dberdinka

A pretty fascinating follow up to my last trip to the desert over a year ago. Needle in a Haystack

Rip to climbers and condolences to family and friends. Sounds like equipment was spotted at the base of the Thermogenesis Couloir. I seem to recall park rangers having recovered victims of a similar accident from this location in the not to distant past. Based on TRs this spring Liberty Ridge has been unusually icy. A fall that entangled multiple ropes is certainly a possibility. Again there was an accident just like that on the hogs back of Hood 10ish years ago that resulted in a spectacle of crashing helicopters. Ultimately all speculation as to what occurred.

I didn't know the man but was always impressed by the style of his TRs here. My sympathies to his family and friends.

Great photos! Having dealt with the Hawaiian parks department on Kauai I'd say they are the type of institution that gives government bureaucracies a bad name. Incredible shame how poor they are maintaining and protecting some beautiful beautiful areas. Certainly quite good at fleecing travelers for cash.

Guide services, at least those that have jumped through all the hoops, have been able to reserve trips in advance for as long as I can remember in permit-limited areas of the NCNP. It's curious how very park handles guiding issues differently. In Zion guiding of any sort is prohibited.

There will still be snow at least along the base of the climbs and it can get surprisingly steep. For many a sharp stick will suffice. If you're not sure of your sketching-in-approach-shoes-in-snow skills (light) crampons may be advised.

Great TR and pics Sol. Looks like a perfectly executed day. You need to update your blog more than once every two years as well. Give us desk-jockeys something to look at during the day.

Bob Kandiko's been a busy man. I know this got posted once before but I didn't realize he had self-published something like separate books. They all look spectacular. If there's a image you can imagine from the North Cascades it's in there. Check it out. Cascade Panoramas

You should definitely tie your rope off at the anchor!! A single figure 8 is entirely adequate! Top rope soloing is not at all similar to regular top roping other than the fact you are not leading. Your option of threading the rope is both dangerous and nonsensical. Sorry to be harsh. I would recommend finding an experienced climber to demonstrate top rope soloing.

For climbers of modest abilities and limited risk threshhold the Twin Sisters Range is great. Solid, grippy rock with big exposure on easy terrain. The linkup described below was the most enjoyable day of traveling alone that I've ever had. Green Creek Glacier Area

I think the Adjama is the best do everything harness I've had. Of course it seemed to fit ME much better than the other brands I tried on. I say try on 4-6 different brands and go with whatever fits best. Same thing with helmets.

Single mini-traxion. Though I think about getting a second one.... What the other guy calls a catastrophe knot is always a good idea.

Jeff Jackson at Rock & Ice wrote up an article that seems fairly balanced and relies heavily on this thread. Article Who would have thought CC.com would be a bastion of "restrained rhetoric"?

Howling Wolf Ridge has a great name. On the drive in, shortly before the parking lot, there is a great vantage point of the valley including Howling Wolf. In the middle of the ridge there is a rock formation on the skyline that looks exactly like a howling wolf. As a climb it looked a bit dirty but who knows.

"The fastest I've done Backbone Ridge was 54 minutes base to summit." It's all impressive but that strikes me as really freaking fast for 2000+' of mildly-chossy 5th class rock. Dang.

The wherewithal he had to sit there and make a little movie is pretty fucking crazy. Thats one tough dude.

Why so much butt hurt? His last TR appears fairly tame intially? Catched Version

Beautiful images. I'm guessing your buddy is hooked now.

Anyone up at the pass over the weekend? Curious if the snow has melted off, particularly on east faces. Thanks.

Just realized I left a substantial TR anchor at the top of the small beginners crag a few minutes above the main Fun Rocks crag two weeks ago. Would love to get it back. $40 plus shipping? PM or email at dberdinka AT gmail DOT com. Thanks!

On second thought maybe the FS should shut down access and make rock climbing illegal.

On Tuesday afternoon there was 5"-6" at the pass. About the same at Harts Pass on Monday. My impression was that on the spires themselves the snow would not have been significantly deeper. However on TAY there is a report of 4' of pow on the Lewis Glacier at 6800' just south of Rainy Pass. Telemetry shows 50+ degree temps over the last several days at Pass level with warming now occuring at 6800'. Shutdown signs exist but nothing saying you can't use the trail only the unlocked and recently cleaned pit toilet.

I've been real happy with Gaia as a GPS, tracking, route creation app. It's expensive (relatively speaking) but you get what you pay for. You can download for free multiple layer of maps for all of North America and a bunch of other places. Then use these in the backcountry where you have no cellular service.

Sure everyone in Leavenworth wants more regulation and restricted access to the local mountains. That makes a lot of sense! Your ability to find a conspiracy in every event combined with your inflamed sense of victimization by the "Other" is just so darn....Conservative!

Hi Max. I believe Paul Preuss was the most famous and effective communicator of a strict "Leave No Trace" ethic for climbers. But that idea effectively died with him in 1913. Climbers are going to very reasonably leave rappel anchors. In the mid-1990's the Forest Service very nearly banned ALL fixed anchors in wilderness areas they managed. That included bolts, pins and webbing on natural features. As I recall with the help of big industrial players (REI etc.) that was rescinded. The issue of fixed anchors has now been clarified within wilderness areas of National Parks. My issue with North Cascades National Park is that they are clearly not following the spirit or word of the order. You can and should read Order #41 here. Directors Order #41 "If significant climbing activities occur in wilderness, a climbing management plan must be prepared or be included as part of the park's wilderness stewardship plan or another activity level plan. Plans will be developed with the aid of public involvement and collaboration and will include public review and comment. The occasional placement of a fixed anchor for belay, rappel or protection purposes does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness or violate the Wilderness Act." A complete moratorium on bolting with no scheduled development of a climbing management plan does not follow that order in the least. Having not been on Forbidden in many years I am not convinced that the West Ridge gullies needed bolted rappel stations anymore than North Early needed a second rappel route. That said I'm not concerned about overbolting in NCNP either. The geography and geology simply prevent that from being a possibility. What bothers me is that those bolts were placed lawfully within the regulations established by the NCNP at the time and they were removed haphazardly by the park to enforce some sort of perceived historical climbing style. While other national parks have active climbing management plans and rangers, I personally cannot think of any other examples where the park service engaged in the active placement or removal of anchors on established and frequently climbed routes. As pointed out above there could very likely be liability issues in doing so. Clearly it's a long stretch to claim that the recent fatality would not have happened if the bolted anchors were still there. Yet based on the amount of loose rock, tat and bad anchors on that face combined with a history of gruesome rappelling accidents in Boston Basin there placement certainly seems to be prescient in retrospect. I know the climbing rangers for NCNP both read and have posted on CC.com in the past. Maybe they would like to provide their perspective on Order #41, their moratorium and the removal of anchors on Forbidden Peak.