Pandora

I didn't have a thermometer, so I'm not sure of the exact temperature. But I can tell you that I was struggling to keep my hands warm before leaving the tent! Once we got moving it wasn't so bad, though the windchill was frigid . Here are a couple more pics:

I was thinking the same thing. Let's hear it!

Unfortunately I didn't ski any of the Chute. I just skinned to Muir for exercise, and once I got there I decided to carry my skis up to the top of the little ridge that angles left from Muir (maybe 2-300 feet higher than camp). What I skied down was the slope between the aforementioned ridge and Cowlitz Cleaver. It was the best snow I encountered that day! The upper mountain did look fucking amazing for skiing, and I was truly bummed that I wasn't in position to do it.

Sweet, I'll be there fo' shizzle!

Wow, I am amazed at the attention this climb has gotten without me ever posting a word! It was a fun read, so thanks to everyone who weighed in. One thing I’d like to make clear: I consider this climb a solo because I was alone from the time I left Muir to the time I got back. It was the fourth, and hardest, route I’ve soloed on Rainier. Trip reports are fun to read but hard to write, and I want to be sure I’m doing these climbs because I love it, not to brag on cc.com. That said, I truly appreciate the congratulations!

ME!!!

Colin, will you marry me?

Josh, yep that's it. The shot looks directly up Success Cleaver. I highly recommend going when it's snow-covered, unless of course you enjoy scrogging through kitty litter. Here are a couple of photos I took during a climb of Central Success Couloir on the 4th of July 2005.

I'm a fan - she's hot!

Hey E, we could throw a pity party!

Yeah, but I meant besides each other.

Dear Larry and Harry, What did you two climb that day? I must have somehow missed your fabulous trip reports. Sincerely, Hannah

I climbed the Central Success Couloir on the 4th of July this year and thought it was a fun route. The slopes were no steeper than 45 degrees, but fairly icy. I've heard it is a great ski in the right conditions, though.

Damn, I missed the cutoff by three weeks.

If you left a pair of gloves at Muir yesterday, send me a PM with the brand and color so I can get 'em back to you.

When I saw the thread title, I thought "yes!". But when my eyes fell upon this: I quickly decided "no". Thank you for making me unlonesome!

Not quite skinhead...here the buzzcut is growing out. That's me obsessively drying my crampons at the base of the Inter glacier in September 2003. I believe it was MisterE who announced that my haircut was a "reverse mullet".

Yep, the public shelter is open. The conditions report hasn't been updated to reflect the change, but the work has been completed and it is open for use.

Yes, absolutely. Climbing is such an integral part of my life that to be without it practically equals death in itself. I can see Lowell's point when he says that an obsession with climbing indicates narrow-mindedness, but others would call that focus . It all depends on your perspective. Ross also made a good point with his assertion that "People seem to put too much stock in the idea that a long life is somehow inherently good while a short life somehow is a life wasted... ". When you take a look at the lives of people we've lost in our immediate climbing community (Carl and Ben leap to mind), most would say that their lives ended early. But who would argue that they hadn't crammed an incredible amount of activity - that is to say, life - into what time they had on this earth? For me, being in the mountains is where life actually happens. Nothing else can replace it. At 20, I've spent a quarter of my life climbing and cannot imagine what I would be doing otherwise. And maybe my priorities will someday change, and I'll want a family and a house with a white picket fence - but jesus, I hope not.

I'm wondering why you had the cologne and chaps combo in the first place.....although maybe it's time to stop thinking about it .

Here's your chance to find out how! http://www.howtoclimbthreegradesharder.com/

Freshiez at Paradise, yo!

TimL -