climb list 2011.

First snow storm in the mountains and am already starting next year's list -

- Storm King - approach from Park Creek either via Cascade Pass and down into the Stehekin Valley (for the first time) or up from Lake Chelan (also would be for the first time) ...

- Formidable - approach over Cascade Pass and climb the south face. Camp at Kool-Aid Lake or bivy at the Spider-Formidable Col.

- Buckner - north face. Enough said. Third time's a charm. July.

- Challenger - Pickets. Finally. Yay.

- Ruth - summit this time. Early. Maybe camp up on the high east ridge for alpenglow and early morning shots of Shuksan's spectacular and terrifying north face. Maybe combine with climb of Challenger.

- Eldorado - from Sibley Creek/The Triad side this time. Camp high. Summit in the evening. Spectacular.

- Black - possibly. In the fall, maybe? Camp at Wing Lake.

- Snowfield - this was such a cool area when we climbed Colonial this year. Impressive. Possibly in combo with the Isolation Traverse below ...

And then backpacking -

Thorton Lakes - the Pickets. Again. Easy. With J.

Ice Lakes - in Autumn - maybe?

Kool-Aid/Yang-Yang/White Rock Lakes - see Formidable above - so combined. And at least the first, maybe the second, possibly the third? But if all of those then, why not just the entire Ptarmigan Traverse? Which would include climbing at least Dome and Le Conte and ... but definitely Dome.

- Thunder Creek - sweet. Long weekend. Three days. Start north, head south. Car shuttle. Get to know the valleys of the North Cascades a little better.

- Isolation Traverse - ok ok this is ambitious but just jotting it down ...

- the Enchantments - Autumn - hopefully ... maybe? Or maybe Ice Lakes or Black Peak ...

- the Sierras - of course. Kings Canyon. Yosemite. Julian. A week. Summer holiday. In-N-Out. Duh. Somewhere spectacular. Remote. Time to lounge for a few days. Let his little legs rest. Explore. Be a kid. In the mountains.

The whole point though of all of these is to mark a change. In direction. In both climbing and getting out in general. No day trips anymore. At least the same as this year if not even more über-ultralight next.

More remote.

More remote.

More remote.

No roads visible from any summit. No hard climbing routes (with the one possible exception of Buckner's damn north face of which I must, must, must climb). Mellow. Scenic. Deserted. But out there.

Already. I can't wait.