Arctic Axis
Late Oct after a bit of snow and then a rain event, then a spout of bitter cold, thin ice started form in the range. Primo eyed this line on Axis peak.
We walking in in sneakers, switched to boots then climbed a thin smear of ice up one of our local peaks at a pretty moderate grade (WI3 M4 R)
Primo brought the ice rack and not thinking brought most 16 and 19cms. I think he had 2x13cms and no 10cms. Leading this thin pitch I was kicking myself for letting him bring the rack. I ended up tying off a bunch of screws half way bored in and going for it.
I know all the photos were super fuzzy. But this mission was a special one with Primo in the range. Relatively civilized but super enjoyable and close to home!
Covid Couloir
During Covid we had to amuse ourselves so went on various missions into the range. The seattle scare was real, so we didnt tell a lot of people. Winter is generally the time we take back to mountains from the tourists. But in spring the west side ski crowd comes back and usually Stuart gets smashed pretty heavily. Was nice to have a beautiful spring day with no one else around but our crew.
Primo about to rip Ulrichs Couloir
Got done early from our first objective so there was lots of chill time. Riffy fell asleep in a meadow while Primo foraged for little potatoes.
Covid Couloir
Little Buddha
Wind slabs in the upper mountains pushed us to mid elevation terrain.
It was Primos bday and we decided to spend a couple days in the alpine skiing and climbing ice. A lot of the folks in Leavenworth are either skiers or climbers. It is rare that people excel at both.
In Primo fashion he chose these random lines on peak in front of Sherpa, which I kept calling Little Buddha.
Camp at the head of Mountaineers Creek with Argonaut and Sherpa in plain view.
Primo doing his nerd thing and studying nearby avalanche debris.
Our first line of the trip where we go a couple pitches of ice to a sweet couloir. Skied the upper sections then rapped the ice.
Nice view of the rarely climbed W face of Colchuck and Argonaut. If you look close you can see some ice lines on Colchuck that I have projected over the years. More of an early season mission due to its solar input.
The matriarch of the range!
Sherpa Pass (Sherpa/arg Col) on our mission up and over Little Buddha toward Stuart.
Sherpa NE Couloir
Near the summit of Little Buddha, Primo found this huge Larch. Amazed by its size and beauty he circled it. Almost like he was courting it. One thing I always appreciated about Primo was his love for nature and passion for the details.
One of my favorite shots of Primo below the W ridge.
Entrance to the panel
View From below
The panel we skied is right of center.
Hell Basin: Couloirs Hidden in Plain Sight
Hell Basin is a zone in the Enchaments that only a handful of people seem to know about. There are dozens of lines around bowl lend themselves to snow riding.
We are pretty certain the phat couloir in the middle has been skied by some other folks in the area. But we have yet to find anyone that has skied the lower line. We rapped in to that one due to a 30ft cliff and mandatory air.
The Witches Tit and Dragontail in the back.
Phat N facing couloir!
NW couloir
Marshal and Primo booting up the phatty couloir. Looking at the S face of Cannon.
Primo about to rap with his improvised harness and pin anchor.
Epic views of the Stuart Range
Ode to Primo and The BLT
It all begins with an idea.
Matt passed away this spring. Nearly every day I think about his death, his life and his impact on me.
Primomo was an enigma. He was the vision, the motivation and the logistics manager of our Boston to Logan Traverse (BLT). Primo strived for the obscure, the unusual, and the lines that no one else saw. He was an artist of the mountain craft. Matt was a man of subtleties. He loved the nuance and as much as he was a scientist, more importantly he was an artist. An artist not in the typical way, but one who paints lines on the mountain canvas.
I looked up to Primo in every way. He was 5 years my senior but felt like an old sage. He would always spout wisdom of the snow while wandering around the hills. I admired the way he studied the Stuart Range, taking pictures of peaks from every angle. Exploring the zones that no one else went to all while moving through the mountains with such ease.
Matt, skeemed up the BLT based off of Lowell Skoog’s Logan High Route Traverse. Our crew (Sam Duke, John Place, Primo and I) spent 4 days on the traverse. I showed up on day 2 due to a work commitment but caught up to them before going over Boston/Sahale saddle.
This was our first crux. Rime traversing over the grossest rock in the Cascades. If you have ever been to Boston Peak in the summer, you know the heinousness of the rock. And if you haven’t visited Boston, don’t! JK.
After navigating the rimy ridge we skied down below Buckner. Sam and Primo went for a lap on the N face, while John and I waited. I was smoked, cause this was my day 1 and I knew I wouldn’t be much use later if I kept going up.
*Sam and Primo skiing the N face of Buckner!
Cool Ice lines on Buckner for who ever wants to make the walk
From Buckner we crossed into Thunder Basin. Skied a beautiful couloir that takes you down to the trees. The line down was fairly finicky and wouldn’t go if there was less snow.
Looking up at Thunder Basin from camp.
From Thunder Basin we walked up the SW face of the Logan Massif to the Fremont Glacier. From there we climbed a steep M3 mixed pitch with no gear, and heavy packs. Sam lead the pitch, in classic Duke boldness. Even following it with packs and crampons was a challenge.
Would highly recommend bring a couple pins, nuts and a cam or two if repeating this traverse.
After this pitch we summited the middle peak of Logan and descended a new ski line off its NE face. Taking it down to the Douglas Glacier we were rewarded with a playful glacial skate park.
After camping one more night in Fisher Creek we then hiked and skied out Easy Pass in the rain. As always you can have a proper Cascadian adventure without a little rain!
Iconic shot of Primo opening up the line off Logan with the N face of Goode in the background.
Looking sw from the summit of the middle peak on Logan. Mt Booker is the shady wall mid photo.
Middle peak of Mt Logan with our line in the middle.
Final camp before our exit the next day.
This trip was one for the books. Something I will always cherish and one that will always remind me of Primo.
Below is a cool video he made of the whole trip.