snowleopard_x

Texas has a ride called the "Hotter than Hell 100". Held each August near Witchita, it's 100 miles, and the temperature is usually over 100 degrees, and humidity often 100%. A popular way to finish that race is in an ambulance. Henry is correct about the TDF, of course. And what's more, the pro's ride fast, real fast. But the Tour isn't something your average rider can enter, even if you could you'd get dropped in the first km. It's unbelievable just how fast pro's ride. You have to see it to believe it.

Big Wave Dave - How did you find yourself here?! Are you living in Portland now? Small world. We should meet up some day, if only to say we did.

Okay, gonna try some photos: Of course, it failed. Anyway, here is a link to a composite photo of the Coe and the Ladd. You may have to cut and paste: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/snowleopard_x/vwp?.dir=/Photo+Gallery&.dnm=Coe+Glacier.jpg&.src=bc&.view=l&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/snowleopard_x/lst%3f%26.dir=/Photo%2b Gallery%26.src=bc%26.view=l [ 03-18-2002: Message edited by: snowleopard_x ]

I have not been through the Coe, but I have been on it, and the less visited Ladd, several times. It's a true Alpine Wonderland there, and doesn't even seem like Oregon. It also has a sense of remotenss and even danger that the Eliot just doesn't have. I love it so much up there I'm reluctant to make this post. Billy is pretty much correct. The times I was on it, I skipped the lower icefall and hit it where he mentions the steep scree. It is indeed terrible. But once you're past it and on the glacier, you have a straight shot to the upper (big) icefall. Be careful in there, people have gotten lost. But to my knowledge, no one has bought the farm. I prefer approaching along the Timberline trail and camping below the glacier, and going up during the day and coming back town to the trail. But a Languille approach would be shorter. I'd go in September, maybe late September, or even into October depending on the snow. This past drought year people couldn't even access the upper icefall the crevasses were so bad. But I have been up there in August and it gets warm too soon, and unsafe. There usually isn't any significant snow until Halloween time anyway, but once it does pile up there, stay the hell off. The Coe would be a total death trap then. I have several shots of the Coe, I'll see if I can figure out how to post them.

Billy - I wouldn't rappell. I would continue up on the Steel Cliffs, finishing off the Wy East route. This all depends though on where you hit the headwall (or East Crater Rim, proper). Go far enough to the left, and you'll miss the Wy East and end up about 50' SE of the summit. Take anything from the DKH right variation through the Flying Buttress, to the final chute on the East Rim and you'll crest the East Crater Rim at the end of the Steel Cliffs. From there, follow the Wy East. This really is the best way to go, and the best part of the Wy East (a very underrated route if you ask me). You get some fun route finding along the top, with great views, and a final steep little chute (that falls off below over the Black Spider!) to keep your adreneline up. From there, you're near the summit and can safely descend the Hogsback. The hardest part of any of these routes though would be the top pitch cresting the East Crater Rim, it's usually near vertical at the top, and if the ice is chunky and rime, like it usually is, the leader must not fall. Go early in the day, and early in the season. After about April debris starts coming down, and a nasty moat opens up just below all the routes.

I'm a native Portlander, so I'm pretty familiar with Cascade weather. Thanks for the replies guys. As of now, I can't say how much time I'll be able to spend up there this summer, due to financial means it looks like much less than a month. More like a few long weekends. So Pride Basin seems much more likely than, say Luna or Silver lake. But you never know, so I'll file anything away for future reference. The input is appreciated.

I'd say it's about 40 degrees. I was up there on Monday and because of the snow piling up into slabs, it was maybe 45 at the very most. This is the most I suppose I've ever seen it. A general rule of thumb is that a slope is 50 degrees (or over) when you feel like you can lean into it and touch it (or want to climb pied troisieme).

Well, he sure comes off like a terrible husband. You read the book and expect at the end to finally read that his wife left him! She must have as much will power as he did. I personally liked the book if only because he really spilled his guts, and didn't sugar coat it too much, or spend all his time pounding his chest. Fans of Wick's should check out a video called Fairweather. It's of the trip where he, Dusan and Al Givler climbed in the Fairweathers (with Steve Marts). Perfect cinematography by Steve Marts. Spectacular. It's one of the best films ever shot on climbing. Marts was the best. Still awaiting answers to my triva question.

Hey Iain - You noted in another post that you left two pickets on the Devil's Kitchen Headwall. When did you give it a shot? A friend and I turned back on the Flying Buttress at the moat two years ago in April as the route looked much harder than what Thomas describes in his book. Though now that I know, that's a good thing. You said there was a lot of "littler" up there. I have never seen anyone, let alone heard anyone climb the DKH, or anything on the East Crater Rim. Most people don't even consider them routes up the mountain. So this surprises me. But considering that Thomas makes them seem rather easy in his book, climbers bailing on any of them and leaving pro doesn't surprise me at all either.

As a contrast - I was on Leuthold on Monday with two friends. We were the only ones on the mountain. There was very little debris coming down the route, though the winds were breezy on the summit ridge. Mount Hood is a great place to climb mid-week and off season. Being up there all by ourselves, It doesn't even seem like Mt. Hood.

Rod & Rob - We had considered the Sandy this past weekend but chose not (not knowing the route and lack of fitness probably the deciding factors), but we did check the Reid side out. Very few crevasses up high, At about 8,800' on the Reid we saw a nasty people eater hiding. Keep your wits about - a fall in would be very bad. Once you're across, it looked like a straight shot around Yocum. Can't report on the crossing of the Sandy Glacier, but it should be great. Looking down on the HW from the Queens Chair, it looked beautiful. I'd say if next week is good weather, it would be the time to go.

Two climbers climbed the Upper Buttress on Yocum last Sunday. They described it to be in fair condition, which means - as good as it gets. I believe they had previously done the lower towers, and decided to finish the route on another day. I have barely been on the ridge, but it's not so much the lower towers that intimidate me as the upper buttress. It may be wider, but the protection can't be any better, and the exposure is huge. Plus, this would be when you would be most tired. Just an observation, not from experience. Wick's photo is indeed from the third tower. A bit of triva for you: The photo was taken by Dusan Jagersky. A third climber was with them on that trip. Who was he? If this weekend does storm, and next week is cold (it was quite cold up there Monday), it might be the best chance anyone's going to get at Yocum this year. Paradise Park is a very popular summer hiking and backpacking destination on Hood.

Single rides up the Magic Mile are $8 - Supposedly you need an MLU or a cell phone (I agreed with Iain, take the cell), but they usually don't ask, especially in the off season like this.

I'm looking to visit some of the remote North Cascades with a bunch of camera gear this late summer (think off trail back pack, no real climbing) and was wondering if anyone had been to these areas, and how hard they were to get to: Pride Basin - Henry M. Jackson Wilderness White Rock Lakes - Glacier Peak Wilderness (actually on the tail end of Ptarmigan Traverse, I'd be approaching from Downey Creek/Bachelor Meadows) Klawati Lake - NCNP Tiny unamed lake NW of Mt. Triumph - NCNP Silver Lake - NCNP Luna Lake - NCNP Azure Lake - NCNP I won't be able to get to them all, but will have one month to do my best. I'm also open to any other reasonable spot, as long as it's scenic and rarely visited, and not too dangerous to get to solo. I have Beckey's three CAG's, but he's vague about some of the approaches. Thanks to any and all who can help. snowleopard [ 03-18-2002: Message edited by: snowleopard_x ]

Alex is right (as usual ) but I wonder if he is is thinking "Old Crater" or "West Crater", the latter is more prone to avalanches (though really Old Crater is the top of West Crater). If your skills are up for it, consider an ascent of the routes on the East Crater rim as an alternative. Short but steep, topping out with great views on Steel Cliffs, and leaving the funnest part of the Wy East Route as yoru finish. I agree with Iain too on Leuthold. It's a great place to be, but watch the conditions. I got smashed in the hand with ice on Leuthold. Ried Headwall likes to dump rocks, but in March this shouldn't be a problem. I'll actually be on the west side in two weeks and will report then. Up there for four days to see what the mountain has to offer.

I'm looking to visit some of the remote North Cascades with a bunch of camera gear this late summer (think off trail back pack, no real climbing) and was wondering if anyone had been to these areas, and how hard they were to get to: Pride Basin - Henry M. Jackson Wilderness White Rock Lakes - Glacier Peak Wilderness (actually on the tail end of Ptarmigan Traverse, I'd be approaching from Downey Creek/Bachelor Meadows) Klawati Lake - NCNP Tiny unamed lake NW of Mt. Triumph - NCNP Silver Lake - NCNP Luna Lake - NCNP Azure Lake - NCNP I won't be able to get to them all, but will have one month to do my best. I'm also open to any other reasonable spot, as long as it's scenic and rarely visited, and not too dangerous to get to solo. I have Beckey's three CAG's, but he's vague about some of the approaches. Thanks to any and all who can help. snowleopard

I was at home in Portland that morning and went outside. It was dark, wet and windy. I thought, "there is no way in hell that guy got more than fifty feet from the parking lot." But it sounds like you did all the right things, and had fun doing it. Went up, had the sense to turn back at the right time, and came home in time to enjoy it all. Enjoyed the photos. The one of your dad looks like he's frozen solid! Great fun, I'm sure!

A different kind of story, with a question or two. Last June two friends and I bailed on Wilson Headwall on Rainier. Coming down we saw an army of climbers on the Nisqually. There must have been 50 of them, or more (you guessed it, The Mountaineers). First question: What's the limit for people in one group on Rainier? On Mt. Hood it's 12. Even with blue bags, fifty seems like an environmental disaster waiting to happen. A bit later, when hiking out of the Nisqually basin I came to a fork in the snow. A guy there (Mountaineer leader) asked that I go to the right as a sign there said "meadow recovery", but it was really still 98% covered in snow. Okay, no problem, I go to the right. About 15 steps behind me comes up a babe, and then her Dude. Her nameplate on her helmet was something like "Tiva". Anyway, the Mountaineer Leader Guy asks the Dude to take the path to the right (same that he asked me, not sarcastic, just normal tone of voice). The Dude looked at it, and him, and very angrily said, "I'm not doing a f***ing thing you say" pointing his finger at him. This whole thing left me kind of baffled. Sure, it really didn't matter which fork you took, it was pretty much all snow. But something pissed this dude off. I have heard so many bad stories about The Mountaineers, it made me think maybe they tried to kill him, or his ubergorgeous girlfriend? Her nameplate on her helmet told me she was with them, and yes, I am sure they were a couple. So he wasn't just some random climber pissed at all Mountaineers. Or calling the leader guy a hypocrite as he brought about 50 people up there that day and was concerned about a snow covered patch of a meadow. Puzzling. Can anyone shed light on this? I didn't feel like asking either party what the deal was, but I've wondered ever since.

Actually, it stands for Mountain Locator Unit. None the less you've pretty much got the idea. I don't know about the 24 hour rule after pulling it though. Have to look into that. Though it wouldn't surprise me. Off season the USFS rangers definitely do not check the registration box daily. More like weekly. Actually, here's how the MLU really works: If you need a ride up the chair lift, you take one. If you need to get rescued, and don't want to pay for the rescue, you should have taken one (yes, true, they gouge you otherwise). And in the rare chance you're in serious trouble, and you can't get yourself out of it (or get help from nearby climbers) and don't have a workable cell phone, etc. the thing just might save your life. Most climbers I know don't take them. I usually don't. Though it depends on the partners, route, weather forecast, blah, blah.

I haven't posted here in ages. Goodness. Another early season alternative are several of the routes on the East Crater Rim (Devil's Kitchen Headwall, Flying Buttress, etc.) Follow the South Side to the bottom of the Hogsback, make a sharp right, and go up. Quite steep at the top, which turned a friend and myself back a couple of years ago. But you top out on top of the Steel Cliffs, and then get the funnest part of the Wy East, without out the avy prone lower slopes that Wy East has. Once the snow starts to melt, these routes would be terrible. Timberline does single lift tickets, but climbers must have one MLU in the group, or they won't let you go. This is the only way to climb in my opinion, as the lower slopes are absolute misery to climb.

I don't have the details, but apparently a father and his two sons were out on the Eliot Glacier and the youngest son (15) was killed by a falling serac. The news reports didn't say if they were climbing, or even if they were on the Eliot actually, I just assumed that. But that he was killed when a refrigerator sized chunk of ice fell on him, crushing him to death. I translated that to mean a serac on the Eliot. I'll post again if I can get more information.

Like others, I agree to go for it, and there is no shame in using RMI your first time up. If afterwards you feel it wasn't enough of a challenge, plan another trip and put together your own team. Just like the rest of us, I've seen RMI in action, and they really are an institution. But to their credit, they are highly, highly organized. Most of the guides appear to be good guys (or good babes ), but yes, they must get burnt out guiding idiots and the same route all the time. I also agree on fitness being paramount. The fitter you are, the greater your chances of success, and the more you'll enjoy it. Hike uphill as much as possible between now and then. Especailly long, long uphill hikes. Running helps too, but for cardio I prefer riding a bike, as it's easier to take a 3 hour bike than a 3 hour run to work your heart and lungs. Plus you'll get in much more scenery.

Sorry, this was a double post. [This message has been edited by snowleopard (edited 07-28-2001).]

Nice TR, Mark. Sounds like quite an adventure. A few weeks ago a friend and I were testing the alpine ice season (still early, but you are right, closer to August than June conditions) out on that lower icefall on the glacier, "huge labyrinth of crevasses that became impassable" you called it. I'm pretty good at this type of climbing (the Khumbu awaits! Yeah right. JK!) but it was quite the challenge to get through it then. I would think that whole lower area would indeed be totally impassable now. Just getting around the lower icefall and to the main route, like you did, leaves me impressed. That whole glacier, bottom to top, is absolutely wild. Great that you were able to meet it all head on.

Thanks Mneagle. It truly is beautiful down there. I enjoyed reading your report.