dberdinka

I once tried it. We had four days to do it in round trip. That is not nearly enough time! I believe Peter Doorish and Dale Farnham spent many weeks pulling that one off and I can understand why. Should mention when they did it the approach trail up the Chilliwack River was still in excellent shape and very popular. Day 1 we spent 11 hours getting to highcamp approaching form Chilliwack Lake. The trail through the lower valley is just about gone and there is A LOT of bushwacking. Day 2, carrying a wall rack, bivi gear and two days worth of water, we dropped down around the north side and climbed the steep snow gully below the face. We were totally destroyed at this point from the approach. We climbed two pitches of horribly loose and unprotected rock till we realized we weren't going to pull it off in 1.5 days. Retreated by bailing upwards on the Beckey North Buttress Route. Observations Dialing in the approach in advance to Bear Camp, maybe flagging and doing a bit of brush work will dramatically improve your chance of success. The approach gully is horribly dangerous. Timing is a challenge as well. The gully will melt out to absolute choss by early summer most years. I'd plan on late June/early July. Good news is early season there will be running water right near the base of the rock climbing so no need to carry water up there. It's basically a chossy version of the Sheriffs Badge. There appeared to possibly be some very large rock scars on the face though impossible to say if they preceded or followed the original ascent. I would get in at least one training climb on the Badge. Expect a fair bit of nailing. Above the choss we climbed the rock improves. There are some bivi ledges in that stretch just below a large, detached flake ("The 4th pitch climbs the right side of a split pillar 5.10+"). A 4" cam may or may not protect that, definitely wouldn't hurt to bring one large piece. The bolt ladder is 30 years old, hope it's there, consider bringing a minimal bolt kit. Above that the weaknesses it followed seemed reasonably apparent on not the most awesome looking rock. Dale Farnham (RIP) told me the final chimney pitches were very chossy. Ideally you'll climb to the low bivi ledges and fix two ropes above on D1. Day 2 power up to broken ledges near the top of the face. D3 summit. 2 ropes, gear to 5", selection of pins and the ability to replace bolts.

The west ridge of Stuart is a classic 5.4 climb. However I get the impression you're asking for short, multipitch recommendations. The w ridge from Stuart Lake would be a very, very long day with miles of exposed scrambling both up and down. Unfortunately the Stuart Lake Zone is a long ways from the Core Zone. From where the trail breaks to Colchuck lake its about 4 miles and 3500' of trail just to access the plateau of the core zone. West Ridge of Prusik (the classic easy moderate) is a couple miles away from there. Doable in a long day for a fit, fast party. Maybe that describes your family? Further west of Prusik Peak there are a number of short excellent low 5th class routes on Razorback, Comet Spire and other peaks. But that's not a possible day trip from where you'll be. Somewhere on this site there's a TR for an easy 3 pitch (5.6?) crag climb by colchuck lake. That might be your best bet for some alpine amibence. I couldn't find it. Maybe someone else can. Ultimately based on where you can camp I don't think you have many options. Maybe leave the gear in the car and enjoy the backpacking and scrambling. Then do some cragging in the leavenworth area. Midway on Castle Rock is the classic low-5th multipitch with a nice summit to boot.

Heck. I don't understand why I act the way I do much less someone else... More interested in the idea of why and should we applaud such high levels of risk taking.

In an era of carefully crafted images Mark was entirely refreshing in his no-apologies attitude as just another dork from the PNW who loved climbing. Though his vision and abilities surpassed mine by many, many magnitudes, he always felt like one of us and I am sad for his passing. That said the only surprise here is that he died while climbing with a partner. However strong his technical skills may have been, it was readily apparent that caution was thrown far, far to the wind a long time ago. There's only so much loose rubble and thin ice you can speed solo, only so many bad anchors you can belay and rappel off of, before something gives. To wit in the obituaries I've read there are descriptions of collapsing ledges while he onsite-solos 5.11 rockies limestone and rappelling and jumaring off a single nut on Mt Chephren. There's no way that sort of attitude was going to end well. Yet the climbing community as a whole considers this an admirable quality! I think the point Bob tries to make is that the climbing industry has come to glorify excessive risk taking, primarily soloing. In the language ("scrambling", "cordless") in the advertisements, articles and feature length films. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe Alex Honnold was just really photogenic, or it's a reaction to the sterility and ubiquitous of gym climbing. Maybe it's that 12 year-olds can climb 5.15. What ever the reason there's undoubtedly a positive feedback loop of approval and achievement. I'm getting old, and I climb less and worry about my kids more. It's not hard to look at this culture and see something twisted in it's hierarchies and myths a sort of polarity that values either extreme difficulty or extreme risk but nothing in between. I don't have any direct exposure to paragliding culture but my impression is if you came down and said "I just thermaled to 30,000' in that thunder cloud!" you'd be taken to task. But when the climber comes down from the solo adulation increases with the risk and seriousness of consequences. So, yes grieve and grieve hard for the loss of a great friend. But as community maybe it's worth stepping back and reconsidering what we value and what kind of outcomes it leads too.

That is by far the most reality-based climbing movie trailer I've even seen. Though most of us are better looking. Maybe a little dramatic but my typical day out wouldn't make much of a movie.

I've traded in my drill for a mattock. I'm gonna become the Johnny Appleseed of illicit pit toilets.

That's a very nice picture of a frog.

Chris Geisler once posted somewhere on this site that the East Pillar is wonderful solid stone compared to the choss pile of the Navigator Wall. I'd guess his opinion is probably a pretty reliable one.

Where did you find this 6 hr RT track? I was looking at segments in the Twins on Strava but there really wasn't much there. (I don't think I really know how to use Strava...) Sounds like a sketchy descent off the S Twin for sure. That NE Ridge is pretty straightforward.

If I was going overnight...I'd go to the Green Creek valley! But if you want to do both west ridges I'd probably ditch my bikes in the woods by Dailey Prairie and climb the North Twin. Return at the end of the day and camp where the road pretty much ends on the south twin approach (big flat area). Climb South Twin next day and bike out. Not an entirely aesthetic place to spend a whole weekend but at least you won't have to go all the way up the roads again.

Hardcore! Sounds like some classic north cascades thrashing.

There has been a slew of skiers falling into OPEN holes this year. Far more than years past. Whether that is just random variation, a result of increasing skier days or due to a change in how aggressive people are skiing could be debated endlessly. Regardless. Based on known accidents over the last 10-20 years Mt Rainier above 12k seems particularly dangerous for skiers with multiple deaths (at least 3 now I'm aware off). Only one of those involved breaking through a hidden crevasse in midwinter.

It was pretty depressing to realize how many years ago that was.

Where are people getting jammed up on the rappel? I think adding a rap anchor (on route) 5-10m above the dihedral belay could allow rapping the route with a 60m rope and probably avoid the one really awkward station to avoid another group. (I think it's possible P1 could be rapped with a 60m but haven't tried it so watch those ends if you do!) A seperate rap route would entail an equally massive amount of cleaning if not more since the arete seemed like the most solid rock on the peak. Not that I have the time or interest in doing so, but if the routes gotten popular would need to shut down traffic for awhile.

Holy Shit. I think that's more like P3-P5 having gone missing. What a shame as P5 was one of the most amazing splitters I've climbed in the mountains. Ugghh..crazy to think I once climbed through all that.

So wait, this is bullshit. You don't even write about the most interesting part of the trip. Tell us about the slog/hitchhike/phone call/wait it took to get somewhere warm and dry.

I've done enough hand drilling to be convinced that regular-old HSS bits ground to a chisel point are far, far far more efficient than banging on a SDS bit. (And by all means power drill if your not in a Wilderness area) You have to carefully sharpen a pile of them and need to switch them out after two holes in granite (20+ in sandstone) but they drill out at least twice as quick. (FYI it's basically impossible to sharpen an SDS bit and not have it shatter on the first hole) It will only work with a collet based system. http://shop.runoutcustoms.com/D-5-Hurricane-Drill-D5-HURR.htm Practice, lots of it, on a boulder at shoulder/head level will get you both in shape for and develop technique for drilling good holes. Lots of (GOOD) info on this buried in Supertopo if you do enough searching http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=492354&msg=495736#msg495736

Keep an eye on the NOAA Climate Prediction Center http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=4 They say warm to start then "normal". Whatever that means these days. Cliff Mass frequently these sorts of things as well. Basically I see another frustrating winter ahead.....

No shit. I think I know two separate parties that hauled a rack all the way in there only to turn around after declaring it munge from a distance. And then you find that.

Nice work Matt. Now does anyone ever climb one of the NE Face routes? Don't think I've ever seen a TR for it. Based on the Beckey guide it almost seemed popular BITD.

And there I was thinking I was about to get a TR full of linkups, speedwings and POV video.

Nice work. A couple years back (3?) we were able to follow trail probably 80% of the time with some serious thrashing in between but it was still awful. I think the river seemed a bit deep and swift for wading at the time but it was early July. Would still like to go back for the full DNB. Sounds like late summer is the ticket. Any snow getting to the buttress?

Unfortunately the second rappel is basically a full 35 m. If you're comfortable rigging a Biner block you could use your slings and webbing to pull the rope. If you've never done it before just make sure to rappel on the correct side of the rope. Biner blocks create a situation that provides a really easy way to screw up and die.

Trip: Twin Sisters Range - Hayden & Peak 6136' Date: 8/10/2016 Trip Report: In the last couple weeks I made separate trips with my friends Matt and Dave to explore the potential behind the Green Creek Glacier, in the deep west-facing cirque formed by Hayden, Little Sister and Peak 6136'. We found some really spectacular climbs on ridiculously good stone. What they lack in length they make up for in being densely concentrated. Link-ups are derigor if you're going to make the effort to get back in here. The Green Creek Valley is definitely not as wild as it once was. On both trips I encountered familiar faces. Which is great! But.....pick up after yourself! It was super depressing to encounter your shit paper fluttering about on the approach along with bits of micro trash both high and low in the valley. Undoubtedly human impacts will only become more obvious but at the very least there doesn't need to be garbage strewn about. Approach Hayden Peak is remote. From the Green Creek Glacier the easiest way to get there is to pass between Little Sister and Cinderella Peaks and then traverse through several bowls on the west side. A more direct and interesting approach can be made by climbing over the top of one of the minor peaks above the glacier. The Green Creek Needle sits on the southern aspect of an attractive pyramid of rock (which I hence proclaim as Ribbon Point). The northeast aspect of Ribbon Point has several dihedrals separating long strips of slabs. These slabs are stupidly solid, clean and extremely easy. A bit of a shrund problem may exist, followed by some dirty 3rd class up a gully to reach them. From there it's 3 or so pitches of 5.0 to the summit. (Matt and I climbed the same aspect on the next peaklet north but it was not as good). An easy down climb on the west side and a traverse leads to a saddle in Hayden's east ridge in maybe twenty minutes. This approach will only work once snow melts off the slabs which doesn't seem to typically occur until mid-July. Earlier in season you could climb Green Creek Needle, rappel off the back side and then go up the south ridge of Ribbon Pt at 3rd/4th class. Ribbon Point approach to Hayden Best 5.0 in the universe on Ribbon Point Hayden Peak - NE Pillar Hayden has a really beautiful spur of rock dropping of the east ridge into the basin between Hayden and Skookum. I climbed it twice with both Matt and Dave it was so good. Four pitches of progressively harder rock leads to the tiny summit of a prominent pinnacle on the east ridge. A short rappel leads to a spectacular, exposed 4th class scramble through a series of towers to a longer rappel (75') that intersects the normal east ridge route. From here exposed 3rd class scrambling with route finding issues on more great rock leads to the summit. On the crux pitch either climb the wide crack on the right (5.7) until you can move left across the face (5.9) into a great layback corner. Or start with the short chimney on the left and then climb back up and right across the face (5.7r - micronuts for gear) to the same 5.9 moves into the corner. Awesome. To get off Hayden retrace your steps to the last rappel the work down ledges to the east then west. If it's not easy scrambling you're doing it wrong. Matt near the top of first (5.4) pitch Dave starting up the pitch of 5.7 Looking up at the crux Looking down Matt scrambling through the exposed 4th class towers Looking at Hayden from Ribbon Peak. The NE spur is out of sight but tops out on the solitary pinnacle at center-right before following the ridgeline to the summit. Peak 6136' - North Face Dave and I were on a day trip and bailed out after Hayden. Matt and I had hiked in the day before and had time for another route. Peak 6136' is just a high point on the broad west shoulder of Little Sister. It's 500' north face is one of the steeper in the range and is obviously composed of excellent rock. Matt and I climbed a very direct line to the summit via series of frequently steep and splitter cracks. We scrambled into the alcove below the grey slab in the center of the face. Matt started up the obvious left trending arch for 15' then traversed a ledge to a finger crack. When the crack intersected the arch he pulled the bulge and continued up a 140' of intermittent finger cracks on great stone, belaying when the angle kicked back. The second pitch followed the obvious, steep cracks in a left facing corner with several overhanging bulges that caused me a fair bit of grief. A short chimney led to ledges (belay on the second at a good crack). For the third pitch Matt headed straight up the face above the belay with tricky gear before pulling through another budge and following an easy but very exposed arete to a large ledge just below the summit. From the narrow top it's an easy walk off towards Little Sister. Matt starts up first pitch slab. Pulling out of chimney on second pitch. Topping out. Matt approves. Walk off of Peak 6136' Heading down the glacier Gear Notes: Doubles to 2.5". Include small offset nuts and extra small-medium stoppers. Approach Notes: Green Creek Valley. 5 hrs to base of Ribbon Point. Good camping exists in pockets of grass around 4500'. Beyond that flat, dry sites become more improbable.

Nice work! Glad to see the rock definitely did not suck. Always great to see other parties enjoying the Green Creek.