Chad_A

Aww..c'mon..I'm not that bad of a guy No one wants to go out and play on a snow and ice route this weekend? The weather forecast is stellar!

I own a Sirrus SL, and although I can't vouch for the technical weight of the XCR, I can say that it's definitely of the lighter version. Makes sense; I think the jacket weighs 11 ounces.

Looking for viable partners for the North Cascades this weekend. Buckner or Baker; freezing level looks nice for a Saturday night/Sunday morning climb. Probably leave Portland Thursday night, or super early Friday morning for an approach. PM or email me at anderson7149@comcast.net if interested. Not looking for someone who's new to this type of terrain, by the way; existing skills are necessary. Not being a dick, just realistic.

Check yo PMs.

Cool, thanks for that

www.mtnphil.com ??? Who's climbing webpage is this? I imagine that he's on here, somewhere? Can someone direct me to him, or have him PM me? Thanks in advance.

Should be pretty snow free; I know that the road (Pamela Lk road? Can't remember the exact name) starts low at 2300 feet. Can't remember the exact elevation of the trailhead, but I think that Jefferson Park itself is at around 5000-5500 feet? If it's anything like at Timberline lodge (~5900 feet) the snow should be reasonably patchy. Certainly above, though, where you normally camp on the moraines (~7500 feet) there might be postholing. I'd suggest a lightweight set of snowshoes? Anyway, it's my best guess from what I remember from last year. Hope it helps, even a little bit.

Willis Wall beautiful? Errr.... Anyway, I concur on the others. I, myself, want to do the Mowich Face. Still, even though it's prolly a bit *easier* than the others, LR is an undeniably attractive line.

You da man, Wayne. That thing looks spicy. Wish I had the time (and probably a bit more skill )

That freakin' rocks. Man, that's a good looking heap of rock and snow

Hey, your welcome. Sometimes I forget about that.

We parked in about 6 inches of snow, and it thinned for a bit, going through the trees, so it was encouraging...until we got past the 21 mile marker, and it seemed to get deep fast. We were on snowshoes. At the final road switchback, we were in a full foot of new, I'd say. We called it quits just as the *trail* (I'm guessing that we were on the trail, but there was so much snow, that you couldn't see where it was anymore, save for the trees to guide you) comes out of the woods, and traverses toward Cascade Pass; I'd guess that we were a matter of minutes from it. With the sun hitting the slopes, the snow started giving signs of being unstable, and I saw slide activity that had happened on the slopes of Cascade and Johannesburg. So, I bagged it. Then again, I was just guessing. I might've pussed out early. By the way, the road is gated at the 20 mile marker. There's been more rockslides on the road (one in particular that comes to mind), and I'd expect that the road will continue to be gated until they get that cleaned up, even after the road dries out.

Was going up to check out the area, and maybe get something done. We were surpised by the amount or new powder up there; it was obvious relatively quickly up there that nothing would be "in"; I snapped some photos of the area; thought I would share. Enjoy, y'all. These are the small photos...I've noticed that people don't like their photos HUGE here, so if you want the hi-res versions (really big, really high def), they're in my gallery, probably under my user name, I'd imagine.

Howdy all, thanks for the replies. I'm in Seattle right now, and poised to hit the road to give something a shot, so it's too late to try to hook up with others, but feel free to email me, or PM me, and let me know what your future objectives are...always love to hear from other people. Take care, and I'll talk to you all soon. ---Chad---

Very nice. Sounds like the snow up on the east side is still pretty unconsolidated. Probably much more so, now. I'll have to go up through that area and do some more exploring. Nice pics, by the way!

Hi, Dan. Good to see your trip report here. I was wondering, do you train for your M climbs, or have you gained experience on mixed ground throughout your climbing career enough to simply be comfortable on that terrain? NYG and Pineapple Express both look interesting, and I would love to attempt one or both; I'm comfortable on ice, but M6? Sheesh. Also, out of curiosity, what kind of 'pons and tools do you use? I'm asking because I've seen your name in Nelson's books quite prevalently, and it appears that you've been climbing for quite some time. Do you "old school" it with the gear, or do you prefer some of the newer stuff? Thanks for your reply in advance. Good to see you on the site. ---Chad---

Thanks! I'll make sure she sees this post

We were the party of three that came up the west side of Crater Rock (after bailing on Leuthold) and on up the left side of the crater wall. Were you the solo guy with the snowboard and MSR snowshoes? BTW; while the schrund is closed, coming down the Hog's Back I noticed that someone had recently punched their foot through. No, but I did see that gent up there. We were the first to the top that day; my g/f and I left the car at 12:30 fo get her first summit. Took until 7:15 to get to the top; one minute after sunrise (Yayyy for Megan! Good job, girl. Way to stick with it!) Goregeous views...anyway, we were back down on the hogsback at about 8, and there was a group coming up after us, but doesn't sound like you; they were following our tracks up from the top of the Palmer. Interesting that someone had punched through; what time was that at? Also, I figured the conditions on the west side might be a little loose and sugary; is that what kept you off of Leuthold?

Well, as it stands now, looks like the weather is settling out a bit as of Monday afternoon up there; I can leave P-town here Monday,and I have to be back Wednesday night. Looking to do something alpine; open to ideas. Doesn't have to be burly. Probably won't be able to be burly, anyway, after all the snow that's supposed to fall this weekend. Anyway, just casting out. Have an opportunity, and I want to get a view or two.

I was in that neck of the woods yesterday; about shin-deep powder from the Palmer on up, and the 'schrund was closed.

I'm wondering if Chair has gotten any better? Thinking about heading up there sometime early this next coming week. If anyone has any info, let me know. Thanks!

I own the Chernobyl and love it. Never had a helmet issue with it; it's a great dayclimb pack. I've even overnighted with it, but it's easy to overload the carrying capacity, with the expansion sleeve 'n all. Love the waistbelt, too; very comfortable. Honestly, I would've considered the Icesac, but no one had one in stock at the time. Considering you can get the Chernobyl at 169 bucks here in Portland, I'd have a hard time paying 279 for the Icesac. Someone here mentioned the BD packs; they're a good option, as well. When my "small torso" sized Chernobyl ended up being smaller in volume than the standard version (2500 vs. closer to 3000), I ended up needing a bigger, lightweight pack for overnights. I picked out the Shadow 55, and it made all the difference. The small buckles didn't give me as much problem with cold hands as the reviews made them out to be. The Silnylon (sp?) material seems to be a bit fragile, but pretty waterproof for a rainy walk-out. Carries a nice sized load well for the weight of the pack (I did a carryover on Sunset Ridge on Rainier with it this past year, as well as a few overnighters in the Stuart Range, and it did great), and is very reasonable in price ( 3360 c.i., 179 bucks, I believe?) The only true drawback on it that I've had to deal with is the chest strap, which doesn't quite cut the "one size fits all" theory that they tout; my short torso makes it at the very bottom of it's adjustability (I took it off, and added my own standard style); oh, and the waistbelt, while very clean and uninhibiting, lacks reasonable padding, and tears my hips up a bit, after a couple of days on a climb. Do like the option of the ice clippers on the belt, though. Handy! Well, there you have it. Too much coffee this morning; sorry if it's too much info.

Holy shit...thanks all for providing hours of future entertainment!

Nice thought, Chris; that would be a simple solution. But, with that option, unfortunately, one can't make their own menus, and specialized options and such. The thought of combining two pieces into one (and gaining some much needed space) does sound appealing, though!