Stuart Days

The past few training days in the Stuart Range have focused around enjoying moderate routes new to my partner and I. With a high summer snow pack and reasonably cool temps in the Cascades, Mt. Stuart has remained a place for boots, an ice ax, and a warm jacket.

A few hours after the show...

Right before my trip to California, Joel Kauffman and I raced up the the Stuart Glacier Coulior the day after I gave a slide show at LMS. Joel and I can't seem to not go climbing after slide shows. A few weeks earlier, a Jim Donini presentation sent us into a psyched craze that spun us up Argonaut Peak. The SGC was in amazing condition and we both savored the rime covered mixed climbing on the West Ridge.

Beautiful climbing on the upper West Ridge

The most recent Stuart mission was a nice jaunt up the Razorback Ridge. Geoff Cecil and I thought this seldom done route was fun and worthy. It's no North Ridge, but the rock is beautiful (even under the lichen!) and the snow patches on route made for fun mixed flair. Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was an exhilarating leap over the bergshrund at the bottom of the Sherpa Glacier Coulior. It took me a minute to psyche up, but the stunt turned out to be fun huck.