Water

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

best of luck getting them back. after i had a box of shoes stolen from our front porch/door...we live in a apt./condo thing and door is very out of the way/not visible from anywhere. 95% certain it was the lawn care folk given they were there that day and I had never had anything stolen previously. but who knows. after that i had absolutely everything delivered to my work or my wifes work. If you have a friend working anywhere with a shipping/receiving dept. consider getting stuff sent there.

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

SOLD

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?

bumpity bump bump bump bump bump. OBO? $100 is quite reasonable for the whole package in decent condition but tell me if I'm wildly off base!

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.

teh google is ur friend: https://www.google.com/search?q=altitude+mask my understanding was that the ways to train for altitude were to be in a chamber or be at altitude. looks like this reduces the amount of air you get to reduce the amount of oxygen you have..

Trip: North Sister - SE Ridge Date: 9/10/2011 Trip Report: Why I keep coming back to this damn pile, I don't know. But I do. Well, I do know, its ragged decrepit rock has a beauty to it. I'm convinced this mountain could be dropped by 2k ft if someone detonated just a bit of explosives midway up the east or west face.. maybe the plug would remain as a spire. Anyways, L & K have been on a volcano stomping binge whilst nursing an injury keeping them from rock climbing. knocking off the oregon ones they've never visited, they happily enlisted my company as I'd been up a few times before. headed down on a friday, crashed at TH and got going around 3am or so?, I think. Not much new to report, heavy snow year as ya'll know and there will be banks of it from 6k up that will make it into 2012. Found things to be melted very well up high on the west side, of course way more than in July when I was last there. Met a guy just before the junction with the south ridge. He was going solo on his 3rd attempt after being skunked before. He had come directly up one of the dikes on the south face, which he said he would not recommend at all... He stuck with us since I knew the route and that had been an issue previously for him. traverse just around the corner.. Still snow at the traverse, which gets steeper and steeper as it melts, but praise jebus the top had a beautiful moat along the summit block rock that made for speedy protected passage. moat: bowling alley: After that was all pretty easy. K & L's expectations for horrible rock were surpassed. As we hiked out they asked if I'd come back and climb it again. I groaned, hesitating and said "well...probably yes, I'll be back". I asked if they would, and they both said "no". Gear Notes: brought the kitchen sink to cover the bases (crampons, ax, rope, pickets, few pieces of rock pro) trail runners and camelbak would have done the job Approach Notes: climbers trail from just before soap creek, cut S/SE sooner than later, or you give yourself a bit of extra work crossing a small ridge just north of where SE ridge of north begins. exited via S ridge and hayden glacier moraines and back the middle sister climbers trail to soap ck.

maybe this is what he is chapped about: post no longer available. gave me a laugh but its semi blog spammerish, though i dont consider it as such.

best wishes dane, very heartfelt, so sorry to hear the news. But you'll pull through it and bring even more perspective and depth to the world. And thanks for your PSA about the vaccine. keep the camp fire of hope burning strong! my pops made it pass late stage malignant melanoma about..23 years ago.

nope it's still up http://www.nps.gov/webcams-mora/muir.jpg just snowpacked onto/in it/etc. happens to bunches of webcams around the NW...hurricane ridge, hood's cams, crater lake cam, st helens cam, etc

props plaidman!! always looks so gnarly from the road. wonder if there is any interesting flora on the top, as it isn't accessible to all animals and such

bump. Package still avail $100, WadeM didn't respond to offer to ship (at cost).

woot woot thank you!