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i think the suggestion was that you could meet someone through there, not join them. for instance, here in portland I have met some good people to climb with through the mazamas, without going on mazama climbs.

correct, and sure, toss out any the ski related buildings & silcox. a bit pedantic perhaps to call out those two hovels, but to say there is no structure on any of the other mountains.. not true. additionally right at treeline more or less, you've got tilly jane cabin (in wilderness area and fee-based). I generally agree with cascadeclimber that it would be nice to know what the long term goal of the MRNP climbing program is. More visitors? safer? less environ. impact? more consolidation of users, etc...or whatever combination and weight the importance of each. I'd be fine with no buildings, personally.

for the record Mt. Hood has at least 4-5 permanent structures above timberline, 2 of them are in wilderness areas. 1 of them for paying customers of Timberline inc., though you can pop in there if you need. I'm on board with poop facilities/blue bag barrels for heavy traffic areas, no matter where, volcano or forest--it just makes sense. That or you limit people (already in conjunction with feces mitigation)

bump. sell price is negotiable.

yes--if inversion isn't too warm up top and you'll talk my manager into giving me more vacation. have fun

I have new unused (carried on one climb, never came off pack) Petzl Aztar hammer. would trade for Aztarex hammer (in new or like-new shape) or sell for $150 neg. shipping @ cost, pickup in pdx.

very cool, love seeing any N. sister action. thank you for sharing and reporting. pics of N. sister? curious on route what elevation/how far north did you cross over from linn glacier area over towards collier? i assume up to the saddle between n. and middle, then ski down hayden towards soap ck. approx RT mileage? this type of touring def. keeps me motivated to keep learning to ski.. cheers

You can get this action just a bit north of cleveland! delicious from cleve: 8~hr to adirondacks 4.5hr to central PA appalachian stuff (must be some crags there..)

I'm not in your area but want to say you come off as prepared as possible and ready to go out with someone more experienced to be challenged more and learn. more than can be said for what seems like 95% of the people who pop on here saying 'I wanna mountaineer!, teach me!". good luck, if you were in pdx area id be down on trying to figure some hood action. cheers

first of all screw you bucketz i already took those bolts out, better luck next time and yeah i got the second ascent, it sucked cause im short and i basically broke off all the holds

Primaloft seems the general standard for synth insulation Nano puff comes in pullover variety for weight savings Thermawrap is good (its what I have) and feels quite warm to me but empirically doesn't rank as highly for its proprietary insulation (exeloft or whatever) can't speak to the Arcy Atom but am pretty sure it costs an arm and a leg. haven't heard anyone poopoo the 1st ascent stuff from EB really, mostly solid reviews people seem satisfied for what they pay for. I haven't compared all these but I am going to take a stab and say that the Igniter is the warmer and heavier of the two and Serrano the lighter, but both will be 2-5oz heavier than their Arcy, Montbell, or Pata cousins for equal size. depends on how big of a deal it is to you but for instance I have pata gift card and could get the puff pants they make right now, but am waiting for a coupon for the EB 1st scent Igniter pants even though they are a few oz more because i trust the quality is on par, warranty sure is, and I'd rather save the $50-80 difference an care less about the oz for something that has a limited life span to begin with (synthetic fill).

friend of mine did sw ridge in something like 24hr window last summer i think.. got in friday afternoon/eve up to a bivy site just above trees on sw ridge. up in the wee hours summit around sunrise, back down same route to car before evening saturday. think sw ridge or milk creek will be fastest i have heard that the traverse melts out completely.. but didn't north sister not lose all it's snow this past summer until extremely late, if at all? maybe I am wrong. to me those traverses are similar, tho north has more of a cliff right below it.. jeff didn't seem as extreme, my 2cents. in early october 09 the south ridge had not a lick of snow along it and there was maybe 1-2 foot of mushy, not icy, snow, along the traverse from red saddle-probably newish after a previous week's dusting/storm or something. with strap on cramps, ice ax, and tennis shoes--could be done by anyone with confidence in their abilities.

2009 BD Sabertooth with Lowa Mountain Experts 42 sorry for crappy pics notice no rattles or shifting. Center bar firm. 2 front pegs and rear plugs are jammed against the sole with no play, though small gaps visible between sole and crampon. Next time after wearing them in-situ for a while I'll take a pic-my recollection is that the minor gaps are eliminated after a bit of walking pressure--most of the time I have to unstrap, unbail, and absolutely pry/kick them against something to get them to pop off. to me it seems a great fit

I have considered an avy beacon in general although I do not bc ski at this point at all. that said, preparing for the rare and not the common-if an avy beacon is warranted by the chance of an avy--everyone should carry one along the dog route on hood, worms flow on helens, ingraham on rainier, etc.. but surely people don't. do climbers in himalaya, ruth gorge, denali bring/use avy beacons? definitely see plenty of evidence of avy in any mnt terrain but doesnt exactly come to mind on gear lists/shots i've seen. additionally if you've got an avy beac you should know how to use it, which = plenty of practice. At that point should you have enrolled in an avy 1 course? Following that to its conclusion, is avy 1 course and full beacon usage and knowledge a preq. for climbing s. side hood? when flotation is needed seems like a good rule. additionally when there is a bootback and flotation is not needed vs off the bootpack it is... thus you should have a beacon? or such that in AM you don't need flotation but by PM things are soft and flotation is desired? I'm no expert so I'd love to hear more feedback, thanks for posting that mp link. PLB, cell, avy beacon, camera.. any more electronics one should carry? GPS, Ipod... haha

mazamas lodge right in govy camp. dirt cheap, bunk style housing, access to shower, internet, fireplace warmth. basement room has a fridge i think and drying area for wet clothing/you can mess with your gear down there. there may even be a few of the smaller rooms that sleep 2-7.. if you require that. ~$17.5 - open to the public. think you can piggyback some meals on too. http://www.imbueid.com/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=Mazama&-loadframes

the main difference also being I cannot recall the last time Ivan shared such views as he led a campaign rally attended by thousands or spoke these views as a commentator on a national news program and went unchecked and supported by his political peers with the same level of national prominence.

most gyms have a bulletin board for people looking to sell stuff or find partners. You might ask the staff there about this, or if there isn't such a board, you might start one--there are probably some folks at the gym that are looking for someone to belay them as well. good luck, happy climbing!

http://sac.gearattack.com/items/40488 http://sac.gearattack.com/items/41201

i have a TR of jefferson look on my profile. or look at summitpost etc for more info. the approach is longer than most routes on a lot of the cascade volcanoes (but not all). it also has a summit pinnacle which by any route must be contended w/ vs the mnts with larger summit areas.

hmm.. well im going to meadows today for the first time. other than falling lots a few times last year on a cheapo tele setup i picked up, the last time I skiied was almost two decades ago at nubsnob or boyne highlands in northern michigan.. hopefully being at meadows turns me into a trust fund brat.. the trust fund aspect of that would be so awesome!

consider staying at the mazama's lodge, as far as price hard to beat, $17.50 for non-members, I think. Bunk style accommodations (bring earplugs and sleeping bag)-)you can get a shower and a meal (i think) and are right on the mnt no exorbitant lodging costs: http://www.mazamas.org/your/adventure/starts-here/C184

like iain said you can't predict up there really well.. if you can do anything Wx related, move up your trip start now. monday and tuesday could be high over-cast with occasional flurry, not bad at all. i find esp. mountain predictions to be terribly tenuous, changing even the day-of. spent a good 36hrs in the tent at crater lake a month ago in rain and 33 degrees after the forecast changed at the last minute. below is a general trend as of now. Keep in mind weds-thurs system could come on tues night, or get pushed to the north or south, or end up more like thurs-mid-day to fri. etc etc. bring extra headlamp batteries and a damn good book/music/vids/game/cards/masturbatory fantasy/conversation with your partners.. you got many hours of darkness to spend in those 7 days.. LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE PACIFIC NW WILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE THROUGH THE PERIOD. HOWEVER...THE RIDGE IS NOT VERY STRONG OR AMPLIFIED AND IT WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ANY UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES THAT COULD BRING PRECIPITATION. A DRY FORECAST IS IN STORE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. ACCORDING TO THE GFS...A SHORTWAVE MOVING SOUTH ALONG THE FRONT SIDE OF THE RIDGE WILL BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE TO A CHANCE OF SNOW SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. THE GFS IS FARTHER WEST AND STRONGER WITH THE SHORTWAVE THAN THE ECMWF AND CANADIAN. FOR NOW...WILL KEEP LOW POPS BUT IT COULD BE DROPPED ENTIRELY IF GFS BECOMES MORE IN LINE WITH THE OTHER MODELS. ANY THREAT OF PRECIPITATION ON MONDAY NIGHT IS MINIMAL. ON TUESDAY...GFS ADVERTISES A WEAK DISTURBANCE BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE TO A CHANCE OF SNOW. ONCE AGAIN...THE GFS SHOWS A BETTER POTENTIAL FOR SNOW THAN THE OTHER MODELS. THE ECMWF AND GFS ARE IN SIMILAR AGREEMENT WITH A MOIST WARM FRONT MOVING ACROSS WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN OREGON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. IF MODELS VERIFY...THIS COULD BRING DECENT AMOUNTS OF SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS WITH A POTENTIAL FOR A WINTER MIX AT THE LOWEST ELEVATIONS. JOHNSON

same as what rocky joe said. that is plenty of time to get up in there and hayden will be a good spot to hit middle and north. Just hope the weather cooperates enough-would not want to be high on N. Sister in a whiteout. winter pictures: http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Photos_Nsisterwin.htm i have previously found a first-hand account somewhere on the web--you'll have to search. the traverse is what it is--depends entirely upon the quality of the snow. If it is in good shape, good conditions, you can probably just walk across it fine with self belay--or running belay with a few pickets across it. In typical climbing time the traverse is marked by shaded snow as opposed to much of the prior SE ridge being snowfree.. for winter i suspect you'll know it is the traverse just cause it gets a bit steeper and you're immediately under the summit block prior to that I think you'll be traversing a semi-steep snow slope once you top-out on the S/SE ridge from hayden. the bowling alley -- i would hope it is not verglas or fresh fluffy powder. i would guess at this point in winter it will be well covered in snow, you'll just have to see the consistency. of the 3, doing more or less 'standard routes', north will present the most challenge for navigation and risk on the upper part. good luck, would love to hear a follow-up or see pictures if conditions allow.

your site is awesome broski!!!! love the vids 4 sure. only problem is that ol glory drink tastes like asparagus pee. you have my sympathies if you are drinking it regularly, esp. before or during outdoor pursuits.

from the midwest originally and it is great. living in portland i love that some weekends i sleep in till 10am, spend 6-9 hours hiking, climbing, skiing, etc in beautiful areas, and get to round the day out with incredible beer at the microbrewery of my choice. and the options i have as far as destination within a 2hr drive are plentiful. i can only imagine how much more convenient it would be living in hood river, bend, or leavenworth. did you like visiting the cascades and colorado? if yes, then you'll probably like living here. not like enjoying a trip to a 3rd world tropical country...but wouldnt want to live there. If you live in Portland, Denver, Seattle, you'll still drive ~1.5hrs++++ for many things but they will be gobs more interesting than anything in the white mountains. and there will be some climbing and hiking and biking stuff closer than that to the big cities, and if you can manage to have income/work to live even closer like hood river, leavenworth, methow valley, bend, crested butte, etc.. you will live mere minutes and miles from vacation destinations. beyond that living here is the same as anywhere else, you still work, pay bills, eat, go to the grocery store, hang out with people, deal with traffic, ride a bike, complain about the weather at times, get irritated if you don't live near a hub airport (SEA or VAN), etc. i imagine living in AK is a bit more of a different animal for a whole host of reasons. you will enjoy the outdoors more here than boston. i think your question is where in the cascades do i want to move? or where in colorado is best? or cascades vs colorado (cascades of course), etc. sounds like u dont give a rat's ass about what boston offers outside of the outdoors so i wouldnt stay there any longer than you have to.