Mid-Summer Climbing

The plan was to spend a week in the Selkirks, a week in the Bugaboos, and a week in the Canadian Rockies. For a variety of reasons, some of which will be explained below, that did not happen.

Bear Mountain.

Weather looked bad for the Selkirks so we bailed on that trip and decided to try for Bear Mountain and then spend the rest of the week in Squamish. The approach is a notoriously bad bushwhack.

Before the border there is a trail. 

After it there is not. 

The border. 

My hands after I got a yellowjacket sting on my right thumb, needless to say, rock climbing was out of the question. Two days later Ryan got injured from rockfall in Squamish and we went home. The swelling took most of the week to go down.

Independence Peak

This one was Adam's idea, Josh and Michael Lewis also joined. It was supposed to be 4th class, we ended up on some unprotectable 5.5. Summit ridge was awesome.

Route follows the right skyline, roughly.

We rappelled into that chimney, we think the 4th class route went on the buttress to the left, our route went up the buttress to the right.

Robin Lakes - Granite and Trico

After spending three days cragging in Leavenworth and Index, I went backpacking.

My tent is visible in the very middle. 

Trico Peak. 

On the summit of Granite Peak 

Two subsummits of Granite that I visited with Mount Daniel in the background. 

There was a forest fire in the next valley.

Enchantments

Ryan's friend Dan was looking to fill out an Enchantments permit so I joined him and his friend Greg for a couple climbs in the Stuart Range.

Creek Crossing at the beginning of the Mountaineer's Creek approach. 

Stuart and Sherpa, with the Sherpa glacier, our route, on the left. 

Dan and Greg filtering water. 

 

 Just barely possible.

Steep neve. 

Above the mixed step, just before things got scary. 

About 18 hours later... we arrive at Goat Pass and begin our descent back to Mountaineer's Creek.

Stuart Glacier. 

Ice Cliff Glacier. 

Mid-afternoon, descending Mountaineer's Creek, we were all pretty exhausted by this point. 

Several days later, climbing up to Prusik Pass. 

The Temple massif, from Prusik Peak. 

Dan on the summit of Prusik Peak. 

And then it was over, and I went home and back to work, and had a long hard think about mercy.

A more in-depth trip report, including some additional photos, will be on Summitpost at some point.

Squamish

A couple months ago Ryan and I went to Squamish. My camera battery died approximately 5 minutes into our first day, so we traded his back and forth for the weekend, and then he neglected to send me the photos. Which is why I am posting climbing pictures from July.

The rundown
Grand Wall attempt (Cruel Shoes, Split Pillar) - 6 pitches, 5.10d
Seasoned In The Sun - 1 pitch, 5.10a
Peasant Route - 5 pitches, 5.10c
The Exasperater - 1 pitch, 5.10c
Penny Lane - 1 pitch, 5.9
Popeye And The Raven - 1 pitch, 5.10c
Quarrymen - 1 pitch 5.8

 Ryan on the first pitch of the Grand Wall. It has a separate name but I can't remember it.

 Ryan on Cruel Shoes. I hated this route and will never do it again.

 Split Pillar. Would have been a lot more fun if I had not been in such a foul mood from Cruel Shoes.

 Myself leading the first pitch (5.10a) of the Peasant Route.

 

Myself leading the fourth pitch (5.9) of the Peasant Route.

Myself leading Penny Lane.

Explaining My History Major To My Climbing Friends

Sue: What are you majoring in?

Joel: Russian literature and Slavic languages.

Sue: Oh wow, that's pretty interesting. What career track is that?

Joel: Cabby, hot dog vendor, marijuana delivery guy. The world is my oyster.

The Off Chance

What we've been up to, in no particular order - 

(labels are descriptive, not indicative, of the three peak climbs shown, only one was successful)

Index Town Walls 

Trout Creek

Chianti Spire

Merchant Peak

Mount Baring 

Eldorado Peak

Dorado Needles

Also occupying my time - 

As far as I can tell, Game of Thrones is England circa 1600 scaled up a la Song of Albion, with very unusual weather and way too much incest. It also appears that after Sean Bean dies, Peter Dinklage carries the show, but Maisie Williams is definitely the coolest character.

God Emperor of Dune - the series takes a turn for the dystopian. Its been 3500 years since Children of Dune and everything you actually liked about the original book is dead and gone, because really, its been 3500 years. All that's left is two of the least interesting characters, Duncan Idaho's ghola endlessly resurrected and Leto II refusing to shut up about how he is all of his ancestors. Frank Herbert liked that idea way too much. And yet its still better than Children of Dune; it had been awhile since i'd read that book and I hadn't remembered how much I hated what Herbert did with Alia.

The Sky On Repeat

I don't really read poetry; this is an understatement. I don't read poetry, which is odd, because its the sum total of my literary output these days. So where is this inspiration to pen weird little unrhymed verses coming from?- couldn't say, but I have a guess.

I listen to this kind of nonsense on repeat while I drive to places like Seattle and Leavenworth and Utah.

And then I write something like this.

Firmament

And all the world is metallic and ticking and lit,

Lit when god intended darkness

- June 2009

There above us burns eternal the great map–

All the creatures of the earth and their lives empaneled,

(Deer and hare and dove and groundvole)

Dancing forever that vast turning cirque.

This was our guide,

By its mazes we steered our ships and raised up our towers

And every night we gazed through its windows and beheld the universe.

From those lines in the ensconcing hands of god must our futures have been determined,

For only in his palms was there any surety,

Any wheel returning to the same,

(Riding over mountains beyond mountains…)

Any firmament beneath our feet.

Was there ever such a map and was there ever such a time?

Could we see a path before us any clearer before we lit the night?

It is a marvelous symbol, yes,

Of how I feel I have lost my way,

A lovely consolation that we have sullied some primordial world,

And a ringing cry of helplessness before

The pathless, and the untrodden;

For the wheel loses a piece of itself with every revolution

(You cannot step twice into the same stream)

And all history may be written in such mazes,

But for the doors, the maps, of night

We have no key.

I am not sure I see a connection. I may have posted those purely so I can listen to them without screwing up my iTunes play-count.

Assorted Alpine Rock

Snow Creek Wall - Orbit (5.8+)

Photography mostly by Matt Lemke

 Snow Creek Wall, Outer Space route line visible on left side.

Approach slab to Orbit with S-shaped tree.

Second half of the second pitch.

Final low-fifth traverse of second pitch.

Looking down the technical-crux pitch 

Starting out on the runout mental-crux pitch

Start of fifth pitch.

Looking down Icicle Creek Canyon toward Leavenworth

Le Petit Cheval - Spontaneity Arete (5.7)

w/ Ryan Hoover

 Route follows the ridge-line on the right of the fin.

Liberty Bell and the Early Winters Spires

Hwy 20

First pitch of technical climbing.

Ryan on the summit, with Silver Star and the Wine Spires behind.

Big Kangaroo

Looking back at the second pitch of technical climbing.

North Early Winters Spire - West Face (5.11)

w/ Ryan Hoover

Liberty Bell

Final 5.6 slab pitch

Crux pitch, 5.11 section is out of sight below.

Silver Star massif and Kangaroo Ridge

Ryan on the summit with South Early Winters Spire behind.

Looking back at Liberty Bell and the Early Winters Spires