Water

pass open? 242 is closed in the winter. I5-22-20-sisters-as far towards soap creek trailhead as you can get.

nah its legit monkey man

summit and hogsback were basically windless from 10:30am-1:30-2 while we were up there. I was in my tshirt at the hogsback so i dont think it was any lower than 32 to be honest... i didn't see one iota of rime detaching--though there was a pretty decent wet slide that came out of a gulley a little to the right of pearly gates, other than that, no action. It was very mushy up there as the afternoon progressed. right now i think new snow is getting deposited over that stuff..

love the photos -- congratulations on the GA (great accomplishment!) FA . cheers

very, very cool. awesome to see such commitment and perseverance finally come to fruition! we were up on the spur on sat.. maybe your snowshoe tracks we saw down lower? looks like you were up on it well before we got very high on the spur. congratulations on a job well done!!!!

summitchaserCJB: perhaps layton shouldn't be here either since he lives in utah?? seriously why be such a dick to medicsandy, esp. in the newbies section? from reading other threads I can tell you medicsandy was out here last year and on Adams and really took to being up on a volcano (which you can't do in Ohio (provided for your clarification)). They are looking to come back out here again this or next summer to climb Adams and check out some other stuff (ie: going to muir). i'm going to have to 2nd the getting laid comment.

35k for 9 months aint terrible, esp if you want to experience a rare place and really get to know it (a lifetime experience I'm sure). You'd be an expert for sure by the end. I also imagine you're not too far from a base, ie: not gone for more than a day for about 3 of those months, given it is dark for nearly 4 months a year (at mcmurdo). But I could be grossly wrong.. ..multi-day darkness expeditions during the low of winter seems pretty gruesome. Doesn't someone who works down there post on here sometimes? I've love to hear their take on it.

Hey brettinnj, I was curious what you wanted to see improved in the avy forecast out here (route by route avy conditions on the most popular climbs?). To me, the avy forecast for hood is plenty adequate. Are you wanting to use it as your final decision maker regarding avy conditions?

You started with a little dribble of piss onto NWAC: "I can't believe the poor avalanche forecasts there is for the Northwest. " then didn't really ask a question, I mean, look at your statement and with some logic you should be able to answer it yourself: "why isn't there as accurate of a forecast for a highly variable area the size of switzerland as there is for a mountain that has a road, train, trails, and snowcats to the top every day and a full time meteorological staff that has been recording weather and snow conditions since 1892" who waits until 8am for an alpine start? then you said they're both national parks and see traffic. I'm still waiting to hear what you want to make it better? so far I am hearing "earlier in the day forecasts". Possibly "route by route avy conditions" if I am reading between the lines. What would make it better? Why would those changes make it better for you? Is the avy forecast on the computer the final line of avy consideration you make? the avy forecast isnt suppose to be your in-situ decision maker.

in addition the colorado avalanche center has: "a staff of 15 avalanche professionals"

National park = U.S. Department of the Interior National Forest = U.S. Department of Agriculture Both federal, but not the same. NWAC gets funding from a variety of sources. What do you want better? Earlier in the day releases or pit profiles from hood, rainier, adams, multiple spots in the olympics, not to mention everything north of rainier? Like I said, donate some money to help them out. They have 3 full time members and a 4th for the winter to help. They forecast for an area larger than Switzerland. CO reporting to 11k seems exactly on par with NWAC reporting to 7K for the NW -- given the 'base' elevation in the NW doesn't start at 5k. The NOAA point-click forecast I have found to be based upon computer modeling and not actual telemetry on the ground (other than at the nearest reporting station). Frequently it has said it will be/is cloud at such and such point -- yet a webcam look or actually being there will yield a different observation. I doubt if there is telemetry over Muir's elevation on Rainier.. Hood it is the top of the magic mile. I think you're barking up the wrong tree being down on NWAC's contributions (or supposed lack thereof) Hell, the Wallowa avalanche center is all volunteer, I believe.

Washington is not a national park. sorry. Why not donate to NWAC if you want a better forecast. They aren't exactly swimming in cash and funding. how much faith are you putting into a website for choices you have to make on the ground anyways? NWAC does a great job of giving basic information and natural history of the snowpack to help give general ideas. None of the volcanoes out here have a road to the top (well hood, often a bootpack) nor full time meteorology offices and staff living on top year around.

Does being up on adams for a few hours really do anything for acclimatizing? Or more get one mentally and physically tested/checked out for rainier.. I always had the impression that acclimatization was a bit like metabolism.. ..generally a low gear thing (whether you have a fast, slow, or average metabolism) that takes a lot of time to change one way or another, though you can have short-term impacts/reactions from it due to a variety of factors. For instance if you hike for 180 days almost non-stop, then stop for 7 and are eating everything you want, you probably won't gain too much weight cause your metabolism is still extremely high (or should be) similar for acclimatization--?

yeah--i thought about taking cramps but my friend only had microspikes and I figured it would be crappy to have better traction than him if it was needed. Better to level the playing field so i could sense closer to how it would be for him if it got too icy/steep. yaktrax would probably have sufficed, though I've never used them so i'm not sure how much bite they have. the kite was sent to me by an outfitter from out east for free so i try to fly it at some fun places to give them some good pics/PR. based on how the wind was down lower i just assumed it would be way too windy up top for a typical diamond shaped kite. go figure not windy enough! cheers

was up there too yesterday, surprised there wasn't enough consistent wind at the top to keep the kite up. little microspikes worked fine to give some edge, fullon crampons weren't needed at all. got to take a friend who has never climbed anything out here before, so that was fun.

its south. for clarification. north of hood river = washington

oi! after someone's writeup on avy conditions on friday morning we decided to forgo this objective on the same date. none the less sounds like you had a great time and had it all to yourself, very nice. a bit jealous for sure-wish we got out there. ah well..

wow. that was timely-hadn't seen anything about hood and was wondering. thanks for that. had a group tentatively set to do leutholds tonight/tomorrow morning. will be passing this info along and regurgitating our options.

what about zappos or shoebuy or something that offers free return shipping? zappos in particular -- I have bought maybe 3 different boots, in my two sizes 9/9.5 and they end up bumping the shipping to me to overnight so I get them literally the next day if I order before noon on Thursday, I'll have them friday. Then whatever doesn't fit is free return shipping. I've bought other items from zappos on account of the awesome shipping from them. similar to buying from rei due to the awesome return policy. sometimes you don't have to have the best or the cheapest to come out on top as the right choice. just my 2cents

I'd say it is not for the family as much as it is for the posters. Almost everyone has had experience on the mountains and when an accident happens it brings mortality to the fore, above other topics. People would like to contribute something. You may as well read it as "Jesus, that could have been me! It is a shame someone who I can identify with has tragically died. I can't imagine what xyz climber's friends and family must be going through, because I know mine would be in such and such a state" But we say "My regrets and condolences to the family" It is one of the societal things maybe similar to "I'm going to let you go" when you need to hang-up and "I don't mean to interrupt" as you knock on someone's office door because you need to interrupt them.

I appreciate your clarification, billcoe-that was a stand up response. I hate to harp on it but anyone here who criticized his partner for 'not doing anything' should really check themselves. Next time any of us is up there, try to figure the best way to get to the bottom of the crater without dying or doing a fullon route around the flanks and up through the breach? His partner, Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Scott Salkovics, is a pilot and a mountaineer and has trained on rescue missions on Rainier.

where are people getting the notion that his climbing partners did nothing for him? I guess I've not seen any of that in the news -- is there some inside information I'm missing? I'm wondering what the hell you expect his partners to do? Do any of you take a rope, ice screws, pickets, and a second tool on a helens climb? I likely never will. So are his partners suppose to downclimb the crater wall with a bd raven pro or two and 'rescue' the guy? On a 70 degree slope? Someone is living in a fantasy world. Please wake me up if it is me who needs to re-evaluate the slope angle and should re-consider bringing such gear along for winter helens climbs.

wilderness permit same as if you enter any wilderness area--its a little self-fill out form they use for usage statistics. if you dont find one right in front of you don't bother spending a minute trying to figure out about getting one, imo. which leads into my next point...getting it at a sporting goods store? the wilderness permit? that mt hood national forest ranger district runnaround sounds about right. they are superficially friendly but utterly worthless for anything-they might as well outsource it to india. useless louses. apologies for any cool ppl who do work for hood nat. forest--ive just never talked to you on the phone or in the offices. comparatively, hood is just a "hill" (compared to rainier). sounds like a great attitude though, sucks to be anyone who died on a little hill and not a mountain fo sho. [i think its a great mountain]

maybe spenco? point of reference i went through a few pairs of insoles on a near-thru hike of the appy trail. Towards the end we went to an outfitter that had perhaps 5 brands and 15 different insoles? I tried them all on and didnt look/see any prices. I ended up paying for one that was a looked terribly generic, a brown color foam on top and leather on the bottom with some layers between. Nothing high tech at all, no fanfare or anything. That one cost $70 (i was shocked, and a bit appalled, but for me, it really felt the best) and I still use it in my backpacking boots 2 years and 800 miles later.

found a lot of postholing down low last sunday at timberline lodge.. but stuff could change between now and the start of march. You could use flotation of your liking and go just the same.