ClimbingPanther

Good advice as long as the glacier is not down to pure ice in the really late season. Then it's downright scary! Although you wouldn't need an ice axe since there's no WAY you'll ever self arrest on that stuff

I thought it would be funny if everyone could vote for other cc.com-ers in a bunch of different categories, kinda like a HS yearbook, except better (exactly how, I don't know, but I'm sure it would be). Things such as... Best sprayer, Most likely to SUCK AT climbing, If I could ban one person, it would be ________, whatever, etc. Maybe this is unnecessary given you can probably figure it out by reading a lot, but it would still be fun. Someone else should set it up. And I predict that in a few minutes, catbirdseat will respond to my post with a reply that doesn't make any sense. Why are you trying to twist my words, cbs?

The thing is that it's down to bare ice at the top of the accumulation zone. This means that at one time, there used to be more snow on average per year than what melted, creating the ice in the first place. Now that more snow is melting than falling, the ice will shrink. The other possibility is that an unusual amount of snow avalanched off the mountain, leaving it more bare in spite of the high amount of snow. This could be considering some places down lower appear to have quite a bit of clean snow.

You and the rest of the extremist liberal left will never convince me of global warming! But seriously,

where is that picture taken?

Not going climbing is stupid.

Point taken, archenemy, and you're right. I am too comfortable with the ever changing nature of forum threads. But I got my opinion out before the rebuke! Yeah! But in all seriousness, I'm sure everyone on this board agrees with the sentiment that this is a terrible tragedy and we all stand with the family and friends and to a lesser extent feel their pain and loss of innocence.

I'm all about guns really. I own several and I'm sympathetic towards carrying and using them (not for bad people though). However, I just can't justify it on the trail. They weigh a ton and are just not worth it. No matter what, it's useless in your pack, so the only way it will do you any good in a quick-thinking situation is if it's on you somewhere accessible such as a chest or hip holster. That said, how often is someone attacked by wild game? It's way rare. Maybe in grizzly country I might carry a 44 mag, but that's it. Cougars usually don't give you any time to react. Then we think about the wild murderer out there... So you got your gun prominently displayed on you. So he knows you have a gun and are willing to use it. Think he's going to watch you take it out and point it at him? Over his dead body! Wait, no, yours. Now maybe he'd leave you alone because you're a threat, but only maybe. Not worth the weight for me.

This is pretty scary... I'm carrying two tools for all hikes and climbs from now on! http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Trail_Bodies.html?source=mypi

Seriously! Crampons should come from the factory with a huge disclaimer/warning on them about this because clearly the 10384752 gazillion people that have done this before with astonishingly identical results did not provide enough of a history lesson.

I was suprised not to find any questions/info about an accident I heard about on Adams last Friday. Anybody know more about this besides an oh-so-informative news article? Sorry if this hyperlink doesn't work, I'm new to fancy-schmancy posting tricks. http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_070706_news_mtadams_rescue.35c5c028.html

Personally, I've never been up and over Aasgard. Regardless of that fact, I can say with absolute certainty that Aasgard is better than Snow Creek for the approach.

Agreed, Gary. Sounds like you were not on the NE couloir. It does not finish on the west face, and the west face would not feel more exposed than the NE itself. I remember thinking the same thing about the west face feeling a tad more exposed than the N. Buttress Couloir itself. NE is on my list this spring, and I believe it's considerably more challenging and probably would be super scary solo. Here's a link to a picture showing both routes relatively clearly. Regardless of what the name of the route is, well done and I'm glad you got up there. It's beautiful! http://cascadeclassics.org/CentralCascad...ir_Spring03.htm

Not so much the way, but definitely how often.

*Blatant Plagiarization From Kevin Pogue's Webpage at whitman.edu* Are you looking for towering near-flawless walls of impeccable stone? Or perhaps, continuous clean crack systems that just beg you to insert your appendages? Well then look somewhere else dammit! These are THE DIKES, for heaven's sake! If you are a rock snob who looks down your nose at "chossy" rock, that is occasionally loose, sometimes mossy or dirty, and contains no continuous crack systems, STOP READING NOW! OK. Now that we've gotten rid of the rock snobs, I can talk to the rest of you adventurous types who realize that well-rounded climbers enjoy a broad spectrum of vertical terrains, not limiting themselves to "ideal" conditions (rock snobs could have never conquered the Eiger Norwand!). Here are a few things that you should know about the climbing at The Dikes. The rock is basalt. However, it is NOT composed of vertical columns separated by continuous vertical crack systems like many other basalt climbing areas (e.g. Frenchman Coulee, The Gorge at Smith Rock, Beacon Rock, etc.). Columns, where present, are horizontal and have a much smaller diameter. As a result, the fractures are very closely spaced and the cliffs are littered with loose chunks that are easily detached. Every route requires extensive loose rock removal and it is sometimes difficult to find rock competent enough to accept a bolt. Despite the considerable amount of time spent preparing new routes, it is still possible (even probable) that you will encounter loose rock. If you get off route (more than 3 ft. to either side of a line connecting the bolts) you will certainly encounter copious amounts of loose rock, dirt, moss, and lichen. Due to the rock fall potential, it has been said that it is more dangerous to belay than to climb at these areas. Helmets (and quick reflexes) are mandatory for the belayer. If possible, belayers should position themselves out of harm's way. Having established many routes at both Frenchman Coulee and at the areas described herein, I can confidently say that the rock at Frenchman coulee is the more "chossy" (more fractured and loose). Rock fall on the popular routes at Frenchman coulee has only diminished in recent years due to the high frequency at which they are climbed. Unfortunately, the "off the beaten path" nature of the climbs in this guide will probably insure that belayers will be dodging rocks for many years to come. At this point, you may be asking yourself "why should I climb at this choss pile?" My answer is that you shouldn't, unless you are prepared to accept the risks. All rock climbing involves taking risks and in the areas described in this guide the risks of being injured by a falling rock are greater than at most other crags. Also, I've told you exactly what it's like, so don't come complaining to me if your noggin gets bonked, or your handhold breaks off, etc, etc. "Somewhere else better time you may have" Oh, and to actually address your real question, yes, I've been there a couple of times. It's nothing to write home about, and you can certainly find better options closer to central WA. However, there are never, ever, ever crowds.

The routes on the west side like Leuthold, Reid Headwall, and Castle Crags ought to be crevasse free also, and provide a bit more challenge than the south side. They'll be out of the morning sun too, though Leuthold can still get a good bit of stuff falling down on you early. I second Ivan's motion about Cooper Spur, and I also recommend that Oregon High book. At least browse it at barnes & noble or REI or something. My friend has it and it's very informative. Like Ivan said, be sure you know your avy conditions before you venture pretty much anywhere but the south side. Merry climbing!

Hood's a fun place and easy to access for a 1-2 day climb anywhere on the mountain. There's routes of every difficulty though, so you may want to be more specific on what you are interested in. The south side, a beeline from Timberline Lodge, is the easy way (95% low angle snow, ~40 degree steepest part, sometimes icy snow, gobs of people) and there are typically no crevasses this time of year (especially with the good snowfall we've had). You might try searching the trip reports for Hood too.

Neither. Eastern Washington is where it's really at. You may only hear derogatory and negative things about it, but that's just because everyone wants it to remain a secret.

or green...

I had a question about variations on the South Side of Hood. I can't seem to find a picture anywhere that clearly shows the gully immediately to the climber's left of the Pearly Gates. Can anybody tell me something useful about it, like does anybody actually use it, how steep, usually icy or snowy, good/bad alternative to guide a beginner, etc.? Better yet, does anyone have a clear picture of it from up close? I am looking for alternatives for the Pearly Gates to guide my family up with my partner and his wife too. We will not be fast at all, and I don't want to clog the Gates. The West Crater Rim is another alternative, but I'd rather not use this if I don't have to due to being a little steeper and way more prone to avalanches (depending on conditions of course). Thanks a ton for any info!

Haha, that was probably me and my partner. "On the route" doesn't necessarily mean "Completed the route!" We were a little sketched out by the fact that 1) there's basically no protection early on, and what you could place would not realistically hold a fall and 2) thin ice/snow conditions were not conducive to faith in any given pick or crampon placement, so a fall was always a lingering possibility that you couldn't predict. However, the fact that you guys made it up means it must not have been impossible. We were thinking that a more experienced group could have done it, but we felt it was above our acceptable level of risk.

No, sadly no skis. I would love to, but we tend to go awfully light, and the only skis I own are full-on downhill with beastly boots. The skis and boots probably weigh more than all the other gear I had on my back, including my water. Plus, the guy I climb with doesn't own any. He might let me carry them up, then maim me with an ice tool at the summit so he could ski down on them.

Reid looked (emphasis on LOOKED) closed up, but given the relatively small amount of snow so far this year, I wouldn't trust looks too much. I really have no concept of how crevassed it gets though. S.side had a nice boot-highway formed on the upper part of the mountain. Incredibly easy and safe all the way except for the icy step. Soft snow and no bergschrund below it, so if you fell, you'd have an easy time stopping yourself, but probably a bit unnerving for a true noob on the way down especially. Depending on experience level, a short length of rope may be nice for peace of mind. Although, maybe you could just plan to jump down over it? Also for S.side descent, I strongly advise always bringing something slippery to slide down on. My Schoeller pants could have self-arrested me by themselves, although they were wonderful otherwise.

Climb: Mt. Hood-Leuthold-Couloir-ish Date of Climb: 12/11/2005 Trip Report: This is my first post, so I'm sorry to create such a bad impression of myself (no pictures, kinda short), but I figured I had to start sometime. I'm 23 and I usually climb with my college roommate from a couple years ago. We started out at 5am from Timberline and made our way easily to Illumination saddle. Although we couldn't see any imminent danger crossing the top of the Reid Glacier, we roped together just in case (early season!). Just after sunrise, the couloir was spitting a continuous flow of tiny ice chunks along with the very rare small rock, so we made haste as best we could. We actually wound up moving to the right when the constriction to the hourglass came up, but I imagine it's all about the same in that area (40-45 degrees, nothing overly exciting). Snow was mostly hard/icy with the occasional knee-deep soft spot. Sometimes ice ax shaft wouldn't penetrate very far, other times snow was so soft it probably wouldn't hold you if you slipped. It was rather tiring because we haven't climbed in months and we had to move fast before the sun really hit the rocks above us & started knocking junk down on us. However, since Yocum gets the first sun on that side of the mountain, I imagine Leuthold gets the brunt of the ice/rockfall. From the time we left the actual Leuthold route, we didn't get anything down on us except for what we caused ourselves. Beautiful day for a beautiful route. Summit was (relatively) calm and sky was clear. A bit of an icy step (5 feet, broken up) at the pearly gates, and we were home free. Snow was quite soft on the way down. Gear Notes: Crampons, Ice Axe (unnecessary but sometimes convenient second tool), 30m rope, two screws (didn't use), helmet Approach Notes: nothing much to speak of