manky

winter is just a state of mind. i lay my stuff in the sun and it always dries out.

Will guide for food....

At Helen Lake there was a single "toy" tent that had no business being more than 50 feet from the car. When we hit the Bunny parking lot at about 7PM there were only about 2 vehicles left. The nice weather may have played a role by encouraging an inexperienced crew to go "hard-man." Let's hope nothing serious. "Every accident, of any kind, is preceded by a chain of events or errors, but each is set into motion at one irreversible moment. Until that moment the accident might have been prevented."

Trip: Shasta - Casaval Ridge Recon Date: 10/31/2009 Trip Report: Halloween recon trip to check snow conditions. needs another 20 feet of the white stuff. Zombie Ice Axe Murderer Looking for Leon Trotsky Casaval Ridge Helen Lake Bivy by Sluggos in a $30 1 Season Wal-Mart Special. Can you see the pumpkin? Gear Notes: minimal alpine Approach Notes: sunny and warm to the hut

thanks, i'll look for it

FUTUE TE ET IPSUM CABALLUM and thanks for the glue

donuts for the camera geek! sweet

haley, in mid Oct (week of the 12th) we'll be schlepping up to Muir to look at conditions for a climb later when the avi hazard gets extreme. no epics, just a "look see" and conditioning if you want to join us. mark

in a pair of Trezeta Alpinist, i was attacked by neve penitents that separated the outer rubber rand above the welt horizontally. no damage to the actual boot uppers. any thoughts on the efficacy of using shoe goo to slap a repair? any recommendations on shoe goo vs. shoe goo II? thanks.

Rut, great pics, the meteo looked swell guy. tough for your bud from "left-hand mitten land". nothing like all the conditioning work just to talk to mr. hurley on the big white phone. done it myself. looking to be there in october. manky

Speaking quietly from the background, it appears that most of the speculative posts are almost desperate for facts and certainty regarding the fate of 3 hard climbers. There is no certainty in life or climbing. One of the reasons that James, Hall, Cooke and the rest of us climb is an attraction to the unknown, the lack of certainty. Not everyone needs to buy someone else's guide book. Some of us are born with our own and it is completely blank. We just fill it in as we go. Having been on an epic or two myself, I sense the loss. But 3 "hardmen" don't start a climb of this magnitude without a firm grasp of the objective hazard involved. James had a problem and hunkered down while Hall and Cooke headed for help up and over or across the southeast aretes to descend to Timberline. After a few days James realized he could wait for help that may never come or go for it. He made his best move and stopped when he could go no further. I would have done the same. Hall and Cooke also knew their chances and their story has yet to be read. Certainty means little to those who understand "the higher you get, the higher you get." So James, Hall, and Cooke will climb on. That's who they are.

It would be nice if the rubber neckin' spectators would do more reading and less writing. Karma is powered by silence.

Robert, Great report and grats to your ladies. Love to see to next generation rockin' out in the snow. I'm jealous of the conditios you enjoyed. I had killer wind and whiteout a week earlier and bailed on the Hog. The higher you get, the higher you get.

Fugged, We were in the same weather conditions on the Gib. Returned to Copper Creek for beer. Next year.

Climb: Mount Rainier-Paradise to Muir Date of Climb: 4/22/2005 Trip Report: Lots of traffic going up and down. About 1/3 were Rondee jocks including 4 hardmen in light clothing that beelined past us on skins. Before 8 AM snow was easy below 7,000. Windy but not bad becoming white out at 9,000 and above. 3 guides with a herd of 15 or so clients hung out for 2 or 3 days waiting for visibility to improve with no luck above Gib Rock. Coming down in slop below 7,500. Lots of late starters slogging up the lower benches. Lots of rock showing or just below the surface. Better go soon. There won't be much ice left 10 years from now. Gear Notes: Trekking pole and boots

Climb: Mt Hood-Hogsback Date of Climb: 4/19/2005 Trip Report: Dead calm at midnight in the parking lot. 3AM with good moonlight showing huge growing plume on top an 20mph with gusts to 40 or higher below Illumination Rock. After the grunt up to the fun stuff there was nothing but white outs and huge gusts up to the Big White Pig. Thought better of the lack of visibility and raging wind and bailed out around 9 AM. Saw a hard man or two going up above the dead lift and one snowboarder going up slugging it out in the wind with his board strapped to his back. In the parking lot a skier said from the lift he saw a signal mirror flashing several times and reported to the info desk across from the rental. Hope whoever that was got down okay. Good windpacked neve about 70 percent of the climb. Didn't need crampons until making the right turn towards the Pig. On the way down there wer Gear Notes: Axe, poons, duck tape, anamometer would have been nice.

Duchess, I'm heading up to Muir mid-week next week to recon. Interested? Manky

Climb: Mt. Hood or Rainier-Leut Date of Climb: 4/1/2005 Trip Report: What the 'lanche hazard up to? Flying to Pdux on the 16th baited by the awesome trip reports in Feb and March. Me thinks it stinks now, yes? What's the local meteo at 8,000 and higher?