Water

Congrats Sig! As long as you learn and live. The curve is steep but the difference from planning from afar to execution in person is like from womb to world. I am sure you are much much more mentally prepared for future climbing endeavors - you spent a lot of time here asking good questions and getting the gear covered in addition to any training you did. I warned you about the sunscreen. . . hope it heals quickly. small prices to pay for a successful first climb. UV radiation increases 4% per 1000ft above sea level snow reflects 85% of UV rays. Sometimes I think I could cook a raw chicken in solar cooker on top of my backpack. thanks for sharing back with us

makes for a piss poor golden shower

i do love that ENTIRELY ABSENT from every article I've read about this labor shortage for picking crops in the NW, never once do I see anything where a farmer discusses increasing wages to get more workers. In the linked story the only place the word 'wage' is mentioned is in the comments.

Wear a thick sock over your thin liner sock. More fabric to wick moisture away from your foot and absorb it. More layers to slip and have friction dissipate before it gets to your foot. Thanks for the advice folks. G-spotter, I had worn a thicker and found the same symptoms/issues. Assumed the additional layer just made more sweat. Maybe I'll try back again. For climbing boots I do the liner and then a regular sock of whatever thickness depending on the expected temperature. Hit Adams on sunday and I did not do anything but keep the lower 2 buckles (4 buckle boot) tighter--tight enough that I felt slight compression on the problematic foot. No acute hot spot on my foot, though my week prior blister, the skin lifted and looked bad due to the swamp footage. But no pain from road walking, climbing in them, or skinning. Its gettin there.. The gels/anti-antiperspirant/powder maybe I'll try though I'd like to ultimately find a way to not have to deal with that gunk on my foot. appreciate all ya'lls responses!

Robs advice is good. You have to listen to your gut with the weather and conditions. Camping at LC in July.. if you are going up the main slope to pikers before sunrise or right after on a clear night when the temp drops a bit, its going to be icy and need an ice ax and crampons to begin with probably. If you wait until the sun has been on the slope for two hours/if the temp is higher over night, it will be softer to the point of maybe getting by fine with just hiking poles. I've done both ways. Once the road gets opened up (a week or two or so) and the masses get in, there is often a true staircase up from Lunch Counter--your foot, flat, in steps, closely spaced. It is a longer climb (elevation gain wise) so endurance is something to consider (just, are you pretty fit or not..that will play a role). My wife will reluctantly use an ice ax and microspikes but defers when it gets to anything that would require crampons. That line may be different for different people, anyways Adams is one of her favorites for being around the edge of her abilities with a great reward for the challenge (2000ft glissade).

skied it yesterday (sunday). Was mostly in or under clouds up till LC with periodic breaks. They mal-lingered around all day and re-sat on the mountain at times with 100ft visibility and othertimes view all the way from summit to trout lake There was like 6 inches of fresh snow (a day or a few old?) from lunch counter up, thinner in some spots. Also kind of a crust below. Fine on skis, seemed like maybe it would suck on foot with that crust if you were punching through. we stopped maybe 100ft short of pikers cause a cloud had come back and seemed to really be holding, we didn't know if we were gunna be in white out for the rest of the eve or not..so we judiciously used the visibility we had and opened it up when it cleared a bit more at times. all clear by the time we got to LC and nice thereon out. An hour later the mnt had full sun top to bottom and clouds seemed to move higher overall. Went down crescent glacier route, i'd probably go up that way too having gone down it, even with the 'warnings' of the cornice on the ridge to the west of the crescent, imo it can be easily be safely ascended if you pick the right spot. it was fun to ski down that side. just keep your bearings so you dont funnel into the wrong drainage. btw on the way out noticed someone in a 4wd vehicle had indeed smashed through some of the snow banks for a mile or so (1.5...2 not sure) beyond where we parked. Real soon its gunna be open to the snows edge. the road walk really aint that bad tho.

meta 2 packed weight 3.5lbs.. not sure any advantage of Nemo vs say tarptent double rainbow (weighs a pound less), or other tarptents.

glad i revived this thread. I like oregon's system for funding parks using a large part of lottery dollars. The discovery pass has some crappy things like originally only being for one vehicle but isn't radically different from something like NW forest pass in terms of how it operates. Obviously the state will do ok even if it hurts some tourism aspect but it is worth considering border oregonians perspective--not as a hinge point but just as another factor. For instance it was nice to take out of town visitors up beacon rock. But at the same time there are a plethora of options for things to do. If I really want a gorge hike there are plenty on the OR side or on WA like table mnt or coyote wall that are free. The things that are close access that require the pass are not compelling enough for me so they just ensure I avoid them. Totally a guess but I see very little motivation for most oregonians to get the pass when so many other options are at hand. others opinion may vary though.

pretty awesome 'first' post! congrats on what looks like a great climb! thanks for sharing

noticed just a few down by the road in the warm evening sun. like just a few. none in the AM

cannot vouch but what about this.. there are compression straps, no? why not rig something like a chalk bag (in design).. even a stuff sack, etc..hell take a quart bottle of milk that has the plastic handle and cut off a portion of the top. rig a string/strap to the lowest compression strap and have that 'bag' hang there with the bottom of the wands in it. Or even use a liter pop bottle and cut it off then use an awl or make a little hole for a string to go through. If the wands are under the compression strap then they shouldn't be all bouncing around but this keeps them from sliding out down. poke a tiny slit or hole if using something like plastic so that any water can drain out. just mimic that bottom edge stretch pocket that is on packs.

any recommendations for a portland boot fitter? I didn't order these boots online. I spent about 2-3 weeks going to 3 different stores trying on about 16 different pairs of boots. They felt the best of all I tried on in terms of comfort and fit out of the box, fwiw. When I bought them US outdoor said they'd do punching them out or other help with boot-work, recommend I start there or do I need more specialty? between skinning and some lift-served days I've probably got around 40-50hrs in them.

Trip: S, Sister, OR - Dog (south side) Date: 6/17/2012 Trip Report: figured I'd throw my hat in the TR contest: my usual suspects had other plans this weekend. So I ended up wrangling a plan with two folks via cc.com that I hadn't met before. One local and the other on an extended rock/snow/ski/paddling adventure of cali/bc/or/wa/ and now AK before school in the fall. Based on the fact none of us knew each other we opted for something mellow and fun—South Sister dog route is just that. two of us skied and the other on slowshoes, but was entirely the opposite of slow. We started skinning right from the car. snow was firm but not crusty, just got slushier as the day went. day started with cloud fuzz and drizzle but you could tell the deck was thin. It was totally clear in bend at 5am and there were hints of blue when we got to devils lake. by the time we got to lewis tarn it was clearing, but the wind kicked up. stashed skis about 300ft higher or something. wind was really gusting but thats all, otherwise not even cold out. even more wind at the summit, but ok, not cold. nice not to have any haze tho, been a while since I had a haze free view: i'm new to skiing in general, the snow kinda of sucked by the time we were going down, quite wet and grabby. still nice to ski. Having to don the skins for the flats before the trees on the way back to the car was less than thrilling. Though I had a ball on the final mile or two through the woods. the many canned micros fully chilled in the roadside snow were primo. no pics of any skiing since my lines are nothing I want recorded right now. Gear Notes: foot deep snow atop beer by car will completely melt in 8hrs. fortunately locals put a rubber spider next to them to know they were found, but protected. axe didnt use pons, but, depending on if it was crusty or you were going up earlier, traction may be needed. Approach Notes: very straight forward. follow tracks and go uphill. top out on the flats then continue to the mnt. park on side of road, plenty of room. probably a week left of skiing car to car.

First season of spring/summer climb/skiing and wondering about some feedback from the more seasoned: 1) I tend to get a blister on my left arch when skinning/hiking in my AT boots. I have flat feet. to my knowledge my feet are the same size and shape (no dramatic diff/half size issues). My right foot is fine through this. I can power through it for a day but a day #2 would be tender/painful. 2) The above seems in large part aided by the fact that after say 3-5 hours in my boots my foot in living in a proverbial swamp. When I take off my AT boots after having them on for 8-12 hours my foot is the most I ever see it wrinkled/saturated. Looks like I put them in a warm water bath for 5 hours straight. Thoughts/solutions...one is reduce moisture (change socks after 5 hours? I'm only wearing the thinnest liner sock, so nothing thick to begin with. I've worn heavier though. With wearing more sock I still got the arch blister. I'd rather avoid having to put tape on my feet or whatnot pre-emptively. Is this something I can return to the shop and have them make any mod on the boot or...suggestions specifically for the arch blister on the one foot? I keep the liner tied to my foot as tight as possible. Maybe upgrade the liner? I have some mellow/soft insoles that work for me in there. Thanks

nice timelapse. every 10 or 30 seconds or what for how long? on that canon ps setup of yours? very cool. bahl'hornin! great IPA

excuse me? I'm not asking because I'm trying to figure out for myself if I can weasel on the parking-I've no need or interest to even go near anywhere that requires this pass. I'm genuinely curious to know if this made it to court or was thrown out by the court, etc.

So how did this resolve dhrmabum?? curious to hear..

hmmm.. i will eat plain yogurt (like a danon fruit on the bottom) just to get to the pure unadulterated (with yogurt) super sugary fruit on the bottom. and i am a 'liquids' person in general..when I was younger I would come home with upwards of 6-12 different types of liquid (juices, sodas, smoothies, shakes, chocolate milk, almond milk, sparkling waters/drinks, teas, etc) after a grocery trip. I got a majority of my calories that way..fwiw. relaxed a bit as i got older. that said talking rain really hits it, without adding stevia or whatnot..just straight up carbonated water with some of that fruit oils (or is it corn based?) in it or whatever is just as good as soda in my book.

Your eliminated items were a nice walk through recent memory of 'shelter hilariousness' through it I'm kind of hearing a tarp deal like beta/mega-mid type deal (meets size, weight, space, basic performance). I'm not hearing '4 season' specifically rated, so maybe one of the big agnes or marmot double walled tents with carbon fiber poles--they've been pushing the weights down on those over the last few years. I use a tarptent in the summer and a 4 season tent in the winter...i would never specifically recommend a tarptent based on your criteria of good for hanging out in rain for 2 days. edit: for 1 person in a Squall 2 or double rainbow..probably fine. See below re: single wall. Seam seal it good-though henry has improved his designs since i got a first tent from him in 2006, i've had small 'leaks' in heavy rain. But the tents also saw heavy use (100nights+). they get the weight down. We have a contrail (only use when going solo and its mild), a squall 2 (favorite tent, even w/o being free standing), and a double rainbow (better/actual vestibule coverage) I'm kinda curious as well to see what anyone else chimes with. edit: what about rab ultra? ..my 4 season is their prior version of the latok (bigger version of the ultra). For 1, hanging out for 2 days in rain could work. Any single wall will have a condensation issue..just depends on how well you vent/how much contact with walls/how much you want to be involved squeeging. i haven't camped in double walled tents much at all over the last few years, but i feel like i recall when it was really wet they had issues too..just not as pronounced.

found single on the flats just before the mnt. Has REI writing on it so assuming a rental. Will drop off at REI tualatin location this week unless someone chimes in.

interesting.. curious to see how it works, think everyone is different either way. is it just me or are a bunch of the headshots on this page bizarre looking? http://thepaleodiet.com/about

just a guess but I'd say yes, if you do not mind carrying it down lower for a while.

if money is no issue and worried about durability of silnylon, consider a look at cuben fiber tarps.

http://youtu.be/OqfOxm_1BE0 just use glacier glasses or really dark sun glasses. goggles when there is falling snow/wind/blowing snow. btw if you haven't gotten a good mini-thing of sunscreen and chapstick, it is one of those small comforts that will not stop you from being successful but will make a world of difference between having an oozing face painful face and mouth or not for a week afterwards whilst you tell people of your endeavor, esp if it is sunny, but even in clouds you get the UV. have fun

well for the record this question got posted at nwhikers as well.. i'm not going to judge the OP too much other than that they went for the shotgun technique in getting feedback. With all the responses at 3 (or more??) places without being knowledgeable oneself seems like it would be incredibly difficult to make rhyme or reason or distill an actual take-away from it all. Personally I would not be thrilled if my wife did such. But I could understand in a hypothetical, ie: if there was prior headbutting about this issue.