pcg

Alex, relax. No one is attacking you or your post. I stand by everything I posted. Maybe you should reread it. My comment about "better gear" is in reference to the post I referenced. In that post the poster refers to "the gear we have", which is better gear than back in the day. I'm just making the point that better gear doesn't keep you from dying. It's what you do with the gear you have that keeps you from doing. My concern is that someone new to this might think that the key to safety is to possessing all the right stuff. As for ice and crampons being all you need to climb south side Hood, I was making the point that currently that is not sufficent. Even though we have bluebird weather, the top 500' of Hood is not currently a "beginner snow route". It is hard ice. Self belay with an ice axe is not practical on steep hard ice and I would never simu climb on steep hard ice with just crampons and ice axe.

The poster is making a general statement, but please be aware that there are people alive today who are missing limbs and appendages due to frostbite on Mt. Hood. The cause was not lack of plastic boots. It was poor decision making. Be smart. Know the limits of your equipment and your skills. Have fun!

Wrong. Again.. get educated. For example, we have had bluebird conditions on Hood, but I would not advise you to go up Hood south side thinking crampons and ice axe are all you need in these conditions. Why? Because conditions are so icy now that a self-arrest on a steep slope would be virtually impossible. This means you need to be roped up and belayed WITH PROTECTION,. And it is often difficult to place solid protection in ice, depending on its condition. Again the message here is... knowledge and the ability to think clearly and make good decisions will enable you to enjoy alpine climbing and be safe. Better gear will broaden the scope of what you can do safely.

This does not have to be an expensive hobby. Better gear enables you to do more, like better tools. What killed people in "the old days" and what kills them now are bad decisions. You can do alpine climbs safely today with "old gear", but good decisions will likely dictate that they won't be the same kinds of climbs in the same kinds of conditions that you can do safely today with better gear. My point is that you don't need to spend a ton of money on hi-tech gear, and doing so buys you nothing unless you are educated and can make good decisions. You can go into the mountains with leather and wool from Goodwill and be just fine and have a grand time if you know what you are doing and make decisions that take into account your ability and your gear. Education is far more important than hi-tech gear and if you can't get it any other way than spending money on it then that should be your first financial priority, rather than throwing money at gear. I'm sure the above poster agrees with this, but I thought the post seemd to say you can buy safety. You can't. And you can be safe with old school gear.

I can hardly stand to look at this...

You continue to amaze me!

Original post...

All I can say is that you guys have some big ones. I love to ski and there are a lot of things that I aspire to, but I could never do this. I just don't think I could look death in the face and then ski without making a mistake. trip report In the pics on your trip report I can see that you are wearing harnesses, but were you ever protected or belayed at any time? Also I can't imagine that a self-arrest would be possible using the whippets. How well would they have worked on that slope on that day? Looks like you got the perfect day and you brought the skills and the attitude that were needed. Well done. Very impressive!

Thanks all.

I saw this pear-shaped carabiner at REI and it is awfully light at 55g. Is it suitable for belaying with a Munter hitch? My concern is that the cross-section is not round, but sort of rectangular, and thus is going to perform differently in this application and possibly damage the rope. Any thoughts? Petzl Attache 3D

Discussed here recently

I agree, especially if you don't need to break trail. In spring and summer when you are on hard snow early in the day and don't need floatation to break trail, I prefer to take weight off my feet and put it on my back until time to ride down. Thus crampons on the boots and skis on my back for the upward journey. If the climb up is not steep (i.e. south side Adams or Hood) then I also put my ski boots on my back and use a lightweight pair of hiking boots with crampons. Moving weight from your feet to your back makes the uphill journey easier.

No question that Meadows has better terrain, but they normally close mid April to early May due to lack of snow. A Timberline spring pass costs the same and is good through the end of May with ample snow guaranteed.

One just went for $130 on eBay this morning.

Was the frost from body moisture? Do you have and did you use the VB? I've been wondering how well that system works.

I am not an experienced rockclimber and have no emotional stake in this debate. I am here to learn only and have a question... How long can a quickdraw hang in the sun and moisture before it should be retired? I'm thinking here of UV damage to webbing and thread, in addition to occasional stress from falls.

There is a good deal on some new Dyanfit Mustagh Atas on eBay right now. They are pretty light. No affiliation, just passing this on.

My Stubai Nanga Parbat from the 60s had an ash shaft, instead of fiberglass.

What elev. do you cut back towards Wy'East?

Yes, but they climbed the south side first and... they were Mazamas! Also, that's when women were men, and men were really men.

Yes, the Elliot on the N side would be better for crevasse training and that side of the mountain is, as Ivan stated, much more majestic - classic alpine, but N side is not good for a summit attempt w/o experience. I would accept the fact this will not be a wilderness experience and keep to the crowded south side. There are crevasses at top of White River Canyon (climber's right as you hike from Palmer to Crater Rock) that will be opening in June. Also, you can always hang off a cornice and practice the same thing, as long as you do it when the cornice is bomber - not after a storm or in the afternoon on a day when everything is collapsing. There are cornices up high on White River Canyon, on Zig Zag Canyon at the bottom of Zig Zag Glacier (down the fall line below Crater Rock), and above the Timberline parking lot on Salmon River canyon. The latter may be gone by June though, depending on how warm a spring we have.

Looking at Yokum Ridge from... Bald Mountain? Reid Headwall is behind the foreground.

Coe and Ladd Glaciers

Superfeet replace the insole already in your boot, and are intended to improve arch support, not add warmth. I know they market "red" ones for cold feet, but I chalk that up to marketing and doubt they're going to make your feet any warmer. I have to stand in alpine ski boots all day long when I work snowboard competitions. After nearly getting frostbite one day I finally installed electric heaters. Problem solved. Good for all day long - toasty warm. I wear one pair of very thin socks, but of course my boots have liners. http://www.hotronic.com/products/fw/index_m4.html I keep the heaters permanently in my boots which leaves a small thin inconspicuous flat cable sticking out the top of each boot. I only bring along the battery packs when I need them. They clip to a strap on the back of my ski boot. You would need to figure out a place to mount each battery pack so they don't get in your way. I mount mine high on the rear. You can adjust the amount of heat and I keep mine on lowest setting. Hottest setting will run the batteries down in about four hours. Kinda dorky, but hey, no one notices and my feet aren't just not cold, they're warm. Warm feet and I'm happy.