Chad_A

Wish I would've known about the WI. I had a gent with me that I'm sure would've been psyched to follow me up some. Can you point out which line you did? I have some time off this coming week, and I wouldn't mind grunting up some ice. We saw your descent tracks. I thought you might've summitted until I saw them; good job on finding something else to do : How was the wind down on the Eliot?

Nice TR FYI, we drove up there today to take a look at things. The snow seemed like it would be kinda sugary. Nice that you found some ice to climb! We re-broke trail up to the split between Cloud Cap and Tilly Jane, and parked there. Soon after, another gent in a Blazer (prolly a Crag Rat) stopped to say hi, and continued breaking trail up the the parking lot. So, as of today, it will be open to 4WD vehicles, but I guess it's supposed to snow up there some more, so it might indeed be gone. Here's a pic of the road, and of the NF in the early afternoon. Man, the wind was WHIPPING up there today. Ice pellets never hurt like that before.

Stretch in a nice, warm shower. Drink lots of water. Take an NSAID (Ibuprofen, etc.). Get out and use them again. That's really what makes the pain go away for me

Tonight: Rain likely early. Then a chance of rain after midnight. Snow level 6500 feet. Pass winds southwest 5 to 10 mph. Friday: Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain early. Then rain likely in the afternoon. Snow level 5500 feet. Pass winds southwest 10 to 15 mph. Friday night: Rain. May be heavy at times. Windy. Snow level 7000 feet lowering to 5000 feet after midnight. Pass winds southwest 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph. Saturday: Showers. Snow level 3500 feet. Pass winds west 10 to 15 mph. Saturday night: Snow showers. Cooler. Snow level 2500 feet. Anybody still planning on heading up? Forecast isn't looking too great, but maybe you gents are seeing something that I'm not?

I've had some time in my 8's now; very comfortable, and pretty warm, too, for a basic boot. I wouldn't recommend them for vertical ice, but for steep snow and ice mountaineering, they do fine. If you're planning vert ice climbing, then get the 9's; they're full shank instead of 3/4. My two cents worth.

Agreed. I planned it as a first-climb for my girlfriend; I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, and so did she. The approach across the avalanche debris on the basin trail gave her hell, though.

OK, I'll bite: 1. NF of Hood. 2. NW Couloir of Eldorado. 3. Liberty Ridge, or one of the Mowich Face routes, don't care which one. 4. NE Face of Redoubt. 5. Coleman Headwall (or NR) of Baker Honorable Mentions (seconds): NF Shuksan (or Price Glacier) Spickard Minus 5 gully (and some of the other gullies around that area) of Rideout NE Buttress of J-berg. Dragontail TC. Oh, and I'd like to give Graybeard a shot, too. Ok, I'll stop now

Here you go, Neri! Nice pic of you and Baker. Sorry to post this on your thread. Go Grivel ice tools!!!

Ahh, gotcha. I think my g/f met you on the way out, in retrospect. Said she met a nice guy by the name of Gary on the way out (or, that the person with you referred to you as Gary, more accurately). Sorry it pissed on you so badly. Glad the way out wasn't as bad as I'd suspected

Yeah, looked like it was going to get ugly and cold up there; we camped near Sprite Lake on Friday night. The girlfriend, my friend and I hiked out Saturday morning, and found the last room in town at a B&B, and woke up to pouring rain on Sunday. Sounds like the Enchantments alpine rock season may be over with? By the way, was it horrific descending the climbers' path with the snow on the granite? My pal Rob was the one who asked to leave; didn't want to skitter all the way down to Snow Lake

When I started out on plastic, my callouses grew really fast. Too fast, to be exact. The bigger they got, the more apt they were to tear from the underlying layers of tissue. As soon as I started whittling them down with a file (Franklin makes a nice, rough callous scrubber that keeps them from getting too big) the problem went away. Also, I found that hitting the campus board created lots of flappers. Just my .02 cents worth.

Those look familiar! Neri, whatcha gonna get to replace 'em? Bump for a good set of tools

Oksy, not that's what I was looking for! Lots of good ideas. Thanks to you all

Damn, have to learn how to ski But that's on my list for this upcoming season...

No, haha, certainly not teaching for NOLS; I was thinking of using NOLS to get a type of certification to use toward my RN license, to get me into opportunities for the outdoors. Thanks for setting me straight on the orientations of NOLS; WFR and the WEMT would probably benefit me the most, as of this point, I'd imagine.

Thanks for that Other ideas? Anyone? Anyone?

I know it's a stretch, but I need to ask. What ideas, here in the PNW, do you all have for an RN looking to exploit his skills in the outdoors? I know that there's rescue, and what-not, but I don't know how to approach it; I also know that there's some climbers on this board that work up at Hood, and some of the other areas. In the next month, I'll end up ACLS certified through my job, so that'll be out of the way. I'm just looking for ideas; I know there's North Country EMS. What other outfits are there that I could apply myself to (note: I'm willing to go back to school.) I'd thought about going to NOLS, but that, from what I know, lends itself more to guiding, and well, I don't want to guide (or, does NOLS offer some kind of outdoor rescue/EMS certification?) I want to apply my skills in an outdoor/climbing environment. Thanks for any input. One final note: for those who volunteer/work at Hood, NCEMS, etc, etc, please feel free to provide a description of what the job descriptions are, and the range of skills necessary, and....well, anything else you care to say about it.

I vote for #2, but then again, I'd say that you guys were "within reason". It's a free campsite, after all. Damn.

I'm open if you are; let me know what you're up to. I'm game for 5.7 alpine, or something on snow and/or ice. PM me whenever you like; I can leave town here on Friday. I don't have to be back to Portland until Monday. FYI, hikes are okay too. Backpacking, etc.

Hi, Dan, hadn't seen this post. While on Sunset, during the second day, I felt like crap. I ate a ton, drank as much as I could get in, and I was a million bucks the next day. I felt better on the summit plateau then at 10,000. Some people swear by an extra day of acclimization. Weather windows don't always allow that, but if you have the extra time, that's the thing that I think most helps (in addition to what the others have suggested above.) Sleep and hydration

What a loss.

Still have it?

Three FEET? Holy shi.....

You've done a good job with the info sharing! Thank you for that. I'm sure others will benefit

"9/8/04 -- Westside Road is closed to ALL TRAVEL including foot, bicycle and vehicles near Nisqually Rd due to mud and rock slides and an unpassable stream. All other park roads and facilities remain open." Well, I guess that answers the question, eh?