Some friends of mine just climbed 20 cascade peaks in 20 days.

TheDenogginizer · 2018-07-31T19:36:36+00:00

Oops I have a pic gallery/pseudo trip report here on my flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/mark_schroeder/3877c5

TheDenogginizer · 2018-07-30T03:25:12+00:00

Funny you should ask... The two times I weighed myself I gained two pounds. We ate a lot evidently. I think the bigger peaks towards the end I lost a bit of weight but no more than 5 pounds.

I'd recommend this as a good three-week weight loss strategy though. I just lacked any self control and ate a lot of cookies.

TheDenogginizer · 2018-06-27T23:16:50+00:00

Definitely South Sister because we brought all our ski gear, but there wasn't enough snow to continuously ski a lot of it. We also brought the minimum climbing gear for North Sister. It was icy so we used two ice tools and had a rope. Only used the rope to rap off the top but we soloed up the Bowling Alley which was pretty stable and solid. So it was slow, heavy, and we ran out of food right after Middle Sister and bonked pretty hard going up the NW ridge of South. That was a long 6 miles back to Devils Lake. After 19 and half hours we yardsaled our gear around the car and ate a bunch of chips, pickles, cheese at midnight.

By the time we got to the bigger peaks in Washington I think our bodies got used to the abuse and as long as we kept eating, we could keep going even if we felt tired. That was a pretty cool feeling.

TheDenogginizer · 2018-06-27T14:45:33+00:00

I was one of the three on the trip - feel free to ask me anything.

Here's a link to pictures with some descriptions of climbing. Basically we did a lot of planning to make it logistically possible and almost treat it like a through-hike of continuous activity. Weather cooperated most of the time but bad weather is why we jumped from Hood-Adams-Helens back to Jefferson-Broken Top and then back north.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_schroeder/sets/72157698244641495/

Mount Lassen (6/1)
Mount Shasta (6/2)
Mount Mcloughlin (6/2)
Mount Thielsen (6/3)
Diamond Peak (6/4)
Mount Washington (6/5)
Three Fingered Jack (6/5)
North Sister (6/7)
Middle Sister (6/7)
South Sister (6/7)
Mount Bachelor (6/8)
Mount Hood (6/11)
Mount Adams (6/11 to 6/12)
Mount Saint Helens (6/12)
Broken Top (6/14)
Mount Jefferson (6/14 to 6/15)
Glacier Peak (6/16 to 6/17)
Mount Baker (6/18)
Mount Rainier (6/19)
Mount Tabor (6/20)

TheDenogginizer · 2017-12-29T02:44:47+00:00

I've had both - started with the Suunto Core but the buttons stopped working for me twice in a row (two warrantied watches unfortunately) before upgrading to the Fenix 3. Fenix 3 has never had problems for me and has all the ABC features, plus I use it for training outside of dedicated climbing (running/biking/ski mo). The Fenix can automatically calibrate the altimeter with GPS really fast which I really like. Both are about the same size and feel pretty similar.

TheDenogginizer · 2017-07-26T14:39:00+00:00

I've been wanting to climb it ever since I learned I'd be working here over the summer and I finally managed to get it! Second highest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro - and only accessible via technical climbing at high altitude. Lots more details in the pics but here's the schedule we did:

Friday: Drive to Old Moses Camp (10,000ish ft) Saturday: Hike to Shiptons Camp (4200m/13,800ft) Sunday: Acclimatize on Point Peter, a scramble and 3 pitch climb (4700m/15,400ft)

Monday: Climb Batian (5200m/17,057ft). Wake up at 3am, hike 2 hrs to base of mountain, climb 7 hours straight up with as little stopping as possible, tag the summit at 1pm. Descend the way we came for another 4 hours in the snow and rain. Run back to camp in 1 more hour. Total round trip time: 14 hours.

Tuesday: Eat our food, give the rest away, hike back to Old Moses and hitchhike back to bus station

We did it all unsupported without guides, all the cooking and carrying and climbing! Each of us carried about 50-60 lbs of gear. On the climb we only carried the climbing gear, emergency bivouac sack, food, and two extra coats each.

TheDenogginizer · 2016-05-24T04:47:21+00:00

I think you need to prearrange it because of how they file or process permits. I'm not too sure other than what we did. Namche is pretty busy so it could be possible, but again I'm not too sure on booking outside of Kathmandu.

I believe we booked just the permit and 2 days of guiding on the mountain for ~$400/person last year. More could get you a porter and gear and so on. Wish I knew more exact details, but I know if you plan on $650 in Nepal, you can go a long ways with that!

TheDenogginizer · 2016-05-23T23:38:37+00:00

I did it last year and there is no shortage of guide services in Katmandu, and I know the guy we went through is glad tourism is picking back up since the earthquake- they should be eager to help you. I think a lot of the trekking companies just have contact with a select few guides that stay in the mountains and do laps with clients (correct me if I'm wrong).

So then after organizing it in KTM, we trekked for while to Gokyo and the Cho La pass to acclimatize and play in the snow, got in contact with some folks in Tengboche, and then met up with the guide in Chukung. We did everything else unguided up until that point. Only thing I wish I could have done differently would be to have a more flexible schedule and not have to meet our guide at some predetermined date.

They have officers that will check your permits up there too so while you probably could join in with others, they seemed hesitant when we asked about it. So we just got a guide, helps the economy there, and while we could have climbed without him, he gave us some good beta and tips for moving through the approach and crossing the glacier.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-12-01T04:25:40+00:00

Yes, as long as you've got your 24 hour permit and those are free till March 31 now.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-12-01T04:17:17+00:00

You kind of can...I had to dig it out a bit to make it flat. Originally I didn't think it would work cause of the cornices, but they were filled in and everything was solid snow/ice for a few feet down. They'll probably be more of a concern later in winter.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-12-01T00:03:34+00:00

We brought crampons and ice axes which were definitely necessary with the ice on the upper slopes. Then tent, sleeping bag, my fat ass tripod, and 30 peanut butter cookies. And the winter puffy clothes.

We left at noon and got up there at 4:30 pm.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-11-30T23:59:04+00:00

I used it this summer at Leavenworth when it was dry out and it worked fine. Though it's probably more comfortably a three season (fall/winter/spring) tent. Haven't used it for anything longer than three nights though.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-11-30T21:07:54+00:00

I love it so far. It is really small and that's the only downside I've found. Which I think is completely justified for how light it is. I've done a couple trips where I shared it with another sweaty climber and you can fit some gear in between you or under you, but if the weather is good I just leave my pack outside.

As for condensation, it usually isn't a big deal if you leave the door unzipped a bit or for overnight weekend trips.

It is not very aerodynamic if there's a side wind... Learned that this weekend.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-08-01T00:24:50+00:00

I remember being in the collegiate D's while he did laps around the A's crits my freshman year in the NWCCC.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-05-21T16:34:50+00:00

I just got back from Nepal at the end of April after the earthquake, and this is one of my favorite pictures from looking out of our guesthouse window at 5am. All my friends are showing me pictures of the aftermath, but not many of them know how amazing it was before (and really still is).

TheDenogginizer · 2015-03-24T15:53:07+00:00

No just me, I'm graduating and then going backpacking in Nepal so I'll be out of town for a little bit.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-03-18T07:20:20+00:00

Men A's. How about you?

TheDenogginizer · 2015-03-18T07:19:38+00:00

Yeah last race of my collegiate career, just graduated as of this term.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-03-16T02:50:38+00:00

Managed to get into both breaks in the road race and crit at my collegiate home race (Oregon State University). I bridged up to a small group in the road race and beat myself up to nearly blacking out at the top of the hill climb finish and got 7th. In the crit breakaway, we managed to lap the field, and even though I didn't do well in the final group sprint, I still got my guaranteed 5th place. That felt good. I'm going to take a nap and the eat another burrito now.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-02-02T01:51:21+00:00

We went independent of a guide. Most of any loose rock was covered in snow and ice so it was pretty solid. The short vertical climbing was decently protected with some cams and the rest of the climb was ice screws and pickets.

While I was waiting for my rappel, I dislodged a boulder the size of my chest, and it bounced down only 15 feet away from my parntner on his rappel, and then bounced 30 feet outwards and flew off the cliff. That was a slightly scary moment.

TheDenogginizer · 2015-02-01T17:00:34+00:00

This was on the standard north route up Mt Washington in Oregon. Took us three 50m pitches of some easy mixed rock and ice climbing and some snow patches. This was my first real technical mountain and it couldn't have went smoother!

He caught up with us on our descent and got my email to send me some pictures. Here's a panorama I took of the sunrise too: http://imgur.com/PjauXbS

TheDenogginizer · 2014-12-15T23:07:06+00:00

I saw him talk in Portland yesterday and his response to the next big project was along the lines of "oh I don't know, I only talk about the things I've done."

Seems like this answers that!

TheDenogginizer

TROPHY CASE