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Mt. Rainier, Edmunds Headwall (attempt) 7/7/17

Mark and Doug made an attempt on the Edmunds Headwall on the Mowich Face of Mt. Rainier. We have been waiting 4 years for the right conditions to climb this route.

Tina dropped us off at Mowich Lake. We would have to get to the White River Campground, one way or another, where another car was parked, for the drive home.

The route that we were planning to climb.

Wildflowers and heather on the lower slopes

The sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains

Mark checking out the route and weather conditions. The Edmunds Headwall is a steep, carry-over route and very hard to descend, so you carry all of your gear over the top and descend an easier route. The weather up there was not improving. The wind was blowing pretty hard and there were warnings about strong winds and possible whiteout conditions on the upper mountain. The last thing we wanted to do was get trapped at 13,000' in 40 mph winds with an air temp of 30 degrees, no visibility and no good way down. That is more risk than we are willing to take, so we called it off :(

Doug by a large crevasse on the Carbon Glacier. We would have to cross the Russell Glacier, Carbon Glacier, Curtis Ridge and Winthrop Glacier to get to Glacier Basin and the White River Campground.

A large herd of mountain goats.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things....."

Unicorn Peak 6/24/17

Mt. Rainier National Park is a great place to be when the weather is nice! The views are amazing in every direction. At 6,972', Unicorn is the highest peak in the Tatoosh Range.

We could see our goal for most of the climb.

Pete and Ron ascending a steep chute with Mt. Rainier in the background.

Ron, Tim and Pete nearing the summit with Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens in the background.

Ron, Tim, Pete and Doug on Unicorn Peak.

Another awesome day in the mountains!

Chair Peak 6/3/17

We went up to Snoqualmie Pass for our season opener. There were dire warnings posted at the trailhead about sinking in impassable, deep snow. That was not an issue. Route finding in low visibility was.

Pete, Tim, Ron, Dennis (and Doug) crossing Denny Creek the first time.

The bridge is out. Time to get wet!

Keekwulee Falls

Ron crossing the creek on a slick log

Frozen Melakwa Lakes

We ended up at 5,900' in the wrong gully and were not able to cross over to the right one to get to the 6,238' summit. You win some, you lose some. It was still nice to be in the mountains, get some serious exercise and take in the beautiful scenery!

My favorite quote bears repeating right about now:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

Little Annapurna 9/10/16

It doesn't get much better than spending a sunny day in the Enchantments, so Ron & Josh C, Pete S, Dennis and Doug went for a drive and a hike!

Pete looking over Isolation Lake toward McClellan Peak. Little Annapurna is on the right.

As always, there were a lot of mountain goats up there.

The Lower Enchantments, Prusik Peak and The Temple.

Another one.

The water level in Colchuck Lake was 10' below normal.

Granite Peak (Montana) 8/6/16

We decided to go on a road trip this year and join Mark for a climb of the highest peak in Montana.

We drove through Yellowstone National Park to get to the trailhead.

Mark, Jim, Chris, Ron (and Doug) at Lady of the Lake. The first of many lakes on this trip.

The trail followed streams like this for much of the approach.

This one is for our friend and flower photographer, David, who could not join us on this adventure.

Our camp above Rough Lake.

Looking down at the Sky Top Lakes valley.

Doug, Ron and Chris on the 12,799' summit. It rained and snowed while we were up there. More rain, thunder and lighting was heading our way from Wyoming.

Looking back at the mountain while the sun was out for a little while.

Mt. Adams, South Climb 7/23/16

Blizzard-like conditions in the forecast had forced us to postpone the climb for 2 weeks. The weather turned out really good on this trip.

There were a few small clouds rolling, twisting and turning near the summit and moving through camp. They were not a threat, just awesome to see up close!

Eating dinner at Lunch Counter.

Climbers working their way up to the False Summit.

Looking back down at Lunch Counter. Mt. Hood in the distance.

Climbing the last 600' to the true summit.

Happy climbers on the summit.

2 more.

Another group. Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

Mt. Rainier, DC 7/16/16

Unsettled mountain weather had caused us to postpone or cancel several climbs this summer. There was a small weather window, so we decided to go for it.

Setting up our tents on the Cowlitz Glacier at Camp Muir.

Watching the sunrise from 13,000'. Mt. Adams in the background.

The sun rising over a sea of clouds! Little Tahoma on the right.

Waiting our turn on the most exposed part of the climb.

Blake, Ron, Doug, Chris, Pete and David on the summit. It was about 25 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20 mph!

Crossing a couple of ladders above Ingraham Flats!

Camp Muir 6/4/16

We returned to an old favorite for a training hike. It was nice to get away from the heat at home and spend the day on the snow taking in the great scenery.