crazy_t
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Posts posted by crazy_t
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Thanks guys!
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(Weekend of 9-16/17) Wondering if there's new snow up there, if so how high/much. Thanks for your time! I may go up this week, if so I'll post conditions.
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Thanks, Paul, just what I was looking for. Do you think backcountry snow is worth messing with, or is it more a groomers-only reality? Regardless, I'll probably go up on your schedule and get back earlier than I had originally hoped, which suits the homefront reality well.
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Hey people, has anyone been skiing around the pass the last couple of days? I had kind of ruled out a morning session due to this weeks temps, but wondered if anyone had been up there. I read the Tooth TR 5/16, and would be wanting to be skinning by 6:30 am so I can be back to town late am and beat the warming. Thanks in advance for any info!
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http://www.pilgrim-tours.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51
It's like a huge, higher altitude and colder way to camp Muir up there, with less landmarks and no shelter on most of the upper mountain. That's awful news.
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With Rainier, a good rule (especially if you don't have much experience) is to go when the forecast is pretty stellar. 3 days high pressure, etc. Of course a lot of people coming from out of town have limited time, leading to more pressure to make something happen even if the weather is shitty. Talk with your group about a classic NW backup plan for bad weather on this side: look into Silver Star as a second option. Weather will be at least 50% better most of the time, and will get you guys on a glacier (albeit w/o much crevasse action) and some alpine terrain, in a beautiful setting. Of course it's always tempting to say "hey, we'll go for Shurman, then see what happens (and sometimes you get a nice clearing up high even when it's shitty below, you never really know)" but if there is a crap forecast, you'll likely suffer and be wet for 3 days then go home. Having a backup like this takes a little of the pressure off, reducing the risk of making bad decisions, and in the case of crap weather on the west side you could be climbing snow and rock in the sun among beautiful peaks. Just a thought; you may have climbed it already during your course. Good luck!
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Re: eye issues, the guy I was climbing with hadn't had RK, + was wearing glacier glasses the whole time. I'd heard of it happening before too, but 1st time I had seen it. 13000'.
But back to the original post...
Less is more, esp. re: weight, and if you have less you tend to use less. But think about your experience, your team's: how much experience do you have navigating on a crevassed glacier in a whiteout, in blowing snow, on a big rounded volcano? Sometimes you just have to hunker down, if it comes to it what would you do? Balance between staying light enough to not blow out your energy preparing for hell to freeze over, yet having a few things that will make the difference in you being able to survive a night out vs. having no options. Like knelson says, you are a group of 4, with a little extra gear between you still light loads but a lot of insurance.
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always puts the mind at ease and relaxes the muscles... that is, knowing that you have everything you need for a cozy bivy if needed
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I've seen it too, in one eye guy's vision worsened until he couldn't see out of one, and the other was weak. Resolved with descent and time. Later saw that he had ruptured some blood vessels in the one eye.
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South Platte (CO) is very tasty.
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The above, plus a little extra food, shovel blade and one of those super light Ortovox emergency bivy sacks that can fit 2 people.
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A few things:
If you can, sleep at the trailhead (Paradise or WR) the night before the climb, and maybe make a hike w/o packs up 1000' and pack down, to aid acclimatization and sleeping.
Definitely start very early for Muir/Shurman. Snow will be in much better shape, meaning less energy expended. You will get up to Muir/Shurman sooner, getting you a good spot if that is an issue, and giving you a full day to hydrate and relax. But the big reason for the early start is that you won't be exposed to so much heat. I have seen many times people taken out by the mix of altitude, exertion and heat. Avoid that and go early, and go slow.
As far as the diamox, a lot of people feel it's better to not take it. If you are allergic to sulfa drugs, definitely don't take it. Do some research and make your own choice. If you do choose to take it, break the 250mg tabs into 1/4s, which you can either take once before sleep, or 2x a day, in the am and at night. It's generally agreed that you'll get the same acclimatization benefits with the lower dose, with less of the diuretic effects.
An additional day at camp is always a good idea. You can also go for a short climb up the route that morning, to aid in acclimatization and to make the start of the next day more known.
Have fun!
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Thanks!
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Does anyone know how far you can get up the road these days (Easton etc approach)?
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I'm with this Bill guy. You figure a night out at a (generally) sport-climbing area due to your own error might foster some humility for someone else who was having a tough time. But then, I don't know you and what was going on and wasn't there, so can't really judge you, eh?
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Climb: Tatoosh Skiing Sunday 4-30-
Date of Climb: 4/30/2006
Trip Report:
Had a nice session this morning in the Tatoosh Range, with a few short laps. It was nice to get out, enjoyed sun, some corn, and good company.
Snow was kind of what I expected: last weeks melt/freeze had done a lot to consolidate the snowpack overall, especially the upper bit. Generraly we found a 4-6" "layer" of thicker consolidated snow on top that supported corn skiing w/o punching through in most areas. Below that, generally a deeper layer 1'+ of unconsolidated, wetter snow. Overall the snowpack is nice and deep. Saturday added a little fresh, maybe 1-2", that looked to have seen some wind, The effect today and tomorrow was that it filled in a lot of the incongruities in the surface and will make for a smoother ski on top in the next couple of days.
The road to the skin up is maintained and dry though closed just above the Narada Falls turnout. We didn't start up until 8:30 or so on snow, and with Sunday AM's sun and temps the lower stuff E aspects was already done. Higher of course thing were more solid, and good skiing was had above 5500' (we generally skied N facing slopes, adjusting towards or away from E aspects where it made for better turns) until we left for the road at 1pm. Below 5000' at that time lower stuff was pretty funky. The session seemed to be a balance between trying to find slopes that weren't too hard/rattly, while also not wanting to go too far the other way, where it felt like if it got too soft we'd auger through the top thicker layer.
If we get the anticipated weather this week (sun then cool at night), it should really help with the big picture of consolidating the pack. Saw some nice sized cornice falls off of the peaks, some of which had propagated larger wet slides, so hopefully more of that will get cleared out this week too.
A nice time, quick in and out, and Rainier was definitely looking very sweet conditions-wise. Looking forward to more turns this spring.
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I'm planning to head up to Paradise/Tatoosh tomorrow, sunday april 30th. Was wondering if anyone was up there, and if so how did you find the conditions. Thanks in advance, and I'll post a mini conditions report after I get back.
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I moved here after 10 yrs in CO including seasons in the Butte and Aspen. It's different, can't say better or worse. The weather here is definitely funkier, but on the plus side that's why there are glaciers here- a lot of snow. NW positives: Here we tend to get more snow over the year, and due to the amount and higher water content, there tends to be a lot more skiable BC terrain (you can ski stuff you wouldn't think of doing mid-season most Colorado winters: steeper etc) The snow here sticks to things too: trees, rocks etc. making for interesting terrain and safer drops. Check out some of the trip reports on this site for some pics of some very sweet and steep descents made here this winter, stuff you'd only be skiing in CO during corn season generally. On the down side: we are lower elevation (although the alpine here starts a lot lower, you'll be surprised) so subject to warmer, wetter conditions. A lot less "easy" road access (think Loveland Pass, Berthoud, etc in winter and RMNP, Independence Pass etc in summer). More work getting in in winter in general, starting sometimes in heavy stuff. Lift accessed BC here is pretty good, including Alpental which is only 45 mins or so from Seattle. One big bonus here: Whistler/Blackcomb. Awesome area, huge BC accessed easily by lifts and higher than most areas here, so gets generally better snow. 4 1/2 hours from Seattle by car, and B.Columbia is a lot of fun. My first year here we had a record snow year; almost 100' of fresh recorded at Mount Baker resort. I only skied 30 days during the season but averaged 1 1/2' fresh each of those days! Last year (2004/5) we had a shite season. Usually it's pretty good here, with lots of large dumps, and less of the rat-race vibe on a powder day that you can sometimes get in CO. Mid-week here is generally reliably slow at the areas and in the BC, unlike in CO where the destination resort reality and workers with more flexible schedules gets people out regardless of the day, especially during a good snow cycle. Summer time there's great skiing on glaciers with better weather. So, in all, it's different. I miss Colorado for the weather, the high peaks and awesome access, but the glaciers here are pretty special and the more stable, deep snowpack with lots of dumps makes it sweet here too. Get a copy of Martin Volken's book "Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass" for a good look at a local area, with tasty tours and good local information. They should have it at Neptune's if you just wanted to browse it. Hope this all helps. I'm going skiing tomorrow in the BC here, should be pretty good.
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Nice job, man. Pictures are sweet too! Lots of fun ahead of you...
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Cool "TR", brought me back. Like you say that is nice rock, though real short, a little jewel in the huge city. I spied rock and chalk a couple of years ago there, and then last year there for a wedding I brought shoes and an ipod and "the trinity (lighter, .., ..)" and while my wife hit the major stores I had some fun, then slipped back into the action with a smile. What a city, amazing.
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West Seattle is pretty sweet. Slower paced, a bit of a community vibe, easy access for your needs. 10-20 minutes to belltown depending, 20 min or so to airport. And we have the Beveridge Place Pub...
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back to the goods-
the Taco Bus "Rincon" in white center, hands down. 16th ave and sw 116th? epic. one of the best places in town for any food at any price. get the tacos al pastor, 4 for $4. I was in Mexico 3 weeks this fall and ate all kinds of food there from street food to fine, and the bus measured up to the best. Part of my "holy trinity" of the bus, jones barbeque MLK and Salumi.
Guayamas white center is also solid, and second the la carta de oaxaca in ballard votes.
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You should talk to Armando (cubaclimbing.com). He's a really nice guy and is into supporting exchange and developing climbing there. I'd ask him for some local contacts.
dude going off on Steve House
in Climber's Board
Posted
what's your point about Colorado?