Another run at North Sister's NE ridge delivered greater than expected challenges. A piece of the route just before the first roped pitch on Glisan Pinnacle has apparently eroded off the mountain in the past 13 years. We soloed it before, now it was dicey even when setting a fixed line. I trundled off many blocks, leaving not much left of the ridgetop. My intrepid assistant Mark Stave bypassed it on the steep scree below. Not recommended!

Of course, lots of loose rock and many scrapes on this disintegrating slag heap.

Otherwise, a beautiful and fun trip with 10 congenial Mazamas, in perfect summer weather, and the optimal time of year, with snow available to melt and even helpful on the approach over the pumice fields.

One very special experience: we encountered thousands of California Tortoiseshell butterflies migrating east to west across the Cascades, all weekend, almost everywhere. And that high little spring-fed valley was lush with lupines!