The Washington Cascades didn't have a winter in 2014-2015 (warmest Dec. and Feb. on record).  This was February 2015, conditions more like June (no exaggeration).  It's about 6 miles to the little peak at left in this photo, with 4600' of gain.  The first mile was bare trail (usually it would be many feet of snow, and I wouldn't even be able to drive to the trailhead). We'll snowshoe to that little snowy notch (Surprise Gap), then walk left up the ridge crest:…

We once quickly returned 2 lost pointers because the owner's cell phone# was on the collars.  Test your microchip when you visit the vet -- Gwynnie's gave no signal!

chillybuddy cooling vest    keep in plastic bag, so you can add water to wet it (crtitical; much of the cooling is evaporative).  They wilt in sun above treeline and this thing really does help.  Size Medium with a Small girth strap.

Carry…

She has climbed 7 mountains this year, and we failed on an 8th.  She gets to go more often lately because Al is recuperating from last September's injury.  She's maybe a bit slower than she used to be, but I don't have to wait for her unless it's icy or really steep.  She gets the occasional "corgi toss" past certain obstacles, and seems to like snowshoe hiking.  She…

Al claims the first failure on Glacier Peak's South Ridge by a Pembroke Welsh corgi without supplemental oxygen.  We could have done it easily had we been willing to walk the glacier unroped -- as many do -- but Al doesn't do glaciers unroped.  As he points out, "Nobody falls into a crevasse that they can see."  So 9200' is his high point.  Al is inspired by Sirowan's Goro,…

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1035449#Post1035449

This is our 5-day Labor Day trip.  Buck Mt. is 8570', not difficult technically, but one of the Washington Cascades' larger peaks, and fairly remote.  It had been a goal for a long time (30…

If you click on these photos, you'll get a clearer, higher-resolution view.

Seven-Fingered-Jack (9077') and four-fingered Al.  Our objective, Mt. Maude, is just to the right, and 5' higher.

Al saved this trip right at the start by passing…

L>R:  Summit Chief, Chimney Rock, Overcoat Peak.  These are the highest peaks in the Snoqualmie Pass area of Washington's central Cascades.  We're on a little peak called Otter Point, 6360':…