Winter Trips...

There are still a couple of trips going this winter if people are looking for things to do. There are a few spots left on the Antarctic Ski Cruise if people are interested. We will be meeting in southern Argentina on the 5th of November and heading off to Antarctica to have the trip of a lifetime! Skiing, penguins, and lots of ice!

After that trip I will be guiding a trip on Aconcagua in early December. This is a small group trip, so is limited to only one, maybe two more people. If you are interested in getting to the top of the highest mountain in South America let me know.

I will be spending my time Skiing in France in Jan. and Feb. I will be based out of La Grave, but will be up in Chamonix a little bit as well. If you haven't skied in the Alps before, it is a must-do. The trams take you up for longer runs than anywhere in the states and you can ski mellow glaciers or steep couliours. It is the perfect place to really learn how to ski-mountaineer.

In March and April I will be back up in Alaska for the heli-season. Points North really does provide the full package. We all stay at a killer lodge with full-time chefs and the beautiful blue heli's are parked right outside our door. Massive Alaskan powder filled faces are the name of the game up here.

Get in touch with me at benmitchell17@gmail.com if you are interested in any of these trips. I may be available in late Dec. for some ice climbing in the States as well as May in Alaska or Europe if anyone has any custom ideas..... Hope everyone is getting out and staying safe!

Last Trip on Mt. Rainier!

Heading up for my last trip on Mt. Rainier this season. It has been tough climbing the last week or so. The weather has been going off and the snow and winds have been up. Since I was up just a few days ago it has snowed over a meter on the upper mountain and people are skiing on the Muir snowfield where we were wearing crampons only a short time ago. Hopefully we can punch through the new snow and stormy weather. It is looking like we might be getting a little window on the tail end of this storm tonight, so I am hopeful!

More fun from the summer

This was a panorama that I took looking south from our camp on the North side of Forbidden peak. That is Dale and Marc, our two examiners in the photo. It is really an amazing place, that North side. It gets overlooked because it is so easy to access the West Ridge from Boston Basin. Although the rock might be a tad bit better on the West Ridge of Forbidden, I think for full value alpine appeal, it is hard to beat that NW Face of the North Ridge. You cross big glaciers to get to it. Ascend a big snow face to get on the ridge, then stellar rock climbing to the summit....

Some Pics from the summer...

Danny wet and miserable on Eldorado

The NW Face of the North Ridge of Forbidden

Fall in the Cascades

It is certainly fall here in the northwest. The weather has changed and although we seem to be getting days of good weather here and there. It is not summer anymore. As I spent the last two days couped up inside watching the deluge of rain come down I can attest to the current wet state of Washington weather.

I attempted to climb Mt. Rainier last week with a group, and we got turned around at about 13,000 feet due to weather. I will say that the entire mountain is as bare as I have seen it in years. We are all wearing crampons up the Muir snowfield and the route, although it still goes, is no cakewalk. I am heading back to big snowy to begin my last program of the season there. It would be nice to get up one last time!

IFMGA Certified!

I passed my Alpine Exam and am now a fully certified IFMGA mountain guide! I am so fired up about it, it has been a long and hard road and to have finished today is a huge weight off my shoulders! Thanks so much to everyone who has helped me along the way, and congrats to the other candidates on the exam. Marc and Dale, you guys crushed it as examiners!

I will post a better trip report on the exam, there are a lot of good pics and stories coming!

Terrible Thirst and Brilliant Rock on a Cascade Classic!

This Trip report has been sitting in my "to be finished pile" for some time now. It is amazing that anything ever gets done at all around here! Danny and I had been out training for our AMGA Alpine Guides Exam for several weeks. Enduring poor weather, long approaches, and stressful climbing all in the name of training. This climb up one of the most classic ridges in North America stands out among many stellar climbs.

We left the house around four am. Only about an hour later than we had planned, no big deal. The drive up to the Stuart Lake trail head was uneventful. I have been forced to get out and move logs, rocks or other objects on prior occasions. We had chosen this approach rather than the standard approach from the South side due to its proximity to Leavenworth. In hindsight, it may have been easier to just do the extra hour of driving... We found the climber's trail up to Mountaineer's Creek no problem. It was after this that we began forging ahead on our own trail. After spending at least an hour extra, as well as substantially more effort, contouring along the side of a massive boulder field, we dropped down to the base of the ridge. All told, it wasn't terrible, and with the knowledge of how the trail goes now, it was an easy walk out that way.

We cruised up the snow to the base of the route. We had chosen to take a snow gully up to what the Becky guide book had described as "moderate 5th class slabs." Danny climbed up, down, and all around finding nothing that evenly remotely looked like the description and finally punched it through to the ridge on chossy steep blocks. Apparently the way to climb it nowadays is from the toe of the ridge, but in our haste to climb we had skipped asking around for any extra beta.

We short-roped up the ridge on what is some of the most amazingly featured and solid rock I have ever been on. We had committed ourselves to guiding each other other on the route. So rather than simul-climb or solo any of the easier ground, we guided each other. Good practice, but not as fast as we could have gone.

About half-way through the day, we were each feeling pretty thirsty. It should be noted that we each took two liters of water on the route and no stove. We wanted to see how light we could make it. So the gear was light. One axe between us. Two sets of aluminum crampons, small alpine rack of protection, tiny pads, and not much food or water. This plan worked out well except for the water. That was not enough....

We gained the Great Gendarme pretty early and climbed through the amazing 5.9 pitches quickly. They are as good as they say. Super fun laybacking to begin with, followed by a killer exposed wide crack. These pitches really are not to be missed. It started to get dark towards the top and we found a nice bivy spot just as it was getting dark after a few route finding debacles.

We woke to another beautiful day, and my one luxury item, a can of Red Bull really hit the spot! We finished the last 100 feet to the summit with no problems and began our tricky descent down. We chose to descend the West Ridge for the reason that it would be more difficult than the standard descent down the Cascadian Couliour. Remember, we were training for the guides' exam, so nothing should be simple.

It took so much longer to get down the stupid thing than we thought. We ended up coming down the West Ridge Couliour. It was rotten and chossy and dry. After more than 24 hours on the move in hot weather with only two liters, we were getting pretty zombiefied! The first dribble we found in the gully was some of the best water I have ever had.

The walk back up to Stuart Pass, then Goat Pass, then down the Stuart glacier in order to get back to the base of the route was also an infinitely longer way than we had planned, and by the time we got to our ski poles stashed by the climbers' trail, we were ready to be done. But, alas, another several hours of walking needed to take place before we could be out of the hills. The walk out took substantially less time than the walk in. Mainly due to the fact that we stayed on the trail that time.

All in all it is a great climb. I would recommend it to anyone. The upper North Ridge is a fantastic climb as well. Basically that is just all of the climbing on the best rock. It is not to be missed!