Old_Man

What about snow saws...options?? Best...worst? Is lighter...better?

Good question... What's the best way up there now that the Alpental approach is shut down??

Tragic...

Nice work...looks like you all had a great climb. Not sure if there is actually a "Mazama Headwall." By your photos, you clearly climbed the Mazama Glacier, and then traversed for a finish on the upper Klickitat Glacier. The Mazama Glacier is more of a pocket glacier, and is formed between a couple of ridges. The traditional finish of of the Mazama Glacier, of course, is up the snow/corniced ridge, that leads up to Piker's Peak (menioned as the "South Peak."). The corniced ridge above the Mazama Glacier forms the south edge of the upper Klickitat Glacier. Next time you're on top of Piker's Peak, go down about 10-20 feet on the west side amongst the rocks, and you'll be able to read an inscription on a large boulder that says something along the lines..."if you stop here, thinking this was the summit of Adams...then you're a "Piker." Hence, the name of the place became Piker's Peak. Seems to me there's a couple of other old inscriptions there, too. I don't remember the date signed on the rocks, but it's something like in the 30's or 40's. Good on ya...I'm jealous of your trip! Sweet...and congrats!

Verizon has the best coverage on Rainier, without a doubt. They have tuned their towers to increase the reception/calling abilities on the moutain. ATT works at times, but it's not as reliable (their digital vs. analog settings are set differently, so if there's even a tad of digital signal...but not enough to connect, it won't switch to analog and then it doesn't work on either band. At least that how it was for a long time; may have changed). Verizion seems to reliably connect just about everywhere around Rainier, and I've connected as low as Paradise. Verizon seems to work pretty well in other mountain terrains as well. Nokia's are working OK for me, especially with some larger LION batteries (work well in cold).

Cluck, Cool...thanks for the learning. Nice to pick up some bits trivia from this website. Always appreciated...the homwork's appreciated. Never done the traverse...been wanting to for decades. Might do it next year...ya got my curiosity up now. I'll tip one to you guys. Nice work!

Cluck, I'm not around a map at the moment...Foss?? Is that the little bump between the Castle and Unicorn? It must be, according to your description. Guess the folks I know who've done the traverse, haven't included that one (guess I didn't know it's name). They've traversed it on the N side, and then into the top of the Unicorn chute. Like Dwayner said, I'm not sure I remember anyone doing the traverse...including Stevens. I think he's right...it's easier to do it from the Snow Lake trailhead...then start up Unicorn from there. That way there's a 3,000+ descent to Longmire. Would guess mid-June is easier and quicker...when there's a lot of snow linking up the peaks. There's lots of short cuts, boot skiing and glissading to be done to save time. But...you're style is definately better than those I know who've only done it one way...and not the loop with the cycle finish. Didn't realize the snowfield up there on Unicorn was considered a "glacier." Thought it was just permanent snowfield. I'm probably wrong. Is is listed on a map as such? Nice work there Cluck. Good on ya!

Steel cables, made out of aircraft grade or whatever... are hard to cut through just about anything... except for cable cutters. A long handled pair of them can cut through a pretty thick cable in a flash. The little lady's right... the thief would have to have cable cutters to get the job done. I've seen the packsafes used before.... and felt they are a reasonable thing to use on a third world trip, where a pack in storage might be a little safer from the bellhops who work in the storage area. Or... used around packs in places where cutting the bottom of a pack is the thing to do. However... have also thought that putting a steel cable net around a pack or bag just advertises items of value inside--and increases one's vulnernability. As far as using the cable system inside of a car at a trailhead, I'd go light, leave any BS stuff at home, and take the wallet, insurance slip, and phone with--and anything else of importance. Leave as little in the car as possible. The thief will either have the tools to get the job done if you have/use cables, a box or whatever, and if they don't... they might move on to another easier prowel. Or...if they have a little "quiet time," they might get pissed since they can't cut through the cable... and could be tempted to trash your vehicle. It happened to a friend of mine... they totalled his Bronko out by three fingers, and it had to be towed to the junk yard. Sorrry you lost your goodies...and those glasses. Hard lessons to learn. I'm convinced if you've got anyting of value... there is someone out there who wants it, and probably more than a few who've got the talent and brains to successfully take it from you. Get rid of anything you own, live like a bum, and you'll be more happy.

Sweet!

Jefffski...you're right. My comments were totally reactionary, there's no cause for alarm, and no need to be careful. BTW, how many arrests were made in the youth/climber incident??

Seems the RCMP has motivation to keep quiet on the recent youth/climber confrontation issue. I would guess the RCMP and Squamish Mayor may not want to confirm their Squamish youth are totally out of control. Maybe they're afraid, for some reason, to squash the problem. Who knows, but it seems like there's sufficient evidence out there to warrant care when in the area.

Sure it's not $30??

It left out our local favorite...the Feathered Friends Hummingbird. Highly recommended. Think that was said somewhere else here, too.

That "sounds" right... But, someone ought to post a photo of the knot. Like they say...it's worth a thousand words.

Erik & Fern, Couldn't agree more with you both... Just thinking climbing and adventuring ought to be fun... without the additional baggage of "incidents" involving large numbers of people. Could and has happened elsewhere...just wish is wasn't happening to climbers in a cool place. Avoid Squamish/Canada, no. Get upset when someone gets mistreated like they were in this incident, yes. Hope it doesn't happen again, most definately.