Ben Beckerich

Nice find! Did you call Timberline? The owner may or may not be a CC member, or even know it exists (I talk to plenty of people up there who've never heard of CCcom)

Angle varies, depending on time of year, and recent weather conditions. Expect the terrain above Devil's Kitchen (the east crater floor) to vary between 30-45 degrees. Pearly gates is currently 45-50 up to the gates themselves, mellowing out from there. The Old Chute is no worse than 45. Two tools are nice if it's icy, but never necessary (except for the Gates, when it's stepped). If it's soft, a single axe is preferable, for weight savings and self-belay. It can be done with an axe in any condition (except for the above exception) though- provided the wielder possess competent technique.

If the snow is soft, it's probably a borderline non-technical climb. Walk on up. Are these conditions anyone can expect to find up there? Should we tell non-technical wannabe climbers to just head on up? It's a technical peak. Easy, but still technical. You don't just send noobs up there with hiking boots and a trekking pole. You need to use learned technique to get up and down safety and competently, as yesterday's fiasco surely proved. Circus up there, with inexperienced, exhausted, way over-burned people front-pointing the entire way up and down on screaming calves, because nobody ever bothers to learn French technique. Completely unable to resolve any problems that might arise, like a broken crampon- due to having no technique. Anyone trying to minimize the potential danger, and the requirement for steep snow/ice skill, has some personality defects that need to be isolated from society.

Was gonna take the split up tomorrow for the first time all year... but I'm envisioning lumpy mashed potatoes above the lift

Anyone up this weekend? Going tomorrow... I figure it's going to be pretty slush, wondering if I should take the split and skin or just hoof it.....?

Fact of the matter is, being absolutely terrified while descending steep snow on a mountain is actually a "normal" response to that situation. If you'd previously been a confident, experienced climber and just trotted on down 40-50 degree snow, but now can barely breath just walking down the south side of Hood.... that's a more complex issue, but it isn't PTSD. The principles of classical conditioning would indicate you've simply learned a fear response to a real danger.... conditioned stimulus, conditioned response. The best therapy for this is to un-condition the response. Basically..... re-learn that you can safely walk down, or down climb, steep snow. And the best way to do that is to walk down or down-climb steep snow, unfortunately for you. A running belay with a couple bomber pickets between you and a sturdy partner would probably go miles in regaining that confidence. How many times have you been up since the crash?

How did I miss the while descending steep snow part? Crap... Different issue.....

keeping it on airplane mode except when actually looking up your position will make it last days and days. "Searching" is what kills the battery. My iPhone hasn't died in the back country since I started using it.

Meh.. didn't go. Gonna go Monday now. Anyone?

I took this on Rainier, just under the Kautz glacier on the "Turtle" I assume its a piece from this: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7820 You're welcome to use the pic, if you promise to send me a bottle of fine single-barrel bourbon if the book makes you rich. Otherwise, a credit will do... but you have to list me as Handover Fistinpoon. That's my real name.

Lotta WTF...

What? Did something get deleted?

Gonna go up Hood tomorrow morning. Taking the splitboard.... I switched over to full hardboot setup LAST YEAR and still haven't tried it. gotta gotta gotta get on that thing. Anybody for skinning up tomorrow morning? I want to leave the lot around 5 or 6... alpine starts are for the Alps... dis ain't dem.

I've never heard a discussion on the topic outside of a conversation about PTSD, which you obviously have. You're probably going to need to get some help with that. 2 years is too long to suffer like that. Your brain's gotten a little crosswired, due to your experience with the fall. It's certainly not irreparable, but you're going to have a hard time with reconditioning your brain to leave the FOF stuff for true physical emergencies without some guidance from a good cognitive-behaviorist who specializes in panic disorder. Drugs can also be used as a tool during therapy, but don't let anyone give you a prescription alone- that just plain doesn't fix the problem.

Cant seem to get the ebay links to link.... but I guess you can just go find 'em. $1 start

I wonder if anyone would notice if I hooked on for a tow up one of these things... kind of off to the side in the back, so snobby passengers can't see me freeloading their riches

There's dicks everywhere.. rock climbing isn't immune

Apparently the links I put up were bad.... fixed now

Howdy I haven't had any love on the one cycling board I frequent, and a dispute with paypal has eBay unusable for me. Figured maybe I'd try here... http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/4512192594.html http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/4520496504.html EMAIL PLEASE! benjaminbeckerich@gmail.com

Everyone has their own comfort level, and the south side of Hood is definitely the place to find people well past theirs.

Is there still frozen water up into the Gates?

Gotta get back into climbing shape! Looking to do a couple runs up Oregon volcanoes in the next couple weeks- Hood South Side Slog and/or north side o' Jeff and her Jeff Park headwall. Join me for one, join me for both! Simul-solo Hood, but we'll do a running belay for Jeff above the headwall. I'd like to skin Hood, but I guess I'd be open to walking if you give me a good justification. No technical experience necessary... all I ask is that you know you possess the requisite fitness and suck-threshold. Schedule's flexy, but I prefer weekdays for less humans (I'm a chimpanzee). EMAIL IS BEST! benjaminbeckerich@gmail.com

Anyone know if there's anything prohibiting bikes on the trail, or any others? I would imagine it'll be skins for the next couple months at least (?), but riding in to the mountain would be pimp this summer

My fastest time, almost a full hour longer than your time posted today, was done in hiking boots and contact strap crampons... you'd probably move a lot faster on foot on hard snow. I'll race you, next time

So what about that doctor who claimed car-to-car in under 2 hours? I never really believed it, myself... but I've always had a hard time finding any kind of official records for Hood.