max

Maybe.... Alpine System: The overall seriousness of the complete route based on all factors of the final approach, ascent and descent including length, altitude, danger, commitment, and technical difficulty. This system originated with UIAA Roman numerals; it is now generally seen with French letters and is increasingly being used worldwide. F: Facile/easy. Rock scrambling or easy snow slopes; some glacier travel; often climbed ropeless except on glaciers. PD: Peu Difficile/a little difficult. Some technical climbing and complicated glaciers. AD: Assez Difficile/fairly hard. Steep climbing or long snow/ice slopes above 50 degrees; for experienced alpine climbers only. D: Difficile/difficult. Sustained hard rock and/or ice or snow; fairly serious stuff. TD: Tres Difficile/very difficult. Long, serious, remote, and highly technical. ED: Extremement Difficile/extremely difficult. The most serious climbs with the most continuous difficulties. Increasing levels of difficuly indicated by ED1, ED2, etc.

looking at the description for Flow, it lists the stats for pitch 1 as... P1: **** 5.11- PD, 1x + gear, 30m What's the "PD" mean?

...and that area is what?

No offense, please. I was am psyched to see your slideshow but $8 for a slideshow about being a dirtbag.... ERROR: Does not compute!

Joan Firey. Old school (-ish), Cascades, and a Lady to boot.

He speaks the truth. I was up there a few days ago and have one extra piece of info. At a critical junction (where you will leave FR 38 and turn doen to the gated bridge) there also happens to be a substantial amount of rockfall onto the road. if you find yourself dodging large boulders in the roadway, and you just passed a right hand turn/veer, you've gone 100 ft too far. Back up and take the right branch. Also know that there has been substantial road "improvement" after the bridge. There was a section some described as brushy and impassible to a car. It is now a gravel superhighway. Bring a bike! No matter what season, even if you have to push it up. You'll be kicking youreslf on the way down if you don't.

hey DM: This is just my opinion, and it's actually not that constructive, but I think it might help you choose some good climbs. When you said you were going to be here in may, I thought "That sounds early..." And then I had to check myself because I know there are lots of great climbs at that time, just not the climbs I dream about. So aI can't recommend many climbs, but I can offer these randomly selected TRs from May this year. Check 'em out. It will give you an idea of what to expect in the mountains in may. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1105470 http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1104950 http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1104333 http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1104437 Personally, I'd be looking for the steep snow and ice routes combined with the foothills cragging. Cheers!

Get ready! Everybody loves to dis Peshastin, but it's actually ok. Suck up yer' **ts, scope things out carefully, get a double set of TCU's, and start with the easy routes. It's pretty quiet around there, too. Go there when you look up valley and it looks like rain. Otherwise go to Leavenworth. 'cause other than it being a place to climb, it kind of blows.

I lived (near) Wenatchee for 20+ years. I'd vote for it over Yakima. Wenatchee has more moderated temps, more river access, more rock climbing (3-4 distinct areas within 1 hour), easier access to the mountains (HWY 2 and HWY 97 North), more central to other POI around the state, easier winter access to the west side (Hwy2 or Hwy97/I90), a more lively outdoor scene, a closer ski area, ... the list is long. In fact, I'd claim Wenatchee wins out by a long short. Where's that guy that went to Afganistan as a contractor? He was from Yakima, right?

What he ^ said. Spend your money on comfy dynafit compatible boots. If you can find dynafit bindings cheap, get 'em. If not, start with a pair of fritchiis et al. Upgrade later. The boots will work for both. Buy used skiis, preferably with bindings. The cost to benefit ratio improved ALOT when the denominator is small. The new generation of skis may be really awesome, but their also 3-4x more expensive. Pay money for a field-oriented avy course. I bought my setup (skis, boots, poles, bindings) for $600 total. I love the crap out of 'em.

you show me yours, then I show you mine. JK. I haven't timed myself climbing any of those.

bad ass! PS: thanks for the information! Your work helps bring the science to the people in an accessible and interesting way.

Word on TAY is that the road is open. http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=29386.0

... fight the power!

h-pay, bitches.

There is the third option of no rap station at all. Can't do it w/o leaving webbing, don't do it. I know that sounds a bit fanatical, but why should climbers exempt themselves from the the "Leave no trace" ethic? (Chris: cheers!) Part 2: I think outside of the Wilderness, the chains are superior to the tat.

Two thoughts: 1. The Park and the Wilderness are two different beast, and should be managed differently. My take on the park is allow anchors where people will use them. It's a park. 2. Wilderness starts as a philosophical construct: a place free from the alterations of Man. As such, we should modify our actions to meet the philosophy, not the other way around. Sometimes this means making tough sacrifices.

Does any body know about the tunnel at tunnel rock in the Smoke Bluffs? What purpose does it serve?

Probably better to rap the route... jk

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/05/08/u-s-judge-awards-70804-to-anti-lookout-lawyers/ Salt on the wound, for some.

You don't want to find yourself on the wrong side of a gopro gap!

Hey Fargo! Check this out: http://www.nwac.us/weatherdata/timberlineupper/ I got this from the sidebar On the NWAC site. "weather Data -> telemetry -> the little graph icon. Much easier to interpret!

FYI I've purchased tickets to Palm Springs for about $250 RT from SEA. It may be cheaper and quicker if you've got a ride on the CA side...

Austin: I've never climbed Rainier in the winter because I've never had the nuts. But I will offer the advice I've heard the most and that has made the most sense with my experiences: It's all about the weather. If you notice what's posted around here, you'll hear about a fair number of Hood, Rainier, and Baker climbs/partial climbs that go off without a hitch. And you'll also read a few winter epics/case analyses that invariably involve getting hit with sooner/quicker/stronger storms than predicted. Combine this with something you said that piqued my ear (please don't be offended if I've misinterpreted you): "it looks like the 28th is going to be the day" Given the pattern of weather here (Bellingham) over the last two weeks, there's been - something like 4 ft of snow in the last week - two or three mountain storm cycles that persisted and hit hard - maybe two periods of time with "good" weather lasting over two days. that a in seven chance of hitting it just right. - It takes most people at least two days to climb in the summer, it WILL take longer, and you MAY get slowed down.... Your chances hitting one of these windows are poor, and you better be sure you get it right. - It gets really shitty real fast at 11,000 - disaster situations often people making choices based on schedules, not conditions. Conditions are very dynamic now, so should your plans. So, to rap it up before I sound like Grampa Telemark, pay real close attention to the weather and don't underestimate the quickness and intensities winter storms can hit in the mountains.

Good advice for others, just bad directions: Index is on Hwy2 (I'm sure Drederek knows this... )