Mount Rainier: Disappointment Cleaver

It was great to back on Mount Rainier, my home turf, guiding with an all-star cast of Alpine Ascents guides. The team enjoyed great weather the whole trip. In anticipation of a storm front moving over the mountain we decided to climb the mountain in the after noon-evening rather than do the typical mid-night wake up and potentially miss our opportunity to get to the summit.

The team was excited to get to travel up the Disappointment Cleaver by daylight and enjoy the incredible views. On the other hand we could all see how deep the crevasses were as we walked over the ladders!

On the way down, the mountain cast its immense shadow across the landscape. In the fading light it was as if we could see forever, Seattle natives Tim and Tamara could appreciate how far away the wind farm in Cle Elum, the buildings in Yakima, and the peaks of the Cascades are despite how clearly we could see them on out descent.

The Making of an Alpinist

It is hard to sum up an intense 13 days of alpine climbing in a few paragraphs but i'll try. The course started on Mount Shuksan where participants learned the basics of alpine climbing: basic rock climbing, glacier travel, anchor building, and crevasse rescue. The team put their new skills to the test and made an ascent of Shuksan's aesthetic Southeast Ridge.

Next, we took those basic rock and anchor skills and applied them to rock climbing in Leavenworth, WA. Participants learned

to lead climb on gear and build anchors in the incredible central WA granite. In order to get the climbers more milage on the rock this section of the trip ended with an ascent of a classic 700' rock climb R&D.

The group's solid rock skills allowed us to spend a day climbing the Southwest Buttress of South Early Winter Spire. Though we enjoyed great wether for most of the climb, strong gusts of wind a bit of precipitation on the descent gave this 5.8 classic a very alpine feel.

Finally we took our group of increasingly solid alpine climbers back into the mountains for an ascent of the Northeast Ridge of Mount Triumph. It was a long and intense day on an exposed knife edge ridge. All day we enjoyed some of the best views of the North Cascades I have ever seen. The team dug deep climbing all day long and rappelling into the night and did an incredible job climbing this huge objective.

There is no doubt in my mind that each of our four participants now has a solid foundation and some valuable experience to draw from as they begin their careers climbing in the mountains. Congratulations guys and I look forward to running into you in the mountains.

6-Day Course in Boston Basin

Boston Basin is one of my favorite places in the North Cascades. It offers stunning scenery from every vantage point and a wide variety of alpine climbing adventure. Though these two gentlemen from Cleveland did not have a 1-hour TV special showcasing their decision, they decided to 'take their talents' to Washington for an alpine mountaineering course.

The three of us were

blessed with 6 days of glorious weather where we trained in climbing skills from leave-no-trace camping to crevasse rescue. With our small group and great weather we were able to take on two objectives, Boston Basin's Sharkfin Tower and Mount Sahale.

We got tons of climbing, adventure, and laughs in in six days and I can't wait to hear about these guys adventures as they apply their new skills in the mountains.

Boston Basin: West Ridge of Forbiden

Tired of the Chicago heat Dave, Gabe, and Scott came west to check out the spectacular North Cascades. Our trip started with an attempted ascent of Mount Shuksan's Sulphide Glacier. Unfortunately, Mother Nature would not have it and the four of us spent two days inside the cloud obscuring our surroundings.

Two days of rest later we all drove up the only road in North Cascades National Park to Boston Basin. Across from the spectacular Mount Johannesburg, even the parking lot is a breath taking place to be.

After a hike through dense Pacific Northwestern forest we found our selves surrounded by the jagged peaks of Boston Basin Cirque with the crown jewel (our objective) Forbidden Peak a massive pyramid against the sky.

Our climb started across the Unnamed glacier and up the west couloir to gain the literally knife-edged west ridge of Forbidden. We rock climbed our way to the tiny summit of this incredible peak with amazing views of the North Cascades from Mount Baker to Shuksan, Mount Bukner, the Picket Range and into Canada. It was a long but gratifying day for us all, great work guys!

Gabe is an outdoor adventure film maker and I can't help but plug his Whiteout Adventure Media. Looking for more adventure? check it out!

Mount Baker: North Ridge

If you have ever looked up at Mount Baker's North Ridge it practically screams 'Climb Me!' Dwight from CT heeded the call and he and I set out up this spectacular ridge climb. The wild exposure and a few pitches of technical ice climbing, in addition to perfect weather made for an unforgettable day.

Dwight and I set out at 3:30 am up the steep slopes that gain the North Ridge at around 8,800' we weaved our way through a few high crevasses and traversed to the base of the ice headwall. A couple pitches of ice led us to some more steep snow, and finally the summit plateau.

We made our way to the summit and descended the Colmen-Demming, the standard route of ascent on the north side of Mont Baker. As we arrived at camp it started to feel like a big day of climbing. We packed up and hiked out feeling quite satisfied with our accomplishment. Down at the car, we looked through a break in the trees up at the mountain and saw the graceful North Ridge looking down on us, 'nice work boys'.

Mount Rainier: The Big 2-0

Yesterday I had the opportunity to enjoy my 20th summit of Rainier with a terrific group of folks on Mount Rainier. In typical July-uary fashion we had iffy weather our whole way up the Muir Snowfield. The mountain was blanketed in cloud formations that indicated strong winds on the upper mountain.

We spent our first night at Camp Muir listening to the wind howl through camp and rake the upper mountain. I was not optimistic about our summit chances. However, the winds seemed to die down a bit in the afternoon at high camp.

We left high camp around 1:15 am and sat in the wind at our first break at the top of the Disappointment Cleaver. It was not looking good. We kept going and as we did the winds died and a gorgeous sunrise streaked through layers of clouds. We kept going up and the winds died. The team enjoyed a near windless summit. Congratulations on your summits guys!

Mount Baker: Easton Glacier (in the rain)

If you climb in washington you may have heard of June-uary a time of year when winter weather persists into June. This year we seem to be experiencing the even rarer July-uary, an unprecedented continuation of winter weather into July. We can still hold out hope that summer will come in August.

Despite the poor weather we spent the day at high camp doing a very thorough snow school where climbers leaned the skills necessary to climb Mount Baker safely. Climbers learned how to self arrest as they slid down snow slopes, how to travel on a rope team and how to walk efficiently in the snow. Though we didn't summit, I think everyone learned a great deal.

Mount Baker lived up to its reputation as the wettest place in the world as the team spent 3 days in the rain at high camp on mount baker. We gave the summit a go, climbing into a cloud cap and dropping temperatures. unfortunately it wasn't cold enough and the precipitation was very wet. along with a stiff wind the conditions were perfect for hypothermia as we all got soaked and cold. The only reasonable thing to do was turn around.