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Rainy epics this weekend?


Charlie

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Well this isn't a good stroy but it does seem to fit my luck lately:

 

Wopper and I went to do Vesper Peak. Slept at trialhead in truck on Sat night. Woke up early Sunday (5:00 a.m.) and started the approach. Halfway to Headlee Pass it became pretty clear that it was going to be a wet and miserable day. It appeared to be one of those days where if you waited till noon it MIGHT burn off. So...we turned around. Went home. Took power nap. [sleep]

 

Judging from the weather in Seattle the rest of the day it was a good call.

 

Not exciting at all...

 

On the way down three guys passed us going up. Not sure if they drove on and got on the route. [big Drink]

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Saturday night I left a perfectly good party with a keg of Mirror Pond and old friends I hadn't seen in years to go climb Eldorado. Drove there Saturday night, got on the trail by 5:30 am and hiked until the rain and wind turned us around. I love the North Cascades!

 

The only thing that made me feel better was the fact that I kept running into people who had it worse off then me. met two guys who left the parking lot at 1:30 am only to turn around. They looked really wet and cold when we saw them.

 

Also ran into another cc.comer who go stuck in the boulder field on the approach in the dark and decided to find a place to bivy. In the middle of the night he woke up to RATS all over his gear! Did battle with rats all night. (Note to self-- never bivy in the boulder field on approach to Eldo).

 

[big Drink]

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I got lucky this weekend with permits for the enchantments on Sat. morning. We headed in with light packs, tarp, pad, sleeping bag, food, climbing gear. The wind was gusting all night and woke up around 1am to watch the cloud layer roll in. Got a little worried. Woke up at 6am to do the west ridge or prussik. The whole time it was blowing with a light mist coming down. Wasn't that bad. Just not sure if the 10 mile approach was worth the 2 hours of climbing. We did have the ridge to ourselves. I was wondering the whole time if it would rain. The weather reports said it would be nice so we didn't take in rain gear. I should have know by now that the rain coat never leaves the pack.

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So I assume you climbed Prusik W Ridge. You mention 2 hrs climbing. Did you ever consider climbing the next 3 peaks on the ridge? Probably should have. Good stuff like tunneling through peaks and prusiking to the summit etc. Some of those towers only see a handful of ascents each year I bet. Esp the monument.

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Got rained out of Cutthroat South Butt. Hiked up to the gully, and the rock was pretty wet. Bailed and headed over to Index, praying we could climb something. No chance. The Lizard was dripping wet! I hate looking at weather reports and seeing sun, only to be fooled. It wasn't like this was a localized system. It probably was raining in Squamish and the rain and clouds didn't let up South till Vancouver, WA. Once I crossed the Oregon border, it was bluebird skies! I thought I should have gone to Smith, but later found out that Highway 20 was closed near Sisters due to Forest Fires, so, I would have had hassles there too! There's always next weekend!

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quote:

Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman:

So I assume you climbed Prusik W Ridge. You mention 2 hrs climbing. Did you ever consider climbing the next 3 peaks on the ridge? Probably should have. Good stuff like tunneling through peaks and prusiking to the summit etc. Some of those towers only see a handful of ascents each year I bet. Esp the monument.

Didn't think about traversing the next couple of peaks. The weather wasn't looking too good to think about other climbs. Hopefuly the next time I hump into the enchantments I'll be good enough to do a real climb like the South face.

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chris what is not 'real' about climbing the w ridge of prussik???

 

granted the weather was not good and it soundslike you were dissapointed with the route, but man cannot you take anything else from that area....the natural beauty of it alone warrents many hikes back there with nothing but a water bottle and some snacks......

 

THINK POSITIVE!

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quote:

Originally posted by erik:

chris what is not 'real' about climbing the w ridge of prussik???

 

granted the weather was not good and it soundslike you were dissapointed with the route, but man cannot you take anything else from that area....the natural beauty of it alone warrents many hikes back there with nothing but a water bottle and some snacks......

 

THINK POSITIVE!

Don't get me wrong. I had an awesome time in the enchantments. I guess I didn't do enough research on the climb. I though there was more mid 5th class. I found 5.7 (crux) slab to be more like 5.5. The rest was 4th class except for the final 40 feet to the summit. A lot of the beauty was lost with the cloud layer at 7800 feet. The upper enchantments and most other peak where under the clouds. I think the enchantments are one of washingtons most beatiful places. Where else in washington can you go in July\Sept and still find half frozen lakes. Ok, maybe there are other areas, I just haven't been there yet.

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What you needed was the nice jamcrack on the monument and some tunneling on the boxtop. [big Grin] You should have done more homework. Cuz even though the weather might have turned the other peaks back there are not exactly super committing. [big Drink] I think I threw my rope 20 times this year when trying to hit up the monument. [Cool]

 

ANother one of those peaks "Visited by more birds than climbers" [big Grin]

 

[ 07-29-2002, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: Cpt.Caveman ]

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Spent the weekend in Squamish. A few clouds and wind but nothing more than a few sprinkles yesterday afternoon.

 

Enjoyed some great climbing on Calculus Crack. The top two pitches were perfect hands for me. [big Grin] And got some good climbing in in the bluffs and at Murrin park.

 

Best part had fun with friends, drank good wine and beer, made a great halibut & wild rice spread for us out of the back of my truck. And remembered how much I like road trips. (It had been a month...)

 

[big Drink]

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Yeah, what a bullshit weather forecast for the weekend! It was supposed to mostly sunny with only minor morning clouds. What a load of crap. Spent 2 days in tent waiting for a crack in the sky to get up Baker. When the weather briefly broke got blasted by big winds up near the col. Oh well, they can't all be success stories I guess. [Mad]

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