grinter

06/03/10 : The 80 road is open to one mile below the Morrison Cr. Campground. Use caution, park to the side of the road, do not block traffic. There is still approximately 4 miles to ski to get to the trailhead for the South Climb. Call Mt. Adams R.D., 509-395-3400 for information.

i like the third pic, looks like fun getting into that dihedral

6'5"er and I have the long or XL BD hooped bivy, plenty of room for me and some gear at my feet, absolutely bomber, kept me dry in downpour and warm at 4F, only issue is the bulkiness, but I still cram it in my pack most of the time just in case

my partner and I bailed on this exact trip, somewhat concerned about the avy risk, but more worried about posthole nigtmare, thats my nooby 2 cents

went last saturday for a ski, the basin was full of old avy debris, with several inches of soggy fresh on top of that, if you're thinking of climbing, not sure what I can tell you except another party turned away from the tooth because of poor snow conditions, and a small avalanche came off the south face of Chair into the coulier while we skied out

interested in Das Parka, I live in Fed Way work in Puyallup, can we meet up to check it out?

This has got to be TR of the ski season. Nice work! Any more photos coming?

word up on eldora, i used to run up there from Boulder in half hour catch a few runs and be back for classes in the afternoon, plus season passes were 100$ for students. Its a shame there aren't more local hills that offer moderate pricing, I've basically turned my back on snowboarding because of the resort experience and am heading into the BC with an AT setup

See this TR for an idea of the route http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/943500/TR_Mt_Rainier_Gib_Ledges_climb#Post943500

glad to see you got out last weekend, nice pics

Trip: Colchuck Lake - Date: 2/20/2010 Trip Report: Skinned and booted up to Colchuck Lake this weekend. The four miles on the road were more grueling than expected but nice and soft on Saturday afternoon. Cruddy, icy snow in the trees after the road, made for slowgoing, with other parties forgoing their skis on descent. We made camp at the base of the meadow before the final slope to the lake. Skinned up to the Colchuck Lake on Sunday morning and took a few turns at the very bottom of Aasgard Pass in some nice powdery frost on top of light crust. The rest of Aasgard looked chunky and icy. Other parties were cruising some nice lines on Colchuck Glacier. Attempted to ski down the trail but switched to boots fairly quickly. Ski out on the road was a little bit icy but much faster than going up.

I have to agree with the excellent points allready made, especially about switching hands at turns, theres allready enough rope and prusiks to worry about, without complicating things with an axe leash My personal experience with leashes has been during beginning mountaineering practice sessions with large groups. The main reason I heard for the leashes, was to keep the leash from becoming a falling object hazard to the rest of the group. Additionally, the slopes where self arrest practice generally occur are not super steep where the leashed axe is going to become flailing object hazard to the climber. One last point, I use my axe most during summer scrambles where short snow stretces are interspersed with rock and being able to quickly stow the axe behind my pack and access at the next snowfield helps me move quickly.

not sure on the status, but I have to agree with the concerns about soft snow and finding crevasses. Josh and I snowshoed up to the Muir Snowfield on monday in deep powder, and while crevasses were obvious higher up on the Nisqually, I'm not sure they're the type you want to be trying to practice rescue techniques in. It might be interesting to try to apply skills in the difficult winter conditions, but I don't think dealing with really soft lips is something you want to do on your first attempt at setting up a z-pulley

on a somewhat related note I've always thought a tour up the Twisp River Rd and into the valleys near crescent mountain woud be sweet, anybody done this or know about the snow conditions on the Twisp River road?

I'd be down on the weekends, coming from Puyallup so could pick you up. I've only been climbing for a year but am OK on 5.9, got a rope and set of draws too.

This would be fun, had crevasse training on the Nisqually with Spokane Mountaineers last June and had a blast, but like you say you kind of forget all the details if you don't use it, let me know if this gets going

was up at mount tahoma trails today, FR92 snopark, a little bit of rain at 4200'

Any interest in a Mt. Ellinor winter ascent? Also been itching to do some mild ski touring in the Olympics now that the snows falling?