Alasdair

Dropping off of the summit onto the northface in the current conditions would be a very serious prospect. I have done that route, and I have climbed in some very shitty conditions, and I am not sure I would risk myself going over that side right now. A small sluff or a gust of wind knocks you off your feet there and will loose 3000ft elevation the quick way.

I am no expert on this but... I beleive it is a digital vs. analog problem Verizon still makes analog capable phones and has kept around most of their analog towers. If you want a phone to work in the mountains dont buy a digital only phone. I recently switched from t-moble to verizon because of this reason.

I will probably regret posting this but... The first thing a rescuer of any type is ever told is to not become part of the problem. The conditions on Hood are bad, although you might not be incorrect in stating that they are not impossible. There is a very high likelyhood of avalanche given the wind and new snow, and I would think that that is the biggest threat right now. There are a hell of a lot of climbers in the Northwest that could make it to the summit in the current conditions, but that does not mean that they are members of Mountain Rescue. Mountain Rescue groups are made up of VOLUNTEERS!!! Great people who are willing to give up their personal time to go and help others when no one else would be willing to go out because the conditions suck! This does not mean that all mountain rescue volunteers are comfortable, or for that matter capable of climbing to the summit of Hood in the current conditions. It also does not mean that the ones who may be capable of climbing in those conditions are available this week. If there is one thing I have learned from being a part of mountain rescue it is that as a climber you better not rely on anyone coming to get you. Not because they dont want to, and not because the groups are somehow undertrained or skilled, but mostly because they are groups of volunteers that like everyone else have lots of other commitments and other experiences. If you are lucky when you get into trouble the right volunteer with the right skills will be ready to help you. If you have the skills then there is a mountain rescue group that would love your help. Do something for the community next year and volunteer.

The BMC published a study a few years ago that basically stated "ropes dont break". The results of the study in very short form said that it it time to retire your rope when there is a visble problem with it or it becomes too furry or fat to use. The BMC has done a lot of very good research that sadly is not all published online, but an index to some of their articals can be found here. http://www.thebmc.co.uk/safety/tech/tech_res.asp?search=rope&drop_cat=cat_all&drop_type=type_all&submit=Find+Technical+Reports Ade might have a copy of the original artical, or know where to find it.

Just a couple of thoughts. Clint wands are not too helpfull in 70+ mph winds as they break, or get blown over. Also, questioning what these guys did and did not do correctly is not really helpfull right now. It certainly sounds to me like these guys did nothing different than what I would have done, but either way right now it does not matter. For all those wanting to go help cheers to you, but if they need more searchers they will call in other mountain rescue teams from accross the northwest. The sheriff will be very cold to the idea of random people showing up to help due to insurance, training, and other issues. Want to help? http://www.pmru.org/ in portland http://www.seattlemountainrescue.org in seattle volunteer with your local mountain rescue group.

Dude, any peak could have bad avalanche conditions. Its not any worse than lots of other routes in Alaska. Use common sense and think about what you are doing when you are doing it and you will have minimized the risk. There is a shit load more photos here... http://www.nwclimber.com/climbing/trips/alaska2000/climbingforakerinfo/forakerclimbinfo.htm

I just realized that this famous thread is all because of me. That Neutrino was mine, and the stopper I think belonged to Ade. Sweet. Hey John can we still get our gear back? j.k.

No this is not a problem for other devices I have used. I think the best one for iced ropes is the old BD ATC. And Dru, no, most of the time I do not use a prussik when I rappel. Yes I probably should, but I dont.

OUr ropes were pretty much frozen cables.

I did not try flipping it around as I dont tend to try things like that when at the top of a rappel. I think I will be moving back the the old device until something else comes up that someone else can test for me.

Has anyone else had issues with these icing really badly and causing very scary rappel situations? I was looking to see what size ropes bd recommend these for, but I did not see anything written anywhere. Last weekend while rappelling icy 9mil ropes I had to wrap the ropes all the way around my ass to get the device to work. When I got down I noticed the two grooves were completely iced and had to use my pick to clear it out. So am I a dumb ass for using this device for something that it is not designed for, or is this a limiting factor of the device?

Yea it probably was comming from crosson. The way we did it was to climb to the top of crosson on the south side of the corner that I think you are talking about. People will also use the East side of that corner. Once you are on the top of Crosson stay right on the ridge the rest of the way.

Ade you still at work? Give me a call damn it.

It was apparently very loud and was heard by several teams a long ways down the mountain. I have no memory of sound as I was falling.

There were 5 on the rope.

Rainier

News certainly spreads in the climbing community even when you dont think it will.

Ok I thought that some you would like to see a couple photos of my little accident this summer. I never really felt like telling everybody in the world what happend, but the pictures are pretty cool and hopefully it is a little warning that being in the wrong place at the wrong time kind of sucks. To keep it short, I took a 40 footer to the bottom of a crevasse. I was roped up and traveling in what would be considered a safe way, and a huge hole opened up where there was no real sign of a hole existing. The bridge was at least 10 feet thick 40 feet wide and several hundred feet long. I was on the front of the rope and was standing about 5 feet past the upper edge of the crevasse and was pulled backwards into the crevasse fell about 40 or 50 feet and hit the bottom of the crevasse. THe second on the rope also was pulled in and also hit the bottom of the crevasse. The second was unhurt, I managed only some minor bumps and broken teeth. Any way I mostly thought you guys would like the befor and after photos.

Do the mounties have Leave No Trace education in the curriculumn of every course? Also is it policy for the groups to always pack out their shit?

I had several encounters with Mountaineers parties this summer, and compared to many other users of the back country they are really pretty good at practicing leave no trace. I was very impressed to see them packing out their shit, which is more than most of the people on this site do. That is not to say they are perfect. I had one particularly anoying encounter this summer, but this is the exception not the rule. There certainly seems to be a major difference between the different mounties clubs. I have not had any complaints about the Seattle club, and the everett club seems pretty good. The other big one is a different story altogether.

Yes it seems to wiggle, but looking at the shape of it I see no reason why it would not just pop out of there one day when someone gives it a tug. Next time I am up there if there is no one around I might have a real go at getting it out.

Does he ever? RMI, in addition to being miniscule as compared to the mounties, is also quite a bit more expensive, making it out of reach of a lot of beginning climbers, particularly very young climbers. What do you mean by miniscule? If you are saying that the mounties have more person days on the mountain than RMI then I think you are wrong. I would guess (although I do not know for sure) that RMI has a hell of a lot more person days on that mountain every year than the mounties.

What exactly are you trying to point out with that comment? I am sure # of person climbing days has nothing to do with your point does it? Did you think before you posted that?

Good to see your getting out. Looks like fun.