YocumRidge

Thanks for the input Dane. It must have fallen off the helmet when I bumped into a tree.

Just got off the phone with the Petzl warranty department and am very frustrated. Here is the deal. I have a Petzl Vizion faceshield attached to my helmet. When the helmet was strapped to the outside of my pack on the long approach, the plexiglass part fell off. Those who own Vizion know the connection to the knobs is very poorly made and one does not need to be a genius to loose it. Vizion has a 3 year warranty, but the replacement part is only available in Europe. So, I was given a $20 credit (with $30 out of pocket) towards the purchase of a brand new whole unit. I have some concerns whether it is supposed to be handled this way and am curious what is your guys experience with this kind of situations.

how long is that left hand flow? more than half a rope's length? looks pretty good if it isn't super short. This is the same line close-up: It looks better than it actually was. The left side was dripping, so I got on the right side which was uber brittle and after not having slept a night before, I was wasted to fight my way through that crap. So, we bailed.

Hey Water, Sorry man for being loud. Oleg got me going with the whole UFO thing at the time so yes we spoke in multiple foreign languages. It was so surreal to see someone camping on the otherwise deserted side of the mountain. BTW, you did a nice job with the shelter. I had kind of ruined it with all the drytooling dirt that fell off of my crampons but we did not touch your breakfast croissant regardless of how tempting it might have been. Re: tent. The guy-lines tie outs were like headlamps from 100 feet away.

Hey Doug, We were hiding from wind on the east part of Eliot by the spur and waiting on the weather to improve. Once that finally happened we chose the traverse as a "shortcut" rather than passing below the rock band and up again through the crevasses and berg. In this season, it is hard to say what would be the most straightforward approach. Some crevasses were opened up all way to the rocks and the snow bridges were collapsing in warmer temps. We should've waited until fall. The "in situ" pickets were so pathetic.

Trip: Hood - North Face epic Date: 4/25/2010 Trip Report: Hood North Face epic OlegV and I were in the mood for some alpine conditioning that finally materialized in our trip to the North Face on Sunday. I had some beta from a friend who recently skied Cooper Spur and reported the left gully entrance being an exciting WI4 not to be missed. We left the TH at the closed gate at 11 p.m. and got to the TJ cabin at 1 a.m. The cabin was empty for a reason – no wood logs left to burn and so we kept on going to the stone shelter at the base of the Cooper Spur. This is where I started seeing headlamps but Oleg was insisting that was an UFO. Somebody was sleeping in the reflective tent. A cool thing that we did not bring nor the other items of comfortable life like pads, stoves, freeze-dried food we found in the shelter. It was still dark and windy (morning inversion) when we headed west and dropped down to Eliot. Over the last week, the snow consolidated well enough for a painless slog up and down the Eliot. The glacier is enormous and we hit the upper part of it only at the sunrise. Alpenglow on Eliot: Oleg on the upper Eliot: Bergshrund: Despite the forecast, the clouds were gathering quickly and the upper mountain was in a whiteout. We were loosing time trying to wait out the weather. To make things more encouraging, a black lenticular cloud came from the east and was not moving. Oleg does not like clouds that kill people so he started making phone calls to get an update on the current weather conditions and interrogating me on how long would it take for the storm to begin following the arrival of the lenticular. After an hour or so, I noticed more color blue appearing in the grey mass above, so we decided to continue towards the base of the gullies. Crossing the bergshrund and crevasses with some loose snow bridges did not appeal much to us and we chose to head up and traverse west through the rock bands as a safer alternative. Oleg was kicking in the steps and placing pickets as we simuled the snow traverse towards the first rock tower where I took over. The snow transformed into a thin snice over volcanic sand - an awesome substance for pro. The rock seemed to be more solid and had a nice mixed potential but then I realized we did not bring a rock rack. I had to run out the section and whacked one picket for the belay anchor and then belayed Oleg. The next traverse pitch I run out was mostly rotten ice. The weirdest thing was the tool sticks were OK but we just could not get front points in. We were loosing our feet and only hanging on our tools - sketchy. Down below we saw an inviting 10 story deep bergshrund smiling at us like a shark. One slip and you are an eternity. I was wasted and badly needed a new brain and body. After another 30 feet, I spotted first thin ice bulge, passed it and headed over to the next ice step that did look like a WI4. Thinking, oh what a nice change, I racked up the screws and slowly dragged my ass over there to set up a belay. I already had an idea where to plug them. My plan however failed – the ice was 80% hollow. O holy shit, now all of a sudden I started to appreciate the goodness of being a sport climber. Whatever Oleg and I tried to climb was not sporty at all. I crawled and downclimbed in a zombie style all way back to the Oleg’s belay. Our route is in yellow (the pic was taken 3 months ago when the berg and crevasses were mostly closed up): When I finally got there, Oleg happily announced that he came up with a bailout plan. Actually, two of them. The first was to rap off the picket over the bergshrund. The second was to downclimb the rocks and snow through the crevasse field. We settled on the latter. It was slow but worked. Me bailing over the crevasses: We were back on Eliot and heading to the water ice on the Cooper Spur drop offs to find it was dripping and frightened to collapse on us. The next ice line was rotten: It is all over. The end. We got back to the car at 5 p.m. 18 hrs c-to-c is not a stellar time according to the Oleg’s standards. His dog Charlie used to trail run 4 times non-stop to the summit and back over that time. But then again Charlie the dog was not expected to lead a hollow WI4. Gear Notes: Screws and pickets (both are useless) Approach Notes: Closed road and zero of human beings

For the Classic Crack I would need like 100 of them and 1 day to place it

For some bizarre "closeout" reason, the online price is $1.99 and in store - only $1.

The sweet deal at Climbmax on the Kong pins is still there. Only $1 each today. http://www.climbmaxmountaineering.com/images/view.aspx?productId=439

Ça ne devrait pas être un problème. Tu avez de nombreux mentors sur ce forum.

Nice job on the remodel, Bill! It made my day.

French sponsors?

Next time do get one of these rigs: [video:youtube]B-mmG1L74Yw&feature=related

just curious how you are defining classic... the icicle crick classic crack looks pretty classic... As defined by the above: map and compass, picnic table/kegs, two way radio etc. But the classic crack at BB (needs a TR) is a true classic for me, - in terms of falling off it! The OlegV' broken ankle is still healing after dealing with that legendary spot at the top faceholds you mentioned.

Yeah, but how much "classicism" did that crack of yours have?

Totally! My first crack attempt was so pathetic, I could not even get up halfway. BTW, "Endtroducing" is quite an original choice for the soundtrack.

Nice! What tools are you getting him John?

And South column on Chair. The best thing you can link up both on the same day.

I am very happy with my Grivel Steel Blade that I got in France in 2008 for only € 21. Axe-compatible, and only 14 oz.

Next time a C-4 would be a way to deal with rime ice at my advanced age

Way too cool - guys! Thanks for posting a nice take on the route. Excellent job on digging the rime tunnels too! I was contemplating the right variations (shown in yellow) at the time but was not as lucky to bring all your fancy scottish ice gear. Screws were worthless and whacking pickets did not inspire me either but I was tempted to run it out.

We also have a project on the real N side of Hood to be done in a classical himalayan style but weather is not cooperating yet...

Plus lounge chairs and a case of adult beverages waiting on the summit, preferably with a fixed line setup

Thanks John! PM sent.

John: did we hit X-mas already? I'd like a 2010 Alpha SV jacket by Dead Bird. Thanks.