BradW

Great pics! I was the skier you crossed paths with Sat. afternoon at Silcox. Wish I could have been there to witness the sled descent. Glad you guys didn't become one with a lift tower. Next time, aim for the snowboarders on your way down. ; )

I'm looking at SE ridge of Middle Sister via Pole Creek for next weekend. Wondering how far the snow's melted out.

Okay, here it is. Sorry it took so long. This is fairly short and to the point. I was trying to roughly follow the format used in the American Alpine Club's Accidents in North American Mountaineering Journal because I plan to submit this. Let me know if you'd like more detail on any particular aspect and I'll try to expand. FALL ON SNOW, INADEQUATE PROTECTION Fall involving a climbing team of 3 evenly spaced on a 32M rope. The climbing team came under heavy bombardment by ice fall on the sun-exposed Hogsback and moved right up a shaded couloir to the right of the Hogsback to escape this hazard. The top of the couloir was just below the Pearly Gates. The climbing team was simul-climbing up the 40-45° couloir, which was approximately 40M long. One 24” picket had been placed vertically as protection approximately half way up the couloir. Placement required two whacks with an ice axe to get through the ice crust. Witness accounts describe the second climber slipping just below the picket and the leader falling immediately after. The picket was pulled out of the snow intact and still attached to the climbing rope. The third climber was firmly set in self-arrest, but was pulled off by the two falling climbers. The resulting fall was approximately 500’ on firm snow into a clean run out just above Devil’s Kitchen. During the fall the climbers crossed the rope of another rope team and cut through their rope, which avoided dragging the other team off the mountain. Portland Mountain Rescue and a Forest Service Climbing Ranger were on scene almost immediately. Two of the injured parties were evacuated by helicopter with significant head, neck, back, and leg injuries, one walked out on his own. All three climbers were wearing helmets. ANALYSIS Snow conditions were icy. It had possibly rained overnight, creating a crust on the surface. Snow conditions under the crust are unknown. A single picket was inadequate to hold two falling climbers under these snow conditions.

Thanks for your concern; everyone’s doing fairly well. My two friends are recovering at home now but will be laid up for a while. So far it looks like nobody has any serious permanent injuries. I was the least injured of the three. I’m a bit beat up and I’ll have some nice scars on my nose as souvenirs, but am doing pretty well. I put together an accident write-up and am waiting for the other guys to review it before I post. I plan to have it ready early next week. I want to extend a word of thanks to everyone who assumed the role of rescuer that day. Special thanks to PMR, those guys were on us almost before we came to a stop and took great care of us. There were some “off duty” members who jumped in and helped even though they had other responsibilities on the mountain that day. Also thanks to Rodney from the Forest Service, the AMR R.A.T. team, and the 1042nd for taking care of my buddies. Thanks to T-line and MHSP for equipment and transportation. There were also a lot of bystanders who were willing to jump in and help out and to loan us warm clothes. I’ve got some rescuer gear I need to return to folks. It’s all laundered and ready to go now, PM me with a description of what you’re missing and I’ll make arrangements to return it.

Found in the vicinity of Ramona Falls. Sounds like some more victims of the Mt. Hood Triangle.

Reportedly found and hiking out. No other details.

Clackamas County's conducting a search this morning for some missing climbers on Hood. Overdue from a Wednesday climb. Apparently, another party spotted them on the descent before they were reported missing. Anybody know any more details like who or what route they were on?

The quality of posts on this thread sure went down hill fast. I'll make an attempt at redemption. Here’s my minimum bivy gear for snow trips: 1. Foam pad that will cover from the bottom of my butt to my shoulders. 2. Puffy jacket 3. Emergency tarp The plan would be to take everything out of the pack and put my legs inside with the back pad down, which would insulate my legs from the snow. The foam pad would be used under my upper body. I could roll up in the tarp or use it for a roof on a trench snow shelter. Fortunately, I’ve never had a need to use this system. In my opinion fire starter and matches are pretty much worthless above treeline. Once you light the things on fire they don’t burn long, and you have to have a nice rock to put them on or they’ll just melt through the snow. As a general rule I won’t carry a stove for “just in case”, but I can see how it might be justified for certain trips. Some items I’m considering adding to my winter bivy gear include a bivy sack and one of those quilted down blankets they sell as gifts at Christmas time for $10. They’re lighter than a sleeping bag, and they come with cool snowmen on them. BTW— What’s a “rasta bivy”?

I'm a starting trad climber looking for nut tool recommendations. This is a cheap and simple piece of gear, but there are a lot of different designs out there so I'm wondering what others have used and liked.

I climbed Adams Glacier two weeks ago and it was fabulous! This is a steep and sustained route, but otherwise not too technical. You should expect some route-finding challenges. Also, be prepared to place running protection for portions. You can check out the TR my buddy posted at: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/473657/an/0/page/0#473657 The North Ridge descent sucks! Make sure you scout it from camp and pick a good couloir to descend off the ridge. We had trouble finding our way off the darn thing and the ridge is totally melted out, so it's all loose scree and talus which is NO fun. Mazama glacier is touted to be much less difficult that Adams Glacier. I'll find out when I climb it this weekend (Sat.-Sun.) for the first time, maybe I'll see you up there.