Das Beerd

I'm looking to head up to Paradise from Oregon on Thursday, June 23 and hopefully get a walk-up permit (shouldn't be too hard being a thursday). My party bailed on me so I'm solo right now which means no-go unless someone has room for me to join them. If you're planning to head up the hill that day and have room for one more in your group, then let me know. Thanks!

Cool. Thanks guys!

Cool. These are really helpful. Is there a spot that shows how much snow actually fell or has a current avy-danger status since NWAC is done for the year?

I'm looking at heading up the South Side of Hood this Friday/Saturday. I've been up before, but it's always been with groups where I haven't had to judge the weather conditions before heading out. Since I've got a 3.5 hour drive I'd like to have a good idea what to expect before I get there. Where do you guys go for info on weather and avy danger for Hood? Any chance anyone knows what the conditions are potentially going to look like this weekend? Thanks!

hannegan pass to ross lake looks pretty sweet from what I can tell. I haven't checked milage on that but I'm guessing that would be a shuttle trip rather than an out-and-back? We're only going to have one car so that probably wouldn't work for us if it is. Thanks for all the info though. Good stuff!

A group of us are heading up to Washington in late August and looking to do a 30-50 mile backpacking trip in either North Cascades or the Olympics. We've never been to either so I was hoping you guys might offer some suggested routes that would be the best way to see each park and maybe talk me into one park over the other. Peak-bagging along the route would be an added bonus but a few of the guys are inexperienced so it would have to be non-technical. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the report. Any chance you can post a quick gear list of what you take on a run like this (clothing, pack, hydration, food, etc.)? I'm new to adventure running and I'm trying to figure what I need for trips in the shoulder seasons where preparation for weather is key, but I don't want to end up running with a 25 pound pack as well.

Interesting. I might try that since it's cheap. Looks like we may end up taking another day off of work and getting to the Portal on Thursday morning, thus allowing us to do the day hike to 11k feet and then get get a good days rest on Friday before heading up Whitney. I'm guessing that will be the best idea with our group.

What's the deal with Ginkgo? I've not heard of that before. I still get a chuckle about high altitude climbers using viagra to aid in acclimatizing. Seems to me that could hinder your climbing abilities.

Yeah, I wish we had 2 days for the actual climb but we only got a 1 day permit. Thanks for all the info though. We'll probably see how it goes. I'm not worried about myself since I've been that high before but everyone else in the group has pretty limited experience with altitude. I'll be really surprised if everyone makes it up.

A group of us are heading down from Oregon in a few weeks to climb Whitney via the standard dog-route as a single day 22-miler. We're camping at the Portal and the current plan is to spend Friday just chillin' to start acclimating before heading up the trail around 1 or 2 that night. I've been wondering about doing a hike that Friday up to some Lake that sits around 11k to hopefully assist in acclimating. It's 4.5 steep miles up to make for a 9 mile out and back. Do you guys think it would be better to do the hike to assist with acclimating or save my energy for the Whitney climb? Thanks!

Good info. Thanks guys. I've been using the same bottle of sunblock for a few years and putting it on when I'm a sweaty pig so hopefully these tips will work.

So newbie question? What do you guys use for sun protection when on snow for multiple days? Every time I do an extended trip (such as Shasta this weekend) I get cooked no matter how much sunblock I use. I just sweat it right off. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Anyone know if snowshoes are still a good idea for the approach to Avy Gulch on Shasta? We're heading down there this weekend and I'm debating wether or not to rent them.

Did you end up going? If so, would you suggest snow-shoes for the approach or is there a pretty good boot-pack already?

I'm heading up the weekend after that. Any chance you can post a conditions report when you get back? Thanks!

Has anyone been up to get some turns on DP lately? I'm wondering what the road looks like and how close you can get. Thanks!

I'm going with a few newbies so I'm not sure they'd be up for Gib Ledges. I'm leaning towards the Ingram Direct at this point. I might just see if there's a group up at Muir that has been up top that will let us follow their lead. I've only been up the Kautz so anything out of Muir is new to me.

So it looks like the weather is shaping up to be nice this weekend up on Rainier. Does anyone know what the DC or Ingram Direct looks like this time of year, which one is preferable, and if there is much of an established trail yet? Better yet, anyone want to let three Oregonians follow them up above Muir? We were planning to just head up to Muir but if route-finding isn't an issue we'd love to get a stab at the top. Thanks!

20-30 meters maybe. 45-50 degrees. We fixed one line through there but the rest of the chute is clean. There are some big crevasse-holes opening up above the chute but all were easily passable as of last weekend.

We made the top via the Kautz on Saturday. The freezing rain and winds ripped our faces off. We "enjoyed" the summit for about 2 minutes while waiting for the GPS to verify that we were actually there and then headed back down the Kautz. Lovely day for a summit.