Water

truth in that it may not be open for days at a time. however to clarify, at times, the weather is entirely unrelated to accessibility, there is a political process/component to opening the gate.

based on your experience thus far, and assuming you have a solid hiking/backpacking background don't waste your time taking a long drawn out 'intro to climbing' class..if the mounties are anything like the mazamas, 95% is trash unless you've literally never done anything more than walking a mile in flipflops to a waterfall. can you wear crampons and use an ice axe? if the answer is yes keep on with helens, adams, maybe find a friend or keep partner hunting and give something like hood a go where you can get a bit more steeps. read, research... or if I had to do over again and I had the $ when I didn't know as much as I wanted, taking a 3-5 day intensive with one of the SEA based climbing/guiding co's would have been worth it.

i've sometimes used a pressurized bottle (like that tonic one..) to use the pressure to lower the freezing point..but had unintended effects with a super-chilled liquid that suddenly has the pressure released = instant slushy!

entry cost?

re: insulate hydration tubes use the bogus cover and diligently blow back so that liquid is cleared from the line-i've found that to be a solution in the mid-20's. You could also open one of those stick-on body "sized" chemical heat packs on it maybe a few hours into a trip, if temps are really low. Haven't done that but seems sorta plausible..never had luck with those heat things though..they dont seem warm when I need them and then driving home they'll be fire-hot in the car 14 hrs later..

it is partially stuffed in that picture.

The most important is going to be consistency. If you're a very fit person (workout daily/one+ big thing a week (like s.sister)) who eats healthy and you take two weeks of october and three weeks of february, and a week in june and july each where you don't work out at all, you drink lots of beer, and eat unhealthy. That will generally have little effect on overall fitness. The same applies going from sedentary/less active background, the exercise has to be consistent. Any weightlifting you can do to help build muscles--that'll help burn fat more than cardio alone. Good luck!

I didn't see any discounts--proceeds benefit AAC i don't think there would be any discounts.

Ben's point is really good--the decisions you make before you even go have a much bigger effect than a lot of in the field choices. Things are rarely a clear yes/no though. An unexpected slip or such somewhere sketchy is unfortunate and may not be able to be anticipated at all.. But climbing alone, as a weather window closes (or never really opened up), without a being able to keep yourself warm, or quickly alert help, etc,..those are all decisions you can make before you leave the house. I know you asked about snow safety but this is applicable to all climbing decisions. Regarding the mountain proper and snow, almost all the moisture that makes snow on the mountain comes from the West (or SW/NW), this generally means a W wind and loading on East facing slopes (West Crater Rim, standard route east side of Crater Rock, WyEast, Cooper Spur.. among places). That said when it gets sunny and cold right after (as it is looking to do now) and there are very strong East winds, you can get the freshly wind loaded stuff blowing right back onto the wind compacted West faces. One other factor is this latest bit at least at 6k started falling while it was ~15 (lighter drier snow) degrees out and finished when it was ~30 (wetter heavier snow). This is a little upside down, you rather see the big wet stuff fall first and bond with the existing base and the lighter stuff come at the end as the storm tapers off--as a general trend. So to answer your question, SS is probably one of the better winter options--though again the route absolutely gets wind loaded in the lee of Crater Rock. If you're looking to get out this weekend gander at Helens--south side and you can avoid a lot of terrain traps staying on ridgelines. And compared to hood, it's been basking in the sun all day today--and tomorrow--and will be on sunday too--a bit more time for things to settle.

raw telemetry straight from the mountain: http://kantola.nl/plots/osotim.png it eased from 50 down to 40 today but has only in the last hour even dipped below 30. still gusting to 45mph. At 15 degrees.. bundled up maybe it's nice to get out but even more than rain, cold, heat, wind can be a real bitch. Mountain-forecast has 25mph winds at 5000ft coming out of the NW.. I don't so much trust that site, that's stupid, why would they list a west wind? It's coming out of the E at Timberline and East-Northeast at the top of magic mile. Then they said East wind at 5mph at the summit.. If there is a 40mph wind hitting the East side of the mountain, there is no way in hell there is a 5mph wind at the summit. They have 10mph wind out of the Northwest for the 8200ft level--again, real stupid. Either a computer just extrapolates these or the people involved in producing them are doing a poor job, either way does not help a climber. Sorry not an attack on you just I really hate chincy weather sites like that and weather.com and such. if you can believe it, it is actually warmer and less windy at 10k on Rainier at camp muir than top of Magic Mile on Hood. http://kantola.nl/plots/osomur.png Goes to show the proximity to the cold inter-continental air coming through the gorge.

expect insane wind. it's been averaging 50mph at 7,000ft on hood for the last 12 hours, gusting to 65-70, never dropping below 40. i am sure things are frozen 'tight' together up high.

Make your voice heard: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=323&projectID=55063&documentID=62342

hear ya swim for cardio? Can you bike/stationary bike? I had foot surgery in the midfoot this year and biking i think was first cardio i was cleared for. Elliptical machine after that. Rowing machine? anything with your core. Isometric exercises. If there are any machines that you can work your gluts/quads (thinking the kind where you put the bar across the front of your ankles in a seated position and lift it up, or behind ankles and pull it down). likewise inner and outer thigh..can probably do planks on either side assuming stress fx isn't on 5th meta (sure as hell hope not). I always do as many roman chair knee raises..no foot needed. dips. end of the day better to miss one more month of 'climbing' or exercise like you desire, than to push it too early and risk having really prolonging it. But you're a fit active person, just adhere to your body's voice and ignore your brain when it tries to bullshit you into doing more than you should. best of luck.

thanks for sharing. that's real sad. i dont think this pooch is anymore. the window was the day the dog was lost, and maybe a week after.

seriously, wtf. im absolutely not a violent person but this writing style needs a punch to the face. obviously boogie man story/blair witch bs. it does read like the OP

lol.. and being Scottish in the modern world? creative license there, eh? Enjoyed the vid.

wow... not a lot of time on that deadline. lets see if i can get something in..

http://www.outdoorproject.com/sites/default/files/1389160031/ericguth_sandyglaciercaves-83.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Glacier_Caves the OBP expose was fantastic, worth watching http://www.opb.org/glaciercaves/

Dchromey, Upper Sandy Glacier Headwall, Upper Yocum Ridge on the right side of picture. Flat area above both, Queens Chair -- Leutholds tops out there. Leuths is on the backside of Yocum

Sad. Feel so low to hear this. He was here well before I ever joined, didn't know him personally but always enjoyed his rabblerousing and consummate "CC" ethos personified. Great to hear details about the real deal. Indeed we've lost way too many this year.

I would like the one from hyperlite--the 4 person'er, for winter basecamps with a group of 3-4. But it cost a grand, that's crazy. I'm pretty impressed with this style of tent. It held up admirably on the kautz in 40-45mph winds but my site selection was the limiting factor--as the wind picked up things stretched a bit and I did not have space/hardware to further anchor/keep every part of it taut. Thus it started to move a bit = friction on the rocks used to anchor some of the webbing = webbing rips = more movement. We retreated in the night. But the wind had pushed back multiple parties the day before and it continued, we wouldn't have really climbed much higher anyways.

going right down the middle of a slope/crossing in center of a face, vs staying near edging, riding a ridge, avoiding roll over, --using terrain selection to mitigate risk.

if you're wondering "well what can I do?", someone posted a great comment on the page the story is on: https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/hr5204 write a sternly worded letter to your congresscritter

really? I can't get enough of this... [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcGRfQXYZsY