B Deleted_Beck

Howdy Looking to do SE Chamber on I-Rock on Wednesday. At least I think that's the route- I'm getting conflicting beta... whatever it is, it should be a pretty obvious MI3-4ish line running for 3-4 pitches up the SE face to the summit ridge. I have some buy-one-get-one lift ticks courtesy of Shell Oil Co., and though I've always ripped on people for taking cats or using the lifts to climb Hood, this isn't Hood- it's I-Rock. And it's probably gonna be nut-deep snow all the way there and back, so I figure taking the lift up to 8,500 would not only be not-gay, but probably pretty smart. Weather will suck, avy hazard will be in the black, and visibility will probably be nill... so obviously be OK with that. Please be strong, have a firm grasp of multi-pitch rope handling, and have emergency bivy gear and a shovel. I have good wands. Another length of twin would be useful. -Ben

Why that route, for a first go at the Cascades?

Gotcha gotcha. Si, you'd think if anybody has enough of a clue to have climbed the thing he'd know what route he took... but it seems a lot of ski climbers don't actually really give too much of a shit about the climb, and focus more of their concentration on the descent, and I think most of the references to EGH I've seen have been from ski climbers.. descending the upper glacier and erroneously calling it the headwall. The times I've studied the last pitch (from the summit ridge), I've concluded it's nothing but a wall of frozen mud and rocks semi-cemented in with dirty snow, and probably not very climbable... Is it a highly conditional route, or are appearances deceiving and the muddy rock wall is actually pretty solid? How protectable is it? I'm impatiently awaiting my copy of Oregon High in the mail...

What are you saying

I'm still perdy new to all this real climbing stuff, but even in my first year of alpining, I'm seeing the benefit of the pricey manufacturers. First of all, it's better designed... better arm freedom, better pocket location and orientation, better compatibility with other climbing equipment- hoods that fit well with OR without helmet, for instance- and not least of all, lighter. Weight is everything.. and my Theta shell is about half the weight of my last gor shell. And even being an older model (bought used on MP, like 90% of my gear), and having been drug up a number of climbs, it's still in almost mint condition, somehow. That part really baffles me. I can't afford any of this stuff... I've been fighting a pretty severe unemployment (not the insurance kind) addiction for the last couple years, and have suffered more relapses than I can count. So I just buy used.. I've had great luck, and get great deals. I just watch diligently, and when something I've been looking for pops up at a decent price, I don't haggle. "I'll take it. What's your paypal address?" Good luck -Ben

I'm pretty much always down for a good route on Hood- looks like it's gonna be wet-slab hazard all week till the next system rolls through, though. Gonna be too warm even for a pre-dawn tag..

For research sake, on a day like today... The NWAC originally called for considerable above 5,000 on all aspects, and moderate below. The reason being was warming temps over recent storm slab and with sun.. so the danger was wet slab. They changed that to only considerable on S to SE aspects today, but that was the original call. Temps on the mountain were well above freezing below around 8,000'. For this next week, based on everything I've learned so far this winter, I'm guessing we're gonna be looking at a very similar avy report through at least friday- very warm temps creating wet snow and in sun, leading to considerable avy hazard on all aspects, and especially on sun exposed slopes. Since the report only goes to 7,000, for conditions like this, wouldn't the wet-slab danger decrease with elevation? It's going to be colder and colder for longer higher up. Shouldn't that create generally more stable conditions on the higher/steeper slopes, at least until the sun comes out and bakes the shit out of everything during the day?

I'm working on it... I take it this route is established and referenced in OH?

Howdy Just trying to figure out if those who claim to have climbed the "Eliot Glacier Headwall" have actually climbed the Eliot Glacier Headwall, or if these folks are confused and have actually climbed the Sunshine or Gullies, or even Coopspur. ? I'm sure somebody has climbed straight up the vertical snow/mud/rock mix that makes up the upper part of the headwall, but I doubt it's as common as you'd gather by reading some stuff on the internet. --- Could also use some help locking in my mental map of the mountain... The Eliot Glacier Headwall is the headwall just to the west of the big arete, which we call the Clever, correct? The Cleaver being the divide between the EGH and Right Gully. And the EGH will be the entire face of the mountain from the Cleaver to the Coe Glacier Headwall, which is the face under the top of Cathedral Ridge? Thanks -Ben

Excellent.. I don't have the original memorized, but I have seen it recently enough to appreciate the Elizabethan translation I'm not into theater, but I'd go see that.

I think the answer to this question is simple... Take the fuckin' drugs with you if you want. Why would you give a rats ass if any of these people think you should? This isn't really a debatable topic... it's something people either do or don't, and there's definitely no right or wrong answer. Take hydrocodone, take benzodiazepine, take methamphetamine, take morphine, take peyote... none of it weighs anything or takes up any space, and most of it will only get you a year or ten in prison in most countries.

Conditions change with the weather... can by anything from crotch-deep powder to re-freeze crust.. and is usually somewhere in between, when weather's clear. Obviously being winter, you gotta catch it during a period of stable snow. Everything's climbable, and the crater is filled/filling in nicely. Last time I was up a few weeks ago, the route up through the Old Chute didn't look any worse than 40* all the way up, and the "knife edge" wasn't. Just gotta go when weather's good and snow is stable- which doesn't always happen at the same time. I've got pics from the 7th on my facebook page- it's all open to the public: Benjamin Beckerich

Anybody have a copy you don't want $40 for? Looking to use it, not collecting -Ben

Howdy Looking at the weather report for La Montagne, as I do almost obsessively, I see it's gonna be pretty frackin cold this weekend. Depending on how avy hazard looks for Monday, I was thinking about heading up for a Reid a/o Leutholds.. with an ambient temperature of 0-5F, and possibly into the -teens or -twenties with WCI, that'll be the coldest temps I've yet climbed in. So far this winter I've climbed in temps averaging around 15-20, with WCI coming in anywhere from 10 down to negative teens, and have climbed in my shell pants and shell jacket with nothing more than socks and a UA compression shirt (free-balling- no lower base) underneath... it's cold, but despite being in very good physical condition, I sweat like a mu'fucker- I have to climb cold or I sweat off all my water. With the kind of temps they're predicting for Mon, I really don't think I'm gonna be able to get away with that. What do you wear climbing in extra cold (relative to low-alt cascade climbing) temps? Just looking for a comparative starting point.. Once the gaiters and pons are on, I'm committed. Thanks -Ben

Dropped a BD quicksilver? small locking carabiner into the bowl between Devil's Kitchen and the Hogsback... will have a piece of ACU duct tape over the kN. $5 reward, if anyone picked it up! Love those little lockers..

I just started reading/learning as much as I could, and started going up. I had to drag non-climber friends along for courage at first (which will generally get you about halfway there). The best place to meet people to climb with is on summits... talk to everyone, shake hands, swap business cards/facebook names, and start networking. Be aggressive about staying in touch and inviting people on climbs. Once you have other guys to go with, the rest falls into place- shared gear, shared knowledge, shared experience will all take you to better and better places.

It should be mentioned that the odds of being in a position to just climb yourself out of a crevasse fall are probably pretty slim... I'd think most crevasses you're going to fall into would be pretty clean tapered, and you'd wedge in, suffocating to death on your own lungs in about 15 minutes.

What are the screws for? If you seriously think you're gonna need to solo crevasses, you should leave the screws at home and bring a second tool, would be my thinking

Excellent timing on that pic... Been looking for a recent shot of the NF for about a week. 'Schrund is filled in, looks like there's a nice fat iceflow cutting all the way through the cliff.... sweeeeeeeet.

All I can figure is that they had the rope threaded through a couple of draws to an anchor way the hell out on the ceiling, with the hope of giving her a screaming pendulum fall as a gag... and didn't adequately factor in her extra weight Edit - trying to clean it from the wrong end of the rope...

I think we can all relate with a feeling of security on slopes that would otherwise be classical avy terrain, if we've spent a lot of time on it in the past and never seen it avy.

An afternoon at Rocky Butte... there's something about used condoms and empty forty bottles carpeting the forest floor that says "baby, I love you enough to bring you to my special place."

burp.. also available on ebay, starting at $50 http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAMP-M5-ruck-pack-backpack-50-liter-size-M-Hiking-camping-climbing-/280829918869?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4162c47e95#ht_530wt_934

There's a lot of red on the avy report today.

You can say that again.