Thinker

'If I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my partner fingerpainting with his poop on a rock in the moonlight, I'd take all the best gear and leave.' Al Errington, SMR, opening comments to a group of beginning climbers who had just sat through a much too enthusiastic lecture about back country waste disposal methods.

This isn't getting any attention in the Oregon Cascades section so I'm cross posting it: I've got a bud coming in from the midwest for the Hood to Coast run in late August and he wants to climb Hood before the race. I'm thinking about it. From what I've read, the standard route usually has some pretty wicked rock fall that time of year. Just how bad is it? Do any other moderate routes avoid the rockfall? Any other concerns about late season climbing on Hood?

I whole-heartedly agree! After watching a bunch of people waste a whole lotta climbing time f*cking around with the cable my partner and I waded across and beat them to the rock by a good half hour. My shoes were almost dry by then, too.

I've got a bud coming in from the midwest for the Hood to Coast run in late August and he wants to climb Hood before the race. I'm thinking about it. From what I've read, the standard route usually has some pretty wicked rock fall that time of year. Just how bad is it? Do any other moderate routes avoid the rockfall? Any other concerns about late season climbing on hood?

I saw more than a few pairs of heavily discounted Grivel 2Fs at OR last weekend.

Congrats, MN, on sticking it out despite the heavy fire you've taken from the morons here. Come on down to a pub club or the rope up and put all their doubts to rest.

I like the little tree and later the root on the ledge/traverse near the top of Snake at Squish.

If you're still looking for ideas, give these people a call: Seattle Fabrics (206)525-0670 8702 Aurora Avenue North Seattle, WA. 98103 http://www.seattlefabrics.com

Fuck the boot in the face, Thinker. Meet the threat in the MOST violent way possible; especially in your own home, with the lives of loved ones at stake. Good job, Trask; sorry you and your family had to go through that horrifying experience. Right....is a 'really drunk' kid is a terrible threat to an average guy? Drunk = irrational and slow reflexes. How much of a threat is that? A swift kick and tossing the MF out the door should get the point across. So did your daughter help you mop up the gore? Did she enjoy finger painting with his brains, knowing they were splattered all over the walls in her honor? It's probably a troll, anyway.

How tragic, Trask. Seems a well placed boot in the face may have been a more appropriate response. Not to mention the horrific trauma you must have put your daughter through...blood and gore all over her bedroom and personal possessions....ringing ears for days....psychological trauma for life. If it's true, I have to ask....was it worth it?

And another thing. Last August a partner and I tapped the ice caves in the caldera. They were downright balmy compared to the windy and chilly night before camping in the caldera. I decided that if the sh*t ever hit the fan up there on a climb the caves would be the first place I'd seek shelter. No wind, air temps in the low 30's, some ice shelves and big boulders to bivy on....the perfect place to wait out bad conditions, esp if you're to the point of getting frostbite.

"They wandered until about 1 p.m., when they discovered that the other party had been turning its GPS unit on and off to save the battery. But in order for a GPS to funcion, the system needs to stay on, he said. " Is this true for all GPS units? Seems a little odd.....

try discussing the tecnical aspects of rope management to an inquisitive cowboy hat wearing fat touron after eating the paper. luckily my partner was much more skilled at handling such situations. My partner each time has had much more patience than I. I usually get back to the parking lot a good half hour before him as he takes the time to stop and talk with anyone who is curious....he's really the perfect guy for the job. I'm impressed with the climbing demo the park rangers give. They have a mini-mini wall outside the visitor's center where they show how gear is placed, how the rope is clipped, and more. My tradition is to see just how big a lie the tourists will believe. My fav was a touron (who had obviously seen part of the rangers demo) that asked 'why we weren't allowed to pound those spikes into the rock any more.' Because the tower is hollow and filled with water and they're afraid we'll crack it open and make a big mess if we keep making the cracks bigger......I think he bought it. My other favorite (already posted a time or 2 in related threads) was while I was waiting for my partner to make his way back to the parking lot. I was sitting in the shade behind a row of binoculars mounted on posts for the tourons to use. One old guy said "I just don't know how they can climb with those vultures sitting at the top just waiting for them to fall." I piped up and said "It's actually kinda tough to climb knowing all of you vultures are down here just waiting for us to fall." Needless to say, we didn't talk much more after that.

a few more details: http://heraldnet.com/Stories/03/6/24/17122578.cfm 2 articles posted on this thread previously: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/135051178_rainier22.html http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/135054882_climbers23m.html

Last night I saw OR's new Coulomb jacket. they had one in their clearance corner that's evidently a leftover from their 'pre production' run of the new jackets. Schoeler, mustard yellow, size L.....nice jacket at 50% off. I'd have probably bought it if it had fit me. They've got lots of other decent gear on clearance right now, too....including WildRoses.

Trying to be objective as possible, I only see one egregious error…that being the failure to mark the way back to the snow bridge over the schrund. If the cell phone call was made by a whiner without group consensus, that may indeed be a second. While I do have my personal views about how GPS makes for lazy navigators, I’ll not go into that here. I think every person in each party had the responsibility to recognize that the bridge was a crucial point in their descent and each had the responsibility to pull out a compass (at the very least) and take a bearing on the summit or some other feature in order to get back there. Granted, the later poor visibility could have made getting back there more difficult, but at least they’d have had a better chance with a bearing, or better yet, wands. In this particular case, each should have been confident that such a crucial feature had been logged into the GPS unit(s). So, as Matt P said, an error in judgment….compounded with the changing weather and additional errors in judgment (lack of sleeping bags, bivy bags, etc.) it could have easily turned fatal. Regarding the weather, we all know how different the weather at 10,000 and 14,000 can be from that at 6,000. If I’ve got the time off from work the permits in hand for a scheduled climb of Rainier, I’ll often leave the trailhead even in rain or snow and head on up to the camps at 10,000 or 11,000 just to see how it’s doing up there. Sounds like they had great weather for the climb up and got nailed on the way down. Unless one has first hand info about the conditions that high on the hill at the time, I don’t think one can reasonably second-guess that aspect of this particular climb. Hmmm……reasonably……..I can’t believe I just said that word in a cc.com post………… As always, just MY opinion.

Maybe this would help in the mean time. http://www.klingonska.org/dict/intro.html

Congrats guys! Looks like the trial runs with the Megamid paid off! Pete, 'twas good seeing you on Rainier and Baker within the last few weeks, too.

Oh Dru, please do tell....why do you wrap your car in chixwire?

this one's probably copyrighted, but here it is: http://www.fishproducts.com/pics/oopsie.gif

Thanks Norm, from: http://www.cascade.org/Education/Materials.cfm Laws / Safety Street Smarts: Bicycling Traffic Survival Guide (40pp. booklet) Washington State Bicycle Traffic Laws Sharing the Road: A Guide for Motorists and Cyclists Share the Road: Safety Tips for Cyclists and Motorists Share the Trail Think I'll order em up today and give em a read! Now if the Jersey Boys would just do the same.......... edit: I actually found the first two online at http://home.attbi.com/~larryleveen/laws.pdf http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm another decent resource: http://home.attbi.com/~larryleveen/ Now all I need is a little time to digest them.

Oh contraire, mon frère! Please don't take my cheeky presentation of the things I wonder aloud as a bad attitude. By pointing out my perception that there's a lack of educational outreach, I'm actually proposing a solution or at least asking where the info I seek is available. No doubt there are others who ponder similar things, and having a healthy open discussion about them is a GOOD thing. At least IMHO.

Norm, I think it's a circular argument. The leap-frogging will continue until one breaks the cycle....no pun intended. So...How are motorists educated about the rights and responsibilites of sharing the road with bikes? When I moved to Seattle after 30 some years of living in BFE, I was suddenly confronted with the masses of fast moving and aggressive bikers enjoying their urban commutes and training rides. I'll have to admit, it had (and still has) me scratching my head over the dilema. Why did that bike cop who jetted off the sidewalk and into the crosswalk at 30mph flip me off when I almost hit him making my right turn? How can that biker I just passed on the street get away with hopping onto the sidewalk and pedaling across the crosswalk in front of me at the next stopsign?....shouldn't he consistently act like either a car or a pedestrian so I know what to expect from him? As I asked before, what's really supposed to happen at those ambiguous zones in an intersection where the white line marking the bike lane just disappears? (discussed extensively above) Why aren't bikers required to have insurance and licenses based on a test of skill and knowledge like any other vehicle on the road? And most importantly, will a big guy like Norm beat the crap out of me or my car if I make a mistake and really piss off the gentle giant? To bring it full circle, are there any educational outreach programs to educate bikers and automobile drivers about how to safely and courteously share the road? If I recall right, there's little or no info about such things in the WA State drivers license test review book. Do schools or the YMCA teach these skills? Other sources?

Several of my coworkers regularly scuba dive in our drinking water at three of the reservoirs. The powers that be take their watershed protection pretty seriously to avoid microbiological contamination and to avoid the expense of installing filtration equipment. Bottoms up!

Trask, it sure is nice of you to take him under your wing and show him how your family copes with such afflictions.