OlegV

I will be visiting East Cost during the last week of March. I am wondering if ice climbing in New Hampshire/Adirondack is going to happen that late into the season. I am thinking trying Black Dike in NH and Adirondacks ice. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Strong work, as usual, John!

Hey Chris! How are you doing with your injury? I hope you are completely recovered and ready for some hard shit.

No video was captured - we were in a hurry to get down before it gets dark. We've noticed that the unnamed (?) valley to the right of the Alpental Valley had no clouds whatsoever!!!

Thanks to Ilia and Co. for breaking a trail for us. I still took us 3 hours to swim to the base of the route!

You did a great job fellas! 4 people is a slow train for such a difficult climb. Thanks for breaking a trail for us!!!!!

I am glad Alex led the box gully pitch - there was very little ice and lots of funky unprotected climbing. Great skills!

Alex is a great partner - calm and confident, leading and following any type of terrains.

Trip: Mt Hood - Reid HW Date: 11/29/2015 Trip Report: APE and I climbed the right variation of Reid last Sunday. Conditions were suboptimal, especially at higher elevation. I would highly recommend staring earlier and climbing the entire route at night. The whole thing is a shooting gallery. We got to the IR around 7am, downclimbed to the glacier (good conditions) and started climbing the route in about an hour. The first pitch was stellar - WI2 with some snow powder and good ice screw placement. From a belay point, things got more interesting. Lots of ice debris were coming down right at us through a narrow constriction of the main gulley. Alex made a right call by climbing to the right and over a steep shoulder avoiding falling ice (WI2-3, no pro). Once on the top of the second pitch, we encountered an enormous ice avalanche just 100 feet to the left of us. The entire tower collapsed sending down blocks of ice and snow. Alex made a right decision saving life. From that point on route conditions worsened significantly and climbing became very slow and delicate. We encountered lot of icy crust with snow powder underneath. The top layer was very unstable and usually was detaching as we kicked steps. Most of ice was barely protectable and unconsolidated. We got to the base of ice towers late, wondering if something big is going to fall on our heads. Alex tried to lead straight through the ice, but it was so dangerous and unstable that he had to downclimb back to our questionable belay. I suggested to traverse left just below ice towers (70-80 degree ice and snow). The traverse of angels was a memorable one. It involves a series of downclimbs , short traverses and climbing through some funky ice gullies. The pitch placed me right below the exit spot. I am glad nothing big came down on our heads because of a direct sun we were in. I am not going to mention time because it was getting dark... We were lucky to find a direct downclimb to the other side. There is an obvious line that goes straight down to the base. APE is gearing up: Shooting gallery (exit point for ice avalanche 10 min later after we passed this point): Avoiding the main gulley by climbing the right shoulder: Terrible Traverse: Looking down: Exit:

Are you on the path to new meaning or gave up?

I've been planning Cassin for years now and this objective is still on my mind. There are other interesting objectives in the Alaskan range I would like to try. I've been lucky with my partners, but many of them quit climbing, got out of shape or moved to never-ending home improvement projects. I would like to find a solid, no-drama partner with healthy mind and good motivation for winter training and develop friendship and intuitive understating of each other. In addition to climbing, I am involved in other aspects of athletics including trail running and crossfit. Send me a PM if you interested. Oleg

strong!

cool TR!

Anyone?

Looking for a partner for Hood tomorrow, Sunday 03/28. The weather looks pretty good. Sunshine or Cooper Spur would be good objectives. Sandy or Reid are a good options too. The worst case scenario is doing the south side for conditioning. Give me a call or text if you are interested. Thanks, Oleg 503-332-9405

fits size 10.5. Large, I assume.

Silvretta 404 on old skis, plus skins. $200 OBO Oleg ovarlamov@yahoo.com

1) Sony Action Cam, 50 Mbps, HDR-AS100V/W 2) Ultra Plus SanDisk 32GB memory card with Adapter Brand new – took it for a test run and used it once – couldn’t return to Best Buy due to a minor scratch. I am selling both items for $200 – good deal. Come and test it if you will. receipt available Oleg ovarlamov@yahoo.com

Incredible pictures, Jason! Nice job..

I would like to make a movie about the mountains and climbers. This project requires an action-proof video camera with good resolution and zoom. All I can think off is the "GoPro". Any experience with this camera?

a freezing level on Forbidden is around 5000 ft - it doesn't look like there is any ice on it at the moment

Bravo!

I'd be up to it..

Sure, no problem. The route is safe, just very long, also be careful walking on a knife ridge, there is a lot of loose (but avoidable by keeping a good balance) rock there The crux is finding a downclimb to the bottom of the canyon (~100 ft). You should be able to recognize a very mellow-looking snow slope - a weakness in the steep canyon wall. I passed flowing water on my left (I suspect it represents a main drainage for the White river glacier) and started downclimbing 100-200 ft past this point. On the way back, a lot of water turned into ice creating a mixed route (!!!). I topped out at the level of the Silcox Hut or a little higher. It took me 2.5 h to get down to the car from the Hogback. Good luck and be safe. Do not try to climb back onto the knife ridge in the dark!!! Oleg

Went for a conditional hike yesterday. Started at the White River Snow Park, went via Mesa Terrace to the point when it turned into a knife ride, downclimbed 200 ft down to the base of the canyon wall and climbed out to the Palmer Glacier(30 degree snow). No ice axe needed. Hit the Hogsback at 4 pm and decided to turn around. 7000 ft elevation gain. Coming down in the dark was a bit demoralizing (walking on a knife ridge). Looking for new unexplored X-country lines West of South side...