Richard_Pumpington

Look you f**cking climbing poser, chickenshit psuedo- scrambler, who owns a pair of crampons for no GOOD reason! Your momma has more balls than you! Imp! Roll your tongue up and probe it!

E. Normus Johnson Head, Stick to what you know best - anal tongue darts and recieving "hot plates"! Lick it!

Crazy Jizz: blows a lot more than sunshine up alpinek'sass and is more than willing to "toss your salad" too!Loves snuggling by the fire with 'K', listening toair supply and dreaming outloud of someday climbingsomething higher than Rainier, maybe with AAI. Kiss it!

Big words, from man of little experience!

Yo Bell, If you want to stay in the Pacific Northwest, I feelthat Bend and the immeadiate surrounding areas, isone of the best. You've got a lot of mountains veryclose(7 larger ones and several small ones), because it's on the eastern side of the range, the snow isprobably the best for skiing(lightest)in the entireNW, once you move there you will find(if you explore)plenty of good places for ice and alternative rock(other than Smith Rock) and if you explore aroundSmith(outside of the main circus arena), there isquite a bit of really good climbing(the entire gorgeis awesome Basalt!). No, the snow is not as nice asSLC's, but you don't have to live amongst the oddityand you can always travel there if you want to skithe champagne. Yes, Bellingham & Mt.Baker get a lotof snow,a lot heavier than Central Oregon; Seattle?and live amongst all those Mountaineers?(and heavysnow again); California? Nice place to live,wouldn'twant to live there. There are too many Californiansin the Bend area already. Two words-Deschutes Brewery.Yeah Billy, that's right! Look where I live! (bottomof my post)

Late winter. The most important thing is that the temperatures are cold(2000-4000'ft. freezing level), and the snow is consolidated and icy. There are two distinct variatons(there are more than that, but these are the only worthwhile climbs); there is a rib in the middle of the the massive NE face of the mountain and on either side of the rib, are two shallow couloirs. The right one has two rock steps and snow/ice climbing from 60-70 degrees, while the left one has one rock step and snow/ice climbing from 50-60 degrees. I can't emphasize enough about the cold temps and CONSILIDATED snowpack; it shouldn't have snowed for at least 2 days prior.

Yo IMorris, The main thing that I found wrong, was the hour ofday in which you were at the base of the climb. Youshould have been at the top of the route at that hour.That route is a natural funnel, so you want to beat the top of the route, by the time the sun hitsthe top of the route. I've heard several accountsof the accident from the media,rangers,PMR and themost creative account, on the OMA website. I toowas unaware that Jeff Thomas was making a update to'Oregon High'; all other guidebooks on Hood, or Oregon'sCascades for that mater, suck by comparison. [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

Well,um,thank you. Thank you very much!(best Elvis impersonation across the internet).

Douche', Trask, douche'! You must be a knuckle-dragging,half-wit,inbred,derelictthen, judging by your response. [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

I'd bring passive pro(larger nuts or hexes), but the rock is still shit and you wouldn't want to fall on your pro; it might hold, it might not. You should be able to comfortably climb 5.5-5.7(in your plastic or leather boots and crampons); you'd be best to try this in January-early May, so that more of the rock is as covered as possible. I believe you were on the Sandy Glacier with a kook,JF?Your injury, was a result of his BAD judgement;screw the OMA! On a lighter note, if you want more beta, let me know.

The thing is, the people who utilize the trackingsystem that locates the MLU, don't monitor the system24 hours a day; they don't monitor it until-1)aperson in your party makes it out and initiates arescue 2)you call for a rescue(cell phone,hand-heldCB,VHF handheld or you get really lucky,like Mr.Frankenfeld(?) and someone hears you on your littleMotorola Talkabout. Just because you pulled the littleorange ball and called for a rescue(this only refersto calling someone for a rescue), doesn't mean yourass is 100% saved, either! If your in bad(critical)shape, or in a hard to get to/remote location, youmight be screwed anyway. I've watched people at REIrenting their equipment for a Hood climb and whengiven the chioce "do you want a helmet or a MLU?",9 out of 10 people choose the MLU. That tells methat the MLU are mostly for dumbasses! Then theycarry this thing with the same confidence, that aperson with the needed skill,experience,WFR,fullfirst aid kit,map,compass & altimeter has! Thereis no better way to prepare yourself, than with theitems I just mentioned. I've aided a couple of lostparties high on the mountain, who had one of thesedevices. They are a so-so idea. [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

The term "freshies" or "freshiez", is for 13 year old,snowboarding,homosexual choir boys!

I know several things about the 'Black Spider', onMt.Hood- 1)there isn't anywhere near enough coverageto make any route feasible 2)I believe the firstascentionist was Wayne Wallace 3)you know that giantlandslide that happened on the East side of Hood,in late July? That's right, it was right there, sothe original Wallace route is gone. 4)you know whatthe rock on Mt.Hood is like don't you? Shit! 5)Ihope that because your post is in the newbie section,that it is because you are new to the area and notnew to climbing(try the 'Oregon Cascades' section); unless you have climbed some of the otherhard routes on the mountain-Sandy Glacier Headwall(1937 variation),any variation of the North Face,the Elliot Glacier Headwall, Yokum Ridge or CastleCrags, you might not want to mess with the spider,or you might get bitten!I've got a lot of greatsuggestions for alternatives. [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

[ 02-01-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

Yo Q, Check my response on the post you started in the'Climbers Board' section!

Yo QJackson, I think the West Rib route is going to be the bestchioce for a winter/spring climb.You'll have to apporoach via Pamelia Lake and since they don't plowthe road(USFS 2246) you'll have about 2.5-3 milesto ski up the road, to the trailhead. It's 2.3 milesto Pamelia Lake 2.5-3 miles onto the toe of the RibThe West Rib averages 45 degrees, with 75-90 deg.on the summit pinnacle. The most asthetic route onthe mountain (IMHO), the shortest approach, the mostdirect route to the summit and on the most logicalpart of the summit pinnacle. Right out of the JeffThomas 'Oregon High' guidebook: "Well conditionedclimbers use the West Rib for one-day climbs ofJefferson during the winter or early spring". I'veclimbed the route and it is a great climb; if youhave any more questions, send me a PM. [ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

Yo AlpineK, This wasn't a pissing match about experience, buta rouse, to get you to admit that you place wands,that they are valuable and have their place. I wouldn't ever count on other peoples wands or theirjob of correctly wanding(that's like counting onother peoples fixed ropes) and if you have neverbeen caught by unexpected weather while climbinga mountain,(and you live in Seattle?)then you don'tget out and climb that much and never in the winter.

COMING SOON TO A MOUNTAIN NEAR YOU!! AlpineK lost, on that very same mountain!Maybe he should have stuck to climbing trees!

I think this post was for 'AlpineK', because if there's anyone who needs some "sauna sausage lovin'", it's that guy!

Special "K", Sounds like you carry plenty of SHIT around withyou; You've probably never climbed a big mountaineither!

If you take 2 people, side by side, one an expertwith GPS and one an expert w/ map,compass,altimeterand wands; there are no weak links in the analogsystem! Not affected by canyons/ravines,cold,nobatteries to die or spares to carry,no fragile orunpredictable electronics: analog, when utilizedin an educated manner, is fool-proof. Any systemthat utilizes batteries needs to be eliminated fromthe mountaineering/climbing system, as much as possible(headlamp the 1 unavoidable item).It's lighter too!If you have to use a GPS, you would be a fool to goout without the "old school" way, to bail your assout. GPS is NOT a replacement, for the map,compass,altimeter and wands. [ 01-01-2002: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

Hey Tex, When you go to try the Sandy Glacier Headwall, andyour feeling a little spicey, give the 1937 variationa go; it's a little steeper(55+), with a 60-70'ft.section of 75+ degrees. At the hourglass portion ofthe headwall, trend right, up towards the top ofYocum Ridge, staying just left of a prominant rib.I've done this route a couple of times and it is areally good climb(seldomly done). By the way, I dotry to keep the spray where it belongs. cheers!

Schlongsmoocher, You better pull that Bratwurst out of your assand work on your english, because you're in theUSA now, beotch!

The pre-made wands at REI are a f--king rip off!!Go with the 36" wands for lower 48 climbing and savethe 48" for AK and the Yukon. Don't just wrap a pieceof tape around them either; look in Freedom of theHills, to see how they make them. Also, don't usesurveyors tape, as it gets brittle and breaks, whenit gets cold; go to a fabric store and get a yardof fluorescent orange rip-stop fabric, to make yourflags out of. You then split the top of the wand,slide the flag down the split, wrap it around onehalf at least once and then use a little duct tapeto close the top of the wand back together. Now youwill have wands that you can use over and over again,where the other methods are more disposable. Theonly other suggestion that was true, was buy thegreen bamboo and not the tan(it is much more visable).Touche' Kathy! [ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: Richard Pumpington ]

Yo Jarred, You shouldn't ever need a 2nd tool for LeutholdCouloir, as it's only 40-45 degrees; good use ofFrench Technique should eliminate the need of a2nd tool on slopes under 55-60 degrees. Beware ofpossible avi danger on this route after/shortlyafter a storm. For what it's worth, I've never brought a 2nd tool, in the six times I've climbedthe route.