Snow Lake skiing - 12.27.10

Steve, Toph and I headed up to Snoqualmie Pass for a ski. Steve had all kinds of ideas for where to go in the area, but after some contemplating forecasts and aspects, we opted for a skin into Snow Lake.

There was one other car in the Alpental upper lot when we arrived and the blower was still clearing the lower end of the lot. We parked and geared up as two other cars arrived with skiers. We were trying to stall to let one of the other groups break trail, but we were all too ready to go before they were. So we headed up taking turns breaking trail. The ski area's cat had not yet groomed the road portion, so we were breaking trail from the parking lot. Occasionally we would hear shells from avalanche control above us. The echos they made from across the valley lasted longer and sounded like thunder.

We made good time reaching Source Lake in a little under an hour. We had followed a faint skin track from a previous day. Around this time a group of three caught us and introduced themselves. As it turned out two of the men where avalanche instructors including the locally renowned Gary Brill. They offered to do some of the trail breaking and for us to work as a team of six on the uphill. We agreed. And shortly after crossing under Source Lake and venturing out onto steeper terrain where we were not following a faint skin track, we let them take a turn at the front. It was around this point that instabilities in the snow were being noticed and we took care in the open slope above the lake to reach the next bench.

The course we took on the bench led us a bit too far east and the three of us departed the other group on a more northwestern course to our first run drop in. We snacked and transitioned. Steve took a short run down to check out the line. I then joined him. I felt the steep angle with the trees was a little too tricky for my skill level and traversed skier's left to see if it eased a bit. I passed over a first chute and when coming over the rib to the next a slab cracked above me. I got scared and just kept going to the other side of the chute to safe ground. Steve and I had some discussion and I told him I was going to stay put at least until he or Toph had their run. I was in a position where I could see a portion of their runs, and was safe.

Toph had enough of our talking and came down between us running the first chute and releasing a soft slab with a 8-12" crown. He rode it out to the rib between the chutes and after a pause, he continued down. Once at the lake he advised me to take the next area to my left as it was lower angle. Steve went next and rode the first chute on the clean surface until reaching the debris lower. My run was mellow at the top, but finished in the lower chute with all the debris. The debris skiing wasn't too hard, but transitioning from the packed debris to the deep powder resulted in Steve and I falling.

Now down at the lake we snacked and transitioned again. It was around 11:30am and we had plenty of time for another run. We followed the skin track of the other party up the basin below Avalanche Mountain. We caught them and soon took over duties laying the track. As we went into the trees up to the ridge instabilities in the snow presented themselves. At all the kick turns a slab would crack to a ski length. At one point as I (second to Steve) rounded a turn the cracks propagated multiple ski lengths. We got a running commentary on the conditions from Gary as we stopped frequently to do test blocks. Within 100' of the ridge we stopped as the last turn Steve made calved a block a dozen feet across without sending it anywhere. It was time to turn around.

Our high point (Photo by Steve Machuga)

We transitioned and had a really nice run through the trees back to a tarn where Toph had to post hole to get through rather than split his board. One last steeper section to the next pond and we put the skins back on to ski out the last rolling bits before heading uphill once more.

Soon we caught the other group and we took over trail breaking duties once more. We opted to try and ride out the trees while they continued further west to make runs down to Source Lake in the open. Our last run was tricky. The steep slopes sloughed at every turn. The narrowly spaced trees made turns difficult. We took turns making our way down the slope until we were all in the more mellow open terrain above the lake. Some booting back to the other side of the lake got us back to the "luge run" out. Unfortunately, the luge run was not as fast as I am used to it being and it took a bit of effort to get out due to the slow speeds and rolling terrain.

This was a fun day. Although it was my first experience with an a slab trying to take me down the mountain. It was a scary moment, but I now have a better understanding of the situation. Lucky for me, Toph and Steve are better riders than me and can release slabs and ride them out making conditions for me safer. The second run off Avalanche Mountain was really fun. Steep treed skiing similar to Yodelin. It was also great to have Gary Brill present and constantly discuss the conditions. It was like having a free refresher class in avalanche safety.

My pics are here.

Jim Hill Mountain - 12.06.10

Steve persuaded me to join him and Seth on an exploratory ski trip on Jim Hill Mountain. Now I should have guessed with the term exploratory that this would not be a straightforward trip. But that did not cross my mind. So we left Steve's house around 7:30 am to park near Hwy2 on the road into the Steven's Pass Nordic Center.

We parked near a closed gate and skinned across the lot to a gated forest road. There was a skin track in the road and it was easy going up the numerous switchbacks. At one point the road took a right hand bend downhill and we contemplated our options. We decided to backtrack around the corner and head into the woods there as the undergrowth was not as severe. Within a hundred vertical feet we ran into our first obstacle of getting around some downed trees. After circumnavigating them, we attempted to stay a bit lower off the ridge to avoid the more wind damaged areas.

We traversed through some thick woods up and to our right and arrived below an area with many blow downs. It would have been arduous and time consuming to cross through it (if we even could.) So we passed under it and then continued on our course upward and rightward. The snow seemed good for skiing, but was deep and made for strenuous skinning on the steep treed slopes. We eventually made the ridge and crossed the tops of some open slopes before the terrain got too difficult for skis and we resorted to booting a hundred feet or so. We were hoping to ski off the right side of the ridge, but the terrain was steep (over 50°) and heavily treed. It wouldn't have been easy to even walk that terrain. We contemplated continuing in the hopes of finding a suitable ski path, but it was already after 2:30pm. We had maybe two hours of daylight left to get out, so we started to backtrack on the ridge to find a suitable descent route.

Seth dropping in the clearing (photo by Steve Machuga)

A little before the point where we started to boot was the decided upon descent route. We put the skis on and headed down. It was lightly treed at first but a fairly steep slope probably more than 35°. After only a few turns, I had to jump a downed log as there was no way around it. I was successful, but had to hit the brakes as soon as I landed. Then the trees became more dense and I side slipped and stepped down through a few sections linking a few turns and traversing where I could. I made a lot of downhill kick turn in tight spots. This probably progressed for a few thousand feet with Steve encouraging me the whole way down. I had some good moments like jumping/dropping logs without crashing. But I had some bad moments, especially lower down. I think the fatigue was getting to me and I crashed a bit including some real mix ups with my skis. I think my final crash had me sliding into a small tree like it was home plate.

Yes it really was that thick at times (photo by Steve Machuga)

We eventually made it to flatter ground where we donned headlamps and skins. After a short time skinning we found an old overgrown road and followed that through some alder. There was a moment when we had a clear cut above us and it looked like the road ended and Seth checked to see if the road switched back. It didn't and we continued through thicker alder before we quickly arrived at the road we skinned in on. Steve and I removed our skins, while Seth kept his on and his board split. From there is was the typical luge run down the now firm skin track until we hit the car. I was glad to have a good headlamp with a spotlight, because fast skiing at night is difficult without a fair amount of light.

Coming out by headlamp (photo by Steve Machuga)

Overall this was a fun trip. We now know this is not the way to go to achieve turns on Jim Hill Mountain. It was a fun outing and it pushed my limits in skiing. So next time I am in terrain that is more sedate I should be feeling more confident.

My pics are here.

Hyak Skiing - 11.29.10

Went up to Snoqualmie Pass with Steve to see what looked like we wanted to ski it. After wallowing around in waist deep snow the previous day I thought skiing would be a better option than chasing ice. We drove around scouting slopes for a bit before settling on Hyak with its easy access, and well covered slopes. Of course, it had been pretty well skied out during the weekend, and probably by dawn patrollers from earlier in the day.

My backside run (photo by Steve Machuga)

We skinned up a well worn track and passed a few guys on the way up. At the top we opted to ski a little to skier's right of the main slope between some trees where there weren't as many tracks. Steve tested a rollover for avalanche danger and then we were off rejoining the main slope about half way down. There were two other skiers coming down and they informed us the backside was less tracked out, so after our first run we opted to head down the back side.

Steve on the backside

There was lots of snow cat activity at Hyak as workers are busy getting the two new lifts ready to open this season. We arrived at the top and had a much nicer run down the less traveled backside in the newly cut run down to the base of the back side chair. We skinned back up the cat track to the top and had a final run down a steeper section further skier's right on the front side before heading back to town.

Hotshot

It was nice to be out skiing, but the skiing was not of great quality. The snow was skied frequently to the point where some sections developed moguls. The back side run was much nicer though. Like I said, I can't complain I was out, but the quality of skiing lacked.

Crystal Backcountry - 11.21.10

Steve invited me to join him, Sebe and Toph for some skiing. The decision was made to head to the Crystal backcountry and so I tagged along. There were flurries, and a temp of 33° when Steve cam to pick me up in Seattle. We met Toph somewhere south on Renton, and continued in his car. I don't have a great idea of where we skied, but best I can tell we skinned up under the Gold Hills chair and made a few runs in the Pickhandle Basin.

The chair we skinned under was not yet open, due to lack of coverage. No rocks, but plenty of shrubs visible. It didn't impair our skinning and soon we were at the top of the chair ducking into the woods. This is where it got slow. The trees were narrow and we spent plenty of time avoiding downed trees and forcing through narrow gaps between other trees. If there were a few more feet of coverage, we would have had it easier, but these were the cards we were dealt. At one point we even booted a bit due to a steep section with many trees. After that, the forest opened up a bit and we started skinning again until booting the last thirty feet or so to the ridge. We then skinned on the ridge, which was not that great and we should have booted. We got to a nice area out of the wind to drop in and transitioned over.

The snow was deep! Deepest snow we had experienced yet on the day was our first run down. Deep powder, and no rocks. A really fun run. Wasn't too steep, probably a blue run. I had a little difficulty starting out as I was third in line and wanted to go farther right to get into cleaner snow. The snow was slow, and the traverse almost stopped me before I rounded a small tree and turned downslope.

My first run (Photo by Steve Machuga)

We gathered at the bottom and headed up again to a different location on the ridge and a sub bowl on the original run. We found a fun wide chute to run and transitioned back to downhill. Steve went first on a bold run of an arete which slid a bit after he made a few turns. I was third in line and enjoyed the run, but it was definitely a little more avalanche prone and a bit rocky in spots. At the bottom we skied through the tree for a bit until we came to a meadow.

My second run (Photo by Steve Machuga)

We all figured that the terrain would drop again in the woods on the other side of the meadow, so Toph was going to post hole across and then put his board back on while us skiers would shuffle with no skins. Unfortunately, on the other side of the meadow the relatively flat or rolling terrain continued and we all skinned up to make it out of the woods. More unfun tree skinning and we were finally back at the top of the lift ready to make one last run to the car. No issues on the final run and soon we were driving back to Seattle.

This was a fun outing even considering the poor skinning in the trees both up and down. I skied well, but not great. Not bad for almost five months of not skiing. I look forward to getting out again soon.

My pics are here.

Esmerelda - 10.18.10

I got to go out with Steve for what seemed like the first time this year. (I wanted to say Summer, but it is no longer, and I doubt I have been in the mountains with Steve since Spring.)

Due to my long hard day the previous day, and Steve bringing his wife's cousin along, we opted for a fairly mellow scramble of Esmerelda Peak in the Teanaway.

To avoid traffic we started a touch late, and arrived at the De Roux camp trail head after 9:30am. We hiked up the trail and took frequent breaks. After consulting the map we ignored the turn off point thinking it was just a cut off a switch back. We went too far and arrived at Gallagher Head Lake. We hung out a bit on some wooden benches taking in the scenery and getting cold. We altered our approach and headed cross country to the ridge to climb.

With some light bushwhacking we were on rocky slopes picking our way up the mostly solid terrain. With a few sections of third class rock, we were on the summit, taking in the views. We hung out for a while and then headed to the next "summit" on the ridge to the east. We continued to the next and then developed our plan to hike down a different way. A few loose third class bits got us down the ridge where we followed game trails down most of the way back to the trail. The slope was steep and loose and only got easier as we descended. I saw a fat garter snake on the way down and then we hit the trail and hiked out.

Scrambling the second summit (photo by Steve Machuga)

This was a fun trip and a good trip to do after the bruiser I had the previous day. It was fun to be out with Steve, and the summit of Esmerelda offers pretty nice views in all directions. It took almost as long to do the round trip drive as it did to climb the peak. Steve and I discussed how the book listed it as a T3, but we found it to be fairly easy with only a few steps of 3rd class. However, I am beginning to think that the technical scramble rating used also increases for navigational difficulty. But who knows. Yet another nice day out in the mountains.

My pics are here.

Mount Roosevelt - 04.17.10

Steve called me up Friday night and asked if I was doing something Saturday. I wasn't and he proposed a ski into Mount Roosevelt. The weather might be a little wet, but we weren't expecting great snow conditions either.

The great thing about living in Seattle is on one day, I can sow seeds in my vegetable garden, and the next I can be out skiing in the mountains. The next may bring rock climbing in 70° weather.

We headed out fairly early to the trail head, and were on our way around 7:15am. We were the only car in the upper Alpental lot when we left. We made fair time to Source Lake due to our inability to start really cold in the parking lot. The skin up the track was easy as it was not super icy and gave just the right amount of traction. We stopped at Source Lake to marvel at the avalanche debris now burying the lake. (It was not even completely frozen when Jennifer and I were there six weeks ago.)

Once leaving the lake we had difficulty setting a skin track in the wet snow. Steve had better luck, but I could not match the steepness of his track as my skins would not afford me the traction and I consequently kept sliding backward. After popping a ski off in some avy debris I bare booted up a steeper section before I put my skis back on and met up with Steve waiting for me. We made good time across the ridge and were soon de-skinning for the short descent to Snow Lake. Unfortunately I haven't been skiing much this Winter and it showed with my slowness and constant stopping. Once at the lake, we returned to skinning across the lake to Mount Roosevelt.

The snow on the lake was more firm and had a breakable crust. Cold air must get trapped down in the valley? We marveled at some rocky buttresses and some ice climbs that looked like they may still be climbable. On the other side of the lake we started uphill toward our objective. At some point I think Steve started getting frustrated with the near constant back slipping and looked at the time. It was 10:30. We made a decision to call it due to multiple factors. One was that we were going slow because of conditions. Second was that the skiing wasn't going to be all that good. And third, the snow conditions were becoming more hazardous with warming temperatures and impending rain. We decided to head up slope to some larger trees that would be our turnaround point. A brief food break and we were ready to descend. The rain had arrived and we knew the snow was only going to get worse for skiing.

We had a fairly enjoyable run back down to the lake before donning our skins and crossing it once more. (Steve roughly measured our lake crossing at a half hour.) We skinned back up to the ridge where it appeared to raining a bit heavier. Although never much more that a constant drizzle. We got to a high point on the ridge and had a fairly fun ski back down to Source Lake. The snow was getting wetter and many of our turns on steeper terrain resulted in small wet sloughs. Due to the avalanche debris above the lake, we had to do a side stepping traverse below the lake to get back on the track out. Once there we tried to maintain speed on our way out.

While I wasn't expecting great skiing on this trip, it was better than both of us had expected, and that was a good thing. Unfortunately, it just wasn't worth it to continue higher, especially after it started to rain.

Pics are here.

Heather Ridge - 04.04.10

After a mix up that left me home on Saturday, Steve invited me out for Sunday. He and his brother-in-law Tom had to be back for an Easter dinner, so the planned trip couldn't consume too much time. The decision was made to go to Heather Ridge and get in a run and then head home.

During the ride out I warned of my lack of backcountry skiing this winter and hoped I wouldn't slow the group down. Once out of the car, we geared up in the decidedly brisk weather and started to head up the road. The skin up was largely uneventful except for a moment where I lost the valve to my Camelbak. We were getting a later start, and there was already a highway of a skin track in. In what seemed like no time we were up at the lake and heading toward the ridge. We experienced some high winds on the way up, but they were mostly not present skinning near the lake.

Then we started to go up the ridge. The wind got worse, and we did some conservative movements to mitigate avalanche danger in the steeper open slopes. Once near the top of the ridge, we crossed over to the other side where we made a scary traverse on a slope that Steve measured at 54°. Once on the slope, it wasn't that bad as the angle reduced greatly after a short distance. While I didn't want to test my skills, I felt confident that I could probably ski out of an issue during the traverse. Once across the traverse we headed up again and then dropped back to the other side before gaining the ridge top and our descent location.

Fresh snow laid below us as we transitioned and took turns skiing once again to mitigate avalanche danger. (There were signs of avalanche danger, but our testing showed the slopes to be stable enough.) I took a more mellow line while Steve and Tom took a more aggressive line in the trees. We then all met up with a skin track heading back to the ridge where we transitioned and ate before heading back up to the saddle.

Over the saddle we skied with skins on down to the lake and then skinned across before removing our skins for the final trip out. The snow on this side was more wind blown and we went from tree skiing to taking the luge run (uphill skin track) out. Toward the bottom the track got fast and I accidentally managed to ski backward for a bit when I was trying to slow down. This resulted in my first ever backward ski and snow plow. Once I had the fronts of the skis pointed back downhill, it was a straightforward ski out from there.

It was nice that winter finally arrived here in April. This was definitely some of the best skiing I had done this winter. (Conditions, not my abilities.) It was great to get out, and I hope to get out again soon.

My pics are here.

Three O' Clock Rock - The Kone - 02.22.10

With the great weather Steve wanted to get out Monday. He was thinking the North Face of Chair, but when the trip reports started coming in over the weekend, we moved our sights to rock. Thankfully, as I had already climbed Chair this winter and wanted to get to Darrington and on the rock. We decided on The Kone, a five pitch route rated at 5.9. Steve's coworker Gene would also be joining us.

I picked up Steve and we met Gene in the Arlington Park and Ride. Gene drove the rest of the way. We had a casual start and even though it was after 9am by the time we got to the forest road, there was still plenty of frost in the deep valley. The car's outside temp gauge was reading around 34°F. We stopped at the parking area and headed up the trail. We arrived in short time and went about determining where The Kone started. Once we figured it out, we geared up and scrambled to the base where Gene took the first lead.

The climbing was a bit run out with bolts and a few opportunities for gear. I believe Gene placed only one alien during the pitch. The bolts and the anchor could be seen from the base of the route. I was the monkey in the middle tied into both ropes, so I followed and cleaned gear. When I got to the stance at top, I belayed Steve up. For the sake of rope management and expediency, Steve took the next lead.

The second pitch is a short run out pitch around 5.4. Steve figured he could combine it with the 5.9 third pitch and did. There was an option to take a 5.7 bypass around the overlap but Steve was having none of that. Soon he was bringing me up to the next belay. The belay was quite the hanging belay with little rests for feet. There was a fairly good sized knob that Steve kept imploring me to sit on to rest my feet. But I could not get comfortable and danced around the whole time I was at that stance. Once again due to racking and management, (and the lack of the stance to accommodate three people) when Gene arrived at the belay we sent him out to lead the fourth pitch.

The fourth pitch was a completely bolted affair and in no time Gene was bringing me up. When I arrived at Gene's stance, he suggested I lead the fifth pitch right now and after some rope rearranging, I was off to the final anchor. This was nice, as climbing was possibly slightly easier on my feet than the tight hanging belay station at the top of the third pitch. Once at the top, I was off belay and Gene brought Steve up the fourth pitch before I brought Gene up the fifth pitch. Gene then belayed Steve up the final pitch.

We then set about doing our rappels. The raps in Darrington are usually set up for a double 50m rope rappel. However, we had one 70m and one 55m rope and felt that some of the raps from this route could have been completed with just the 70m. Although I guess to be safe, it is best to stick with the double rope rappels. Not all the rap anchors were new either and there were definitely some museum pieces we were rapping off of. We backed up one set of slings with a new sling on one of the anchors as well.

After that, it was late afternoon, and we decided to call it a day. The climbing was fun and we had a good time. We noticed while we were there that Under the Bored Walk appeared to be rebolted with modern hardware. That is one I anticipate climbing some time this year. The Kone was 99% dry and it appeared other routes did have some seeps on them. It was nice to get out on the rock. In the sun it was beautiful and warm, but on the rappels, the sun went behind the ridge and the temp dropped. I was happy to get a lead in as I felt I climbed better on lead than following. (Which can often be the case for me.) The climbing was enjoyable and it was a route I would repeat, although not anytime soon. Also, the book stated small rack to 2.5". I think only two or three pieces of gear were placed on the route, and they were all aliens. So if you plan to do The Kone, bring a set of blue through red aliens and that should be all the gear you need.

My pics are here.

The Goatee - 12.14.09

Steve and I got out to climb some ice before the weather turned warmer. While the weather wasn't supposed to warm significantly until Wednesday, precip was in the forecast from Sunday on. And this meant possible burials of lower angle ice by snow. We headed out the Leavenworth where we knew there would be cold temps and less precipitation. (And more options for ice.)

Our original intent was to climb Hubba Hubba. But with the recent snowfall and the thin looking first 15', we decided in the car not to climb it and to head for a new route, The Goatee. This route has seen lots of traffic since its first ascent on December 5th. This is probably due to the moderate nature of the climb. The first ascentionists did the climb in three 70m pitches with the first two pitches being WI2 and the third being WI3. And there was a walk off as a bonus. (Although it appears reading the thread that many people had trouble with the walk off.)

We left the car at 10:30am for the long hike up the Snow Creek Trail. We spotted the route a little farther after we expected to, and continued a bit further to make sure we had the correct path up in the snow. After a few minutes of hiking we returned to the location where tracks left the trail assured that this was the correct way to the route. With recent snow coverage (including the few centimeters that fell the night before) the footing was difficult going up. We were watched by a few goats around the time we made it to the climb.

We actually skipped the first step. (bummer) And we started climbing just above it where I led out on a full rope length. This stretch could easily be simulclimbed all the way to the base of the WI3 pitch. Instead, we belayed it and I led it putting in three screws and then bringing Steve up. After Steve came up, he ran up the flat section for a rope length putting in one screw before setting up a belay at the bottom of the steep section. The ice conditions were great. There was a little slush on top from 2cms of snow from the previous night. The ice underneath it was plastic and took pics well.

In about an hour we were both under the crux pitch and we decided that I would lead up it part way and then set a belay so Steve could lead the rest to finish the climb. Due to our late start Steve suggested taking the easier ramp on the right side of the route. I wanted to get on something harder, and went nearly straight up where there were a few convenient ledges for me to set screws. The climbing was difficult. Not so much because of the steepness, but because of my difficulty to swing the tools and keep them parallel. At one point one of my tools pulled from the ice, but both of my feet and other tool stuck. It was a scary moment for both me and Steve. This section also dinner plated a bit and I took a few chunks of ice to the face during the lower steep section. After completing around half of the steep section I moved right and set up a belay. I had numerous difficulties with screws on this pitch because two I had tried to place earlier had ice plugs which I could not remove. And this pitch required one handed screw placements. The other reason for difficulties I am not sure, but I eventually sunk two 22cm screws for the anchor and started to bring Steve up.

Steve came up to my position after cutting his lip on ice he broke off during the pitch. We quickly re-racked gear and he was off to finish the steep section. He placed three screws during the final steeps and then after going out of sight on lower angle terrain he had me take him off belay. (It just was not possible to belay someone that quickly especially with the iced up rope.) After running the rope to the end he set a belay and brought me up.

We were one short step away from the walk off. But Steve encouraged me to go one step further thinking we could still walk off from that position. I hurried up the two steps and set a screw to belay Steve up to my position with a hip belay. (Our tube belay devices were practically useless with the iced up rope.) We assessed the situation and determined we would belay our "walk off" because we were too high and the terrain a bit sketchy with loose snow over rock.

Steve led out a bit and slung a bush and then disappeared out of sight. He put me on belay. As I was holstering my ice tools, I somehow managed to drop a screw down one step below me. I quickly rappelled off the screw anchor I had and then soloed back up the step after retrieving the dropped screw. I then tore down the anchor and started the mixed climbing over to Steve's location. This variation on the walk off really wasted time, and while Steve attempted to coil the frozen rope, I set about trying to find the true walk off. I followed foot prints in the snow until they started going too far skier's right (At least I thought.) Then we saw foot prints going back to the left and followed them. After a short distance I realized they were goat prints and not human, but opted to keep following them as I could see they would get us passed the first step.

By this time Steve was almost right behind me and we came to another step where it appears the goat stopped and realized it couldn't find a way down and turned around. We continued on the goat tracks to a gully and made our way through some bushes on the steep gully where Steve accidentally left behind a biner with three screws on it. Fortunately at this time I was behind him and picked it up. It was getting dark and these things would be more difficult to see in the coming moments. But shortly after coming out of the gully, we had rejoined the base of the route. Once we recognized our footprints from the morning, we stopped to put our gear away and put on our headlamps. This would keep us from accidentally dropping any more gear, and at this point we needed the headlamps to see our way out. It was also around this time that it started to snow harder as we made our way back down to the trail.

The hike out was uneventful. And Steve and I had discussed that neither of us had ever come out on that trail under daylight. We made quick time back to the car and were off back home.

This was a fun outing that would have went smoother had we got and earlier start. Now knowing the route, I would recommend belaying the first step (sometimes called a WI2+) and then simul climbing up to the base of the steep pitch. If we had more time, Steve and I were intrigued by the ice continuing up the gully for what looked like a few more fun steps. It was a nice and enjoyable climb and the best ice I have been on this season. I am hoping to see more like that before the end of winter. But for now, the snow is falling and it is time to get back on the skis.

Pics are here.

Exploration Day - 12.07.09

This was a day I was looking forward to since Thursday. Jennifer was sick all week and I was trying not to catch it while saving energy for Monday. The plan was to go climb ice. Steve and I had loosely coordinated on Friday and the initial goal was the North Face of Chair Peak. Temps have been silly cold. (With overnight lows in Seattle in the 20°s.) During the weekend I saw that someone had climbed it on Saturday. We were on. Until it snowed Sunday. Well that wouldn't totally deflate our plans, but being on the dark side of a mountain with the high temp at sea level around freezing sounded really cold to us. That added to the high winds and possible cornices and bombs that would await us at the top of the face. (The wind chill for Monday at Snoqualmie Pass was predicted to be -11°F.) Rather than hike out there and turn around, we decided on Sunday evening to give the South Gully of Guye Peak a try. There was less of a hiking commitment and the route is wind protected.

Heading up on the road

We had a bit of a late start, and arrived in a parking area on the Oberstrasse. The outside temp was 7°. It took a bit of effort to remove our heavy coats and start moving. At least the sun was out although we were in the woods immediately off the road. Soon we got on a forest road and heading in the general direction of the Southwest Rib. We left the road near the end and headed generally east under the rib. Going was not too difficult with bare boots as the snow pack was firm except for the fresh 5" from the previous day. (Steve and I were regretting not going out to ski instead as conditions were nice for that activity.) We finally arrived at what we believed to be the gully and did some checking to confirm this. However, the gully did not have much snow above our location and we started rethinking our plan. We hiked up to the area where there was less snow (which was in the sun.) The going was not as easy as previous with the increased slope angle we eventually donned crampons. We debated a bit, and then made the decision that climbing snowy rock and a possible loose 3rd class gully didn't sound appealing to us on this day. So we turned around.

Our high point in the gully

The hike out was uneventful, but we got a good look at Chair Peak and could see cornices and thanked ourselves for the decision not to head there. We made a plan that once we got to the car we would go take a look for ice at Alpental Falls. We made the short drive and hiked up the Snow Lake Trail to the falls. Most of the ice was there, but looked a bit fragile, or had running water behind it. While there, we heard a few icicles falling. It was midday and they were in the heat of the sun. We assumed they would look better in the morning.

Checking out the ice

We hiked northwest from that location and found a few short solid patches of ice that we would be willing to top rope from trees. (We had only brought three screws for Guye, so we didn't have the capacity to lead.) Steve then searched a gully while I hacked at the ice a bit to see how durable it was. Due to the deep cold, it wasn't as plastic as I would prefer for ice climbing, but it was solid and climbable. We poked around a little more without actually climbing anything and then headed to the parking lot. I took my watch off below the falls (which were no longer in direct sunlight) to gauge the temperature. By the time we reached the parking lot it was a mere 15°. Steve and I got in the car and headed out.

On the way home we checked out some other areas that we knew ice up and investigated their feasibility for later in the week. We will see.

While not the grand goal I had originally planned, it was a fun outing. We now know where to find the gully on Guye Peak and may return when there is better snow cover. For now, I am excited to get out and climb ice while the temps are low and there is no precip in the forecast.

Forbidden - 08.16-18.09

Part III
"More To Go"

It was already lighter when we arrived at the notch. We watched headlamps from a party at the lower basin camp start up to Sahale or Sharkfin. (We never did see where they went.) We wondered if they had noticed our lights on the ridge and what they thought was going on.

Then Steve set about making himself comfortable and took a snooze. I was too uncomfortable to sleep at first and after jostling about in different positions finally took a nap. Steve said I even snored. I awoke a half hour later.

Nap time (photo by Steve Machuga)

Then we watched the sky turn beautiful colors as the sun rose. I ate a bag of dried fruit and nuts and Steve had a few granola bars. We weren't quite ready to get moving, so we lounged until the sun hit a feature we were calling "The Scottish Arete."

Having gotten some rest, we headed out slowly and methodically back down to camp. In our tired condition, we knew there would be a few cruxes on the way to camp. The first was getting around the chock stone at the top of the gully. This proved to be no issue and we were now making our way down the slabs and loose rock. We reached the bottom of the gully and got on the snow. Steve felt comfortable with a standing glissade. I put crampons on and walked quickly down the snow. (I just wasn't feeling confident in the boots I had chosen.)

We got back onto rock in the lower gully and navigated our way down to the next crux. On the way up we made an uncomfortable step onto the slab from a snow lip on the lower snowfield. I was sure there was no way to make this step after the previous day's melting. That would mean we would have a choice of climbing down either of two short waterfalls. When we arrived, Steve probed it out and made a step onto a lower portion of the final slab before making the big step out onto the snow. It didn't look that safe to me so I hesitated before finally making a large gentle step onto the snow. We crossed that short bit of snow and then gained the slabs again before jumping back onto snow down to camp.

Once in camp we quickly went about filtering water to drink. It was nice and cold snow melt and I drank enough to give me brain freeze. We lounged again at the stream dipping our feet in the water and dreading the coming hike out. After a while we made our way back to the tent to pack up and head out.

The flies were horrible at the tent and it made packing difficult. In my already weakened mental state the flies were the final straw. I was running about trying to kill any that came near me. It was an ordeal. We packed as quickly as possible and hoped that once we left the camp area we would be rid of the pesky insects.

Our hope faded as we had to negotiate a grassy moraine littered with Marmot dens and scat. The flies were even worse. There were brief moments hiking down the basin where there was a faint wind or even cooler temps and seemingly no flies. Then we would encounter another area, like the lower stream crossings and be swarmed again.

Once through the stream crossings we made it to the woods and through the avalanche debris fields. Constantly in and out of swarms of flies. At one point during the heaviest bushwhack area of the trail the flies were so thick I looked like Pig Pen from Peanuts with the swarm around me. Steve said he could see dozens landing all over his clothes. When we escaped that area, I told Steve I was close to a nervous breakdown. He said that me running down the trail screaming "Cannot stop! Must keep moving!" was a sign of a partial breakdown. I agreed and knew that the worst was behind us.

About 20 minutes later we were back at the car. We found a note from the rangers on the windshield stating "Steve and Gilbert: Your party has been reported passed due. Please check into the ranger station when you receive this note. A search party is being sent." We packed the car quickly and drank some more water before heading out.

The drive on Cascade River Road always seems longer than it should be. I understand that it is a 23 mile mostly dirt road with a 35mph speed limit, but it just seems to go on forever. Once out, we made right for the ranger station and reported in. We were told someone was just sent out to look for us and we presumed it was the ranger truck heading up the road as we came out. After leaving the ranger station we called our contacts to let them know we were alright. Apparently the rangers had gotten to that first in some cases. Then it was time for the long drive home.

This was another exciting experience in the mountains and was a good learning experience.

I think both Steve and I learned some lessons this weekend:

One of which is that the two of us actually get tired. (Which may be hard for others to believe.) I think if we had not done South Early Winter Spire on Saturday, the Forbidden trip would have played out completely different. We would have been fresh and moving faster without all the lethargic delays. I cannot say for sure this would have kept us on route during the climbing, but it probably would of had us moving faster on route, as well as the approach. It may also have made us more at ease with the rock quality and exposure.

Another lesson has to do with emergency contacts and when to call in a passed due. This was partially a flub because we had changed our plans a few times, so it wasn't exactly set in stone when we left Edmonds. That caused the timing to be off, and created a panic regarding our return time. In retrospect, it appears that Steve and I may not have even been on the same page regarding when authorities should be contacted. While Steve and I had no idea that a rescue was initiated, this incident has made me strongly consider the use of a Spot.

A funny thing about the "rescue" was that when we arrived at the ranger station the ranger behind the desk said they could have initiated the search earlier if we had used the climbing register. (We had neglected to, probably due to our fluid plans.) I thought at the time this was funny as I didn't even think the rescue needed to be initiated at all and that starting it earlier was a waste of time and resources.

The route itself was interesting. I don't know if I'd recommend it, as I was not a big fan of the rock quality. (Well, at least the quality of the protection.) It is also the sort of route people seek for the exposure, which is not a reason I usually seek out routes. There were only a few memorable climbing segments on the route, so it is also not a route to seek out if you want to get into some climbing. However, the setting is hard to beat with numerous 8000' peaks nearby and many small and a few large glaciers tucked here and there. I'd have to admit to loving downclimbing the ridge in the dark as well. It is truly spectacular to be on a beautiful mountain like Forbidden and watch the sun set, the stars rise, and eventually give way to the sun again. It was something we obviously didn't plan to do, but the trip was enriched because of it. It was a wonderful experience that I shall never forget.

I think I learned a few things about my ability to stay alert and focused after being up all of the night. (Partial thanks to Powerbar Gel with Caffeine.) I'll probably always look back on this trip fondly even though the result was not what Steve and I were looking for.

And Steve and I still have not done the West Ridge, so perhaps we'll have to go back for that and see if it lives up to the popularity.

Once again, pics are here.

Forbidden - East Ridge Direct - 08.16-18.09

Part II
"The Descent"

Steve's glory from the summit (photo by Steve Machuga)

Josh and Matt had told us that it took them about one and half hours to get back to the notch from the summit using the East Ledge descent. They said it was five rappels and then there were cairns on each rib on the traverse back. Most people avoid this descent because as Nelson states "climbers find this 3rd and 4th class descent route to be loose and stressful." Josh and Matt gave us confidence that we should have no problems with it. Plus at 7pm our only other option was to continue down the west ridge, which could not have been faster. If all went well, we should be back at the notch before the sun set.

Steve belayed me quickly back to the summit rap anchor. This was a mess of old slings on a horn on the ridge. The horn appeared sound enough, but we decided to add a sling as all the slings seemed old and tattered. The first rappel appeared to be the steepest. And we could see the next two rap stations from there.

I headed out first careful not to put too much weight on the anchor. About halfway down, Steve yelled to hurry up as it was 7:20pm. We made it to the next anchor which was no less scary than the top anchor and proceeded to rappel. A few raps down and we had difficulty finding the next rap stations. Steve led off on the next rap while I stashed the rack in the pack. By the time we were done with five raps it was a little dark and we could not see any cairns on the first rib. A lot of the beta and the climbeing ranger stated that the big mistake most people make is not descending enough. So, we made a sixth rap.

Still no sign of a cairn on the rib, we decided to head east. Perhaps we'd see it on the next rib? While not fully dark, it was a little too dark to see anything resembling a ledge that is what the route is supposed to traverse. So we carefully picked our way east as the sun set on us. We headed to what appeared to be a cairn on perhaps the second rib over but the ground got too difficult to reach it. (So we assumed it was not correct.) We saw a rap anchor nearby and were able to reach that. Anchored in, we rested our minds a bit, but wanted to keep moving. Now under head lamp, we made another rappel. Steve liked what he saw at the bottom and told me to come down. Once at the end of the rope, there were some larger, more comfortable ledges to stand on. We eyed the next rib and saw easier terrain going to it. We headed toward it.

Once on the rib, we identified a cairn. We were on route. But now it was dark and losing the route could be easy. The terrain and especially the ribs were rocky with many horns and blocks. A cairn could easily hide among all the other spikes on the rib. We continued slowly eastward toward the next rib. The night scrambling was stressful. We took a few minor breaks on larger ledges to rest our brains and take in the beauty of the sky. Unfortunately, there were no spots suitable for a bivy. No ledges were large enough to really sit or lay on, and none offered anchors to tie into. With a possibility of rockfall, our safest option was to keep moving off this technical terrain.

We neared the next rib and could see what looked like a cairn. But by headlamp it could also have been just a horn. We discussed it a bit. Then we headed toward it. It was yet another cairn. We were still on track!

We attempted to maintain a level crossing to the next rib. Going was slow. We kept looking up to the ridge to see if we were under the "solitary gendarme" that marks the start of the route. We reached the next rib to find another cairn. We were still on route and we appeared to be under the gendarme. Time to head up.

Having talked to the ranger and Josh and Matt they all stated that most people take the gully back up to the notch, but that it is preferred to stay on the rib just west of the gully as it is easier terrain. But where we were currently the gully offered the best terrain and we started our upward climb on grassy ledges and blocks. People had clearly been this way, but it did not necessarily look like a well traveled path. After some distance upward, we regained the rib again as that offered easier terrain. We were getting excited. The climbing was getting more stressful. The last bits to the ridge crest were probably low 5th class that we had to solo to make it to the top. Once there, our hearts sank. We headed up too early. We were at the location that marked the end of our fourth pitch earlier that day. (Or technically the day before.)

It was around 1:30am and we had four pitches to climb to return to the relative safety of the notch. We were out of water and hadn't drank any in hours. Nor would we be anywhere soon where we could replenish. We could build an anchor and huddle together until daylight, or we could climb out while we still were running on adrenalin. We sat about a bit admiring the stars and lights of Bellingham before making a decision. (Who knew you could see Forbidden from Bellingham?) The ridge was cold and windy, we wouldn't get any real rest, so we decided to climb. We both felt relief to finally be anchored back into the mountain again.

Steve suggested we lead the same pitches we led earlier as we may remember them. (It seemed like a week ago that we were on the ridge in the daylight. It made our South Early Winter Spire climb seem like last month!) I told him I remembered this pitch to be exposed. He told me it wouldn't matter as you couldn't feel the exposure in the dark.

So I took the rack out of the pack and racked up to lead a pitch on the ridge in the dark. As my headlamp illuminated the terrain it came back to me. Climb over this horn, traverse this rib, over another horn. I was determined to get it done. I stumbled upon the anchor where Steve belayed me on the pitch earlier. It was a sling someone left there. (Perhaps from retreating?) I backed it up with a cam set in what appeared to be a solid crack and yelled "Steve, off belay!" Later we would find it funny that we were using our names being the only people on the mountain. I brought Steve in and we contemplated the next pitch.

We were on top of the first large gendarme on the route. The way off was a steep 5.7 downclimb. We couldn't exactly see which way would continue on the ridge or start us down the face. Luckily for me it was Steve's turn to lead out. Unluckily for me it meant that I would follow the downclimb, which means I would have the danger of leading it. I told Steve to place gear early and often. He led off down the gendarme and off to where his headlamp darted about a bit here and there. Steve was low on gear and trying to build a suitable anchor. After a while of his headlamp darting, he finally yelled "off belay." And I was on my way.

When we were both on top of the gendarme, we contemplated numerous scenarios to get down it. One of which was both of us rapping off the anchor on top. (I told him I didn't like the anchor enough for that.) Another was for him to lead off on the down climb and for me to set up a top rope on the anchor to down climb it. This still relied on the top anchor too much and would also mean leaving gear. A similar option was to rappel off the top anchor after Steve down-climbed the pitch. If the top anchor failed, the top piece of gear should hold my fall. Well, we (or was it I) decided that downclimbing made the most sense. Assuming I didn't fall, there would be no reliance on gear. So I started down.

The climbing down the gendarme was marked by short difficult moves with good stances to finish. Steve placed gear so I would be roughly at a piece for the more difficult moves and should be able to still reach high to remove the gear at the good stances. I got to the first piece, a slung horn, and downclimbed below it. I had difficulty removing it and was about to leave it when I finally had success. Down to the next piece I continued. This continued for a bit until I got to a large slung block. Steve yelled up, "Leave the triple if you have to." I pulled the carabiner off the sling and used it as a hold to climb the next section. A few more lower angle moves and I was at Steve's position ready to continue.

I took what he had left of the rack and didn't bother to trade out the backpack and I continued down. The going was steep. I didn't remember this as well as the previous bits. Then I found a rock with a scar on it that Steve "was heading for" on his first pitch the previous day. I was on track. A bunch of steeper moves and I was back at the belay from the top of our first pitch. I brought Steve down and he arrived at my location with the sentiment that down climbing is hard. Yes, especially in the dark. We discussed where he should head. (We both figured walkable terrain was not too far below us.) And he headed out.

After a few slower moments I was paying out rope quickly. Steve reached walking terrain. Now he had to find an anchor. He built an anchor and belayed me in. We were back at the notch with our stashed gear.

It was around 4:30am and we had been moving for 22 hours straight. Shortly after reaching the notch we heard rock/icefall lower down. We decided to wait until daylight to continue. It was nice to be out of rock shoes for the first time in 19 hours. We put all our clothes on, and just hung out at the notch, glad to be on safer terrain.

My pics are here.

Forbidden - East West Traverse - 08.16-18.09

EPIC!
Part I
"The Summit"

The original plan was to climb Forbidden Peak as an east to west traverse so that we could climb the west ridge and avoid the late season difficulties associated with it. We got a late start in Washington Pass and packed up slowly and did some sight seeing. We ate lunch in Marblemount and finally got under way. As soon as we were hiking the Boston Basin bushwhack, I mean trail, we knew what we were getting into. It turns out we were both fairly tired from climbing South Early Winter Spire the day before and we were feeling it.

Sorting gear for Forbidden (photo by Steve Machuga)

On the way in we passed Josh and Matt who were coming down from a climb of the Direct East Ridge. We chatted a bit and got beta for the descent of the East Ledges. It was probably there that I made the decision in my head that we would probably only do the east ridge and then descend the ledges although I may not have expressed it to Steve at that time. After chatting a bit we continued on and discussed the option of descending the ledges. After some difficult water crossings in the basin, we were finally in the upper basin and setting up camp three hours after we left the car.

We pumped some water from a nice stream, and made dinner. We prepped for the next day and decided on a wake up time of 5:30am. (Josh and Matt had told us they left camp at 5:30.) We had a bit of difficulty getting to sleep because we kept thinking we were hearing female voices. This may have been true as another tent was there in the morning (About 100m downhill from our location) that wasn't there when we went to bed.

Just before the alarm went off there was some rock/ice fall on the mountain. I jumped up to make sure we were not in danger. My commotion woke Steve up and he promptly went back to sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well and mulled about in my sleeping bag for the next 15 minutes until the alarm went off. Once the alarms went off, Steve and I decided to rest in another 15 minutes or so before actually getting out of the tent. [Can you already count the many signs of an epic?] We ate breakfast, used the toilet and left camp at 6:30am.

We had good information from Josh and Matt about the problem they had on the approach and made quick time up the slabs to the snow and eventually the gully. We arrived at the notch at the base of the route around 8:30 or so. In keeping with the epic theme, we dawdled at the base for some time (including Steve needing another "bathroom break" before starting the route.) During our delay we made the decision not to down climb the west ridge. We knew we were both tired and we weren't moving that fast coming up from camp.

We eventually started climbing at 10am and I took the first lead. The first bits were 3rd class and then it got somewhat harder where I had to negotiate a few small gendarmes. Since good protection was scarce, I looked for a viable anchor location after I had about half the rope out. I wound up slightly off the crest of the ridge on the south side and was probably slightly off route. Steve made his way over to me and then slowly made about leading the next pitch.

Steve had to regain the ridge crest first and then make his way up the first significant gendarme on the ridge. This section is listed at 5.7 in the guides and that would probably be correct. It was slow going as route finding was not obvious, but more so because protection was difficult. Once finding an suitable anchor location, Steve brought me up. Two hours had passed since we started climbing and I knew that we were in for a long day. Being the optimist, I thought our speed would improve now that we got a feel for the climbing and we were back on route. So we continued on.

Following the second pitch (photo by Steve Machuga)

I led a short exposed pitch along the ridge crest with easy climbing before I got to and area that looked like it may be difficult to find an anchor in. So I went with the option I had present. (Which still felt pretty desperate to me.) I brought Steve over and we discussed the next pitch. We were a short distance from the next major gendarme which can be bypassed on the north side of the ridge. Steve led off around some minor obstacles before taking a path of least resistance on the north side of the ridge. After using up all the rope, I began to simul climb behind him as we both wound up north of the ridge proper. We continued to climb on the north side for some distance on loose dirty ledges until Steve hit a spot where he could build a reliable belay. He then belayed me to his location.

I started out on the second leg of this traverse over a rib and onto more slab like terrain heading for the notch between the last two gendarmes. It seemed we were a bit low and as I headed back up, the terrain was better for climbing and protecting. I could see I wouldn't make it to the notch in one rope, so when Steve told me I had used half the rope, I built a suitable anchor. He then led off to the notch on a full rope length and brought me up. Having looked at the rap on top of the last gendarme, I can say I am glad we decided to bypass it. (Scary overhanging rappel off a rock horn.)

Climbing up to the notch (photo by Steve Machuga)

Anchor options weren't great at the notch, and it took Steve a long while to build an anchor using a few pieces and a few natural options. This was the crux overhanging 5.8 step. I had already told him he was leading it, so we switched positions and he headed out. The step looked scary and Steve had a hard time believing it went the way it did. He tried to scope out other alternatives to it, but then faced the fact that it did go up that steeply. Steve confidently led up the steep face and began to look for a suitable belay anchor. (I told him it better be solid before starting the pitch.) He went a bit further before he built an anchor. I climbed the steep section which was pretty wild, but easier than it looked. Although it had a very funky move where you had to stand on a wobbly block in order to make a move. After reaching the belay, I was off again.

Topping out on the 5.8 (photo by Steve Machuga)

I led out a bit on what is supposed to be 5.2 terrain to the summit. It was mostly on the crest and upon approaching a minor step, with a sling on top, I set up a belay. (I mistook that to be the summit, but was unsure.) I brought Steve up to my location and he led out for the summit.

My last lead up the East Ridge (photo by Steve Machuga)

He reached the summit and set up and anchor to belay me up. I joined him at the summit around 7pm. Clouds were blowing up out of Boston Basin and blowing down the north side of the mountain. There was the smell of smoke. (We presumed the clouds were related to forest fires.) The wind was cold and we snapped a few pics before rapidly going about the rappels...

Summit shot (photo by Steve Machuga)

My photos are here.

South Early Winter Spire - SW Rib - 08.15.09

Elevation Gain: 2600'
5 miles RT
Left car: 11:15 am
Summit: 7:30 pm
Back at car: 10:00 pm
11 hours car to car

Steve and I planned a big climbing weekend. We didn't finalize our objectives until a few days before the weekend. The first leg would be an attempt on the Southwest Rib of South Early Winter Spire. Our plan was to climb South Early on Saturday, and then head to Cascade Pass to climb Forbidden on Sunday/Monday.

We had a casual start from Seattle on Saturday and arrived at the Blue Lake trail head in the late morning. Temps were cool, and it was a bit cloudy. We made awesome time to the base where we ate lunch and started to gear up. (And Steve took a "bathroom break".) There was a party on route ahead of us and they were a few pitches up. We hung our remaining gear in the tree, and headed up the direct start. [Using the description from Weekend Rock.]

Steve led off on the first pitch which was a loose and not easily protected corner. He went a little off route at one point (he called it the 5.10 variation) and was finally at the belay. I followed and found the pitch a struggle, and mostly unenjoyable. The off route variation took me some time to complete as I couldn't manage the moves Steve did and did an even different variation. This off route issue on the first pitch burned a lot of time for us, (Steve thought over and hour) but we weren't too concerned.

I led off on the next pitch which was short and if we didn't go off route on the first pitch, probably could have been combined with it. This short pitch was a moderate crack that brought you up to the next belay just below a major flake that is the following pitch. We changed over leads and Steve was on his way.

This crack is wider and has an interesting design to it with a large edge as its left side. The crack was fairly steep, and Steve headed up it straddling the flake with one leg on the face and one in the crack. There was much grunting. (Not as much as from the woman who was ahead of us-I think she was actually crying at one point.) Steve made his way up and commented about the amount of blood on the rock. He combined the pitch with the following pitch and started to bring me up. I climbed the crack with both feet in for the initial part, and then about 1/3 of the way up I used the flake for feet as my feet were killing me from jamming them in the crack. The last third of the pitch you come out and lie back the final portion. Exciting to go from the relative security of the crack out on to the face. The second pitch of this link up was a wide crack in a slab.

Top of the fourth pitch (photo by Steve Machuga)

It was my turn to lead the next pitch which was a slab pitch. It starts out by going around a corner and then up a nice slab with some exposure. The book description said somewhat runout, but it was oddly only runout for the crux, which in the book was stated as being "an exciting step to the right." It was a fun pitch and I set a gear belay at the base of the bear hug cracks and brought Steve up.

Rounding the corner to gain the slab (photo by Steve Machuga)

Since I had told Steve at the base that I wanted to lead the bear hug cracks, he let me lead this next pitch as well. This was a super enjoyable pitch where you head up a short crack that brings you to a small ledge at the bottom of wide double cracks. They took a touch of effort to get on, but once on them, I found the climbing easy. What was not particularly easy was protecting them. We had brought a #5 Camalot just for this pitch (although we used it on 2-3 other pitches as well.) The bear hug cracks were too wide for the #4 and so I had to move the #5 up with me at least once. Just above the cracks I was able to get in a #4 and then proceeded up a ramp to the next belay, where I brought Steve up.

Bear Hug Cracks (Photo by Steve Machuga)

Steve led out on the next bit and then we started simul-climbing. (This was roughly pitches seven and eight.) He belayed me up to just below the bunny ears, and then I led a short bit to the rap anchor at the bunny ears. We rapped off the scary (freestanding block) anchor into the notch. Then Steve led the final pitch up to the summit area. It was a fun little crack that brought you up to near the summit. Since it was late in the day and clouds seemed to be rolling in, we bypassed the summit block and started our way down the South Arete.

Bottom of pitch 7 (photo by Steve Machuga)

We scrambled most of the the descent until we got to one of the chimneys. We opted to rappel at the rap station there and that is where we were joined by another party who had just topped out on an east face route. One of the guys, Blake, scrambled down to me and set up the next rappel at the next chimney and rapped down. They allowed us to use their rope and I rapped it to find Blake scrambling down to the base. One of his partners came down and said "its only 5.0 right?" and started scrambling the final bit as well. His other partner showed up with another rope and we rappelled to the base. The one partner who started scrambling got a bit sketched and rapped the last bit before Steve could finally rap down.

Once on the ground, we returned to our packs at the base, turned on our headlamps and hiked out.

Overall this was a great climb. Although it was 5.6, the first pitch was no doubt the crux for us. (Were we off route the entire time?) It was loose, not well protected, and strenuous. There were three really enjoyable (dare I say great?) pitches on the route and some other good pitches as well. While clouds threatened all day, they mostly stuck to bothering the nearby peaks like Silver Star and Cutthroat. It was windy and cool on route, but we did have brief moments of sun.

My pics are here.

A Wet Day - 08.10.09

Steve and I planned our third consecutive Monday to be at Three O'Clock Rock again. But weather was looking to thwart us and made us think of heading to Leavenworth to climb The Mole with only a 20% chance of precip there. After contemplating the two hour drive and the possibility of getting rained out after hiking six miles, we decided to take our chances with the 70% chance of rain on the west side. So we headed to Darrington with the hope we could get a few pitches in before the rain started.

We didn't even make it to Darrington before we saw ominous clouds and wet roads. Just before reaching Darrington, it started to rain on the car. It was now time for "Plan B." Steve and I discussed this possibility the night before and decided that if it started to rain we would do a reconnaissance mission to see if we could find some slabs worthy of climbing.

This mission started years ago when Steve was on a hiking trip and saw some potential slabs for climbing in a valley. So, before long, we were driving the Mountain Loop Highway heading for the trail head.

Once arriving we set out on the trail and then veered off at an opportune moment to head to the valley of our choice. It was raining, however lightly, from the moment we parked the car. The rain barely made it through the thick forests of the area, and the trail stayed dry in the woods. Once breaking out of the woods to avalanche deposition areas, we were both in shell jackets and remained that way until back at the car.

Once out of the woods, we could also barely see our objective. Low clouds hung in the valley as we pushed our way through 6' high vegetation. While it was not raining hard, the bushwhacking was causing us to get soaked. Well, at least our pants as we had shell jackets on.

After a period of time we got to talus that led up to the slab. We rock hopped a bit before reaching the toe of the slab. Unfortunately, there wasn't a good view of the slab from this point as a good sized roof blocked our view of the upper slabs. So we made a sketchy traverse through some vine maples to our right to get a better look. We arrived at a nice boulder and viewed the slab, but we still wanted better views. So we traversed a bit more to our right where we took a few pics and examined the slab a bit.

Then we started heading back. We traversed back a bit lower which did not seem as sketchy as the original traverse. We were heading to a spot that looked like a trail, but at least would be another good vantage point to view the slab. When we got over there, it was not quite a trail, but we realized humans had been there before. There was plenty of iron ore on the ground, and so I poked around thinking there may be a mine present. After following the trail of ore uphill, I came to an old mine. We viewed it briefly, and Steve even went inside a few feet before we gained access to the slab. We took a few more pictures and discussed possible lines up the slab. Then we retreated back to the woods. It was difficult to find our way out a bit in the high brush, but eventually we made it back out to the trail. A short time later, we were back at the car eating a late lunch and taking off wet clothes.

Overall it was a productive trip. I think if it was not raining, we would have given the slab a go. We'd probably try to give it a go without bolting as we think it can be protected with gear and natural protection. It looks like we can manage about four pitches and there are plenty of tree rappel options if we need to bail or rappel from the top. As for the climbing, it looks like typical PNW slabbing. The rock had a great texture and most of the slab was fairly clean. Being we could find little to no information about these slabs in books or the internet, we are not sure if we would be making first ascents on this slab. Having said that, we did not see evidence of the slabs having been climbed. Not that we got the best look with binoculars from the base, but there were no slings or pitons evident from where we stood. If people did climb it, it is probably few and far between. If we get a good period of dryness, I'm sure we'll be back to give it a go.

My pics are here.

Three O'Clock Rock - Silent Running - 08.03.09

Steve and I made our second weekly trip to Darrington to Three O' Clock Rock. This time to climb Silent Running (II, 5.10a/b.) We got there a bit earlier this time and welcomed the cooler temps.

Now, prepared with watches we were able to make the hike to the base in 30 minutes. (It also only took us 1.5 hours from Steve's house to the trail head.) After reaching the base we started gearing up. Then Steve led out on the first pitch. This was agreed on earlier to give Steve the lead on the final crux pitch which he had not previously climbed.

The first pitch was nearly a rope length of easy climbing. (Almost running up the slab.) Steve brought me up and it was time for the second pitch where the difficulty increased significantly. Well, at least you had to be weary of where you put your feet, and there was no more running. I led the second pitch on some nice friction moves where it got harder through the last two bolts to the belay. I arrived at a nice belay ledge, and brought Steve up.

Steve got the lead on the next 5.9 pitch which started out with what looked to be great rock. However, it was polished and slippery. Foot placements were critical through the first four bolts or so. Then the route moved right a bit and the traction was phenomenal. Completely different character for the second part of the pitch. I followed him up and was off on to the next pitch.

From this pitch on, the first bolt was often a bit off the belay. (In this case, about 10-12'.) After clipping a few bolts, I could no longer see any above me and in a shaky stance decided to look at the topo. In the difficult stance for viewing, I accidentally looked at the following pitch which moves right after a few bolts. Since I could not see any bolts, I started to move right where people had clearly been before. After I moved right, I was stuck out on a ledge and could see the "next" bolt up and to my left about 15' or so. (There was a hidden piton that I could not see about 10' above the last point I was on route.) So I yelled to Steve about getting back on route. I put a cam in a weak flake and decided to head straight up to a ledge system that would bring me to the last bolt on the pitch. The climbing was easy up to the ledges, but was unprotectable. After going up about 20' I put another cam in a flake, and started leftward on the ledge system to get back on route. After crossing the ledge, I used some quartz dikes to gain the bolt and return to the pitch. The final climbing of the pitch went up a fun small gear protectable lie back past a bush to the anchor. Once at the anchor, I could see where I went wrong. Steve pointed out to me the piton as he made his way up my off route excursion.

Steve led off on the next pitch which was more of the same to start with, then some climbing up some creaky flakes to get to the anchors.

The penultimate pitch is where the fun really started. I led off up and over an overlap and mostly easy terrain while moving leftward. Then the the slab steepens. There is a section of steeper slab with widely spaced (10+') bolts going up. The bolts are closer to the left of this narrow slab near an inviting grassy corner. When I first arrived at the steeper section, it looked as though the right hand side would also work, but reaching the bolts may have been difficult. So I followed the bolt line up friction moves to another overlap and a piton. I clipped the piton and worked my way over the final overlap to the anchor, a hanging belay. I brought Steve up to my position and we readied the rack for the next pitch. (The guidebook stated gear to 4" for the final pitch, so we pulled out the 3 & 4" cams, but Steve didn't need them.)

Steve left the belay to clip the first bolt on the final pitch. There were a few moves on a slab protected by a bolt before having to surmount a double overlap. The first overlap was not as high, and was protected by a bolt. The second was stepped, and higher and needed to be traditionally protected. Steve made his way through the overlaps and I asked him if he felt they were the .10b portions. He didn't think so. He continued up onto a slab where he took on a bolt before reaching the final flake. He told me his feet had had enough and he needed a rest. After resting on the rope briefly, he made the easy moves to the flake and was shortly at the belay. I found the moves through the overlaps to be difficult and required me to bounce to make the moves. They were high steps and required manteling as there were no holds above the overlaps. Once past the overlaps, I used any possible rests before gaining the slab that tired out Steve's feet. I moved up the slab quickly and deliberately. I was soon at the fun flake moves to finish the route. Once there, we set up our rappel and started rapping the route.

The rappels were uneventful, except for a serious lapse in judgement on my part where we reached one of the larger rap ledges and I forgot to clip in before undoing my rappel. That will never happen again! Yipe.

I liked this route better than Total Soul from last week. I think the line was more logical and the final two pitches were really 3 star. (Maybe four.) At times Silent Running seemed more run out than Total Soul, but it was usually on easier ground. It is a slightly shorter and easier route, so it is a little quicker to finish than Total Soul if you have less daylight to work with. It was more enjoyable too, because last week's "warm up" on Total Soul made the moves on Silent Running pretty familiar to me and it feels like I may have gotten rid of the rust from not climbing for a while.

On the way down (rapping and the drive out) we discussed with each other that it seemed darker than the previous week. We knew we were getting out a little earlier and there were no clouds in the sky. We couldn't understand why. I thought maybe because it was so hot the previous week, that being in the shade did not make a difference. It wasn't until we got back into Darrington that we had our answer. There was a fire on the other side of Whitehorse Mountain. We had seen the forest service helicopter in the morning at a makeshift helipad near highway 530. (But there were no signs of smoke in the morning.) We stopped to see it landing and it appears there were fire fighters from Targhee NF on the scene. After snapping a few pics, we drove home.

Fire on the Mountain

My pics are here.

Three O'Clock Rock - Total Soul - 07.27.09

Steve and I finally coordinated to get some climbing done. The goal was to head out to Darrington and get in a slabtastic time on the nice granite. We talked Sunday night and decided that our second attempt on Dreamer could wait, and we would head to 3 O' Clock Rock to see if we could accomplish multiple routes. We were headed there with the intent of climbing Total Soul (III, 5.10b?) and Silent Running (II, 5.9+?).

We got a late start and arrived at the trail head with no time pieces. We made quick time up the trail and stopped briefly to marvel at some cut tree trunks and a still standing western red cedar that had a 10'+ diameter at the base. Once at the base of the slabs, we made our way to the Total Soul route.

(Photo by Steve Machuga)

As we geared up, we discussed lead options, and I told Steve it didn't matter, I'd have to lead a 5.10 pitch no matter how we split them. So I told him to combine the first two pitches and give me the lead on the third pitch (a 5.7) so that could be my warm up lead. (Using the "Weekend Rock" topos.)

Looking down from two pitches up. (Photo by Steve Machuga)

Apparently I did need the warm up because after struggling to overcome one of the overlaps on the lower 5.9 section, I pulled on the draw to get over it. My lead went smoothly and soon Steve was leading the fourth pitch where the difficulty started to increase.

Starting the third pitch (Photo by Steve Machuga)

This was probably the hottest time on the slab as well. The sun was hitting us directly and we were lower and there was less of a breeze. The fourth pitch was some climbing that followed a quartz dike up with a minor crack system. For whatever reason, it was really hard on the feet and both of us had painful feet from that pitch on. (My feet didn't fully recover until getting a night of sleep.) To add insult to injury, the belay at the top of the pitch was an uncomfortable hanging belay. Fortunately for me, I was moving on to the next lead. Unfortunately, that meant not resting my feet or toes for the 5.10 pitch.

The next pitch starts interestingly enough with a few moves up an overlap to a branch pull and onto some ledges. From the ledges there are two variations; a line of bolts on the left (5.10b) or some on the right (5.10d.) The right looked easier at first, but then looked to be featureless steep slab. After contemplating the right, I choose the left line. I was able to clip the bolt and was attempting to move out left to start up, but couldn't maintain traction with my left foot. After a few balks, I went for it and slipped and fell. (I was at the bolt, so not really a lead climb.) I grabbed the draw to get back on, and then was able to climb through this crux cleanly to a small flake where the going got a bit easier. The pitch finished moving right again, so I experienced a bit of rope drag as I had not anticipated that directional change. After the move right, I went up through a bush to the next belay. (Looking at the Nelson book this morning, he has the ledge labeled "ant farm ledge" which would explain why I had ants crawling up my legs for the duration of this belay.)

Steve leading the second 5.10 pitch

I brought Steve up where he rested his feet on the nice ledge and cursed his luck for having drawn the hanging belays. This would also be the point we were both ran out of water. (Did I mention it was hot? On the drive home, the outside temp was hovering around 90°F. We did have more water waiting for us at the base of the climb though.)

After a short rest, Steve headed out on another challenging pitch. It started out easy enough following some features up to some overlaps. After one overlap the crux moves came climbing on top of a left facing shallow dihedral. Steve paused for a while before finally working out the moves. I kept a keen eye on him and was quick to arrest a fall should he have one. He clipped the second bolt and kept moving. Unbeknown to me, it somehow became unclipped and he used it to clip the third bolt on this steep smooth slab. When I arrived at these moves it took a bit of time to move off a small ledge on the first moves. I could see the minor bulges in the slab on where I wanted to put my feet, but the first right foot felt insecure. After finally deciding on a feature I moved up, only to slip off onto the ledge. Another attempt and I nailed it, keeping my upward progress going as the slab was thin and the climbing uncomfortable on my feet. I arrived at the next hanging belay panting and in considerable foot pain. Rather than stop at the uncomfortable belay, we quickly changed the rack and I headed out onto easier (5.8) ground.

Surmounting the overlap (Photo by Steve Machuga)

This pitch turned out to be the most wandering of the climb and somewhat varied. There was some initial thin moves to a small ledge with a small bush on it. After traversing left on the ledge there was a large overlap to surmount. Since the overlap was large, I couldn't bring my feet too far under it to get over it, which meant a bit of a high step to make it up. After going through a bunch of options, I got my left foot as high as it could go, and then put my right foot on the lowest lip of the overlap. With some manteling, I was up and moving onto the rest of the pitch. This was also the most gear intensive pitch and I placed about three cams and one nut. (I also somehow dropped my #2 Camalot down to pitch 2, so I'll have to replace that when I get the money. Not sure how it fell, as I wasn't even going for a piece at the time.) The rest of the pitch followed some overlaps and corners up to the belay. It was markedly more dirty/mossy than the previous pitches and gave Steve and I the impression people don't always climb the last two pitches.

The final .10b "headwall"

But we did, and after I brought Steve up to the belay he set out on the last 5.10 pitch which was thin and dirty. After gaining the steep slab, there were some leftward moves to the second bolt on thin features. He moved up slowly and made it to a tree from which he brought me up. I found there to be one committing move at the leftward motion, and the rest to be easier (although sketchier due to the dirty factor) than the other 5.10 bits on the route. Once at the top, we wandered around a bit to see some views. (Not much really, it isn't a true summit after all.) We then located the rappel tree (as well as the rappel sign) and mused at the uniqueness.

(Photos by Steve Machuga)

After a rap through the trees to another tree. (A rap anchor made with nylon nautical rope and 4" stainless rap rings.) A rap from the second tree got us back to the top of the 6th pitch. From there it was a bunch of double rope rappels back to the base. (We were able to make it into the gully from the top of the second pitch.)

(Photo by Steve Machuga)

Once back at the packs we drank a lot of water and packed up. We took a short exploratory hike over to another part of the slab before heading down to the car. We arrived back at the car around 6:45pm and drove home.

Overall I was happy with this trip. I really wanted to do more climbing in Darrington and got the chance. I think my rustiness of having only climbed three times since May showed. I think I am capable of climbing that route clean and without the aid. Hopefully Steve and I will head back and climb one or more of the other routes there and perhaps I'll get a little more practice in before heading back.