JasonG

Sphinx Bay in particular.....Thanks for any info!

It is a marked FS trail (at least on the ground, sounds like it might not be on USGS maps), and heads NE from White Pass to a pass that gains access to the south side of Glacier Peak. I imagine that it was originally a herder's trail? Regardless, take the NF Sauk trail to White Pass and you will see the junction for the Foam Creek trail right at the pass. I think it is another couple miles from the pass to the typical high camps for Glacier. The approach is quite nice, although the climb from that side is fairly unpleasant after the snow melts. Mid summer or earlier would be the best. Good luck, and have fun!

And the fact that the summit is guarded by tuantuans in winter. Seriously though, picking a date for a winter summit of Rainier, is akin to picking a winning lottery number. It may happen, but your chances sure improve if you have some date flexibility (over several months). That said, 12/28 is a particularly auspicious day.

Doug- I wouldn't bother with the Annapurna trek. I know we were pretty disappointed with it compared to the Khumbu, and now there is a road most of the way around that really changes the character of it. The Annapurna Sanctuary is quite nice, but still pales in comparison to the Everest region (though the food tends to be better). I'm sure there are other areas of the Himalaya that are amazing though.... The Khumbu is worth a visit for every mountain lover, the Western masses don't matter when you have views like are in the photo above. Stunning!

Look at the size of Everest Basecamp! I heard it has gotten large in recent years, but that is just plain nuts. That's a lot of poop to deal with.

and be sure to post a TR.

Well, there is that.

I read today that ALL were killed by the AR-15, and that he shot his way in with it(CNN). And I also read today that the police haven't been able to make a link that the mom went to the range regularly (also CNN). I know that this is SPRAY and all, but this is one where the information is still evolving....

Since you brought up the subject of society, this graph caught me by surprise: Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (see post above for link) The murder rate is HALF of what it was when I was a kid, and similar to levels seen in the 1950's, AND heading down? Why doesn't the media focus on these positive trends? I know I sure didn't know the story. There are a bunch of other positive trends in the wealth of data publicly available- child murders by strangers way down from 1980, etc. This doesn't make what happened in Conn. any easier to take, but I think it should inform the debate about gun control, incarceration, etc. By almost all measures we are safer now that we have been in decades. Someone is doing something right. I sure don't know what, but there are some theories out there from folks in this field.

Has "society" improved much from the mid 90's? Americans are certainly killing a lot less people with firearms compared to then.

This horrible tragedy got me delving into the Bureau of Justice homicide statistics . While the mass shootings certainly get the gun control debate flowing, often I find the back and forth relatively free of hard data. I think we can all agree that there are way too many guns deaths in the US each year, but how do we reduce these tragedies? And, I'm talking realistically. There are millions of guns already on the streets so don't think the calls to just take guns away (or go back to muskets) are really going to go very far. On the other hand, arming everyone so that they can take out crazy sociopaths doesn't seem realistic either. I surely don't know the answer, but the data paints an interesting picture, one that can maybe better inform the policy debate. Source: Gallup Poll General Social Survey What I take from this data is that while overall gun homicides are way down from their peak in the 1990's (esp. when expressed as per capita), multiple shootings are up. Since these certainly make a splash in the media, I think most of us are under the impression that guns deaths are significantly on the rise (this was my impression at least). What have we done to reduce handgun homicides by so much? Can similar tactics be applied to the reduction of multiple homicides? I think comparisons to other countries are interesting and all, but for better or worse we have the situation we have today here in the US with easy access to firearms and we have to come up with a realistic way to deal with the consequences.

Agreed. If you are just starting out, there is no need to go cadillac. Durable and cost effective are much better traits in a draw.... go with some high quality nylon ones, like the BD Freewire noted above.

Ummmmmm.....no. There's no de-classified version of the story?

Post a TR!

So tempting Mark!! I hope you are still doing this in a couple years when I can drag my boys down.... Have fun and be sure to do a TR, I really enjoyed your images from last year.

I'm not very experienced in the hard ice arena, but isn't that the definition of calf-killing terrain, no matter what the boot?

Maybe it had something to do with the lack of poles? I like it!

If you go with a guide service ask to finish via the SE ridge of the summit pyramid. Mid-fifth (fine in boots), but very, very esthetic and good climbing. Plus, you can scramble easily down the regular route on the descent. I don't know why the SE ridge isn't talked up more, one of my favorite easy romps in the Cascades.

I agree that a GPS can really improve your navigation ability, esp. while solo (provided you have enough batteries!). I guess I was mainly getting at ak's assertion that all you need is a map and compass to dead reckon in a whiteout, with heavy wind and precip, on a slope, while solo. I think you may be able to more or less get to where you want to, but that often isn't good enough in cliffy, crevassed terrain.

I wonder if it really is though? Granted, practice and proficiency are never a bad thing, but the bad glacier whiteout experiences I've had have been truly disorienting. I was always with others and even when they were directing me from behind (with map/compass/gps while fixed in place) I couldn't walk in a straight line (while trying very, very hard). Even if you are good, when you can't tell sky from ground and the wind is pushing you around, I don't see how any solo person would be able to navigate over distance without some significant error. But, it sounds like you may have had those exact conditions (solo as well) and been able to pull it off, or are you just guessing?

Faced with high winds, precip, steep terrain, and whiteout- AND solo, I don't agree. I think Joseph hit it right on that on the bigger mtns. around here it stacks the cards in your favor to pick an adequate window. As noted above, there are lots of resources to help you get a good idea of the size of the window. Once you are caught up high in bad weather, handheld tools aren't certain to keep you out of trouble.

So true, there is a scene in "Strange Brew" that speaks to the power of the videotape (unfortunately I can't find the actual video of this scene, but you have to believe me that it does exist). Claude Elsinore: And I'd like to point out that these tapes have not been faked, or altered in any way. In fact they have time coding, which is very hard to fake. The Judge: For the benefit of the court would you please explain "time coding." Claude Elsinore: Well, uh... just because I don't know what it is, it doesn't mean I'm lying.

I think the UW Atmos site run by Cliff Mass's lab is probably the best tool around for detailed precip and cloud predictions (specifically the 4km runs). Of course, the models are often wrong, but major features are rarely missed completely. http://www.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt/rt/gfsinit.d3.html

Wow. That is some seriously crazy riding. Thanks for the link!

Where did Loomis go?