layton

I'll post a topo and photos of Bear when I get a chance. I need to finish my roll of film, delvelop them, then go to WWU and scan them, etc.. May be a long time, but I'll do it. I'll include Gimly and Asguard too, but Dru's photos are almost exactly like mine. Hmmmm.... Erik, I was Vertical Turtle's partner on that. You made fun of me for laybacking. You're right, I don't have any technique. How do you add photos w/o a website to insert from? Do you just cut and paste? [ 07-23-2002, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: michael_layton ]

What works best? I took a deet shower and formed a perimeter of deet around my bivy and it barely worked. I even tried putting an MSR pocket-rocket on my head on full blast, but although many perished, they were attacted to the CO2. Screaming doesn't work either. Any luck with Citrolnilla?

Just because I posted the TR doesn't mean that Climzalot didn't MORE than do his fair share. He got some of the nastier pitches in my opinion, was an awesome friend and partner, and doesn't spray! I was just poking fun at him about our rerturn to Bellingham, it's hard to convey sarcasm and good-natured chiding over the internet w/o resorting to gremlins and little punctuation emotions , etc... As for Slesse... Did that with Necronomicon last August (late). He too pulled more than his fair share, and also is an awesome partner and friend. Here's the beta: Bear isn't as pretty as Slesse, as far a positions go. Nothin' comes close to how amazing the NE butt on Slesse looks from afar, and the views down below. You can't really see much on bear, as far as exposure goes. The views of the mountains from Bear at the bivy cannot be beat, however, and the rock quality is much much better on Bear. Less scrambling, and mossy licheny rock. Sleese has less splitters, and more broken face cracks. Also the pocket glacier crossing on Slesse is a trip in itself. Oh my God! You can do it w/your nut tool and a sharp rock, but you will probably die if you slip. Serious stuff. The approach for Slesse is like driving to the video store compared to Bear, but the Descent on Slesse is the most grueling, horrible thing ever. Bear is a walk in the park, dum-dee-dum descent to the car. More pitches on Bear, lots more technical climbing, and the 4th class on slesse is WAY easier than bear's 4th class. I reccomend (and this is one of the only times I'll say this) bivying on Slesse. Amazing ledge, water, snafflehounds, and just an awesome place to be. The only other place you should concider bivying on Slesse is on the summit, for the upper ledges suck and are pretty close to the top anyways. Take some NSAIDS for the desent and maybe a pair of neoprene knee braces (it really works wonders). Take 5 liters of water if it's sunny, cuz after the bivy ledge, there ain't shit for water till the car (you're hundreds of feet above the river at the car). There may be snow on the summit, but I don't recall any runoff, and who wants to lug a stove up the route. Take 2 packs if you're gonna bivy. I used a 1/2 bag, a warm coat, my backpack, and the rope to bivy with. A water bladder and a top lid make a good pillow. A bit of advice for the upper pitch were Beckey says that the "left side is easier". He means just a little bit left. Not left of the buttress crest where a 5.7 looking layback flake is. I took that way and it became a full rope legnth of 10b (no joke) with a one nut belay and a traverse back on route. Needless to say, Necronomicon was a bit pissed at me. So Bear = better climbing, better camping views Slesse = more asthetic line and mountain Nothing beats the S.Ridge on Gimley though for fun cool climbing.

I did a quick toenail test up at WA pass on NEWS West face last thursday w/Necronomicon to see if I could handle 23+ pitches, and as I hobbled back to the car I figured that I better keep quite to my upcoming Bear partner, Climzalot. Well the day finally came and I put my Boulders on. A serious slog ensued, and one wrong turn, and Climzalot and I became unspeakably lost in the WORST nightmare of marsh and bush. Several time I stepped in a hole, and sunk down to my waist in warm, methane and mosquito infested murk! We lost like 2 hours till we finally found the trail. I will do my very best to purge this from my memory. "The Horror," and Marlon Brando once said. Damn straight! The next section is 4500' uphill. Yeah, fun! Under the burning disk of the cruel sun we drug our sorry asses to Ruta lake. You actually wind up 300' above the lake (the worst mosquitos in the world) so I'd suggest to all the fucked up souls out there planning on going up there, to fill up at bear camp and avoid going down to the hellish lake, or there are 2 braided streams along the rising traverse to the col. 8 hours later we arrived at the col. It could've taken up 5-6 hours if we didn't get marshed out, and also, we gained the ridge line on Bear way to early. Traverse cross country above the lake, then go up. The col was a windless mosquito bar, but the views are so amazing that it was worth every step, and every bite. You can see everything. We went to bed plenty tired, and my toenails were doing just fine! Day 2 Crampons and an ice ax are absolutely essential to get to the climb. The slopes are fairly steep, and one could manage to do it without them, but to get to the climb... Well my duct-tape crampon harness system failed while I was trying to pull a serac lip. Staring down into a bottemless moat (wicked scary) we went higher onto a slab. Our plan on stashing one pair of crampons and ax here and getting it later went out the window. Our pack was amazingly heavy. 2 pairs shoes, 2 axes, 2 pairs crampons, 5 liters water, food, and 2 absolutely useless puffball jackets, plus shades, sunscreen, headlamps, and some rap slings. Climzalot lead out the nastly slab pitch, and off we went. Pitch after pitch of awesome rockclimbing. Every pitch seemed harder than its rating. One pitch is rated 5.8 in one guide, and 10a in another. Kearney's guide is the one to use. Beckey and McLane leave out 3-5 pitches in their route descriptions!!! Useless. Thanks Alan! Some highlights were a 5.9 pitch that was so sustained that it would've be at least a 10b in squamish. Multiple small cams in loose rock. A Mung-a-lot. A cams-a-bit. Plenty of loose rock amid the good rock. Makes sense, how many folks have been on this route? Feel free to email me for more info on the actual pitches, since my spray time is almost over. Topping out was amazing, and the mosquitos were on us once again. We rapped off a shrub to get to our camp instead of going down a talus path to the snow (bad choice). The bugs doubled their intensity as we hung out and enjoyed the views from our camp. (running water, and lots of it). My memory is begging to fade as I continue to sray...I think it took us 11-12 hours on the rock. 14 hours from camp to camp. Also, the big snowpatch ledge right now is seriously snowy and we had a hell of a time getting around it and through the moat. The 4th class was way slimy, runout, and scarry. The desent is easy and knee braces and Vicoden did the trick. And my toenails. PAINLESS!!! Yup, no more hobbling for me. Anyway its hotter than hell and when I got home I wanted to crawl into my closet with a flashlight and a six-pack of beer, suck my thumb, and read childrens books. Instead I meet my landlord in my driveway ready to evict me, my girlfriend in tears, pissed off and she took my truck, and also Climzalot didn't have room for in his car later to go swimming because it was filled with some obviously better friends . To finish, I got on a bike, and now have a bottle of Black Velvet right next to me and some charred animal tissue . Don't you just love alpine climbing? [ 07-23-2002, 11:04 AM: Message edited by: michael_layton ]

Yup. that's the Rev. Diamond. I was his roommate for about 6 months. interesting stay. He's the guy who once wanted to get lunch in Roslyn while climbing at Vantage with a guy named Cory! I was lying, he moved far away and the only thing he's been sending recently is email.

Sorry Dude, Matt the "rev" diamond already sent them all month drinking binge and puked on the cruxes. Check out the little cove on chuckanut drive in Fairhaven just past the RxR bridge tunnel. Take a right just before the gallery/espresso bar. Bring some band-aids. Oh yeah, best climb in B'ham...Sehome High Handcrack. 10a splitter with a nice undercling (for shorties) and roof mantle finish! Awesome. Don't fuck it up for folks and make them cement it in. Only go when schools out and no one is watching. The kids'll hop on and die and no more splitters in B'ham (except for Boundry Bay handcrack..ouch, the Bond Hall offwidth, Carver Gym Layback, and some auto-parts store handcrack I haven't seen yet), Worst B'ham rock...Gov'Lister Cliffs which doubles at the worst climbin' in entire world...no offense. [ 07-18-2002, 08:52 PM: Message edited by: michael_layton ]

Dear climbing community... ...I think it should be noted that this is the 1st time Climzalot has EVER swore! This alone should attest to the heinousness of our attempt.

So go up the main channel of Swift Creek (on the right side) all the way to below the glacier of the S.Face of Ashulu, and head up? It would've helped if every mountain or visible thing for that matter wasn't obsured by fog too.

Sorry to dissapoint all, but the trip was a bust! I'm sippin some Black Velvet I grabbed at the Duty Free, so this should prove interesting. There I was, hanging in dead air, feet dangling in space above a 80 degree slabby drainage, runout unknown holding onto a shruby branch, desperately trying to swing apelike to another lower branch. Misery. Pure and undiluted. My 1st real attempt, having drivin up to the avy slide months ago. Climzalot and Mike K were in the truck. Climzalot was behind the seat, head bashing into the glass from the waterbars. I counted 53 signifacant waterbars during the 4X section!!! Here's the driving beta.... HWY 99 N, left on Squamish Valley road, stay left. Follow McLane's guide book direction. Road turns to gravel, hang a left onto bridge across river. Continue up Ashulu main into canyon. Hang a right a few miles into the canyon. It goes down, past a little quarry, and across a bridge. Don't go up, gated mine, and access to Mt. Jimmy Jimmy (my fav. mtn). Past bridge stay left. Take a left off what looks like the main road onto an obscure road. This is still the main road!!! It's the 1st left. Don't go uphill. The river should be on your left! Keep it there, close to your car. Follow this for a while. This is the start of the Vehicular Bushwack!!! Seriously thick schwackin' on a road for a long ass time. The road makes a fork. Go right, uphill. The downhill road should peter out. END OF 2WD. Major waterbar country ahead. We had a black bear lope ahead of my truck for a couple kilo. Now, the road will go straight, or turn sharply uphill and switchback below a rockscar. Go straight. Not much longer now. Stop at a scary log and dirt bridge that cuts across ye old river of death. This is shortcut creek. Do not go further. Park and puke. My biggest advice from here is bring a good topo map of the area. The info from here is in serious question... There is a tiny tiny cairn above a little cliff. Go up the cliff and start some hard core bushwacking. A small ice-tool proves useful here. If you find my Nike hat, let me know. Stay on the left side of the creek and go up for a while. According to McLane and a map I saw a fork off the main river splits off left. We followed it. It turns into a nice waterfall, we climbed up the ridge into open areas and came to an ice-encrusted lake below a very steep alpine bowl. This SHOULD be rugged lake. Fuck if it is or not? Now from the lake, your're supposed to get on a "steepening hillside" onto the ridge to the right. We had to go back down stream from the lake a few yards to find a feasible way onto the ridge. Sketchy loose rocks and slippery heather turned into mid-fifth verticle bushwacking. Monkey and muscle up. Climb sketchy wet mossy steep loose rock and bushwack a lot more. Now you are fucked. Acording to the guidebook this ridge should be somewhat promenent a maybe even a bit jagged. No such luck. Verticle choss and shrub continued on into the mist, and we couldn't bring ourselves to go up it. Nothing in the topography matched any photo or map, or description. Fucked. Down and to our right many many feet down lay the main channel of the swift creek. above lay massive amounts of snow and glacial terrain. Our ridge, and our mountain were nowhere to be seen. It was one of the few times where topography totally contradicted everything, even though everythign before hand seemed to fit the pieces. We decided that the minimal approach beta would probably fit anywhere in the mountains. Follow a stream to an alpine lake. shit, we could do that anywhere. Were we playing the right cards for the wrong game? Well I'll never know. The indignity and humiliatory of the approach and descent to come will make me take an indellible marked to the Ashlu pages of the guide. The desent was unmentionably awful. Swinging from tree to tree down the other side of the ridge to the main channel was a humbling, scary, life-altering bushwack. No humans had been were we had gone. Gorrilas don't degrade themselves like we did getting off the ridge. Then the mosquitos...dear god! One mustn't slow their progess lest these satan spawn catch up. One slow step and you are fuckin' covered! There was soem flagging tape on the right side of the main channel, who knows what that's all about? Totally off from Mclane's guide, and topo's. Must be for some much more devilish purpose. I did a few face plants into the marshes, and mangaged to degrade the entire species by beating through bushes back to the car. FYI there was some flaggin tape on the approach we took, and it took 1.5 hours to get to the "lake" whatever lake it may have been in whatever mtn range we were in. God only knows where we were, it was definitely the most random spot I've wound up in. GO GET IT!

Almost new, used like 4 times at most. $150. I can ship them (I'd add $10 for postage). Try on a new 9.5 and see if they fit? I think there is a super brand new version of the T2 out, but as of last winter these were the latest model. I'm selling them b/c I decided I am not a skier, I'm a slogger.

Still for sale. someone mentioned where to get cheap T2's...right here.

"Wetter than your Wife" -aka Green Gulley near Golden (see waterfall ice guidebook). Worst name, "Saphire Bullets of Pure Ice" in Telluride. Fuckin' Colorado hippies!

I remember that bra, slightly disturbing concidering the area! Also, if you pass a rotting corpse that resembles a dead crack whore wearing black panties...you're on the wrong trail .

Captain, lets see those James Turner photos if you've got the time. Thanks. -Mike Layton

No, I was home alone I only get hangovers with wine and sugary drinks making them more of an afternoon drink.

Ok, I'm totally beta trolling here and seriously hogging the B.C. TR section. Sorry, but... ...Anyone done it? It looks sweet. The thing is that is looks like one of those climbs that needs pretty good conditions. However, while attempting Joffre Central Coulior (bailed due to emotional trauma due to fatality) in october in relatively warm temps after a big rain, the coulior was still in an looked good. Should I assume James turner is similar, because I just read the FA was done in May! McLane doesn't really say what the season is for this baby, and I doubt many (if anyone) have repeated it. So if you've seen it, or done something n.facing at that latitude, I'd like your opinion. It looks like an Awesome slog in, but I'd sure like to climb it after all that work. Thanks again, Mike.

Thanks, duh!, I should'a checked that site. Any word on NF.Direct, or Direktissima?

oh yeah, for anyone who doesn't know, these peaks are mentioned in the new SW BC guide and are in the Chehalis range. Beta still wanted badly. Obviously I can go in and see for myself, which I will most certainly do one of these days coming up, but concidering I'm not doing an FA I'll take any useful info. Anyone climbed s.face of Ashulu also...see climzalot's post to reply to that one.

Anyone know anything about The North Face Direct, or the Derektissima Routes? Flavelle-Howe looks like a ton of scrambling (16 pitches worth of 3rd to Low 5th) to a few good pitches near the top, so unless someone says it rocks and the others blow, I don't think I'd concider that one. Any good, how's the rock? Route beta? Times? Approach? Desent? Road? Anything info would be helpful. Any beta on N.Ridge of Clarke or Tuning fork on bardeen would be nice too, but they don't look nearly as scary, committing, and they seem like common routes compared to the N.face routes on Vienesse. Thanks, Mike Layton

Trail's fine.

Must be a lot qucker from snow lakes to the peak than I thougt. That pass looked like it would take some time. Should'a gone. Damnit. Camera equipment? What are you taking pictures of? That area is so visually offensive and awful, that if it was a person, Dr. Laura Scrotumdinger would tell me to leave it and press criminal charges!!!!

The hike up is fairly steep. Going up and down w/ a big pack on would hurt. Plus there a LOT of bugs (all the way up to the summit!). If you summit by night, the descent is pretty straighforeward, and could be easily done by headlamp. I'd go with 2 hours to base for super fast and light folks, 3-5 hours for heavy packs. On the flip side, the area is so amazingly beautiful that it would be a pretty place to spend awhile (while swatting insects). You can get water from the snow, not a lot of running water however.

3rd try is the charm. It felt like I was commuting to work driving back to L-worth and hiking in (Again) the next morning. Things started off well as I stepped into one of the largest piles of human excrement in the moat. I didn't notice till shit smears and stench appeared all over the 3rd class. Necronomicon led the offwidth, way to go dude. I wouldn't bring a big bro like one party I saw carry a while back. Good luck sliding that thing up! The next pitch was mungtackular surmounting the ridge, and a nice little pitch followed. The step down and around was very easy. Lots of 4th class simul climbing followed in crappy loose choss (with one short large crack near the fin). Necro led up the ramp to the fin and the quality of rock got even crappier. Tons of air mail. I'd hate to be below another party! Confusion sunk in as Nelson's guide became useless, and translating the beta was a joke. I led up some awful rock to the right, it blanked out, downclimbed, traversed and got up on a ledge. Short pitch. Led the next pitch, there were those 5.8 twin cracks! Only good pitch on route. Long long pitch. Still somewhat confused, I led up another crack, found the undercling (easy), and headed toward this notch at the crest. I wasn't sure wether to head right through what looked like roofs and choss, or left 10 feet to the notch to summit the fin? I climbed up 15 feet above my last piece up some runout 5.10 sidepulls, realized I shoulda gone right, and was fucked. Still no pro I headed left on sidepulls and a hand traverse w/lichen for feet and flopped through the notch with horrid rope drag. This is the top of the 3rd coulior. Necro lead up on the other side of the fin for 20 feet, and back to the other side through another notch. He let loose an amazing amount of rubble. I followed up and the ground below my feet liquified as I sent tons of rockfall down. One more 3rd class ropelegnth put us on the trail just below the summit. We glissaded all the way down to asguard. On the pass I must've unleashed Pandora's box of insects. Totally swarmed I hopped on the snow and glissaded down the rest of the pass, VERY careful to avoid waterfalls, and their death moats. After hiking out we headed to town to consume massive amounts of food. We were like two coyotes loose on the town searching for animal tissue. Nothing was open! We slid past the folks in safeway as they were locking their doors, and mangaged to grab shitloads of meat and cheese. The gas station was closed, so no beer for us! The final crux was trying to finish my sandwich while staying away. It tooks us 18 hours car to car. My feet were so nasty when I peeled off my socks they were and are a crime against humanity! Both big toenails are falling off, and my left one is all puffy and bleeding. At safeway I managed a land speed of .1 miles per hour. I call this type of activily self-destructexcise. The route looks neat and there are cool views, etc..., but the rock seriously blows, and not much quality climbing. I don't think I'll repeat that line again. I look forward to locking myself indoors and doing nothing for a while.

Went to try prussik last week car to car. Got wicked sandbagged on the beta, "5 hours from trailhead to base of route". So Necro and I left the car at 8:30. We figured we were screwed by snow lakes. Nice hike if your into that sorta crap. Go up snow lake TH. Asgard pass is for going down, not up. The area is totally disgusting! How long would it take to completely level that area into a giant parking lot if the entire human race were to focus all their energy on it, using rock to chop and dig while consuming their dead? 1 month?

Someone just pointed out that my post reads like Climzalot gets 3 out of 4 stars. I mean the climb. Climzalot gets 4.