View from the top

 Climbed 25 steps to the rooftop of my apt :)

Enjoying the bright sunny Seattle day and taking a short  break from climbing...

 

Bandera mountain 5/26

A rainy day at Bandera mountain. My first time in the 40 pound backpack range.

Total time up: 2 hrs 15 min, down:  45 mins; 5.0 mile roundtrip, 41 pound backpack

Lichenberg mountain snow scramble

First summit scramble out of the three required to graduate from Alpine scrambling course.

A relatively easy hike rated S2/T2 ( strenuous 2 , Technical 2)
Climbed slopes to an unnamed mountain at approx. 5000 ft , as we could not navigate to  Lichenberg initially.  We ended up meandering and the total trip was over  10 + mile hike. When we did find it, it was rock climb with no snow and so turned back. Saw some small snow fall starting into a small avalanche as well.
Time to go up:  5 hrs ; Time to go down : 3 hrs; 25 pd backpack

Panaroma shot from the top of unnamed peak

Linchenberg in the background

 

Cable line hike 5/23

1 hr 35 mins up; 1 hr down; 33 pd backpack

Mailbox hike 5/18

Total elevation gain around 4000 ft in 2.5 miles.
Time up : 3hrs  Time down: 2 hrs, 23 pound backpack

For more info about this hike http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mailbox-peak

Me in front of the dummy mailbox. The mailbox does have registration book to document you arrived there.

 

 

Denny mountain scramble

Final field trip for Mountaineers Alpine scrambling course.
A snow scramble with a class 5 (Technical 5) steep routes for parts of the hike.

From the top we could see the entire Snoqualmie pass mountains and nearby regions

 

Cable line hike 5/13

1 hr 30 mins up ; 1 hr down; 36 pounds

Exactly 2 mos to go !!

Mt. St. Helens hike - Mother's day

Went on a Mother's day hike to Mt.St.Helens. Took the winter route which starts at 2650 and ends at 8300 ft. After climbing upto 6800 ft  turned back as it was already 1pm and I would not have made the remaining 1500 ft by the turn around time of 2pm. While coming down glissaded almost 1000 ft
Time taken to go up for 4200 ft vertical gain: 5 hrs ; to go  down: 3 hrs, 30 pound backpack

 

 

Mother's day at Mt.St. Helens has  a tradition where people dress up in dresses, skirts, fascinators and head pieces. this includes both men and women. Was very entertaining seeing 800 people today on the mountain in dresses.

 

GPS track of Rainier climb route

Snow travel skills field trip

Snow field trip by the Mountaineers as part of Alpine scrambling class . Spent the entire weekend learning traversing, glissading, doing sitting arrests(holding ice axe in right and left hand), head down arrests(holding ice axe in right and left hand) and back down arrest. Also worked on plunge stepping and backward down climbing.

pic of me glissading

Ended the field trip by summiting Cowboy mountain

 

Cable line : May day

May day hike with heaviest weight so far at 35 pounds
1hr: 50 mins up;  1 hr down