rocky_joe

Cobra, thanks, sounds like the Oregon High ratings may be quite stiff, I'll will consider that for sure. But, I suppose I should be more route specific. I am NOT interested in the West Face route, at all; it seems too committing and dangerous for what I'm looking for. Rather I am interested to hear if anyone has done or is interested in climbing the NW Dihedral-left side. Also if you have photos of that side of the mountain and could post them I would appreciate it a lot.

johndavidjr, with all due respect, you are a douchebag. But to the subject at hand, Giardiasis may take one-two weeks to have symptoms manifest. One exposure is enough, so Dannible did not need to be in the BC for two weeks as you so ridiculously implied. Also giardiasis symptoms may show up sooner than one week. I have a friend who drank unfiltered water once on the last day of his two week backpacking trip on the Rogue...he had severe giardiasis symptoms three days later. Please stop posting the same mindless drivel. It really gets old hearing that we're uninformed, ignorant, useless, hopeless people. Get over the fact that no one cares for your informed opinion and leave.

Yeah I saw the report on King Rat being gone, as the west face had a large slab shed a few years back, but I wasn't aware it affected this route, I'll definitely do some more research before I am totally set on it. That said, has anyone been up to attempt a west face route recently? Any clue as to how severely the Oregon High routes have been affected? And perhaps this thread should be moved to the Oregon Cascades, or Rock Climbing...

I know it is quite a ways off, but I have my sights on the Left Side Northwest Dihedral on Mt. Washington. Currently I have no partner, the route is 4 pitches and goes at 5.6 with the last pitch being a scramble (see Oregon High). I am looking now, so that if someone is interested we can get out on the rock a few times (smith or beacon perhaps) before tying in on a mountain. PM me if interested or email: jcrawfor@uoregon.com

Late September-October...Shawn, you probably don't want to touch any of the cascade volcanoes that time of year. Everything I have heard/read/experienced tells me that the best time to be on an Cascade Volcano is when the rock is frozen in place with lots of snow, between January (weather permitting) and late June, July if it's a nice and thick snowpack.

Except food poisoning and giardiasis are completely different. Giardiasis can last for years, whereas food poisoning or a flu lasts a matter of days. JDJ, do you even spend time in the cascades? I think if you did you would have very different opinions/information about everything from H2O purification to tents. Quit trolling cc.com and go back to Jersey.

I know a large handful of people who HAVE gotten SICK from drinking unfiltered back country water...giardia. I prefer to remain ignorant to all this "science" you talk about and keep throwing a few tabs of iodine in every time i fill up in the BC. And enough with the goddamn tents, we know all the corporations are trying to fluck us out of our money.

ropegoat...it was pretty much all rime above the hogsback, and i can only assume the same was true up to the gates, which is where he fell. An arrest would be difficult to say the least.

How do I get the photos to show up?

Trip: Mt. Hood - South Side Date: 1/17/2009 Trip Report: After much confusion and a little worrying that the trip might not happen, we left Eugene at 11:30pm. Planning to meet our ride to the mountain in the BigK parking lot, we parked and unloaded our gear (in hopes that it would make us more obvious) right under the sign by the store. Coincidentally our ride was waiting under the sign along the street; both parties nearly left the other. After a quick drive up the hill, at a McDonalds stop to refuel, we arrived at Timberline right on time...3am. The others that we we supposed to meet up there had already signed in, so we put on our packs and began the slog. Now keep in mind that not only was this my first time up Hood, but also my first time climbing a mountain that required crampons and axe. We quickly reached the top of Palmer and decided to throw on the crampons and switch out one pole for an axe; a good decision as the snow quickly became ice, pretty to look at but not much fun for walking. We were one of the first groups to reach the Hogsback, a few others had been there but turned back because of ice fall; an objective hazard that we probably should have yielded to, however we felt confident after seeing most of the stuff that was falling was quite small. Mike and Tom were ahead the entire climb, as Rick and I were moving slower, Tom was quite the pacesetter Saturday. After traversing beneath the schrund and around the cliffs we took one of the smaller chutes to climber's right of Mazama. The surface got better with each step up the mountain, the chute was the easiest part of the climb, save for one 2-3 foot ice step about half way up it. The climbing was quite enjoyable and noticeably more secure in the chute than it was traversing from the hogsback. The summit ridge was absolutely still and as our party were the only climbers up there if was quite peaceful. A few groups on North Side routes soon joined us, one even took a summit photo of Rick and I. The descent was slow to the Hogsback, but uneventful. We didn't see or hear of the climber who fell until we reached the parking lot. By our estimate the accident probably happened 20-30 mins after we left the Hogsback. I wish the climber, his friends and family the best. Overall the trip was very enjoyable and gave me a solid introduction to mountaineering. Gear Notes: Axe, Crampons, Helmet, Sunscreen, Shades Rope, few Pickets, webbing harness, avi probe, beacon (all not used). Approach Notes: Two different cars there. Three different cars back.

Congrats on the FWA, way to keep at it. Great photos.

Winter, what time did you descend? I ran into two climbers about half way between palmer and hogsback who said they bailed off reid hw and then decided not to go up the chute after checking it out from the hogsback.

Ice fall was pretty bad (a lot was human triggered) when my partner and I made our push for the summit around 8; two other from our party were climbing well ahead of us. I was hit by one decent sized chunk while traversing just beyond the schrund, as well as a bunch of small chit. I believe we were the first four on the summit, and I saw a few other teams summit via N. Side routes, and I would hope there weren't too many parties after us, as conditions were quickly deteriorating with the super warm temps.

A climber fell today off the Hogsback and broke both legs. I am not sure of details, other than he was medivac'd off the mountain. My climbing partners and I overheard the SAR personnel discussing the incident just as we reached the lodge. By our estimates it happened about 15-20 mins after we began to descend from the hogsback, probably close to 9:30. If you have heard anything please post a link. I am very curious to see how the climber is doing and what was believed to cause the accident. I am hoping for the best, both for climber and all those involved in this accident.

Does Middle Tumalo falls in Deschutes NF ever freeze to the point of climable? Any guesses as to grade?

yeah, i won the select at a raffle, didn't pay any money for it. i'm also waiting for the new guide that is always just a year away from publication. thanks a lot for the info. can't wait to get out there and try my hand at some cool aids.

i've heard rumour of routes over in the marsupials and other areas out of the park...any idea if they are in the old guide book? i only have smith select...

North Face on South Sister? Really? Like Prouty Headwall or by the hanging glacier? Def not on or near that rotten pile of sh*t of a ridge.

Umm, why don't you just return it? REI accepts ALL returns, seriously, and especially if it is REI brand, you'll get all your money back and then you can get a decent bag. Might I recommend Mountain Hardwear...

Anyone have any route recommendations, for a fun, easier aid at Smith. Just getting into aiding and looking for some new places (not the columns) to do it.

I have the Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina 15 deg F synth. bag. I really like it, and for under 200...hard to beat. I have spent quite a few nights in single digits in this bag and have always been more than warm enough. However like fred said, the zippers tend to get caught, this isn't a huge problem on this bag though, because it has two zippers that create a flap instead of one full length zipper. Also is lightweight and packs quite tightly.

are the Evo's still available?

I just picked up a 30m (the only one left in Eugene) BEAL half/twin for $19. Insane deal, hurry to your local REI and maybe they'll have a few left.

Petzl Nomad. They're 9.8 is a good deal for the money, and I'm fairly sure it has a high UIAA fall rating relative to comparable ropes.

damn, now that i've watched the video a few times, i'm beginning to wonder if this is a common occurrence with this particular group...I mean not one person of the five in the video even flinches when the climber decks. I dunno about that, having come within a few feet of decking at smith myself (thanks to a just WONDERFUL belay *reeks with sarcasm), I can say that people in the area definitely reacted to seeing bad fall with a lot more gusto than these jerks. And I wasn't even hurt.