illbelayya

Does REI usually resell the climbing gear people return? Earlier this summer I returned a BD HalfDome Helmet (couldn't tighten it while it was on my head = not satisfied) with a big yellow sticker on it. A month later I saw it on someone while I was descending Mt.Baker. I asked them where they got the helmet, they said at REI's garage sale.

Is it true that Squamish is the closest cragging to B'Ham? Where else? Thanks.

Posting a list of ways to live like a 'dirtbag' is inherently a bad idea. Because, if regular people learn about how we procure things, then for sure, they will do whatever they can to make sure it is not available to people like us. I.E. "Smith-- showers at the bivy site are easily poachable". If you can pay for a service, please do. If you are more than a weekend dirtbag, please don't post your secrets here. Thank you very much.

Trip: Mt. Shasta - Hotlum-Bolam Ridge Date: 5/26/2007 Trip Report: An informative trip report and a shameless plug for our blog: We left the truck at the Northgate Trailhead and hiked up to our camp at just over 10,000 feet. The hike was 3.5 miles of switchbacks followed by snow and one messy scree field. We camped at one of many nice sites on a series of "benches". The benches were a moonscape of glacial till littered with big chunks of volcanic rock. The rocks provided shelter from the breeze and snow patches nearby provided water. Aside from a battalion of ants, the only wildlife was a single raven on the prowl for a handout. We whiled away the afternoon lounging in the sun, scoping out our route, and making water change states. Please see our blog for the rest (including photos): shameless plug Gear Notes: Ice Ax, Crampons, Helmets Approach Notes: Approx. 3.5 miles from Northgate TH to 10,000 feet.

Thank you very much for all the info!

1/11/07 is Paulina still frozen?

Thank you dan forester for the links. They are just what I was looking for. Bytheway, the only post that shows up when I search for 'steins pillar' is my own. Ofcourse, I tried the search option first.

Has anyone done the NE Face on Steins Pillar? Rumor has it it goes at 5.8 C2, 5 pitches. Do you know the condition of the 'fixed pieces'? Is the rock, tuft? Is the hooking mandatory on the tuft? Also, I heard the 5.5 chimney pitch start should be avoided. Can you confirm a bolted 5.9 as an alternate start? Thank you very much.

How do you get there? Thank you very much.

I want to aid the Monkey at Smith this Friday. I've got all the gear, all I need is a partner. Possible to go Saturday, but would prefer to avoid the onlookers.

Some people have too much internet time on their hands. I apologize if I offended anyone with my comment about hypothetical goofy looking slow people climbing mountains. It wasn's a direct comment to the group of kids I saw on the mountain. They seemed to be moving right along. And as for their jeans, lots of people survive a day in the 'wild' in jeans. there was zero chance of rain that day, so the $$$ patagucci pants weren't exactly necessary. Infact, even though these kids may have looked 'goofy' i still applaud them for doing something other than staying home playing videogames, eating junk, smoking cigarettes, procreating, or responding to TR's on cascadeclimbers.com. Regardless how fast or slow my party was moving it still would've sucked big time to be waiting before the crawl and the other 5.1 pitch. And dinomyte is right, it is 5 miles in EACH direction to the climbers trail and NO we weren't trying to set any records.

Thanks for all the good advice. Is November usually too early to think about climbing Leutholds?

Climb: Three Finger Jack-South Ridge Date of Climb: 10/9/2006 Trip Report: Three Finger Jack 7,841 feet South Ridge 10/7/06 Car to Car: 8 hours Start: 6:00 am We arrived at the PCT trailhead on Santiam Pass around 5:45am on a crisp and dark October morning. By 6:00am we’d collected our third and started our walk north on the PCT. The moon shined bright and walking was easy on the frosty sand. We were most of the way through the burn area before the sun rose. The PCT is not blazed, but the trail was obvious. We passed 2 junctions before reaching the cairn that marked the ascent up the south ridge. Up to here the trail gradually gained elevation. The guide says it is 5 or 6 miles, it took us 2 hours. After the cairn the trail steepens before gaining the south ridge. The guidebook said to avoid going up the scree field and to head towards the low-point on the ridge. The scree would have been an ugly choice. Once on the ridge we traversed north, passing the first few gendarmes on the left. Footing was loose on the typical Oregon choss and in a few places the ridge was very narrow. The guidebook is a little vague at this point and we crossed the infamous ‘crawl’ without hesitation. Yes, there is a bit of exposure, but having read other trip reports I’d imagined something totally different and scary. We probably would’ve roped up for this part had we known we were there, our third we’d anticipated being a little wary, but ignorance paid off. There is one ring-pin and one piton protecting the traverse. After the ‘crawl’ we put on our helmets at the base of the summit pinnacle. I had read that it was ‘smith rock like tuft’. It is full of large questionable nubbins, but it is not tuft. Also, the pitch is a lot shorter than it looks in most pictures, maybe 30feet. There is a crack on the right side of the chimney and we used 2 larger nuts to protect the climb. Instead of belaying from the rappel block, the leader led to the summit. Note: there is no ‘anchor’ at the summit. We used a hip belay and a decent stance. From the base of the summit pinnacle to one of the summit blocks it is about 125feet. We spent about 20 minutes on the summit. The knife-edge was almost intimidating, but a hand traverse on ‘good’ footholds made it accessible. Weather wise we were experiencing inversion and the low clouds created a sensational effect on the surrounding mountains. To our west the blanket was thick, but closer to the mountain we could see the wispy leftovers. From the summit, again with a hip belay, we downclimbed to the rappel block. There were 4 newish looking pieces of webbing and the block looks mostly solid. We backed up the rappel block with a nut. On the way down we took the time to rope up for the deadly ‘crawl’. On the other side we took our harnesses and helmets off and prepared for the fun of the scree field descent. Here we were passed by a group of 6 teenagers wearing jeans and bike helmets on their way up. Nobody ever regrets an early start and I was pleased that we were never stuck behind any slower parties, especially goofy looking ones. Loose chunks of rock randomly crashed down from the gendarmes as the sun warmed them. In retrospect we should have kept our helmets on until we were off of the ridge. We plunged our way down the scree field and rejoined the trail. For the first time all day we took a long break and ate lunch near the cairn. It was about 11:30am. 90 minutes after we finished our lunch we were back on the car. Gear Notes: Carried: 1 set of nuts, 4 slings, 1 cordelette, 3 locking biners, 3 belay/rappel devices and 60meter rope. Used: 2 medium nuts, 2 slings, cordelette, biners, belay devices and rope

My main objective is to avoid post-holing up this mountain. So I was wondering if the section up from Timberline is typically hardpacked/settled due to grooming/and or nature. Again, I know that conditions vary, which is why I said 'typically'. Thanks for the advice, even though your retort is silly.

In winter and/or early spring do most people use snowshoes or skins on the mountain? I know crampons are recommended towards the top, but I am most curious about the slog from Timberline Lodge towards Pearly Gates, Leuthold Couloir, and Reids Glacier. Thank you very much.