iain

european techno should be banned from all climbing gyms. the task would be monumental, but it is necessary.

Have a good one. I'll miss the Olde English references and photos. It's been fun.

Don't listen to him. He was unroped on a glacier just last week.

That is a sad story, I'm sorry you had to learn of your friend's disappearance that way. Add it to the number of unresolved "disappearances" in that area in bad weather.

quote: Originally posted by erik: http://www.rockandice.com/index.phtml?section=community I thought I was lookin at the minutes from a kids' clubhouse superhero debate when I just read that. People judging others, hiding online and with no facts. So, do I have license to call Steph Davis a good climber? What a total waste of time.

Not pretty, but I usually just double it over a few times and tie a huge overhand knot so that it is short enough to clip to a gear loop.

This is ridiculous. Honestly, who has the time to call up friends to specifically trash some guy? We are not competing with each other to see who's the hardman. Is there a vendetta we don't know about? You would have to be pretty pathetic to lie on a trip report on a website, and there is nothing to be gained by it. That alone is enough for me to believe the report, but it certainly isn' t the only reason. Nice climbing Colin, and thanks for the info.

I have experience with the Petzl Rigger in mtn rescue. It is heavy, 10k breaking. Sure you need something so burly? Works great otherwise. Could be a little strange as a litter spider, as the four holes will shift as you switch main line to belay line. Works great as an anchor attachment though. -iain

Isn't there some curling on the tube you should be watching right now? eh?

Moi, je prefere le fromage americain, avec lunchables et un peu du Pabst. Si-t-il avait le vin, d'accord, je voudrais un peu du vin aussi, seulement si le vin arrive dans un boite, comme Franzia. Mon francais? C'est horrible, je parle comme un canadian. Et maintenant, je m'arrete!

I'll be the guy wearing nothin' but prana shorts and my f'ing wool beanie hat. It's hot as hell but I look so damn kewl in it and the betties lunge when they see it. Wear a beanie hat and no t-shirt or don't bother showing, 'kay?

Surely there are a few corn mazes out there you could run. Those are fun, but scary when you get lost.

Interesting that crag.com went down. A guy with some web space on a dsl connection could set that thing up in an afternoon with little hit on their bandwidth, and it wouldn't cost them anything (provided they keep their connection up). The outdated software made crag difficult to read anyway. All they needed was a copy of ultimatebb (what this site uses) or write their own stuff to improve that quickly. I'd almost be willing to write it myself if people wanted that forum back, I've got plenty of server space for that. Personally I found crag.com a pain in the ass to wade through all the juvenile crap to get to the good stuff. At least here, that stuff is largely confined to spray. What am I talking about, that stuff is everywhere here, but at least it's amusing. Apart from the photos of peoples' feces.

On a more trivial note, how could they possibly raise their lift ticket prices any higher to cover this expansion? They think they're a big resort and charge big resort prices. You wait in line way too long there, lifts are on a "grooming hold" at 9am (what are nights for anyways), and the facilities are crap. They know they have the best terrain at altitude so they resort to highway robbery and half-ass work.

Here is some information about the very important development plans of Mt. Hood Meadows in the Cooper Spur area. It's worth reading to find out their plans for this historic and beautiful area. -Iain From Off Piste Magazine

I have witnessed a brutal rag-dolling fall from the pearly gates all the way to hot rocks. I thought the guy was dead. He was tentatively stepping off a ledge at the chute when he slipped, didn't self-arrest, slid a ways, then caught a crampon and flipped a foot or so off the ice. He barely touched the ground the rest of the way down. Good thing the bergschrund was still closed up, he went right over it. So yes, the s. side is pretty innocuous, but you'll want the spikes, you'll want them to fit well, and you'll want to know how to use them correctly. It's only 35 degrees, but you get moving in a hurry when it's icy. I've always found it strange that while REI won't rent harnesses, they will rent crampons. It's not like a crampon failure will always be life-threatening, but it certainly could be.

ahh, the bustling metropolis of LaPine. charming.

tough luck, will. nice trip report.

Best to climb that route on a weekday to avoid being hit by bodies coming down from C. spur...

According to the rules of the sticker thing, trucks are exempt from stickering. Only supermarket betties with troop transports are at risk of being tagged.

Just a brief conds report: Pole Creek road is snow-free if you didn't know by now. Trail snow-covered ~100m from TH. We skied up the ridge to Early Morning Couloir and did some skiing in the bowls up by Villard G. Huge av. debris out of Early Morning and Villard from yday or shortly before. This weekend (at least sunday) was not a good one for snow routes in my opinion. Freezing level was very high and we were surprised we didn't see any sluffing as the slopes cooked all day. S. facing aspects most likely were releasing. Skiing was good corn early. Careful on descent back, as we wound up in a tree farm and had to bushwack back uphill to trailhead, and we've done that descent many times. No trail park passes were checked. They never are at Pole Creek, I think. Early Morning C, Villard G, and Thayer HW are all in condition at this time. -iain

Congrats, that's a great route.