A trip to Leavenworth
Leavenworth is way into the Cascades, and in 1962 they decided that the whole place would become a mock Bavarian village. It's pretty weird, everything, even Safeway, Starbucks, all have to use the standard germanic fonts for their logos.
Anyhoo, we were there not for the tourist stuff, but for the great climbing that can be found in the mountains around it.
Setting off from Kingston on the ferry in the misty morning hours.
Suddenly the fog parted and it was blue skies at Index, where even the little ones get to have their own climbing wall to practice in the shadow of some rather lofty routes, multi-pitch routes.
Icicle Creek, being very unfrozen
A tree waits to 'high five' unsuspecting kayakers right in the mush
More Icicle Creek in all its raging unfrozen glory.
Heading up into the mountains, where the mid eighties forecast turned out to be mid to high nineties (ah, only ten degrees off, it's not thaaaat much)
An awesome view
A very ugly tree
The first set of routes
And trying to figure out what ones we want to try first (there were no other climbers, we were the only ones stoopid enough to be out in this heat - mad dogs and Englishmen? But wait, I'm an American now. Does that make me just a Mad American Dog)
So, here is our first area.
With a bunch of weird little tunnels where you had to crawl under boulders to get up there.
The first route of the day, cooking in the sun. It was even tougher than expected because well, when you grab hold of something that's red hot, you instinctively let go, trouble is, that was your next handhold.
Route #2
Jim heading up (sure you got enough gear there? And yet, he used almost all of it)
Reaching the last stretch and the crux (which is in the shadow, which is for the best really, it's a rough move, and doing it in the sun as well? Phew!)
The view of a neighbouring climbing area. That mound of rubble on top is actually an area people hike to. WTF
A very little lizard on a very big rock
A view from atop the route where you can still see all the damage the last wildfire caused as it crested the mountain and started eating down into the valley before it was finally stopped.
More cool views
Posing atop the ridge
Basking in having actually made it up intact, and being a little concerned about the rather large drop before me.
Marching along the top to reset the ropes further along
And more spectacular views
Facing the routes at the other end of the area
Setting a boobytrap for the next climbers who come this way. Teehee
Another tunnel into the rock (probably full of rattlesnakes, or Big Foots/Feet)
And then, off to town for beer and Gustav burgers!
The fee charging campgrounds were all full (of people with at least fifty squealing children each), so we headed up the mountain to the free one. After a twenty minute drive that more than once had me recalling the end of the original 'Italian Job' the directions said that if you reach a tiny railroad tunnel, you've gone past it. So I guess we did...
But heading back, we found a little nook and just pulled in and set up (I'm the plastic hut on the left)
The view come morning was spectacular, and the forest fires raging in the area created a great sunrise.
The view from across the 'road' with the smoke influencing the morning mist
Our hidden campground on the burned mountaintop. Me and Tom wanted caffeine for the morning wake up, Jim prefers an early morning bouldering session and poses atop the big white lump in the background.
Anyhoo, we were there not for the tourist stuff, but for the great climbing that can be found in the mountains around it.
Setting off from Kingston on the ferry in the misty morning hours.
Suddenly the fog parted and it was blue skies at Index, where even the little ones get to have their own climbing wall to practice in the shadow of some rather lofty routes, multi-pitch routes.
Icicle Creek, being very unfrozen
A tree waits to 'high five' unsuspecting kayakers right in the mush
More Icicle Creek in all its raging unfrozen glory.
Click to viewHeading up into the mountains, where the mid eighties forecast turned out to be mid to high nineties (ah, only ten degrees off, it's not thaaaat much)
An awesome view
A very ugly tree
The first set of routes
And trying to figure out what ones we want to try first (there were no other climbers, we were the only ones stoopid enough to be out in this heat - mad dogs and Englishmen? But wait, I'm an American now. Does that make me just a Mad American Dog)
So, here is our first area.
With a bunch of weird little tunnels where you had to crawl under boulders to get up there.
The first route of the day, cooking in the sun. It was even tougher than expected because well, when you grab hold of something that's red hot, you instinctively let go, trouble is, that was your next handhold.
Route #2
Jim heading up (sure you got enough gear there? And yet, he used almost all of it)
Reaching the last stretch and the crux (which is in the shadow, which is for the best really, it's a rough move, and doing it in the sun as well? Phew!)
The view of a neighbouring climbing area. That mound of rubble on top is actually an area people hike to. WTF
A very little lizard on a very big rock
A view from atop the route where you can still see all the damage the last wildfire caused as it crested the mountain and started eating down into the valley before it was finally stopped.
More cool views
Posing atop the ridge
Basking in having actually made it up intact, and being a little concerned about the rather large drop before me.
Marching along the top to reset the ropes further along
And more spectacular views
Facing the routes at the other end of the area
Setting a boobytrap for the next climbers who come this way. Teehee
Another tunnel into the rock (probably full of rattlesnakes, or Big Foots/Feet)
And then, off to town for beer and Gustav burgers!
The fee charging campgrounds were all full (of people with at least fifty squealing children each), so we headed up the mountain to the free one. After a twenty minute drive that more than once had me recalling the end of the original 'Italian Job' the directions said that if you reach a tiny railroad tunnel, you've gone past it. So I guess we did...
But heading back, we found a little nook and just pulled in and set up (I'm the plastic hut on the left)
The view come morning was spectacular, and the forest fires raging in the area created a great sunrise.
The view from across the 'road' with the smoke influencing the morning mist
Our hidden campground on the burned mountaintop. Me and Tom wanted caffeine for the morning wake up, Jim prefers an early morning bouldering session and poses atop the big white lump in the background.
