The idea was to climb North Sister via the standard route, Obsidian Trailhead -> South Ridge -> Summit. Our party of six camped just past the lava field (~ 4 mi) on the way in. We started the climb the next morning at 5 and -- taking our time and missing one gulley -- were on the summit block by 1 PM. The conditions were spectacular -- warm, dry, with just a bit of wind on the W. side. There was no snow at all after scrambling to the summit ridge -- usually it's a bit more mixed (e.g., here). The rock is as loose as it could possibly be to maintain itself any steeper than a rubble pile -- we were all shouting 'Rock, rock, Rock!!' continually along much of the ridge. The climb itself is perhaps a single pitch of 5.4.
Last modified Wed Aug 21 20:20:21 2002