. He had went up and set that rope up for the express purpose of fixing a line so that he and the people he was guiding could move over the col more quickly. All these people who are saying they would take anything they find are not paying attention to what's going on around them. Leaving fixed lines is perfectly all right in any number of circumstances. I can understand and sympathize with someone who might have thought it was left. But with the amount of time he was gone, I suspect that this gear was honestly stolen. Someone who just "found" it would probably quiz other climbers in the area to find out who left it and why. Boston Basin is not that big. These guys probably jammed the gear in their pack then didn't say anything to anyone. For all of you who say you take anything you see: Would you take a fixed line off a wall? Would you steal a haul bag cashed at the base of a wall? Would you take someone's food cash on Denali? Would you take draws off of someone's project? Would you take a fixed line off of a sport route that is being manufactured? Would you take someone's backpack while their taking a leak in the woods? The point is that in the world of climbing we leave gear behind all the time with the intent of coming back for it. It doesn't take that many critical thinking brain cells to figure out when something has been left behind in an epic and when something has been left for a reason. Jason

MattP, I agree one hundred percent. Three people on a team is far safer than two. However, given proper training and technique a two man team can be very safe in the Cascades. Let me reemphasize a couple of points in this statement and that of my previous posting. First, proper training and technique. It is incredibly important to practice crevasse rescue on a glacier as opposed to in one's own back yard. This means dropping your partner down a hole, building and anchor, and pulling him out. This is not a one time thing. You should do it over again and again and again. Burn an entire weekend on this... Then when the conditions are bad, it's the middle of the night, and wet snow is falling, you might be able to do a rescue. Not only that, but the reality of the matter is that soft snow is easier to build an anchor in and easier to arrest a fall in. That is as opposed to semi-exposed ice. While practicing, it's not a bad idea to back your partner up with a spare end of the rope in case you can't pull him out. Secondly, I stated that the risks can be managed in the Cascades. Most crevasse falls in the Cascades where a person goes in over his head take place from tripping and falling into a crevasse from above, not from a bridge collapse. Most of the risky crevasse crossings that take place in the Cascades are made with full knowledge of the fact that one is crossing a hole. As a result the rope tends to remain tight and most of the time when the bridge collapses the person doesn't go in very far. With proper technique, the liklihood of tripping and falling is reduced. With proper training, one should be able to pull his partner out of a hole rather quickly by himself, no matter how bad the conditions are. If you disagree, take a course on how to do this from a guide service. You will see just how manageable the risks really are. Jason

Eating fatty food before bed is also a good idea. Processing fat creates internal body heat. Jason

AJ, I've done the route a couple of times. However, I've always done it as a spring conditioning route while there is a lot of snow on it. Each time, I've stayed up high on the ridge crest. It is rather straight forward and is often skiied. Jason

I was also on the North Side of Baker over the weekend. It is very icy and sking it would be challenging as there are sections of exposed glacier ice throughout the route. With proper training and proper gear, two man glacier travel does not push the limit in the Cascades. However, proper training does indicate that you should be able to build an anchor and haul an unconscious partner out of a crevasse by yourself. Practice doing this by yourself, of course, makes perfect. Jason

For an easy approach and a truly fun route, try "The Moustache, Pencil Thin Direct" on Mt. Baker. Approach via the North Side of the mountain, Heliotrope Ridge Trail, and ascend the bottom of the route as if you were climbing the Coleman Deming Route. Before reaching the saddle, veer left and traverse steep slopes to the base of the gully. This gully can be seen to the left of the rocks on the left side of the Roman Wall. This is the Pencil Thin variation to the route. At times in late season these gullies can be filled with steep water ice. At least one party has found a vertical ice variation in these gullies late season. Happy Climbing! Jason

I have been guiding for the last few years and have spent a significant amount of time on the two most popular routes on Mt. Baker. Many people bring dogs up onto those glacier. This is a practice that is getting more and more upsetting to me. Though the sun does not seem to have an effect on every dog, it definately has an effect on some. I witnessed an incident last year where a dog had to literally be carried off the mountain due to the combination of snow blindness and exahustion. I have witnessed a number of incidences wherein a dog has become extremely exhausted in deep snow. These dogs were essentially carried out as well. In every occurance of snowblindness or exahustion other climbers have volunteered to help the pet owner evacuate the animal. Thus they lost their own trip to help these animals with thoughtless owners. It sounds like these doggles things are the way to go. Especially if you don't want your dog to be responsible for ruining your trip or the trips of others. Jason

I skied it about two weeks ago and found it to be a lot of fun. A few uphill sections in sticky snow slowed us down, but for the most part it was good. I got off Glacier Peak yesterday and the snow level was at about 5000 feet on the trail. I expect it should be the same on Shuksan. Jason

I know this is off the topic, but there are people who have been back in the area looking at this... How were the snow conditions on the approach? How soon does snow cover the trail? Jason

Stevo, Part of climbing is talking about it. Debates about climbing ethics at the crag or in the mountains are fun to discuss. Routes are fun to discuss. The friends we make and the people we climb with are fun to talk about. It's not fun when you insult the people involved in the discussions. In fact it's quite immature to call people "little bitches." Especially people you don't know. It's also quite immature to assume that people who talk about climbing don't climb. In fact, that doesn't even make sense. Every climber I know loves to talk about climbing, whether they are dirt-bag climbers that spend three hundred days a year on routes, or weekend warriors that spend most of their time on plastic. It's a lot more fun to hear your opinion when you don't act like a sixth grader.

"Killer Bees" are a real threat to climbers in the Desert Southwest. Nine out of ten bees in Las Vegas Valley are of the Africanized variety. The biggest dangers tend to be on First Ascents. Popular routes don't tend to be a problem, but it's a good idea to pay close attention to where you are climbing on a FA. If there are hints of a bee hive on a route in Red Rocks or any such area, don't do the route. A single sting can excite an entire hive into a full-on attack. Not a pretty picture if you are three pitches off deck at a hanging belay.

There have been two ice routes put up on the Northwest Face of Dragontail Peak. The one to the right of Serpentine Arete was done by John Wasson and Tim Wilson in 1984. There is an extremely brief description of the route in the 1984 AAJ. In 1988 Rob Cotter and Mark Bebie did a route to the left of Serpentine Arete. They finished their route on the right hand ice-filled corner of the Fin. They gave the route a rating of AI 3. A brief description of the route can be found in the 1989 AAJ. If you go up there, let us know what you find. Good Luck, Jason

I too have had problems with my elbow. And everything Steve wrote is correct. The one thing I'd like to add to his prescription is ibeuprophin. This helps to relieve swelling. When the pain in my elbow was at a peak, a doctor prescribed this to me with food. You should probably consult your physician before doing anything beyond this and what Steve wrote. Good Luck. Jason

It's definately a bit cold on the shaded routes yet at Red Rocks. For sunny long trad routes take a look at: Johnny Vegas 5.7 Beulah's Book 5.9- The Friar 5.9+ Solar Slab 5.6 Horndogger Select 5.8 Jubilant Song 5.8 with a Long Approach Black Orpheus 5.10- Levitation 29 5.11 Olive Oil 5.7 My personal favorite routes are Chrimson Chryslis 5.9, Frogland 5.8-, and Refried Brains 5.9. Unfortunately these routes are in the shade. You don't really need a headlamp for Tunnel Vision, I've done the route a few times and you can see fine in the tunnel. To the right of Tunnel Vision there is a REALLY good route called Group Therapy. At 5.7 I think it is the best route on Angel Food Wall. Anyway, have a blast!

Hey Everybody, I thought I'd let you know how the ice climbing guidebook is coming along. There are a few things I'd like to let this community know about and a few general questions I have. To start with, I've taken on a partner for this guidebook project. Alex Krawarik is a great ice climber, excellent researcher, and an all around good guy. He's now co-authoring this book with me. I've had help from a good chunk of the climbing community. To date, the following people and organizations have been implemental in contributing information: Erik Snyder, Mark Shipman, Krista Eytchison, Larry Nevers Jr, David Zulinke, Kevin Pogue, Dunham Gooding and the staff of the American Alpine Institute, Dan Smith, Paul Butler and the Staff of Mazama Mountain Guides, Mike Layton, Tim Crawford and the staff of cascadeclimbers.com, Geof Childs, Doug Littauer, Dave Burdock, Brett Bergeron, Darryl Cramer, Rolf Larson, William Robins, Ade Miller, Matt Perkins, Mike Maude, Paul Detrick, Jim Nelson and Greg Muller. Though we've had a great deal of help, there are still places that we have very little information on. Following is a list of areas where I have info about a few climbs, but know that there are quite a few more out there. 1) Olympic National Park: No Info. 2) Entiat River Basin: Info about a few climbs. Primarily the obvious waterfalls. 3) Quincy Wildlife Area: I have info about two routes on Ancient Lake and one route on Hidden Lake. From what I understand there are up to ten or eleven more routes in the area. 4) North Side of Columbia River near Camus: During very cold seasons there are a number of routes here. I have a 1993 guidebook by Tim Olson with a little info. However the beta in that guide is slim. If anyone has his email, I'd love to get in touch with him. Lastly we're interested in stories about unusual formations and ascents. For example there is a story about a couple of guys climbing a smear of ice on Mt. Erie. If you've done any unusual ascents or know of any let us know. My email is: j_dougie@yahoo.com I'll talk to ya' all later, Jason D. Martin

I got a copy of this book after simply looking up Dallas Kloke's address in the Anacortes phone book. I sent him a letter and he replied with a price figure for the book. Then I just sent him a check directly and got a copy of the guide. The book is interesting but unfortunately set up in a rather odd manner. The routes are in alphabetical order as opposed to in order by region. This makes it a bit difficult to get one's bearings in the book sometimes.