DPS

We did not downclimb the main gulley, we downclimbed a chute to the skiers right of the main gulley. Much easier looking.

I'm too old for alpine starts.

We did the main face, to the left of the left gulley, in the interest of saving time. The ice was good, snow was good, the rock was crap.

Thanks Marcus. I did the route with Nick Strait, he has come out of retirement.

Bear in mind that Dan McHale's pack volumes are very generous. A 5k McHale is often much bigger than other companies' 5k packs. I used a SARC (4500 cu in) on Denali and is was just about right. For most things you do, a 5-7k McHale pack will be way overkill. A SuperSarc would serve you much better and be big enough for Denali. Consider getting your pack built with the light weight fabric options, it will save a lot of weight and be plenty tough.

Climb: Mt Hood-NF Date of Climb: 11/19/2005 Trip Report: Climbed the NF of Hood on Saturday. Left the car fashonably late a bit after 4 am, summited a bit after 4 pm. Descended South side, but descended a chute a bit to skiers right of regular chute and did not have to resort to any rappeling, just easy downclimbing. Hitched a ride back to our car. Gear Notes: 2 pickets, nuts, pins, screws Approach Notes: Approached from sno park, Cloud Cap road pretty snowy.

I would like to go on record and say that I turned Alex onto the 'new' drytool spot in Issaquah. Alex did all the work of putting in the bolts though.

I'm going bald so every hair cut is worse than the last.

Bump

Can anyone report on the current conditions of the Cloud Cap road? Is it gated, snowed up, accessible, or what? Thank you.

What about NF Hood before the crowds hit it this weekend?

I bet NW Ice Coluloir on Eldo is in good shape.

Kadyakerbob: Is the Cloudcap road snowed in and gated? If so, what is an alterante approach?

I have a FF with Epic. Seems to be breathable enough.

John did a terrific job both buying and selling for us. We could not have been more pleased!

The gulley only requires a single rap then down climbing in winter.

Lou Whittaker told me that he did not care if his prospective guides could climb or not, those were easy skills to learn. He was looking for specific personality types. And short hair for men. And no earrings for men.

I think the Aztars are only inferior when compared with the super tools now available. If Aztars had come out 10 years ago they would have been the shit.

What's with posting my mug here? It belongs in the beard thread.

People seem to like the Yashika T4 or the Olympus Stylus. I have the Olympus and it takes photos as well as my big SLR.

I think that is the big misconception about guiding, that it is climbing. Its really closer to baby sitting in a fairly dangerous environment. That said I have friends who are good at it and love it. I was bad at it and hated it.

3 hours parking lot to summit on Cascadian Couloirs. But that was when I was trail running a lot.

I am looking for a climbing partner for Sunday. The weather looks decent on the East side. Leavenworth might be good or Ingalls Peak. Open to other suggestions. If interested please email: bighurtbob@hotmail.com

A Nova: A crappy car.

To answer your question, I tried out 12 years ago. It was a two day affair. The morning of the first day you got up in front of the group and told everyone about yourself. Then you went outside where a half dozen or so stations were set up, each manned by an RMI senior guide. In small groups you rotated through each station where you 'taught' a different skill. I can't remember every skill but I recall snow anchors, knot tying, belaying/ rope handling, ice axe arrest, step kicking. The second day was a race to the top of panorama point, with more simulated teaching scenarios afterward. We wrapped up the day by speaking in front of the goup again. Hope that answers your questions.