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Trip: Mt. Baker backcountry - Table Mountain circumnavigation Trip Date: 03/08/2020 Trip Report: Made it into the Mt. Baker zone for the first time yesterday with my buddy John. The lure of 50 cm of fresh on Thursday and a surprise 20 cm Saturday night from that sneaker storm was enough to pull us all the way up there... and we were rewarded! Not sure the setting and views get much better. Had a great ski clockwise around Table Mountain in a brilliant theater of wet loose avalanche activity - the was certainly more sun than originally forecasted. Great snow conditions, even if a little baked by the mid-afternoon. A great outing, and even made it back to Seattle for sunset! This is a fools spring - winter ain’t done with us yet! Also saw a rather handsome 2ish pitch ice line directly east of Iceberg Lake... wondering if anyone has climbed it recently as it certainly looks pretty tasty at the moment. See pics below... Gear Notes: AT gear Approach Notes: Don’t forget the fresh cookies!

Trip: Lost Marbles Couloir - Hidden Lake Peaks Area - Lost Marbles Couloir Trip Date: 03/01/2020 Trip Report: Tim did a nice write up on TAY, for our ski descent and boot-up of the Lost Marbles Couloir. Link To Report Here Does anyone know if this is a commonly done trip? It seemed too good for the almost total lack of information online. I'm mostly posting here because I love Cascadeclimbers and don't want it to fade into oblivion. BTW that's what will happen to your trip report if you post it on Facebook. No one will ever hear about how awesome you are, nor will others benefit from your beta in years to come. Gear Notes: Skis Approach Notes: Hidden Lake Trail route to around 4800'

Trip: Snoqualmie Pass - NE Buttress Chair Peak Trip Date: 03/08/2020 Trip Report: Added a second rap anchor in the descent gully, 30m down on skier's right. Two pins and cord. Gear Notes: 1 60m rope and two 30m raps will get you down into the apron below the gully Approach Notes: nice conditions

Trip: Alpental Backcountry - Pineapple Basin via Source Lake Trip Date: 03/01/2020 Trip Report: Spent the final day of my AIARE 1 course with a clutch of stoked and smart folks, along with Trevor and Joe from PGS. Reached our decision point at Source Lake around 10:00am, just in time to see some sun-induced loose wet slide activity on the main Chair Peak apron, which didn’t seem to bother the hoards of folks underneath them... decided to reject our option to Snow Lake slopes. Toured up into Pineapple Basin in a group of 12 total (!); found rather fantastic north-facing snow up there, with the Friday/Saturday storm snow generally well bonded to the 2/22 interface. Two runs on Pineapple Express, with pretty flat light in the afternoon (2nd) run. A fine place to cement a few days of avalanche training! Gear Notes: AT gear, about 30 homemade cookies for the crew Approach Notes: Plenty of folks in the basin that day, watch out for yellow snow

Trip: Guye Peak - South Gully Trip Date: 03/08/2020 Trip Report: Parked at summit west and left the car around 7am, heading up the road towards the Sahale Ski club. We walked up the ski area (or whatever that place is) and headed towards the south side of Guye. We didn't traverse quite far enough east before starting to climb, but it worked out as we ended up meeting with the gully. At the first step a hundred feet or so up the gully we roped up, and then climbed the gully in three pitches including some simulclimbing. The gully is in excellent shape - most of the snow is hard and compact and there are great sticks to be found everywhere. The amount of snow right now hides most of the difficulties including the chock stone. At the end of the gully we traversed to the right out of the gully onto a face, where we then climbed steep and sometimes unconsolidated snow trending up and left back into the very top of the gully. Another team took a left variation at the end of the gully, which apparently goes as well. Got to the top of the south summit at noon and traversed the ridge towards the north summit, doing a single rope (60m) rappel from the tree on the middle summit and climbing back up steep snow to the north summit. The route down commonwealth basin is well defined and leads back to the highway underpass. Back at the car at 3pm. Gear Notes: Small cams, nuts, knifeblade pitons, picket Approach Notes: Snowshoes

Trip: The Tooth - NE Slabs Trip Date: 02/27/2020 Trip Report: I’d heard of the ice route on The Tooth over the years and had always wanted to do it. Originally, we had a party of 4 which turned into a party of 2. In hindsight that was for the better in the end (see Pitch #2 below). Adding one person for a party of 3 or 2 teams of 2 would have added too many extra hours to the day. And everyone would have had to be okay with (see Pitch #2 below). I put 40m in the pic but it may be more like 30m for the distance between the stubby tree and the BD spector. After having done Chair Peak the week before we figured we would have similar snow conditions (lots of fresh new snow for most of the route with some buried ice). But knowing the slabs were 50-70 degrees were not sure how much would have held on those slopes. We had some beta from Jim Nelsons book and some trip reports which were few and far between. Most talked about (see Pitch #2 below). We had a good weather and avi window for about one day this week, so we decided to take a run at it mid-week. 3am alarm. Set off all the smoke alarms in the condo burning my breakfast sandwich (Nest app wouldn’t load fast enough to silence the alarms). It was a really good breakfast sandwich too, burnt cheese adds a nice flavor. Pick up my climbing partner at 4am, and we’re hiking in from the Alpental trailhead by 5:10am. Decided to stash poles and snowshoes at the base of the fan a couple hundred feet from the start. Turned out snow was good for a boot path up the fan and made a belay anchor with a horizontal deadman off to the left of the 1st pitch. My partner led up the first pitch. I called out where to look for pro placements in the rocks from where I saw them in previous reports, he didn’t find any. Just pounded in a couple pickets on the way up. No ice to be found for screws. We ended the first pitch maybe 20ft below the “belay alcove” mentioned in other beta with a nice 3pt anchor in the rocks. From there I started up Pitch #2 which I had read about could be runout without much in the way of pro. One trip report had mentioned 30ft of runout. If you ever read that beta just change 30ft to 30m. Got a nice cam in right above the anchor. Instead of starting the traverse I decided to go straight up to where it would normally start and had to carve my way through a snow flute all the way up since it had the best footsteps I could find. Not much in the way of ice, and what little there was turned out to be kind of brittle. About 20ft up and off to the left of where the alcove should be dug out a rock and lucked out that it had a crack for small cam then a few feet away another nice place to slot in and set a BD Specter (basically a piton shaped like an ice axe pick). Then it was time for the meat of Pitch #2. Looking across and up at a couple stubby trees I could make out a red webbing anchor and it looked like a bit of a break in the steepness on the way (which was still in the 50-60 degree range). So, I headed up and over one painstakingly slow step at a time. Keeping my weight over each tool pushed into snow and one foot as equally as possible gingerly kicked in each new boot step. Sometimes I got a good step kicked in sometimes it was just a toe. Never had solid tool placements. Any stick attempts just bounced off rock up high but was able to push the heads in and down into snow enough they would hold. An hour later let out a whoop when I got a sling around the first small snag about maybe a 3rd to a half rope pitch away. Then an easy section straight up to a big belay tree. And having monopoint crampons for the mixed sections (which wasn’t really necessary in the end) didn’t help with the traverse. So, Pitch #2 was a long 30m traverse across a 50-60 degree sketchy slab with no pro at all till the spector about 20ft above the belay behind me. This is the crux of the climb and the snow/ice coverage is the determining factor if the climb is doable or not. And anyone leading it should be comfortable with a runout traverse. A follower still has to deal with an unprotected traverse but at least may have a bootpath to follow in. After that mental ordeal Pitch #3 was more straight forward. Other beta says to go up to a tree on the ridge but the coverage on the slabs got too thin so I went right have popped over the ridge at a small notch in the rock that just needed a mixed move to get over. Pitch #4 was some mixed moves across easy mixed snow and rock (you could make it easier by dropping even lower and walking down and then back up in a snow field). We stayed high then moved over to some big trees and up to a tree for the belay. Pitch #5 was straight up back onto the ridge proper and to short rock block ~10ft high) that took some easy mixed moves. Once on top of that you can lower down into the notch to a belay tree. Pitch #6 was the 15ft rock step in other beta. This took some easy mixed moves finding hooks in the rocks and snow/marginal ice) and back on the ridge proper to a giant block (it happened to have a cordallete around it). Lowered down this to another notch and setup a belay. This was a really short pitch due to rope drag through the snow. Pitch #7 walked around the corner of this notch and you can see the summit block which is a full 70m pitch away of easy traversing and a few easy mixed moves. By 4:30 pm we reached the summit (about 7.5 hrs for the pitched climbing). After some much needed food we looked over the snow covered edge and realized we should rappel to what normally would be the 1st rap station going down the basic south route). 4 more raps later and in the dark (there were some rope management issues on the way down with a knot stuck in cracks between ice and snow and a saddle bag gone wrong). Next time I’m bringing the rope throw bag (which this time got left behind at the gear stash accidentally). Rapping down the gully wasn’t going to work, its just a giant cornice right now and the anchors are buried). So we walked around to Pineapple Pass. Pineapple Pass had a huge cornice and lip on it that was a bit of drop, not feeling like lowering down over the edge we rapped off a webbing sling that had been setup on a tree. So 6 rappels later we’re back in the basin and walking back to our gear stash. Mostly the snow had firmed up so we stayed high on the basin wall and wrapped around the edge of The Tooth and only got into a short section of thigh deep postholing. After grabbing snowshoes and a quick break it was an easy out to the parking lot by 9pm. 16.5 hours car to car. About half for the climb and half for the entry/exit/rappels. I’m giving this a 5 star just because it pushed my limits for runout sketchy slab climbing and was a cool overall alpine experience and I got more mixed climbing in on this route than I’ve done to date. But Pitch #2 sucks. Maybe you’ll get lucky and have some good ice for a solid connection to the face but still don’t expect you’ll get any pro placements in on that traverse. I would also give it a 1 star because I’ll never do it again because (see Pitch #2 above), then again I've said that about a few climbs I'd never do again that I've done again. Not without a good covering of ice on Pitch #2 though. Gear Notes: 3 pickets (used all 3), 4 ice screws (pointless extra weight), cams .2 to #2 (used them all), nuts (tried to set one, didn't cooperate), Black Diamond Spector (my favorite placement of the day before Pitch #2). Approach Notes: Easy snowshoe trek following the uphill ski tracks in to the basin. Soft snow getting to the base of the fan where we stashed gear.

Trip: Chair Peak - NE Buttress Trip Date: 02/21/2020 Trip Report: Fun winter climb of Chair Peak after a long spell of being weathered out and bad avi conditions. Had a good Thursday window. Looks like we were the first ones there in some time. No tracks or signs of any travel from the normal ski touring tracks in the basin below the base of the climb. So it was a slow slog up deep snow to the ridge right side of the base of the climb. So the GoPro decided to snap a timelapse of stills on Pitch 1, but it still kind of works for the video. Wasn't my intention originally. Got a 5:20am start at the trailhead, were roped up and climbing by 8:30am. With the deep snow the gulley pitch was covered in snow but we could see a path to the first belay tree. Leading up got steeper than it looked from below, was able to get in a good nut before traversing over towards the gully. Was having to excavate a path across the slope as it was too loose to kick steps, had to dig out a full body path. During that uncovered a bit of rock right above the more exposed drop before the gully. Dug down till I hit the rock and was trying to put in a nut that was pretty marginal, then tried to put in a piton but didn't have the right size. Lastly figured I could slot in a horizontal picket against the rock and that's when I uncovered the buried webbing slings. Clipped into those and continued excavating a path over and up to the gully. Once there had some good sticks and got in a screw that felt okay. And it was an easy up to the belay tree with one more screw in along the way. The 2nd team behind me tried to put in a picket that just levered out and got a cam in the rocks. From the tree belay Pitch 2 was a long slow slog through snow up to waist deep. The normal end of pitch 2 at the rock with the slings was buried so my partner ran out the full 70m rope and went to the top of the ridge and put in a horizontal picket anchor. From there for Pitch 3 I traversed high along the wall and found a nice rusty piton halfway. The ice on the step was kind of rotten so only put in a couple marginal screws and continued up but stopped short of running out the 70m rope and stopped at 60m. Put in a horizontal deadman picket for the anchor. Stopping short worked out as the 2nd team had a 60m rope and was able to get to the picket anchor and use it as we took off. Pitch 4 was then just a straight up kicking a boot path in nice firm snow to the top. There was enough snow up top we just went straight up the face to the summit and then downclimbed that part. From there we went down to the stand of trees but the rappel anchor was buried and couldn't find which tree it was on so we added a new one. Another party who followed up after us pitched in the rap ring. This is the 2nd year in a row we got a rope stuck rapping this way though. The ropes run over a small notch in the rocks. Easy to get unstuck though. There was enough soft snow that first rappel could be downclimbed probably. The 2nd rap station with the 3 piton anchor was well above the snow and we dropped down over the small cornice and finished off with a short face in downclimb after that. It was about a 13hr day car to car with 2 teams of 2. Gear Notes: 3 pickets, 4 screws, 2 nuts, took a couple cams/light set of nuts didn't use them. Mostly placed horizontal picket anchors. Approach Notes: 2+hrs to base, highway to Snow Lake, breaking trail from the basin to the base in deep snow. Using snowshoes.

Trip: Arrowhead Mountain - West "face" Trip Date: 03/01/2020 Trip Report: Rang in the new month with a trip up Arrowhead Mountain. Mostly sunny in the morning, good views from the saddle (wow, Chiwakums!), but things turned to breezy opaque gray in the afternoon. Thank you for the kind souls who put in the skin track for 80% of things! Ended up booting the last 20 minutes or so on the ridge. No views at the summit, unfortunately, but yipees and yahoos were heard as we surfed through blower pow on a supportable crust. Going up.... This was easier than the alternative... in that moment... I think?! And coming down!! It was a good day. Gear Notes: Normal things, perhaps a whippet and ski pons would be wise next time.... Approach Notes: Park at the maintenance shed and use the road... otherwise, you are doomed to schwack for at least a bit!

Trip: Mount Shuksan - White Salmon Gl. Trip Date: 02/20/2020 Trip Report: The paper says we are 7 inches ahead for rainfall right now in the Skagit Valley. Probably why last week I did everything I could to break free of work and get out in the sun, high on Mount Shuksan. I have to thank @dberdinka for organizing the hooky and @Trent for sharing in the enthusiasm. We weren't alone in our thinking- a few dozen others were seen out on the White Salmon, and even when we were descending after a run over by the North Face, more were coming. Even the (in)famous Jason Hummel was out showing pro Cody Townsend around the mountain. It was quite a day to soak up some rays and earn a few turns, so I can't blame anyone for joining in the fun. I hope you were out somewhere too..... Gear Notes: two sticks for the up, one or two for the down Approach Notes: I would drop thru the clear cut to the creek rather than try and stay high. Not bad turns to the valley bottom.

Trip: Big Bear! - Brushtissima Trip Date: 11/11/2019 Trip Report: With all this attention on the NW couloir on Eldorado the past few weeks, Kit and I succeeded on a smash and grab ascent of BIG BEAR! last weekend. @Kit is in the midst of a noble mission to climb all the Cascadian peaks visible from his office in Everett and I'm well, I'm just a bit "special". We happened to catch it in "near perfect" conditions, I am happy to report, and suspect others may be lining up during the next fine weather spell this week. The ankle biting huckleberry have shed their leaves, leaving them only 50% as annoying as they are in high summer. And, most all the snow is gone, meaning one shouldn't worry about tiring themselves out kicking steps up straightforward snow slopes. To top it off, all of the flagging has been eaten by deer, meaning that a "fair means" ascent is nearly guaranteed. Why this brushy beast isn't more popular, I'll never know. Or, maybe it is popular? There is no register so it is tough to figure how many people are as "savvy" as us. All I know is that the 4130 isn't going to get less brushy in the next few years, so if you want either Liberty or BIG BEAR! in the next lifetime or two, you'll want to go now. Just don't expect flagging or the Instagram hordes to show you the way. The Brushtissima on BIG BEAR! (actually not that bad): @Kit working up the ridge above the "Moffitt Step": I just needed an eagle: Typical terrain: Liberty: Tahoma, but you knew that: Interesting angle on Hall, Big Four, Columbia, etc: The air was exceptionally clear, Everett and Kit's office standing out: The final few feet to the summit of Big Bear: East to Dakobed and Pugh above Exfoliation Dome: Anybody home on 3 Fingers? Jumbo, the slabbage patch, and Ulalach: Liberty from the summit: Squire Creek valley and its namesake walls: Gear Notes: eye protection, leather gloves, whiskey. Ice axe, crampons, and helmet some part of the year. Approach Notes: I somehow deleted my GPX track, not that it will help you much. Just look at the image in the TR for an idea of where to go. Just make sure you don't miss the Moffitt Step!

Trip: Mt Hood - Cooper Spur from Timberline Lodge Trip Date: 02/27/2020 Trip Report: Followed https://caltopo.com/m/15S0 10:40 climber’s lot 12:30 top of palmer 1:20 headed down white river canyon 4:45 on spur 6:00 just below chimneys 7:50 summit Traverse between the bottom of White River Canyon to half way through the rocky section between it and the Newton Clark had embedded chucks of ice in a crust of ice and compacted snow. Used tools where I expected instead to make quick progress canning over. Luckily it was firm to sinking only a couple inches on the Newton Clark. The ramp up to the spur was very gradual and no ice at all on the spur. Waited around for daylight before heading up. Nothing was coming down from above which was nice. Mostly firm snow on the spur but unconsolidated fluff near and through the chimneys, worst 20 feet before the exit / where the grade eases up, maybe 1.5 feet deep. No cornice over the summit. Down climbed the Old Chute. Images https://imgur.com/gallery/t3DYo6C Gear Notes: Helmet, axe, tools, crampons Approach Notes: Chewed up cat snow to top of Palmer, crap on White River, nice on Newton Clark.

Trip: Guye Peak - South Gully Trip Date: 02/20/2020 Trip Report: I climbed the south gully of Guye Peak this thursday, the first half of the route was in good conditions up to a steep rock wall covered with soft snow, I turned to the right out of the gully and climbed straight up in a lot of powder snow for the rest of the climb. Snowshoes highly recommended for the approach. Gear Notes: 2 ice axes Approach Notes: Snowshoes

Trip: Stevens Pass - Yodelin Trip Date: 02/17/2020 Trip Report: Just trying to get the *freshie zone* awake again... had a great time out on Yodelin Monday morning and afternoon. 7-12 inches fresh snow over a crust, deeper up high, deep right-side-up drifts of snow in the trees. Excellent skiing. Wishing I could go out and enjoy more before the sun gets to it this week. Let’s hear some more reports! What are you all finding out there? Gear Notes: AT skis Approach Notes: Parking lot was surprisingly only host to a dozen or so vehicles on a holiday? Follow the road cuts up to rolling tree and glade skiing. Steeper terrain but denser trees available to the NE.

Trip: Mt Hood - Devil's Kitchen Headwall Variation 0 Trip Date: 02/18/2020 Trip Report: Climbed a variation to the left of the regular DKHW left ("Variation 1" in Mullee) route on Monday along with CC members Nolan E Arson and kadyakerbob. I'm quite sure this wasn't a FA as it's an obvious line on a popular aspect of the mountain, but as far as I know there are no documented ascents of the route. Makes sense to refer to it as variation 0 following the Mullee numbering. The beginning of the route is currently a mix of exposed rock/rime. It turned out to be a lot steeper than it looked from the bottom. The rime takes good sticks but there are some surprisingly delicate, balance-y moves to move through the rock patches. Above the exposed rocks there's a flat-ish area where it looks like the gully splits into right and left options. The right option (more visible from the crater) didn't really look passable to me but the left had a nice, short, near-vertical step on solid rime. Above this we came out to a small clearing from which we could see climbers on the Hogsback. We went right and followed the narrow, snow filled gullies to where they meet up with the regular DKHW left variation (above the crux). Random Notes: The challenging climbing is all at the bottom of the route (the visible rock and the rime step above it). I don't think the upper portion could get significantly steeper than it is now, though it would be a lot more fun if it had ice instead of deep snow. In current conditions it seems unprotectable. You can put screws in the rime (and maybe rap on them) but there's no way they would hold any kind of fall. If legitimate ice ever forms on the route it would be great, and probably superior to variation 1, as it's longer, steeper, and more sustained. I will definitely check this route again once I know that there is fat ice on variation 1. I'd give the route the typical, meaningless AI3 rating. Right now it's noticeably harder than anything I've encountered on variation 1. The line we took: Some very steep snow in the entrance gully: Short rime fin below the rocks: Bottom part of rocky section: Top part of rocky section: Going left over the rime step: Wide-angle shot of above the rime step. Follow the narrow gully right. Typical deep snow in the gullies: Looking down from where the route joins variation 1. Variation 1 crux is just below and to the left of the central rime mushrooms, we emerged on the right. Gear Notes: Rope, screws, draws, etc., were all good training weight, useless on route. Approach Notes: When I walk it it's deep powder, when I ski it it's chickenheads.

Trip: Strobach - Strobach D Approach Pitch Trip Date: 02/09/2020 Trip Report: It was my first time in there, figured it was a long shot but maybe still the best chance for ice last weekend. Skied in the long road approach towing a pull with my overnight gear with my buddy Mike on Saturday. It was a long slow ski. Camped at the end of the road with tasty pork chops and plenty of wine. Got up in the morning and did some crappy tree crashing on skis to get to the climbs (lots of knee high blowdown). Stuff was mostly out but there was lots of water flowing and it was below freezing so it seemed like things might come back. A few things probably climbable for someone with more balls or less rusty ice tools. We finally settled on a consolation of the easy approach pitch on “Strobach D” which I think has a new name and an ascent now (last flow on the right side of mother lode). The actual pillar was a tiny bit thin for us in the middle but I bet is great now. We also had fun TRing the mixed corner right of the approach slab ice. Here are some more pics, you all should get on it! Also that approach was long both ways and too flat to ski down easily for half of it. You could probably drive the road except for the signs saying it’s closed to all vehicles except registered snow mobiles. Might be more snow this weekend though. Maybe the other approach is better in these conditions? I didn’t see any flagging or anything and the forest after the road end sucked with little snow. Gear Notes: Ice gear, camping gear, skis Approach Notes: Ski five miles up the road as in WA Ice, then crash through trees for a half mile.

Trip: Mt Hood - Reid Glacier Headwall Trip Date: 02/12/2020 Trip Report: Solo'd and went slow, started 2:45, at saddle 5:45, topped out on West Crater 9:45, summit via Old Chute 11 AM. Planned on doing Leuthold but that didn't work out. Would have been nice to have brought another tool but the axe worked well. Climbed down from the saddle facing in since it was still dark but it wasn't that steep. Didn't see any crevasses at the bottom. Climbed over a mostly covered bergschrund near the bottom of the ramp without breaking through. The gullies were reasonably filled with firm snow and some ice, not too steep. Saw two climbers above me to the left near the bottom, they cruised up but made sure I made it out. Pick sticks and foot kicks were solid the whole way up. West Crater was softening quickly but the Old Chute was still hard even coming down. More stitched together images here, https://imgur.com/a/Lj07ROr. Gear Notes: Helmet, 1 tool, 1 axe, crampons Approach Notes: High 20s F, 30 MPH winds

Trip: MT. HOOD - Devils Kitchen Headwall Trip Date: 02/12/2020 Trip Report: I took advantage of this short weather window that we have finally been given and ran up to Hood for a quick session this morning. Overall the snow was much more compact than i would have guessed making for quick progress up to hot rocks. DKH looked thin from hot rocks, but beggars can't be choosers so i took what i could get. Overall the route is very climbable albeit not as cruiser as it is in the spring after a few good freeze thaw cycles. There is definitely not enough thick ice to place any protection if that's something you would want to do. below are some pics. i also took few shots of the N.side and the top of the Elliott headwall if anyone was wondering what that's looking like right now. Gear Notes: two ice tools Approach Notes: skin up, climb, ski down. strava had me at a little over 3hr30min car to car.

Trip: Dragontail Peak - North East Couloir Trip Date: 11/23/2019 Trip Report: I got out for a stellar day with Kyle and Daniel on Saturday (November 23, 2019). Following a few weeks of mostly high pressure and moderate temps, but with a storm front moving in, we were curious about conditions in the Stuart Range. Kyle brought this route to my attention, as I hadn't even heard of it. We found a TR on here from November 2008 and this inspired us to go give it a look. Be sure to check the trip from Kyles perspective at https://climberkyle.com/2019/11/23/dragontail-peak-ne-couloir-wi2-m5-r/ After leaving the trailhead around 5 am, we found more snow on the surrounding peaks than expected, which was promising considering the lack of recent precip, except for a day or two the week leading up to this. We knew the weather was supposed to deteriorate and winds were supposed to pick up throughout the day so we hurried to Aasgard Pass. We switched to boots and crampons where the creek down the pass was frozen and flooded over the boulders. At around 8 we started soloing up easy little water ice flows toward the base of the couloir. At the base of the couloir, we could see the first dry section that leads into the couloir and it didn't look too hard. We opted to rack up but solo up it. It was a tad techy so I fixed a cordelette as a hand line in a few spots for extra security. Above this, we were on variable steep snow. Throughout the couloir, we found everything from thigh-deep wallowing, to firm neve front pointing. About a third of the way up the couloir, there was a steep/overhung chockstone with a thin ice/snow flow on the right. I led up and over this with some mediocre gear (a tied off 10cm screw and a cam lower). Above this, we soloed a bunch more steep snow until our gully ran out of snow and we did a pitch traversing 30ft right over rock slabs to a different snowy gully. Now we were approaching the top of the couloir and it was starting to open up and become drier. Just 2 more pitches took us to the top but, wow, they were seriously full-on. The first pitch was a series of near-vertical granite steps with steep snow in between. This was perhaps the technical crux as there were quite a few delicate moves but also some dark brown ice that took good sticks, as well as generally good gear. I belayed off a horn, looking up at the last pitch, which appeared to be 100% dry. I was tempted to ditch the crampons but kept them on since the only bomber feet I had gotten on the entire last pitch were in the few small patches of ice and I was still hopeful that there would be ice above that I couldn't see. Once Kyle and Daniel got to me, I mentally prepared to take the sharp end for hopefully the last time of the day. There had been a lot hard and sketchy climbing already, and the hardest/scariest was still yet to come. I started up the pitch, immediately finding that the rock quality was deteriorating. I was mostly climbing with both my axes racked since the rock was so bad. It seemed like the majority of holds could be pulled off and gear was sparse. When I finally got good gear halfway up the pitch I yelled "take" and sat back for a sec to breath. I took a few photos, looking both up and down. From then on, I didn't get another piece of gear. Eventually, I could see the ridgeline 20ft above me and was eager to get there. All that stood in my way was a steep kitty litter chimney, devoid of any gear of course. At this point, I had my gloves off since I was just rock climbing with crampons and its nice to be able to feel all the holds that will inevitably crumble in your hands. I started up the chimney, with my pack pressed against the right wall, my crampons finding edges in the left wall, my arms finding chicken wings and armbars, and cursing like a sailor. Thankfully my gopro had already died. I wouldn't mind forgetting this pitch. Down below, Kyle and Daniel were experiencing a constant flow of gravel filling their hoods. I remember throwing one hand up over the ridge onto a jug and letting out a sigh of relief before mantling up and finding an extra bomber belay. The wind up here was absolutely ripping and I got cold quickly while belaying. I was wearing all my clothes and had sweated a bit on the previous lead. The forecasted winds (60mph) had arrived and there were now intermittent clouds, but the sky was still mostly clear. Our weather window was certainly closing. Kyle and Daniel enjoyed the pitch far more than I did and both arrived at the belay with big grins, especially since they could climb near each other and watch all the holds break off. Since I was cold and antsy to move I let them break down the belay and sort out the ropes while I looked for the "traverse to the notch." I found it, but accessing the notch looked just a bit spicy. I wanted to solo it but realized I was just cold and anxious to get down and out of the blasting wind and gravel so I lead it with one rope and gave each of them a terrain belay up to the rap station where a single 60m rap got us out of the wind and to a point which we could walk from. We were out of the wind and off the technical terrain. It was a big relief for me. However, the light was fading and Aasgard pass is never fun to head down. There was a set of tracks up to the summit proper of Dragontail which we followed downhill and down the pass. As the light faded I snagged a photo of the route from across the pass. It looked pretty impressive, I was briefly proud but mostly humbled. We talked briefly about the climb. Perhaps there were mistakes. It would have been possible to bail down the route once we saw how dry the upper pitch was. I was enticed to just climb it since the ridge was practically 80 or 100ft away and bailing down the route would have meant leaving gear and taken a lot of time. Hard choices. Of course, you will never know exactly how it will be until you're in the thick of it, but perhaps we/I made too bold of a choice and got lucky (on the other hand, down climbing the snow would have also been tricky). Food for thought for anyone who has made it this far through the trip report. I try to stay safe and climb hard, but its a tricky balance. Anyway, we got back to the car around 8 pm and headed to McDonald's. All in all, it was a very fun day with 3 competent 22-23yr old Washington born and raised climbers. And for anyone curious about this route right now, I would steer clear! In the coming days, I'll post some first-person climbing video on my insta @porter.mcmichael First, a photo of the route, taken on the descent. Looking up at Dtail Approach ice Still on Asgard Dry pitch to access the couloir Fun steep snow! Chockstone in the middle of the couloir Looking down on the last pitch (I think) Looking up in the middle of the last pitch From the ridge looking down the chimney Looking North from near the top Kyle on the last pitch Daniel on the last pitch Down the rap Gear Notes: 3 screws (placed 2), 4 pins and a bulldog (surprisingly didn't place any), nuts (placed a few), cams .2-2, some doubles in the smaller sizes (placed them all), 60m doubles. Approach Notes: On your right, halfway up Asgard, hard to miss it. The slabby approach pitch is the first obvious way to access the gully (farthest climbers right)

Trip: Lennox Mountain - Goat Basin Ice Climbs FAIL Trip Date: 11/30/2019 Trip Report: TLDR: the approach is pretty heinous without snow coverage. Lots of climbable ice, even in the lower basin at 2500 ft, but the approach terrain is confusing, brushy, and rugged. Long version: I've long been curious about the Dave Burdick ice routes in Goat Basin beneath Lennox Mountain. There's not much information about them expect for when Dave originally went up there himself. During this recent coldsnap, I was wondering where to find substantial ice and this seemed like a good shot: north facing basin fed by large snowfields above. Flow is the issues during this old season cold snap, but the north slopes of Lennox are large enough that I thought there'd be enough water to form ice. We drove up the Money Creek Road, which is in good shape. Through the trees, it appeared we saw ice up there. We parked near a pullout and tried to find a place to cross Money Creek. We found a spot where I could make it across the icy boulders with trekking poles, but my buddy unfortunately fell in. We dumped his boots out on the other side and dried out some of his clothes. I'd recommend just fording. We started up on the west side of Goat Creek. The amount of blowdowns was ridiculous and movement was really slow, so we bailed westward, finding an open clearing at the base of an avalanche slope. This was very brushy and we couldn't see our feet, but at least it was easier than the dense forest. Then we got onto some dry rock creekbeds. It wasn't brushy, but all the rocks were covered in frost and ice, making for slow travel. Eventually this creekbed joined again with Goat Creek and we walked up the west bank of Goat Creek. At this point, we started to see a bunch of long ice gullies coming down into this lower valley, down to an elevation of about 2500 ft! These lines were about 1000 ft long, with many sections of WI2-3. Like a mouse is drawn to shiny things, we decided to try exploring one of these. But our vision of the lower sections was obscured by alder and terrain, so it was difficult to choose which one. Eventually we made our choice and climbed out of the steep river bank. The alder got really bad as we got closer to the climb, and the boulders had snow on them underfoot, pretty nasty. When I reached the base of the climb, I was disappointed to see that the entire 100+ ft first pitch, formerly obscured from us, actually began in a pool of water and was too thin down low. Additionally, there was another cliff below us that prevented traversing to the next flow to our left. The terrain is deceptively complex out here, a maze of alder and canyons, much like the kind of narrow topographical canyons you see in the Wenatchee or Yakima foothills. Bummed, we retreated to the valley floor, only to find that the alder had unzipped my pocket and my phone was missing. We retraced my steps using the GPS in the alder, but never found it. Time for an upgrade, I guess. The first pitch of our long proposed route. Everything above it looked great. Back at the valley floor, we decided to move leftwards and try to ascend the boulder slope on the SE side of the valley that would lead us to Goat Basin. Alder kept us pinned on the riverbed, but it became entangled in a slot canyon, necessitating some spicy ice slab scrambling to get around the riverbank. On the way back, we would cross the river a few times to avoid this. Going up the boulder field, the snow got deeper and movement slower. Eventually we just gave up. From here, we finally had a good viewpoint of all the lower flows. If we had this view to start the day, we could've seen the way of bypassing some lower wet pitches and getting on the beautiful upper flows. But alas, it was too late in the day, I was pretty beat up mentally by the rugged approach (we covered only like ~1 mile), so we started the painful descent down the snowy boulders. Good view of the lower valley. Lots of good looking low angle lines. We nailed the routefinding on the return trip and did everything in probably half the time. It's amazing what a little beta can do. It was pretty disappointing to not get on any ice even with the cold temps we have had, but conditions in the Cascades are deceptively bad right now. I guess this is the price I pay for being an adventurous climber and explorer. I am new to travel in the mountains in this sort of shoulder season and am learning so much about when and where to go and when to just stay home. I have no doubt the actual Goat Basin climbs were in, as these lower ones were in above 2500 ft. I would not recommend this approach under anything but a mid winter snowpack. The brush and boulders are really bad, but with a few feet of snow, it could be pretty fast. Just be careful because the slopes are subject to significant overhead avy danger. The Money Creek crossing would be a pain at any time of year. Big thanks to Chris for always enjoying my crazy adventure ideas and staying positive. Hopefully this information is helpful to someone and our sufferings will be vindicated. Gear Notes: Screws and ropes and tools, used none of them sadly. Approach Notes: It's rough. Stick west of Goat Creek initially, then cross back to the east side as you ascend to Goat Basin.

Trip: Mt. Hood - North Face Right Gully, Reid Headwall, Wy'East, Pearly Gates Enchainment Trip Date: 12/29/2019 Trip Report: I'm back in Oregon after my first semester of college in Canada! Over the last few months I have spent too much time ice and mixed climbing, not enough time in the mountains. Since I'm back home I figured it would be fun to do a bigger objective on Hood. The coolest thing I could think of was doing a link up of all four faces of the mountain in a push. For the routes, I decided to do the North Face Right Gully, Reid, Wy'East, and the Pearly Gates. I chose the North Face gully because it was the most striking line on the face, Reid because Leuthold looked lame, Wy'East because I didn't want to solo the Black Spider, and Pearly Gates because it was the route that got me into climbing. Link ups are new too me so I thought the whole trip would take around 30 something hours. After watching the weather carefully, a window appeared and I knew it was go time. At 4:00 am I started the hike up to the north face. Cool temps and no wind made the approach go by quickly and comfortably. There's a good trail all the way to the shelter and the snow on the glacier was pretty firm. Cooper 30 is in fat and some of the other drips on the glacier look good too. At around 7:30 I geared up and started up the bergshrund. To my surprise, the shrund was almost completely filled in. I just walked across some stable snow and the bergshrund was over. Climbing the first ice pitch was some of the best ice I've encountered on Hood. The sticks were solid and there wasn't much dinnerplating. First ice pitch Slogging up some more snow brought me to one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The second ice pitch was in interesting shape which made for such fun climbing! I'll let the picture of the pitch speak for itself. . More neve took me to the cloudy summit by 10:30. I was pretty surprised in how quickly the route took. In my head I had planned for it to take somewhere around 10 hours. Although it was exciting to finish the north face, I still had a long day ahead of me. I had the choice of doing either the Reid or Wy'East next. Initally, I thought I would do Wy'East because I have never been on the route and it had more vert. I have been up the Reid a couple of times now, each one uneventful. As I was descending I asked a few people if they knew the condition of a few routes. The group said the Reid wasn't in which immediately piqued my interest. Now it was settled, Reid first, Wy'East second. I walked down to illumination saddle and got my first look at the west face in the winter. It was so beautiful. Yocum demanded a solemn respect and a thin veil of clouds gave the face a sense of wonder. Looking up at the West Face I charged up the Reid with some mixture of apprehension and excitement. The first 1000 feet or so was simple snow climbing. As I got higher, I developed a rhythm where I would take 50 steps and then rest. Sometimes I would get gassed after 20, sometimes I would push and lose count. When the clouds broke, the Reid got interesting. Simple snow climbing turned into an exhausting swim as the snow turned warm. Quickly, my 50 step rhythm diminished into 5 or 6 steps of making little to no progress. It was no big deal though, I missed the simple joys of effort in the hills. Things got really fun when I reached some ice steps. Firstly, my feet were uncomfortable and my socks were approaching soggy from all the sweat I was making. Secondly, the "ice" was basically rock with some rime over it. I pulled some cool stemming moves and swung for the fences into the choss. My Grivel picks took it like a champ. After pulling a short but steep ice step, I climbed a mixture of alpine ice and snow to the ridge and then summit. By 3:00 I was on the summit for the second time. With the clouds now gone, I was rewarded with the typical Mt. Hood panorama. Now time for round 3. Snow early on the Reid Suns out guns out On top for the second time that day I was pretty stoked at this point. I felt like the hardest climbing was behind me and I knew I was well ahead of schedule. As a reward, I took another sip of my water supply and ate another GU. On the way down I ran into Walter Burkhardt who gave me some more stoke and energy to get the project done. Instead of walking to Palmer to get up to Wy'East, I traversed across the White River glacier. Traversing the glacier allowed me to save a some vert see a little more of the route in the last hour of sunlight. Walking up to the ridge on Wy'East was good snow climbing. When I gained the ridge, I encountered thin layers of snow and ice over rocks. Sometimes I would step on a seemingly normal spot of snow only to have the snow collapse and hit some rocks. Annoying but non-lethal. Climbing on the steel cliffs brought a whole new perspective to me. The sheer size and steepness of the cliffs is especially noticeable when you're on top. The traverse was easy and by around 7:45 I was back on top for the third time. Cool rime formation on the White River On the ridge Last steps before the summit I was feeling so great by now. All I had to do was run up the southside and the four faces of the mountain would be complete. Going up the Pearly Gates brought back the memories of climbing for the first time. So much had changed in the past few years except for the feeling I have in the mountains. Finishing the trip on the route that started it all just felt right. Ice step on Pearly Gates. I reached the summit for the fourth and final time at 8:40. What a trip it had been. I called my mom and she came to pick me up at Timberline an hour and some change later. (I have the best mom ever). Car to car, the trip took 18 hours 10 minutes and 5 seconds. I still had a bunch of food left and about half a liter of water. Reflecting on the trip brought me mixed feelings. I wanted it to be longer. I had envisioned some feat of endurance that would bring me to the depths of my inner self. Instead, I got home in time for (late) dinner. I'm happy that I got it done and thankful the mountain was kind to me that day. All in all I would highly recommend this trip to anyone interested. I would love to see someone beat my time or do different routes. Happy new year everyone. Gear Notes: 2 liters of water, 1200 calories, hardshell, synthetic jacket, and that's pretty much it Approach Notes: Approach to the North side is good and crevasses are easily manageable

Trip: North Sister - E Buttress Trip Date: 12/28/2019 Trip Report: Pole Creek TH is currently accessible with a high clearance/4wd, some rutted snow and slick spots, but pretty easy. Good skin tracks from the TH to Middle and North with minimal snow pack (2 hrs to the base of North's E Butt). Some icy spots but mostly nice wind packed snow. Lower E Butt has some ice and neve on it. The upper is dry and has unconsolidated snow. Enough to slow you down but not enough of it to be a wallow. We traversed off and descended Early Morning Couloir due to time. Some split boarders were playing around on the NE aspect while we climbed but I would not recommend the lower portion of that aspect due to exposed rocks and icy patches. Take home: In general people should stop repeating the same routes on Hood and explore a bit... Gear Notes: Some pitons, a couple screws, some rock gear. Approach Notes: Skis FTW

Trip: Chair Peak - NE Buttress Trip Date: 12/09/2019 Trip Report: Went out to Chair peak yesterday in search of mixed conditions and found exactly what we were searching for. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, but would have preferred a few more clouds to shade us and the route from the blazing sun. Overall I would describe the route as "in" mixed climbing condition. Out as a snow or ice climb P1: We took the right variation. Very fun and good mixed climbing practice. little to no ice but I did place one 10cm screw. P2: was a simul block across snow covered slabs and ledges over to the base of the ice step. Not many options for belays but it's hard to fall with much force on those slabs. P3: Sweet neve up to the narrow, thin and unfortunately short ice step. The step consists of a narrow column just barely wide enough to both protect and climb. I placed two rater than one stubby to help protect the belay anchor. I placed my spectre for fun in some turf after the step and belayed off two pins and a slung pinch point up and right. P4: cruiser snow simul to the top. Sean slung a tree for pro. Both rap anchors for the couloir rappel are currently out of reach. In order to reach the bolts I had to stand on my toes and hook the bottom rap ring, with my tool, then do a pull up and clip in direct to my tool in order to thread the rappels. The piton rappel is another 20ft higher. I'm 6'2 and could barely reach, anyone shorter would likely need to tie their tools together or use a probe. The skis pictures spent the day under a tree somewhere on the approach. Gear Notes: Gear we brought: Cams .4-1, many nuts, 1 Spectre, 4 kb's, 2 10cm, 1 13cm, and 2 16cm screws, 1 picket, 9 single slings 2 doubles. Gear we used: all the cams, the KB's, the 10cm, 13cm and one of the 16's, 6 singles 2 doubles. Approach Notes: Currently the summer approach seemed to be the best option. Pray for snow.

Trip: Colfax Peak - Cosley Houston Trip Date: 12/09/2019 Trip Report: Andrew Dyer and I boarded the last car on the Cosley Houston train this fall and climbed it on a beautiful December day. The route was in good shape, it seemed. 60m pitch of easy ice and snow to the crux. The crux was probably 15 feet of near vertical and then 15-20 feet of vertical to slightly overhung, pretty real for an ice newb like me. It was definitely the hardest lead of my life. I played it safe and placed 6 screws, increasing the pump greatly but at least I felt safer. I stopped a few feet short of the end of the ice so I could build a solid belay with screws. We bypassed the second ice crux, instead taking AI2 to the right. Overall, the snow conditions we quite good on the route, boot top pow with firm snice beneath. The descent down the Coleman was a little tricky. We had to go far skier's right to find some key bridges across some huge crevasses. Skis from 8000 ft down to the Heliotrope Trail made things rather pleasant. My first turns of the season were pow turns! Thanks to Andrew for a rad day in the alpine. It took us 12 hours, but we definitely lost time booting in the pow, my super slow crux lead, and wandering down the Coleman, looking for bridges. Obviously, conditions will be changing very rapidly with the storm currently, but at least we found no real signs of instability up there. Let the snow begin! https://climberkyle.com/2019/12/13/colfax-peak-cosley-houston-wi4/ Colfax, Polish route looks good to go. That infamous pillar. Snowfield above the crux. Final steps, Lincoln in the background. Sunset pow! Much wow! Gear Notes: 10 screws, 60 m single rope. I would do a 60 m twin rope next time and just double it over for the crux. Approach Notes: Hiked to the top of the Hogsback, skinned to 8000 ft, booted to the start of the route. It would definitely not be worth it to carry skis over at this moment, too many zig zags and ups and downs on the descent.

Trip: Huckleberry Mountain - The Trail Trip Date: 11/30/2019 Trip Report: In perhaps the longest shoulder season in 43 years what is a man to do? Ski areas closed, backcountry boney, ice thin, wet and scrappy....sigh. I guess it is time to slog up a bump in a scenic part of the range and take pictures. At least we didn't need snowshoes. That would have added insult to injury. Here are some views to tide you over until who knows when....... (I hope you like Whitechuck). You'll get used to Whitechuck (captions are for photo above) Pugh and phew, it's a long way up to this point of the ridge and the views. It looks snowy in the upper Suiattle, but don't be fooled. Tired of Whitechuck yet? Dome Sloan (L) and Misch(R), one is worth climbing and the other isn't. Dakobed You guessed it Dakobed again.... The Suiattle River Road is still fixed, thankfully Gear Notes: boots and a sense of humor Approach Notes: Suiattle Road to the TH and start walking uphill!

Trip: LIBERTY - The path of freedom Trip Date: 06/01/2019 Trip Report: Sometimes you see a mountain enough that it must be climbed. Such was the case for @Kit and I and this mountain called Liberty. Both of us have been driving by it for more years that we care to think about. That, and who doesn't want to be free?? Despite the reports of horrendous brush, washed out roads, and failed attempts, we were smitten. What is wrong with us? Well, we don't have time to cover all that here. But, if Liberty is wrong, I don't want to be right! It helped that we happened to stumble upon an actual pleasant route up and down the peak, with minimal brush. Really! I even recorded a track for all you obsessive P2K baggers out there. So go get it before the brush reclaims the 4130 road once again..... The massive south face of Three Fingers: LIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEERRRRRTTTTTYYYYYYY @Kit crossing the South Fork of Canyon Creek: Pretty reasonable actually: The upper part of Liberty: The view north into the Slabbage Patch: I remember some good trundling down this face in about 1994: We only used the rope for a short rap on the way down: Extreme! More South face of Three Fingers Who doesn't love LIBERTY??!! and lots of solitude? And blown out roads? And blown up stuff? Gear Notes: We brought a rope and used it in a couple places to rap on the way down, mainly because we had it. We didn't rope for the two 4th class bits on the way up. It is actually likely better after the snow is gone and the crossing of Canyon Creek low. Approach Notes: Walk 4130 for 4 miles or so until you intersect the GPX track I've posted. It will serve you well to the summit and back. A couple more years and the road will be totally brushed in and very annoying. Go now! LIBERTY!!!!! 6_1_19 8_30_51 AM.gpx