JasonG

Yowza!

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/mbs/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5150593&width=full USFS #49 is fine as of 4-29

You should be fine, road is open to the TH and you can hike most of the way to White Pass without snow. We may get snow between now and then, but probably not a whole lot. An east side back up trip could be the Gardners, Silverstar, or Stuart. All are easy scrambles.

Ha!

I'm too cheap, and my experience is that if it is too comfortable, the pack itself is way too heavy. But I suppose it is possible that McHale has found the holy grail.

McHale packs are priced like works of art. In other words, I don't get it. And yes, I've seen them up close.

I would love to read the story of those that were, good luck!

Very true, North Twin is one of the choss exceptions around here.

Also, I'm impressed with the accuracy of your peak ID, considering this isn't your back yard. You obviously did your homework!

I had wondered how the trip went, thanks for checking back in! And sorry about the weather and the rather abrupt end to the trip, that sounds pretty character building. For what it's worth, you were at the tail end of the statistically driest time of year (last week of July to first week of August), but last summer was unusual with the amount of T-storms and precip that we had, esp. in August. If you look at Cliff Mass's Blog he has some interesting posts from the time of your trip: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/08/heat-wave-thunderstorms-and-cool-down.html Last summer started a period of unusual weather that lasted well into this spring. Things are more "normal" now, but we'll see for how long. Hopefully you guys can get back up here and have a rain and issue free trip!

Cool! I got a kick out of fact that your partner wore a helmet on the descent, but not the scramble.

Thanks for the offer Ben, but I'm laid out with a cold of biblical proportions right now. Good luck!

Thanks for the report, that has been on my list for some time. Need to make it happen!

[video:youtube]r_4jrMwvZ2A

Geez, that is a ridiculous three days!

"We were in Spray, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane."

I'll second that, sounded "fun".

I bet Ted and Hillary get along a lot better than you guys.

Interesting. So are people claiming trad FAs if the gear is preplaced? Seems odd if so.

Engaging story, great writing, thanks for the TR. I hope you keep them coming!

Bridges aren't nearly as cool as cruise missiles.

I was wondering if bailing was considered. Maybe I'm just overly cautious (kids will do that), but when conditions aren't right I don't hesitate to turn around.

All the 'hamsters are safe and sound per an email from Mr. Scurlock this morning!

Whoah. Way to hang in there and get yourselves out!

Cool. Does that North Couloir of Abiathar top out on the ridge? Doesn't look like it from the photo, but hard to tell.