ScaredSilly

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/930411/gonew/1/Lodging_around_Mt_Hood#UNREAD

I liked my last bivy - the dorm rooms (aka Chalet) at Timberline Lodge. With two people is was very reasonable. Otherwise, the Mazama Lodge is a good option.

It would appear that there are two stories. The one above for the couple from Reno and then there is this couple with a baby. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/29/ghassemi.lost.by.gps.katu My letter to the Oregonian, let me know if they publish it: As a former Oregonian I am shocked that my home state continues to promote and allow people to drive in the wintertime without being prepared. In the past week two different couples have become stranded on rural roads. The first couple was stranded for three days while the other couple, with a baby for only 12 hours. Where are the cries for requiring people to carry locator beacons, GPS, or cell phones? Oh wait they had a cell phone and a GPS system. Too bad they blindly followed their spiffy GPS system down an unplowed road with more than a foot of snow on it only to get stuck. And once stuck they could not get a cell signal. Maybe it is time to require winter drivers in Oregon to carry sat phones or at least PLB at all times as it would sure save on rescue costs.

The Polish Route is similar to the Emmons on Rainier. Funny, I just remembered that on our trip up the hill my partner did all the carries. I just went from camp to camp to summit. Of course he did all of one carry while I was sick. After that we just schlepped all of our crap up the hill and back down.

Yup, that is a cam nut. Cool I have never seen one other than in the Nuts Museum. Very collectable ...

I bet it is a Cam Nut, a hollowed out cam with a spring inside.

Sure post up if he was not the partner you hoped. Especially, if his action endangered or prevented the group from accomplishing your goals. Just be honest about what you personally observed, i.e. do not question or discuss what he presented as his previous experience - may be true, may be a lie but best to believe.

I am wondering if it is an old CMI Cam? Check out the museum - you will probably find it there: http://www.needlesports.com/nutsmuseum/nutsmuseum.htm BTW the above piece is an original Lowe Alpine Systems Split Cam (circa 1975).

I skied the rim one December back in '86. We took two days. There are two avy spots but as I remember one is short and the other I can not remember at all. We stayed on the road the whole time. The one thing you really want is descent weather because of wind as there is no real protection. One fun little tour I have also done is to ski out along the rim for maybe 5 miles??? to where the PCT comes in. Then drop down off the rim and follow the PCT which will then bring you back to the road. Or may be it is an access trail between the PCT and road. Hell it has been too long ago but anywho it makes for a nice little overnight tour that gives you a bit of the rim but then goes down off of it into more protected areas.

I am with Bill on this one. I was up on Hood last month. First time in years, after a rough bivy in the lodge, we head up the hill. No registration, no cell phone, not a single luxury, as primitive as can be, I even wore my old leather tele double boots. Had a fine time in the storm. Came back and hit the afternoon buffet and watched the wind blow. A rough outing. But back to the topic a hand the more that is done the more people will expect. Also there is no registration on the North side why just the south - ya get pepole on both sides. Of maybe 10 trips up the hill I think I have registered once and that was over 25 years ago.

Nice !!

Marwa ice screws make great wine cork removers. Here is a not so old but unique piece of gear:

Nat Geo Adventurer of the Year Nominee. Give me a break Potter is nothing but a fuck tard (a nice guy but of low moral character after his antics on Delicate Arch). How the fuck is walking a slack line or jumping in a squirrel suit adventure? I thought adventure had to do with exploring the unknown.

Thanks for link. The music was great for the 50s added nice drama. I have seen many of Alf Gregory's photos but never much of the filming. Good stuff

Not to dissuade you, but remember access to that side of the hill is not always possible until very late in May. And then you are looking at M-Day weekend which is the typical big weekend crowd. Having come down the Emmons 4 times now I have to say I will never go up it unless it is an emergency. IMHO, the route is plod. Which is why I think people like the DC at least the upper part of the hill has a bit of variety. I think there are much better routes on the hill; Kautz, Furhe Finger, Gib Ledges (those I have been on of similar difficultly), others have mentioned the Tacoma though I have not been on it would have more variety than the Emmons.

This website might help folks: http://www.fastfindplb.com/en/index.php http://www.mcmurdo.co.uk/doc/Fast Find V2 low res.pdf A few answers to some questions: You want to replace the battery near the end of it life as it has a shelf life. I believe the even the replacement battery has a shelf life. The unit once activated transmits for at least 24hrs (i.e. in the worst conditions cold). It should last around 72 hours if in warmer temps. As for the GPS, it is not a stand alone - there is no screen to view the coordinates. There are other units that allow you to utilize a std GPS and upload the coordinates into the PLB. As for testing - no more than once a month over the 60 month life of the battery.

Preaching to choir aint going to help in the long run. If you want to make a difference try and educate these morons. There is getting to be more morons and these morons are the ones calling for mandates. So sorry, it is your job and well as everyone else's. I look at it this way. I can use all of those analog and digital gizmos if needed. They are all tools and each have their place and limitations. None should be substitute for one or the other.

Nicely written!! and along the lines of what I wanted to say just did not have the frame of mind to write it as eloquently.

Delayed rescue calls - I have heard this statement many times but have yet to see any documentation to support it. More danger for rescuers - the coast guard requires ocean going vessels to carry locators, as does the FAA for aircraft. I have not ever heard that there is an expectation of rescue from pilots that I know. Further, groups like PMR are volunteers, they are not being forced to do anything. About the only statement of three that I agree with to a certain degree is the false sense of security it may provide. But I am cold hearted bastard, I do not feel sorry for people like that. Kind of like the idiot skiers who go out with an avy beacon thinking that it will save them. I agree with the basic premise that mandating anything is a bad idea. Especially when it targets one user group.

The cartoon is quite interesting ... while I agree it is a poke in the eye at PMR I think to a certain degree they set themselves up for it. Though I agree the MLU should not be mandated, their arguments are specious: http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/20091213PMRStatementRegardingMissions.html However, at the same time the third frame says a lot. I have say the first time I read that frame it did not click. The second time it did. What do I walk away with? Common sense says you hedge your bets for survival. At the same time common sense says you do not mandate what tools are used.

Thanks, I did not even think about that viewpoint. It is absolutely not my intention to take advantage of the situation as this idea is something I have been thinking about for a while (not just for climbing and land based adventures but also ocean ventures) and with Bill's post about Spot (and missing his window) I thought I would ask. That said if folks find my idea inappropriate I give the mods full purview to nuke this thread.

Accidents on big hills tend to involve aircraft which tend to draw the media in. Hood and Rainier are also next to large populations. Further climbers are seen as thrill seekers while BillyBob who get lost picking mushrooms is just some poor sap. Oddly enough the one some what major rescue that I was involved in on Denali in the early 90s drew media interest a week afterwards. This rescue was one of the easiest rescues done that year, there was no search, no bad weather, no deaths, just my partner who was lost a fight with a collapsing serac and a crevasse. In fact, I think the total time from the accident happening to landing at Anchorage Hospital was less than 8 hours. But like most rescues on Denali it involved a helicopter. In this case a short haul - wee flying under the bird is way more fun than inside but I digress. Anywho a week later a paper was calling for an interview. I had little to say as I was embarrassed about having to make the call - but I had no choice.

Okay with all this talk about MLUs / Spots / PLBs / etc I thought I would throw out an idea. I have a lead with a retailer who is willing to work out a deal for the purchase of a bunch of the McMurdo Find Find 210 PLBs at a reduced price. I am not sure what the price point would be at this time other than it would need to beat REI's price of $270 (after dividend) and we would need to buying enough to make it worth their while. For me personally, I will say the price needs to be below $250 because of shipping costs. (Saving less than $20 over REI's price is not worth the time factor involved in the distribution). If folks are interested, please post up your interest and how many you might want. These postings will give me a number to go the retailer with so that they can give a price plus shipping each unit. Your posting is not a commitment but do not post unless you are truly willing to buy. I do not want the retailer basing the price a bunch of units and then only have a few people actually follow through. Once we have a price I would collect funds from each person (paid in full via a check, no paypal because of their fees and monthly withdrawal limits). Your full payment is your commitment. I would then place the order. When they arrive I would have a mailing party (to make things easy sending a shipping label with payment helps). Everyone who wants one then has a PLB and can tell the man to take hike ;-). Okay, so post up if you are interested. allen

Some random thoughts, A-Fox I do not agree with PMR statement on charging for rescues. I favor the Euro system. It would level the playing field - everyone pays and you carry insurance for it. And though there is law on the books it is rarely if ever been used - especially if there is a death that was for really stupid reasons. I agree that beacons should not be mandated as it is knee jerk reaction to climbing being dangerous (like atving is not). The risk homeostasis is a valid point as that has been seen with avy beacons. The MLU beacons are no longer the right technology anyways. EPLB are the better technology (but still not perfect). EPLB are now down around $300. Here is a thought, it used to be that stores would sell avy beacons basically at cost so that people would get them and use them because they were affective. I wonder if that could happen with EPLB. When I first bought my avy beacon I bought one for myself but it did little good as my girlfriend did not have one. Then I did a group buy on about 5 of them so that I could get a second one and my friends could also get one at a reduced price. EPLB are kinda like avy beacons to be most useful everyone should have one. The current accident on Hood and the one three years ago are good examples - this is not meant to be any disrespect to either the group as I find no fault. Both involved falls/injuries of some sort with initial survival of either part or all of the group. In both cases, one EPLB could have been activated. However, both groups became separated - a second signal would be helpful if it could be activated. The other reason I believe multiple would be prudent besides separation is that the batteries are good for 24-48. As we all know weather can prevent any rescue from happening. However, ponying up for multiple units is expensive ... As said, currently there is no on-star technology. Spot is interesting but I am not sure it is truly there. So short of carrying a sat phone what are else are going to do to call home??

I wonder how much of the MLU resistance is related to climbers being singled out as a user group? As has been said why not require others who cost more in terms of rescue $$ and time to have transmitters. The simple reason - climbing compared to hunting/hiking is seen a high risk activity but ATVing is not???. As always not always the most logical. I say this with no disrespect - but an MLU would not have saved Luke Gullberg, I am not sure even a cell phone call would have been possible. About the only thing that would have possibly helped would have been an ELB (which I believe he could have activated). But would each person in their group have one? Personally, I am in favor of the euro system - everyone gets charged for rescues just like everyone get charged for an ambulance ride. In my book it is called personal responsibility. (BTW I do have it through several sources, my only gripe is that they have to arrange any services). BTW In the early days of avy beacons when they were relatively expensive, it used to be that shops would have a minimal mark up on them. Just enough to cover their costs. Why so people would not use the excuse that they were too expensive to own one. I wonder if they same could be done with plbs today?