eldiente

I would second that. If it is such a "secret" why are you CC talking about it?

The hut has has mice that eat everything and get in your face while sleeping.

ahh good point. I hadn't tried looking up with that pack on. I have a 10 year old frameless pack from Lowe Alpine. I can't stand the thing as the climbing gears always sticks me in the pack and doesn't ride evenly. -Nate

Anyone used the Osprey Exposure 50? I randomly saw it at the shop today and liked what I saw. It was slightly bigger (50L) than I originally wanted but I like the attachment points and the way it would hold a snowboard and crampons. Anyone used this pack? I see they make Osprey Exposure in a smaller size. -Nate

Thanks for the info. I'm doing a bit of shopping right now. I haven't bought a new pack in 6+ years so it is all a bit overwhelming given the choices. Thanks! -Nate

Pete's pile has ice. A lot of it is thin and would require bold leading. Lots of good bordering could be had at the base of the wall as there is lots of thick ice that is out of the sun. The top of the cliffs gets full PM sun and is melted in a lot places.

I drove through on Wednesday. There were a few spots that would be doable. Most of the ice I saw was very thin that would be TR only. Cap horn looked to have a lot of ice on it, although it could all just be wind-blow and rime like. Drive up there and you'll find something to climb if your willing to make the effort. The frozen moss looks to be very good right now. -Nate

I looking for some feedback on what to buy for large day back/light weight overnight pack. I'm looking for something than can take 1-2 days worth of climbing gear and light biy gear. Got any ideas? I've been having problems getting all my alpine gear shoved into my 1,500 cu in Osprey pack. On the flip side , my 5,000 cu in pack is too big to climb with. I've never owned any of the Black Diamond packs but they seem to be popular. The Predator from BD looked like was nice but I've never seen it in person.

I was just up there on Sunday. Spring like conditions with a heavy snowpack. A deep boot pack is in coming from Marble Parking lot.

So is Druy climbable?

Wow! Your chance of finding dry rock at Beacon is zero on that day.

haha. That's funny. You probably saw all the boot prints and wondered what the hell we were doing. Slinging the rock would have been the smart thing to do. We tried all kinds of things to reach those anchors. We even tried free climbing those moves in bare hands and a shoulder stand.

Yes, the ice was perfect. I'm glad you guys made it down without incident. Having never done that route I didn't really want to do those raps in the dark. As it was that first rap anchor was a real pain in the ass. Any beta on to do that first rap station? We wasted a good 30 minutes trying to figure out how we were going to reach the anchor. I couldn't make the move, so I ended up climbing around from behind and slinging a tree above the rap anchor. I suppose with more snow there is no problem reaching that anchor but a very big waste of time. Glad everyone had fun. -Nate

We came down from Chair Peak last night in poor weather. There were 2 other parties that started up at about the same time we did but we didn't see them on the top or descent. I'm a little concerned as it was dark when we hiked out and their cars were still there we left the parking lot. We left word with the night security guard at the ski resort to keep an eye out for them. Anyone know anything about these climbers? I'd like to hear that they made it out OK. It would have been a cold night to sleep out. -Nate

Anyone been up to Snoqualmie since the rain stopped? I'm wondering if any of the peaks around the pass would be in condition after all that rain we had followed up by the cooler weather that has settled in. Any info would be helpful. -Nate

No I didn't summit. I turned around after I made it up onto the Spur. I wasn't really planing on making it to the top as I started late. I stopped for break on the Cooper Spur and could see you guys about 1,000 feet above me about to enter the rocky section.

That's funny. When I was crossing the Elliot I saw you guys up on the ridge. It looked like the wind was going to blow you guys off!

Did I see you going up the Spur on Sunday with another guy? Yes it was very windy Sunday morning on the hike in but it eased by noon. The ice that I went up was very thick and stable in the center of the above photo. I ended up traversing right near the top of the ice and finished via climb the rock on cliff to the right of the main flow. If the road is still open this weekend I bet it would be a lot of fun.

Thanks! Bill's tools worked out very nicely. My footwork could use some help, feels like I'm climbing around with roller-skates on my feet.

I went up the North face of Hood yesterday (Sunday) and was surprised to find good ice. On the shoulder of Cooper Spur there are several thick runs of ice 200 feet long in good shape. The parts that I climbed were thick waterfall ice. Climbers left there were a couple of pillars that looked very steep but not all the way down. Looked doable for someone with good mixed skills. The road to to Tilly Jane is clear and open, although that might have changed today with all the rain were having in PDX. Link below for pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/natetack/ClimbMountHoodFall07 -Nate

Ahh here's an idea. How about non-verbal. Nothing ruins a nice peaceful crag day than everyone screaming up and down at each other. Seriously. A few tugs on the rope is adequate in most situations. Much safer as your not going to get confused when another party screams up "Off belay" As for established signals? I didn't know there was an "official' rule book on this. I'm going to say whatever works to keep you safe is the established method. I want to invent my own set of rope commands. From now on instead of calling for a "take" the leader now has to yell "I'm a vagina." Please though, no more screaming commands at the wall.

ahh yes by this upcoming weekend it looks like the snow returns. I should have gotten off my lazy ass and went last weekend..

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Very tempting. Looks like a bit of snow on backbone but not too bad. Very tempting. Especially as there probably isn't anyone up there this time of year and no permits. Has anyone had any experience with a late season run up backbone or serpentine?

Has anyone been up to Colchuck Lake recently? With the recent dry weather I'm thinking about going up there to do something on Dragontail. Is the road still open, how much snow is on the trail/peaks? Any info would be helpful. Thanks! -Nate