I am happy to report that the Z-machine and I returned from an awesome trip to the Cascades in Washington. Over the last 10 days Z and climbed in some of the most spectacular wilderness this country has to offer. During our trip we hiked into Boston Basin at the foot of Mount Forbidden only to be socked in by a complete white out for two days.Boston Basin when we hiked in…
Boston Basin next day…
To escape the split pea soup (Z’s apt description of the weather) we moved to the western side of the cascades to climb the South Arête on South Early Winter Spire. Multiple pitches of moderate rock with great exposure…pure alpine bliss!
From there we continued on to Levenworth, WA to climb a 3-pitch climb called Midway. The first pitch (5.6) tested Z’s composure. While the next two pitches were technically easier, there was plenty of exposure for the both of us!
To escape the split pea soup (Z’s apt description of the weather) we moved to the western side of the cascades to climb the South Arête on South Early Winter Spire. Multiple pitches of moderate rock with great exposure…pure alpine bliss!
From there we continued on to Levenworth, WA to climb a 3-pitch climb called Midway. The first pitch (5.6) tested Z’s composure. While the next two pitches were technically easier, there was plenty of exposure for the both of us!Pitch 1...
Pitch 2...
After having our fill of rock climbing we moved on to Mount Rainier. Our schedule at Mount Rainier National Park was intense! Route shown below. 
On Sunday, we left Paradise at 7am in an absolute white out… 
arrived at Camp Muir at 12:30pm to beautiful skies…
melted water, brewed up drinks and ate; went to bed at 5pm, got up at 12:30am, and left camp at 1am. After climbing for about 6 ½ hours and crossing many large crevasses, one of which required a ladder to cross, we reached the summit around 8am!
It was a magnificent day to sit on the summit where we made sure our accomplishments were properly recorded in the summit register.
After descending to back to Camp Muir we took a 2 hour siesta, packed up our camp and returned to Paradise by 6pm Monday morning. In less than 36 hours we climbed up and down a total of ~10,000 feet.
PURE STR DOMINATION!
On Sunday, we left Paradise at 7am in an absolute white out… 
arrived at Camp Muir at 12:30pm to beautiful skies…
melted water, brewed up drinks and ate; went to bed at 5pm, got up at 12:30am, and left camp at 1am. After climbing for about 6 ½ hours and crossing many large crevasses, one of which required a ladder to cross, we reached the summit around 8am!
It was a magnificent day to sit on the summit where we made sure our accomplishments were properly recorded in the summit register.
After descending to back to Camp Muir we took a 2 hour siesta, packed up our camp and returned to Paradise by 6pm Monday morning. In less than 36 hours we climbed up and down a total of ~10,000 feet.PURE STR DOMINATION!
