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West McMillan Spire Trip Report
Shonee Langford

Friends,

A few weeks ago, I led a small team into the Picket Range to climb West McMillan Spire. I hope you enjoy this trip report and consider adding the Pickets to your bucket list.


Best,


Shonee Langford

John Conley
Shonee,

Looks like a great trip! My kind of terrain. Wish the weather reschedule hadn't prevented me from coming. :(

Question, does the Picket Range stand out when viewed from way south such as along the Old Snowy, Ives, Gilbert ridge?

Best,

John

Bryon Snapp
Shonee,

Fantastic trip report. It is a spectacular area, with or without the bees. Past the last bit of water on your approach to you camp, we’re there any huckleberries left as you gassed across to the Chopping Block. That stretch is impossibly beautiful. 

Snapp



Shonee Langford
There were lots of delicious huckleberries! That’s where we saw the bear.

I still have all the great beta you gave me years ago and shared it with the team.

Shonee

Sue Nelson

Yes, we definitely appreciated all your beta! I'm glad we didn't do the leave-strsight-from-the -climb approach. Even if I wasn't on the summit team. ;-). So beautiful there and we got to linger.


Mad Marmot

Great report, photos and success! Kudos to all; it certainly appears you had bluebird weather. Also, a fine and touching tribute to Todd Adelman.

The Terror creek basin is quite majestic with the southern Pickets and the "Barrier" forming its northern and western boundaries, but you do have to work for it. That scree descent to the camp area looked worse than I recall, but it's been awhile.

Replying to John Conley:  No, the Goat Rocks (Old Snowy, Ives, Curtis Gilbert) are ~ 150 miles south of North Cascades NP and the Pickets, and there are intervening higher peaks/summits "in the way", not to mention the curvature of the earth over that 150 miles. The Picket range, while extremely rugged, is quite compact and not that high in elevation. It stands out due to the extreme sharp relief from the valley floor to the summits. West Mac Spire (7992') is only ~ 100' higher than Old Snowy.

Bryon Snapp
That funny Bill…you said=

 not to mention the curvature of the earth over that 150 miles.”

Every climber knows the earth is flat, and if you walk far enough north in the Picket range, you’ll fall of the edge!…or at least into Canada!  I guess it is kinda the same thing. 

Bryon



Mad Marmot

But, but, but . . .    if every climber knows the world is flat, there is literally no "climbing" to be done, and thus no energy to be expended/work to be done.  - - -  Though I'm sure that Shonee and crew felt rather differently using the vegetable belays along the tree root ladder.

If you want to avoid falling off the edge (into Canada or elsewhere), Vizzini also recommends trying his spiffy "earth curvature calculator":  https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/earth-curvature#curvature-of-earth-per-mile


On 9/20/2024 7:22 PM, Bryon Snapp (bryon.snapp@yahoo.com) wrote:
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