Bushwhackers Phil, Jim and Stephanie climbed the Northeast Ridge of Black Peak on October 5, enduring a mini-epic along the way. See Phils harrowing report in the feature articles area, Epic on Black Peak.

Several Bushwhackers took the October 5 weekend for some cragging on the basalt columns of Tieton Canyon. The routes were put up by the incomparable Amy Recker, and allowed Carla, Dylan, Rob, Doxey and Cynthia to get some top-roped practice of cracks ranging from 5.7 to 5.10b. On Sunday morning Seth arrived, right on time, and led "Slacker", a fun 5.4 route, seconded by Dox.

On weekend of September 28 Bushwhackers Phil, Carla, Roland and Logan the Wonder Dog climbed Mt Maude. Wow, thats a lot of mountain. Way to go!

On Sunday September 22, Chad and Phil climbed The Tooth. Says Phil, "Chad made his trad-leading debut on the bulk of the four pitch route, and pulled it off with flying colors. Things seemed scary near the top on the infamous "Catwalk" which is tough to protect and very exposed, but Chad safely solved the problem and we topped out to sweeping views and warm sunshine." Congrats to both of you!

Steve D. is keeping on the move. "I went up Cashmere Mountain on Thursday (9/19) and South Ingalls Peak on Friday (9/20). Hiked down Ingalls with a 65-year-old guy who'd been climbing in the Cascades since the 1950s (Hod Schepman). Very interesting guy with good climbing stories and tales of canoeing to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean."

On the weekend of September 21, Carla and her new friends at Womens Climbers Northwest climbed Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades! Carla said they had a great time and the area was very beautiful. She said she particularly enjoyed watching the full moon rise over Forbidden. Hey Carla - we want photos!

On the weekend of September 14, Bushwhackers Rick and Carl and two pals got way up on Glacier Peak's Sitkum Route. The foursome was nearly there, perhaps 200 feet shy of the summit when they were thwarted by hard ice. Rick says "Oh well, good weather, good friends and FUN is most important." "This was Carl and my first late season glacier climb. It's interesting seeing how conditions change as the season progresses. This route is very doable in late season. The gully at the top is probably the toughest part of the route. Wish I had an ice screw or 2..." It happens! Great job guys. Here are some photos from their climb, with captions by Carl:

	Looking from lower to upper Sitkum glacier at ~8500 feet.
	The marvelous view south from 10,000 feet.
	Descending the lower Sitkum glacier. Watch out for rocks whizzing by!

Dox, Jim, Phil, Carla and Emily hiked up the Sulphur Mountain trail, that same Saturday. The five enjoyed a picnic on the point at the end of the trail, "Tusk o' Sulphur". They then scrambled up boulders and squeezed past trees to the true summit of Sulphur itself - fine views and Summit Rolos all around. Its a big hike, 5,000 feet up and right back down again. Jim summed it up a couple days later, "Great trip, I'm still sore but ready to go again."

On weekend of September 7, Mario, Nate, David M. and Jim beat the brush up to Terror Basin in search of McMillan Spires. The weather wouldn't cooperate so the group turned back. The Picketeers said the area is quite beautiful and vow to return for another try.

Steve D. said he "managed to do" the The Tooth to Bryant Peak Traverse in mid-August and day climbed Mount Maude in late August. Geez that guy goes, even on a recent road trip to the flatlands! "We climbed Eagle Mountain in Minnesota, the state's high point. It's not much off a hike at only 2301, but still provided great views of the surrounding area. Perhaps the most interesting reason for making the ascent is to sit atop the 1.8 billion year old rock that makes up the summit area. Quite a contrast to the youngsters we have in the Cascades and Olympics." You did bring Summit Rolos, right Steve?

Laura and Clint are venturing to Patagonia next year! They are planning their trip and asked me to put a note here asking for info. Says Laura, "We are set to go next February and will be trekking around Torres del Paine Park for a week or so. It would be great to get any beta on the area, experiences, EASY climbs (not really interested in dragging a bunch of technical rock climbing gear with me!), etc. " Anyone been to that remote corner of the world? Please let us know.

Wowsa, Park Glacier is beautiful! A group of Bushwhackers has just returned from their trip to Mt Baker - didn't quite reach the summit but had a great time. Dox, Doug, Steve M., Carla, Rob, Steve D., and Mario hiked in from Artist Point over Ptarmigan Ridge to their basecamp at 6500 feet. The next day an attempt on the Park Glacier was thwarted by the bergschrund at 9900 feet - well, oh well. The team then exited the area via a traverse of Mazama Glacier, Chowder Ridge and Skyline Divide - ooof! thats a lotta hikin'! See Mt Baker Park Glacier photo essay.

A couple weeks ago Phil, Jim and Randy visited Sahale', although Randy had to turn back due to gear issues. Phil says "Sahale arm is a gorgeous island of rolling tranquility set amongst the wicked crags of the North Cascades", and "The outting was fun and stress free, though hard on the old body as we were climbing for ten hours and about 5.000 feet of vertical." Man, thats some tough ground too. Congrats on your summit!

Katie and Carol are setting the world on fire. Both are completing the BoeAlps Intermediate Climbing Course, and so have been ticking some impressive climbs in the North Cascades. Katie says the class has been "an incredible experience". She says, "Our alpine adventures to date have included Prusik Peak, Liberty Bell, Cutthroat and an attempt or two at Forbidden (we will get it eventually!), the North Face of Shuksan, the Fuhrer Finger/Kautz route on Mt. Rainier." Wow, the list goes on! "In addition to the class, we have been out doing alpine climbs in Albuquerque (Jemez and Sandia Mountains) and Colorado (Rocky Mt. Natl. Park). And, we just returned from a magical trip to Mt. Olympus!" Wow, watch out world! Here comes the dynamic duo! Photos! We want photos!

Dana and Julie have returned from the summit of Kilimanjaro. Says Dana, "I absolutely loved Kili, mainly because of the people and socializing. Summit day turned out well with hardly any wind at the summit, so we got to stick around for awhile up there. Which I don't think turned out to be the best thing for me little ol' head. I definitely want to go back to Africa, but would like to visit many more areas." Wow, way to go! Dana has promised photos once she has them scanned.

Bushwhacker Steve Short has completed the Mountaineers Basic Climb Course. Wow, Steve, thats quite an accomplishment! Steve climbed The Tooth to complete the course, after ascents of Little Tahoma and Ingalls Peak. Steve said, "I did it. I completed the course. It was a lot of work but I feel really good about it. I did the Tooth on Thursday. What a great climb!!"

Steve D. and his pal Paul continue to rock around the Cascades; this past weekend they visited the Monte Cristo area. Says Steve, "We had some spectacular views the first evening as we ate, but by evening the clouds had closed in again, shutting everything down. Didn't make Foggy Peak, but did sign two registers: N and S summits of Cadet Peak."

Dox, Perry, Adam, Mike, Steve S., and Phil enjoyed the knife-edge summit of Eldorado on Saturday July 20. The team took a rest day to scramble Point 7252, a fine snowclimb in its own right. Everyone had a great time and returned safely. Good job team! See Perry Weinberg's feature article.

Mario and his team have summited Mount Fury in the Pickets - wow! Good job, guys! Mario said, "We had one of those trips where even when things went wrong it still somehow worked out for us. An experience that sharply contrasted with our more humbling experience two years ago." The team pushed hard and hit the summit only 68 hours after getting on the water-taxi. Some of the team then visited remote and beautiful Luna Lake, while others scrambled to summit of Luna. Said Mario, "A great team on a magical trip to the Northern Pickets. I have to think it just doesn't get much better than this!" Feature article with photos coming soon!

Lots of activitiy over that same July 20 weekend. Frederic and Scott, students in this years BCC program, are keeping up the conditioning after their Mt Baker climb. The two climbed the south side of Mt Adams last weekend in preparation for Mt Rainier. Good climb!

And Rob solo-scrambled Black Peak. Says Rob, "A beautiful mountain. Really easy to get to, and pretty simple climb. It would be great for a slightly mellower trip, or to take less experienced people up." And big views of the North Cascades too. Way to go, Rob!

Carla is nicely deviding her time between mountaineering and rock climbing. An Alaskan expedition, then Leavenworth, then Glacier Peak, now Squamish, next weekend Mt Rainier... This past weekend had her following on routes such as Exasperator, 5.10a, at Squamish. This was part of a Womens Climbing Club outing that included Emily. Sounds great!

Steve Denton continues his rockin' summer. On the same weekend he and his friend Paul climbed Cutthroat Peak in the North Cascades. "It was monster rappel session down the Southeast Buttress ...well over a dozen. All in all, we spent 15 hours getting up and down. Definitely didn't break any speed records, but we made it safe and sound. Very cool climb with excellent views." Yikes! Over a dozen raps! Next for Steve is Mt Challenger - wow!

Dox, Stephanie, Carla, Randy, Dirk and Alvin climbed Glacier Peak's Kennedy Glacier during weekend of July 13. The route provided interesting crevasse problems and splendid scenery. Although stopped 200 feet shy of the true summit (due to crevasse & blue ice), the team was quite pleased with their completion of a traverse - Kennedy Glacier to summit crater, then across the top of Scimitar Glacier to the Sitkum route, then down to Boulder Basin. Perhaps the best part, however, was seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We ran into Cliff at one camp and Michael at the next. Always good seeing friends in the mountains! Says Alvin, "I really enjoyed everyones company on the mountain. I've never encountered as many crevasses and terrain features before."

Dylan and Emily scrambled Lena in the Olympics, Saturday July 13. Dylan puts it dryly, "Nice area."

Allen managed to get to the summit of Daniel, despite high winds. Tim and Alan also got high on the route before making the call to stop due to winds. Allen spoke of their bivy site, "What we didn't like was the massive rolling thunderclaps we heard above us. We found our bivy spot up on a glacier-smoothed rock ... at 5900 feet or so, above any mosquitoes and peggy's pond. That night, we tucked into our bivy sacks and let the beating commence. I'm guessing we had 25 mph sustained winds most of the night with gusts higher than that. " Wow! A rugged team indeed!

Randy, Jim, Phil and Jolene climbed Mt Baker during the weekend of July 6. Says Randy, "We started our climb around 4am Saturday, and cramponed all the way up, reaching the summit around 9:30am. A little "halo" formed around the mountain right about the time we summitted, but great views and good times the rest of the entire day. The route is in great condition currently, and very little crevasse management was required."

Steve and Aileen visited Gothic Basin, and Steve continued to the summit of Del Campo. Steve said, "Del Campo was a good scramble and the view was spectacular. I could see from Rainier to Baker and beyond and out to the Olympics, the San Juans and Seattle...very cool!"

Rick and Carl kicked steps up Mt Daniel this past weekend. Rick says, "After reaching Peggy's Pond, the climb itself was surprisingly easy. Nice snow conditions for kicking steps, nice glissading." Way to go, guys!

Tracey was part of a group that completed the Ptarmigan Traverse on skis! Wow! Says Tracey, "VERY cool route - you'd love it. Five glaciers, five high passes, and incredible views."

Doug, Jackie, Kevin and Shawn hiked Mt Jupiter on Saturday - and thats a lotta hike! 15 miles round trip and 4000 feet of gain. Doug says, "Spectacular views!!! Rainier, Adams, Baker, Shuksan, EVERYTHING in between. We got up in 3.5 hours! Everyone was really rockin'!"

Steve, Craig, Seth and Sandy bivied on the summit of Ruth Mountain. Sandy says, "Bivying on the top of Ruth is definitely going on my top 5 favorite places to Bivy. The views were freakin' amazing. When we arrived on top we were greeted with 360 degrees of mountain views. We could see south down to Rainier, to the Olympics, Baker, Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Challenger and Spickard. From the Southern Picketts up north to Canada."

Whew! Alaska is tough stuff indeed! Two Bushwhacker trips to Great Land have just returned. The Denali team reached 18,500 feet when illness in the team forced a retreat. Nevertheless, good job on your effort, folks! Doug Yates says, "Some good pictures are in hand, more to be developed next week. Should have some interesting ones for a slide show later." Looking forward to that, Doug. Shawn says, "The team is in great spirits and our thoughts and hopes are with all of our climbing community friends hoping that your adventures are great."

The Mt. Brooks team also met difficulty. The crossing of the McKinley River proved treacherous, so the team tried to go around, and that didn't work either. The team covered some tough ground and enjoyed big views of the Alaska Range. They are glad for the adventure and learned a lot. Have a look at Doxey's Mt Brooks Photo Essay. Here's to Alaska!

In preparation for their upcoming Mt Fury outing, our pals Mario, Seth, Kevin and Doug visited Robinson Mountain in the Pasayten Wilderness, June 29-July 1. Doug says, "Beautiful area, fun scramble, and great company!"

In the news, we have Summit City! Bushwhackers Mario Stephanie Carla Jim and Randy kicked steps up Mt Shuksan, during weekend of June 6 7 8. Mario said the route is beautiful, but crowded on weekends. More from them soon, and hopefully some photos.

Seth Pollack's website has been revamped with a new look and lots more images! Says Seth, "Like all good software projects, I had to slip the schedule, cut features, and put in some late nights to finish it, so I'm pleased to annouce its availability! Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback and encouragement along the way." Looks great, Seth! Everybody check it out at http://www.pollackphoto.com/

Summit City! Dox, Carla, Dylan and Rob visited the top of Silver Star on Saturday, June 1, and enjoyed big views of the North Cascades in every direction. This outing was the warm-up for their Mt Brooks expedition. See Doxey's Silver Star photo essay.

Dox, Cynthia, Anna and John made their way to Toil Peak on Memorial Day. Although the summit is grand with big views, the best part is the ancient forest with big trees. Its always good to visit the mountains with friends - as Anna said afterward "Yay, us!"

Also on Memorial Day, intrepid Bushwhackers Mario and Chris Hagedorn scrambled high on the slopes of Del Campo. Said Mario, "Got to within 40 feet of the summit and had to turn around. Weather crashed and the final snow slope was especially uninviting." Dang! Next time...

Jim, Randy and Matt skiied up to Schrieber Meadows, then on up to the toe of the Easton, on a little fact-finding mission. Said Jim Merrill, "We had a great ski with perfect snow conditions up to 4800' where Metcalf Moraine flattens. Figured about 12 miles round trip total including road in 4 hours." Way to go, guys!

The weekend of May 18 was busy with Bushwhacker outings. Steve, Doxey and Mario completed a traverse of the Enchantments - watch for the feature article once the photos are developed. Also, celebrity climber John Fearnside was relentlessly chased by paparazzi photographers Steve and Seth as they scrambled Mt Ellinor - Summit City, baby!

That same weekend Allen, Stephanie, and Alan braved the weather and crowds on Mt Hood. Said Allen, "So I knew that this route would be busy on a Saturday, but I don't think I quite envisioned how busy it was going to be. Helmet not required for ice and rock fall but for protection against falling climbers!" Feature article is in the works.

Hey, have a look at the feature article, Dodger Point, by Doxey Kemp. This was a Leader Surprise outing - the team had no idea of the objective until they were miles down the trail! A great trip!

Looking for a new climbing partner? Little Zachary Weinberg went 'off-belay' five months ago and will soon be ready for action. Bushwhacker parents Michelle and Perry are introducing him to the outside world beginning with the Tulip Festival and a little snowshoeing. Click the thumbnail to see the image!

Our pal Seth gave a slideshow at REI regarding last years Bushwhacker trek in Nepal. A great show, the photos were stunning and Seth spins a story like no-one else. Many Bushwhackers were on hand for the event, and the room was totally full. Seth has promised that Nepal photos will soon appear on his website, so visit early and often - http://www.pollackphoto.com/

Two Bushwhacker parties went to Mt St Helens over the May 4th weekend. Both got totally hammered by wind, snow and cold and went to town for Cinco de Mayo. Next time!

And watch out for Anna and Jitnapa too! These two long-time pals just completed a multi-pitch rock climb, The Saber. This was Anna's first lead. Look, mom, no training wheels!

Bushwhackers Dox Seth Rob Jackie Carla and Mario headed into Olympic National Park, April 27 28 29. Whew! the views from the summit of Dodger Point are awesome! A fine spring snowclimb. Check out Doxey's Dodger Point feature article.

Bushwhackers Dox Jackie Rob and Doug were set to visit Bogachiel Peak on April 6, however impending rain sent them scurrying east to the sunshine of Lake Chelan. An attempt was made on Boulder Butte which unfortunately fell shy of the summit. All agreed it is a beautiful area and vow to return.

Another group of Bushwhackers has hiked up the slopes of Mt St Helens. Absolutely gorgeous day on March 3rd - views north to Mt Baker and south all the way to the Sisters in Oregon, and everything in between. Spent one night at camp with an incredible star show. Good times! Steve Matera clicked a few pics and I have put them together in a little photo essay - click here and enjoy!

The same weekend had Dylan starting the season off right with a successful climb of the North Face of Chair Peak. Wow! That's some burley climbin'! Says Dylan, "The route was in real good condition and the weather was excellent. We swung leads and I ended up leading the two long pitches."

Our pal Steve Matera is featured on MountainZone again. If you get a chance to hike with Steve, be sure to wear a red jacket so he'll take your picture! Look for the headline Preserving Wilderness at http://www.mountainzone.com/.

A large group organized by Mario Moreno safely returned from their attempt of a winter climb of Mt St Helens, February 10. High winds scoured the slopes of climbers and skiers a few hundred feet from the summit. It was great fun to be high on the ridge in the gale. That evening we enjoyed a brief but furious blizzard. Many hours later the air was clean and crisp and the trip culminated with a fine, sparkling morning. Thanks Mario!