Andy_Bourne

I am an idiot.

Never been to the area. Is it too early to think about Yak Crack? I know it is south facing. What the scoop? Beta greatly appreciated. cgentzel@aai.cc

Never been to the area. Is it too early to think about Yak Crack? I know it is south facing. What the scoop? Beta greatly appreciated. cgentzel@aai.cc

The American Alpine Institute is seeking a full time assistant registrar to work in the office through September of 2002, with the possibility of a permanent full time job if things work out. Applicants must have climbing experience, computer skills, be well spoken, and be a nice person. Pay is dependent upon experience. You won't get rich and the work you'll start out doing isn't very glamorous. But you do get to work around some really cool people and possibly get your foot in the door of the guiding industry if that is something that interests you. We are located in Bellingham, WA. If you'd like to apply or have any questions, drop me an email at abourne@aai.cc.

In Bolivia, May has the 4th least amount of precipitation for the month, behind June, July, and August respecively, according to one web site I found. But high avalanche danger keeps a lot of people off routes they want to climb, from what I hear. I haven't been there myself. As to where in the world to climb in May, Alaska is one of the few places where May offers the most stabile weather out of the year.

I spent two weeks climbing in the Halong Bay area of northern Vietnam in the winter of '99. Getting info, for us, was also very difficult or impossible. We tried to find Lynn Hill's and Todd Skinner's bolted routes based on a photocopied magazine article, but we never found them. We put up several traditional routes near the island of Cat Ba, I'd be happy to share info on. It was a very interesting experience, definitely be ready for some surreal terrain, very similar to Krabi but a little cooler and no people what so ever. No established routes. Boats, hotels, food, and transportation were very sketchy. Definitely some of the nicest, most hospitable people in the world. If I had any advice on gear, it would be to bring a lot of tape (to protect edges; the non-overhanging rock can be as sharp as broken glass in some places) and a good rack with sufficient Lowe tri-cams for the pockets. Get info from someone who has bolted sea-side rock before bolting anything. I would visit Krabi before going. You'll have a better sense of what type of rock to expect and therefore, better decision making abilities when scoping routes from a distance or from the boat. One other thing I would tell someone going off the beaten path over there is learn the language. I got myself out of some sticky situations and I got a shitload of respect and a lot of laughs for doing it. It isn't hard and you don't have to learn a new alphabet. Send me an email if you need other stuff.

Oops, I accidently posted this on the Drury/Pencil thread . . . . . Anyway. . . . I hiked up the Shuksan Arm last Tuesday and there were several climbable flows, drips and smears on the north side of that giant rock band. If you were to take chair 7 to chair 8 and connect up with the Arm, it would be about a 2-3 hour hike/ski. The rock band essentially forms a barrier on the Arm to accessing the White Salmon glacier. The warm trend we had this week may have destroyed a lot of it though, who knows.

I hiked up the Shuksan Arm last Tuesday and there were several climbable flows, drips and smears on the north side of that giant rock band. If you were to take chair 7 to chair 8 and connect up with the Arm, it would be about a 2-3 hour hike/ski. The rock band essentially forms a barrier on the Arm to accessing the White Salmon glacier. The warm trend we had this week may have destroyed a lot of it though, who knows.

I have two friends down there right now climbing the Polish Glacier. They just got into basecamp, so they missed the riots apparently. They will be arriving back in Mendoza on January 5 or 6. I'll get an answer from one of them on that day and I'll post it here as soon as I know.

Well, this isn't such an exciting trip report, but I figured I'd follow up. I was only able to round up one partner and due to weather deterioration today, we only had Saturday and Sunday. So because of that and a few other reasons we only did the west Ridge of N Twin. The climbing conditions were quite wintery and a little more slow-going than I anticipated, but 4th and 5th class climbing with gloves, pack and crampons was pretty exciting. We even roped up for the last pitch. We reached the summit about 4:00p on Sat, after starting at the trailhead at about 9:30am. We set up a really cool, super exposed bivouac just below the summit on the south side. The coolest thing was watching the Leonid meteor shower from that vantage point. Truely one of my best mountain bivys. I got a good look at the connecting ridge between N and S Sister and it looks great. I am stoked to try this again in another high pressure spell. I think for a complete traverse, summer would be a little easier with longer days, lighter packs and easier travel. Thanks for the info dberdinka. Next up is some scouting on the south end of the range. Have a good one.

One thing that might help with finding a good area to climb- don't try to climb on the pretty blue ice. That is the stuff that has fallen more recently and therefore, more dangerous. Look for dirty ice, the ones that have been stable for longer. No matter where you end up, watch out for stuff above you. [ 11-16-2001: Message edited by: Andy Bourne ]

I'm actually thinking about doing it this weekend. I was out in the San Juans last weekend and they look pretty cool with a little dusting of white. There's supposed to be a high pressure system on Sat, Sun and Mon. I think I will do it with a couple friends, probably two days. Yea, Summer would be doable in a day, but I think I'll take bivy gear with the short days and snow cover. North to South was what I was thinking too, my only problem is that I am not familiar with the way out going south. I guess I'll just make a loop out of it and go back north on a logging road or something. I am definitely looking for suggestions on this.

If you can't beat 'em . . . . .

I am thinking of trying a traverse of the Twin Sisters range, and I am just checking to see if anyone out there has done it. Haven't really made up my mind on where to go in, and whether to make a huge loop, or to leave a car on one end and start from the other. Anything to be aware of going in on the south end? Road closures? Also, I am assuming a fast party could do it in two long days, it looks like a pretty long way. This is something I am also looking for info on, how long it takes, since most of the terrain up there would be new to me. Any info would be appreciated. -Andy

"yea, it's like 5.10" -- describing the road leading up to the Mt. Rexford area. "that would make a fine bivouac" -- standing outside the Howe Sound Brewery looking at the couch in the corner.