Chad_A

We did the NBC on the 22nd; on the descent to the col, we peered down the NEBC; looked like it was guarded by a cornice. Could've been interesting, eh? Cool TR. That route is on my list for next year. Indeed, soon the schrund will be difficult to get across, I would guess.

Hahahaha...#4 Camalot. Good one

Not perfect, but it's the best that's out there, IMHO. The photography is excellent, and even if the advertisements are increasing, they're still less than others. Paying bills is a way of life, and there isn't a magazine out there that is exempt from that.

Man, gonna have to do this route... What was the ice cliff like? I'll have to get out the Beckey Manual. Sounds schweet.

I know of Stuart Range, but looks like the weather won't be much better for that this weekend than Rainier. I was thinking of Mt. Maude. Any other suggestions? Looking for something challenging, that will need a second tool, and possibly some AI.

Steve- My name's Chad; PM me anytime, if you have a climb that looks to be in shape. I'd like to do Sunshine as well; what's your experience level? I'm here in Portland, as well. The next couple weeks looks busy for me, but I have days off here and there, and a one-day thing on Hood is usually doable.

That's good info...so you figure that it's easier to follow the moraine up, than to follow the trail? How far did you go up, do you think, altitude wise?

Yeah, it's open. I was up there a month ago....I believe it's open year-round, unless otherwise noted.

Oh, yeah, understood, about the Benadryl That's one thing that I do have access to, is SQ lidocaine. might not be bad to take a bit of that with. I'll look at the Dr Scholls product....or, you could probably fabricate the same type of thing out of moleskin??

Had an opportunity to head up to Illumination Saddle (to practice some self arrest w/ a friend who doesn't climb....yet), and surprisingly, it was bluebird skies up there, with some ominous looking clouds that hovered around, but seemingly never on, Hood. Anyway, the Reid looks good. A couple of crevasses have opened, and the bergschrund at the base of the Reid Headwall route is open as well, but looks to be in good shape. A cloud was hovering a bit farther away, obscuring the view of the ramp to get on Yocum, so I can't comment on that. From what I could see, looks like Leuthold and the Reid HW would still be good for a go. Anyway, hope this helps someone out. This coming weekend would be a good time to get either one done before they're out of shape, I would guess.

I guess that's just it...what justifies a "must have?" I guess the answer lies in my own comfort. In one day, I've seen/heard anywhere from a knife and a bandana, to sparing no weight, and carrying a full-on First Responder kit (and leaving other stuff at home to make sure it fits). Hell, maybe I'll leave it all home, and pack a flask of whiskey. Then again, I'd endulge, and the alpine start of the next day wouldn't be much of an alpine start. A knife, some pain killers (Benadryl is also a great idea....thanks for that. Works great as a sedative in a pinch) gauze, a roll of tape...a small bottle of new skin, and some moleskin is good, too. NSAIDs, a couple of packs of handwarmers...and some pain killers, if I can get my hands on some. Thanks for the responses; the broad range of answers and rationales have helped a lot

Damn, the caffiene isn't doing the trick this morning...what the hell does this mean ? Either that, or I didn't drink enough beer last night. Anyway, here's what I saw on someones TR: 1 FIRST AID 7 oz (total kit weight) 15 iodine tablets water purification sunscreen small plastic bottle dermatone x-small 2 chapstick with sunscreen 10 salt pills moleskin 1 tape cloth athletic, partial roll 2 gauze pads 4 inch neosporin x-small plastic tube 15 tylenol or Nuprin 15 pain pills percodan 15 antibiotic ceclor 1 pr earplugs Might just duplicate this. I don't see the necessity for a splint, with the tape, foam pads that we'll have with, not to mention the trekking poles. Still searching for a solution to the pain pill problem, though. Tylenol and Ibuprofen won't cut it.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=2867&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1 Here's the kit; found it online. Help me to pick it apart.

Thanks for chiming in, everyone! I plan on doing that search that was suggested. Actually, I'm an RN, so you'd think that I'd know what to bring, but, I'm always out for more ideas. If someone were to suggest that I leave something out, and I wasn't comfortable with that, I'd bring it, anyway. The ensolite pad idea is great; I think that I'm pretty much on par with what people have said, here. (the kit that I have is about the size to fit inside a nalgene bottle; not tooooo huge). I'd like to throw in a solid roll of coach's tape, as well as some moleskin, as someone suggested. Easy to forget about stuff like that (especially when I'm not too prone to instances of blisters, historically speaking.) I think the only missing link is, stangely enough (me being an RN), getting some effective pain killers for the kit. I've never had any around the house, and doctors don't like to prescribe that stuff frivolously. Hmmm... I think I will take it apart over the weekend, and list what's involved. Then maybe you all can help me critique it.

I have a standard first aid kit; but out of reverence of trying to regain a bit of space in the pack (without totally screwing myself out of being able to provide basic first aid for myself or others), I'm going to try to whittle it down a bit. List what you have in yours; I could do the same for what I have, but I believe it's too much

I've heard that the crevasses over on the White River Glacier are opening; but haven't seen it in person. Makes sense, though. I flew over the west side of the mountain, and from the air yesterday, it looked pretty closed up still, but I could be wrong. If nothing else, I'll bet you'd find something on the Eliott to dump someone into...

Thanks for all the replies! I thought about the IceSac, but have kinda ruled it out. The reason is the size, and the fact that it won't do well with over 30 lbs in it, according to the manufacturer. The BD Shadow is of similar size, but has a frame; I, too have heard many complain of the buckles, now, and some of the features. But, the basics of the pack would be what I need. I haven't ruled out the Chaos. I really love my Chernobyl, and if I can load it without the 4000 c.i. seeming to big, it'll probably be what I'll get. I would like to do some stuff up in Alaska sometime, and it could cross over to that. Maybe next year BD will hear what we're saying, and make a few changes??? The Lowe sounds good; If I can find one here in town before my next trip, I might get that. A pal of mine, Donn, has one, and seems to like it lots. The POD looks nice, as well, but the small size (the one I need) is 42L, and probably smaller than the Chernobyl I already have.

I've whittled my choices for a slightly bigger alpine pack down to these two choices. They are different in size, but not much, and they both have features that I like. I'm pretty sold on the CCW Chaos (Since I have the Chernobyl already...unfortunately, I'm a "short torso" person, so I have to use the small 2500ci version of it). I saw the Climbing mag review on the Shadow, but it seems like the gripes they had would be manageable. The reason I like the idea of it is, on a long approach, the Shadow would have an actual frame, whereas the Chaos would not. Anyway, feel free to post what you know. I hope to get into ClimbMax with my stuff to pack them both up and see how they feel. In the meantime...

Earlier this year, a pal of mine and I tried the Fuhrer finger. Made a pretty good go of it; same basic approach as what you're going to do. I've been up to do the Kautz twice, and summitted neither time, but the lower Turtle camp option that people talk of (about 9200 feet in Gauthier's book?) seems like the best option, in retrospect. If it's going to be a warm day, make sure you leave extra early (for both the approach day and the summit day), and take your time. I'd leave at midnight for both. There's variables there to consider, and again, in retrospect, I think I might have done our climb this year differently. I, too, wanted to hang out and enjoy the mountain another day, and take my time, but the weather window closed earlier than expected, and it screwed us out of summitting. Just pick your priorities....if it is super important to you to summit, and the weather is looking good the second night, that you're up (when you're at the Turtle), leave early, get on with it, enjoy yourself afterward. If it doesn't matter to you, like Ivan said, take your time getting up, feel the altitude less, and have less suffering. Sorry about the common sense chat...I've just had time to think about what I would've done differently. At any rate, any day on Rainier is a good one.

Yeah, I know what you're sayin'. I think that I've relegated them down to longer climbs, that are less steep. They're just so damn comfortable...wish they had a bit more ankle support, but then again, maybe that's why they're more comfortable.

Haha...gotcha. I went for a hike to check out an approach for a climb that I want to do, and I found out quickly, comfortable as they fit, they really are kinda harsh on the trail. By that, I mean, I felt like I was walking on a rock. The heels hurt a bit; might benefit from a bit of a cushioned insole. They are nice, though, but I just can't decide what to do with them. Sure, they're comfortable, and they're crampon compatable, but I have inherently weak ankles, and it helps if I have a higher boot, and the Eight's ain't it. I find that if I'm French-techniquing on steep terrain, the ankles roll more than I'd like, and that's after resnugging them. Still, I like them, and I'll have to find a way to use them, because boots that fit this good just don't come by that often

Man, hope you get on it! Let us know how it goes

Nice! I hope to do the NR or the Coleman Headwall this year, either/or. Good to know how things are up there....thanks for the heads-up

Yep. Get all my stuff there, or at least, as much as I can. Bought some of my favorite gear from them; they hooked me up for my Chernobyl, and when I put together my first basic trad rack, they gave me a nice discount. Besides, they're nice there, real easy to talk to, and the guys and gals there can usually give you beta on a route you wanna try, or at least, they'll know someone who can

Cool; thanks for that! Yeah, they're pretty comfy boots. I've done some approaches in them, and some snowshoe trips to feel them out; pretty nice. Wore them on Sandy Headwall, and they did just fine, but, I like the support of my stiffer/higher Boreal Pamirs on steep terrain. Seem to have weak ankles these days:( They do seem to be a REALLY big boot, though; had to adjust the crampons out two holes from my other boots just to get them to fit.