dinomyte

Good call sobo! The first time I was up there, we came across a couple (complete with rented REI mountaineering boots) sitting at the top of a chute that was absolutely frozen solid - with crampons on. We advised them to reconsider, about 10 times. They couldn't seem to understand why. We could only explain and reiterate. They were still contemplating when we got the hell outta there.

If you hit North, we'd love some beta on the traverse and alley. I think we're gonna shoot for 6/2, weather permitting. Take photos and good luck.

Agreed, Matt. These are some views from about tline on a snowboarding trip I took in March 2005. Sweet views of St. Helens from the tent.

A one-day on Adams was my first "climb." I have jogged a few miles every day for years, but was also worried about the altitude thing. I did spend one night at the TH. I obsessively sipped water and nibbled on snacks on the way up. I think I remember a slight headache between the false summit and summit, but not bad. I've even heard that gingko taken over a couple weeks prior helps, but I dunno. I agree with eric. You're prolly in fine shape. I would recommend the hydration and eating, and if you have a day for the TH or at LC it could not hurt. Have fun!

I took a great backpacking trip through there last fall, summiting Sac and Matterhorn. I took a lot of photos of these from all angles, though probably not close enough to see great detail. My site is at www.lebre.net. Look under Outdoor Activities.

Since I suppose we need one serious answer, I understand that the North Fork Sauk River Trail #649 is still the best access. The paper said the road closure adds 4 miles of road hiking to the beginning and end of the climb.

Youngest on 7 summits

We were so far away from those folks in the vans that we couldn't really tell what they were doing. Probably self-arrest practice or something. I was wondering if COCC or some folks like that might have a class. Those were state rigs. Kevin and I are thinking about 6/2 for our next go. Standard route as we wanna knock that bitch off as well. We were joking that after we do, we might not be back on that one for awhile! I had gone up solo the weekend before, but with no intent to summit, just to get a feel for the route as I knew Kevin and I would be back. Weather was a lot better then! Maybe we'll see you there in a couple weeks!

I agree with you on the engineering thing, though I think the folks that lay these out can do a pretty good job when they carefully exmine the terrain (and I think most times they do). For example, when they lay out the first jump in a park and they cord off everything except one entrance, everyone has to stop at that entrance, and essentially take off from the same spot. Given that, they shouldn't have a 20' tabletop when no one can possibly get that speed from the takeoff. Similarly they shouldn't have a 2' tabletop and a 20' drop when everyone would have way too much speed for it. (Obviously, I'm exaggerating, but you see my point. That said, I've seen very few jumps that I thought were really poorly designed. And, the additional "rumor mill" stuff is interesting. If I were in the jury and stuff like that had been put forth, I would have had a lot less sympathy for the rider. Course, not having seen the jump, I have a hard time. They shoulda taken the jury out and had a few riders hit it, so they could form their own opinions.

Although I've been as bad as anyone posting to this thread with my off-topic comments, my understanding is that the resort was in some way negligent, having incorrectly engineered and built a jump. My understanding is that this faulty engineering resulted in multiple injuries, and that even after that, the resort did nothing. While no jump is safe for everyone, riders probably have the right to expect that jumps are built properly and that they will be fixed if they are not. Perhaps I can use another car analogy that's a bit more on the mark than my last. Driving a car is dangerous, but if your Pinto explodes in a minor fender bender, it might be an engineering problem. You shouldn't sue car manufacturers becuase you're stupid and wrecked. But if they built a faulty product, had it reported to them and did nothing, they need to be sued. And, that is what I usually see happening.

Well, perhaps not a perfect analogy, but you closing sentence indicates that you get my point!

Ah, wish we'd have said howdy instead of just waving. It was a bit blustery, eh? We enjoyed watching you guys blaze outta there! I think I counted to 5 and you guys were outta sight! There was a bit of jealousy there! From where we were, up a bit, we saw the 25 or so people that were in those vans at the TH as well. They looked to be on the trail on to Camp Lake, and were taking turns sliding down a snowbank. Pretty weird to watch from 1500 feet higher. Hope to see you again. I think we'll be back to try again in a few weeks.

We went out, leaving at about 3:45am. It started snowing on us pretty early, and was blowing like a bitch by the time we got to the ridge, and it was coming from the west. I'd say sustained 25 and gusts to 40 or so. We only went up to that first rock, where you kinda turn more north, at about 8200 feet. Just didn't relish the idea of getting blasted on the traverse. There were two guys with skis that turned around right at the base of the SE ridge. I think they intended to climb, as I thought I saw pickets. We also ran into a group of 5 as we were heading down. They were contemplating it, but it looked to me like they may have been leaning towards no. The wind kinda died a bit as we were heading out as well, but to be honest we both agreed that we want absolutely optimal conditions before jumping on this one. It did look nice though:

Looks like we have several topics here. With respect to Bug's comment, I know that here in Oregon they have made an obvious effort to crack down on out of control skiers and snowboarders, probably in response to a death and a serious injury on Hood this season. If you are seen out of control they take your pass or ticket. And, it is absolutely at the patrol's discretion. There is no appeal. Granted, this may not be much of a deterrent to someone who bought a day pass, but there is definitely a big add campaign, etc. I've seen the same thing in Utah. As that relates to hitting jumps and being out of control, it certainly is the responsibility of the skier/rider to investigate before hitting it. But, it is the responsibility of the resort to properly design, build, and place jumps, rails, etc. I'm not saying that it was done incorrectly in the Snoqualmie case, as I don't really know the specifics. And, it's obviously arguable as to how much responsibility the resort has vs. that of the individual. I would use the analogy of our roads and highways. They are supposed to be designed correctly with the intent of being safe for the public. If the DOT sees a ton of accidents at one area, like an intersection, they typically make changes to reduce the danger. Similarly, if there are tons of injuries at one jump, I expect the resorts to make changes. To carry the analogy further, there are a lot of folks who, for one reason or another, are going to get into accidents - some their fault and some not.

No worries. I appreciate the info. Don't mean to be difficult. I just always like to have a picture in mind when I head into a spot I haven't been before. A picture in hand is even better! So, I appreciate those above. Paul, I had actually already printed yours and drew a line!

Is that UH!! or Uhhhhhhhh?

Sorry for all the questions, but do the first 2-3 ribs drop down about the same?

Thanks. Kevin_Matlock and I are gonna start out at Pole Creek at 3 tomorrow morn. I hope there's a bit of a track, as I don't wanna be screwing around in that area all day. I don't have a real sense of how far across the traverse is before you head up the alley. Sean said two traverse pitches. Sound about right?

Maybe you should change your name to "Miser E". Oh come on, it's as good a suggestion as half the others! Good luck.

Yeah, but I'm already ripped too! So no needs da juice!

No worries....I should set the stage... As I said, I overshot the landing zone....literally. I'm one of those people who lands and immediately slows heelside, but since I expected to land earlier, I was rotating in that direction already. To compensate, I kinda leaned forward, and so I basically landed on my ass sort of performing a crunch to the forward and right. Took me about 10 minutes to get up. I managed it down to a lift and then up top. When I got off it took me about 15 minutes to bend over far enough to strap in. Then I rode down. I actually went to the med hut and had them take a look, as I couldn't breathe more than halfway in without serious pain. The measured 02, blood pressure, the typical stuff and suggested that I hit the emergency room. I went to an urgent care facility in Bend. The gist - nothing broken, but the doc diagnosed costochondritis. Gave me painkillers and anti-inflammatory, and said if I did nothing it should go away in 2-3 weeks. (She said it was likely that I damaged 2-3 joints there between the cartilage and bone, but in the joints closer to my side as opposed to the center of my chest.) Well, I started back to jogging and lifting too soon probably. It still pains me now and again, and its been 4 weeks. I cant do any abdominal exercises (or too much triceps interestingly) or I think I'm gonna die. But, I can tell it's getting better. Probably another week or two to 100%, I hope!!

Thanks, but I've grown too attached to my testicles. Or, my ability to produce children....or something....

Interesting Bill.... In various jobs that I've had over the years I have been forced to speak to the press. I can't count the number of times I've been misquoted, and I can count on one hand the number of times I think the press presented a clear unbiased summary including my comments. Still, this forum is unique. It is damn difficult to communicate sarcasm via an email or post, as the reader cannot hear intonation or see expression or body language. For that reason, I personally avoid saying things like "Maybe everyone should have to pass a test before climbing." Could be sarcasm, but hard to tell. And, I particularly avoid saying things like, "Hell, you don't need a rope to climb Jeff" becuase not only is the sarcasm difficult to detect, but you are potentially giving bad advice to someone who might take you seriously. It's in this area, that I feel we do have a responsibility, even though there are always those who state the obvious, "Climbing is dangerous..." and noting that everyone should do the homework. I'll continue to state my opinion on here, even if it's unpopular, but I try not to spout pure incessant bullshit, here or anywhere.

It is interesting how different ski resorts build jumps, and I do think that some do significantly better than others. At SkiBowl, in one particular area, they had one large jump with several "medium" ones. I must have hit that 20 times, and never once could I get up enough speed to hit the landing area. I proabably saw 3 people land it all day. Nobody got hurt, that I saw, but it was odd to have such different sizes in a single run. At Bachelor, I about slaughtered myself on a jump that had an incredibly steep high take-off and a disproportionately short (close) landing. I must have cleared the landing by a good ten feet, and obviously dropped a looooong way to the ground. Costochondritis hurts, and even Vicodin doesn't totally relieve the pain. Obviously, a lot of my fault, but if I were laying out and building these jumps I think I would consider a few additional factors.