Chad_A

Well, I can say this much. My achilles tendonitis, and finger tendonitis, have both come from lack of warmup, e.g. doing something difficult too soon, be it climbing, or trail running. I do stretch, but, it seems to have no bearing on the injuries that I've obtained. I think I once saw an article interviewing Joe Weider, and he was quoted as saying something along the lines of, "Does a lion stretch before chasing its prey? No!" On the other hand, I think that strecthing certainly doesn't hurt; just don't do it too extensively with muscles and tendons that are cold

Ok, that's if for now, promise

And another...

Oops...here it is.

Here's another pic that I managed to shrink down to a reasonable size.

Yeah...haha...I liked that too. Nothing like thinking that you're getting a great pic, and then forgetting to look down to what's directly in front of you Oh, well! I did have my Vector on, but it wasn't on a lanyard, it was on my wrist, so the temp wouldn't have been right, anyway. It wasn't godawful cold, but things were frozen solid, and there were, oh, I'd say, 30mph wind gusts. When I was doing a bit more video footage, and a little narration as well, I remember my face was cold and my speech was a little slurred, so it must've been somewhat cold. I'd imagine it was right about freezing up there. Thanks for the compliment on the pic and the time

Here's another pic of the trip.

Climb: Mt. Hood-Leuthold Couloir Date of Climb: 3/22/2004 Trip Report: Well, I finally got pics back, so I thought I'd post a quick TR, especially because I've never done one. Here goes: Couldn't find anyone to go up with, so I figured I'd go solo. Not a soloist by nature, but based on what I know of the route, it's not really worth roping up for, anyway. So, got out of work at 10 pm, went home, and got an hour and a half of sleep. Brewed tea, got in the Jeep, and headed for T-Line. Left the truck, with the pack prepacked from the day before, at about 2:20 am. Started up toward Palmer; brilliantly clear outside, so the snow was really hard, except right at Timberline. I remember the freezing level to be at about 11,000 that night. Anyway, I made it up to the top of Palmer at 3:49; was a bit slick here and there on the way up, where some snowboard tracks had frozen to hard ice. Sorted thing out at the top of Palmer; chatted with a gent by the name of Dave, who was soloing the South side. Threw on a hat, put on the crampons, and ate. Took a bit of video footage with the Handycam, and left at about 4:10 for Illumination, still using the poles. Made it to Illumination at 4:48; dropped the pack, ate something again, took a bit of video footage again, stashed the poles, and grabbed the axe. Threw on the helmet. Left the saddle at 5:00 a.m. Caught up with a team of four heading across the Reid, and chatted with them a bit. Nice folks! Passed them, and headed below, and up around the rock at the beginning of the Couloir. I hugged the right side, staying out of the way of falling ice chips, as much as possible. Did some bobbing and weaving, staying off to the left and right sides, as the better protection from the icefall dictated. Did the same going up and through the hourglass, and after that, mainly stayed closer to Yocum. Stopped and took a pic here and there, looking up and down, and continued up, to get out of the icefall. At the Queens Chair, it was beautiful. Yocum below, and the shadow of Hood over Portland. Nice! Stomach feeling a bit gurgly; realized it was time to eat and drink, and did so. Headed up, did a couple of switchbacks on the face, until I gained the ridge, proper. Found a nice boottrack from there on, but I don't remember seeing where it materialized from. Maybe Castle, or the Reid Headwall? Someone had obviously been up there within the last 24 hours. Stopped to enjoy the exposure of the north side, and the hazy volcanoes off in the distance. Made the summit at 7 a.m. on the nose. Man! Didn't expect that. 4 hours and 40 minutes. Hopefully the pics turn out. Thanks for looking Gear Notes: Just my Grivel G14s, and my Pamir. Approach Notes: High freezing level, but clear skies, =beautiful cramponing on neve and icy snow.

Thanks...please post anything you find out. Thanks

Picked up a pair, barely used for 75 bucks. Fit like a glove! Tried to put my Grivel G14s on them, but they seem like a REALLY big boot; can't get them to fit, just yet. Seem pretty stiff; 3/4 or full shank? If you know please post it, and anything else you know about them. I've tried searching for topics and webpages, but since they're out of production, it's hard to find anything on them.

I have the REI Mistrals, and I love 'em, for the price. I went up Hood with them, and biked in Portland rain in them, in a span of 48 hours...they do soak through in a downpour, but for the $$$, hey.... A pal of mine plugged a pair of pants the MEC in Canada sells, but I can't remember...you might want to check out their website. Hope this helps even a little bit...

Cool; aiding is something that I'd like to get some experience with, for sure. Hey, I'd like to try both the NF and the Sunshine; if you ever need a partner, PM me. I'd like to give 'em both a shot.

I soloed Leuthold this morning. Some wind-created icefall, but other than that, stellar snow conditions. Nice and clear; snow froze up nice and solid. Good cramponing.

...found one. Hope the weather holds!

I'd like to go up and do something on Monday night. Open to ideas; would prefer not the South Side

I have a pal who injured a tendon in his elbow, while bouldering. He's just received his 4th dextrose injection last week, and has a couple to go. He's taking 3 more weeks off of climbing, and then, starting back slowly. We'll see what happens...stay tuned.

haha...yeah, I like that solution. I actually checked out Wenatchee as a potential city to be able to play nearby, AND work in, but man, not to offend...that that town appears beat. I was thinking of relocating in a year or two (after my finances recover from the move from Michigan to here [Portland]) to someplace like Kent, WA, or something like that. I have a pal that lives in Issaquah, but he says it's getting pricey there. Everyone else says to head to Renton, to be able to live. Bellingham would be sweet, as well, but there doesn't seem to be a huge demand for RNs there. We'll see. Hell, anything is better than Michigan, I guess.

Hey, how about this coming Tuesday? Come to think of it, think the freezing level might go up too high, and create some nasty avy conditions after all the snow that we'll be getting. Let me know what you think.

My name's Chad; I climb at the PRG often. I climb lead as much as I can there, when partners allow; I lead 5.10, and 11, on a regular basis. Mainly, I'm tired of the gym, and I'm looking to do some of the routes (Sandy Headwall, or Leuthold) on Hood. I'm also heading to Smith and Vantage as time allows, so if people are up for that, let me know here. Or, email me at ClubH20mich@aol.com I have lots of aspirations for alpine stuff, but seems like people here are more predisposed toward rock trips, so if anybody wants to get into something involving the Washington Cascades, let me know. I just can't seem to find anyone that's willing to be cold, and suffer up a mountain. Pathetic, considering I'm 145 pounds, and have the hardest times staying warm of anyone that I know. Keep in touch with me, whoever. I moved here from Michigan to do some climbs, but again, having a hard time finding someone to do it with. The only thing keeping me from pulling the remains of the hair on my head out is the great PNW microbrews Edit: Please, someone speak up and say that they'd like to do something on Stuart or Dragontail. Or Hood. Anything. I like rock, but I moved here for a little more than that.

Huh. I was guessing this to be a really good snowpack year? Am I wrong? I thought we were getting hammered; then again, I'm down here in the Oregon Cascades, so things might be different (Hood is having a great year; I imagine routes will be in longer this year). Am I wrong? I have a pal in SLC wanting to do some alpine stuff in NCNP, and I told him, my best guess, was sometime in May would be best. If you guys think otherwise, speak up, because I've yet to spend some reasonable time up there. Let me know what you all think.

Sounds pretty sketchy to me. They resoled my old manky Scarpa Minimas a while back, without an issue. I went through the dropoff service at the Portland Rock Gm, but Mountain Soles is located on SE 11th (or maybe 12th) near Hawthorne. You can drop them off directly if REI is giving you shite. Don't know why they'd tell you that they'd keep them; that's crazy.

PM'd you

Well, sounds like you're in the same boat as I; if you like, PM me, and we can discuss some stuff. Maybe a couple of newbies (or, at least newbie, meaning me) can put together their skills and do something moderate.

Not the most unique idea, but my g/f and I snowshoed up Snow Lakes Trail last weekend; trail was broken most of the way, until Nada Lake, by ice climbers lookin' to check out the falls @ Nada lake. from there, we broke trail to upper Snow Lake (a little past the dam), before we ran out of time, and had to head back. Hoped to make it to Lake Viviane (sp?), but breaking trail in that powder kinda wore us out. Beautiful up there (duh), and much less crowded (ya think?), and good camping. Man, the weather was beautiful

Ummm....the freezer needs defrosting. Does that count? Seriously, I need to get on some WI/AI 2 or 3 to reorient myself. I'll be lookin' for ice, for sure. Hopefully, when I'm in Mazama around the weekend of the 24th, there will be two things there: Ice, and someone to climb it with.