layton

Clean break is gooder than most badder climbs. If you get the 2nd pitch, you get 80% of the hard funky pitches. The 5.10- traverses are headdy, but only one or 2 movs. The 1st pitch is the hardest. The 2nd pitch (the clean break) felt like 5.9 or 5.8. The 3rd pitch goes up and right up a left facing flake, then across and up an unprotected corner. We may have missed something, cuz it seemed weird. We did a small tension/pendulum into the next crack. After that it's pretty off and on going. The 10- thin crack after the offwidth (do a hand traverse then a layback) is pretty easy. Not much gear on the crack, but bomber finger locks. Don't fall though. We didn't "tunnel" under like Kearney says higher up, instead following Burdo, heading out right on a long traverse then climbing back up to the ridge past the prow. The 5.9 stem corner was hard for me, but easy for Coley. Don't go too high, traverse early on. There is a fixed nut in a sucker crack way to the right. Coley opted out on the "Wild hand crack". I didn't see it, but it seemed really silly and contrived. I'm sure we missed out, but I really don't care. The approach and hike are ok. Car to car was 14 hours. Lots of snow at the base of the route, w/ a sketchy moat hop. Don't leave a pack too close to the base of the route, as the descent puts you lower than your pack. Leave a pack really really low, or better yet, not at all. Don't bother w/ice ax or crampons. Not that steep, runout. Bring plenty of water, it gets really hot (even when cloudy). Aproach took 2 hours to basin, 45min on talus/snow. Desent took 3.5 hours summit to car. Easy desent, not sketchy at all. Try and stay on the trail on the way up, but there are many sections that are devoid of trail and you just need to be lucky to find it. Climzalot was an awesome partner on an awesome route. 3 out of 4 stars, and a IV 5.10a rating (or III+ if you camp up there...don't though, that's cruel). Oh, bring a topo for the wine spires if you do camp, or if you finish the route early. We could'a gotten in Chianti or Burgandy by dark.

Thanks that's great advice about the col! My question relates to the two routes "W.Face Burgandy, and Never Enough on Ares Tower" Ares tower is near clean break. Does anyone have beta for those routes. There's been a thread for clean break so I think it's covered, but thanks for the info regardless!

Anyone done the W.Face of Burgandy (aka Annie Greensprung Route) What's it like compared to the classic N.Face? Beckey makes it look longer, w/some nice long cracks and "great rock". Same goes with Never Enough near Clean Break. Any good?

Hey, can you post a photo of the ridge. Went in for a solo last year. Pain in the ass figuring which road to take (brought bike), and the the whole col thing from boot lake. There's like five cols up there. I agree with you, the boot lake col is way steep. My problem was that I couldn't figure out what friggin' mountain was what!!!! Once on the crest, I had no clue what col I was between, or what mtn was cinderella! What I thought to be the most likely "cinderella ridge" looked pretty shitty. Fred Beckey, if you're reading this. Your guide is just about the only map of the area with peak names! If you ever do an update, can you give us a better photo or description of the southern range? Great job on the climb!!!! What a confusing area, on the approach, and in the mtns. The north side of the range is a little better, but still gets the best of them lost as hell.

How do you get to colchuck col from the top?

What court would you go to? It's federal land. They can give you a ticket, but there's no court to make you pay. Don't even bother. Collect em' and trade em with your friends. Or, destroy the sign saying you need one and claim you didn't see a sign... Start a nice forest fire with one.

Any artical w/Bill Robins in it isn't worth my time to read.

I'm 25. I'm on foodstamps. I'd be on welfare, Social Security, Medicare, etc if I could. My current job is glueing boxes of cereal shut for 8 1/2 hours a day. I have long hair, and I listen to Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead. I don't do drugs but I like to drink. I will quit my job when I am sick of it and claim unemployment. Then I will go climbing and laugh at all the slaves in their expensive SUV's bickering about what type of furniture they are going to buy at IKEA and what hike they will prepare for from Ken Wilcox's B'ham hiking guide. Dennis, I'm your worst f*cking nightmare. BTW, do you have a daughter or a couple a' bucks I can spare?

Poseur- What mountain is behind you. Anyone spy a sweet line? My guess is Mt.Dickey.

Its more E facing than N. as I recall. Gets sun way early. Climb it at night it's straigtforeward. a little secret (although illegeal) Bring a mtn bike for the 1st part of the approach. Get nasty looks, and save time. Take the 7-finger jack/maude col, don't stay on the sucker trail. I didn't mtn bike cuz I didn't know how flat and nice the trail was, but others since have.

quote: open to suggestions mister layton.... give us the plan dude! 1st of all, don't confuse Necronomicon w/Crazy Polish Agnet Orange Bod. Different guy. 2nd, maybe you should call I.N.S. or hire a hit man? 3rd. I wouldn't piss the guy off. I know him. He really is fucking crazy. Good guy, really good massage therapist, fantastic climber. This may be his method of venting? Cut off that channel and he may take his rage out on some helpless young thing. I wouldn't want to see that.

NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Bad Moderators! He'll be back.

I use brown rice sryup, the lighter kind. I add delicious hershey chocolate sryup. Haven't added any salt or crushed vitatmins. Work fine, taste better when it is cold out. I tried making it with maltodextrin powder and fructose powder. Worst thing I've ever had! Couldn't afford to make it perfect. The fist time I tried making it, I added all these vitamins and shit. Nothing dissovled and it was so fucking awful I puked the second it went in my mouth! The worst was GNC's liquid Amino Acids. Anyone tried that? Goddamn it's like magma from hell! Maybe Bragg's sauce would be better, but it's probably not concentrated enought to make a difference. The pills are useless since they'll just pass through you like canned corn (along with most vitamins you take). Make sure shit dissolves first! I say, load up on vitamins at home before and after the climb. I've tried lots of different vitamins based off of research studies, and have had little positive results. Too many other variables (how much sleep you've been having, what else have you been eating, blah blah blah). Take a good multivitamin, and eat your vegies at home. Eat a shitload of sugar and crap you like on the climb (or you won't eat). As for cytomax. Good stuff, I like apple the best. Peach is pretty good. I hear Gu makes something new, but I can't afford it. I get $40 cans of cytomax for $9.99 at a local ghetto-mart. Sometimes however, I wish I just had cool clear water and a snickers (3 muskateers are the best cal per weight though). My favorite high energy pick me up is a loaf of Bree cheese. Stays soft in cold temps, easily eaten and digested. If your on foodstamps like me, Bree is a real treat. Swedish fish are pretty awesome too. hungry, gotta run.

Thanks! I guess I was trying to seem overly dramatic. Actually I was really making fun of myself, which most of my posts usually do. I wanted to see what the general public thought about a 35% avg since most of what you hears about are the successful climbs. I don't hate myself, most of the time I'm pokin' fun of Mark Twight's desperate writtings. p.s. you guys are frickin' mean, keep it up it wouldn't be any fun if you weren't, so suck my ass.

Well since I couldn't find any partners, Once Again... My 2nd attempt at soloing the Suart Glacier Coulior ended in blistered feet this time. What the fuck is it gonna be next! I am so pissed at my careless lack of pro-active foot care, "Just one more mile and I'll stop!" Duh! FUCK! My sense of self-worth as a climber is going down the tubes, since I have failed on 6 of the 7 last "Alpine" climbs (a mountain, or more than 10 pitches) in a row. Wow! I'm looking at my batting average on alpine climbs over a cool glass of Jim Beam. I need some moral support. Is this a scary number of failures since the 1st of the year? I'll transcribe my hits and misses. Someone please tell me they fail this much too! Jan: Twin Sisters Range Winter Traverse - utter failure, storm. Feb: Synchronicity - Success! March: Colonial Pk.watusie rodeo -failure, bad snow Epinephrine -failure, too crowded, lazy Frigid Air Buttress - success! Original Route - failure, can't lead A4 Chrimson Chrysisalis -success! April: Tripple Coulior-success! Spindrift Couliour-failure, melted May: Cuthroat Cauthorn/Wilson, success! Greybeard solo, failure -melted,wimp June: Backbone Ridge - failure, partner sick at base Baker NR +/or headwall -failure, storm Ashulu - failure, road snowed over Rock on to Sqaum Butt -success! Stuart Glacier Coulior #1 -failure, guilty about deer, lost. Stuart Glacier Coulior #2 - failure, blisters. That's just since the 1st of this year! I've failed on the Price Glacier 3 times!!! Same with Murchison Falls in Banff!!! I've had to turn around b/c of drunk drivers slamming through phone poles, partners who've lied about their experience,lost it emotionally on route, or have come within' inches of death. I've turned around from getting lost, being too tired for the task, and mostly me whimping out. And I wonder why I couldn't find any partners!

I crossed the glacier in Boulders (roller skates), a sharp rock I found, and a nut tool. I'm glad I did that, but I never want to do it again! If I had instep crampons, I would've brought those too. Use the propeller cairn to fly off the top.

Everyone I've called has made plans already I'd like to do an alpine route of some decent legnth, preferably rock, but maybe ice/snow if conditions seem good. I'd be in for 5.8-10b in difficulty, something 9 or more pitches. I've got a giant list of climbs I'd like to do, so we can negotiate if you're in. I'd rather stick around the N.Cascasdes or SW B.C. I can pack and leave tonight, or whenever. Thanks, Mike 360-756-6927

The 18th was the last beta I've heard on the snow conditions on Stuart. Anyone been up there and seen the Stuart Glacier Coulior recently? I'm thinkin' about maybe headin' up there saturday to climb it sat night. Any info (including opinions since I haven't been in the mountains for 3 weeks!) would be much appreciated. Thanks, Mike

any water at the 5400' campsites? I'd imagine so. It'd save a few lbs if ya know!

see the climbers board reply.

Dude, did you ask Andy? There was a snow tongue crossing the road just after the bridge as of 3 weeks ago. I almost drove it, but there were tire slide marks (whoops)! I bet it's good now. I heard that the approach is a little longer (4 hours), longer is you don't have 4wd h.c. Follow the road off 99 N. You'll come to several spur roads. You've gone too far if you hit the mining gate. You need to turn rightwards, cross a new bridge, and then make an immediate left (lest you wind up in log-ville). You want to follow the right side of the river. GET A MAP it will help! p.s. you'll need my truck...and me.

No,keep the name! I bring a single-sided xeroxed copy of Freedom of the Hills on heavy stock paper in my "ditty bag" along w/the 10 essentials I keep in my "2nd pack" which I wear backwards on my chest. The only thing that doesn't fit is my Seattle Sombrero.

Thanks for the info!! It's either Porland, or Silicon Valley (which totally blows except for the Sierras which seem just a wee bit closer compared to Portland and the N.Cascades). As for my mountaineering comment...I define mountaineering as non-technical snow walking, or mountain hiking (i.e. standard routes up to 4th class 40 deg snow), or "going up the backside of shit." I'm not putting those routes down, they're great for a nice jaunt up into the mountains. Just not my bag. The yoccum ridge does not seem like a snow-walk.

Hey, I may be havin' to move to Portland to go to school. Realistically, how much good climbin can I expect for a weekend jaunt? Is smith reasonable for a weekend? Good routes on Hood or Adams (Yoccum ridge, Rusk Ice cliff anyone)? Any climbing within after-school distance? Does anyone ever go to the N.Cascades for a weekend alpine climb, or is that too far? Anything else. I don't care about walk-ups, or mountaineering. I'd rather go to the gym, go running, watch a movie, or hang out with my girlfriend. Am I doomed? Please help me out, I really don't want to move from the mecca of moderate alpine land.

Hi. I just got back from a non-climbing road trip down to check out schools. I always feel like I missed out on the great climbing when I go away (even if it was a climbing trip!!!). All I know is when I left last thursday, it was hot as hell and getting hotter! For anyone who's been up on the mountains recently, how's the snow? Where's it at now? Is Baker still in prime condition, and how's the Stuart Glacier Coulior holdin' up? What about B.C.? Joffre, James Turner, road access and the like. Yeah, I've read all the recent TR's. Just startin' a new topic to troll for some specific info. Hope ya'll got some good ones in! I had a nice spell this spring, but it went downhill recently. I need to work to make some bucks, but if it won't last long out there, I'd like to know. Thanks, Mike