snodger

I was up there over the weekend, don't have time now to dig out the camera and post pix right now but will try later tonight. Seems to me that the gullies were not "in" - mostly a bit of fresh snow over rock. It looked like there might be a couple of icy runnels off the cliffs climbers left of the N face. more later- stay tuned

if you believe in long range forcasts, there may be hope:

Oh it totally sucked! Stay away! go hike the PCT instead! Unless of course you like seclusion, route finding challenges, and beautiful vistas. The off trail from the Hellroaring overlook to Goat mt. (or is it pk?) is pretty cool, quite the wilderness feel and the views of the glaciers are great. It's pretty staightforward: get through the hellroaring meadows bowl, up and over the Ridge of Wonders, cross about 3 or 4 creeks, none of which were too difficult, heading towards the north end of Goat peak or mountain or whatever its called to where you pick up the trail again.The details are a bit more intensive, with lots of moraines and ridges to cross all while trying to speed along in order to cover enough miles to make the second day reasonable. We left the trailhead late friday, hiked about 45 minutes and crashed, then left @ 7 am on the trail towards bird ck. I think we got to the end of the trail at 8:30 and then took what seemed like way too long to get to the highline trail by 3 pm after which we hoofed for a few more miles before crashing. From there is staight on trail hiking, we estimate it was 21 miles for us on sunday- enough to make the feet hurt but still quite do-able. If I were going to do it again I'd take 3 days, spending one night somewhere along the off trail section where you could explore the Big Muddy drainage and Avalanche Valley, then head over to the area around Devils Garden for more exploration and then spend the last day cranking out the miles back to the car. Shit though, you could spend a bunch of time exploring the west side too... hell i don't know. There's more specific route info if anyone wants it- but it might be funner to wing it and see where you end up. One piece of advice: pack light! mine was 26lb and felt about right. OK thats enough BS, after all this is cascade climbers, not hikers!

Some pix from last weekend. North side/ Lyman gl. White Salmon from horsehoe meadows White salmon closer view Klickitat gl It was pretty warm on the south side friday night, even with the breeze. It seemed a bit colder saturday night on the north side and we saw some frost on the trail and ice in the edges of creeks. Beautiful time to be up there, have fun if you go. Big photos HERE

Yeah, I was kinda wondering the same thing about the pair I bought a couple weeks ago. I've had (and lost) two pairs of the older photo chromatics and they at least looked dark most of the time. The instincts seem to always stay light orange color. I've had mine out on the water, sailing, and my eyes seemed to be well protected but the lenses never really got dark. I don't know whether they are actually doing what they advertise which is to go from something like 43% light blockage to 98%. I also don't really like the shape of the glasses, liked my others better, guess thats why I bought them at REI! One thing that was strange was that once I layed them down on the grass in the sun and when I picked them up they had bizarre stripes of darkness going across the lens where the blades of grass were'nt blocking the light. That made me think that the lenses do work and made me decide to keep trying them out. You could try an experiment yourself by putting something over half the lens and putting it out in the sun. Perhaps the new zebra lens somehow can block the light like a traditional glacier glass lens but without the dark lens??

Hey dude, I don't know what size your feet are but about two weeks ago I took a pair of size 8 ( I think?) oxygens into Next Adventure. I originally used them for rando skiing and I think I climbed in them a bit. They were a bit small for me and sucked for skiing so I didn't use them and finally got around to getting them out of the gear closet. If you're interested you should give them a call. If you're not familiar with these boots, they're basically a koflach lace up with a taller upper, made for boarding. oh yeah, don't pay too much, they only gave me $5 credit for them.

I was up to the snow dome on the first and skied down to the trail though the languille bowls on the skiers left side (about one llittle ridge o to the south of Barrett spur). The trail from there back to cooper spur had some coverage in the shaded spots but you could easily connect the dots to stay on the trail. Also i'd imagine its melted out a lot more, so you should go for it, besides this'll be a good test of your GF's worthiness... Good luck

I went up to the snow dome yesterday and the way down found a FS crew working their way up the road, cutting trees as they went. they thought they might get done yesterday which would mean the road might be open now... As far as where the trail starts, that kinda a trick question. It kinda starts and stops each time it crosses the road. Basically it cuts straight up the middle of all the switch backs, so from how ever far you can drive just hike from there and watch for a trail heading up the fall line and thats it. If you're parking at the Inspiration point gate its a hundred yards or so on the right with a sign saying 'wagon road trail' (or maybe 'wagon trail' I can't remember) It's really obvious, except that some of the road crossing are kinda offset and when snow covered (not anymore for this year) you might have to look around a bit to find the trail cut. If the roads still not open don't let the extra hiking stop you, it's only a couple miles extra and the reward is sweet!

Ivan, theres a big left tending hairpin with a gate and a sign identifying it as 'inspiration pt' I'm not sure as to the road milage but I think from where we parked its about 2 or so miles up the trail (which cuts accross all the road switchbacks) to cloud cap/tilly jane. As far as booting from the start, I'd say go ahead if you like hiking, but I'd drive up as far as you can and then start... Hey bill, what ranger told you that? Didn't think it would be illegal to drive on a road thats open. I seem to remember that last year there were reports from the FS of the road being all rutted up and in horrible condition, and then a week later I drive up and its in fine shape, I wonder if the FS is trying to spread rumors to keep people off the road?

Last weekend we went up hoping to find the road melted out more than two weeks before. We made it beyond inspiration point about 3/4 of a mile and found a new outback parked by the downed tree. Those guys left before I found the tow strap and pulled that tree out of the way. We were grinning about that untill around the next turn there was another even bigger tree! We parked and booted up the trail all the way to cloud cap and found fairly big drifts (3-4 feet on the uphill side tapering to the low side) most of the way up. I've got no idea how long it'll take to melt out but who ever goes up next might do a community service and bring a chainsaw!

just looked at your pics from your trip and was suprised to see how much snow had melted from the trailhead! We were down there a month ago and there was 3-4 feet at the trailhead. We had to hike all the way from the snow park on the highway, adding a couple miles to our trip. Sure is a great little mountain though. Too bad the conditions sucked for the NE bowls, they sure make me drool! I've been there twice and both times have skied the SE face, definitely want to hit the bowls next time! I've also noted that its easy to wander in the woods on the way out, this time even the GPS didn't help as it couldn't lock on the sats while unless we were in big clearings. It seems like the terrain tends to take you kinda southeast a bit and both times I've ended up on the road south of the car, luckily this time Claudine guarenteed she'd hitch a ride within 5 minutes and she was back with the car and cold beer within 15!

Did anybody get a close look (as opposed to gaping from accross the river while driving 75 mph) at the 3-4 lines that were formed up below Cape Horn? While driving up to Meadows they looked really wide and fat, which seemed strange considering the southerly aspect- WTF?

If you really are Strobach might be a good place to try. Don't know about conditions though.

I'd been wondering about banks since seeing the cold forcasts, but the Noaa sites have been showing above freezing temps in the banks lake area up until yesterday. So it will take a few more days for things to form up I'd think. Perhaps this thread will lure out one of the locals to post conditions? Theres someone who lives nearby (Paul D??) and sometimes posts...

Great pictures, almost felt like I was there. Nice ski videos too, was that shot with a hand held camera?

Check out this Game Supposedly it's used by air force pilots for dexterity and they can keep it going for two minutes! my best is 11secs. See what you get

Doesn't the heel piece on the 400 come completely off with a release, and on the 404 it stays attached? Anybody interested in 404's theres a pair at Next Adventure in PDX, $45 I think.

I just recieved the following e-mail from Liberty Mountain, the US distributor of Pieps beacons: First Ever Pieps DSP Software Upgrade Liberty Mountain and Pieps announce the first ever software upgrade program for an avalanche beacon. Get the latest in beacon technology without having to buy a new beacon. Once again Pieps proves why they are the leader in avalanche safety and technology. The Pieps DSP has a long list of firsts that make the Pieps DSP the best choice for backcountry safety. All add up to pinpoint accuracy for faster finds. • First 100% digital, three-antenna beacon. • First multiple burial scan feature that indicates how many beacons are buried. • First with ability to isolate individual transmit signals • First upgradeable beacon Second generation software improves on the already brilliant performance of the Pieps DSP. • Faster search • Improved multi burial scan • Enhanced ability to locate a broader range of beacon signals • Improved range • Beacon Diagnostics report for optimal performance • Longer battery life The Pieps DSP is the only beacon built with the foresight and ability to upgrade and comes standard with a custom, waterproof port specially designed for software upgrades. The upgrade is not required. First generation software is still superior to all other beacons. Customers wanting to upgrade to second generations software can do so at authorized Pieps Service Centers. Currently Liberty Mountain is the only authorized Pieps Service Center in the US. Customers wanting to upgrade their Pieps DSP must send the beacon to Liberty Mountain. There is a fee of $20.00 for shipping and handling. The fee includes a full diagnostic check of your beacon. You will receive a printed report for your records. Download the helpful upgrade form at www.libertymountain.com. When returning your beacon you must include your name, return address and contact info, and your credit card information. Please allow 10-14 days for shipping. To identify the software version currently running on you Pieps DSP turn your beacon on while simultaneously holding down the search (?) button. The number on the screen shows the software currently running on your beacon indicated by the letter U followed by numbers example (U1.7). Units running version 2.8 are already up-to-date. If your display shows a previous version then you may send your beacon to Liberty Mountain for the upgrade. For upgrades send your Pieps DSP or Pieps DSP Advanced to: Liberty Mountain Pieps DSP Upgrade 4375 West 1980 South Salt Lake City, UT 84104 Please contact a Liberty Mountain Rep for more information. 1-800-366-2666 I couldn't figure out to get the PDF files linked to this message so you'll have to go to their web page to down load them.

I'm just guessing but they've probably been replaced by this: HELIX I think the americana and the new helix both used the same tube with the reverse threads as the tried and true 360. although it seems countrer intuitive, they say the reverse thread angle actually distributes the forces better than BD's standard threads, although i'm sure both work well and it's more a matter of personal preference and marketing BS

When I called BD about a rip in my bibler they referred me to: Rainy Repair They did a great job, including seam tape. Supposedly they do the repairs for many manufacturers.

Yeah I saw that too. My take was that it was just someone trying to make it look like he skied the crater wall. You know, hero shots to show your friends. I also wondered how long it would take someone to post a thread somewhere about whether he really skied it etc... Didn't expect anyone to bring up the ethics issue though. Since the mountain is currently closed it probably won't become too big a deal.

I saw a reference to dry ice bombs for cornice removal in a Mt. Maude TR and decided to google it. Here's one thing I found: Squeal! yeah it's long but the slo mo at the end is priceless!

Looks like fun! By the way...

You might want to check this out: TAY Shasta TR

I second that, been wondering what its like down there, please post a TR and pictures!