Water

same day, saw this fellow seeming to follow (like 45 minutes behind?) a partner going up well late (1:30?) along west crater rim (at about hogsback level). We couldn't really comprehend what was going on as they traversed the steepest part at a snails pace. then we looked over and saw them motionless at the bottom of their slide. we called and they gave a limp thumbs up and said they were fine. Now that I see the pic, do they have two backpacks on?

i think this route, and thread, is calling mawwwmot pwwince

mawwwwwwwwwwmet pwwwwwwwwince! you may hate the "sanctimonious" attitudes here, but, as evidenced by every single one of your threads, that is the attitude here or at least what you get, eh? so why are you even bothering to post and ask for advice, are these threads helpful for you? I guess it is attitude I've seen plenty of people who sincerely want to listen and learn get plenty out of the site and even offerings for time on rock/ice/snow. if someone posted a link to their post warning someone, and a link to a news article about someone's subsequent death due to something they did against advice (like climbing rock/icefall routes during an extreme inversion)--then what, you'd suddenly heed that persons advice? But not until they've demonstrated? Either way you come off dumb as fuck (whether you won't listen prior or do listen after evidence). also A LOT is two words, you keep spelling it as one, maybe you can learn that unless you need to get the cred that i've mastered the dictionary. in closing, nigeria is a land of contrast. MAaaaaaawwwwwwwmet PWWWWWINNNNCE!

whenever I see the OP's name I can only help but to say it in my head as the priest from the princess bride: mawwwment pwwwince!

To answer your question, yes, people do have experience with the other class three routes at that time of year.

have only made it to the north cascades once and i got the book for christmas-inlaws are always looking for a book to get me at the holidays and this is something i feel spoiled to own!

#4 was a non-sequitur #2 and #3 (palmer/southside) are basically the same thing. #1 is going to be a more 'wilderness' feel but st helens definitely has terrain traps not found on southside of hood and would be much better with a partner. That said on most decent weekend days in the winter/spring you can find 20 to 50 people going up. point of clarification about the 'sno-park pass' -- someone correct me if I'm wrong but here goes: 1) if oregon plates on car, buy oregon pass. Valid in OR and WA snoparks 2) if WA plates on car, buy WA pass, valid in OR or WA 3) WA plates with OR purchased pass = no bueno in WA have fun

even though i mailed them a year+ ago and asked them to correct it and they said they would, petzl still lists the shaft of the aztarex as T rated in places when it is B rated. http://www.petzl.com/files/all/en/Products/comparaison/comparison-table-ice-axes.pdf

wasn't going to say anything but the vignetting on the pictures is extreme. if intentional so be it, if just out of camera maybe get that lens looked at or some lens correction going on pp. but maybe you added it since there is a dark halo around this trip due to injury. there is a reason the catchphrase 'doctor's orders' exists in the first place. You're the patient, be patient. heal well.

the 'road' to st helens will in high likelihood be 'open', unless that is it snows a tremendous amount at lower elevations starting in early May (unlikely) The main thing with that is after May 1st I think they start selling permits or some dumbshit, and after May 15th they limit the # of permits to 100/day. The road to the highest 'climber' TH won't likely be open but Marble Mt Snow park/TH will be and you can still climb from there (adds something paltry like 2miles and 1000ft extra--it is the defacto 'winter' route). Chances are you can say screw-it to the permit esp if not on a weekend.

http://weatherspark.com/#!dashboard;q=Government+Camp,+OR,+USA use that to find your historical best data for what week makes the most sense

depends on road conditions if you can get to pole creek TH or else you're going to have more time spent on the road skinning. See if you can get any of the Bend folk to pipe up but I know sometimes snowmobiles go down there (pole ck rd). again depends on conditions but other routes that can go from pole creek are thayer glacier headwall and the SE ridge (standard way up). Could ski down the south side into the drainage between the hayden glacier on middle and SE ridge of North, though, probably adds a few miles to the trip vs EMC. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=999609

Missed this update- Thanks for the status check Bill! I will go through pictures on my machine at home but don't think I have any that are exactly what you're looking for.. but maybe. Appreciate your continued efforts through thick and thin to see this thing through. Really, really, looking forward to seeing it!

i've had my gps for a few years and managed to wrangle info into it that helped me in the field, but, I'm no expert. I'm going to assume it came with some basic software (mapsource or something). www.redtrails.com has an extensive amount of trails. I think you can also download something on their site that allows you to get an entire trail map (ie all their trails) and load that as a map in mapsource. Whether that can then be sent to your GPS in totality or you just select certain trails you want, I'm unsure. you do have to make an account there, I'm pretty sure, but, they are a benign organization. additionally raised_by_pikas had a comprehensive and helpful procedure I used when getting some maps for some trip I took. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1018789/24k_topos_and_routes_on_Garmin my gps can probably do 50 more things than I know it can. helpful that is has full sunset/sunrise/dawn/dusk and moon phase built into it--thats helpful

case in point for all those ropes, no ground even visible..look at that overhang!

2nd the reactor. a total beast for speed and making water/melting snow/ice. there is a weight penalty and I can see your hemming and hawing from the perspective of backpackinglight, as the reactor gets poo-poo'd there in a lot of respects. The real test is in the field though, and as you'll read above the anecdotes lauding it. have a reactor too and hell we use it in the summer too, i honestly dont mind the weight penalty. we haven't cooked in a pot in years other than making cider mix/tea so the fact that the reactor is best suited to just boiling doesn't bother us at all.

so to the 4 man snow cave group, Adam W, how is the reid glacier looking for getting to leutholds? guessing its probably a touch thin on the snowcover over there if its anything like over by cooper spur. thanks

pics taken 8-10am Friday 12/2 we turned around at terminus of the spur/start of the climb 1) avy forecast overall good but specifically called out higher elevation, steep, North through East slopes, especially gullies/areas in lee of wind with additional accumulation. 2) wind was wicked, turning us sideways when gusting 3) at base of spur an hour or so later than desired/freshness factor

well i think you answered your question then. you have some who will not climb steep ice on them, and some/BD saying they are fine. you won't find more info than that.

wanted to thank everyone who responded, i'm in a very similar boat to the OP. Really want to get into bc touring/ski mnteering but have been tentative on where and how to start the process off. very helpful broad level advice, much appreciated.

you axed if anyone uses a rab summit shelter. i use the rab summit mountain (the bigger of the two 'bivis'). The attached vestibule is fine but would be a liability/rip away in bad weather. Condensation can be bad if in a cloud/low wind.. but can actually be pretty low even if it is wet out so long as there is a good wind. can be guyed out quite bomber, totally cuts the wind and is silent when done well--ie can be firm and no flapping/noise other than the wind itself, no deformation in 60mph winds. still wish it had a rear 'port' or a vent of some sort. I leave the door vented if conditions permit. Slept in it with a 6ft buddy we were head to toe (im 5'8"), works well with wife (same height), two 6 footers would be quite tight. bags against the walls no matter your size (unless midget) instructions printed on one of the pockets in the tent state: "familiarise yourself with instructions so you do not deploy tent in anger" or something like that. haha. if you look thru my post history ive made some longer comments on it, since, there is about squat out there review wise for the tent.

umm...rotate them in ms paint or photoshop or something. question, being as yer a seattlite er such, your opinion of der hooderwand? (ivans term?) after thinking about it muchos? being in pdx i oft ponder shuksan and baker, not to mention the much from rainier north. btw can you clarify the timestamps, you say you started at 4:30am but got to the saddle at 1:35er something and were under leuths at 2:30...? very cool to go up the west side, descend a good amount east, and top back out, not seen any TR with that in it. only been on 2 early fall (Nov-Dec) climbs on hood but find it a very fine time to be on the mnt, so long as Wx window is there. thanks for the pics as well

forget the price. it weighs 31 fucking pounds. would you really be using that in place of where you've used your VE25???? you should be embarrassed to consider it, hehe, but really the above post suggesting it is a himalaya base camp tent and when the context is $40k+ a pop at a mountain really it is a pittance. not intended for anything functional I can think of in the cascades unless you had a group of 6 who want to camp together in on tent on the top of mt adams of rainier? just a guess of possible use..

yes your TP was there, definitely knew who was responsible. hope i do not see it next time. no sign of poo though, ravens or prior climber must have utilized it. if it was decent weather, i'd take my pops up there yea (hes in town this weekend), but, im not a big fan of rain slog. we should get together, been meaning to call ya. Whats your take on North? love that rock?

thanks for the compliments on pics from both of ya'll. Wimsey maybe I'll run across you out there sometime. You gave some poignant and valued advice the first time I was heading there in 09 and asking you for beta: "Yes we roped up, but I could see some folks doing it unroped. It's easy, but you would die if you fell. My friend did it with boots, kicking steps and I did it with tennies and strap on crampons.". That, along with the numerous incidents on that west side, has stuck with me when I'm heading there. Natasia, I think I'm too much of an incrementally conservative climber baa to go after North in its full rime robe! :: Not sure how to use the word Koyaanisqatsi in a sentence, but its a good word to slap on the ratio of gym time to need to get back into a good groove with that.