RocNoggin

hey Panos, where are you from?

climbed the Lyman Glacier last weekend, very icy and lots of crevasses to end run. came down the North Ridge, no snow on the ridge, only on the summit plateau.

great video! it was interesting to see how different the snow conditions were between the year you were there and this year. I had the couloir full of snow and you guys were on rock and on the upper slopes where you had snow there was none when I was there.

Goat Lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. counted over 30 of them there at one time. Almost always some at Elinor in the Olympics too.

kinda wonder what happened to the guy after they dragged him away from the camera...

nice avatar dude!

Trip: Mt Maude - West Face Date: 6/11/2007 Trip Report: WTF?! I thought I had done my research regarding access, apparently not! I was quite surprised to find the road gate some 6 miles before the trailhead. thought about what to do and since I had already driven some 20+ miles off the hiway to get this far, this was the only area that I had maps for with me, and it was the place I wanted to be, the only thing left to do was start hiking. and soon too, the freakin' mosquitos were swarming something fierce! step after step, mile after mile, I trudged up the road to the real TH. I told myself of the benefits of walking a road that most others drove. I am sure that no one else has really had a chance to take in the views that I saw, the river down below, the still water ponds, the roadside waterfalls, the distant peaks and crags as they drove by so effortlessly. without sweat nor mosquitos. in minutes rather than hours. walking was so not worth the effort. after some time I did come across a trail crew working along the road. great I thought, after a long walk in they will clear the road while I am climbing and then I will have a long walk out while everyone else drives by. perfect. and why was the work crew staring at me so? was it in wonder of some crazy fucker hiking a closed road with a big pack loaded with skis and ski boots so many, many miles from any snow? were they just ogling me in my sexy shorts? and why do they all have "inmate" stamped on their work clothes? WOOHOO! finally made it to the TH. now only another 5 miles of hiking and 5,500 VF to go! the views from the TH dont suck: the Phelps Creek trail wasnt in too bad of shape. several blowdowns over the trail, none too hard to get around and this one spot where the trail was completely washed out and no natural bridges to be found. I rounded up some local lumber and made my own bridge. still got my feet wet, and it was pretty interesting getting up the bank through the trees on the far side with my skis sticking up so far above my pack. way too lazy to take them off the pack and do multiple carries. ran into snow about a 1/2 mile before Leroy Creek. off in the snow to the side of the trail something caught my eye. some big, red ballon. a weather ballon? I thought that the snow pillar supporting it was pretty interesting. just goes to show that even a ballon can provide insulating cover. how long till spare ballons become part of the Mounties "100 Esentials?" as soon as I got off the Phelps Cr trail and started up the climbers trail along Leroy Cr the snow cleared and passed a nice looking waterfall. with my usual crack o' noon start I finally made the basin below the West Face with just enough time to find a bivy spot and get water going before dark. the basin was full of snow, with some dry spots on rock outcrops and the like. running water was easy to find. settled into bed with light snow falling, mostly just little flurries of ice crystals, no real accumulation. dust on crust for tomorrows ski? woke up early, got out of bed and pissed. it was still cold. got back into bed and promptly fell asleep. so much for an alpine start. LATE morning view of the West Face. I thought with my late start the fastest way to the summit would be up the slanting snow finger, starting about the middle of the pic, ending a little to the left of the summit that is on the far right of the top skyline. trying to skin through the trees in the basin was a pain in the ass. they were really tight and the snow pretty rough, hard and crusty, not much bite for the skins. soon packed them and donned the 'pons, made much better time, especially as the snow was rappidly steepening as I approached the face and my gully of choice. the snow in the gully was perfect! firm, but not icy, effortless (so to speak) with no slipping. didnt even bother getting the axes out, just went with ski poles, collapsed almost all the way, and started booting away. in a few places the slope was steep enough that it was just an arms length away and I would have to hold the poles right above the baskets but for the most part is was just a steep walk-up. 2 hrs later I was on the North Ridge and a half-hour after that on the summit. slow I know, but what can I say, I am fat, old and out of shape. I had intended to ski the North Face and then climb back over but with my late start and being pretty whupped (that whole fat, old and out of shape thing again) I decided to ski my ascent route and call it a day. some nice views from the summit: the North Face cornice Seven Fingered Jack and Mt Fernow gotta love the Cascades! great view of Glacier Peak wanted to take a pic from the very top of the ski route. started in this little slot between some rocks on this wind scalloped bit of snow. ski tips sticking out into air with a big drop under them, a tight line of snow with rocks on all sides. somehow I forgot to take a pic at that time, guess I had something else on my mind... view back up to the top. I started on the finger of snow that goes climbers left up to the skyline. looking down the next section, relieved to have made the steep start without any falls. looking back up that last section. the turns arent pretty but at least I was making them! looking down on lots of steep skiing! WOOHOO! back up that middle section. a nice fun section, steep enough to be interesting and not too many rocks. fun. looking down the next area, one of the steepest and tightest of the run through that with no problems. although I have to admit, I did sideslip the tightest spot, but made turns on the rest! getting near the bottom I had one of the dirtiest, messiest patches of snow. lots of rocks to avoid. through that and over the only real crack in the snow, all good! getting near the bottom and the gully started opening up. time to let 'em run! now if I could only remember where in the woods down there I left the rest of my gear... looking back up the gully from the bottom, my Beautiful Baby's, and some of their handy work some fun tree skiing low on the mountain some not so fun tree skiing even lower on the mountain FANTASTIC DAY! and unfortunately time to head out. even though I had planned on spending another night on the mountain I hadnt planned on having an extra 6 miles of road hiking on my way out. and since I was scheduled to have a vasectomy the following afternoon it was time to hit the trail and at least get some of the miles knocked off. last view of the mountain that afternoon, starting to cloud up a bit made it out to the TH before stopping for the night. flat, grassy spot to bivy, water near by, and I still had nice views to boot. not a bad camp site. the road hike out was even worse than the one coming in. while I didnt encounter any mosquitos up on the mountain along the Chiwawa River Rd they were terrible, far worse on the way out than on the way in. the same views as on the way in, the same boring step after step as on the way in, the same overloaded heavy pack as on the way in. only change was the mosquitos were far worse, driving me mad and no work crew. I kept hoping it would rain or blow, do something to drive the skeeters away! but alas, nothing. I was beginning to hate the hike out, I even missed being ogled by the inmates. but hey, it had been a great trip! the weather fine, the climbing excellent, and the skiing SO fun. and I was on my way to get sterilized! happy day! Approach Notes: check the road openings!

hmmm, must be time to post a TR from last weeks ski trip...

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070620_microbes_corals.html but its not all bad news regarding herpes... http://www.livescience.com/health/070516_herpes_upside.html

and this would be a problem how?

WOOHOO! bring on the snow!

what is the area code for your phone number?

nice! I love skiing the Alps, those pics really make me want to go back...soon!

I tried to do the South Spur on Adams Easter weekend. bailed due to weather and the long approach. at that time I could only get to within 7 mi of the Cold Springs TH. it did seem to me that the road was melting out pretty fast and there was also a lot of activity on the road from the snowmobilers. they were doing a lot of work to clear windfall from the road and they were breaking trail with their 4x4's to get up the road. I am sure there is still a lot of snow down there, doubt you can get all the way to the TH in your car, but getting close!

MRNP OPENING SCHEDULE FOR ROADS & FACILITIES May 5 - Nisqually Entrance to Paradise, (If construction stays on schedule) May 5 - Longmire Museum and Jackson Visitor Center May 18 - Cougar Rock Campground May 18 - State Route 123 will open to the Stevens Canyon Entrance May 25 - Longmire Wilderness Information Center May 25 - The Ohanapecosh Visitor Center and Campground May 25 - State Route 410 May 25 - road to White River Campground (Campground June 29 - Mowich Lake Road Late June - White River Campground Late June - The Sunrise Road and Visitor Center Late June - Ipsut Creek Campground, walk-in campers only. NOT TO OPEN THIS SUMMER - Sunshine Point Campground NOT TO OPEN THIS SUMMER - State Route 123, Stevens Canyon to Cayuse Pass NOT TO OPEN THIS SUMMER - Carbon River Road QUESTIONABLE - Stevens Canyon Road OPEN AND INVITING: THE NATIONAL PARK INN AT LONGMIRE The Inn will be open for regular business once the Nisqually Road to Paradise opens to the public. The Inn offers overnight accommodations, dining, and a gift shop. For reservations call 360-569-2275. The Paradise Inn is undergoing a major rehabilitation and will reopen in the summer of 2008. THE GATEWAY BUSINESSES The familiar services are open and ready - anxiously awaiting the park¹s reopening. Here are websites that offer information on lodging, food and activities surrounding the park: www.mt-rainier.com , www.visitrainier.com , and www.destinationpackwood.com .

I was coming from Olympia and it took me about 2 hrs, maybe 2 1/2 hrs. I live just south of Oly so from seattle it would be more like 3 1/2 or 4 hrs. I didnt go to the climbers bivy because the road was still gated about 4 miles from the bivy, the road at that point was snow free but since the bivy is at a higher elevation than the sno-park, and there was snow all the way down to the sno-park, I am sure there is still plenty of snow covering the road up from the gate. I forgot to fill my hydration pack before I got to the TH and couldnt find any running water so I did the climb with less than a liter of water, sucking a lot of snow on the way, so my time up was pretty slow, I think it took me about 5 hrs to summit. that was in pretty soft snow conditions too, leaving the TH at about 9:00 AM on at day that had record setting high temps. no permits, it was a Friday and I didnt expect to see many on the Mt so I poached.

I was down there last weekend, the 6th & 7th, trying to get to the South Climb TH. like the report says I only got to within 7 miles, but the road was clearing out fast. every day new snowmobilers would come in and move a few trees out of the way, push a little further up the road with their 4x4's and generally beat the snow off the road. a lot of work has been done to clear downed trees off the road, by whom I dont know, but it looks like the slednecks are doing most of the work, lots of riding still to be had there. they were riding literally riding day and night. from what I was told by them the other sno-parks had generally melted out and the only riding was off of Rd 80. I spent the night camped on the road want to ski the next day but it started raining in the morning and I bailed so I dont have any idea what you will find up the road once you stop driving. hope this helps some, go for it and let us know what you find!

Trip: Mt St Helens - Worm Flow Date: 4/6/2007 Trip Report: a very late start on a beautiful day view of the new dome in the summit crater new slabs in the crater a very tempting line into the crater...illegal, but tempting... the new Spirit Lake Mt Adams...maybe tomorrow... let the fun begin! end of a great day on the mountain Approach Notes: Marble Mt sno-park, still had snow to the TH, skied all but the last 50m. same for skinning up.

are you looking for a tele or AT setup? if you want tele skis I have some K2 Super Stinx, with the mounting inserts, in a 181 for sale. PM me if you are interested.

I was up on Mt. B today. Snowed all day long! Windy though. White out at times. Hope tomorrow's better. what route or part of the mountain were you on? what is the road access like, snowline, etc?

before you take such deliberate action what was the intent of the person who screwed you over? did they make a mistake or were they trying to hurt you? if you need a grudgefuck for the sex then go for it, but what will you really gain, will that make the breakup any easier? someone a helluva lot smarter than me once said: Evils we have never experienced, we are unprepared to resist. I have no idea who originally said that but I know they were smarter than me! another person a lot smarter than me also said that nothing should be said in anger, and I would think that would go for actions too. maybe you should just step back and think about what you really want. plenty of time for a grudgefuck later.

was the crust breakable or unbreakable while skiing?

nice job guys! great TR too.

HELL YEAH!!

nice.