The Hazard Chronicles

The back of my hands are swollen and bleeding, my feet feel like they are on fire, and my legs can hardly support my body weight anymore.

That is how I know it has been a great weekend.

*****

Some readers of this blog might remember a post I did about a year ago. Rachel and the kids were away, and I took the opportunity to explore a part of the Cascades that I hadn't been to before. The enchantments. Here is a picture that I posted back then:

I got to return to this alpine wonderland last week to do a little more exploration- this time from the end of a climbing rope. There isn't much to write about here- just that it was an experience that only a climber would understand.

Here is the small little lake where we camped- photo credits to Daniel. Also, I highly recommend clicking on each of these pictures for a higher resolution version. Blogger doesn't do justice to the splendor of the area.

What you are looking at is Prusik Peak. It rises up out of the landscape as a dramatic icon of the region, and is one of the most picturesque mountains I have ever been able to visit.

Cooking dinner

In two days we were able to do three different routes to the summit. The first was up the left side ridge (5.7), which we climbed quickly in our running shoes and minimal gear. The next two (both 5.10) were right up the front side and took considerably more time.

Kudos go out to Daniel here who is a great climber and has more endurance than anybody I have ever met. The weather was cold and drizzly and windy as he finished leading the last pitch of the day, and it was all I could do to keep up. All the same, the day went by too quickly as pitch after pitch of perfectly clean granite went by.

Resting at the top. What a day!

On the way down from our camp we stopped to do a different sort of climb, but one which has also been on my bucket list for years. The climb "Outer Space" doesn't end in a stunning peak or anything, but the climbing itself ranks among the best I have ever done in my life. Again, only climbers will really be able to appreciate this, but check out these pictures:

There were at least 3 pitches on this climb that are "classics" by anyone's standards- the kind of pitches that usually justify whole outings just for the 30 minutes or so that it takes to do them. That all three of these pitches are on one route is a remarkable coincidence. It is easy to see why this is a popular place to climb.

That night we ate a celebratory meal at an upstairs restaurant in Leavenworth. The next day we did a few short climbs that were close to the road, and then came home. The trip was somewhat of a whirlwind, but in my book it exceeded expectations and will live on for a long time in my memory.