JasonG

Everybody's guessing this far in advance. The NWS (Portland) long term fcst dicussion is probably as good a guess as any this far out: .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. THE EXTENDED PERIOD BEGINS WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DROPPING DOWN THROUGH THE REGION ALONG THE COAST. AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY ALONG WITH PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF WIDESPREAD RAIN AND CASCADE SNOW. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER BEHIND THE FRONT WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND SOME SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO THURSDAY UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE CASCADE FOOTHILLS AND COAST RANGE MAY ALSO SEE SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW...THOUGH THIS WILL DEPEND ON THE FROPA TIMING AND MOISTURE EXTENT. BY THE END OF THE WEEK...THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE IN THE PACIFIC IS CENTERED NEAR 140W KEEPING THE REGION UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT MAY BE DRY AHEAD OF THE NEXT DISTURBANCE THAT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTH ON FRIDAY OR FRIDAY NIGHT. FORECAST MODEL AGREEMENT DECREASES AT THIS TIME...WITH THE 12Z GFS KEEPING THE BULK OF THE MOISTURE TO THE NORTH WHILE THE 12Z ECMWF MOVES THE SYSTEM INTO THE AREA FASTER AND WITH A MORE WIDESPREAD AREA OF PRECIPITATION. WHILE THE DETAILS REMAIN A BIT UNCERTAIN...THE EXTENDED PERIOD GENERALLY WILL BE COOL AND WET ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. CULLEN

Ah ha. Right on track then.

Thanks so much for posting this Mark. Amazing story, history, and adventure.

Thanks for your efforts Kurt, much appreciated! If I catch num1mc's drift, I don't think he is questioning the glue-ins, but the type of glue-in as maybe being less than optimal. I am too ignorant to have an opinion, but you guys may be talking past one another.

I will have to check that out, sounds pretty ideal.

Stills from video, or remotely triggered cameras mounted on the exterior of the plane? Or some of both?

Seems like two harnesses are in order? You probably shouldn't be taking whippers in the winter and could go with something light with adjustable leg loops. This is what I've done and it is nice not to have to pack a huge harness in the winter. More room for warm clothes!

Sounds fairly typical for new parents of an 8 week old. Sleep deprivation does strange things to a person. Or so I've heard. I think I would've pickled the arm though.

Nice blog! Went back thru it - great images, your ability to self edit is unusually spare, in a good way.

Sounds like many folks are for background checks, which seems reasonable to me, and doesn't sound like much of a hassle from what Rob describes with his sale. However, I'm curious. Is there good, recent data out there on how felons and other criminals get their firearms? I guess I'm wondering if background checks will really do much to reduce the gun violence rate, or it will mostly make law abiding folks go through a few more hoops with little change in the violence. One source seems to think that cracking down on rogue dealers (via a robustly funded ATF?) is the main way to stem the flow of guns: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html And, just to keep the car/gun debate going, check this out: Given the advances in auto safety I guess it is only a matter of time, but I was surprised that we are almost there.

I'm curious how folks envision background checks working with a private sale. Would the seller be held responsible for verifying that the name/spelling/DOB/SSN/etc. was correct? Would people be comfortable with giving this type of info to some stranger when they want to buy a gun? Or, perhaps the background check would be run through the local PD?

If we move to a single payer system, we're going to have to keep a close eye on those Russkies.

I agree that the spacing is closer than most of us North Americans use, but these folks knew the fall was coming so they were somewhat ready. Although, they tested the downhill pull, which is worst case. However, I would think that in most cases, the lead person is the one that is going to go in, and the arrestor would be facing them. But, I have never been involved in a full crevasse fall (roped, one time I fell all the way in unroped - D'oh!), just the occasional leg punch. Two people roped together on a tricky glacier is certainly cutting the margin thin, unless there are other teams nearby.

http://gearjunkie.com/crazy-crevasse-falling-video Yowza.

Actually, yes. Greed is a powerful motivator. And this is not some fringe idea - most companies are adopting financial incentives (or "fines") to encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. More importantly, it works: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=183047 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa0806819 http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2012/08/08/more-companies-offer-perks-to-lose-pounds-as-incentives-to-stay-healthy-increase/

There will always be bad things that happen to healthy people, but according to the CDC 75% of all health care expenditures in this country are related to chronic illness, many of which are preventable. I think it would certainly be a good idea to put some financial incentives towards eating well and exercising, but I suspect that most would think that this would be too intrusive on the part of gov't.

Did anyone's opinion change through this fun exchange?

"As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me. "

Leland Windham and others have put up some lines on that SEF of Bears Breast. 4th and low 5th from email exchanges with him, though basically they are free solos as they didn't put in any bolts. Slab with limited gear. I think Pablo from AAI took a client up that Mac Spires gulley in 2009. We ran into them up in the basin and he described a line which may or may not be what you are talking about. The traversed around Little Mac to drop in to the North Side. Sounded a bit spicy, and they got back to camp way late- thankfully all in one piece.

Just like your Eldorado trip, impressively fast!

Get a mortgage, a wife, a few kids, a full time job, and you'll see.

Trip: Peak 7720 - South slope Date: 11/23/2013 Trip Report: November is typically a trying month here in the PNW -too wet/cold/dark for climbing, too warm for skiing. So I have been a bit surprised at the long spell of cold/dry weather we have enjoyed this past week. While ski conditions are still a bit on the bony side, highway 20 is open and that means access to some of the most scenic terrain in the lower 48. Scott, Chuck and myself spent an easy day exploring the north/east side of Rainy pass yesterday and worked our way up to a high point on the ridge between Cutthroat and Whistler. I don't know if there is a name for this point, but it is pretty high and has a fairly distinct summit (the Beckey book doesn't seem to mention it though). It was pretty much class 2/3, and would be skiable right from the very top with a healthier snowpack. We left our skis about 200' below the summit as we valued our bases/edges, and staggered up snow covered scree/talus to the summit ridge. The weather was perfect, and the snow OK, though if we wanted better powder we would have needed to stick to straight north facing slopes (like visible across the valley under Frisco). We were mainly up there for the views and solitude though, and we didn't go home disappointed. It was a great day, and pretty mellow too(~ 5hrs RT and 3K gain), leaving us plenty of time for Canadian Hunter aprés ski. Skagit Alpinism at its finest! Gear Notes: helmet Approach Notes: skis

I imagine that you can find something better than this, but just in case.... I can email you a higher res. version if something better doesn't come along.

These are all good suggestions, especially Ruth (watch for the big crevasse) and Tomyhoi. If you work up to fourth class, I would add Corteo and Shahale to your short list. These both have good climbing and fantastic position. For the largest vertical gain on a trail (6200') in the State head to Crater Mtn. A little bit of class 3, but mostly hiking, if I remember right. A former lookout site, so you can see far and wide. The Monte Cristo range has a lot of fun scrambles as well. The top of my list is the West Ridge of Columbia (good cutthroat fishing in Twin lakes below), but Del Campo, Gothic, Sperry, and Vesper are all worth doing. On your way north from OR, you could climb Pinnacle Peak in the Tatoosh range of MRNP, though it is a short route and often crowded. Great view of the mountain though. And lastly.... If the road is open next summer, you must climb up to the Three Fingers Lookout!

Chinese Downhill awards speech?