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I climbed it 3 or 4 weeks ago, not a lick of snow on it. Lotsa scree and hot and no water available after you leave lena creek about fifteen minutes from the climbers camp at the forks. The Valley of Silent Men is a very nice approach though.

After a long night/day driving down from Seattle and climbing the south side of Hood I accidentally left my white Elios helmet at the climbers register upon signing out. Doh! If you found it, you probably shouldn't use it, I got like a ton of lice in my hair... Willing to reward finder with beverages of choice.

Looks like the textbook answers still, which I'm in full agreement with at this point for my own personal glacier travel, ie always rope up on a glacier, but I'm still totally in the dark as far as what experienced climbers and probably moreso skiers see that allows them to decide not to sometimes. Is this a question for the main board rather than the newbie forum? I'm not talking difficult routes here, I just want to know where and more specifically why some people don't rope up. Seeing a glacier naked the previous fall is an interesting thought, but not sure how much faith I'd have in it myself.

As a beginner I realize my own decisions will come with my own experience but would like to see what more experienced people do without the fear of liability that an organized class or guide book has. Not sure if it's even answerable, maybe like asking the question "when do you wear your seatbelt when driving". Maybe a way to shed light on the subject is to note mountains/routes which you (not me) don't typically rope up on. As mentioned, the Palmer on Hood would be a seemingly low-risk one to me. Or on St Helens the winter route seems to go over the Swift Glacier? Same with Adams, it looks like the standard south route crosses or goes very near the Crescent Glacier (?) that seems to be mostly ignored. Even Camp Muir seems to have signs talking about crevasses on the snowfield, yet I'd guess very few on this board rope up for it. Just curious what factors experienced climbers/skiers take into account when choosing not to bother.

This thread summarizes it well: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/818541

Question from a relatively new climber from back east where we don't have glaciers: Basically, when do you rope up? Or more precisely, when do you sometimes NOT rope up? What mountains, what grade glacier, time of year, weather conditions, etc. do you just not bother. Obviously everyone's level of risk acceptance is different, just wondering what the variance is and what to evaluate when stepping onto a glacier. I took a crevasse rescue class this spring and the "company line" was basically any and all glaciers at all times, but I think that seems over conservative. The Palmer Glacier on Hood (underneath the ski area!) seems an obvious exception to that rule but I'm new to glacier travel so who knows. I also don't do any ski mountaineering (yet) but it seems like they are always unroped ripping turns on the way down. What are they seeing that gives them that confidence?