kjclimbing

solid, very solid. I climbed the Kautz a couple of years ago and found it to be a fun climb as well. Love the point steeze. (I'm a maggot)

Haven't had much to add to what's been said but I remember a few pages back someone asked about the location of the caves that were found. From what has been said of the location of the cave (on the summit snowfield near the NE sub-ridge leading to the chutes on the coopers spur) this is what the view down looks like in this area. Hopefully this may give some here a better perspective. (I took these photos in early July of 2006) This is about 300' from the summit just before the route down the Coopers Spur turns more to the ENE http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski/kentours/mounthood/summit_down_mounthood1.jpg This is a bit lower but shows the exits of two NF route variations on the lookers left and the coopers spur descent to the lookers right http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j228/pnwskier/Hood%20NE%20Face/IMG_8215.jpg Like I said, I hope these help to give some perspective to the non climbers what this terrain looks like. For climbers (speaking broadly) the self gratification of climbing routes like these, assesing dangers and overcoming obstacles combined with the physical challenges could be akin to what runners feel when running a marathon or what bikers feel after finishing a century ride. It's part of what makes us tick, part of what made these guys tick. ++vibes to the two missing and the families++

Heard about this on the radio this morning. Bummer that NPR had to give Krakauer a plug on his book when reporting this story. They referenced Christine working for the same company as Scott Fischer, yada, yada, yada. Perhaps I'm getting old but it seems that over the past 12 months the amount of higher profile accidents and individuals has spiked. Is the news of these things reaching farther given the variety of media outlets including forums, blogs, etc? Just an observation