Kevin_Matlock

good story bill, thanks for sharing.

If the snow level is low enough, Ski bowl. You shouldn't get hassled and you get the mellow groomed runs. Seems to me this topic has been covered a time or two before... try doing a search.

Don't specifically have many details, but I am allowed optional life insurance through my employer. When I tried getting a specific yes/no answer to "will I be covered in the event of a climbing injury" I was passed on to a bunch of people. Never did get a straight answer, either. I would advise that if you can, try and get something in writing so they can't pull the old "suicide-exclusion"-type clause on you.

no shit... by the looks of it i'm sorta debating on even placing that z3! "optimistic" might be the term here. but, i'd trust this before a nut in some instances. instead, maybe i'll just hang it from my harness for the next trip to the gym.

wild country zero cams, long stem! $29.83/ea z3 silver z4 gold z5 blue z6 red sorry folks, i snagged the last blue and red they had, they have 4 of the silver and 4 of the golds left. saw no sign of the z1 purple or z2 green... maybe they don't carry 'em? where: tualatin, (not so) evil empire get 'em while the gettins good. [tup] btw, looked on line at rei.com and didn't see any sign of this sale so it might just be a local store sale. your local store's mileage may vary i guess.

found a deal on the z3 to z6 WC zero cams - $30 a pop. since they usually go for double that, seems like a steal. is this worth it or are these cams crap?

"oregon high" by jeff thomas

Don't know your specifics, and if you NEVER intend on using the hole again, how about liquid steel/aluminum? You know, the toothpast crap in the tube. It's silver and pretty bomber.

Wonder if you can get to this spot now? Even just hiking/skinning in there would be cool to see the destruction. But..... I'd assume they would ticket the shit out of anyone getting too close. Anyone?

This has to be one of the worst tries at spray I have ever seen. You even included your own "OHHHH" like you are on the dumb MTV your mamma joke show. Spend some more time crusing the site and you'll figure out what real spray is like. Just a hint from someone who has been there. OHHHHH

Climb: [TR] Desperation stoke... Ski Bowl, Mt Hood- Date of Climb: 11/11/2006 Trip Report: Due to a strictly anti-guy event (baby shower) held at my house, I had to toss the skis in the van and head up. The conditions looked 'good enough' by the time I got to ski bowl so I just bailed off 26 and geared up. Passing by the pro shop the dude pops his head out and said "wow, your the first one I've seen so far this year". That should have been my first clue. The second clue should have been that about 5 minutes into skinning the snow turned into sleet, then rain. There is a range of up to a foot down low, to well over a foot up on the summit. Pretty heavy concrete even by Cascade standards. Would have been better with a consolitated layer underneath but none to be had. I pitty the next fool trying to follow my "line" down Reynolds! Step, step, step... start sliding... FALL. Step, step, step, start sliding.... FALL. This got old pretty quick. Finally found a few turns on lower Reynolds. Be prepared for a lot of trudging until the base layer sets up. Might have been better with a warm wax or maybe a layer of crisco? But... a "bad" day in the mountains still beats a good day eating pink cupcakes and looking at baby clothes. Gear Notes: Rock skis & skins... shoulda had an umbrella at times and a weed whacker for the shit poking through the blanket. Approach Notes: Just follow my tracks up the mt. bike trail if they aren't covered by all the new pow.

My old 2wd van didn't hold a candle to my syncro. Yup, the syncros are the way to go for snowing conditions. I have pretty aggressive all terrain BFGs on my van and it doesn't have a problem at all. In REALLY bad conditions I scored some really nice European tire chains for all 4 corners.... I can typically trudge along at 40mph in the snow without even noticing much.

I could probably write a ton about them, but I'll try to be brief. You talking about the bus (up to '79), the vanagon (80-91), or the eurovan? Regarding the vanagons, I'll just go on the books as saying "I love 'em" (just look at my f'n avatar). I've owned two of them: '80 camper and now a '90 syncro westi. The syncro camper's rock but can be hard to find, expensive to purchase, and the drive train can be costly to repair. But there aren't a lot of cars out there that you can sleep 4 adults, with a sink/fridge/stove. It beats the hell out of having to screw with a tent when you are car camping, too. For my solo adventures (and even with a buddy) it's plenty roomy and comfortable. Are they unreliable? Not at all. It's like all cars... there are lemons out there and you MUST do preventative maint (the usual easy stuff) on them so they don't totally fall apart. This is no different than any other 20 year old vehicle. Downsides: yeah they are slow on hills. I'd also avoid the automatics since you just don't have the same feel for the gear and the tranny will constantly be up/down shifting on hills. A manual you can just stick in 3rd and work your way up slowly. Another problem is that these can sometimes suck in strong winds... you can often feel ever head wind and gusty cross wind. Only other thoughts are: eurovan - bigger engines but lower ground clearance vanagons - try and stick with the later years (86 on) since you have the slightly larger engine and you get "real" heat (stick with the water cooled vanagons). bus - shitty heat and just flat out "old technology", but they can be cool. Had a friend that drives a '67 camper and there isn't much he can't do with his. See my profile, then see my webpage listed... somewhere on there (go to the home page) you can see a link that will show you a page on my cars. From there you can see some pictures and more comments about my vans. I'd just stick the link in this post but I can't get to my site from here at work. So, let's summarize: they are cool if you don't mind a slightly slower drive. I'll probably never get rid of the one that I have now!

With the new permit system in place, do they really have an "off" season? I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear that you can climb it for free and without reservation at ANY point during the year (like the dead of winter). Chad, are you for-sure? I really don't know myself; just wondering.

bike helmets by Petzel, jeans by Mountain Hardware???? wonder if their rope was off of their mother's clothes line... oh yeah, you didn't mention anything about rope. good job on your summit.

My guess is that many people fancy themselves as "too good for 5.7". Bunch of freakin' climbing snobs. PRG is a little far from me, but if you ever have reason to make your way over to Club Sport, I'd probably be down for a session or two. I've been climbing longer than you, but not a lot harder so we'd probably be pretty compatible. (Just read your signature...) Oh yeah, we would DEFINITELY be compatible. PM me sometime if you are interested in climbing at out the club.

got half way through the TR and thought "what the fuck is he talking about????" or "was I on some other climb???". what he said. also don't be taken in by the idea of a climbers trail to/from Hunts cove. instead just invest the extra 1/2 mile or so and take the PCT.

i've always wondered why people who climb this time of year don't go to the hog's and jump over to the West Crater Rim slope? never been up there this time of year but it's gotta be better than the pearly gates right now. anybody?

Nice report and awesome pics! Looks tasty.

All praise the mighty IPA gods! Oh, and the climb was fun, too. Good times, Jon! Additional gear note: 60 meters is pretty much required to reach from the "main" rap point down to the saddle. Leave the 50M rope in the car unless you wanna down climb some. If you want to set pro, take pieces in the 1" range and don't futz with 'em much since they probably won't hold anyway.

I'm just guessing, but this has GOT to be due to the fact that many sportOs don't like more than, say, a 10 minute "approach" to the crag of their choice. I mean, some of the hardest pullers seem to be the laziest people! I guess I fall into the other category of "dumb enough to hike for miles with heavy gear just to pick off a 5.2". Luckily for me I suck at technical climbing so I don't realize what I'm missing. enelson - PMs

Suppose this post could go in "rock climbing" or "oregon", but oh well.... Has anyone climbed at the 1/4 mile long crag on the longer leg of the Ramona Falls loop? Some of the rock looks shitty but other sections look like it would go (if you can handle the 2 mile trail approach). Anyone know if this area has a name other than " the 1/4 mile long crag on the longer leg of the Ramona Falls loop "? Beta anybody?

elliot glacier.... on Hood.

Wow, that's a bitch. It was pretty crowded huh? Yep, your typical DMV-style line. By the time we got to the saddle (aka "the waiting room") we looked at the number in our hand: #483. Unfortunately over the summit loud speaker they announced "now serving #6". Oh well, it just gave us some time to watch the folley coming off the top. When it was our turn we had the entire summit block to ourselves. Here's the man himself rapping the top.... notice his big toothy grin since it was a ghost town by the time started down. larger image Good trip and good after-climb refreshments were waiting back at the van...

mp 76 is about a mile west of dee wright obsrv. you can still get to the obsidian th.