Climbing in the Olympics – Take Two
Monday, June 16, 2008
Me with rope leads Stan and Jim on the summit of Warrior
The climbing gods must be smiling on me. Last weekend’s trip up Warrior marked the third climb in as many weeks that were successful.
Eight of us met at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Quilcene Ranger Station. The Forest Service desk jockeys had no reliable information regarding the road or trail conditions, so we headed out. We picked the Big Quilcene River approach because the standard approach via the Dungeness River Trail was missing a key bridge. With spring runoff at its peak, we decided not to risk a river crossing. We also anticipated magnificent views from the camp at Marmot Pass and a possible scramble of Buckhorn Mountain.
Right from the start it was apparent that we had a strong group. Unfortunately, the smallest party member also had one of the biggest packs. This slowed us down significantly. The team rallied to carry some of her gear which helped a little. We reached Marmot Pass but were sorely disappointed by the whiteout that welcomed us. So much for the views! Since it was mid-afternoon, we convinced ourselves that descending to Boulder Shelter would be a good idea.
At 5 a.m. we were off again, headed towards the Warrior-Inner Constance Cirque.
Alpenglow on Mt. Mystery
South Ingalls
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Basin below Ingalls
We heard folks were canceling climbs because of avalanche danger last weekend. Taking due note, Steve, Mark S, Mike L, Doug and I decided on a scramble of South Ingalls. I’d been on top of Fortune (just south of S. Ingalls) and N. Ingalls (just north of Ingalls), so this was a great opportunity to knock off the last peak on the ridge.
We found the basin below Ingalls full of snow, making for a speedy step-kicking ascent to the top. We settled in with our snacks to watch Clusterous and Fuckteemious screw up the rock climb on the south face of Ingalls. We weren’t sure why the bolts looked so unattractive to this group. I don’t think they could have made it any harder on themselves or more entertaining for us to watch.
Mike with a view of the south face of Ingalls in the background
Mt Stewart looked good
the requisite summit shot
Sisters do the Brothers
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Looking at the summit of the Brothers from the south couloir
The prevailing opinion among The Mountaineers is that all-women’s climbs don’t work well. Non-specific comments abound about the dynamic among the climbers being bad, women not being able to carry all the gear, etc. Having organized an unofficial one before with partial success, I was game when Rena called one day out of the blue asking me to put another one together.
Rena is a basic student this year and noticed the glaring disparity among the sexes in our chosen sport. She wanted to meet other women – both experienced and new – and develop a camaraderie that would hopefully foster more women climbers.
Keechelus Ridge snowshoe
Thursday, February 21, 2008
It was forecast to be a spectacular day last Sunday, so Marilyn, Joanne, Craig and I headed to the mountains for a snowshoe up Keechelus Ridge. As snowshoes go, this is not a particularly strenuous trip (6 mi. RT with 2,100’ of elevation gain), but it was just right. (Honestly, the hardest part of the trip was just getting there. Two and a half hours of waiting for accidents to be cleared and snow removal equipment to get off the road...We were ready to abandon our goal for something a little closer to North Bend.)
I’ve been experimenting with a little video taking. I’m not taking enough video to make a whole movie yet, but here’s a short clip with some still shots to fill it out. (Admittedly, I should have used the higher res versions of the pictures, but oh well.)
Copper Creek Hut Ski Adventure
Sunday, January 20, 2008
It was 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon after a hard first week of school. The sun was dipping low in the sky. Our warm breath clouded in front of our faces as Eileen and I bent down to secure the bindings on our skis. We were headed to Copper Creek Hut, one of the MTTA’s amazing back country cabins, and we couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world we wanted to be!
About half way in, we caught a glimpse of Mt. Rainier on the horizon.
Alpenglow just before sunset
The sun disappeared and left us to ski the remainder of the way by moon- and star-light. Amazing!
Ed, Louie, Wendy and Dave welcomed us to the hut around 6 p.m. We set up sleeping bags, changed into fleece pants, and settled in with hot chocolate in front of the fire while we waited for Susan and Dawn to arrive. After an hour or so, we abandoned the wait and dove enthusiastically into bowls of hot fajita soup and homemade tacos garnished with Dave and Wendy’s leftover Caesar salad. (Susan and Dawn had the veggies for the tacos - oops!)
Just as we were about to collapse with exhaustion after a long evening of great conversation, Susan and Dawn arrived, rendering our planned midnight rescue operation obsolete. Whew! They hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we heated up some more soup and chatted while they ate their fill.
The next morning, it was clear the weather had changed. Snow was driving hard outside. Susan, Dawn and Eileen decided to make an excursion to one of the nearby viewpoints before leaving. I opted for book-reading time on the couch in front of the fire. Heavenly!
The trip back was much more enjoyable than I thought. Downhill always is!
About halfway out we met Carrie, Rod and Joanne (L to R) heading in. They were going to the hut for the steak, red wine and chocolate cake extravaganza put on by the MTTA each year. Yum!
Two happy skiers