Water

this guy specifically did have a compass for the complete inanity of those who suggested otherwise and those who suggested the Panacea brand compass (with built in taun taun) would have saved his bacon.

i expected a lot more wisdom from someone who had timetraveler in their name. and really suggesting people who have found themselves in over their heads climbing are publicity seeking assholes? I am pretty sure amateur climbing is not done for publicity since it means about shit all to most people except other climbers and 'pay for it-my taxes!!' knee jerkers. Case in point go to any news story that reported on this rescue and see if anyone is still commenting. Nope! Everyone would have much better luck getting publicity by submitting videos of you getting kicked in the nuts to americas funniest home videos or posting them on youtube. proof? go find a funny youtube video from a year ago..and refresh the hit count--people are still watching and commenting!

i always bring it but have yet to find a use for my compass I bet I can clarify the people who use a 'simple compass' to easily navigate during shitstorm whiteouts:

thanks for all the excellent feedback jlag! This has been huge on my mind as to how things were going and what we'll find come next year--between honey-hole ponderosa camping spots (think most of them probably are kaput) to the ski path to the TH. Hoping one can come off the SE ridge and just veer north without so much tree-fiddlin traversing.

where the fuck is marmot prince when you need him? he had a ton of experience and wasn't just an e-mountaineer this is from Jeff Kish's facebook. spose if he aint kosher with it being here then mods can delete if i can't edit/delete it. draw your own conclusions but i think it is a decent write up and will be a good ANAM 2013 entry with some edit and accompanying analysis. merits going to calling for help and staying put, imo. "In the first photo, I'm at the top of the crater, about to go up old chute to the summit. Clear skies, nice view of Mt. Jefferson, neat cloud inversion in the distance - just a couple hundred feet from the summit. The second photo is the view from the summit shortly after... Thank you all so much for your concern and support the last few days, and sorry for the scare! Everyone's got a lot of questions about what happened up there - and there's a lot of speculation on the news sites... Here's the facts: Before going up on the mountain, I always check the northwest weather and avalanche center reports for the mountain online (the same info on the screen at the climber's registry at Timberline lodge.) http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/13/ The avalanche report was more safe than I've ever seen it - all green for all parts of the mountain. I also always check weather.gov for a spot forecast for Hood's summit here: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=45.359865333959746&lon=-121.70516967773438&site=pqr&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text The forecast was for a clear night that would last well into the morning, and then an 80% chance of light snow later in the day Wednesday, when I expected to be back down at a safe elevation. Even if it came a little earlier, I judged it, as described, to be safe enough conditions for a down climb. So I rented a car, drove out to the mountain, spent the night sleeping at a rest stop near timberline, and then head up to the mountain around 2:00 am to start my climb up. I brought extra gear in case of an emergency, filled out the sheets at the registry with my itinerary and gear list, and started up slope by 2:30. It was a gorgeous night. The moon was full, the skies were clear, and the view was great. I could see Mt. Jefferson in clear detail by the moonlight alone. The city lights of Portland were crisp behind illumination rock, all the features of the upper crater were distinct, and the route was clear well before the sun broke the horizon. I climbed the whole way without using my headlamp. I was up to Devil's Kitchen at the lip of the crater when the sun was just turning the eastern horizon orange. The skies were clear and everything looked as predicted in the forecasts beforehand. I climbed up and over the hogsback, then around all the fumaroles, and then began the final ascent up through old chute to the summit. The chute is steep, and I was focused on the ice and snow in front of me. As I neared the top, I turned and saw a wall of white rushing up the mountain. In a few minutes, I'm on top in a complete whiteout. The clouds came in from the distance and rushed up the mountain with strong winds and some snow. The winds stirred up all the lose existing snow on the mountain as well, and the result was just blinding white, with no visible distinction between where the ground stopped and the storm started. I turned to face the mountain and climbed down the chute backwards, trying to find my old kicked in steps to get back to the crater. In the whiteout, it was impossible to tell how far I had descended until I smelled the fumaroles. I climbed down past those, and knew where crater rock should be in relation to them. It wasn't until I could reach out and touch crater rock that I knew it was there. I swung around the east side of the crater when the first of a series of incidents occurred that led to the decision to call 911. I punched through the crust of snow too close to Crater rock and found myself dangling from the hips down in a hole that was created by the hot noxious gases being vented from the volcano. The hole was deeper than the depth I fell, and I was lucky to have caught my fall and been able to climb back out. If I had fallen completely through, things could have been really bad. This was a mistake I made because I was getting off the mountain by touch; and feeling for hazards is the worst way to find them... After the fall, I decided to make a wider ark around crater rock to avoid a repeat. The common advice for navigating the mountain in a whiteout on the south side is to just head south. Following the fall line will take you away from Timberline Lodge. I made the wide ark and entered the south slopes a little further out than I should have. I also ran into some terrain I needed to avoid so I got further and further from the center line. I was conscious of this and tried to correct my line of descent, but what I didn't know was just how far I had actually descended before trying to make the correction. At one point I took a step down into the white and just found a void where I thought there would be snow. I took a tumble of a low edge and fell into soft snow. Nothing serious, but the fact that I could be stepping off cliffs in that section of the mountain without knowing it was disconcerting. How deep would the next one be? It was this fall that I landed on my crampon. I didn't think too much of it at the time. No blood showed through my two layers of pants, it didn't hurt much, and I had worse things to think about. As I tried to get west, the terrain got much steeper, and the consequences of another slip grew exponentially. Visibility was still terrible, it was cold, and from my limited view of the situation I was in, I decided moving any further was too risky. I layered up, laid down an insulating sleeping pad I carried, pulled out my 15 degree sleeping bag, and crawled in for shelter. I considered trying to wait out the storm, but the forecast for the rest of the week seemed to indicate that things might not get better, and I knew I was in a pretty dire situation to be stuck in that position with that kind of exposure for too long, so I made the decision to call 911 and ask for help. I provided the 911 operator GPS coordinates for my location which I took from an app I had on my phone. She forwarded me to a sheriff who would be in charge of coordinating the rescue. We spoke several times about my situation, and he contacted Portland Mountain Rescue with the details. Volunteers from all over came and met at Timberline lodge, and at 5:00 pm, a couple hours after I called for help, they were heading to the top of Palmer Glacier in a snowcat. By this time, it was already dark. When they radioed to the sheriff that they were close to my location, the sheriff let me know, and I crawled out of the relative safety of my sleeping bag, and began to blow my safety whistle for the rescuers to hear, and set my headlamp to pulse, hoping they could use it as a beacon to close in on me. Unfortunately, the wind was too strong for the sounds to carry and there was too much snow in the air for much light to penetrate, so their search lasted until about midnight, when we all finally spotted one another. In the mean time, things got really bad for me up there. The snow piled up, and I had to keep digging out. It was getting into my bag and melting, and my breath was causing a lot of condensation, which added to the problem. Wet down provides no insulation, and I got wet and cold fast. I had to keep a hold of the light, and my gloves got saturated and froze solid. I got short of breath, and it was hard to shout and blow the whistle, but I kept at it, with no response or sign of the rescuers for hours. I got nauseous trying to stand. I trembled horribly, and then finally began to get drowsy and started to hallucinate a bit - mostly about being rescued, when in fact, no one was there. I think I may have passed out a few times. There were moments when I thought about giving up on the rescue. To be seen, I needed to get out of my bag which was wet, but still kept the wind off, and I was getting confused and disoriented, and it was really hard to snap out of it and motivate to do what I needed to do to be rescued. Finally, around midnight, I heard a faint whistle. I whistled back, and then spotted headlamps. They saw mine and began to make their way over to my location.They got up to the ledge I was on, gave me a lot of hot stuff to drink, gave me some dry layers to wear, and asked if I thought I could climb off the mountain on my own power. I said I thought I could, but was apprehensive due to the condition I was in. Moving was good though, and as a group, the rescuers and I climbed down off the ledge as my body warmed from the activity. The visibility was marginally better at that point, but still bad enough that the SAR leader actually led us down into the wrong canyon by mistake. When we realized where we were, we readjusted our course though, and everything worked out OK. We climbed down to a snowcat waiting for us at the top of the Palmer glacier. On the ride down we talked a bit about PMR. One of the rescuers mentioned that a lot of their members join after being rescued themselves. One even needed his own rescue after he was a trained member of the group! They said, "you ARE going to keep climbing right?" and were happy to hear me say "yes." They did a good job of helping me off the mountain, and a great job of making me feel comfortable about my decision to ask for their help. A common sentiment I've seen in the newspaper comment sections after a climber needs rescue is that the climber is irresponsible for putting the rescuer's life at risk because of their selfish actions. Talking to these guys, the ACTUAL rescuers everyone likes to speculate about in these situations, it was perfectly clear that they love what they do, often require the same services themselves at one point or another and have chosen to pay it forward, and that they encourage fellow climbers to get right back on the horse when they fall off. Back at Timberline Lodge, the media was waiting with cameras for interviews, and that was the first thing I had to do once I was back on solid ground. After that was a quick talk with some medics and the sheriff who organized the rescue, and a great night at Timberline Lodge with Kolby Kirk, who had been in constant communication with the rescue team and did a great job passing the details on to my friends and family. He drove all the way up from Bend, arranged a discount on the bunk room, and greeted me with hot chocolate and rum! In the morning we had the famous timberline lodge breakfast buffet, and then it was back to Portland for me. My leg is cut a bit from the crampon, and all 10 fingers may or may not have frostbite - i should know soon. It was a long 25 hours on the mountain, and I definitely got a serious introduction to the potential perils of mountaineering. I must admit I was getting pretty scared toward the end of my wait for rescue, but in the end, I still maintain - you can't let fears dictate the way you live your life. The biggest rewards always come with some risk."

bump... nodder status check

the tline cam (http://www.fsvisimages.com/images/photos-large/moho2_large.jpg) has been mostly clear esp with the full moon that gives a lot of extra light-but jeff has a cloudcap as it sounds hood does, but the Wx seems relatively benign compared to so many other times when rescues are initiated in the 'winter' months. a few diff long distance hiker friends of mine thru'd the PCT this summer and appear to be friends with this fellow. as of 23:56 they (the friends) are reporting SAR has reached him and are warming him up, EMT not requested on the mountain, but maybe at tline (eta 2am)

have you considered a betamid or some other pyramidal type tent - they have huge floor area, pretty stable even in harsh conditions. obviously not the same thing as a tent but depending on use could be a solution that is cheaper and weighs less.

if you have the patience until i get home from work ill throw a pic from yesterday evening up. looks about the 'same' to me. curious dynamics that have it shift--spose it relates both to wind deposition but also how it melts?

a point has been made to me that at least one major club often relies on volunteers as field "guides"/aids/assistants even if a professional instructor is leading the course, whereas when taking the course from this professional instructor the aids provided are other guides, climbing rangers, or avalanche professionals. at least in one instance this is what i was told when comparing between taking a course with an organization and through a guide/instructor directly. whether this matters to you or not it is a point that was clarified for me. in some respects i do not want a 'friend' teaching because while they can know me better that knowledge also gives the potential for 'blindspots'. a professional with thousands of hours of professional instruction behind them probably has less bias? not exactly the same, but, this is why some people pay therapists to work on big problems and not just 'talk with a friend'.

great thread for your first post ever after being a member for 6 years. i am impressed.

check out glenn kessler MountainSavvy for pdx area

I agree with everything else you said, but disagree with the above. I was hit by rockfall once, and knocked down (literally). When I first realized what was going on, I was sliding feet first with my axe above me by attached by the wrist strap. If I had not had the strap, I would have been toast. I was able to arrest and slow myself to almost a stop before cartwheeling over some some rocks. Greatful ever since for that wrist strap. However it could have been any sort of tether, not a specific type. Bill r_i: get some webbing and make a wrist strap. birddog: I should have been clearer and agree with your line of thought. By original fall I meant if one went down to arrest due to some incident on a rope team, or if a step blew out, or one is practicing self-arrest, the leash isn't playing any mechanical role in that process. But if one cannot instantaneously arrest, is stunned (like from rock in your case) and cannot immediately get on top of the ax, that is where the functionality/benefit of the leash comes in.

so if you really want to climb with your roomie then i guess you're getting a legit wrist leash and using that. But if you want to climb mt hood more than you want to climb with your roomie you might explore other options. re-reading your post now i think i know what he is saying about the wrist leash holding body-weight. Assuming you are not ice climbing, which would be a hell of an intro hood climb since it sounds like you haven't done any snow/ice climbing before. If you're self-belaying (piolet canne (cane)) and you fall, if you have a wrist leash, theoretically the downward vector with how you have your ax planted--when the tension hits the leash the ax will be driven further into the snow and stop your fall. This presumes the impact doesn't just blow the ax out of the snow and that while standing on a steep slope with only one point of anchor (your ax), if your feet gave out you would consciously fight your instantaneous adrenal response to grip the one and only thing you can as your life truly depends upon it. Like the banjo minnow, falling will trigger a genetic response to grip your ice axe as hard as you possibly can. Not to say it can't get pulled out of your hands..but you will be gripping. as for the leash actually playing ANY role in self arrest--none in the original fall and possibly an additional hindrance. However if you botch an initial arrest then presumably it is at hand bouncing gently along side you as you slide down a hillside, or flailing all over as you cartwheel down the steep. your choice of leash is about the last goddamn thing your partner's safety depends upon. self belay, self arrest, and cramponing skills are numero uno for your safety. a good head and willing to listen is probably number one for his safety. is he roping up to you without any protection other than to cross a glacier?

bill_r_i: for ice climbing leashes play a role (weighted). For going up the south side of mount hood, not at all (save any ice in the pearly gates if that is the route chosen). this article on the site is a relevant read for ice climbing leashes. http://cascadeclimbers.com/articles/ice-climbing-gear-intro/ice-climbing-tool-leashes/ but for a standard ice ax the leash is playing 1 role. To keep you from dropping the ice ax and losing it and being up the creek. Now you could drop it when you're on a mellow 25 degree slope and just stand there and watch it slide down away from you, or you could fall on a 40 degree icy slope, try to self arrest and have the ax blow out of your hands. i have seen both types of attachment and have feelings about both (to harness or to wrist). If one is going up a slope and is switchbacking on it, then at each turn you want the ax to be in your uphill hand--thus attached to the harness it is easy to change hands. If you have it on your wrist, you've got to get the leash to the other hand and then back when you turn again (generally). This is a moment/space for error or mistake or a slip where with the harness leash it is much more fluid. but my issue with the harness leash is take the ice ax and pull it up until the harness leash is taut. Where is the ice ax head/pick/spike..? likely all around your upper body. Now of course it is a worst case scenario but it has the potential compared to a wrist attachment where the ax would likely be further from one's body. But, most of that is theoretical and if you're falling and the ice axe is out of control by your face, it is probably not the number one issue. I've never heard a definitive argument from anyone to justify either (harness or wrist) conclusively. Though the manufacturers sell wrist leashes with with ice axes, so that kind of states how they're expected to be used. When there is familiarity and conditions allow, I will forgo the wrist all together. I'd love to hear some more seasoned or reasoned people contribute to this discussion.

Toxoplasmosis it is a parasite and not a virus but how many of you huffed cat shit when you were young? cause that could explain a lot http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/11/03-0143_article.htm

ur talking about burchey, right?

i wear those $70 socks, but only on top of these: http://www.customshirt1.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=2572000L

yes mine looked well used when i got them (paint scratched off, small rip in the deck fabric, torn eye in one of the tightening straps, etc) but have been totally reliable. i even ran over with my car and fixed it with a bent piece of aluminum and some rivets. the evos i think are less prone to breaking also being a single piece of plastic vs the lightnings use that 'fabric' deck material which indeed can rip (though they are quite strong). also with traction i dont think the lightnings are be-all-end-all vs evos, maybe just a bit better. heel lift i think is more important for either.

1) buy used 2) buy used 3) buy used i think MSR are the best snowshoes. i bought some lighting ascents in 'fair' shape from the forum a few years ago for around $100. supposedly the lightning ascent have the better traction what with the rim of them being thin metal compared to the evos that are plastic and flat at the edge with metal teeth in the middle on the bottom. HOWEVER, when on a persons pack the Evo are always more compact it seems. tho i dont think other brands are 'bad' MSR really seems to have the designed dialed in

thanks for sharing. the Mammut Avy blog has a decent article about electronic interference with their Pulse beacons. I think they suggested 40cm was around the range that interference occurred, even with items like a digital camera (go pro). http://www.mammutavalanchesafety.com/

rambled up to huckleberry lake (far end of mystic lake, then south) and froze-to-death-plateau with my wife this summer for a quick night of backpacking before seeing yellowstone at the tail end of a trip hangin out at a bud's ranch up in lewistown. really impressed with the area-spectacular. thanks for sharing your memories mr. warfield

heres from today this work? from fb..hope it shows

once there is actually some significant snow, in your backyard consider the gumjuwac trail up from OR-35 [can park on side of road or across the way by the 'chain up' spot - just don't during a fresh snow dump since they need to plow that] to Gumjuwac Saddle. From there you can continue off-trail up the ridge to Lookout Mountain, or continue on a road to the south and try to find Jean Lake. You will find adequate steep on your way up to Gumjuwac saddle, and onward up to Lookout Mnt if you continue. If you do go up the 'ridge' to Lookout there are some open SE facing slopes that could be prime for avy--but that can probably be avoided by veering climbers left. but honestly I'd recommend starting with going to mirror lake and then up tom dick and harry balls mountain as a '1st' if you're really intent on self-educating. you'll have an entire winter season to push yourself, you have everything to gain starting small and going from there, but much to lose biting off more than you can chew. another consideration is snowshoeing up to silcox hut or top of palmer (keep the lifts in sight if inclement weather)

thanks for sharing and good attitude about risk and it not going anywhere. i'll second dougd on the ridge vs the boulder field. my only climb of it was three years ago in early october (areas of a few inches of fresh snow down around shale/coyote/mud lakes). Normally I'm on top of my game but for some reason I thought the woodpecker trailhead was going to save us some elevation gain so we started there..oi vey what a mistake. Anyways yes we followed that little trail in the night and worked our way up on the ridge (was still snowfields down lower that year I believe). The traverse was snow-covered (mostly rotten sugar like snow) but enough to hold us. We didn't go north enough and went up low 5th class vs doing the ledges. i wonder if the guy in your picture stuck with the firmer rock (grey) vs the entirely loose (red) at the start but near that ridge (once you get around it I think the angle improves). As I recall getting up/over that little ridge in the picture was the most difficult part, due to the rock being just pulverized volcanic dust/mud there. Anyways looking at the picture of him he seems higher than where one would be if one was crossing on snow--it also looks steeper for him to continue traversing/up/over from his location rather than down in the red. But i wasn't up there in those conditions so hard to know. if you look at my TRs ive got one for southside of jeff with a good pic that shows our boottrack along that traverse. cheers