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Rooster Rock - 5.4 on nuts. That's a long ways to drive for 2 hrs of hiking That's a different Rooster Rock. I'm referring to the Rooster Rock just a few minutes east of Portland, in the Gorge. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=507635 Heed the rope drag warning. I didn't like throwing the dice on that single rusty chain so I used two ropes to rappel off the top chains and made sure the EDK knot was hanging below the lip, down where the single chain goes, otherwise it will hang up and you will have to reclimb and do it all again, which I did. This makes setting up the rappel awkward, but just haul up your rope, set up you rappel device below the EDK knot, then use the single chain to downclimb over the edge until your rappel device is loaded. I set up an autoblock since it felt awkward downclimbing while trying to keep my rappel device in brake mode. I think you can also rap with a single 60m from the top chains down to where you can stand on a small ledge, but you'd be left exposed while you had to reef hard on your rope to get it down and then traverse 30' back to the top of the first pitch. With two ropes you can rap all the way to the bottom and then haul with all your might on the rope with no risk of falling off a ledge while you are doing so.

Rooster Rock - 5.4 on nuts.

PM sent on DAS.

I hired Rodney Sofich with Smith Rock Climbing Guides to spend a day with me placing pro and building anchors at Broughton Bluffs (Portland). He was likeable, tuned in to learning what my specific needs and wants were and tailored the day accordingly, and I felt he was very rigorous and uncompromising on issues of safety. You are not confined to Smith Rocks with that company. Their guides can meet you at Beacon Rock which is a great place (I am told - can't wait for it to open!) to learn multi-pitch trad clmbing.

From I-205 go south and take Hwy 26 to Government Camp. As you are leaving Government Camp get in left-hand lane and take road up to Timberline Lodge. Park in lot and walk up to lower lodge (Wy'East Lodge). First door on the right (outside lower main doors) is the climber's cave where you register to climb. Go in and look around. Then go through main doors into lower lodge and purchase an inexpensive ($5 I think) lift ticket for a one-time trip to the top of the Magic Mile ski trail. Ride up and walk around and enjoy the view if youa re above the clouds, but don't get run over by a skier. The snow field above you is Palmer snowfield - the only ski area in the U.S. open year round. Ski teams and ski camps show up in June for training. Straight up above you is Crater Rock and the popular south side route. Ride back down and walk over to the upper lodge (Timberline Lodge) and go inside and look around. Timberline Lodge is a beautiful historic building and they serve a fabulous lunch ($$) in the dining room. Poor man food is served in the restaurant on top floor of the lower lodge. When you are done drive back down to 26 and turn left. After a few miles take the exit to get on Hwy 35 to keep circling counterclockwise around the mountain. About 12 (?) miles past the turn-off to Mt. Hood Meadows ski area turn left off of Hwy 35 at sign for Cooper Spur. Drive up as far as you can to get a good look at Elliot Glacier and north and east faces of Mt. Hood. When done drive back down to Hwy 35 and head left into Hood River. Get on I-84 West to head back to Portland. Look for waterfalls on the left and Beacon Rock on the Washington side of the river on the right. From I-84 take I-205 N to get back to Vancouver.

In my experience a GPS does not help in whiteout conditions. The reason is that the real hazard in a whiteout is the possibility of skiing or stepping off a shelf or cornice that you can't see, and a GPS will not prevent that. Better just to hunker down and wait for visibility. Even when there is no whiteout, but visibility is poor, a GPS is of limited use. If you have stayed oriented, you can use a compass to navigate and travel, so long as you have a heading to aim for. For example, I find that in poor visibility (heavy snow or fog) I tend to lose my sense of direction. Last fall I was on the summit of Pinnacle Peak in heavy cloud cover and after waiting for ten minutes for Rainier to show for a photo-up I gave up and started down and could not find the easy decent path. I wandered around the summit for 15 mintues, fighting back panic as I kept getting cliffed out and dusk was approaching and it was starting to rain. I finally looked at my compass and realized that my brain had spun 180 degrees in my skull. A GPS would not have been any help. I do find a GPS useful for route finding in areas where prominent features are many and confusing, or absent altogether, so that it is hard to get a bearing on something, or I am just plain lazy and don't stay oriented to a map like I should, but I try to never rely on it like I do a map and compass, for the obvious reason that if the batteries die I'm in trouble. Mine is old (no map display) and I'm not familiar with the newer models that have more memory and better graphics, so I can't offer a recommendation as to what to buy.

I was able to drive to French's using 4WD the last 1/4 mile a month ago, but the rock was too wet (for me) to climb. So, even if things have not changed in a month and you don't have 4WD, you would only have to walk 1/4 mile. I'd be very surprised if the road wasn't open all the way now.

Once again... wow! Your TRs never fail to impress and continue to put a new perspective on ski mountaineering. I'm inspired that you raise the bar so high and am content and thrilled to be a spectator. You and Eric are very gutsy and very skilled - what more can I say. Thank you very much for sharing and stay safe!

Now I can see that those three blocks all shifted, with the lower block shifting down at least eight inches.

Here's how it looks now. I didn't see where anything had shifted. I guess there is some concern about possible undermining of some of the rock.

PM sent on the Mini-Traxion.

Yes, you are correct. I went back and reread and the special warning was NOT updated this morning, but extends through this afternoon.

That's the only place it occurs. Specific Hood forecast is no longer being updated for this season.

This was posted on NWAC this morning: “Warning = Extreme or high avalanche danger occurring or expected to occur within 12 hours: …at or below 5000 feet in the Mt. Hood Area.” Steep slushy snow is always a concern, but there is none below 5000’ on south side Hood if you follow the climbers’ route. I have seen people walk straight up Salmon River canyon (a terrain trap not on the climber’s trail) from the upper lot which is foolishness when avy danger exists, so that is the only area where someone might get in trouble attempting south side right now. If you are not comfortable/experienced assessing snow conditions then stay away from any steep areas when the snow is soft and slushy. It is true that as the season progresses the entire snowpack becomes more stable, but avalanches can still happen on steep snow when it's warm. One of the largest avalanches ever to occur in the PNW occurred on Mt. Adams in August on the west side in afternoon sun. I don't think the poster was necessarily inferring that this party was a model for good decision making.

The above is good advice and something to think about, especially if you plan on getting on steeper terrain. Another lightweight ice tool option is Petzl Aztarex. Otherwise, there are lighter axes out there, such as the BD Ultra Pro and the Camp Corsa, both of which are a full half pound lighter than a lightweight ice tool. True, but why not go a step further and develop some balance and just ditch those things. They add a half pound of weight, are one more thing to manage on your pack, and make your arms tired after using them all day long. The only time I’ve ever wanted them is for stream crossings and I can usually find a stick that does the job. Uuhh... for hiking in snow? I'm an old school peep that still loves his gaiters.

This is one of those topics where you will get lots of different answers, depending on an individual's needs and personal preference. I like to go as light as possible so that means I'm looking for the shortest axe that will get the job done. I don't use it as a walking stick. It's for self arrest and self-belay only. I'm 5'11" and my axe is 50 cm. I can't imagine that you would find 60cm to be too short, given your height. Also... climbing styles and techniques change along with the times. I was perfectly happy with an axe that was almost 90cm (I just measured it) 45 years ago.

Rocky Butte good: 1) It's closer than anything else - it's in Portland! 2) The rock is good, routes are fun. Rocky Butte bad: 1) It's trashy but you can overlook that. 2) Faces north so even after a few days of sun it's still wet and slimy. 3) And this is it's worst attribute for me - lots of freeway noise makes communications with belayer difficult.

Wow this is great! FWIW, as you are expanding your database, I hope you add Cilogear packs and Stephenson Warmlite tents soon.

Wow – lots of good suggestions and advice. This is all very helpful. I’ve compiled everything and am trying to plan out a couple fun days so when we get to Smith we can spend more time climbing and less time wandering and bumbling around like the newbies we are. Many thanks to everyone!

Yep that was us. We were looking for a route to top rope while practicing setting gear and Adam’s Crack seemed to fit the bill – except that there was no anchor that we could access without climbing. The folks on the route before us were kind enough to pull up our rope on their last climb and pass it through the anchor at the top of White Lightning and then through a directional sling and biner at the small maple tree near the top of AC. Now that I know the route and am confident I can lead it I will set up a belay farther up at the fir tree and do as you suggest. Thanks for your advice. I welcome any I can find! Holler and say hi the next time you see us. BTW thanks to Jeff (Geoff?) and Jim! Jim is quite the unselfish individual – a real class act.

So if you were going to buy just two cams to augment a rack of otherwise passive pro, what would you buy? I know to some extent that depends on where you want to climb, but I'm looking for a general purpose answer that I understand won't work in all situations. We're interested in technically easy alpine routes - Ingalls Peak, Whitney East Buttress, Long's Peak Keiner's, etc.

My son and I are beginning trad climbers and have never been to Smith Rocks. I have Alan Watts’ climbing guide, but was hoping someone could recommend some easy trad climbs (5.7 and under, multi or single pitch) that can be protected with passive pro only. I have a full rack of nuts and hexes and some tricams. Given that we are learning I’d like to stay away from really crappy rock and run-out routes. Any suggestions?

Same here. My solution has been to carry an extra prussik leg loop. After working up as high under the lip as possible, with my waist and leg loops below the lip, I can generally reach up and grab the rope above the lip with my fingers and jam something underneath it, thus providing room to attach another leg prussik. Of course if someone hasn't placed an axe handle or something there and the rope is dug in, well... haul me out!

For a one-day hard push if I want to go light I will take 3L of electrolyte mix (I use Accelerade) in a bladder and packets of non-caffeinated energy gels (strawberry banana GU and vanilla Power Bar are non-caffein). It doesn't taste great but it's tolerable, I can eat/drink while climbing, it saves lots of time, and it's all I need for up to a 6,000 ft. push. I reward myself at the top with a couple Snickers bars. Back at camp or at the car I have something salty like some cold KFC and hot Raman. Years ago when I didn't think about how much weight was on my back I used to pack in a gallon of milk and a roast. There is nothing like real food when you are tired.

Years ago I and three other newbs decided to climb Long's Peak over spring break in mid-March. We assigned group food to one individual. We made camp at Chasm Lake just in time for a five day storm to blow in. Two tents shredded within about 30 minutes and we headed to Chasm Lake shelter cabin. Once we got inside and realized we would be safe we looked forward to finding out what kinds of tasty meals we had in store. Turns out this fellow thought granola was pretty nutritional so he brought one huge sack of it, and that was all. Oh, except for one more thing. On top of the bag he had packed a canister of white gas, which leaked and completely saturated the granola. We were faced with the inevitable and so we spread the granola out on the freezing concrete floor and waited for it to dry, leaving the door partially open so we wouldn't get sick from the fumes. The next day we were hungry enough to start eating and eat we did. I spent four days dreading every time I had to burp, which was often, because when I did it tasted like gasoline. The story gets worse, but I'll spare the details because it's almost dinnertime. After the storm let up we were worse than lethargic. We couldn't bear not to summit so we opted to post-hole back and over to the keyhole before turning back, completely exhausted. Yes, knowledge slowly gained...