goran

Massive congrats, and sick effort! We thought your day sounded pretty hardcore, and you convinced us that attempting SGC and making it all the way to the car in a single day was not a good plan. Put mildly, with fewer expletives than I used swimming up unconsolidated snow, the Ice Cliff Glacier was extremely physical. Progress up to and over the ice cliff was reasonably efficient and not terribly technical, with only 1-2 pitches of WI 2-3 that we simuled. Above that the wallow began, as the bit of rain/sleet that fell at 5300 feet (camp) fell as a significant amount of light snow (12+ inches, in many places) in the ICG and all the way to the summit. The occasional shin-depth step was a relief from more typical knee-to-hip deep swimming. We owe you beers for taking the routefinding stress on the upper mountain away with traces of your descent path. With your steps leading to the Sherpa Glacier, we made it back to camp quickly and reached the car before dark. Thanks for stopping by our tent on the tail end of a brutal day, and, again, congrats on the send!

On the way out today, a party that climbed NBC today reported that they climbed a bed surface of styrofoam. The story they told was that a solo climber headed up the couloir yesterday after you guys took off. Apparently he was at the top of the couloir and went for quite a ride when it ripped, but was able to walk out on his own. I can't confirm what happened, personally, but I'm fairly confident that's the story as it was relayed to us. I regrettably didn't ask what type of avy.

Lib Ridge was, in my experience ( http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1106687/TR_Mt_Rainier_Liberty_Ridge_6_#Post1106687 ), technically easy but extremely physical, with many hours of knee- to hip-deep wallowing spread over multiple days. In a year full of long days in the mountains, carrying skis over Lib Ridge in unconsolidated snow was unequivocally the most exhausting. That said, it certainly sounds like you've done plenty of preparation --- just be prepared for a struggle! If I were to do it over, I'd (1) Do more research on the standard Emmons route (having not been on it previously), and consider climbing it a few days or week prior to learn the route and acclimatize. That descent, in waning light with winds strong enough to bowl us over, was a definite mental (and crevasse hazard!) crux. (2) Consider not only the weather window, but also how supportive the snow was. I don't know if we could have even made it to the base of the ridge without skis on our dates, and wallowing up to and above Thumb Rock with skis on our packs was outrageously brutal. (3) Down booties. Because camp.

Based on other peoples' experiences, apparently the falling ice we experienced was not uncharacteristic. For perspective, my helmet may well have saved my life on this climb (and is completely wrecked); if that's normal, count me out for a round 2! Do the North Face gullies have similar objective hazards!? We spent 15 or 20 minutes on top of Palmer, shuffled over to Illumination Saddle, and shivered through the roping up process. In total, we probably spent about 1:20 not moving before sunrise. Originally we planned to melt water at Illumination Col, but (a bit ironically) we were ironically too cold and wind-ridden to be bothered heating water up.

"...hell of a bowling alley..." is what we experienced. 1 broken helmet, 2 lost ice screws, and 3 guys lucky to pass (mostly) unharmed: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1118853#Post1118853

Trip: Mt. Hood - Reid Glacier Headwall Date: 1/5/2014 Trip Report: Dan, Dave and I took off from Timberline at 3:40a on Sunday morning. We were on top of Palmer at ~5:15a, After some shivering as we waited for morning light, we departed the saddle for the Reid Glacier at 7:15a. Only a strong breeze coming from the east prevented conditions from being optimal: clear and cold, with secure, firm snow. I led across the glacier, staying as high as possible. We turned back uphill at roughly 9k'. There were no crevasses to cross except the 'schrund, which was well-bridged. There wasn't a significant amount of debris coming down from above --- all signs were positive. Progress was fast up to the first gully at 9,600' or 9,800'. I continued to simul up through the gully, placing 3 10cm or 13cm screws in shallow ice. The ice was aerated, and made for solid, one-hit-wonder sticks. There was occasional exposed rock and dirt, but navigating it was straightforward. As I placed a stubby just before a 15' section of steep ice, I felt a large, jolting impact on the side of my head. Fortunately, my stance was secure; once I finished placing the screw, I felt at my helmet and found a significant gouge. Crap. After belaying Dan and Dave up to the , I took off through the next gully. In an open snowfield just below it, I glanced up to see football-sized ice chunks only 50 feet up, coming down straight for me. I jumped to the side and landed in self-arrest position just in time as a chunk of ice hit the side of my thigh and sheared my ice clipper, scattering a few screws down the face. The rest of our time on the face was a blur: I'd lead out as far as possible and we'd simul until I was through the steepest steps, at which point I'd establish a belay in the most sheltered spot possible and bring Dan and Dave up. My overwhelming concern was that the sun would hit the rime above us and create a bigger shitstorm than we were already experiencing. Fortunately, though we were pelted by many smaller pieces of ice, those first two impacts I described were by far the largest. Being on a rope together may or may not have added safety --- if any of us had been struck by ice and fallen as we simulclimbed between belays without gear, we would almost certainly have been unable to arrest the fall. At the same time, being on a rope meant that two of the three of us were on belay through the most technical and exposed sections of the climb. At any rate, we topped out on steep snowfields above the danger zone at or before noon. Looking down at the Hogsback bathed in warm sun was a welcome sight indeed. We topped out, lazed around, and made it back to the lot at 4p. In retrospect, I suspect that the uncharacteristic easterly breeze was knocking loose the large volume of rime we were bombarded with. It was cold on the face, and the sun didn't touch the ice above us all morning. I'd like to think we made the best of the situation by moving fast, making route-finding decisions to avoid the worst of the debris, and staying solid physically and mentally. We were also very lucky. Dan and Dave were consummate partners, and this wasn't an adventure any of us will forget soon. The climbing was enjoyable, and if it weren't for the excessive objective danger, I'd give the route a solid 4-star review. That said, if this was a cold day on the hill, I can't imagine what a disaster zone the face would be had the day turned unexpectedly warmer. I don't think I'll be back. Gear Notes: 60m double rope, way too many screws (only placed 3), a few pickets, 2 tools each. Approach Notes: Boot to Palmer, crampons from there. Rime ice embedded in snow between Crater Rock and Palmer on the descent.

Thinking of givin'er a go this weekend, but don't know Hood well enough to know what to expect. Has anybody taken a peek around Illumination Rock at the glacier / Leuthold Couloir / Reid Headwall? Any general thoughts about the SW aspect of Hood this time of year? Thanks!

We did it 3 weeks ago with stiff mountaineering boots (I was using Trango Ices, my partner had Nepal EVOs). They made the snow travel extra-secure and were just fine for all of the rock climbing. I'm a big fan of trail runners, but if the snow traverse were firm and didn't have pre-kicked steps, it'd be very sketchy to use trail runners with crampons. That said, you might find success dropping over the S. Side there and avoiding the snow traverse, as per Steph Abegg's report. For what it's worth, my partner brought rock shoes and never bothered to put them on though they might have been nice in some of the slabby, loose, sandy class 4 on Torment. We did carry crampons (mine were the steel Kahtoola KTS's), and I'd say they're mandatory with all of the glacier travel. Aluminum would have worked for our trip. [added] In retrospect, it was a huge time-saver to not bring other footwear. No faffin' around changing shoes, just a bunch of long simul pitches. Bring extra double+ length slings to extend simul blocks, since most of the pro consists of large slung horns.

We did the traverse 3 weeks ago, and all of the snow travel was casual. We did put on crampons for the snow, though a party in front of us didn't even do that. It was a spectacular trip, and all type-1 fun except for some irritatingly loose, sandy class 4 climbing on Torment.

We saw it laying next to the trail below treeline on Sunday 7/14 at about 5:30p. The rope looked dropped, not stashed, so we carried it out. PM me here identifying the rope and I'd be happy to get it back to you.

I was up at Colchuck Lake for two days last weekend. The snow line was about 4600 feet on the hike in on Saturday morning, and about 5300 feet by the hike out on Sunday afternoon. The lake is melted out, but the ground around it still has plenty of snow; by the look of it, a foot or more fell in the area last week. I'd describe Aasgard as wallowy but passable. I'd assume the long, flat(ish) walk over to Prusik would involve some postholing but wouldn't be too heinous. That said, everything on Dragontail and Colchuck was thoroughly drenched during our visit, largely because the wet dump of snow from the week stuck in all sorts of improbable places and continued to melt, seep, and fall down. If Prusik had a similar snow fall (and I reckon it did), it'll take a bit of time for the snow to melt off and everything to dry out.

I'm interested in some of the stuff, but can't translate your email address! Mine is [my user name].lynch@gmail.com --- drop me a line if the screws are still available. Thanks! Goran

Check your messages! I'm around 12/29-12/31 and stoked to get out.