cluck
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Posts posted by cluck
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Thanks for the historical perspective, Lowell. Your stories from the "old days" are always enjoyable
Regardless of whether this guy was the "first" for anything - I still find it amusing and somewhat inspiring to hear (and see the video) of his hairbrained stunt in my backyard playground.
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Not so impressive - the euros have been ski hucking themselves off cliffs for quite some time now. I am actually surprised no one has done this before.
Whatever. You guys are so hardcore.
Besides, neon green parachutes are sooo 80s.
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Mount Hood: The Chamonix of the west!
MOUNT HOOD - A man from Spokane, with the help of a local friend, became the first to ski base jump off Mount Hood and the daredevil act was all caught on tape.Matthias Giraud is on cloud nine after making the most impressive jump of his life on Thursday.
He cruised to the edge of Mississippi Head, shot off the vertical cliff and soared 253 feet before a parachute guided him safely down into the snow.
"It's the best feeling in life," he said. "It's the perfect moment. You get to the top and hiking, getting ready to do it, and you're like 'Oh my God, what am I doing?'"
Asit Rathod helped Giraud pull off the historic ski base jump. They had tried it before but the notoriously fickle Mount Hood weather did not cooperate. This time, 50-degree sunshine made for a picture-perfect day.
At 7,159 feet, Mississippi Head is one of the most dangerous spots on the mountain. It is part of the Mount Hood Triangle where climbers and skiers face the danger of tumbling down into Zig Zag Canyon.
Base jumping is not illegal in and of itself, it just depends on where you do it. KATU checked with the U.S. Forest Service and after a lot of research, they determined Giraud did nothing wrong.
However, while they admire the adventure of it all, they are not encouraging others to try the same thing.
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From this morning's NWAC avi forecast:
The very large amounts of relatively low density have not
only produced a generally high avalanche danger with both
human and naturally triggered slides likely, but have
also made any snow travel very difficult. Foot
penetration off the trail has been reported reaching
shoulders to head depth, and suffocation within this deep
unconsolidated snowpack structure is a very real
possibility from a fall, especially near tree wells and
even within developed ski areas. As a result of avalanche
and deep snow travel concerns, back country travel in
avalanche terrain is not recommended. Anyone recreating
in this current snowpack should have probes, shovels,
beacons, extreme caution and a very aware partner; watch
each other and stay close together.
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I thought it was a big hit. They showed mostly adventure films with great kayaking, backcountry skiing, north shore mountain biking, rock climbing, and some crazy frenchman who snowboarded off the summit of Everest. My favorite was the film on climbing in Colorado's Black Canyon.
Lots of people too. It didn't sell out, but it was pretty full. Good times & good vibes. Thanks for coming out folks!!
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I will summit no if ands or buts I have time lots of time and I will heed the MT but I will bend its will.
Am I the only one who think that ex-military folks make for scary climbers??? They're all hoorah to go storm the mountain but don't know a crevasse from an ass crack. Toughness and balls are great and all but they won't save you from an avalanche or a fall.
No offense Tony - I'm sure you're a great guy and thanks for your service in Iraq. But seriously, there's no reason to get yourself killed back here at home.
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Looks pretty warm in that pic. Could I wear flip-flops, or do you think I should rent chacos?
Seriously dude. Hood is a climb, not a hike. It is however a fairly straightforward climb- with only a few crevasses, some rock and ice fall, occasional avalanches, and kind of steep exposed climbing. If you fall from from where that pic was taking you probably wouldn't die.
Technical knowledge of snow/ice protection, crevasse rescue, and roped team travel should be considered pre-requisites. If you don't have that knowledge, hire someone who does.
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Thanks for the first-hand report, Pitts. Most of us are infinitely curious about the details of these types of things as we hope to learn from others' experiences. Also, as climbers we tend to look for ways to seperate ourselves from those who encounter misfortune in the hills. We try to convince ourselves that subjects of SAR events are "dumbasses" because it makes us feel safer. Like it couldn't happen to us because we're not dumbasses.
Thanks again for posting your story. It's a real treat to get the details first-hand. After spending the morning trying to figure out the puzzle, it's great to hear the real story and fill in the gaps. Bummer your climb went sour but I'm sure victory beers tasted sweet.
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They had gear. The SAR teams just brought them snowshoes and probably took their packs for them. I'm sure they were pretty knackered from postholing though the forest all night.
Very glad to see this wrap up with a happy ending!
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Just as an FYI for future North Sister first timers. There is a way to escape the bowling alley to climbers right on the way up that saves you time in the alley. As I remember it - only did it once - it takes a series of short steps that are class 3/4 which our party climbed unroped. You do have to turn the corner into the bottom of the alley and scamble up through some loose easy terrain. Seems like you turn right just about the bottom of the point where you can see the upper part of the alley. I'm not any kind of hard core free soloist, so if you have any business being on this route I'd say you could do it too. To that point, we also free climbed the last little bit to the summit and found, for this heap, the best rock of the day and reasonably enjoyable scrambling. We did use a rope to rap back down the alley but otherwise used no hardware for the climb. If it makes you feel better, bring alone some slings and a few peices (webbing for the rap although 1/2 our party downclimbed the ascent route) but like it has been stated, no need to haul lots of hardware to make questionable placements that slow you down and keep you in harms way longer. To me, the biggest hazzard on this climb in melted out conditions is party induced or random rock fall. Personally, if I ever did this climb again (unlikely) I'd minimize the time in the alley like we did the first time and free scramble vs. messing around with gear and ropes.
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and the rock quality rivals that of some of Oregon's most majestic peaks...by which of course I mean that it's really, really awful. probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.
I'm glad you had fun. It isn't exactly climbing and the rock is of the most special quality. But, it is different and was fun. Every time I drive through the Gorge and look over fondly at the Rabbit Ears and smile knowing I likely won't have to go up there again but happy I did so safely once.
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I guess what I'm wondering is where exactly the best place to leave the PCT is - a few years ago I bushwhacked around the area following lots of spurious flagging tape but didn't see anything like a decent route to the base of the bunny ears. sounds like I just need to try harder.
Turn right at the place where the spur trail for the Table Mtn hike from the road hits the PCT. You are right about the bush wack. It isn't too bad. You just have to keep going. You get views of the ears periodically. My experience on the way there is to steer a bit right and lower than you think. Otherwise you end up having to do more boulder hopping than you might like. Have fun on the dirt thrutch up to the base of the "climb". If you like 3rd class weed, root and blow down pulling, you will like this one. One suggestion. Wait to do this until later in the fall, Winter or early Spring when the worst of the Summer crap has died down. Makes the schwacking much more simple.
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Miscellanous thoughts:
Big thanks to Cluck (Scott) for giving me great beta/times for this traverse!
Nice work. Sounds like you were making great time. How were the conditions? Did you get to walk on any snow or was it dry? Since we did it in the Fall, it was all dirt/talus/heather for us.
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We rolled the dice and left the rope behind... good call:
The snowfield was easily bypassed by scrambling down the mud and welded rocks and back up the other side. No crampons, ice axe, or rope required. The slog up to the Red Saddle was miserable, loose and a huge pain in the ass. I guess that's why everyone advises against climbing this time of year. Fortunately the upper mountain was fairly enjoyable and the scree-bomb back down was quick & painless.
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I know some years it's melted out by now and some years it holds snow thru September, but does anybody know what the Terrible Traverse looks like right now? We're headed up to battle the graham crackers this weekend and it would be great to leave the pons behind and carry something more valueable instead (
).Sounds like the traverse on North Sister may have melted out early so I'm inclined to hope that Jeffy did too. If anybody was up there this last weekend I'd love to hear from ya.
Oh - and if anyone else is planning on heading up there this coming weekend beware - the Mazamas website shows a full climb scheduled for Sunday. Could be a bit of a crowd up there.
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Interesting. I didn't see the secret ledge system on Saturday but we negotiated the moat by traversing below the snow patch around to the other side. From the east, the moat was wide enough to walk through and provided easy access to the first pitch.
Regardless, I'd say the route is in for the season. Go get 'er!
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check you PM
Good luck
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it seems like much of it would be preferable with a bit of consolidated snow cover....true???
Well, yes and no. Think the reason most people do West Ridge of Stuart is to get a fun and easy if long day out scrambling on granite. I personally don't think I would prefer West Ridge of Stuart as a snow climb. Lots of other places to go for a slog. I will admit, however, that the Cascadian on the way down is unbearably long and miserable and would likely be improved with good snow conditions vs. when dry. All in all, this sounds like a good time to do the route. Can stay on rock on the way up and use snow for the way off. My two cents worth.
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Climber's Bivouac is now open. The trail to monitor ridge was half-snow half clear and then mostly snow from tree-line to the top. Still some good skiing to be had up there but the ridges are melting out fast.
Incidentally, VRT was on their way in with a litter to fetch someone with a broken leg on Friday afternoon as we were walking out. Glissading is great fun but make sure you know how to stop before you toss yourself down the slope!
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Fo' shizzle my nizzles! You betta check yo'selves n watch out fo' da crevasse-izles.
Word.
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I bumped into Tim over the weekend and we chatted it up a while. He seemed like a nice guy and we talked about his new topo for a bit as well as the new edition of Portland Rock Climbs. The topo is a smallish poster dealie made from some weird plastic paper. Supposed to be waterproof, tear resistant, and very durable. Tim was nice enough to give me a copy and it looks really good. Lots of route detail and it can be folded small enough to fit in your pocket so you can whip it out for reference whenever. But it also seems durable enough to last a while. Only time will tell but I'm pretty impressed and certainly think it'll be helpful for me.
Maybe now I'll climb at Beacon even more and ruin everybody's day. Sorry.
Wait, no I'm not.
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I'm not sure if there are any trails between St. Helens and Adams so you might be doing some difficult navigating and bushwhacking. Would be quite a trip though.
Another less adventurous option might be to link up several peaks via the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a very well-defined trail that runs North/South along the crest of the Cascade range and runs right past most of the volcanoes.
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Skis, baby! It's the only way to fly!
Seriously though, I don't think I've ever bothered with snowshoes for a south side climb. Sometimes it's tempting but I've always left them at home and I've never been sorry. There's typically a cat track all the way up to the Top of Palmer anyway and above there it's usually wind-blown, rime ice or there's already a boot pack.
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I've met the "Mount Hood 8" and they seem to be nice well-intentioned folks who are honestly trying to give back to the volunteers who helped them. It's unfair to blame them for this legislative mess. Still, they are in a unique position to help us get our message out to the masses and it would be great if the were willing to help out. Perhaps someone can politely ask them for their help tonight.
As far as getting this bill stopped goes, the legislators have made it quite clear that they are passing this law because they think that's what the public wants. If we can convince the public that this law is a bad idea, maybe the lawmakers will come around. Alternatively, maybe we can convince the lawmakers that the public really only cared for about 5 minutes and now that they've made their point, it's time to let this bill fade away before it does any harm.
Hope to see some of you sprayers at the party tonight. Cruise by and have a beer with me if you can figure out who I am
:brew:
St Helens Road now open to Marble Mtn
in Southern WA Cascades
Posted
W00t!!!
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Forest Road 83 to Marble Mountain Snopark and Forest Road 8303 to Ape Cave Reopen Today
AMBOY, WA – On Tuesday, June 10th, forest officials announced reopening of Forest Road 83 to Marble Mountain Sno-Park and Road 8303 to Ape Cave. “The combination of warming temperatures that melted our record snow pack and the continuing efforts of our dedicated staff and volunteers have enabled us to reopen these important facilities,” said Tom Mulder, Monument Manager. “Improved access to the climbing route and Ape Cave is important both to our visitors and our local communities,” Mulder added.
Forest Road 83 is currently open to two lane traffic to within ½ mile of Marble Mountain Snopark where the road narrows to one lane with turnouts. Repair of winter road damage on Road 83 has not been completed. Visitors are urged to drive slowly, watch for slumps and slide debris and to use extra caution. As of Tuesday morning, there was 3 inches of new wet snow at the snowpark.
The reopening of Marble Mountain Sno-Park will restore access to the popular south side climbing route and should allow most climbers to complete their climb in one day. Marble Mountain Sno-Park is the normal access point used by climbers during the winter season. Marble Mtn Sno-Park is located one mile farther and 1000 feet elevation lower than Climber’s Bivouac, the normal summer trailhead for the climbing route. Forest officials indicate that there are still many feet of snow on the road to Climber’s Bivouac and, if cool cloudy weather continues, it could be July before enough snow melts for the road to Climber’s Bivouac to be reopened.
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/news/2008/20080610a-msh-access.shtml