Goat Wall Attempt (Prime Rib) - 06/28/09

After climbing SEWS the previous day, neither of us were into slogging back up to the alpine and we decided on heading to Mazama to attempt Prime Rib on Goat Wall. It is an 11 pitch sport route up to 5.9 with plenty of bolts. Our toes were still hurting pretty bad and the long talus and scree approach were not well suited for our chacos and sandals. We also picked a bad time to start as there were two other parties starting to climb the route as we got there, however we did not have to wait long. Soon enough we were climbing. The route was fun, although there was alot of wandering and rope drag and everything was pretty over-bolted. We all had a great time enjoying the views of the Methow Valley, nice temps, and great company. After 5 pitches, we decided that we have had enough and wanted to get back to Seattle at a reasonable hour. Katie also got in her first multipitch leading. Pictures can be found at http://alpinenapping.com/main.php/v/mountains/2009/primerib-06_28_09/

Pitch 1 - 5.3 (Katie)
Pitch 2 -5.7/5.8 (Ralph)
Pitch 3 - 5.6+ (Joshua)
Pitch 4 - 5.7/5.8 (Ralph)
Pitch 5 - 5.6 (Katie)

SEWS (Southwest Buttress) - 06/27/09

Ralph was up in Seattle for work on Friday and I "convinced" him to join Katie and I for some climbing at Washington Pass for the weekend. We decided to give the Southwest Buttress on SEWS a go on Saturday and Sunday was TBD. We arrived at the Blue Lake trailhead with a ton of other climbers, luckily nobody was on our route. My platypus leaked in my bag on the drive over, so I had to go with one nalgene (something I was not comfortable with). I had heard about the avy blowdown before we got there, but still could not find a good way through the mess. Finally we were on snow and straightlining it for South Early Winter Spire. There was only one problem. Bandit got his first glimpse of some goats and he took off after them. He basically made it up to the start of the Northwest Corner route on NEWS. He didn't come down until he knocked down some rocks on himself which scared him. We finally got to the base of our route and then Bandit took off again cornering another goat. Katie had to go and collect him and tie him down on his runner. As Ralph started climbing the first pitch, goat after goat came down on the rocks and stared at Bandit. There must have been six by the time Katie and I started climbing. The first pitch was long and awkward at one point, but soon enough we were at the sandy ledge with Ralph. I felt strong and went to lead the flake off-width. I had a good balance of being scared and confident, which worked out well. It was very amazing after pulling the mantle on top of it. Katie and Ralph made it up very fast although I made Ralph crawl way back into the crack to retrieve the #5. The next pitch went very fast, except for making an anchor below the slab. Ralph then cruised the runout slab and the infamous bear hug. The slab was interesting for the follower as there was no directional at all. Katie did well to stay composed and handled the wind and exposure very well. Then came more runout slab on an arete which had some good exposure and was very fun. After that Ralph lead a full rope length of scrambling until Katie and I thought he was still climbing. I quickly told Katie about simulclimbing and we were off even though shortly after we realized Ralph had us on belay. Then I did the airy traverse around the rabbit ears to below the summit. I belayed Ralph over to me and then he soloed up to the summit. I started belaying Katie over, but she was struggling to get the cam I placed. Of course it was in the worst place possible, right in the middle of the airy traverse. She finally got the cam out and all three of us were soon standing on the true summit. After lounging around for a little bit, we decided to downclimb the South Arete route. There is some exposure on the upper part of the route, especially when windy, but the climbing is easy. Katie did awesome and handled it like a pro. Eventually we made it to the chimney and made two raps off the spire. Unfortunately an angry goat was waiting for us and we got the rope stuck. Ralph had to solo back up the first pitch and free the rope. More goats came over to us and forced us to walk all the way around them which was pretty painful as all of our toes were killing us. After some scree surfing in rock shoes, we made our way back to Bandit and our packs. A quick jaunt down and we were putting up our tents and making dinner. Pictures can be found at http://alpinenapping.com/main.php/v/mountains/2009/sews-06_27_09/

Pitch 1 - Long 5.8 (Ralph)
Pitch 2 - 5.8 flake (Joshua)
Pitch 3 - 5.4 double cracks + 4th class ramp (Joshua)
Pitch 4 - 5.7 runout slab + 5.8 bear hugs (Ralph)
Pitch 5 - 4th class ramp + 5.5 runout slab (Joshua)
Pitch 6 - 4th class to rabbit ears (Ralph)
Pitch 7 - 4th class traverse (Joshua)
Pitch 8 - 5.2 crack (Ralph)

Exit 38 - 06/25/09

Katie and I again ventured out to Exit 38 with good chances of afternoon showers. It started to rain at exit 32, but stopped just before exit 38. We decided to see what the rock was like because we drove all the way out there. We Did Rock was a little wet, but was able to find some dry rock on Write Off Rock, which was also a good place for Katie to practise leading. She lead the unnamed route next to the right of Knife In The Toaster, which I then lead next. Then we both led the 5.7. It was good to get out and a great decision to risk the weather because we never got rained on. No pictures were taken.

Led:
Knife In The Toaster 5.9
Bottoms Up 5.7

Top Roped:
Unnamed Route left of Burger 5.6/5.7

Silverdale / Poulsbo Loop - 06/21/09

For Fathers day, Katie and I visited her parents in Silverdale. There was a good chance of showers, but we decided to go for a bike ride anyway. We did a 26 mile loop from Silverdale to Poulsbo and back to Silverdale. We did run into some showers, but were able to dry off with some warm beverages in Poulsbo. Everything else went off without a hitch except for when Katie got a flat tire about 5 miles from her parents house. At least it stopped raining while we were patching her tire. Dry clothes and an excellent meal rounded off a wonderful day. No pictures were taken.

Exit 38 - 06/20/09

We only had one free day this weekend, so Katie and I made it out to Exit 38 for some weekend cragging. The weather was pretty iffy so we figured that would keep the crowds down. Because the weather was not that great, we decided on a short hike up to Deception Crags. We started at Deception Wall and I lead a 5.7 and then we top roped a 10c. After that we headed over to We Did Rock. The left side was crowded, so we stayed on the right side. Katie led the 5.7 and 5.7 and then we top roped the 10a and the 10c. Katie did a great job leading and styled the harder climbs. Another great day out. No pictures were taken.

Led:
Jiffy Pop 5.7

Top Roped:
Side Dish 5.10c
Easy Street 5.6
Your Sister 5.7
My X Wife 5.10a
The Joke 5.10c

Starbucks Gallery Showing - 06/19/09

I had my Gallery Showing at the Starbucks on the Ave. / North. Everything went really well and I will have my prints on display as well as for sale from June 19th - July 17th.

More information as well as all of my available images can be found on my website, http://joshuasternphotography.com/starbucks.php

Exit 38 - 06/18/09

Katie and I moved our weekly Exit 38 climb to Thursday because of stormy weather. Some dark clouds and very bad traffic forced us to climb close to the car and we headed up to Deception Crags. We Did Rock was very crowded so we continued over to Hall Creek Rock. I started off on a 5.8 that said if you miss either of the 3 bolts you can ground. Great times mate! Just after I left the ground, Bandit started barking like crazy. I have never even heard him bark before and it definitely effected me on the rock. I was all out of sync and really was not a fan of the last two moves to the chains. It was a great feeling to be off of that route and Katie felt the same way. Eventually we got Bandit to relax and we headed over to Hall Creek Middle to climb an overhanging arching 5.8 and then top rope a 5.10a. After Katie followed the 5.8 we noticed that the 5.10a chains were just to the right of the chains for the 5.8. Katie was feeling confident and wanted to move the chains herself. So she clipped into the next bolt for the 5.10a and then climbed up and took down the 5.8's anchor, downclimbed back to the other bolt and then proceeded to lead the last two bolts up to the 5.10a's anchor. She did an amazing job and everything was done perfectly. I am not that good with ratings, but those moves were probably around 5.8, which is awesome for her first bit of leading. We both were extremely psyched for her and then we proceeded to top rope the harder climb, which she even busted out a heel hook on. After that it was pretty late and we decided to drive home, with a stop at Taco Time of course. No pictures were taken.

Led:
Erectile Dysfunction 5.8
Rhino Vista 5.8

Top Roped:
Rhino Rave 5.10a

Prusik Peak Attempt (West Ridge) - 06/13-14/09

After much deliberation Katie, Jon, and I decided to brave the 50% chance of thunderstorms and headed for the Enchantments to climb the West Ridge of Prusik Peak. I had already climbed this route 4 years ago with Ralph and Ben, but did not lead a single pitch and was excited to do so. Katie and I met Jon in Leavenworth and were quickly making our way up the valley. There were some threatening skies throughout the day, but there was also enough blue to keep us motivated and positive. As we approached Snow Lake, the weather turned a little sour and it began to sprinkle. At this point, we picked up the pace and made it to the far end of Snow Lake without getting wet. Our plan was to camp at Lake Viviane in order to make the second day shorter, but we didn't want to get soaked doing so. We figured we would wait (a constant theme for the trip) at the lake and see if it cleared at all to ease the hike up. All of a sudden it started to rain harder and the tents went up. Dinner, photos, and relaxation all sounded great anyway. Later in the evening the clouds began to clear and we had thoughts of packing up and hiking to the plateau, although by that time we decided to stay put. We woke up at 4:15am and made quick work of the hike up to Lake Viviane. The slabs were mostly dry and if there was snow, it was mostly firm. After a refill at the lake, we straightlined it for the south face of Prusik and then to Prusik Pass. The sky was still blue and we knew that todays weather was suppose to be better then yesterday. We were all feeling the alpine stoke and felt confident about the climb. Soon we were racking up and off climbing. Jon lead the first two pitches which got us to just below the ridge crest because we were climbing on 2 30m strands. The climbing was blocky and mostly easy although Jon struggled with rope drag pretty bad at one point. Things were going well, except that the weather was starting to deteriorate. I took the next lead and brought us up onto the ridge proper and to the base of the 5.7 crux untprotectable slab. The climbing was easy but the exposure was wild. At the base of the slab it started to rain, but still not that bad. We all decided to wait again to see if it would pass or get worse. We were at a good bail spot anyway. Lots of photos and stories later it looked like it was clearing as there was blue sky over our head. I took off to lead the crux slab, although I was pretty nervous. All week in my head I was saying that I would just destroy the slab, but when you are standing there it is scary. After a few up and downs, I finally went for it and after a few unprotected moves I was gladly holding a big hold and placing a cam. As Jon climbed the slab, the thunder again picked up, but still not horrible. After more ridge traversing, I got to just below the summit block and we were close. Unfortunately the thunder started to really boom, followed by four strikes of lightning, followed by an intense hail storm. Within seconds, we were all soaked to the bone and shaking uncontrollably. Good times! We had to bail asap. I led off on a long slippery traverse searching for the rappels. Just as I was running out of rope, I spotted the raps under the summit. I was pretty psyched. I brought Katie and Jon over and we started rapping. During our first rap, it was hailing so hard that it was just to cold to be out exposed. Jon found a cool cave for all of us to wait out the hail. Great times! After a while, the hail turned to rain and then the rain turned to mist. We pulled the ropes and we made another rap. Soon after the rain stopped and it began to warm up a bit, but we were still shaking. A few more rappels and some sketchy snow traversing brought us back to our packs at the balanced rock. We changed out of our wet clothes and scrambled off of the peak. Then just like it always happens, the sun came out, the clouds disappeared and it got really hot out. It never got cloudy again that day, oh well. Now comes the best part, an extremely long 10 mile slog out back to the car. We got back to our car at 10:30pm and the only thing that was open was the Safeway. There is nothing like pulling off ticks and eating food in a parking lot at 11pm. Katie had to be at work in 4 hours, so we had to go home. There was construction on Highway 2 and I began one of the scariest drives I have taken up 97 to 90. It is never a good situation when you are counting mile markers for two hours. Eventually we made it back to Seattle safe and sound. Pictures can be found at http://alpinenapping.com/main.php/v/mountains/2009/prusik-06_13_09/

Exit 38 - 06/10/09

Katie, Rachel and I went up to Interstate Park expecting good weather. Unfortunately on the drive over we noticed dark clouds in the mountains. Trying to beat the weather we hoofed it up to Headlight Point. Soon after roping up we heard the first round of thunder. It was Rachel's second time out on real rock and we started mellow. However during the second climb it started to pour. Within seconds everything was soaked and the trail was flooded. After Katie cleaned the anchors we ran back to the car. It was definitely a tease and we did not get in our rock fix for the week. No pictures were taken.

Led:
In The Middle Again 5.6

Top Roped:
Light Headed Again 5.8

Leavenworth Rock Fest - 06/06-07/09

I met up with Jon at Leavenworth Saturday morning for Rockfest. After a while of checking out the clinics and gear demo at Barney's Rubble, we headed out for Pearly Gates. All of the good cracks had many parties on them, so we headed to the right side for some slab climbing. We encountered a huge cluster f**k (not our fault) and things took way longer than expected. Because of this we only climbed the two easier slab climbs on the far right. After rappelling down, we noticed that everyone cleared out and we headed back left for the cracks. I climbed an easier crack in order to top rope Celestial Groove. That climb was amazing. Pictures can be found at http://alpinenapping.com/main.php/v/mountains/2009/leavenworth-06_06_09/

Led:
The Dog Ate My Topo 5.7
The Scene Is Clean 5.8
Cell Phone Posse 5.7

Top Roped:
Celestial Groove 5.9+

We got back to camp late and missed both the raffle and free dinner, but made it just in time to scarf down some of our own dinner before the slide show. After that bonfires and beers continued into the night. The next morning we also missed the breakfast because it started an hour earlier than we were told. We were 0/2 on the whole free dinner and breakfast thing. A slow morning and the heat led to climbing close to the car and Alphabet Rock fit the bill. We climbed Dogleg Crack, the sport climb next to it, and Meat Grinder, which were all loads of fun and tough on the hands. Pictures can be found at http://alpinenapping.com/main.php/v/mountains/2009/leavenworth-06_07_09/

Top Roped:
Dogleg Crack 5.8+
Hind Quarters 5.10-
Meat Grinder 5.10a

Exit 38 - 06/03/09

Katie and I tried to escape the heat by going to the Cascade foothills. Obviously this did not work. We opted not to climb at Gunshow to avoid the sun and went to Overhaul Wall. We first went to the Slabbage Patch area and was pretty unsuccessful. I went to lead Party Girl, a 5.7, and downclimbed after the first bolt due to me not wanting to take a ground fall. There was a chopped bolt and I must have missed the other second bolt, because my second bolt was a long way up from the first. After downclimbing, I traversed into the gulley to climb the 5.9, but that was extremely ugly with lots of moss and spiderwebs. I downclimbed that and went to the other 5.9 which traverses around the rib. After the first bolt I got on the other wall, but it looked super crappy with more huge ground fall potential. After all this, we packed up and headed back downhill to the Motherland area. There were climbers on the better routes there, so I jumped on this traversing 5.8 climb. It totally sucked. It was a huge traverse, lots of rope drag, some running water over rocks and it felt like climbing steep boulders, not a continuous wall. After all of that, it cooled down a bit and we decided to hike to Gunshow to try Endless Bliss. There was nobody there and we cruised both pitches, which definitely made up for the earlier climbs. No pictures were taken.

Led:
On The Outskirts 5.8
Endless Bliss 5.10a 2p