snodger

yeah I realize the west face isn't secret its just the feeling that just thinking, let alone talking, about it might tip the hordes off that theres another way. It was interesting to talk to the climbing ranger. He mentioned that at one point they were thinking of putting in quotas for routes and decided that they wouldn't for two reasons: first to keep the masses in one location would make their job easier and second to protect the wilderness experience on other routes - for that

Oh man, my panties are damp just thinking that I was so close to the gaper-god last weekend. We must have passed like the proverbial ships in the night as I headed into hidden valley on sunday. We got a late start after a descent route finding malfunction on Mt. Mcgloughlin the night before and left the bunnyflat zoo at about 2:30. We originally planned on going over to the east side and doing Hotlum-wintun route, but our zest for route finding though the trees and skiing over the road to the trail head had been tempered by the day before, so we headed to hidden valley after the climbing ranger in shasta city mentioned that it should be 'pretty fun'. The trailhead was quite a scene, best people watching in a long time- I too noticed the large number of red koflach rental boots, helmet wearing in the lot, and serious hardshell usage. Although after talking to a dude who summitted I gave them the benefit of the doubt for the shells- he said he crawled up the summit with 80 mph gusts! The weather on monday was very different. It was partly cloudy and way cooler. The snow conditions were very aspect dependant. Wasn't feeling up for the summit (should have been training more recently) and was watching rain brewing across the vally to the west so we skied different shots in the bowls above the valley. As you commented some of the lines on shastina looked nice and I sure was tempted by the the west face snowfield. So how far up did you guys ski before leaving? I saw a few recent tracks and even found a huge bivy platform cut into the bowl under Casaval ridge at about 10,500'. As the the storm across the valley was obiously dropping pre-cip we decided to bail. As we got back to the tent a squall blew around the shoulder of the mountain and nailed us with pea sized snow pellets and the a bit of snow as we busted down camp. But as we skied out it cleard up and our last view of the mountain that evening had us wondering whther we should have stuck it out. All in all a great trip, in a awesome setting. Until I saw your post I wasn't going to post anything about hiddden valley, hoping to avoid a stampede, but since you put up such a nice picture (got to show my wife where I spent the weekend- thanks) I figured the cat was out of the bag. The real crazy thing about the west face is that just over the ridge is the trade route with hundreds of climbers! I can't imagine what the lake helen camp is like on the weekend.

For blisters, check out the Dr scholls or band-aid blister chingaderas. After watching a partner use them for a couple trips, I tried them out and now always have them with me in the woods. They are extremely sticky (easily stay on for multi-day trips) and have a slippery plastic like surface that is really durable. If you put em on in advance you won't get a blister . If you're like me and wait until you feel the burning of a blister, these things rock! On a few occasions I've put them over a blister and the blister just re-absorbed. There was a little tenderness during the remainder of the trip, and when I soaked em off at home I could see the outline of the blister but the skin was flat more or less normal looking. Within a day or os I forgot about the blister until a couple weeks later the dead skin sloughed off in the oval shap of the blister. Don't leave home without em!

After abandoning a trip to Diamond a few years back (warm weather/rain forced us to Anthony lakes, whichwas great) i've always wondered how bad the route finding is through the trees. It sounds like you were with others who had been there before, but whats your take on the approach? I'm pretty good about keeping my bearings but lookin at topos it seems like it might be a bitch?

Sweeter than honey! just made that pic my wallpaper !

Thanks for the info guys. When I finally get a chance to head in there I'll be skinning and am glad to hear the P/N approach isn't that bad - the new snow shouldn't be a problem as I'm starting up a new remodel job next week and can't get out on a longer trip for a while. Guess I'll have to go skiing. Interesting suggestion though Alex, about getting pulled by a sled. Anyone actually tried it? I've wondered what it would be like?

Hey Alex great TR the pictures make me drool. So how close can you get with the sleds? Since I haven't been there yet I'm trying to envision the terrain/approach described in your guidebook. Just wondering for abstract info as I don't have a sled...

Looks like fun, but where exactly are these climbs? How good was the ice? Betcha theres a mob tomorrow!

Heres something to think about next time you're down there. Look over to the west of the mountain and check out the terrain just on the other side of I5. I can't remember the name of the mountain range but it looks like miles of shreddable terrain. All the times I've driven between PDX and SF and I didn't notice this awesome terrain till I was skiing the Avy gultch area last spring. I think the range is about 7-9000' but is over shadowed by Shasta. I've been meaning to check out what the access is like but there's always something else going on. Anyone know anything about it?

All in all I'm happy with mine. My set up is excaliburs with silvrettas and lace up mountain boots. As I'm kind of a face plant my way down the hill skier I can't comment on the performance- although I can't complain about it either, they go where I point em. If I were you I'd not pay too much for them as theres obviously better skis out there now. One thing to watch out for is delamination. On one of my skis (the other is fine so far) the PU 'cap' cracked and came loose along the side wall in the binding area, a problem that was easily repaired with epoxy. I did a little research at the time and heard some comments as to it being a problem with the excaliburs with graffics that look kinda like topo maps in purple and black on white. Thats my two cents.

one vote for "great guide" from me. What amazes me is that you included beta on unclimbed routes! Isn't it normal to horde all such beta until you've managed to make the first ascent in order to gain status, and babes? Great job guys

Hey, any idea how long the Casacade River road will be closed? I was thinking of heading that way next weekend.

After listening to friends gushing for years about how wonderful the tatoosh is, we're finally going! Since I'm self employed I always prefer to get out during the week to avoid crowds. The dilema is that that both my buddies assure me that A) there won't be a lot of people there on a weekend (based on their last excursion, 8 years ago!) and B) the area is big enough to disperse what ever crowds there are. So whats the scoop? Is it going to be like St. Helens in may? Since I'm going no matter what, I guess this is just a exercise if futility, maybe I don't really want to know before I get there...