sean_beanntan

Just got down from the hill today. Crampons on at the top of palmer. There was an thin ice crust over soft snow. Even on boot pack trail there was boot pen to several inches as you broke through....very warm overnight even those there was no cloud cover. Pearly Gates has lost lots of rime ice, no longer the tight squeeze of last week and is now starting to look more normal. Certainly the route to accend if there are crowds. Only need one tool to accend, maybe 2 to decend depending on you comfort level. Decended the left chute, one tool is fine. The biggest obstacle is the sugar snow under the ice crust. I saw someone break though to their knee and then fall forward just below the chutes. He did manage to stop

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When the summit tower is melted out, you dont really need rock pro since the easiest route is 4th class or easy 5th. Either way, there is rock pro if needed. The technical part of Jefferson is the steep snow traverses which can also be protected

Quick note, been seeing some climbers placing vertical pickets below the Pearly gates on Saturday. These pickets were placed in snow consisting of a ice crust and sugar snow. Hmmmmm......try using T slots with a vertical backup if you want the anchor to do its job and hold a fall.

Thanks for the switch, but can I still post my Beacon Rock reports in the Oregon section. Any megalight trips lately?

Sorry i did not to post this for the sunday climbers but here are the conditions for saturday surface cooling and medium 15-25mph, winds produced a good breakable crust with boot pen to 6-8". Coming down from the summit there is a good bootpack to palmer. Most climbers using left chute. right chute of pearly gates in great condition. Decended using west crater rim to hogsback. Great conditions on decent, good boot pack on accent. Under surface crust is about 18" of sugar with little consolidation. Recent warming producing wet slides on Thursday and Friday. Just to recap, the right chute of the Pearly gates does not have a 70 degree ramp as reported, its a small WI2 series of 3 steps about 4 ft each. No biggie if you can climb alpine ice.

Skied Mt St Helens fron summit yesterday. Started from Marble Mtn car snowpark and went via the Worm Flows. Snow level is down to the 244c trail or about 15 mins from the car. Ski conditions yesterday were excellent even with the warm temps and high freezing level. Snowpack was consolidated, no weak layers observed, good bonding. Great corn conditions and when the corn collapsed, it was still steep enough to drive the extra 3-4 inches. Sweet!!

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Sounds just like me. Got on some WI5 stuff in the Ghost and still used my Sabretooths. Left the G14's in the Car.

I have a pair of Sabertooths that I can sell you. I have a NEW pair with the Toe strap that I will sell for $115 or an older used pair for $40.

Hey Chris, I dont believe that I am going to miss another slide show. I will be in Yosemite next week and then Red Rocks for a while. Joe

Jamin, sorry but i have a problem with "I am very confident with my self-arrest skills, and I have had plenty of practice in the past 3 years that I have been snow climbing" Now I have been climbing for 20 years, have climbed LR and I am not very confident with my self arrest skills. Self arrest is over rated and is extremely difficult to achieve on a steep icy slope. The area in and below the Pearly gates is littered with rime ice particles that makes the footing very unstable even with crampons. It feels like you are walking on giant particles of sugar and self arrest is not an option. I climbed to the summit on Sunday and so know the conditions. I have also seen people try to self arrest and not stop on Hood, the rest of the tale is a sad one. Also if you manage to self arrest , all you need to do is have the pick find one small boot depression, pop out and the wild ride starts all over again. How many boot prints are on the upper slope above the hogsback? Self arrest happens when you have lost control. Stay in control like climbers should. Hope this helps, have fun out there

Bring a Umberella.....seems silly but the sun can be opressive at 11,200 or 14,000. Yes I know you can hang a tarp from the snow walls but that can be difficult and the sun moves. A small Umberella is sweet sitting outside your tent. Also an insulated French press for those social gatherings at 14,000. You can bater almost anything for a hot cup of Joe at ABC

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The step is steep but not vertical and usually appears between Nov and December and is about 15-20ft. It then disappears under a bunch of snow. This is happening as I write this. So when are you climbing?. If ts it in April or May , it should be a non issue.

Hi: Just curious about "Everybody raves about red rocks, but tI think there's better" What have you climbed down there to give you this opinion.. For me Red Rocks is about No Vegas strip since I need to be up at 5am to hit the climbs like Black Orpheus, Birdhunter Buttress, Black Velvet Canyon etc. How about a combo of Dark Shadows and Y2K for a complete day of climbing?

Thats because we are climbing in Canada and Washington

There is a good hostel in Banff called Banff International Hostel or more fancy but never been there called The HI Banff Alpine Centre Hostel. The Alpine Hut in Canmore is also a good bet. It depends on how many climbers you have. We pack about 4 into the Drake Inn in Canmore and its a cheap sweet setup close to food and beer.

Thanks for all the beta, here is how the trip went. I can post more details later or just ask more questions Feb 16th Haffner Creek, good Ice conditions, lots of climbers mixing it up Feb 17th Moonlight, Evan Thomas Ck on h/w 40, good shape, picked Feb 18th Balfour Wall, just like Haffner, good group site Feb 19th Louise Falls, Fat but no plastic Feb 20th Snowline, Evan Thomas Ck on h/w 40, good shape, picked Feb 21th Candlestick Maker in the Ghost, great shape Feb 22th The Sorcerer, in the Ghost, great shape Feb 23th Wicked Wanda, in the Ghost WI5 shape out of cave. It snowed a lot up there but access to the ghost was good, climbing temps around 10F....no sun on the routes. We parked the camper at the base of the hill and drove a jeep to the climbs. Access times to climbs in the ghost match the guide book ie Sorcerer about 2 hours. I notice no one mentions the sweet hottubing at the White Swan hot springs. Nothing better than a soak after 8 days on the ice. Dont pass this place up, about 10 miles south of Canal Flats Hope this helps,

Hi does anyone have any recent reports on the ice conditions in Canada eps in the Ghost or Field ro Canmore or the parkway. Sure would appreciate it. Any good current sites, even Will Gadd's site is a little old for TR's Thanks

The pants are still available. On the trade, I am open to suggestions, I climb, run, bike, cook, ski etc.

Because of the recent rain crust and the ice layer and lqaack of snow, its difficult to find deep enough pockets to build a cave before you get to 10,300ft on Hood, (platform near the old engine). The Hogsback is a good place but you need to get to 10,500ft. Illumination saddle is an amazing location for a cave, just build on the west side on the snow ridge, dont go onto the Reid side. "heavy snow on top of pretty consolidated snow isn't safe as it can shear off easily." .....a heavy layer on top of a weak layer can create a weak shear but if the snow underneath is consolidated then in Oregon, we call that a good layer..most of the time. The two things to consider are the bonding of each layer and the composition of each layer. "And to avoid West Crater Rim as it's a high avy site"." .....It is not a high avy site but has higher avy potential then the south slope. There is a difference. I have been on the slope in a low avy condition. It gets crosswinds and pillows that can remain for a long time after a storm. Hope this helps

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Nice Work Boys: Hi Geoff, heard that you were on the Hill. Climbed Leutholds and summited at 12.45pm. I was hoping to see you at the Queens Chair. How was the wind? it was blowing hard and cold when I was there. J

Not wearing crampons???...I know that when climbers are hiking above a cliff looking for a ice fall to rap and climb, a lot of folk dont wear crampons since the top can be a mixture of frozen turf, snow and rock. If the climb is not in...you continue hiking?. You may not think it worthwhile to put crampons on for a few seconds.