B Deleted_Beck

Wow.. nice. I probably didn't read every word, but I didn't see anything about rockfall- have anything rolling down on you guys?

Howdy I gather that generally speaking, about this time in the season, die Nordwand is rapidly losing value.. given that we're in the middle of our second high-snow year in a row, and that temps have been staying very consistently sub-frozen up there, do you supposed it'll still be a quality climb into early May? What am I looking at for a last-chance date range, this year, do you suppose? I'm probably gonna accept a job offer next week, slashing my climbing schedule availability down to the-occasional-weekend.. and I'm having to think critically about what routes I can realistically tick this year.. "all of them" just isn't going to happen, now. Thanks -Ben

I've always put hot water in mine... sometimes REALLY hot. But I think bladders are not all created equally. I've had mine for about 12 years- original soft/stretchy blue camelbak bladder with the black rubber valve that came in a HAWG I bought in '00. I don't think they make 'em like that anymore.. everything I've seen in REI/homey's pouches has been some crinkly clear plastic shit

Ben.... did you solo Hood's Old Chute in mid-late October? Oct 24th-26th, looking at my own records

I've been a big defender of bladders... but after my last trip, I think I might finally be convinced to try something else. I dropped ruck to put on my down and change my gloves, and by the time I was all put back together and ready to re-sling the pack, I noticed all.... ALL..... of my Gatorade was soaked into the snow. Bite valve had come off, somehow, somewhere, never to be seen again. Was a very, very thirsty climb, friends.

You gotta put 'em on facebook or photobucket... you can upload 'em all at once, put them into a trip album, and then your homies can just pull the ones they want. Like how I do it..

was totally hoping for real boners

Ju get a partner? I think Teh Phuzzy and I are going out Sat early afternoon. You're welcome to come too ... I cant.. not this weekend. Have fun. Make sure Teh knows he'll never, ever, ever see the pics you take.

Ju get a partner?

Wachumean?

Must be something special about you, sooshi. Never seen a noob intro thread with so many offers for "help" before. Welcome to the board. Be safe.

It's not me, dewd.. The wife is out of town on Sat and I'm supposed to have "family day" on Sun. I'd probably be down for a middle of next week trip, though

Assuming you could get solid pieces in, it wouldn't be too bad with a belay, even as crappy as it was. At least then you might be able to rest from scratching around for junk to stick. The climbing itself wasn't especially grueling, but all the time spend swinging or hooking or stepping and getting NOTHING was very wearing, and it would have been great to be able to hang here or there. I imagine it's actually a really serene route, with good ice and firm snow... hope to do it again when it's in condition, someday.

Word.. that's definitely the stronger finish... just wondering if you braved it solo. I haven't done the route yet, but I've figured that might very well be the crux, given soft snow or a big cornice How stable/steep was it?

The CAMP Lift Ascender is an almost exact copy of the Ushba I have one... doesn't like stiff rope http://www.camp-usa.com/products/ascenders/lift.asp

Nice work... I really hope to be hitting this'un in the next 3 weeks, and before it's gone for the season. Which way did you go from the top step?

Sin? What was the last thing Jesus did before he was arrested? Climbed a gotam mountain.

Trip: Mount Hood - Devil's Kitchen Headwall - 1C Date: 4/7/2012 Trip Report: I guess if you want to climb something, sometimes you're just gonna have to solo it. Anyone who pays any attention to the partners' section is probably aware of how many times I've tried to get on this route.. lacking a partner this time around, I just went ahead and did it alone. "I play my own," as little Otto would say. I got to T-Line at around 22:30 and immediately noticed the line of AWD hatchback cars parked at the barrier across from the climber's register. The first good forecast weekend-day of the official climbing season... the Daytona 500 of Hood climbing. I did my usual thing and signed in, pissed in the snow outside the register (I keep forgetting to bring bolt cutters), and hit the bag in my truck. Set my watch for 2:00, texted the wife, listened to the World Service for a while... I was asleep by 23:30, but was awoken about 30 minutes later to the sounds of nervous laughter and slamming car doors.... It was begun. I couldn't really get back to sleep... Everything strapped on, I was away from the parking lot about 2:15 I'd passed everyone but two soloists by the top of the lift.. They'd gone up the lower left side, which I hate, so I decided to just go ahead and break trail up the right side to the ridge of Triangle Moraine. 1,500' of regret later, I crossed their tracks just under Crater Rock, passed one of them, and rounded the convex toward Devil's Kitchen.. the last guy ahead of me was heading toward East Wall route! Of no consequence, I'd just never seen anyone do it. Once again, I was back to wallowing in deep powder, as I made my way toward the ramp to DKH route. Somewhere about halfway from DK to the mouth of DKH, I dropped ruck to switch gloves and put on my down. After I got that all squared away, I noticed orange in the snow.... a LOT of orange in the snow... my Gatorade! The bite valve had apparently been torn off the hose somehow, and ALL 100oz of my hot Gatorade were GONE. Just as I was making this realization, the Old Fucker (no disrespect, Old Fucker, if you're reading this- it was just a name of convenience) I'd passed under Crater Rock caught up to me and, looking up at the headwall before us, said, "How the hell are we gonna get up this thing?" He'd apparently never climbed Hood before... so I squared him away, and he headed off for Hogsback. I slogged at last up into the mouth of the couloir that would be my home, and nearly my death, for the next hour, just as the sky was starting to light. It took probably 20 minutes to get from the bottom of the mouth up to the first "ice" step... 50-60+ degree loose snow is LAME. This pic makes it look pretty level in there.. but it was definitely 55-60 average.. Shot back down, once up on the shelf: The dirt step, from my starting point on the shelf: Decision time... To tell you the truth, by this point, I really didn't feel like I could safely down-climb that ramp even if I wanted to bail. The snow was simply not supporting human weight, and only upward progress was preventing sliding all the way back down. But there was a shelf of snow following the west wall of the mouth of the couloir, and I could bypass a full 10' worth of dirt climbing if that thing would support my weight... So sticking the rime along the wall, I slowly traversed- sometimes on hands and knees- up and around, and somehow the whole thing didn't collapse. At the wall, I stemmed as much as I could off said rime, and pretty much just tied to hook pieces of rock and occasional small patches of ice with my other foot. My picks were mostly bouncing off rock and I was wearing out very quickly with all the extra effort and straining to stay stuck to the mountain.. probably 15 minutes later, I was 15 feet higher. I thought to myself Well it surely can't possibly get any worse than that... Or did I say that out loud? The route did improve- the higher up, the thicker the ice. I can't actually remember if it was the first or second step, but at one point, as I pulled my adze out to make a move, both my front points broke away from the shit rock they were perched on, leaving me dangling from my hammer only, till I could desperately scrape up new places for my feet and get a second tool in. ! Looking down at the first, up at the second: Once above the second step, the exposed dirt and rock were entirely replaced by patches of fairly decent ice between stretches of steep snow over rock.. still far from ideal climbing, and still straining just to stay connected, but now able to find places to hang on my umbilicals and rest for a minute or two. Looking back down at two... Up at three There are two places where route-finding actually comes into play. Understanding where you are in relation to the summit will go miles in deciding which way to go. I wasn't actually entirely sure where I was, and just got lucky.. but basically, if in doubt, go left. There's nothing to the left that's tempting to climb except the pathway you want to be on. I suppose if you're particularly daring, and the crotch-deep steep snow and dirt climbing have somehow not completely sapped you of all desire to climb, you could, at the second junction, opt to go straight or right, and climb up the very steep rimy ice to the knife-edge between Wy'East and the summit ridge You could almost call this a fourth step, but I wouldn't. Was probably the best ice I encoutnered on the whole route, though.. Go left to get out and head up for the ridge, or veer right and head for: I did not. Once out of the main couloir, and after figuring out how to get from the funnel I was in to the funnel that would shoot me up to the summit, it was basically just another 150-175' of slow slog to the ridge that divides the chute I was in from the Pearly Gates chute, which then led to the summit. Not exactly what I'd envisioned, and a little disappointing when I discovered I still had another 100' to slog, but then it was finally over. Summitted at about 7:15..? Maybe 7:30. FUCKING THIRSTY. I kept looking over for the dude that went up the East Wall, but he must have been hauling ass (or fell off the Wy'East face), 'cause I never saw him again. I did see very faint tracks on the summit ridge, so I assume those were him. Did my thing and screwed off for 20-25 minutes, strapped my shit back on and turned around to descend Mazama Chute... The big banner cloud that I'd originally climbed up into, that had disappeared as I began the route, came back and totally socked in the mountain. Descending, I passed the first group of climbers heading up for the day within about 15 feet and never freaken saw them till I was about 20' below... crazy Hogsback Ah... my favorite part of the climb Gear Notes: Two tools and some testosterone are all I used... but the occasional short screw and maybe a 1-3 nut are about all you're gonna get in, for pro. Approach Notes: If you're the first in, expect to swim, till the snow starts to firm up..

Who did Flying Buttress today? Erf - East Crater Wall (shit pile to the top of Steel Cliffs)

Well good... at least I know there'll be other guys up there. I'll probably give Wy'East V2 a shot- but if I chicken out, I'll shoot over and scamper up DKH instead. I'm gonna head out to work, and will go to the mountain from there... so if anybody wants to do one of the above routes, gimme call.

I probably shouldn't have said "absolutely forgo," but I'll maintain that it's my opinion that top-roping is basically wasting time, once the initial procedures are down, if you're really serious about climbing. I don't think I would have been able to lead trad RIGHT off the bat, but I do think I could have started placing gear and climbing above it probably my third trip to the crag. Instead, I bogged down on TR, thinking I needed to be TRing 5.12s before I started leading, and all it netted me was a year and a half of wasted time, since leading in the alpine has been my goal all along. Especially since I'll very likely never climb 5.12. But like I said, just my opinion. The OP, even if he top-ropes, will benefit from reading a wide spectrum of them.

Welcome to the PNW.. you mostly interested in rock, or alpine too? If I had it to start over again, I would absolutely forgo top-roping. Convention puts noobs on top-rope so they can focus on developing holdwork... but if you're serious about climbing- REAL climbing- then placing gear is exactly 50% of your necessary skillset. So why skimp on it in the beginning? Develop both skills together. Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it. Good luck

Thanks The bro in question actually lost two of my pickets, but a groomer saw one and grabbed it. The other, and his Jetboil, were probably already buried under a foot of spindrift by the time the groomer got up there.

So nobody wants to climb this weekend? Going up tomorrow night, partner or not... would really like to do Wy'East, but I'll probably chicken out if I'm solo- White River Glacier scares me.

I just watched it online, and was like "dood, that's me!" Was my first successful solo attempt. Nice shot, Andrew... I actually took a shot of you on the summit from about there, too. I'll have to see if I ever uploaded it.