Water

sounds cool (and very vague--lots of backstory, nil details on the geologic aspect), but why do i feel like: talk to field guide, reach out to mazamas--you dont have to be a member to give a slide show. But you'll have to show them some goods before they're going to spend much time entertaining this. You could also register a website domain that describes the place "diamondcraterOR.com" or whatever and just write your own version of everything up there and disclose that you're the discoverer, be the authoritative source. That route can be done for $20~ or so.

that face/red ridge from lewis tarn up to the crater often has bare rock as early as june.. I would be shocked if you couldn't get from the bottom of the lewis up to the crater rim by staying solely on rock.

if you're asking, it is probably too late.. Call me crazy but I don't really touch it past mid June myself.. then again it is in the backyard. Maybe later if it was a banner snow year (this year was not).. I am sure you can find people who will talk about conditions and climbing it through the end of September but frankly it is much better suited to climbing through late spring, and not mid to late summer—as a general trend.

Elliott glacier, if you can drive up to cloud cap on hood. You can find your first option of tiny crack in bfe elsewhere in the state.

canisters after 11pm? find a 24hr big fred meyer or a walmart maybe? you are not officially allowed to sleep in your vehicle at the overflow/climbers lot at Paradise, but i think on any given night during climbing season it happens. I've stayed there 3/3 climb times... I have never heard of someone being booted out but you should be discrete. not sure about sign in, that is always a cluster** having to plan your climb start to their arbitrary times. edit: you might find a gracious soul here who will pick some canisters up for you during biz hours and let you pick them up and you could reward them with a 'beer fee' for their troubles--i'm in PDX so no help but its worth a shot.

great webcam to see Mt. Adams in all its glory — and great is an understatement! Mt. Adams

same.. i'd had the 'ebook' on my phone for a few weeks now and that was 'cool' and all but the book arrived today.... how did this not exist before now? DAMN what a fine job you did Bill, and all contributing authors/photographers!! This thing is going to be a hood bible--as much info is at the finger-tips on the net these days, it doesn't touch the value of a book like this. she's a beaut', clark!

see a good therapist. probably can hunt around and find someone who has dealt with people who have had traumatic experiences of a physical nature (not necessarily abuse at the hands of another--etc--but came across a body in the woods, car crash, almost drowned surfing, fell out of a tree, etc). side notes: having fear, being nervous, very healthy. If it leaves you fried though, not relaxed--consider new hobby. My father was in the crawl space under his home a number of years ago--he had crawled (truly tight space, wiggle-crawl through labyrinth of twists and turn) about 40ft back to a corner to deal with some maintenance thing. His wife was upstairs and had the stereo on loud. Headlamp went out no spare light. total darkness could not see light from entrance. Was yelling and yelling but stuck for 20 minutes or something until his wife heard him and shined very bright light near the entrance to help guide him back. two years later we're driving down a rutted forest service road in the evening in november and come around a bend to see a landslide has blocked the road entirely (happened a few hours earlier). I say "oh, I'll back up and turn arou--" my pops jumps out of the back seat mid sentence saying "I'll find us one!". I park it and my wife and I get out and say "what the heck??" -- he'd had a total reverted panic attack to feeling trapped in that crawl space. was very interesting. and side side note, part of why I climb is the austere and dispassionate beauty. To look into the maw of the mountain, the mountain, like a smell, is nothing but a canvas. Shit does not objectively stink any more than flowers are a pleasant fragrance, they both merely stimulate olfactory receptors—the the breadth of a landscape, of the mountain, the power witnessed, is seeing a deepest part of ourselves painted upon it. When cognizant that a misstep is the difference between life or death, for me, mortality can be more accessibly contemplated--the usual response is a deep-seated striving for survival and life. Indifference would indicate something is amiss, or that you have achieved an enlightened state.

Jake, Just going on your AK location listing...but not sure what you've climbed before but I'm thinking yes, you'll be fine with hikers and strap-on crampons. There is no real ice climbing or need to front point--there will be a boot pack. If your brother never climbs I could see roping up but frankly the 'dangerous' section is only about 500ft and it is normally teeming with hordes of people. 97 times out of 100 a rope would be a total encumberment and hazard imo. Here's last year on a May weekend:

you can drive to cold springs for a couple weeks now. snow starts just above that is my understanding: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=31949.0

Thanks for the TR. I'm honestly impressed with the amount of snow still and that the tarn was still crusted over. It must fall off dramatically after the 3 sister. Shasta had so little left a month ago, and two weeks ago at crater lake there was very little compared to year's past. Also heard that pool called Lewis Tarn. USGS has it unnamed.

same response from mazama land. good intro when your baseline is only backpacking, and solid route to meet folks. My first climbing partner we were in class, did a 'sanctioned' climb then said hey, wanna screw this whole bureaucratic bs and go climb together? ok yeah! my wife did a pretty in depth member/non-member survey and analysis for mazamas and it sounds like they are not too far afield from mountaineers in a lot of attitudes.

at the very worst, you leave your board stashed behind some rocks a hundred or two foot above palmer lift. Hike back down to it and still have a 2.9k or whatever 'groomed' run back to the car. Many a time a climb of mine has gone like that as the upper mountain is not always amenable to skiing no matter the amount of sun (rime/chicken heads/breakable crust/etc).. Have fun with it.

hmmm... if you've never bc'skied or boarded before then I'd be a hesitant to endorse bringing it up. But otherwise the ski or board down from the hogs back is killer, waaaay better than trudging down. I hurt my foot this winter and haven't gotten out otherwise I'd have more concrete advice about conditions but I'm going to say there has got to be a really healthy corn cycle going. I bet its good riding once it warms up a little with some sun on it (9-10am??) depending on wind and such. if you haven't ridden off piste corn snow is a very good first intro, fwiw.

maybe they went right up the gut..which to me is a death trap even without waterfalls, due to the terrain trap. The way i have gone is to veer up to climbers left (north) on n. fork milk creek and wind around up to the rib that way. There is a climbers trail when melted and if snow should cover up the short vegetation--you never need to go close to water-features that can present hazard if snow covered. imo. fun route--nice blog share--

pulled the eBook up on my phone today!!! AWESOME!

but god damn don't you skirt a rule or do something untoward or you might 'ruin' it for the rest of us... heh (tongue in cheek to be clear)

agreed on all counts. Adams access should be dandy then. Certainly not technical by the south side but it is a long climb, great views, and a solid outing among friends if you mostly want to just have a good time vs. climb a specific peak/route/level of difficulty. cheers, hope the weather is solid for ya'll.

Yasican, I think what Major Major is trying to say is: continued at: http://www.effectiveapology.com/pdf/EffectiveApologyExcerpt.pdf

i've been on it when due to both start time, then encountering a group of 10 crab-walking mazamas who moved as if they'd had no experience on anything other than hood were in front of us... we were on the traverse (and especially the short one before the main one) where it felt quite iffy given how soft the snow was getting. we aborted. But you don't necessarily need a low freeze for the snow up there to 'set' and harden. Just get on and done with the shiz before much sun hits it--its on the west side so you have a good number of hours before the sun hits there (noon-1pm?)--you could use google earth time of day/sun cover and check to make completely sure, useful tool. this is retreat from the (still shaded) traverse. The area the guys are on was getting really sloppy quick, we knew the time to top out and come back would take too long for our group to make us feel ok about going back on that. And the traverse is a wee tiny bit steeper than this section, fwiw. It was too soft to protect.

generally agree. If over-nighting I might bring a shovel for camp's sake.

Dimka, You're smart to ask these questions, so thats a great first step into being a competent and safe climber. Mt. St. Helens would probably be a much better mountain to cut your teeth on. Not that it is absent risk, but, it is certainly a more mellow mountain and will allow you to dial in your fitness capacity and gear use. Look at the community colleges, I thought PCC had a hood-prep class. Also you might consider asking your parents or your friend's parents if they know anyone who participates in climbing. Not so they can guide you up hood, but so they can go over gear with you and answer questions/educate you more on climbing. You could even ask a teacher or two--with all the mountains in our backyard there are a lot of people who climb, I'm sure someone you know knows someone who climbs or used to at the minimum. Cheers

pro: fast. never fiddle. should never need to snug up. con: requires toe and heel welts. does not function with 'light' boots.

you may benefit from spending some time in a body-builder's gym. Not getting stronger there mind you, but observing the grunt techniques used during squats and bench presses. I think with some careful observation at the gym setting, you can find the secret to out crushing most of the other crushers you hear all around you.

You'll have to see the costs quoted to find out the value, but the AAC is on this, looks like they work with a group that will differentiate 'climbing'. http://www.nicholashillgroup.com/lifeaac This is a good source too, policies that go up to 15k (ft), speaks to denalidave's reference about time period and some help with making sure if it ever got paid out it doesn't get taxed. http://www.mountainproject.com/v/life-insurance-if-you-rock-climb/106078054