Climbers Guide Assistance

[bremerton_john]

Several people have expressed some interest in helping out the guidebook committee with some field work this summer in support of the new edition currently being worked on. There are others who have lamented about the inaccuracies of some of the route descriptions in the book. Now is your chance to contribute. As the committee continues with the review process certain peaks or routes descriptions have been questioned either due to changing conditions, vagueness in the detail, or because of lack of recent ascents. The committee will be spending a great deal of time this summer doing field work. However, there is only so much we can accomplish. Further, it would be a benefit as well if there were other climbers repeating climbs and/or verifying information.

 

The list below are a few of the peaks/routes where we could use some assistance. I will likely be adding more as time goes on, depending upon the response too. Some of these are on popular peaks, while others are a bit more obscure. I know there are those of you yearning for a wee bit of adventure, so here's you're calling.

 

1. Route description for climbers camp to base of route 1 on The Brothers. Everyone who has done the Brothers recently knows about the blow down in the woods just up from the climber's camp. We just want to form a consensus on how most folks are getting around this. The easier path seems to be jumping across the creek and bypassing. But we'd like to know what others are doing.

 

2. Route info for Horses Mouth (A-Peak area)...including time from say the upper parking lot and class.

 

3. Some concensus on "the" route for the Ellinor Washington Traverse.

 

4. Is the approach on Route 2 for Mt Stone and Route 2 Bretherton (same approach) still viable or should it be left out of the book? It's been reported that much of it no longer exists.

 

5. East Rock - Anyone have any information?

 

6. St. Peter's Dome?

 

7. The Royal Shaft - Has anyone climbed this? The original route desciption dates back quite a few years and indicates an aid pitch. Some more detail is needed.

 

The next 5 are in the Hurricane/Klahhane Ridge Area:

 

8. Rocky Peak - The basic route description describes ascending the ridge crest via gullies and ledge systems. If you've been there you know how vague this is. A little more detail here would be nice.

 

9. First Top - While this is basically a hike, this one and the next 2 deserve some improvement or verification of the current descriptions.

 

10. Second Top

 

11. Egg Rock (The Thumb)

 

12. Steeple Rock - There are multiple class 5 routes that already have decent write-ups in the book. Does anyone question any of the ratings or have other routes to contribute?

 

13. Mt Washington routes - There is a bunch to be said here, and this post is already getting long, so I'll post seperately.

 

14. Mt. Cruiser - Generally speaking we'd like to know how often any of the alternate routes are climbed. Of particular interest is route 5 (Wandering Minstrel). We know of only a couple parties to have climbed it.

 

15. Jupiter Cliffs on Mt. Jupiter

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, and thanks to those of you who have already contributed some useful information.

 

-John

[randrew]

Wow, this is my first post! I lost interest long ago cuz

there wasn't much going on regarding the Olympics, but now

I see things have picked up!

 

Just wanted to note two things that I would think should get

into the next edition.

 

1) In the Mountaineer, vol 77, no 7, June 1983, page 83,

there is a short note that Pete Doorish and Reilly Moss

did a steep buttress just right of the Mountaineer Route

in September 1978. Grade III, 5.9.

 

Don't know how this missed the second edition, but there you are.

 

2) In tThe Mountaineer, 1983 -1990 published August 1991,

I wrote up a variation on Constance told to me by a Suquamish

climber whom I thnk you know. R Andrew, "Conquistadors of the

 

Useless" (I don't remember choosing that name....), pp 24 - 28,

the pertinent piece is that this Suquamish climber found a

ledge system across the upper west face of Constance that

avoids the Finger Traverse. Although not specifically named

in that article, this variation is now known (in some circles)

as the Leslie Indirect.

 

Don't hestitate to contact me with questions, great to see

some activity over there. Had I known earlier this year,

I would have tried to link up with y'all. Cheers!

[wayne]

Is there a cutoff date set for submissions ?

[bremerton_john]

Just wanted to note two things that I would think should get

into the next edition.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at these references. Odd they didn't get attention (at least the first item) during the last revision, but then I wasn't around for that one.

 

Concerning the cutoff for submissions, ideally we would like to have all submissions turned in by this fall. A considerable amount of review and proofing occurs, which will consume the remaining time before it gets turned over to the publishers early next year.

 

-John

[Stefan]

Here's a minor peak that I think should be in the book, but it is not. Peak 4686. It has 1,326 feet of prominence.

http://test.topozone.com/map.asp?z=10&n=5258868&e=470578&s=50&size=l&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

 

It is an impressive looking little mass of spires looking SW from Mount Lincoln.

 

It has been suggested the name be Olympicket Fence. When I was there in 2001, there was a register on top with about 12 parties dating back I think to mid 1984.

 

Route description:

Ascend east side of Lebar Creek from road. At 2800 feet ascend forest heading NE towards summit gullies. At 3900 feet ascend second or third gully from the summit that trends SW. Traverse to summit block which requires 25 feet of class 3 and 4.

 

Stefan Feller

[Tweezer]

I think the new book could use some more aerial photos. Kinda like the Beckey books. The shots give a better overview of the peaks and can help with getting a good idea of routes. I have my license and I would love to help, if anybody would like to take the pitchures and if the photos are needed.

[bremerton_john]

The guidebook committee is still accepting photographs for possible inclusion in the new revision. Aerial photos are always good to see. I'll send you a PM on a couple of specific locales I'd like to have aerials of.

 

While I agree that the Beckey style of aerial shots with route overlays is indeed a great visual descriptive device, the decision was made (for this edition at least) to stick with the existing format. I'm quite certain it took a considerable amount of time and effort to compile the photos for the Beckey guides. A project of that sort could certainly be initiated for the Olympics, but I believe it would have been an impossible task to undertake given the amount of time available for publishing for this edition. Of course, there's still the philosophy amongst some that the charcoal sketch / limited detail style of writing present in the guidebook is the better approach, as it provides many climbers more of an opportunity to still experience a sense of discovery in that great Olympic wilderness.

[Blakej]

Hey tweezer I've got a good camera and damn how could I pass up a chance to fly over the olys and check out all those peaks. Don't know if the guide book guys would use them but it'd be fun and provide some nice future betta.