billbob

Totally agree w/ you. Growing old gracefully is an art I'm trying to learn.

Next week we are going in regardless, just because we're Men. That said, we aren't as dumb as we look (mom told us!) and so yet another request for beta is born. Detroit Ranger Station is saying the approach road to Mt Jefferson (JPG TH) is still drifted, sounds like a long walk in. Have heard this route can be fun and conditions should be sweet about now. Approach and/or route beta would be appreciated.

Yeah, well, I'm just a bit envious is all. Obviously they are doing something right up there. Most all the kids I've met in 7 years of these comps are damn tough and train really hard, gotta respect even the ones w/ the bizarre hair and other crazy stuff because I hate to get my ass kicked by a 14 y.o. girl. Again.

call N Hood district Ranger station. Normally not open til late June, prolly later this year. Currently a 2.5 mile wet slog up the TJ trail from first gate. Go early.

WCR isn't much more difficult than the trade SS route but worry about avi danger until Sat - Sun. As this climber recently discovered, the W side routes like Leuthold and Reid are significantly more challenging both in terms of route-finding and physical exertion.

No? Number of team members divided by number of Divisional invitations = success ratio I could be wrong, please check... How many VW team members went to Regional? How many invitations to Divisionals? I'll get the CS info. Are we being childish or what? Maybe it's just me. I don't want to grow up, this is more fun.

So last June I was camped just off the main trail going up Hood SS at 9,600' (I know, bad idea!), thinking about sleeping in, when a voice outside yells "I got a climber who can't make it so I'm gonna leave him here by your tent". Then the voice says more softly "We'll be back in 4-5 hours for you". WTF? It's 4:30 am and conditions out there suck ass. Being the curious type I dress and go out to find some old guy (yeah, even older than me) shaking and shivering by the tent, totally freaked. Turned out he was 65 and partially blind, had paid major bucks for a semi-private guide to the summit, and couldn't get his windpants or crampons on by himself. Sucked to be him that day, what with the whiteout and wind and rime-coated everything. Guess he picked the wrong guide for that trip. I wasn't going anywhere but down, so I fixed him up and had him stick close all the way back to the TLine lot. Never saw someone so grateful before, was afraid he was gonna start kissing me before I got loose. Anyway, helping that old guy out made me feel way way cool about myself, prolly the best high ever. Easy to see how those mtn rescue guys get totally hooked on it.

it's nice to have an excuse for stopping the pain when you're a decrepit bastard and yer ass is already kicked from the epic ski-slope-slog

on a per-climber basis, doesn't Club Sport rule ???

The Leuthold Couloir? Where is that, exactly?

I used to ride a motorcycle because it's oh so cheap. Then a big car turned left into my path and hit almost head-on at 65 mph. Big ouch. Be careful. Will hitch-hiking make a come-back?

Ha! Funny that, looks like we went fairly well along the same mutant route. Similar double step. It was still a blast and as of last weekend conditions appeared to be holding up well. Thanks for the post, jport.

I'm sure we weren't the first to take the scenic route to the top. There must already be a name but how do you find out? Did we pass our exit yet? Perfect conditions for ..... Top out, but what route?

Gabe (Mr Clam) drew this up to show our route compared to Leuthold and the Reid. We started off on the Leuthold but went too far right so we descended and traversed right, then back left a bit until we locked on to this central couloir all the way up. The climb was big fun (except for the downclimbing) and others must have done it before. Leuthold on the left, Reid on the right, our route in Red.. Comments on this please?! What's the name of this route ?

Met up w/ Mr Clam Fri nite at TLine to attempt the Hood/Leuthold route. A past partner on Rainier and Colchuck, Mr Clam is a talented and strong 19 y.o. who never slows down. At 50, I'm happy to (almost) keep up with the kid. Made it to I-Rock in 3 hrs and talked w/ a threesome as they roped up for the same route and we all waited for light in the sky. Found a foot or so of soft stuff traversing over to the route. Bergschrunds and small crevasses were easily crossed but with the fast melting going on... it would seem they are opening up quickly. Starting up Leuthold after passing the threesome we found a hidden 'schrund that required care to cross. Climbed to 10,700 in whiteout and wind to discover we were off route, had gone too far to the left. Downclimbed to 10,200' and traversed maybe 50 yards right, then went up maybe 100' when we met climbers on the Reid HW route. Ooops! Traversed back left a bit, dropped down into the same couloir as before only kept to the right as we ascended into a narrow gulley. Seems it was at about 10,500' - 10,600' when we hit the first of two 10-12' vertical ice/rock steps. Clam led the whole way with just an ice axe, no second tool. Actually he led the whole climb and prolly would have been up and back a lot faster without me. After getting above the vertical steps we noticed the main and obviously much easier route was just to the left. OK, fine, it would have been easier if we had stuck to the middle of the route but after clearing the steps it seemed like a pretty cool variation. From there we just stuck to the route for another 600' or so until finally reaching the summit ridge. Total time car-car 13 hrs since we wasted about an hour at I-Rock and another hour looking for the route. Definitely another couple weeks left to climb this route in good form. Our question is about the ice steps in the narrow couloir on the right side of the main route at about 10,600'. Are the steps indeed off-route and do other climbers play there too?

Werd

Cooper Spur Pics From Climber Hut Sunday afternoon Cooper Spur Ridge to Tie-In Rock, Memorial Day Tie-In Rock Tourist Ivan heads into the shit Tie_in rock, Ivan continues up. Ambient air temp ca 46F, sounds of thunder to the East, way out of my league. I had thought "Yeah, well, it's my first attempt on this route so no big deal to bail in these conditions". Right. Ivan returns after reaching ca. 10,500' and says he solo'd it on his first attempt. Then he runs back to the hut, packs, and runs all the way back to the bottom of the TJ trail. Damn kids these days!

Hey Sanchez, did you need to use snowshoes? How was that hike in?

I want to be that strong and tough when I'm 85! Or 75. You guys must be damn proud and lucky to have him around. Freakin amazing guy. Cherish every day.

Congratulations to all the USAC Regional competitors and their teams for training hard all season. Now let's see what happens at the Divisionals...

My Climbing Heroes: Short List Tony Yaniro and Boone Speed for teaching my little boy to climb and train. He's 15 now and began leading 5.12 last year. Ivan for teaching me that Beacon Rock can be climbed wet, in mid-winter, while being subjected to the worst possible singing ever.

Was wondering if there was a special Avi notice posted in the Cave at TLine? Something like "Climbing Hood this weekend is probably a very risky thing to do"?

Do you guys have some kind of mutant gene for climbing in shitty weather, because it sounds like you actually enjoy this stuff. Gonadic hypertrophy is a serious disorder, ya know.

Duct Tape works wonders in climber huts, too! And don't forget that if applied carefully the subject will pull off at least one eyebrow when removing the tape over their mouth. Bonus points for both eyebrows (no fair if they only have one really long eyebrow)