Chad_A

Climb: Mt Hood-North Face: Left Couloir Variation Date of Climb: 11/13/2004 Trip Report: Teamed up with Ade (Ade), Al (Allistair?), and Pat(?), we accomplished a feat we didn’t think we’d be able to finish: an ascent of the North Face. We figured the conditions would be right, judged by the previous forecasts of the week, but now, the unknown variable seemed to be the weather. After driving up to Cloud Cap under an overcast sky, with occasional flurries, it didn’t look promising. Nevertheless, we awoke to a starry sky at 0200, and began to pack. Soon we were hiking up, and the trail was well beaten; on the ridge following the moraine to the south of the Eliot, it was bare, with some snow here and there. After dropping down on the Eliot moraine, we followed the left side, until we could see slots hidden under the snowpack; there, we took the time to rope up. We put all four of us on a rope, and had more rope in our packs, in case we wanted to split into two teams, and pitch ice climbs out. Soon, we arrived at what we thought was the prominent rock prow that marks the base of the route (more accurately, that if you stick close to the rock prow, it appears that it leads you to the right gully). This wasn’t to be true, as after a 55-degree wind slab (with a few slots to be discovered), we looked to the climber’s right (north), and it was obvious that the gullies were about a fifteen-to-thirty minute traverse away. It dawned on me that we’d bypassed the bergschrund and the ice climbing altogether (Damn!) We found a quick rest, and I swapped leads to Ade, who placed protection, as it could be found, on the traverse toward the gullies. After reaching them, the decision was made to start up the left gully; at this point, the summit was on the agenda, and it was time to get on with it. Ade continued to lead up to a rock outcropping, where Al switched places with him on the rope, and continued on with the lead. We considered unroping, but Pat (who was doing great on his first snow outing in quite a while…good job, Pat!) preferred to stay roped and do running belays; so we continued upwards, placing nuts and cams where placements were accessible in exposed rock, and every once in a while, ice was good enough for a screw placement. (Accidental shot of Pat and Al on route:) After a bulge of WI 3-4 in the gully, and yet another toward the top of it (the gully), I resumed the lead, which took us near the top of Cooper Spur. After placing a couple of screws, and kicking steps into rotten powder, I’d had enough; my hydration tube had frozen hours ago, and I was finally beginning to feel the effects of the dehydration. Generously, Ade retook the lead, and once on less steep ground, we unroped, and stashed the rack in the packs. Less than ten minutes later, we were on the summit. Al and Pat at the summit: Now out of the shade of the North Face, we basked in the sun, took pics, and then headed down. There’s still a small ice bulge in the Pearly Gates to be descended, but otherwise, very nice. At 7000 feet, we descended back into the clouds, and shortly thereafter, were at the van at Timberline…where I found that my girlfriend had misunderstood my time to be back home, and had contacted the sheriff’s department. I felt bad for the confusion. Probably just wasn’t clear enough. At any rate, the shuttle system seemed like a very viable plan. I’m sure that everyone had a great time, and I’m looking forward to climbing with all of them again. Next time, though, I’m going to be sure to be patient, and to ascend the bergschrund section that leads to the right gully. I’m looking forward to that; hopefully, it will prove to be a whole new animal. And a bit more challenging! Thanks for having me at short notice, gents, and for a great climb. Hope to do it again, sometime. Feel free to add/ subtract inaccuracies of descriptions; I certainly don’t want to speak for everyone else in the group! It's too bad we missed out on the ice bits, but I think the variation that we ended up doing would be great for parties who don't feel up to the ice pitches. Just be sure to assess the snow slope; it had a few hidden slots that I found, and it would, obviously, be very avalanche prone in less-than-ideal conditions. Note: sorry about the non-correlation of the photos with the TR. I didn't get to take pics lots of places I would've liked. It was nice to be on a different side of Hood, for sure. Gear Notes: Small rack of rock gear, and handful of screws, some slings, and two techical tools. If you do what we did, and bypass the ice climbing, a standard axe and a second tool would be fine. Approach Notes: The hike up is best case scenario. 4WD gets you to the parking lot, and a 2WD will get you 90% of the way there, if you have a bit of ground clearance. The climber's trail up to the Eliot is mixed rock and snow.

Ah, yes. I'm from Michigan as well. I know what it's like to plan from across the states. Most times it involved expensive plane tickets, big plans, crappy weather, that turned to drinking, moping, returning on a plane frustrated and broke, and one time, 2200 bucks worth of gear stolen from an airplane terminal. Hope you have better luck than I did!

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I can't second that one enough. Especially if you're coming from far away, which it sounds like you are. Bring rock shoes and gear; if the weather's bad, grab breakfast at the Huckleberry Inn in Gov't Camp, and head to Smith. It's about 1.5 hours from Hood.

Well, a year ago, started having lots of pain in the feet, and achilles region. I found a podiatrist, and he diagnosed me with achilles tendonitis, plantar fascitis, and bilateral bone spurs (where the achilles tendon attaches to the heel.) He recommended NSAIDs, but couldn't take them, r/t a pseudo-allergic reaction. He fitted me with custom orthotics, and recommended stretching, and icing. He also recommended a stretching band to wear while sleeping, but I declined. Another thing he had me try was rolling my foot on a golf ball. Feels good; I think it's what's helped the most. My current questions are: amount of time/interval to ice? And, how long to stretch the calves? I have no doubt that lack of stretching the calves is a good part of my problem. Thing is, I've heard lots of differing information on stretching and icing, and I've lost a sense of what is too much/ too little. Also, just out of curiosity, what is the general consensus on prolotherapy these days?

Slayer rules. Whatever that guy has, is okay by me. I'm sure that it's going to be either Rando or a split board; after I rent the two of them, I'll know. First, though, I'm going to take Mountain Shop's advice, and "take an alpine skiing lesson, and rent some gear from them, in a package. Ski until you can't anymore. Then rent. At least, until you feel comfortable. Then make your final decision". Probably end up being a split board, but you never know. Not going to be tele. My knees suck. Seems like it'd be pretty brutal on them.

I'd had the Ecrin Roc for years. Clipped to the back of my pack on the way up the Boson Basin path; snagged on a branch, and it ruined the harness system. I called Petzl, and they're willing to replace it, even though it's not under warranty. I'd bought another Elios, but it's just not the same. Can't wait to get the Ecrin back. Petzl has great customer service, if nothing else. I'd recommmend them. My two cents worth, anyway.

Thanks for the valuable posts. It's been nice seeing the differing opinions. One thing mentioned that I didn't think about is the weight. I imagine that randonee is the heaviest? Yes? No?

So, iain, it is possible to ski reasonably with mtn boots? Or was it just a joke. That's how new I am to it! I have no idea. But I'm hoping to get an idea.

I felt bad after I checked my email this morning. I didn't realize how many people had known, or found out, that I was going up there. I had emails from people that I hadn't talked to in months wondering if I was ok. It really hit home to see the video posted on the web, and to hear the 911 call. I'm afraid to open the attachment to see what the helmet looks like

Sounds a bit on the sketchy side.

Wow, nice pics. Straight out of the '80s? Colors are...uh...quite vivid.

Prolly not, but I'm unknowing. The guy at the shop that I spoke to might've been implying randonee gear, not tele stuff. Forgive me if I sound stupid. Just ignorant to it all, at this point

In winter thus far, due to my ski/snowboard non-experience, I've either boot-tracked it in, or snowshoed on the approaches. I have pals who do the same, and then there's others that do randonee, tele, and another that does a split-board. I guess the sport of skiing itself could be fun, but mainly, I'm thinking of mountaineering approaches at this point, so I'm looking for input. At this point, it sounds like a split board might be a good option because snowboarding has a relatively quick learning curve, the shorter skis are easier to control, and snowboarding is more forgiving to descending in mountaineering boots. Feel free to give input, but this is what makes sense to me so far. Also, I know that conditions and different approaches demand different gear, so that's a given, but in general, I'm looking for preferences, and what has worked for people in the past.

The older Cirruses actually are filled with Thermolite. At least the two I have are. I look forward to replacing the jacket with a Montbell Thermawrap in the near future. Yeah, a few years ago they did go to the Thermolite insulation. I have the older older version, circa 1998, with Primaloft.

Yeah, the schrund is still wide open. Easy to see once you get down to it, though. Lots of room on the climber's left to get past it. By the way, thanks for the complements, gents

The Micro Puff looks good. I own a Cirrus as well (older version, with Primaloft, and love it. Use it almost every day, as well as on climbs), so I can vouch for its durability. Here's yet another option for you. I'm thinking of picking one up, myself. http://www.wildthingsgear.com/primaloft.html

Cool, glad you found the TR, man. I just read about the person that passed. That's terrible. Makes me wonder where were were at on route when it happened.

Thanks By the way, to whom it may concern, I have the 10th-13th (next week) off, if anyone is interested in the NF. I really want to get that one done!

Climb: Mt. Hood-Leuthold Couloir Date of Climb: 11/4/2004 Trip Report: Three of us (me, vw4ever (Chad), Jeff (JeffH), and Lon (?) ) decided to do something on the western aspect of Hood; Jeff had his eye on a couple of routes, mainly Sandy or Leuthold. I tried to talk him into the NF, but wisely, he insisted that he do something else, first. I gladly agreed to do something else, as simply to get out, was the bottom-line prime directive. It didn't seem to matter what we did to Lon. He was happy just to be climbing. We left the car shortly after 1:30, and it was easy to boot track up the Palmer on the wind blown turf. Icy in spots, but sticking to the edge of the groomed trail easily awarded good footing. The moon saved our headlamp batteries for us in the bitter cold. At the top of the Palmer, Lon gracefully opted out, stating he wasn't feeling well. He went back down to await our return, and Jeff and I silently prepared. At I-Rock, I dumped the rope out of the pack, and quickly managed to puncture my platypus with my crampon. Nice. Spare platypus connected, and continued fidgeting with gear (thanks to Jeff for his patience). Upon dropping over the edge of the saddle for the descending traverse of the Reid, it was decided that, since we were a two man team, it'd be a more wise, and safe, idea to stick to Leuthold, rather than traverse Yocum to get to Sandy, and deal with yet another glacier with hidden crevasses. I'd made my first mistake when proclaiming that the cramponing was excellent. It was, at first. Then, it became unpredictable between sugary powder and rotten water ice under a thin layer of snow. The second tool was out and in use. Thinking of pro, I didn't think that a picket would be any good (it wouldn't), and that an ice screw would be worthless. Roped together, questionable footing, with no pro. Bad idea. Worse idea to stop and unrope, since stuff was starting to rain off of Castle Crags above us. Answer? Move, suck it up, make sure placements are bomber, and get it over with. Soon we were traversing the Reid on easier ground, with a few inches of powder on top of blue ice, with varying quality. I'd only brought one screw just in case, because of all the fresh snow recently, and the lack of a freeze thaw cycle. Hmmph. Anyway, the footing had become more secure, consistently, and I wanted to save the one screw I had, in case I really needed it. Soon, we were traversing up into the base of the couloir. I set a quick anchor, and prussiked Jeff up to me, and we ate. It was just becoming light (barely). I suggested that we unrope from there, and he concurred. The rope was stashed, and after some H20 and food, I started kicking steps. With the wind picking up, more ice had begun to fall from above, but nothing more than quarter sized (still hurt). Powder of varying thickness made for decent step kicking, as it was wind blown, and consolidated. Powder funneled from the hourglass consistently. The hourglass section, was some spicy fun, since we were simul-soloing. A 6-foot less-than-vertical step of WI guarded the entrance, followed by 200 ft more of 45-50 degree WI. Good placement. Lots of fun. Above the WI, it alternated, again, between kickable powder, and rotten WI. We stopped at the Queens Chair to get a view, eat, and take some pics. After some more water (finally! My tube had frozen solid. Chewed on it until it worked again) and some chocolate covered espresso beans, we left to work our way to the summit ridge. Twenty minutes later, after negotiating the commonly found ice mushroom/seashell-like features of the upper slope, we gained the ridge. It was the most interesting traverse of that ridge I'd done; I usually don't mind the exposure, but more of the loose powder, combined with rotten ice mushrooms, nerved me up a bit more than usual. The second half of the ridge was a cakewalk. On the summit, Jeff graciously offered me some of his water, and we took pics. It was about 9:13 at that point. Descending the Pearly Gates proved to be interesting. I figured as much; being south-facing, I'd been surpised if there was no ice, or other obstacles of that nature, in our way. There was a four-foot section of WI to downclimb, and another 15 feet or so of plastered WI on the slope below it, to negotiate. It looked worse than it was; maybe some people it wouldn't even bother, but it's the descents that get to me, so I had to make sure that I remembered to breathe. It proved to be of no significant difficulty, and soon we were, once again, on rotten powder, descending; I continued to face in, and kick in steps until past the bergschrund. It was a bit creepy; I couldn't see where it was from above, so I chose to traverse to climbers' left to make sure I stayed clear of any unforseen opening, and it turned out to be the right move. Soon we were at the Hogsback, where the only other problem to deal with, was the down jacket that I dropped, still in it's stuff sack, while repacking my sack; it landed down by the fumaroles. I was lucky to have been able to retrieve it. After many sheddings of layers, we arrived at the parking lot, where our other partner-to-be, Lon, informed us that a helicopter had just been authorized for a rescue on the Sandy. It felt pretty awful to hear that. I wanted to find out more, but I didn't feel it would've been appropriate. It was a fine day out. It's too bad that Lon couldn't have come along, but there'll be other times. Jeff, in his seeking of alpine experience, is quite settled and confident. I hope to climb again with him in the future. (How about the Reid next time, eh, Jeff??? ) The route was much more characteristic in fall, than when I soloed it in late winter. I was initially uninspired to climb it once again, but after experiencing some of the fall character, it was well worth it. Besides, it beats the hell out of working. By the way, where was everyone at today? No one but us at the summit register. Great weather for a climb! Here's some pics. Sorry about me being so ugly on the summit shot. I need a makeup artist. Gear Notes: Second tool, usual glacier stuff. Another screw or two would've been nice. Oh, and the chocolate covered espresso beans were key to our success. Approach Notes: The whole south side is nice and windblown. No postholing. The crevasses on the Reid are pretty open to see, but I'm sure there are a couple there that you could certainly "find".

Reporting home, gents. As we arrived back in the parking lot after our climb, our other partner breathed a sigh of relief, as he had stayed behind with a sick stomach of sorts. We were going to do Sandy, but with only a two man team, and the weak aforementioned possible snow bridges over crevasses, we decided to call it good, and do Leuthold Couloir, as Jeff, the other partner, had yet to do that one. Rescue personnel were just getting underway as we were leaving. Good luck to the rescuers, and my thoughts are with the climbers and their families.

I'll be sure to post what conditions are like. Hopefully, get to climb something tonight

Subarus are great. Pretty bulletproof, and cheap to boot. Downside, low ground clearance. Another good one is a Toyota pickup or 4-runner that is less than 10 years old. Really bulletproof. Have three friends with Toyota pickups that put a cap on the back, and a platform to sleep on , and then they store gear in the space under the platform. I have a Cherokee. Bulletproof. Not so great for sleeping though. The I-6 engine is the same they've been using for decades, and lasts a really long time.

Ouch. Guess I shouldn't complain about the headache I have today. Took a 40 footer at Red River Gorge. Can't remember what it was, just that we read the guidebook wrong, and it was an 11b (slab). All I remember is the face zipping by in front of my, my foot touching the rock enough to spin me vertical; then my partner caught me. The catch bowed my back pretty hard, and it hurt on and off for a good year. Nothing spectacular since then. But, I got back on, and finished the climb (had to; didn't want to leave gear behind!)

Man, makes me want to get out the tools. I'll find something to play on this coming week!