Duchess

what does IMHO mean, i have never known...

the slide show was awesome, really creative movie and i enjoyed it thoroughly!! thanks!! p.s. didn't get advertised as a mountaineers mtg, thus i wasn't quite expecting the hour of board meeting/voting that preceeded the showing... oh well...

Hey - just moved to OR and am curious about the Steens Mountain. Anyone know anything about ice climbing or other possible winter activities in the range? Mucho gracias!

This is all true, but a solo climb requires an additional solo permit application. A climbing ranger, or other equally qualified ranger, will review your application, and the park superintendent signs it. This has to be done in advance, or you're right, you might not actually reach someone. The comments about judging climber qualifications are pretty insightful, but solo climbing permits have been denied in the past. I recommend reading the park's climbing website, under climbing regulations (not the blog, but the actually website http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/climbing.htm#CP_JUMP_149861)

don't forget that you actually have to GET a solo permit first... because you have soloed Rainier 5 times in the summer, I don't doubt that you have enough skill and experience to obtain such a permit... i do, however, caution you that rangers are going to look MUCH, MUCH closer at a solo permit request for the winter. Upper mountain search and rescues are enough of a bitch in the summer, much less the winter... I would contact Gauthier and talk over your plans before assuming it's a go... if ya don't get a permit, none of the above matters!

On both of my winter ascents, there is no way I could physically have soloed the route. In places the route was scoured, but in places very breakable crust and deeeeeeeeep snow. Trail-breaking through those conditions was exhausting, and there's no way I could have done it without partners to switch off with.

if. and no.

um... if everyone knew that they could get a permit in the field, then no one would get permits b/c everyone would just wait to get intercepted by a ranger... thus, only a small percentage of people would actually get permits... i can see why the park service would not find this strategy to be a good one... and by the way, i certainly wouldn't count on any ranger at rainier issuing you a permit in the field, i'd say you're just as lucky to get a citation...

THEY DON'T MAKE A DAMN CENT OFF OF FINES, PEOPLE!!!!!

p.s. sorry to hear that the fine got raised so much, i've never heard of that happening before!!

No offense man, but this is the worst advice I have heard!! The "Tool" definetly has communication to dispatchers who will look up the information you give them and instantly realize that you are lying... the law allows the "Tool" to detain you until you give accurate information - yes, that's true... arrest you if need be... Just suck it up, be a man, and accept the consequences of your actions!! Don't lie, they'll know it... just get your stupid permit next time around!! Last time I checked, backcountry permits were free at North Cascades... if you feel the need to make some big political statement, there are plenty more effective ways I assure you... Oh yeah, I realize that I am about to get ripped a new one for these opinions!!

I think when you ask for beta, you are inevitably going to get folk's opinions, and maybe they aren't the opinions you were hoping for, but... I think there's a lack of reports this year because access to the Mowich Face was more difficult this year than in the past, also the mtn seemed to melt out rapidly this year. A couple of rangers tried to climb Sunset Ridge a month and a half ago from Golden Lakes and felt it was long gone. I haven't seen the N Mowich glacier up close since July, but I would anticipate that crossing it would be very difficult right now. Same goes with the S Mowich glacier, which I have found to be really broken up in July in the past. I can't imagine the forecasted snow will help at all... But that being said, people have found a way to do it in the past, so go for it, just make sure to register and be safe!! By the way, I think you've actually gotten a lot of good beta here, and haven't gotten torn apart nearly as much as most do...

I am very familiar with this side of the mtn, and I've watched it melt out all summer. I can honestly say that there is more exposed rock on the Mowich face now than I have ever seen before - I suppose it is possible that it could be climbed, but getting to the face would be problematic, and getting through/above the many rock bands to the good ice above would also be... well, desperate... Access to the Mowich Face is pretty crappy this year...

Update: The Tahoma Creek trail remains a mess, but the West Side Road is in much better shape. A trail has been flagged and cleared through the river bed, and the trees in the blowdown cut. The road is now bike-able, with just a couple of sections that would require carrying the bike. There is some flagging marking a route on sections of the old TC trail.

I really have to laugh at this! Being a local Ashfordian... if you no likey da rain, you best not come!! Ashford is the shiznit in the summer... but oooh... the winter, she is painful! i'm planning my move to points sunnier in the near future!

yay! madison is awesome, i went to school there, climbed regularly at boulders (awesome gym, at least it was five years ago!), and learned to climb at devil's lake. i recall being told that both eric simonson and ed viesturs learned to climb there as well... be careful though! that quartzite is slippery and 5.11s are known to masquerade as 5.8s!! have a blast there, madison is the greatest! eat some hot spicy cheese bread at the farmer's market for me pls! peace

You can hike up the Westside Road if ya want to. You cannot hike on the road Mon-Sat. They can't stop ya from hiking over Mount Wow... go for it if you're so ticked off. That would show them.

dude, mt. hood is not a national park. look, the only reason that the road is still closed to the public is that there have been some 30-odd loads of multi-ton rock being hauled into the park daily for repairs between the nisqually entrance and MP 9 - coupled with regular snowplow operations, the installation of MAJOR new culverts, and the occasional river flowing over the road. i don't agree with whoever decided to let the concessions operate despite the closure, but it is only a handful of car trips, not daily traffic going up and down the road. i don't understand all of these (what sound to me like) conspiracy theories. the park wants to open to the public ASAP. but the road has to be SAFE and SECURE first, right?? there's such a thing as liability...

Ipsut Creek approach = start at 1800' at road closure. 5 mile hike up road + 7 mi from Ipsut Cr campground to Curtis Ridge. White River approach = start at ~4500' (white river cg). 3 mi hike to Glacier Basin + ~4 (???) mi to Curtis Ridge. Someone might have a more accurate mileage but that's my best guess. You do the math!!

In a way, even demonstrable physical "damage" is a social constuct - after all, if we were to cease all of our destructive behaviors, the earth would heal itself (cliche I know). But we as humans are judging what is damaged or not, and the magnitude of the damage. We decide on the limits of acceptablity, what conditions we are willing to sacrifice and what we are not, and surely that is a social construct... Just the fact that we label something a "wilderness" separates ourselves from the land. Is it possible for humans to be wild? Although, I do understand what you're saying... sometimes I just think it beneficial to play the devil's advocate.

Valid question. I have no problem with restrictions based on quantifiable, long-term physical damage. Unfortunately, restrictions are too often based on social considerations. Our whole perception of long-term physical damage is a social constuct... everything about the idea of "managing wilderness" and "wilderness philosophy" and even the very connotation of "wilderness" are social considerations. Most people are not accepting of creating wilderness areas in which no people at all can enter... so why not take social considerations into account when deciding how to manage wilderness areas?

okay - i shouldn't even fall victim to fairweather's political rants... but i can't help it, i am SO going to open up a can of worms here... the ROAD to the workplace didn't just wash away. half of the workplace washed away!! there was no power, no telephone, no internet. for a while, everyone thought their lives were in imminent danger. employees were EVACUATED. these employees don't work in a tidy nice office building in downtown seattle. they work on the side of a volcano. they live with constant "lahar warning alarms" being tripped. they monitor the roads for slumps, slides, damage. they drove home that first day, a few hours early, BEHIND a FRONT END LOADER that cleared their paths over washed out roads, leaving their valuables, their work, and for many, their personal vehicles, behind. they dodged fallen trees and rocks and drove through swift flowing water. and this wasn't on the ROAD to their workplace. this was IN their workplace. and now many of them are working from home, or from temporary offices set up outside of the park. they are trying, with considerable incovenience, to do their jobs and meet their deadlines. And wondering what in the world is going to become of their workplace, and their jobs, in the future, while simultaneously planning for another similar event. DO YOU PUT UP WITH CONDITIONS LIKE THIS IN YOUR PRIVATE-SECTOR WORKPLACE?!?! I think not. And all of this for the salary that many NPS employees make (not much) and without insurance (for many seasonal employees). There is huge sacrifice that NPS employees make in their personal lives for the careers they have. i can think of a lot more rational issues for you to gripe about, fairweather.

it is totally not feasible to plow the road to sunrise. all of the permanent employees and equipment are based out of longmire. services (including water) are already cut off at white river, not to mention sunrise! and, keeping the road up to sunrise open would mean keeping part of 410 open, which is a state decision, not a park decision, and would probably never happen. there's a ton of pressure for the park to move as fast as it can on the road, from the paradise construction contractors as well as the public. the park isn't going to slack on this one... mother nature has spoken, y'all. much as it sucks, this is a lot bigger than our personal desire to ski. that's the price of recreating on a volcano.

i have ALL KINDS of indoor fun planned for this winter!!

dude... vertical limit. right?