Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership - part II

North Cascades, WA - Jul 2007

Mike, Joe and I meet up with Joseph (our guide) and we head to Mount Erie for a day of rock climbing.

We move to Leavenworth, WA on the east side of the Cascades for a few more days of rock climbing. I get to lead climb several pitches including a 5.7 on Gilver's Crack..

We spend the day at Eightmile Rock, just a short walk from our campsite working on crack climbing techniques and rescue scenarios.

Our last day in Leavenworth is spent at Castle Rocks. I get to lead two pitches on Midway Direct, then we work on more rescue situations. We finish out the day with the two pitch Saber.

We drive up to Mount Baker and hike into Harrison Camp. We spend the evening discussing navigation with map, compass and GPS.

The day is spent on Baker's Lower Coleman glacier practicing crevasse rescue and dodging a thunderstorm. We finish up with a couple quick ice climbs out of the crevasse.

Ice climbing is our only agenda for our 7th day. We practice traverses, mock and real leads. We quit early to allow us some rest before tomorrow's summit attempt.

We leave camp at 2:30 am and hike up to Mount Baker's glaciers. Joseph lets me find a way through the crevasses to the base of the Coleman Headwall and lead a few pitches. We get within a few hundred feet of the summit but are stopped by whiteout conditions. After a long day we pack up camp and hike out.

Joe leaves the course and Mike, Joseph and I hike into Boston Basin. The route is extra long this year since the road is washed out in several places, but the basin is beautiful and surrounded with alpine objectives.

Hoping the clouds don't developing into something more, we set off for Forbidden Peak's West Ridge - a classic climb with great scrambling and lots of exposure.

Rain denies us an attempt on Sharksfin Tower, so we hike out and drive to Washington Pass on the east side of the Cascades praying for dry weather.

For our final day we attempt the South Arete on South Early Winters Spire. Unfortunately, after I climb one pitch, rain comes down and we're forced to bail from the rest of the climb.