Tag: USA

climbs in the USA

Forbidden Peak, East Ridge Direct (West Ridge Traverse)

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Making the long traverse over on the ridge of the Torment-Forbidden Traverse a few weeks prior, Jess and were treated to the absolutely glorious view of Forbidden.  It was shocking how seriously big Forbidden looks from that perspective.  The West Ridge imposingly towered above us, speckled with tiny little climbers, while the East Ridge’s shimmering gendarmes begged to be climbed.  I couldn’t help but think, how cool would it be to traverse this whole thing? [...]

Chair Peak, Voie de Chaise

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June 2023, we had been chasing micro-windows in macro-crap-weather conditions.  We managed to squeeze in a Baker North Ridge climb in fattest conditions I had ever seen (here’s a previous NR climb), a jaunt up the Liberty Bell’s Becky Route, a 1.5x laps on a new Mazama route called Earl Gray, and a few days in Leavenworth.  Every week, the weather directed us where to go, and this week, it directed us to Snoqualmie.  Voie de Chaise was at the top of our list there. [..]

Monkey Face, Pioneer Route

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Labor Day weekend usually marks our last hoorah in the alpine for the year.  It’s a nice long weekend, the weather is usually still nice, and the offices are still in “summer break mode”.  And while 2 of those things were true this year, the weather was not forecasting to be good.  Our treasured and coveted long weekend Eldorado Backcountry Zone permit was as useless as a keychain carabiner.  And while our alpine plans were ruined, we had a few ideas in our mind for Smith.  The Pioneer Route was high on the list.  And while not super techy for a crag day, we were really intrigued by the concept of getting to the top of the notable Monkey Face.  Not to mention the intrigue of climbing a big bolt ladder- something I had never done. [..]

Eldorado Peak, West Ridge

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A couple years ago, Will and I climbed the North Ridge of Eldorado, a fairly rarely climbed rocky ridge up the popular peak. The route gave us spectacular views out over the western flank of the mountain, exposing what looked like a much wilder side. Among the jumbled glacier patches and broken rock towers, the West Ridge ominously cracked it way up through the skyline. It was gnarled and blackened, with massive teetering spires and gendarmes; it looked evil, it looked wicked. [...]

Dorado Needle, Southwest Buttress

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Will and I had come off a long climbing day just the past day.  Our 6:30am alarm was too early.  While the West Ridge of Eldorado did not destroy us, but it did take a good bit of our energy.  We looked at the peaks.  Early Morning Spire and Dorado Needle.  They were just right there.  Right there.  I never wanted to walk back into this basin again either.  “You game?” “Yeah.” [...]

Vesper Peak, Ragged Edge

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Vesper Peak’s Ragged Edge had consistently sat in a little corner at the bottom of our massive to-do list in a section labeled “other”.  Out of the sun?  Check.  Moderate enough to not burn us out for the Bugaboos a few days later?  Check.  Local classic status?  Check.  Okay, that’s the one.  We packed 7 liters of water and filled one up with electrolyte powder.  Heatwave, here we come. [...]

Mt. Adams, Adams Glacier

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Annually since 2019, Jessica and I have humping our gear up the Killen Creek trail hoping to find the route in favorable conditions.  With the overheard objective hazard that this glacier presents, neither Jessica nor I wanted conditions to be anything less than stellar.  We were looking for was a good snow fill, with extremely low avalanche hazard, and cool temperatures.  Those variables finally looked like they’d line up for a splitter window on the July 4th weekend of 2022. [..]

Le Petit Cheval, Spontaneity Arete

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Most of the climbs I choose to share about are amazing, and I love sharing them so other people can feel the confidence to go feel that amazing experience as well.  Some are so bad that I just want to forget, and some are just forgettable, neither of which usually make it to this blog.  And then, some….some are just annoying.  This one, dear readers, was just annoying. [..]

North Early Winter Spire, Chockstone Route

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We decided that this moderate mixed route would climb to be the first “alpine climb” of our season. I had descended the Chockstone Route last year after Justin and I had climbed the Early Winter Couloir.  That was an exiting yet challenging ascent that we had shot for too late in the season.  The Chockstone Route, just on the other side of the gully, looked and ended up feeling like a lightweight version of the much more serious EWC.[..]