JasonG

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.

Ha. A lot of very smart economists are still debating this. It isn't that simple, and there is plenty of blame to to go around.

You can't blame the repeal of Glass-Stegall solely on the Republicans, Clinton signed it.

Boulder X is your best bet for performance and value. Alpina is making some nice looking options but I don't have firsthand experience with them. I think Garmont makes the Dragontail which seems good. There is a lot of off trail talus hopping on the way to the NR of stuart, so I think you will want something with support.

Based on the normal precip and above normal FLs throughout the winter, I'd say the snowpack on Rainier is probably pretty close to normal on the upper mountain (above 9K). I'd imagine the approaches are going to be bad on the lower glaciers by early summer (Carbon, Tahoma, etc.). But, the climbing rangers and guide services would have a better idea of how things are shaping up. I would imagine that the cattle lines will be starting soon....

Being a middle class white who was some experience being thrown under the judicial bus (long story), I'd say it is the rich who typically get a free pass. That's not to say that being black in certain parts of country doesn't come without its larger challenges.

Alf is his own Posse. [img:center]http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/10/101435/2092087-alf1.jpg[/img]

I don't think there could be a better name. Well done!

That's a fun trip, glad you hit it right!

What if you ran into a Mounties climbing party? They own that valley, and they travel in packs of 12. Ten rounds just wouldn't have cut it, you guys were lucky.