boonecounty

Nice, pics I just remembered my friend took some pics with his digital camera of the hogsback after the ice fall. I will have him email them to me and hopefully I can post them here. It would be cool/eery to have a before/after pic of the area.

I don't have a picture but the one supplied shows it perfectly. See just to the left of the pearly gates the two large rock faces that look like tombstones separated by a section of ice. There is a lone soul on the hogsback directly below the section that fell. He is directly above a group of two and below the clump of 5 or so above that are the furthest group towards the pearly gates. Basically the area between the two tombstones is all rock know and it just looks like a rock wall. It was pretty frigging huge. I would have hated to be below that thing when it went kerplunk. All I can say, "alpine start anyone." I can't imagine how many people including myselft passed underneath that timb bomb. Nice picture it clears things up for me, and makes me realize how big that chunk was!!!!!!!!!

Hey looking for partners for anything this tue and wed. I could meet monday night also. I ski rando, climb well, don't mind a slog if it is interesting. Anyway email if you have idea. Mount Saint Helens ski descent would be cool, I am game for Shasta if you want to suffer and drive. Rock is good too, but I ain't driving to Squamish, maybe Leavenworth though. I pretty much live in the parking lot at timberline so anything on hood is good providing it cools down a fair bit. Ryan email at boonecounty@hotmail.com

Hey man, I climbed it the 24th and the 25th and the route has changed a ton overnight. A huge chunk of ice fell off sometime late on the 24th from the center of the pearly gates. Were talking small compact car size. It was scaring me at 5:30am on the 24th and I was wondering when it would come down. Luckily I haven't heard of it nailing any of the crowds that were coming down the hogsback at 2pm on Saturday. Anyway the huge chunk triggered a wet slide that swept the face on the left above the bergshrund. It cleaned up all evidence of the long roping hordes from Sat. This morning at 6am it was solid ice with perfect french technique or should I call it "freedom Technique" firm and unmarked my party was the first on the summit and it was sweet. However the slide opened the bergshrund another 12-18 feet by my estimate (bad news!). It created a fat slightly downsloping ledge just under where it fell so it is a nice place to regroup at the top of the hog! If you have good french technique it will be super fun, bad and it might be a little hairy. also I think the bergschrund will open super quick after this big addition to its opening. And for all the hood fans out there, get a true alpine start the warm nights have made for sweet postholing unless you get up and get moving. Not to mention rock/ice is falling everywhere around Devil's kitchen/steel cliffs.

Jarred is a awesome guy to climb with, if you looking for a seriously cool partner hook up with him. I am planning to hang with him this summer between jobs.

I met richard Pumpington on the S. face of hood on Saturday. He was shortroping two chicas that looked like strippers up the route. I got to talking to him and he started bashing me for being a midwest redneck in his beloved state. After I told him I was there to onsite redpoint da chute he pulled a gun on me and told me to get off his mountain. So I cruised up the Mazama chute, beautiful breakable crust the whole way. I ran into him up top though and he chased me all the way down until I escaped him by jumping the schrund. Other than that conditions were great, firm, and fast. Ski down was sweet corn. I am so disheartened though Richard was my hero and I hoped someday he would be my mentor. However, he just can't get over the fact that I am a redneck from missouri!! Pumpington did shout his new cc user name to me as I ran away. Don't you wanna know?

Call Shasta mountain guides I am sure they know what is up on the mountain. Peace out ps. I met Richard Pumpington on the south face of hood yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The use of technical tools on this route in last year's conditions would be a smart move. The ice encountered was harder than any water ice I have ever swung into. Truly black ice. I was able to make it through the climb by hooking the piolet into my old prophet holes. I think it all depends on conditions. Last year the upper part of rainer seemed particularly icy. Plus with last year's heavy snowpack and a early june ascent which would you rather have a long piolet for approach/descent or a tool that actually penetrated the ice on 60degree black ice? After all with bridges that thick what are the chances of falling in a crevasse.

Is the HWY open yet? Does anyone have info on the conditons on Cauthorn-Wilson? Thanks

Email me or call my cell phone at 760-920-3441. It all depends on whether it is cold enough. If it is cold enough I am going on Tuesday for a 1 day ascent. Wish I could get a reliable weather forecast any ideas? My email is boonecounty@hotmail.com

Heading out to Triple Couloir this Monday and Tuesday. Conditions are awesome right now and I was just up to the ice runnels yesterday. However a tight schedule and heavy spindraft force a retreat. Let me know otherwise I go solo!

Just wondering if anyone was thinking of climbing this route this winter. I lived in Bellingham last spring/summer and did quite a bit of climbing. Really thought about this route a lot this fall. I am living in Tahoe right now. But if someone finds that route in the right condition I would be happy to throw my gear in the car and be there in 12 hours. I would also like any beta anyone has on the route. Thanks ps. you guys have such a awesome board, nothing like it in the sierras, met two of my best climbing partners ever on this board.

Climbed N. Face of shuksan on 6/22 car to car in way to long. I got suckered by all this talk of the bushwack free approach from several friends along the cat track. Well having never been to the ski resort before I did not find the cat track and we were inside a cloud so visibility sucked. Still did alright by staying high and finally coming down in a crazy bushwack to the valley. Got to the base of the face at 7am. My friend Corey had just flown out from Columbia Missouri and had gotten shit for sleep in two days. We boogied up the face in the steps kicked by three climbers. It is sloppy/slushy and not that great as of right now. Reached the col up top at 8400ft at 12pm. Let the suffering begin in earnest. After a wrong turn we headed down the mountain and everything was good until we hit the white slushee glacier. Snow conditions were so bad we were blowing steps left and right. I was waiting for the avalanche to sweep the entire face. Finally after running a few belays and descending some steep stuff we finally found some trucks and started postholing down. Near the bottom there is a waterfall and we were thinking about glissadeing the tongue of the glacer down when a large avalanche started by icefall swept that descent clean. We jumped behind rocks and got bombarded by ice chunks. We then flew down the water fall. We descended the snow and headed through the bottom of the valley. Mass suffering ensued. We had noticed a clear cut heading up the valley and into the ski resort. We found the clear cut and ascended from 2800ft to 4000ft and the top of the ridge. We arrived back at my RV at 2am, exactly 24 hours after leaving. Shit happens!!!

I want to thank my partner, Will, for giving such a good trip report. He was definatly the strong member of the team. It was my first route on Rainier, and a very memorable one. Very cool climbing with a wiser, distinguished alpine climber. His strength helped overcome some of my lack of experience and I learned a shitload from climbing with him. The stupidest thing I did on the trip was bring one black prophet and one piolet. The piolet bounced uselessly off of the bullet hard black ice. Thanks Will, I learned a lot and am really grateful you took a chance on climbing with me.

Is anyone interested in doing the N. Face of Shuksan or N. Ridge of Baker this week. I have until friday night and am free right now. Let me know because i have heard the n. face of shuksan is in perfect conditions right now. looking for competent climbers who can move quick on the 50 degree snow/ice.

Congratulations, good TR. Hope you went to someplace and pigged out and then passed out afterwards. Isn't it the coolest feeling when you are heading down successful and others are trudging up?

My friend and I were up on the ridge just south of south arete of early winter spires Monday evening through Tuesday morning. There were some awesome slides and the one that covered the road was amazing. Not sure if we actually saw the slide hit the road as it was getting dark, but just above the hair pin we saw a big chunck of cornice cut loose, and clean the slope below it. One word of advice don't try and go do the N. face of Mt. Maude the road is closed like 15 miles shy of trinity. Call the ranger station, the S.E. couloir on early winters is a poor substitute.

I would be interested in doing North face of shuksan this mon-wed if possible. Live in Bellingham. Send me an email boonecounty@hotmail.com

Just wondering what the pro is like on the psychopath pitch and pressure chamber pitch of hyperspace? I know the climbing if tough and sustained, but what is gear like? any suggestions?

Hey I just put in my two weeks notice and am free every day after Memorial day. Wanna climb a few of the ice routes while ther are still in/or coming into shape. Anyone with some experience would be great. I am in good shape, hopefully. Anyway drop me a email if you are interested. I would really like to find a partner for Liberty Ridge, or Ptarmidgan Ridge in the first two weeks of June. I have climbed few walls, fair bit of AI and WI and lots of alpine rock routes. Looking for fairly competent partner.

Man, I may be knew to the area but what kind of a tool accuses someone of posting a false trip report. Great climb, way to go, hope that guy feels like the dipshit he is.

Just moved to Bellingham. I am off Tuesday, Friday, Saturday looking to climb at Squamish and many other places. Alpine ice, Alpine rock, Sport, trad, bouldering whatever. boonecounty@hotmail.com Want to find a partner for Squamish tomorrow if possible 4/30/02

Hello, I live in Bellingham and am off every Tuesday. In June I am quitting my job or will only work 2 days a week. Up for Alpine Ice routes, Alpine rock and anything else. I just moved here and have climbed extensively in Colorado and some in California. Been to Leavenworth, Vantage, and Peshastin so far. Looking to do Orbit, and Outerspace in one day. Also want to do dreamer. Lets climb some time. I want to go to Squamish tomorrow but I need a partner. Tuesday all day.