MJaso

I summited SS last weekend and the snow started right around 5500' in patches. I brought crampons and a tool but never needed them as I relied on my treking poles. Anyways, the best advice I can give is to bring some DEET because those mo fo misquitoes are out in full force. I brought the "natural" repellant and the skeeters laughed at that sh!t. Do not take the above advice lightly. A ice ax my be useful for the glissading, then again I use my trekking poles. I tried to post some photos but it appears to be having technical difficulties. I'll try again later.

Just be able to outrun one person that you are with. I carried a flare too, should of brought a Desert Eagle .50 cal.

I went out to Glacier a couple of weeks ago and if you can afford it you should definately plan more than one night. That place is amazing and there are plenty of great hikes available. Check out: http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/170953/glacier-national-park-mt.html The park offers a shuttle service that runs throughout the park which you could use to drop you off at a trail head and then pick you up. Definately makes transportation a dream without having to worry about parking. Bears are a very real possibility. I came within 120 feet of a black bear and her cub while out doing a heavily traveled trail on avalanch creek. As my daughter and I came around a corner there they were crossing the trail in front of us and then continued up a forested hillside. They paid us no mind, but I would be very uncomfortable with no line of defense. I had purchased the 290g canister of Counter Assult from REI (they sell it at the park and surprisingly for about $5 cheaper). Grizzly bears, I believe, are more of a crap shoot temperment wise and not as nonchalant as a black bear. God help you if you come across one with no line of defense but to play dead. A $50 investment of counter assult is like buying a lottery ticket, if your lucky It might work. Obviously the manufacturer recommends buying two, one to practice with ahead of time. I think this is a good idea as this crap can seriously mess you up (think wind), and it would be good to get a visual on how far the blast goes ahead of time. Counter Assult sells a 270g and 290g canister. The 290 offers 2 more seconds of spray which sounds good to me. Hell if your prone to firing prematurely this may be good Here is a pic of one type of sign posted a the trailhead on one of the hikes we did. There are bear frequenting area signs posted on others too. Lastly, I don't know how the fishing is. I do know it's free in National Parks and you would not need a license. Looks sweet.

For what its worth, here is a shot from Saturday the 10th.

Here we go again. The peanut gallery has started. http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/07/rescue_crews_reach_injured_mou.html

You bet, it sure is.

Trip: Glacier National Park - Going to the Sun Date: 6/24/2010 Trip Report: Not much of a trip to report just sharing some pictures. The Going to the Sun road opened up for the 1st time this year on the 24th and below are some pics Gear Notes: Camera Approach Notes: Hybrid Car

I too am a vet and while I don't necesarily agree with the the wars we are involved in I do believe that we should support our troops. After all, they are putting their asses on the line for many different reasons. Some gave more than me, and some gave everything. But for my part, in some small way I can be proud and stand among my peers the Veterans and Servicemen and women of the US Armed Forces. For whatever span we stood together against the forces of this world that would strip Democracy and Freedom from us and said to them ..."Not on my watch". This is a day to honor you, and I for one salute you.

Now I've never tried this, or plan on it. But, how about the Hardee’s Country Breakfast Burrito packin two egg omelets filled with bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla. The burrito contains 920 calories and 60 grams of fat. This should last for a while if you don't spew all over, or have a heart attack.

I was on vacation all last week and scraped plan A) Mount Stuart, B) Rainier, & C) Hood because the weather reports just sucked major ass. IMO it wasn't worth it, and as long as we don't all die from an asteroid in the next few weeks before my next vacation i'll be alright.

I'd be interested in issue 2 & 6 if it comes to pass that the lot does not sell. Thank you

Thanks for the invite, but my window was Tues-Fri. I think I might just do a one day up St Helens or to Muir on Thursday if I get a semi good weather forecast. Otherwise, I'm goin to check out 180 south downtown PDX tonight to keep the stoke up. The weatherman psyched me out!

Steripen is great due to its ability to kill viruses, a typical filter will not. Tablets blow, yes they are lighter, but if your alpine climbing I'm thinking boiling water is probably good enough. In colder temperature the tablets will take a considerable longer amount of time to be effective, screw that just boil it. I have a Katadyn, steri, tablets and a stove and for myself I will never be pulling water out of a very turbid source to warrant the Katadyn. I'll keep that for a nuclear survival situation. First choice boil it, 2nd steri pen. If 1 and 2 fail then tablets.

Weather is not looking good... Anyone have any advice on an alternative plan? (yeah I cut and pasted that from Rainier in May). I'm on vaca this week and was planning on heading out to Stuart, but the weahter forecast is looking rather crappy for this week for everywhere within 100+ miles of PDX. The NOAA site is predicting the snow level rising to 7400' with a 70% chance of precip, sounds like a suck fest as I am planning on doing an exploratory trip. Perhaps that should wait.....

Thanks for the input everyone. Good to read the recommendations to reaffirm what I've suspected. I've been in contact with them and am leaning towards the Alpine Ice climbing couse. Sounds like a blast.

High Ice should definately be viewed for instruction on what to do during a helicopter rescue.

Too bad it's this weekend, I must go see me mum.

That's interesting, Was this on the Muir snowfield on the standard way up to camp? or did they deviate off the "normal" route? Needtoclimb, have you read any of the Accidents in North American Mountaieering? Get resource for learning by others mistakes.

Hey everyone... I'm considering taking some of the alpine courses that AAI offers and thought I'd inquire here to find out if any of you have an opinion on thier curriculum. Good experiences, bad, indifferent etc.......Thanks.

Actually I have an older pair of vectors, but perhaps it's time to upgrade. I'm always looking for a reason to buy mo shiznits. The Vectors continue to be highly tweekable to accomodate a wide array of boots and climbing styles.

Camp Vector Nanotech are solid and configurable between mono and dual froint points and readily field matainable. There is also a heal spike option too. They weigh 31oz but for that kind of money it's good to have options for waterfall, mixed, etc.... I'm just saying..........

Thanks for the laugh, the dialog is f*%kin great. I needed that after a day of work.

Hey Water, Sorry for the delay. I could bring my tent into work and weigh it without any frills, it might tip in a little higher than advertised as I've seem sealed it and added a tie in loop on the inside. I've found an excerpt from an old blog comparing the Nemo's OSMO with eVent. Hope this helps... The NEMO Tenshi fabric is called OSMO. It has a 30D polyester ripstop base with a proprietary monolithic laminate on one side. We (I'm an engineer at NEMO) changed over from eVENT for a few primary reasons: 1. the eVENT fabric being used was not fire-retardant and for tent to be available everywhere without exception, all fabrics must be FR-treated 2. The NEMO OSMO fabric (5618 g/24hr/m2)tested better in our independent lab fabric tests than eVent ev5005 (5304 g/24hr/m2). The test we use is ASTM E 96 METHOD BW (inverted). 3. The NEMO OSMO fabric has a lower weight (2.22 oz/yd2) than the eVent (2.84 oz/yd2).

I don't see alot of people posting about the Nemo Tenshi, but it kicks ass. (4.2 lbs striped down) Check it out on the website. I've nothing to say except good things about mine.

ODUB, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Old Metallica, RHCP.