ScaredSilly

Ice hopper you are weak, you are not worthy of Cobras, you must be one with the tool. "To suppress a truth is to give it force beyond endurance." — Master Kan Put the wrench on at a shallow angle relative to the pick and give it a good thump on some solid like a rock or yer partner's head. That will typically loosen the bolt up.

Slight nit - I did not say there were no crevasses, there are, just that they were not a problem when traversing back from the South Side to Cooper's Spur. The first time I when through in Oct there were cracks but they were not significant. When we went through in early July we did not cross any. Also the traverse starts high around 9400'-9200' and finally regaining the Spur at around 7500' or so. Someone doing the same from T-line is apt to be lower thus could run into crevasses issues lower down as they gain altitude on the approach. I did not mean to go around then up the up the Spur. But when coming from Newton Clark one is coming in perpendicular to the spur. Depending on where one gains the spur the glacier is may be 200-300 vertical feet below Spur. So to gain it one needs to climb up the side of the spur. Then as you say traverse over if high enough or drop down to the Elliot.

A- I have gone around the hill a couple of times, but only to get back to Cloud Cap. Crossing the Newton Clark is pretty straight forward and both times (mid October and early July) I have done it crevasses were not an issue. In fact, both times were done sans rope, the first time actually solo. However, if coming round to get on to the Elliot one needs to ascend up the Spur and then turn around and lose it again.

I have done multiple V-threads sans a sling. After the first person raps I run the rope back and forth a bit then have the person at the bottom do the same. One thing that helps is being able to judge the ice strength - the stronger the ice the greater the angle thus less bend and easier to pull.

Anastasia - my wish for you in 2012 is have a climb without being it a near epic :-).

I hate it when my knob won't fold over and sticks out. Try a little penetrating oil. More seriously, It probably got water/mineral in the joint. Soak it is a little Lime-a-way or 4:1 vinegar solution. Then use a little lube.

Do not get the state wide guide put out by Falcon. Lots of mistakes. Get the local guides. Watts' book is quite good.

There are no typical conditions in May on Rainier. It can go from blue bird to shit hitting the fan and running home to mommy. That is typical. Planning from Muir is a good choice for a first trip especially if there are nasty winds as one can retreat in to the shelter. Make sure you know the way down from Muir to Paradise I know of several people who have taken the long way down via the Nisqualy.

EMC is on the northeast side, the bowling alley is on the west. The crux is gaining the pinnacle. Be very cautious about avy danger - the NE side is very well known for ripping out and going wall to wall.

The article does not contradicts itself - the victim APPEARED dead. Thus why they did not drop into area. Appearances can be deceiving.

WAG: The helicopter crew looking for him probably did not have any survival gear with them and thus were not prepared to drop any one in. Also given he had snow on him and did not respond to their presence they thought he was already dead. Thus the decision to come back in morning. Bummer as now there are what if questions - though remember the park has no duty to rescue. That said good on the guy for letter someone know his plans and for them to contact when he failed to check in. Sad it did not help.

Nice ... looks like some wallowing ;-).

Very nice...

Slightly OT, but something like 99% of the climbers who check out for Cassin Ridge on Denali never step foot on it and end up doing the West Butt. I would guess the same can be said for Yokum Ridge and the South Side on Hood.

Nice, what was the bergshrund crossing like? We had a nice snow cone to hike up.

Duct tape and bailing wire are your friends.

Very cool, looks like they did the Gib Ledges.

In the mid 80ss I did the Crater Lake loop over two days. That was good fun and something everyone should do once when the weather is good. In the early 90s a friend and I skied across the Wallowas. We started at Moss Spring which is above Cove, OR dropped down into the Minam River, up to Minan Lake, and from there to Wallowa Lake on the last day. That was hoot as I hiked the same route as a teenager. I want to head into the Cornucopia area now especially as there are some huts in there.

Yeah, I am ready for some ice and snow. Where abouts were these shot? Some feed back on the shots. Composition on the first is good but what I can not figure out is why one would dull up their tools and poons trying to climb rock when there is perfectly good ice 20 feet away. Second, nice pillar but no contrast between the climber and the rock. Third and forth are nice enough but a little dull. The fifth is good composition but the sky is washed out as is the back ground might have been shooting into the sun. In these cases try shooting with a flash especially as it would appear the shot was take from close by. That will let you drop down the amount of light coming in so the background is not washed out while still giving you foreground light for the subject. Using a flash is a great tool and not just for low light.

Yeah, no kidding. Check out the weekend list of slides in Ooootah: http://utahavalanchecenter.org/services/avalanchelist One death, one serious ride, and 30+ slides.

Damn, that is harsh Dane. Best of luck with it all. BTW ... last summer while visiting a friend who's brother like to hang out in Thailand he told a story of being advised that if he wanted to engage in oral sex he should put a condom over his tongue! I thought it odd but now I can understand.

Just a quick comment about the Spur based on a solo trip up it about this time of year but many years ago. As some have noted the Spur is nice firm snow and with some ice. I too found similar conditions which I was not expecting. Further, there had been a recent storm so there was a few inches of snow on top of everything. In places this new snow hid the hard snow/ice nicely. What one thought was firm bonded snow was not - in many places it slid off when punched through. Near the top, the snow was quite unstable and was at the perfect angle to avalanche. The ice was hard enough that in a few places I wished I had a second tool. Not because of the slope steepness, but because of how hard the ice was. All of which had the promise to send one skating down to the Elliot if they were not being heads up. Also I declined not to down climb the route and instead walked back around via the Newton Clark - which was great especially as one can scope lines out on the spider.

October can be a great month on the hill. BITD I solo'ed Cooper's Spur one October. A phenomenal ascent. And like Loomis I had the hill to myself not a soul on the north or south side.

Think back twenty years ago when lycra was cool :-)))))

Well said. In the big scheme, most things in life are inconsequential. Climbing is nothing but the conquest of the useless. Go forth and conquest and enjoy.