Mt Stuart- N Ridge, Washington Cascades

I use my car a lot. I wish I didn't. I love to explore and climb in the Rocky mountains therefore I drive to the trail heads for the convenience and instant gratification. Sometimes I will drive 600 miles to climb one mountain to return Home a couple of days later after ticking off a Classic route. This summer I am trying to use other modes of traveling to make myself feel less guilty when I do use my car for a Far from Home adventure.

Over the 4th of July weekend I took the Amtrak train from Whitefish, MT to Leavenworth, WA. The Amtrak is a comfortable way to travel. The cars are air conditioned and the seats fold all the way back for sleeping. The train was 6 hours late so instead of departing at 1045 pm, it didn't leave Whitefish station until 330 am. This is pretty common. Luckily I met some friends in town to hang out with as I learned via text messaging that the train would be delayed. I patiently waited across the street at the Great Northern Bar, putting back 1 dollar High Lifes.

After crossing 3 state borders on the rail I arrived in Leavenworth a little after noon, 8 hours later. Gaelen, Liz Rocco and I carpooled from town to the Ingalls Lake trail head to climb the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. There are two approaches to access Mt Stuart. We felt that this approach off Bluit Pass worked well for us. You start on the south side of the mountain to access the North.

We moved well as a party of three and flashed the route in 14 hours. We hiked over three passes and crossed the Stuart Glacier putting us on the ridge proper in 6 hours. We simul-climbed to the base of the gendarme in two pitches. We climbed the gendarme in two pitches and roped up for two more pitches above before returning to simuling to the summit cone. The climbing was great and the exposure was righteous! We had a perfect day and enjoyed a cozy summit bivy. The next morning we descended the Cascadian couloir 4500 feet, up and over Longs Pass and back to the Car where cold IPAs awaited us in the cooler. God Bless America!

A look at the West Ridge of Stuart

Crossing Ingalls Lake on our way to the third and final Pass
before descending onto the Stuart Glacier

Crossing the Stuart Glacier below the intimidating N Face

The N Ridge is the sky line, starting in the couloir on the lower left of the pic

Crossing above some big cracks in approach shoes.
The girls brought ice axes and I brought crampons, but no ice axe.
Together we had a complete set of alpine tools 

Starting up the couloir to the base of the ridge.
The approach gully is way more easier than it looks from afar,
offering fun climbing on solid rock most of the way up.

I won the odds and evens game so I got to lead the two pitches to the base of the gendarme.

3 way simul climbing at its best!
We made great time so climbed the route in one push.

Liz leading the 1st crux 5.9 pitch.
Amazing lie back to stellar belay.
This is where the exposure kicked in.

Two wild ones excited about committing to getting to the top!

Rotate and see the great wide pitch on the Gendarme.
As good as it gets.

Gae getting her  lead on. More amazing rock.

Unroped again and heading for the summit cone.

This is where we got water to prepare for the summit bivy.

Gae giving Liz a little reassurance on the summit traverse

Stoke individuals. We make a great team!

A cozy bivy

Gae pointing to her next objective. Mt Raindogs.

Writing a little not in the summit register before heading down.

Some of the other adventures I have enjoyed this summer without the use of my Car have been bikepacking Glacier National Park and Packrafting on the N Fork of Flathead river. There is a great deal of adventure to be added to a trip when you don't gas up. I am more mindful of my objectives these days, but will continue to use the convenience of my Car because the experience in the mountains are too powerful for me to miss out on climbing them. These experience do come at a cost though.

-Jakeums Frerkums

Jackson Glacier- Glacier National Park

After about a week of planning a close to home trip. We settled on some Summer skiing on the Jackson Glacier. We are the Skier Boyz and this is what we do. Welz has come up to Whitefish for a month to get some work done on his Hydrology thesis and to escape the SLC burn. We have plenty of H2O up here and Jay has been sampling it in all forms. He has influenced his ways on Stefan and I and we have broken the trend of climbing on All of our days off. 

Mt Jacksons shoulder. The Glacier is on the other side of the ridge shown

Hiking in the 7 miles to camp

Camp on Gunsight Lake w gunsight Pass in background.
Notice the 2000 foot waterfalls.

After some mountain biking and almost losing Stefan when he cased a gap jump we drove from Home through GNP on the going to the sun road. After a quick dip in Lake MacDonald we crested Logan Pass and dropped to the trail head above St. Mary Lake. We put our shit show together and got on the trail by 5:30 p.m., heading to the most concentrated area of Glaciers still existing in the park. You can see both Jackson and the Blackfoot glaciers from the road. They are receding into the highest north facing elevations and may disappear in our lifetime so I felt a urgent need to visit this special place. We hiked in 7 miles to the gun sight lake and set camp as the Full Super moon was rising.

Happy to be on skis and shorts in July

Dropping in on our first line Jackson Glacier saddle 7,800

Further down skiing the runnel lanes

We scoped the main glacier run from the road and headed there first in the morning. It starts at a saddle before the ridge climb to the summit of Jackson. We crossed under some big seracs and onto the main path leading to the summit. It felt good and comfortable to be on the skis again. We got a 1600 foot run before the glacier broke up and we climbed back up and under the seracs again. Jay spotted a nice patch that we climbed next. The climb was a lot longer than it looked from below. Its always this way on glacier terrain. Things appear closer and not as steep until you begin to climb. We got another awesome shot off Jackson's north shoulder. The run was 2,400 feet. It was a bit difficult to find our trail out and we quickly got slapped by how heinous the shwacking can be in GNP. Luckily the trail was found rather quick and we made for the Lake. We took a quick dip and hit the trail out. It was a smash and grab summer hit. 26 hours, 20 miles, 4000 feet of skiing, 500 mosquito bites, 3 Glaciers. Not a bad place to live.

Climbing up the second line off Jackson's shoulder 8,200

Blackfoot Glacier in background

Stefan finding his groove on the fine glacial corn

-Kid Buffalo

Just another trip to Roger's Pass

Boyz will be Boyz
on top of the Pearly Rock

When your trip starts spontaneously, it is always exciting.  When it goes well, it is the most rewarding.  Jay Wellz was on his spring break and hoping to find some moderate avalanche rating somewhere up in Montana or Canada.  We both saw that Roger's pass avalanche condition warning dropped to moderate.  A text message conversation was started.  I was reluctant, "do you think the snow will be good?"  Jay persistent " I can leave in 30 mins be there at 2:00 am" "You should rally".  

What could I say, when you want to go...  Jake was obviously on board the whole time and strong armed the drive there and back.  We left Whitefish at around 7:00 am. Jay got four hours of sleep.  Jake got up an hour early and drove to work to get his passport. 

Crossing the border we took fake names. Felix Helix, Todd Rathmussen and Stejan Hawkenson. We were only going to be over the boarder three days so we figured our Alias's would help our attitudes to survive and succeed this ski bum trip on Rogers Pass, Glacier Provincial Park. We pulled into the only open spot in the lot at the Pass around 2:00 and were touring by 3:00.  It was a beautiful day with not a cloud the sky.  The kind of day that allows you to see the immensity of the Pass.  

Skinning below Sir Donald on the Icilewat Glacier

Another look at this beautiful mountain

A nice afternoon tour on the Icilewat Glacier
Gotta love day light savings time

This spectacular, splitter weather didn't last over 12 hours. In the morning the skies went from grey bird into centimeters of accumulation. We moved from the Wheeler hut up to the Asulkan and heated up a warm sugar drink. It was hard to leave the warm hut as the winds blew outside deterring us from our intended plans of summiting Youngs Peak and skiing the Forever Young couloir. Feeling stuck on the summit in a whiteout we stuck to the mission. The route was tricky and it tools some tricks to manage the ridge. Stejan's Alaskan glacier cornice whipping trick helped us get safely to the top of the Beauty. It was go time, it even cleared a bit for us to get some shots of the glory line. 

Our final day we hoped to get in some new terrain and why not when this place is so Huge. The internet server was down in the Discovery Center so they shut down All of the Park except the permanent open areas.  Before driving back to Whitefish we climbed up the Connaught creek and up to Ursula Minor bowl, skiing some laps in a thick fog. 

Forever Young Couloir

Jay exiting the Forever Young Coulior

Stejan entering the couloir

To most people it wouldn't be worth it to go up into Canada for a ski trip with only a three day weekend when the drive time is twelve hours. For us it was plenty of time to explore some new drainages, ski exciting descents, visit AAC huts and share some leisure time. You don't know until you go has always been a moto of mine.  In the arrival of Spring it is always easier to let opportunities pass us by. We must not forget that a good attitude and a passion for adventure can make any day in the mountains be a memorable one. We have had an amazing winter so far and I feel there is more on the plate this season for the Boyz.

Leapin Stejans

Couloir fishing in a whiteout, yeah you remember uncle

Blog by: Todd Rathmussen, Felix Helix and Stejan Hawkensen

Boulder Hut Adventures

As we all grow older the Boyz are getting spread thinner.  Alaska, Montana, Vermont, Babies, the high Seas and on the open roads. The Wasatch chapter has less dinner gatherings and smaller touring parties. New friendz are being made every day. It's the mountains that have brought us all together. There is a magic and a mystery we seem to be seeking. It's hard to put it into words why we do what we do. With what might take us from this material world into the deepest mystery of afterlife I wonder when I will see you again.

 The North star stay in its place giving us something to guide ourselves back together again.

This is an adventure that has brought the Skier Boyz and Bomb Snow crew closer together. 

A few quick flights in the heli gets the ten of us up and into the mountains where this mystery can really start to unfold.

 In this day in age documentation is at our fingertips. The talent and quality is amazing. 

 The local snow beast, Rosie follows a freerider down one of our ski lines.

Deep in the Purcell Mountains of Southeast British Columbia we look, point, and dream of lines to climb and ski.

 A world wide trend of warming winters has set this snowpack into a state of stability where timing is what makes the skiing good, with a little sun to soften the crust it's go time.

 Follow cam. This was one line that many of us skied. It was a fast figure 11 chute.

 Oh there's that snow beast. The family that owns and runs this back county hut have their two kids living, skiing, and home schooling up here all winter long. 

Boyz making the best of what we are given. There is a gem in the background. The Y. We tried to attempt it but it was on a day that got to warm. Roller balls and big settling wumpfs turned us around.  

 It's great to have youth with you.

 The mess hall. 

 Sometime you just have to look at lifes mysteries in a little different way.

 The mountains up here just go on forever. 

Boulder Hut Adventures owners, kids, staff, and the Bomb Snow Boyz saying goodbye to each other. For now.

http://boulderhutadventures.com

Check the Video edit made form this Hut trip. Axel Peterson does amazing work!!

http://bombsnow.com/archives/bomb_snow_tv_s2_ep2

Where will adventures take you today? Will you find some clues to your mystery?

Much Love.

Peace,

Crossman