iain

It takes about 5 seconds per probe. Probe, leave in place, and dig.

Just a gut feeling but it seemed like there has actually been more snow than usual in central oregon the past few weeks and hood got dumped on for a solid string there. We're finally seeing sidewalks in town again. Reports from Baker haven't been so bad either... but certainly not epic chairlift tunneling stuff yet

I love the part with the snowboarder and skier holding hands. Denver brings everyone together.

Those ain't snowshoes. They're some crazy canadian sheet metal crampon/snowshoe hybrid. Apparently they had a hard time keeping up with that guy cause he wasn't postholing at all.

those pmr guys start drinking their own urine when someone throws a snowball at them. I would not want to be hiking wcr after those storms though.

That ain't Pete's Pile.

How is the windslab on the upper mountain? Telem was showing some sustained winds. Queen's Chair area specifically.

better than any ice cragging tr

That is on the northwest side of the hogsback. Elevation is 10,500' (That is me in the orange coat)

Meadows today: siiiiiick

Funny, I haven't run into the meadows bullshit at ski bowl. And if you throw on skins at the top of Palmer the patroller says "have fun wish I could join you". If you showed up with skins at the top of Cascade you'd be put in prison.

Meadows is only good if you can go mid-week. Otherwise it suxx. Heather gets skied out in a millisecond (if it's open) and you end up standing in line way too long with a bunch of entitled brats. Laps on jacks and pr are pretty damn fun though. Ski Bowl is the place to be when it's cold and dumping. Timberline can get boring but it's very scenic and has a great vibe. I have a lot of great memories there.

I've never heard anyone visiting Smith say that draws are an eyesore. If anything it's the chalk in the dihedrals area. Lower heinous will be considered a limestone climb in another 50 years. Smith obviously is its own little universe though.

My experience has been there is no solid way to forecast conditions up there unless there is massive high pressure parked over the region. Just show up and be flexible with your plans. You can hansel and gretel your way into Green Lakes basin in any conditions pretty easily. It can be pretty exposed and unpleasant at treeline in the north/middle sister area with t-shirt weather at dutchman.

Sounds like a blast! So many great lines to ski in there but such a pain to get to in winter. Some of those lines would be outrageous in stable conditions. PS it is nuking up there right now. Be prepared for a beatdown.

You can get in plenty of climbing/skiing living in bigger cities like Seattle/Portland/Spokane. Yes, you won't be able to bike over to a crag on your lunch break, but if you're willing to do a bit of driving you can climb/ski as much as people who live in those towns. I live in Bend but to be honest I go to Smith less often than I did when I lived in Portland. Skiing fresh powder before work and fly fishing at the lunch break is pretty cool though, and the traffic and moron quotient is definitely lower. But there are also a lot of cool things that big cities offer that small towns just won't have. If you end up having to live there, be sure to embrace those things while you have them rather than lamenting about living in a big city.

Looks telephoto. I'm gonna say Lost Lake area based on the aspect. Or were you peeing in the bull run watershed when you took this? and at least to contribute, spinnewand extremsport

Looking good for a couple of geezers! Nice to see the pod making an appearance in the first picture too. Look at your guide... now back to me... now back to your guide... now back to me.

Dunno where you guys were but the skiing was heavy but fun in the Bend area cascades. Watch your tips.

There were chains out at Beacon for a few seasons. They are fine but they do wear on the surrounding rock in the off season when monster Gorge winds slap them against the rock 24/7. It must be a sight to behold but it clearly happens a lot up there. I find the anchors at Beacon to be perfect the way they are. I bet you could rap off them 15 years from now and you would still have _plenty_ of strength to spare.

MtnHigh I sure hope you're getting out and climbing and not just monitoring toilets at T-line.

SS, fair points, I don't disagree. It's frustrating to pay for the necessary infrastructure to maintain order at Emmons and Muir when that's not your destination and not your problem. It also appears they need to rotate rangers into office duty more frequently to get some "field data" down to the registration desk. Using your example on the Finger, you get some benefit by having well-acclimatized, trained people ready to run over from Muir or wherever to help you out should you be in trouble. Their response time on foot plus helicopter is probably very good if the weather is good. Whether people should have to pay extra for some mandatory safety cushion is another question. I suppose you also pay for camp quota enforcement on the Wilson G. Certainly there is room for improvement. I have a hard time paying an annual $20 permit when I end up doing perhaps 1 trip there a year. Part of the reason I stay away is the red tape. Rainier is popular enough to require some infrastructure, and that costs money.

I'm not upset about the lack of blogging, and don't really care if it comes back. It was nice to have the info, but all I want to know about is road closures and administrative hoops that I need to be aware of. I go up there to have an adventure. I don't want photo play-by-play of the corridor or if the finger is still skiable, or a daily liberty ridge update. I'd rather find out for myself and get skunked occasionally. And I'm coming from a lot further away. It's unfortunate we have to be carrying cash. But as long as this info is made available it doesn't seem that big a deal. Rainier does have a lot of paperwork. The blogging does not bug me, but I can live without it.

Strong showing Dan. I was waiting For the photo of you hucking the ice steps

Did any of it collapse down the east face, the gully nearest the se ridge? Is the bergschrund on the diller glacier still bridged substantially? Thanks.