Beginner winter NW winter ascents?

[bkohlrus]

Looking to do some beginner winter ascents in Washington (but open to surrounding NW states) this upcoming November/December/January. Only alpine climb I've done is Adams and that was in September so snow/ice wasn't much of a factor. Any ideas?

[kevino]

Are you looking to do technical climbs or walk ups like Adams?

 

If you're looking to do technical winter climbs I suggest the following:

-Buy/read Jim Nelson's books on recommended climbs.

-Search this website using the Trip Reports functions.

-Know how to take care of yourself in a wet and cold environment.

-avalanche knowledge, etc

[sdizzle25]

in my experience winter climbing on easy routes makes your margin of error smaller, days are shorter, storms are worse, and it can be f***ing cold (though less rockfall). that being said beginner routes like the south side of hood/adams/rainier etc can be less technical, as one will be climbing snow instead of late season glacier ice. if you want to really get a safe start to winter mountain climbing wait until NWAC says its safe to climb st. helens-though you should always judge the avalanche danger yourself. this can give you a feel for managing climbing in more taxing conditions (as in learning how to piss without taking your gloves off, what you need to hike at a good pace w/o sweating much in 20 degree temps), while still what being what most people would consider "safe".

its also a pretty cool hike and an awesome ski down. just dont go close to the cornices on the crater rim, they can be pretty big (>20 feet)

[sdizzle25]

though its supposed to be el nino this year, so expect plenty of sastrugi and blue ice

[genepires]

the winter makes even the lowest of peaks into grand epic adventures. You could spend many winters just trying to tag all of the hills and peaks by whatever route will get you up.

 

a few to get started

 

all snowshoe ascents

granite peak

walk up guye peak (which is the L skyline when viewed from road)

snoq. mtn from same approach for guye peak walkup

 

little more spicy

up the descent route for technical routes on chair peak (don't know real name of line)

slot coulior on snoq mtn

red mtn

 

really you could just pick any bump/hill/peak and just go for it. take whatever line suites your skill and ambition.

But if the forecasts hold true, there won't be much alpine climbing as the avi danger will be off the scale. Be very very mindful of the avalanche hazards.

 

good luck

 

 

[CaleHoopes]

Correction: Supposed to be La Nina this year - so expect lots of wetter snow.

[wetslide]

Nice ones mentioned thus far. Some more- South Face of The Tooth. N face of Chair if you are technically proficient in ice climbing. NE Buttress of Chair (same caveat as before). Eldorado.

[DPS]

This should keep you busy for a while: http://www.summitpost.org/the-cascades-winter-grand-cours/754824

[Bronco]

This should keep you busy for a while: http://www.summitpost.org/the-cascades-winter-grand-cours/754824

 

Awesome list!

[Alex]

A vote for Slot Couloir as a good beginner trudge

N Buttress Couloir Colchuck

Lane Peak routes (Zipper, etc)

 

For the "grand cours" routes I found the list interesting but it seems a grab bag of all different level routes. I would have stuck with a general level of difficulty, say TD and above, for "grand cours" routes.

[DPS]

 

For the "grand cours" routes I found the list interesting but it seems a grab bag of all different level routes. I would have stuck with a general level of difficulty, say TD and above, for "grand cours" routes.

I was trying to be egalitarian, I suppose the moniker grand cours was misapplied. Suggestions on a better name? Selected Winter Climbs in the Cascades seemed a bit used.

[genepires]

Nice ones mentioned thus far. Some more- South Face of The Tooth. N face of Chair if you are technically proficient in ice climbing. NE Buttress of Chair (same caveat as before). Eldorado.

 

if your rock climbing skills are good, the south face of the tooth is my favorite winter climb. Just takes a couple days of good weather to melt off the snow off the technical parts. plus the route is quiet that time of year, unlike the rest of the year.

[Alex]

 

For the "grand cours" routes I found the list interesting but it seems a grab bag of all different level routes. I would have stuck with a general level of difficulty, say TD and above, for "grand cours" routes.

I was trying to be egalitarian, I suppose the moniker grand cours was misapplied. Suggestions on a better name? Selected Winter Climbs in the Cascades seemed a bit used.

 

As an exercise over lunch I listed all the routes in the Cascades I knew of and considered might be compiled into such a list, in the spirit of the "Six great North Faces of the Alps", of which 3 are serious mixed alpine climbs (Eiger, NF Matterhorn, Grand Jorasses) and 3 are much more pure rock climbs.

 

I didnt come up with a complete list but the ones that stood out to me as "grand cours" potential (for Winter climbs) were

 

NF Index

NF Dragontail

NF Greybeard

NF Big Four

 

There are alot of other routes that would probably be added to such a list, but I purposefully didnt include any routes that had seen only one or two winter ascents eg Slesse, Johannesburg

 

If you added classic rock lines that *have* been climbed in Winter at least once but are not commonly climbed in Winter, I think Bear, Slesse, and Stuart would be there

 

(All that said, I think the climbs in the cascades pale in comparison to the climbs in the Can Rockies.)

[John Frieh]

If you added classic rock lines that *have* been climbed in Winter at least once but are not commonly climbed in Winter, I think Bear, Slesse, and Stuart would be there

 

(All that said, I think the climbs in the cascades pale in comparison to the climbs in the Can Rockies.)

 

NF of Bear hasnt been done in winter. But yeah agree with you

[JasonG]

Well, if Ross and Sky hadn't skied all these faces already we might be on par with the Canadian Rockies.