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Featured Trip Reports
Wild Sky Rocket Couloir Run
by Jimbopo
Ever since our last attempt which ended up as the foolhardy reputation-destroying disaster, Josh and I knew we had messed up on a good deal. A lot of things weren't right that day (probably mentally as well). But the route felt right. It's rare for a person to find a completely new route these days in the Washington Cascades. Not that nobody has ever been there but that nobody has found it worth mentioning. And with the young exuberance that instills romantic notions we were sure we found one on Mt. Stickney. Josh even came up with a cool name for it: Sky Rocket Coulior! Mt. Stickney already has a standard route up Olney Creek road but with budget cuts on the large, the approach is reprehensible to any thrifty up and coming peak-bagger. Our new route is shorter, direct and more alpine. A lot of things about it still seem good; just requiring the right conditions.
With the last misadventure in mind, first thing was first: inventory. No more mind-blowing catastrophes! We were going to have everything we needed attached to our packs way ahead of time. Ice tools, ice axes, crampons, water, clothes, food -- all scrutiny was applied as soon as we saw a good window for weather. Then some adjustments were made and we were left with the tantalizing realization that we were about to forge a new route up a prominent westward facing mountain. I couldn't tell what I thought was cooler; that it was a first ascent for the route (documented), that the gully resembles a coulior snow climb of a constant slope that rockets 3,000' from the valley below, that it was in a perfect proximity to Index, Baring, Monte Cristo peaks, and most of the western cascades, or the fact that it starts from my very first hiking experience in memory by beginning from Wallace Falls State Park! More
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From a disaster area and getting robbed, to a beautiful climb - Four months in Peru, Part XI
by rgg
We got up shortly after 6, right on cue for a glorious view to the mountains on the other side of the Llanganuco valley. By half past seven we were moving. We soon spotted a couple of climbers on the slope leading up to the crest of the NW ridge, the steepest bit of the route,, not far from the summit. They must have started early. To get to the edge of the glacier, we had to go over a small ridge with some very big boulders tossed around haphazardly. There were cairns marking the route, but with an alpine start it would still have been tricky to find the right way. In daylight it was easy and soon we got to the edge of the glacier.
We took our time getting geared up, but after that we made good progress. It wasn't steep, and we had a wide trail to follow. Route finding wouldn't be any problem today. Occasionally we saw a crevasse. Mostly they were babies, there were only a few bigger ones. The snow bridges looked very solid though and while we crossed them one at a time, we didn't set up a belay. More
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Sun lighting up Kangchenjunga
by Silvia Mazzani
Lying amongst the superb Himalayan peaks of the secluded Indian state of Sikkim, the Goecha Là trail allows to get the Goecha Là - a col 4940 meters high (some sources quote it at 5002 m.) - taking an outstanding view over the mysterious South-East face of Kangchenjunga m. 8585, the third highest peak on earth and the less climbed amongst all the 8000s, situated on the boundary ridge between Sikkim and Nepal.
Kangchenjunga, which name means “Five Treasures of Snow” and also “The Dwelling of the Five Treasures”, in reason of its five summits, was first climbed in 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, members of a British expedition; since the first ascent, the mountaineers use to stop the climb a few meters below the summit, following the tradition of the first summiters, as Kangchenjunga is considered to be holy. It has been my third himalayan trail, after Baltoro-Concordia-K2 Base Camp in Karakoram and Markha Valley Trek in Ladakh. More
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Featured Articles
The Obscurity Conundrum
by Bob Sihler
To Post or Not To Post? That is the question.
Before I go on, let me state that what follows is based on personal feelings and judgments. Although I am a site moderator, what I am going to talk about is not a new SP policy and is not under discussion as a new policy. Also, I am not going to bring it up for discussion among the staff as a new site policy. But please read with an open mind and consider this as something SP contributors might want to think about.
So...... I have deleted almost all of my pages for peaks that have no official names and no locally or historically accepted unofficial names as well. By this, I mean the many "Point..." and "Peak..." pages I had posted, not peaks unofficially named for the benchmarks found on them. In a few cases, I changed the page to a trip report or route or incorporated essential information into another page, and there are two over which I'm still pondering what to do, but most of the pages are gone. So are many of the pictures, though I left several behind if they were relevant to other pages.
Why have I done this, especially since I have long been among those who think SP's greatest value is as a source of information for obscure peaks and since I still am among those?
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Sometimes We Forget
by thephotohiker
Admit it. Each of us who thoroughly enjoys "the wilderness" has felt – probably more than once – that we’re owed such experiences. We convince ourselves that, if for no other reason, wild places should be preserved so we can continue to indulge our desire for solitude. In this, I am as guilty as anyone. But... More
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Layton Kor - The Giant
by Liba Kopeckova
Layton Kor was one of America’s greatest and most revered climbers. He came from a small town in Minnesota, born in 1938, and was a bricklayer by trade. He taught himself to climb by chopping steps with pickaxe up a clay embankment in Texas: “I’d seen the climbers in the movie with ice axes and I thought that as the way it was done”, he wrote.
In the mid 50s, Kor’s parents relocated to Boulder, where the area is abundant with rocks. He put up many routes here as a teenager, especially Eldorado Canyon, Boulder Canyon, the Flatirons and Lumpy Ridge.
By the late 1950s and mid 1960s Kor ecomplished many first ascents, including The Naked Edge, Ruper and Yellow Spur in Eldorado, the West Face of El Capitan, the South Face of Washington Column in Yosemite, the Yellow Wall on the Diamond (Longs Peak), the Cruise in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Proboscis in the Yukon. Layton was also the driving force in opening up the American desert with first ascents of Castleton Tower, the Titan, Monster Tower, and Standing Rock in Utah, and Fast Draw and Bell Tower in Colorado National Monument. The exact number of routes he pioneered is unknown, but it goes into hundreds. More
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Featured Photos
Liberty Crack
by jplotz
Robbie leading up pitch 2 of Liberty Crack. The roof is fixed with a bolt and a pin, and you really only need to place a few of your own pieces on the entire pitch as there are ample fixed pins and new bolts. C1 F.
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Mt. Rainier - Beauty in the Clouds
by silversummit
Mount Rainier
A mountain beautiful even when partially obscured by fog, clouds and airplane contrails
Taken in August 2009
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Photo of the Moment
 Hourglass May 23, 2013 6:12 PM by LincolnB
Photo of the Day
 Mount Timpanogos May 22, 2013 8:58 AM by ZeeJay
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Photo of the Week
 Kangchenjunga from Goecha Là May 12, 2013 6:54 AM by Silvia Mazzani
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Newest Members
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Recent Forum Posts
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New to SummitPost? START HERE!
SummitPost is a collaborative content community focused on climbing, mountaineering, hiking and other outdoor activities. This site is built by its members, and we welcome you to contribute:
(1) Post photos, trip reports, events, logs, and albums.
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(3) Shape the content of the site by voting on other people's work. The bad submissions get buried, and the good stuff rises to the top.
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