Ricardo_Montalban

take it easy, sobo. just saying that when i got to the top of CG everyone was sittin' back and soakin' up the sun, waiting for the toboggan. my terminology probably has different meaning in SAR jargon.

I wore my mountaineering boots and packed my board boots on sunday and wished i was wearing sneakers. there were a few times when i slipped out and almost bit it, but in all 'steeper' areas the boot track is fine. (note: temps rose significantly from sat night and the sun was out from the get go.) don't come down too early on sunday. i dropped in at 2pm and (with a board) could have waited another hour...if my ride wasn't waiting. enjoy!

climberchica, you should have used the 2-handed leash idea with your pup...now he had some crazy energy! I think I met up with you two right by the standby rescue unit (me: yellow pack, blue board). to the rescue crews!

I huffed my board up on sunday and here's what I found: -snow up to Lunch Counter (upper crescent glacier) was undulated but not all that bad. sun cups forming but still small (<6"). -LC to FS sun cups worse...I'd rather glissade down that prime track than board down the SS -(didn't summit) -SW Chutes (2pm); I made the mistake of taking the center chute. big runnels, undulations, etc. hard work. I should have walked over the rock band and continued down the right side when I realized my mistake. If you're doing the chutes, go down skier's right! (although, it from philfort's link, it sounds like it's bad all over) -info about exiting the chutes...http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/369947/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 good luck ab!

i didn't have an altimeter so i had to wing it. i've done plenty of back country route finding so it wasn't that difficult. the RTMT is pretty obvious too. all i did at the snow's end was head south/left angling towards the trail. i wanted to cut off some trail time and took a chance with encountering cliffs. the only real obstacle i had to deal with was a short rock band that i downclimbed, and even that could have been circumnavigated if needed. (maybe i got lucky?) EDIT: as far as timing goes... i dropped in on the chutes as my buds were dropping in on the gliss track (false summit) and i got to the parking lot 20 minutes after them.

excellent info! thanks all!

is it difficult to find the trail back to cold springs from the bottom of the chutes? (snow covered?) is there much time difference between riding the chutes and glissading the south side? thanks!

nice pics! they're gettin' me pumped for this weekend! questions: is it difficult to find the trail back to cold springs from the bottom of the chutes? is there much time difference between riding the chutes and glissading the south side?

thanks all! i kind of like the ghetto sandpaper option. we'll see...

has anyone ever tried 'soil aerator sandals' (or a similar item) for those not-so-steep icy slopes? i'm looking for cheap ways to increase comfort (sneakers) and lighten my load on non-technical routes. thanks

i'm putting together a recovery program if you know of any others that need help...that is if it's not too late for them.

yeah, i was out there with the mazama's intermediate class and to help with their basic class (you wanted confessions right?) we weren't learning to climb, we were teaching them how to use the ropes and gear. i am soooooooo glad that's behind me now!

Mazama's have a limited SAR insurance policy that comes with the $50/year membership fee. http://www.mazamas.org/resources/insurance.php

S'Weet! Thanks!

Just called the r-station (503.395.3400) and the road is open 1 mile from Cold Springs. This has been the status for the last month BUT... She quoted me, "we will probably bust through this weekend" Enjoy!

Iain, what part of the diagram indicates the cloud cover roof? The Scew-T looks similar to the meteograms I've tried to use in the past but have not been able to read accurately Meteogram1: (better but not currently working) http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/mmb/meteograms/images/726980.cloud.gif Meteogram2: http://grads.iges.org/pix/pdxeta.gif thanks!

Hey Andrew, I'm curious as to what the hardwoods look like out there nowadays. 3 years ago (almost to the day) my bros and I canoed east/south east of Ely and the 'army worms' had defoliated the entire forest (except for conifers). These things covered our tent, packs, us, everything. Are they still out there devouring the North Woods?

there's also a 'free air freezing level', which is the freezing level when there are no earth obstructions interfering with the local wind (etc.?) patterns. i have no idea how to relate the FAFL reading to what is happening on the mountain. anyone... anyone...

I know you stated 7->10, but if you could go on the 11th I'd be in.

Steve, Chad, etc. Have you all made any plans for the Sunshine rt? My plans for 6-12 fell through. Would love to hook up for that rt sometime this season. (never done the rt, have high angle & crevasse rescue training)

actually, the big bump on the right side of hood (from pdx) is the steel cliffs. IR is well below the summit.