Water

I wondered as well. And researched. The conclusion I came to was that that the case presented against Glenn by OMA the truth was probably somewhere in the middle, but maybe there was some conflicts of interest on Glenn's part. But it was ~10 years ago. I wasn't able to find one iota of badmouthing of Glenn as a teacher or the instruction he provides. Being a climb ranger on hood and rainier over the duration he did gives him a solid background of experience to draw from. Locally speaking, he was the most affordable and easiest option for my peers and I to take a course through. At the end of the day I didn't feel enough ethical 'qualms' in this instance to choose a different option--I wanted the class for avalanche education and nothing more.

Ben, Ian Louis myself and another friend took the Mountain Savvy avy 1 course last year. To clarify it, the certification is the Canadian Avalanche Skills Training Level 1 with the option for a 3rd day to get the AIARE 1. But I think it goes a little over the AST 1 training wise, but that is the certificate you get. I think all of us would say we were very satisfied with it. And Glenn is allowed to operate on Hood for his class, whatever the situation with TMG is (actually now that I think of it I'm pretty sure on of our small-group instructors for the field day was a TMG guide?) While I considered myself self-educated to a degree and had continued to explore the subject through research and observation of my own, I was aware there was plenty I did not know especially into technical details than what I did know. Sure, avoid a wind loaded slope of such and such degrees, etc, some of it is basic. And that I had not learned in a standardized best-practices way, but in piecemeal fashion. The class was really helpful still to bring things together into a cohesive framework, simply refresh other topics, and educate new things, book wise and field wise. And further drill some of the most basic safety concepts that also apply to climbing decisions: heuristic traps, group size/social dynamics, compounding of multiple small bad decisions, etc.

This is 4000x2658. the original is 4912x3264 if you want that let me know, also i could probably tease the post processing to give greater visibility to shadowed areas of the rock.

a friend went up for some bc skiing monday around tline. said aside from the weather it was pretty lousy snow--breakable crust, mashed potatoes underneath, and icy. but again thats around treeline, maybe theres some more uniform snow up higher

Yeah, if not clear or easily researched to you already, south side of hood there are 2-3 locations easily accessible. I know of nothing on other faces of it. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Emissions/description_gases_fumaroles.html Whats the story on rainier? I know it has the cave network and steam--but no H2S in it for whatever geologic reasons?

for my sony mirror-less camera I got a 2yr policy [from sony] that protected against damage. I was/am good with it but it still had a lot of wear at the two year mark. I'll admit as that 2yr rider was coming up there was a little voice in the back of my head tempting me to 'oops' and at least get a nice shiny new body. Take a look at BHphoto or Adorama, I am pretty sure they have policies for protection (body and lens sometimes being separate). Or wherever you bought from really. Once you find something read reviews on the policy. I could be wrong but I think they're generally pretty straight forward and decent.

hmm.. not really. I've dealt with the issue on almost every major brand. I guess I've tried some osprey stuff for backpacking and climbing sans skis and those worked well enough. I deal with it on an old Mountainsmith Sting 45 too, which is an absolutely burly awesome pack but again hipbelt barely fits me and the suspension/backpanel for me is on the comfort end of the spectrum with sleeping on cobblestones without a pad. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago I went in and talked to Graham at Cilo gear about a pack, just really to check his operation out. I mentioned I've come to climbing from a backpacking/long distance hiking background, and that I liked to carry the weight on my hips. The cilo gear packs hipbelts looked pretty minimal to me (and I understand why), so didn't seem like something for me to pursue. I spoke with Hyperlite Mountain Gear last year and this fall, they're supposed to be developing a ski pack--I have hopes for it. In the mean time they offer some reinforcements and ski loops for their porter and ice packs. The sad part I wonder, I'm 5'8"/150. Not very big but yet I know guys who are smaller than me. Is it really so much to ask for a hip belt that cinches to a 30inch waist? The range of most seems to be 33-46 or something ridiculous.

Same boat as a lot of you, looking for this chimera of a pack. Unlike my backpacking or just climbing, I'm not sure it truly exists. I actually spent about 50 emails and many hours over two months with a custom backpacking pack designer before they eventually felt they couldn't make what I had in mind--the ski/climbing focus was not to their expertise, though I really liked the materials and features they had on many of their other packs. some reviews: EB 1st Ascent Haines: Tried this on a lark, good price and advertised as a ski pack from them. Good: Materials--their laminated ripstop is quite nice. Bad: Heavy for the size. Has I think 8 zipper tracks on the pack in total. No hipbelt pocket. not enough volume. Shoulder straps and load lifters needed to be re-tightened periodically. Pocket shapes odd, avy gear pocket pretty tight fit. returned. Maybe EB 1st Ascent clothing is still decent but frankly their gear blows, its kind of franken-designed it seems. Mammut Trion Guide 45 + 7 Backpack I've had my eye on this for a while and picked it up last year. Has worked well on a variety of trips - rainier climbs, with and w/o skis, long tour days, overnight tours. Good: Solid materials, reinforced bottom. Ski loops and two sets of compression straps per side. Avy tools pocket is really nice 3/4ths half moon zip style. The pocket itself will fit everything, but my saw and 320mm probe is a little bit of a wiggle to get it in past the zipper--but there is plenty of volumetric space for all avy gear and skins. Solid ax/tool holder system that can be setup without impeding access to rear avy tools pocket. Webbing loops on pocket one can lash crampons to. Fairly clean design. A side access zipper runs the length of one side and is fantastic for quick access to items in the body of the pack. Extension collar and lid 'floats' up to accommodate, plenty of extra space that is otherwise hiding. Lid pocket big enough for the miscellaneous kitchen sink of maps/sunscreen/hat/gloves/snacks/phone/etc. Hip belt has hip-stabilizers (little webbing that can be tightened going from belt to pack). Hydration sleeve with hook to hang, port to exit. Things to improve: No hip belt pocket-sad face. make the lid removeable! Though this mod could easily be done by cutting the flap of fabric that connects the lid to the upper backpanel edge of the pack. No diagonal ski carry or little helmet holder thing. minor/personal quibbles: Shoulder straps don't have much padding, when loaded esp with skis going up rainier, even with weight on hips i noticed. Maybe make the hipbelt smaller. I'm a 32 waist and like to keep pack weight on my hips. Many packs I've got the waist cinched down to near maximum tightness, its frustrating. This is one of them. Mammut Spindrift Guide Backpack - 2700 Very very similar to above, but here are the differences: different backpanel setup--more adjustable for torso length. Shoulder straps have much softer/more padding. Hip belt has pocket on one side! But hipbelt itself is kind of odd with some webbing with velcro going under some sheaths with velcro on the hipbelt itself to hold it together. No hip-stabilizers. Isolated side pocket for skins on one side of pack Helmet holder little thing with some clips that connect to some tiny loops on the pack. Main body access zip on the other, except instead of a long vertical zip along edge between side and backpanel, this is shaped like a long U |_____________| so the zipper curves and a flap opens to access the inside. I think the trion side zip is better, less chance of failure. But maybe slightly more difficult to try to pull out something of size if the pack is really loaded lid is still attached but adds small fleece-lined pocket for sunglasses or goggles, in addition to main lid space. I like this Ice axe/tool attachment similar but shaft holder has moved off of avy tools pocket and to side of it No webbing on avy pocket outside to lash crampons to diagonal ski-carry system ski loops at base of pack are adjustable, so, on could conceivably secure skis in aframe mode w/o sliding ski, just setting it on pack and tightening the ski loops and compression straps. quibbles: Again I am at the tiniest end of the hip spectrum for this, having to crank it down to get it tight without much room to spare, and it seems like this velcro hipbelt thing was having issues/moving a bit. Between the two while I am really fond of the diagonal carry, having a hip belt pocket, etc, I think the Trion Guide is better overall. The Spindrift guide all said and done has just gone a few steps past the 'too much' point as far as buckles, zippers, latches, for my taste, even though I like a lot of the features.

Well I do believe they have an interest in getting on as well as they can with other user(s)/groups. They try to give heads up at times, at times they'll try to let others pass/go in front. But having an interest in being copacetic with everyone else and actually achieving it are not mutually exclusive. bettering/conserving 'the planet' is important to me. But I eat meat, drive to work daily and 3-6hrs almost every weekend for recreation, and make camp fires. I do recycle and we only have 1 car though, But by definition I'm failing miserably as far as reducing my footprint. Its important just not that important, apparently, eh? they do some pretty decent trail work, and at times have come down with some weight on issues that benefit climbers.

major bummer. I always fear this even with a basecamp in the BC, but ungodly more so if i'm in any relative proximity to a road. if you have renters (or homeowners?) insurance i've at least been told mine covers this, assuming your gear cost hits the deductible. (two sleeping bags, stove, etc very well could). It doesn't fix the problem but it helps take some sting out if your ins will cover the replacement costs.

no, its not. fwiw we had plans to ski it in early june. the wind had other plans for us that night. wind kept most parties from summitting the mountain during that phase, but, success was had later in july, sans ski gear.

I'll just throw it out there, what about White Salmon? Its still WA.. 40min to Mt. Hood Meadows. 50min to Mt. Adams. Goat Rocks a bit further (in summer). Columbia river gorge with lots of year around activity. certainly not the variety of alpine terrain around towns mentioned above but, take a gander, it may call to you/Hood River right across the way in OR. Theres a little different note with the Gorge (watersports, low elevation), and its more towards the dry-side of the E/W spectrum than towards the wet-side.

ahhhh hell no.. bump. anyone have any info? would love to hear the nit and grit if this is a change, legal standing, etc. Is that upper parkinglot a state lot? federal? does timberline lease it? snopark pass do the clearing, or is tline snowcats taking that over? etc. i'll raise some stink about this if its a move to try to reclaim 25 spots~ for skiers by trying to bounce out overnighter bc'ers. i know you can park overnight at the lot at the base of tline road on 26 by the ODOT yard. And cooper spur snowpark at 3800 on the NE side, and the bennet and barlow pass snowparks..

ortovox 3+ beacon, $239 on SAC right now. this beacon is nifty, takes only one AA battery.

the arva axis was up on steepandcheap.com for $225 or something ridiculous earlier this week. deals can be had, a bit. thats a modern 3 antenna beacon.

deals are avail. I got my boots in 2011 as a 3 or 4 year old boot already, but for $299. Yes they weigh 4.5lbs each but meh. Likewise found a modern rockered etc blemished ski for $299. Between the two I saved a fair bit vs $500+ for each of those items. harder to find binding deals.

similar to JDCH two years ago I took up skiing. Mostly I was shit tired of watching people buzz by me on the volcanoes while I trudged or postholed back down. Prior to this it had been 20~ years since I skied (use to do it once a winter as a kid in Michigan). It came pretty quickly, that first year I skied adams SW chutes, probably around day '15' or so of skiing for the season--not super pretty, but, I didn't fall or snowplow down it either, not that its a hard ski but it was nice to ski exit that volcano instead of walk down and see dividends so quickly. One thing with the lifts--down here in pdx at least Timberline Lodge offers a spring pass for something like $120? I forget, but it pays for itself with two visits, starts in March or early April and goes until June (?). I got a ton of skiing in on that my first year, with plentiful amounts of fresh snow on many days. And its mostly great mellow/moderate terrain for learning. I think Bachy and I'm sure areas up in WA have some spring passes. the hardest part for me was the money for this activity. skis. boots. bindings. skins. probe. saw. transceiver. ski crampons. whippet. spring pass, occasional full price tickets, avy class. ... now looking at roof rack. not that you need every bit of that right away.. its worth it though, so much winter fun, days that are shit for climbing high are now transformed to fun in the trees. and turning around on routes is no longer a defeat in the same way, but time to go from one mode of fun and pursuit to another. Every bit up is a gain for the down, even if you dont top out on objectives, I really enjoy that.

sounds like no way enough snow to ski eh?

by the same token there is a program called RMaps (simple) that is free and allows you to download all sorts of maps for offline use (google/bing sat hybrid views, google terrain, USFS maps, etc). A slightly more complex (I don't like the UI) one that is free is OruxMaps. I use RMaps and have most of western north america at a high level downloaded in satellite, google terrain.. then in zoomed in areas (wallowas, cascades, olympics) I have max zoom google terrain/sat imagery for where i'll camp, and of course the USGS/USFS maps. So far use has been fantastic.

http://irunhikecamp.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/day-164-the-end/ thru-hikers told the PCT is closed. I laugh. at the absurdity.

I see G3 dropped their Saint/Spitfire/etc and has just gone to calling their touring series Zen Oxides with some variations. Two years ago when I was shopping the consensus I found for a 1-quiver ski for cascades what I planned (year round climb/skiing) was 90-100mm underfoot. Now it seems like everyone says 100 or just north of that. Read a review or a forum from 6-7-10 years ago, and 100 under foot is spoken of like it is a real fat ski. I think attitudes and gear change more than the snow. I got a bud who is still on some 6 or 8 yr old k2 Shuksans (80-85 underfoot?) and he seems to have an absolute ball on powder days hootin and hollerin. And hes skied them off the top of most of the volcanoes in the range in summer conditions. While I'm sure he'd like a new rig nobody can say he isn't have plenty of fun on what is now viewed as suboptimal gear (for powder at least) Are you only really wanting to descend from climbs quicker, like your goal is to climb first, then add the ski aspect on or are you looking to ski/tour in addition to climb? Because if you're really just looking to descend fast and the skiing itself is an after-thought, you probably won't be climbing after volcanoes huge dumps (avy issues--maybe thats just me?) I'd probably go light/skinny as possible on everything and not worry as much about the ski aspect--for average/most conditions you're talking about degrees of pleasure vs can/cannot get down the mountain--anything 75mm to 115mm will underfoot will function to get you down. Obviously tons of fresh and super skinny will suck as will icy hard pack with a flexy fat ski. on the other hand if you want to add touring (not just climbing) where you'll go out on big-dump days to tour below treeline as well as skiing corn in the summer, something 95-105 but still try to go light weight (like the ones Pete mentioned) will be great.

fair covered it broadly but well. recreation.gov? It is a subsidiary of ticketmaster. Just keep that in mind. Or at least everything I can research indicates as much--totally open to eat crow if someone can prove otherwise. But if you've ever enjoyed buying access to an event from ticketmaster you understand why it is such a joy to use recreation.gov to book something. And hey, who cares if a private company siphons off a few of yours dollars when you pay to access public lands your tax dollars pay to 'manage'... Well look in the access issues forum for the menagerie wilderness issue currently happening. A climber attempted to help the FS by relaying bird information obtained while following their rules. Ultimately climbers are getting pinched on access now. Agenda, vendetta, conspiracy, rule change, whatever, it aint benefiting climbers. In my own backyard you use to need a (FREE) permit to go to Pamelia Lake [Mt. Jefferson] or the Obsidian area [North and Middle Sister]. You use to be able to pick it up at the fancy Detroit Lake ranger station, for free. No more. It was too much of a bother for them so now you have to pay $6 to buy it online. Or if there is space, you pay $6 at the FS building. Credit card only (further disenfranchisement) It is my understanding (possibly incorrect) now that they also altered the rules and that you need to have that permit in order to 'pass through' these areas. So for a day climb of Mt. Jefferson's west rib, the most logical access being via Pamelia TH, you need to buy a $6 permit online. You can never get a refund if you can't make it. And if you can't go or need to change the dates, turn it to overnight, add people, etc, you must buy a new permit. They encourage you to cancel your permit if you can't make it (no refund) so others can go. Next year maybe I will spend $100 to book 12 party groups every good summer weekend just to fuck with this system. Certainly this is begging to see a court room and get thrown out. And please disabuse me of my understanding if I am wrong. But when I have spoke with the FS they have said yes you need said permit to 'pass through' the area. goddamn i am getting irate just telling this story. Fairweather described the Mt. St. Helens Debacle but I'll put some numbers on it for you. As of July 22nd 2012, the MSHI had sold 13,934 permits to climb MSH in 2012. MSHI is a private non-profit. The permits cost $22. $15 goes to the forest service [$209,000] who is on the hook for the road access, the camping, privy, enforcement... $2 goes to the online processing company/mailing you the piece of shit tyvek permit. $5 goes to MSHI. 13,934 * 5 = ??... ~$70,000. MSHI website use to say this was a mandatory donation (Waybackmachine.com) but now update to call it a service fee (fun semantics). They say it goes to the MSHI Climber's Brigade who 'maintain' the trail (free volunteers). What they spend it on is their events, guided trips, outreach, benefits? There is no possible way they could even hope to account for spending it to maintain the 'trail'. And they have admitted to as much when I have confronted them. Keep in mind they harvest $70,000+ a year from the public. To access a public resource. They could pay me $45,000 a year and I would be there 365 and pick up people's poop. Pete it is obvious this two year program does not intend any restrictions. It will be observation and monitoring and 'outreach', that is clear. But really will you bury your head in the sand that this can in no way be the footing upon which restrictions are built from in the future? It is totally in another realm or dimension all together? We would have to agree to disagree if you think so. I don't need underground conspiracy information or great reassurances from Adam (who ultimately controls jackdiddly for these two years) to call it as I see it.

Very well said AlpineMonkey. This is my hope for this, that the program runs its course and then gets no more funding and goes away. Observation of staging areas, monitoring of flora/fauna, this is all quantifying and creating baseline data of the area. Getting input from user groups helps to quantify people numbers. Now WW has something to work with other than ideology alone. As do FS admin. Sure it is funded by a WA state agency but you don't think information isn't available to DC when setting longer-term agenda/FS planning? Or when DC tells region 6 in 4 years that their funding is going to be cut by 20%, WRRD doesn't see an opportunity to use this resource to help make up the difference? Right now it is an educational outreach and resource monitoring. It is so incredibly naive to think that tomorrow (2, 3..5 years) it is not permit enforcement and flora/fauna protection. This 'two year grant' is easily the path to that. It is quite possible this does not lead that way, but history is not so favorable in that regard. Personally I think those involved orgs that represent climbers should have done all they could to get assurances that this in no way leads to additional restrictions (in the future) before they cooperated with it. But hey people were thrilled the FS reached out for input instead of acting unilaterally (which speaks to these people's normal perception of the FS, and the FS's poor track record in many arenas)

assume you can ski already? Can't speak from direct experience but was told the dyna offerings can be a challenge to learn on, more suited to the experienced. I demo'd some nanuqs or nunataqs (forget) two years ago and was really impressed by how light they were for the size. I was still learning a bit and just in a day i didn't do the topsheets any favors , seemed a bit fragile but its just a topsheet. I ended up with a G3 saint probably not light enough for you and maybe a bit wider than what you want but I think its a pretty solid workhorse, has held up great, worked in a variety of conditions. won't find much press or talk about them but I think they're an under-the-radar (lost in the pack) all-around cascades winner. The g3 spitfire is supposed to be pretty good, its a bit smaller in the waist than the saint. That said I'd highly consider the volkl offerings, they're good shit.

Pete why belittle AlpineMonkey's point? He didn't mention one thing about conspiracy. He talked about different environmental and outdoors group influences in DC along with policy that's been set in DC. Do you really think that someone in FS admin is thinking about how they can make a better trail for climbers? If anything they're looking for ways to cut spending and monetize any possible resource. The involvement of lots of outdoor groups signals lots of users. Not every instance of getting screwed over is as complex as an Alex Jones fan would have you think, sometimes its just plain to see you're getting screwed. Such as an Ohio congressman originated Fee Demo... "From 1965 until Fee-Demo was authorized in 1996 as a rider to the Department of the Interior appropriations bill, recreation fees were controlled by the provisions of 16USC460l(6a). Fee-Demo temporarily superceded them. With the passage of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) in 2004 as a rider to the omnibus appropriations bill, Fee-Demo was revoked and the 16USC460l(6a) provisions were permanently repealed. The primary purpose of both Fee-Demo and FLREA was the repeal of the 16USC460l(6a) provisions, or so this author would contend. Repeal of this provision would not only permit land managers to collect fees for a wider range of products, goods, and services, repeal would also permit land managers to retain the fees they collect. By providing this alternative funding mechanism, Congress was free to slash allocated funding and to force land managers to become reliant upon user fees, concessionaire fees, public-private partnerships, volunteerism, and other funding." Excerpt from Privatization: An Overview. By Scott Silver