MtnHigh

Hey Ryland and Pete, How was the ski down? Ryan and I got in some good turns. All was good until descending into the insidious wind further down. Good luck with the Denali training. Pete

Yup, ther aint no ice down ear in Orrgon.

In the mountains of truth, you never climb in vain. Either you already reach a higher point today, or you exercise your strength in order to be able to climb higher tomorrow. -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Ivan and I thought that climbing Leutholds in the dark on Thursday night was a great idea. The slope we climbed seemed too steep for Leutholds, but we continued anyway. I topped out on a narrow ridge at 10,400ft. The opposite side of the ridge fell away steeply into an unknown abyss. Short towers guarded the ridgeline on both sides. It is 1am, only the light of the stars to guide our way and we have no idea where we are. What a mess. Ivan donated a glove and an ATC to the mountain god during the 10+ lowers on the descent down rock hard neve to the Reid Gl.. Back at Timberline we were scratching our heads, where the hell did we end up??? Early Sunday morning, Ivan, Shredmaximus and I headed back to Hood;s west side to take a crack at the Reid HW. I was seeking redemption for the screw up the other night. Shortly after cutting up from the Reid Gl. we happened upon the glove Ivan dropped two days before. Hood was returning one of our sacrifices from Thursday night. Checking Oregon High just before entering the first gulley. We did not want to get off course again. Ivan on the airy traverse at 9600ft. I-Rock in the background. Solid neve at 9800ft. An incredible section of ice at 10,700ft Ivan practicing for future magazine photo ops. The west summit rim. Running like a horse for the barn.

PDX climbers: You can all boast about the awesome climbs you got in this past week by meeting at the Moon and Sixpence British Pub on Thursday after work. The pub is not far from Benson HS and gives us a chance to prime the well before the slide show. Directions and details can be found at this URL: http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/8468270/

I packed out the crampon in an effort to keep garbage off of Hood. After inspecting the crampon at home last night I tossed it in the trash. The bar that connects the front section to the rear section is damaged. I guess I'll have to retrieve the POS from the gargage can if the guy wants it back. Iain, let me know. I dropped an ATC at 10,000' on the Reid HW. Will someone please return the favor and retieve my Hood garbage. Thank you

I should have called this thread, "The drunken exchange between Muff and Trask" Talk about thread drift. Geez

Just like the last PDX drunk fest at the Raindrop, rumor started that the elusive DFA made an appearance. But it turned out to be another DFA hoax. Same thing at this Friday's party, more fucking DFA rumors. He may have been there, but if he was, he masquerades behind a cover. DFA doubles as one of the regular PDX/Ore CC'ers. Who is behind this charade: Shred Winter TG Tex rwb Sketch Funguy Ivan Iain (who was not at the party, but could be DFA) It's not me. I'm too fucking stupid to think up the posts DFA nails on the board. On that thought, Shred you're no longer in the running.

I only got 15/20. My focus is off. A few more beers should correct it.

Iain, As much as you deny it, you are a skilled technogeek. Thanks for the info.

See what happens when you climb under the influence of hallucinogenics. I swear to god that route is right here somewhere!

The plan was to descent the DC. We knew going into it that the route might no go because of the low snow pack, but we wanted to take a crack at it anyway. Drew and I have already discussed a return to the route under more prudent conditions. The major avi danger is crossing below the Nisqually Ice Cliff on the approach from Muir. That thing calfs almost daily. Luckily the debris field only takes about 10 minutes to cross. Once in the Ice Fall avi danger is primarily toppling seracs. If you are lucky the to avoid all the objective hazards the route will go even now. It just was not in the cards for us on that day.

Iain, nice climb. This warm weather is really takes it's toll on Hood. Unless Winter (not Chris) arrives soon, we'll all have to find a new activity like scuba.

The weather forecast for mid January was too good to be true. High pressure, mild temps, no wind and a full moon. Drew and I set out Saturday morning from Muir for the Nisqually Ice Fall. This was our second attempt of the route. In December of 2001, Drew and I attempted the Ice Fall, but were turned back by a secession of avalanches off the Nisqually Ice Cliff on the approach then later an avalanche came down the Ice Fall just in front of us. We high tailed it out of there before the next one caught us. We visually picked out our line through the Ice Fall while hiking up to Muir on Friday afternoon, visualizing the route we would take through the jumble of seracs. Climbing the lower third of the Ice Fall went exactly as we had seen it from the Muir snowfield. A series of short ice steps interspersed by steep snow. Although very broken up, to this point it appeared that we might nail this route. We were making good time, simul-climbing and placing an occasional screw or picket. About a third of the way up the Ice Fall at the base of large serac Drew attempted to gain a suspended snow bridge. The bridge collapsed and Drew fell into the slot below. The compact snow of the bridge he had broken through landed on top of him, pinning him down in a face up prone position. Drew was able to free himself and prussic out of the slot. The exhaustion of the rescue and the lost time ended the climb. Drew got a bit banged up, but he was able to get off the mountain under his own power. The route will have to wait for another day. I thank my lucky stars that we avoided a catastrophe.

Maybe the view of the question should be reversed, "Why the hell are white folk inclined to go tromping around the mountains?"

I thought we (PDX drunken climbers) were indecisive about where to tank up and let loose, but you guys are just as bad . X 6 =

b-rock, share the info and pics. I need something to dream about.

"Highlight of the day was staring at Jessica's ass for over an hour. Who coulda thunk that even gore-tex can't hide that splendor" Depraved sole

Any ice forming on I-Rock or is she bare???

Hey Crackman, Good timing on the climb. The poor visabilty between 4-7am turned around a number of climbers. We were heading to the Kitchen, so we were not too concern about navigation and conditions. We topped out about an hour before you. It sure got nice out mid morning. Wish we would have bumped into you afterward. We polished off a couple pitchers of IceAxe in the bar at Ski Bowl.

Pat, Rob, Jessica, Drew and I climbed one of the gullies in Devil's Kitchen HW (var 1D Ore High) Sat morning. Our intentions were to climb var 1C, but upon inspection, little ice covered the rock in the lower section of the gulley, so we backed down and opted for gulley 1D just to the right. Just above Drew and Jessica is the start of 1C in the middle of the HW. The start of 1D is to the right of the HW. We hiked into the Kitchen in thick fog and snow flurries until sunrise, when suddenly the fog lifted along with our spirits. The start of the gulley. Very thin ice covering the rock. Jessica above and Rob in the forefront showing us how it gets gone. Above the gulley at the top of W'East. Drew in the lead with Jessica. Rob taking in the beauty of the mountain. Rob nearing the top of W'East Summit posers Many thanks to Pat, the man with the awesome camera and the presence of mind to put it to good use. And my first climb with Rob, it was a blast.

Multiple choice question: What do you get when you mix a Mazama climber and Mt. Hood together? Answer(s): A) An accident waiting to happen B) The oppertunity for 15 minutes of fame by getting on the local news C) A slow moving train D) All of the above

Saber, Great job on the climb. It sure was shitty early that morning. We almost turned back ourselves. Shred and I will post up the pics from our gulley climb. Send me your shot(s) and I'll include it in the post. The Mazama climbers got out Sunday morning thankfully unharmed. They ended up spending the night up there. I briefly talked to one of them on our way up Sat morning around 4am. We passed them at around 7500'. They were moving very slow. The guys I spoke to were 20 years under than me, yet they had to bivvy Sat night. What the hell are the Mazama leaders teaching their members??? At least they had the sense to dig in for the night and descend the next morning.

A good time was had by all on Mt Hood. Bumped into Sketch and Funguy Sat at 5am on the Palmer; Shred, rbw, myself and friends climbed an E Rim gulley, then later on our descent we ran into Iain on skies. It's a small world. It's great that all you guys got out to enjoy some mountain play.

Hope we all get in our fun before the shit starts coming down Saturday. Five of us are heading up pre-dawn Sat to explore an E Rim gulley. Hoo-Yaa, I love that mountain.