1977 - Slalok Mt., Peshastin Pinnacles, Mt. Baker, Mt. Garibaldi, Party!

Slalok Mt. (Rex's Pillar)
Location of Joffre Lake and Slalok
My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Chuck taking his turn to dig.

Chuck McCafferty and I hadn't built a snow cave before, but we had read books on how to make them ;-) We thought we could practice this semi-mysterious craft when we camped above Joffre Lake before we went up Rex's Pillar.We dug a hole straight into the steep snow slope and then dug two tunnels forming a "Y", where we could cook and store our gear in the entrance.

Inside the cave.

Keith contemplating candles in the cave.

It wasn't all that bad, but anybody slightly claustrophobic would have gone screaming into the night! We even remembered to poke a hole through the roof to let out the "bad vapours"!

Making our way up Slalok.

Peshastin Pinnacles
Location of Peshastin Pinnacles State Park

Trigger Finger - before its death.

The Peshastin Pinnacles are just east of Leavenworth Washington. Leavenworth is worth a visit just for its own sake, as it has taken on a Bavarian theme throughout the town, but it has some great climbing.
South of town is Snow Creek Wall, and north of town is Castle Rock. East of town are the pinnacles, but I believe they now might be closed to climbers.
Trigger finger, pictured here, has since lost its vertical nature, so we were fortunate to experience it before its demise.

Chris enjoying the view.

One of the nice things about this area, is it's in the rain shadow of the Cascade range. It could be rainy on the coast, and quite tolerable here.
Chris Cooper is on the top in this picture.
There are a lot of sandstone pinnacles in this small area and bolts protected a number of routes.
Oh yes, if this area is open and you have the opportunity to go into it, watch out for rattle snakes!

Mt. Baker
Location of Mt. Baker

Staying out of the hot sun.

Mt. Baker is always a good objective, even if you do the tourist route. That route is even better if you camp really high in good weather.We went up one summer afternoon and decided to take a break and wait out some of the hot afternoon temperatures under a little tarp. 

Mt. Colfax in the background.

Later in the afternoon we moved over on the glacier to make camp. If I remember this was one of those "go light" trips. We didn't have a tent, but just the tarp. One of us had a light sleeping bag over.
Is that Ken wearing jeans?


Mt. Garibaldi
Location of Mt. Garibaldi

Chris and Bob checking things out.

Mt. Garibaldi dominates the eastern horizon of Squamish. It rises over eight thousand feet above the town so it is an impressive sight. We had wanted to climb it for some time, and so during the summer holidays, Chris Cooper, Bob Cardoni, Chuck McCafferty, and Keith Rajala set out.

We hiked up the Diamond Head road and continued on down into Ring Creek and finally made camp just under Opal Cone. The next morning was a little unsettled, so we took our wands and set off over the neve, leaving a wand every so often.

Summit of Garibaldi in the distance

The picture above shows us approaching the north side, just north of "The Tent".

Chuck adding to the register.

Just below the summit was a significant bergschrund with a slightly looming upper lip. The only way through was around its eastern edge which involved a bit of exposure. A dead man placement and a lead up moderately steep snow place Chuck and I on the summit. 
Evidently the view from the summit is quite something, but we didn't see anything but the immediate surroundings. It wasn't a whiteout by any stretch of the imagination, but it was very misty. Too bad.

Above the clouds.

On the way down, Chuck and I played a game to see who could see the most wands we had placed across the neve. I didn't realize my distance vision was so much better than his!
A good trip.

Party!
.... and then there was weekend at the head of Alouette Lake.  Rather hazy memories.

Names left out to protect the innocent. ;-)