Bronco

I was just looking back at climbing dates and we were up there on July 8th 2012, a big snow year. I recall we were one of the first teams on the TFT that summer and there was still a bunch of snow. The rangers were laughing about having to dig out the BB privy over the 4th of July as it was still under several feet of snow.

If you don't have any luck with responses here, you can call the Marblemount ranger station and ask them if they have any reports yet. Despite the wet spring, it seems like snowpack is about average for this time of year but melting pretty fast.

Very cool TR, one of the best I've seen on CC.com in a long time!

Projected opening date of October 6, 2014. Any bets on when it actually opens? http://www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/wa/suiattle/newsletters.htm

If you don't have any luck here, check www.turns-all-year.com as there seems to be a much more crotchety attitude and likely an older crew who may have known your Dad.

Maybe they're hoping the rope slips through the device and not jerk them into the wall face first when the climber falls.

I asked Lowell about it at Vertfest in 2013. He told me that if someone else wasn't willing to pick it up it was probably done. Apparently nobody else has been able to take it on.

Does this mean he's been guiding all of these trips without a permit? I always assumed he was a guide of the first degree solely based on the eyewear.

I was curious about the snowmobiling myself and was shocked to discover that snowmobiles are allowed up to the White River Campground and other closed roads in the park during the winter. Seems a little out of character with the park but it's sanctioned. Dave - very bizarre twist. You guys clearly wanted the climb badly and were willing to take risks both (ethical and technical) that I wouldn't deem acceptable. Better choices next time eh?

Thanks dudes, after the difficult skimo season I had this year, I was pretty stoked for a successful and fun outing. I continue to be amazed by the Dynafit TLT5-M boot. Light, climbs and hikes well and makes a punter like me appear somewhat competent skiing down. Stopping on the summit was the first time I've noticed cold toes in them and it was pretty dang cold.

Burly and you get extra points for getting home for Easter! Nothing worse than having an epic except when you're supposed to be at a family function while having an epic.

Trip: Mt. Hood - Old Chute Date: 4/19/2014 Trip Report: Took the family to Timberline Lodge for Easter Weekend and decided to bring my touring gear in case they wanted to sleep in and weather was suitable for skiing on the upper mountain. As luck would have it, the sky was clear at 3:30 on Saturday morning and temps moderate. After finally locating my beacon in a secret pocket of my pack, I was off at 4:25 am. Skinning up the groomers was fast, reaching the top of the Palmer in a little over an hour. Ski crampons would've been good above that, iced up sastrugi was not good or fast so I resigned to booting up to the Hogsback where I originally considered skiing from. Chatting with a couple of groups descending I learned the upper mountain held decent snow from the day before and I'd never been up Mt. Hood before. Summit or plummet dude! The storm forecast to arrive that afternoon hadn't materialized yet so I continued up, traversing styrofoam into the Old Chute. The very top of the chute was a little icy, and the roar of the wind on the summit ridge was deafening. I encountered a couple on the summit ridge who were hurriedly trying to descend but asked me to take a quick photo of them triumphantly hoisting an ice ax in the air on the summit of Oregon's highest point. As they scurried off I realized the summit was vacant, a rarity on this peak. Loitering was discouraged by the wind and clouds rapidly closing in so I donned my puffy and took a quick photo just after 8:00. Briefly considering a ski from the very summit was dismissed due to the rimed up ridge and hellacious wind which I'd estimate was gusting to 70 mph, threatening to whisk away unsecured gear from the mountain. I caught up to the couple who were battling out the descent by front pointing down the top of the chute. I felt pretty secure and frenched down to the spot where the chute widened out and stomped out a small platform to transition from crampons to skis. The transition only took a few minutes and, with some trepidation, I leaned into the first turn right, to get clear of the couple now moving below me. The conditions were good, but a bit thin. Edge penetration was acceptable on the firm surface. I will admit I allowed myself to feel a little smug carving turns past the folks front pointing down the upper mountain. With only a dozen or so climbers to keep my sluff from hitting, I was able to relax and enjoy the ski until reaching the bottom of crater rock where it turned icy. I briefly considered booting down this section but felt it too humiliating to walk down the mountain carrying skis and toughed it out. Back at the lodge by 9 in time to watch the upper mountain disappear in the clouds. Soaking in the hot tub rendered much needed warmth. We enjoyed catching up on reading by the fireplace and watching the storm buffeting the trees and people skittering across the parking lot. According to the Timberline weather update, the winds reached 60mph at the lodge that afternoon. Not sure where all the new snow ended up, it looked to be snowing and blowing all afternoon. Riding the lifts on Sunday in the sun was fantastic, the groomers were superb and constant stream of spindrift streaming off the summit was only matched by the hoards hiking and skinning toward the upper mountain. Most terrifying moment of the trip was our 15 year old taking her turn driving through Seattle. Photo my wife put together for FB. Gear Notes: Light axe, whippet, probably would've been fine with just the whippet. Ski crampons would've been good but I assumed I'd descend if I encountered conditions necessitating them as the skiing would be rather lame which it certainly was for that part. Approach Notes: Skins, dynafits.

Good snow for climbing this morning and skiing to the bottom of Crater rock. Below that, not so good until you hit the groomers. No sign of the bergschrund yet. Ascent via the Old Chute as parties who had ascended the Pearly Gates warned of blue ice. Old Chute pretty straight forward, little icy the last 30' to the ridge which is spectacularly rimed up. Pretty darn windy on the summit ridge. Some small ice chunks falling, up to the size of a brick. Of course the storm forecast for tonight will probably change conditions dramatically so YMMV. Hopefully it dumps for riding lifts tomorow.

Mazama has several easy topropeable routes (5.4- 5.6) at Sun Rock and Fun Rock. Short approach but not the most comfortable belay position.

Kind of crazy conditions for April, I'm surprised to see so much ice. I wonder if the dry and warm weather in January didn't allow for more recent snow to bond well and it's slid off? I would've expected a soft snow grovel upwards and variable but good ski conditions. Does anyone know how the Emmons is looking right now for skiing? An unconventional approach to LR but well written and some great photos.

ok. [video:youtube]1IAXrxlDK6c

Close call, glad nobody was seriously injured. I'd love to see Ivan squeezing into that car.

Nice TR, makes me look forward to warm rock this summer! Old guy tip - get a $5 head-net for camp. It weighs next to nothing and although dorky, your partners will be jealous. Cigars are pretty effective repellent as well.

in this analogy, the M's would be the women's team? lol oh shit, is that disrespectful? wait, can I still swear? I don't see a lot of swearing in the NY Times.... No swearing. Thanks!

I'm out of town on the 19th but did order a sweet new t-shirt.

Doubt it. M's and Seachickens winning it all in the same year? That would be like having the same collage win both the mens and womens national championship in the same sport! Inconceivable!

Looks like this is gonna happen! Article from the Everett Herald: Mountain lookout is saved, cheering Darrington By Gale Fiege, Herald Writer DARRINGTON — It's a glimmer of hope for the future. That is how most people in Darrington — many affected by the tragic March 22 landslide west of town — viewed the news Monday that federal legislation will allow the historic forest fire lookout atop nearby Green Mountain to remain. The law now goes to the president for his signature. "What a relief," said Scott Morris, a member of the Darrington Historical Society. "I've lost track of how long we have been dealing with this." Access to Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is a big topic in town among people who want tourism to thrive in the region. When Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin announced Thursday at a community meeting that legislation to save the lookout had passed the Senate, Rankin got a standing ovation. During the week after the mudslide, Sen. Patty Murray and other federal officials met with Rankin. "The mayor said to all of us, 'We need some good news. We need Congress to pass Green Mountain,'" Murray said. "I looked over at Congresswoman DelBene and said, 'Let's get this done.'" An acrimonious Congress had delayed each effort by the Washington delegation to pass the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act, Morris said. Sens. Murray and Maria Cantwell first introduced the Green Mountain bill more than a year ago, when Reps. Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene introduced companion legislation in the House. Republican Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the House natural resources committee, introduced the legislation on Monday. The lookout, located in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, was scheduled to be removed from the 6,500-foot mountain. The environmental impact statement on the plan was just about done, said Darrington District Ranger Peter Forbes. The plan followed an order by U.S. District Court in Seattle to remove the lookout from the federal wilderness area. The court sided with a 2010 lawsuit by Montana-based Wilderness Watch against the Forest Service for using a helicopter and other machinery, a violation of the federal Wilderness Act, to shore up the lookout during preservation work. Wilderness Watch officials said previously that any effort to keep the lookout on Green Mountain would erode the intentions of the 50-year-old Wilderness Act. "In the lawsuit, Wilderness Watch claimed that, in passing the Wilderness Act, Congress did not set Green Mountain aside as being special," Morris said. "But now the people have spoken. It is special. It's just sad that we had to waste time and money to come to this obvious conclusion." While people in Darrington would never balance the good news about the lookout against the tragedy of the mudslide, Morris said the town, which has suffered economically for decades, needed the news. Kitty Craig, the Pacific Northwest regional representative of the Wilderness Society, said the lookout is a popular destination for hikers seeking to enjoy the vistas of the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Larsen said the lookout symbolizes a vanishing part of the state's heritage and that the bill to save it symbolizes the country's solidarity with hard-hit Arlington, Oso and Darrington. The volunteering spirit of Darrington, highlighted in the weeks since the mudslide, deserved to be rewarded with the passage of the bill, DelBene said. "The community people have been champions of the lookout for a long time," DelBene said. "It is a cherished landmark." Built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the lookout predates designation of the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to its history as a forest fire lookout, the Green Mountain lookout served as an early warning station to detect enemy aircraft during World War II. Until recently, the Forest Service used the lookout to house seasonal staff who provided educational information to wilderness visitors.

To the original question, unless you're trying to add muscle mass, I wouldn't worry about the protein powder. That stuff probably contains very highly processed crap that is heavily marketed to 20 year old males. If you look at what Olympic athletes are eating to recover, it's not protein shakes from GNC. What's House recommend for diet? I haven't seen the book.

When did they start letting kids be Doctors? Does your mommy know you're dressing up today?

Just realized I'm not losing my mind and don't have a computer virus.