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| Cold? Me cold? Diamondhead has been the site of many an enjoyable ski trip. | Note the change in clothing. I gave up wool, and I think Chris doesn't wear his Egyptian cotton any more! |
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Crescent crack is an ever steepening thin crack climb. Back in those days, we were honing our aid climbing skills. Here in the picture Chris is making his way up to the top.
One of the interesting sidlines of climbs down on the Malamute Bluffs was the the Royal Hudson steam engine pulling a load of tourists just by where you were belaying. Sadly, climbing is now banned from this area close to the tracks. |
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Slab Alley When we first started climbing on the Apron of the Chief, you could still hear the ping, ping, ping, of pins being hammered. We even pounded a few ourselves, but chocks were the obvious way to go considering the damage that had already been done by pins, and the traffic the routes were beginning to take. This picture shows one of the amazing runnels that makes up part of "Slab Alley". |
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Lycra had not made its mark in 1977. A lot of climbers wore baggy pants that allowed freedom of movement, but probably most important, were cheap! There was little need for a helmet on Slab Alley, but I have always been the cautious type.
The Little Smoke Bluffs in the background of the picture were largely unused, compared to ten years later. Climbing was a wonderful form of relaxation, especially sitting up by Broadway, glowing in the enjoyment of a climb, and looking out over Squamish and the mountains beyond. |
| Clean Crack | Cookie Jar |
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| During these days, we often spent days cleaning cracks of moss and dirt, and spending time aid climbing to do it. Here I am (Keith Rajala) on Clean Crack down by the train tracks in Squamish. Did I climb if free? No, I wasn't good enough, but it was fun trying and watching tourists go by in the train just a few feet behind me! | Here is Ryan Shellborn doing the first pitch of Cookie Jar on the lower parts of the Grand Wall area. You have to climb up some slabs, climb half way up the tree, then lean over as he is doing and clip into a bolt ladder. Higher up you get to do some free climbing. It was about half way up on one of these Cookie Jar adventures that rocks started to hurtle down from above. All we heard was a whistle, a slight blur, and the sound of rocks crashing into the trees below. Our helmets didn't seem to be so effective at that point. |
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Slalok Mt. (Rex's Pillar)
Chuck McCafferty and I hadn't built a snow cave before, but we had read books on how to make them ;-) We thought we could practice this semi-mysterious craft when we camped above Joffre Lake before we went up Rex's Pillar.We dug a hole straight into the steep snow slope and then dug two tunnels forming a "Y", where we could cook and store our gear in the entrance. |
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It wasn't all that bad, but anybody slightly claustrophobic would have gone screaming into the night! We even remembered to poke a hole through the roof to let out the "bad vapours"! |
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The next morning, we went up to the top of Slalok.
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Peshastin Pinnacles The Peshastin Pinnacles are just east of Leavenworth Washington. Leavenworth is worth a visit just for its own sake, as it has taken on a Bavarian theme throughout the town, but it has some great climbing. South of town is Snow Creek Wall, and north of town is Castle Rock. East of town are the pinnacles, but I believe they now might be closed to climbers. Trigger finger, pictured here, has since lost its vertical nature, so we were fortunate to experience it before its demise. |
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One of the nice things about this area, is it's in the rain shadow of the Cascade range. It could be rainy on the coast, and quite tolerable here. Chris Cooper is on the top in this picture. There are a lot of sandstone pinnacles in this small area and bolts protected a number of routes. Oh yes, if this area is open and you have the opportunity to go into it, watch out for rattle snakes! |
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Mt. Baker
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| Mt. Baker is always a good objective, even if you do the tourist route. That route is even better if you camp really high in good weather.We went up one summer afternoon and decided to take a break and wait out some of the hot afternoon temperatures under a little tarp. |
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Later in the afternoon we moved over on the glacier to make camp. If I remember this was one of those "go light" trips. We didn't have a tent, but just the tarp. One of us had a light sleeping bag over.
Is that Ken wearing jeans? |
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Mt. Garibaldi
Mt. Garibaldi dominates the eastern horizon of Squamish. It rises over eight thousand feet above the town so it is an impressive sight. We had wanted to climb it for some time, and so during the summer holidays, Chris Cooper, Bob Cardoni, Chuck McCafferty, and Keith Rajala set out. We hiked up the Diamond Head road and continued on down into Ring Creek and finally made camp just under Opal Cone. The next morning was a little unsettled, so we took our wands and set off over the neve, leaving a wand every so often. |
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The picture above shows us approaching the north side, just north of "The Tent".
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Just below the summit was a significant bergschrund with a slightly looming upper lip. The only way through was around its eastern edge which involved a bit of exposure. A dead man placement and a lead up moderately steep snow place Chuck and I on the summit.
Evidently the view from the summit is quite something, but we didn't see anything but the immediate surroundings. It wasn't a whiteout by any stretch of the imagination, but it was very misty. Too bad. |
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On the way down, Chuck and I played a game to see who could see the most wands we had placed across the neve. I didn't realize my distance vision was so much better than his! A good trip. |
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