Winter

I'm doing a little research for a trip back east to vist the family this summer. We're hoping to have some time to climb Katahdin. Anyone have any good beta on the technical routes? Can't seem to find much on the web. Any good guidebook suggestions? Thanks.

turkey bacon. tofurbacon. tofurducken.

Mmmm ... granite and bluegrass.

Don't forget your PLB.

Excellent book report. Is that like the Cliff Notes version?

Solar Slab sounds like it would be a good choice for you. Most people link Johnny Vegas or Beulah's Book into SS - makes for a nice long-ish day of around 10 pitches of easy climbing. Camping sucks but is convenient. Rental cars are cheap. Have at it and enjoy!

I thought the climb from n00b to poser on the cc.com social ladder was way harder than any alpine climb.

Well if we have to defend ourselves, shouldn't we also heavily arm ourselves? The climbing militia! Oreilly would love that shit.

My condolences to family, friends and SAR. Family and friends should know that many many people have lived through similar losses and have written eloquently about their experiences. You are not alone. A good place to start is a recent book written by Maria Coffey called Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow.

zl it depends entirely on the location of the climber, the conditions, particularly wind, and the type of terrain they are on. Climbers have been airlifted off of much steeper terrain at a much much higher elevation before, so if the weather cooperates, they should be able to get plucked off the mountain directly from their location.

Throughout life we must balance our desire for fun and fulfillment against the risk of disaster. Climbing inspires many of us, because it boils these decisions down to their pure essence, and in that process all of life's other trivial worries fall to the side. We can then appreciate the feelings of self-reliance, focus, and appreciation of the particular moment in which we find ourselves.

So much for gettin turns at Newton Creek. Thanks for passing this along.

How to shit in the woods.

Well, I've already had a few fifths of Jim Beam... nasty stuff. I'll skip the low-end stuff and start with one of the other suggestions. As for Scotch, well, I've only had the blended stuff. Currently polishing off some Johnnie Walker Black. When it's gone I intend to pick up some good quality, single malt stuff. You just finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels and you're dissing Jim Beam? Apparently JD causes headuptheassitis as well as a nasty hangover.

rrrrriiibbittt

If you've been drinking JD, then you've got nowhere to go but up in the bourbon world. Start with Jim Beam, which is what you should've been drinking instead of JD. Then strap on a bottle of Wild Turkey and Wild Turkey 101. After that maybe step up to a fifth of Maker's Mark and then finish off the evening with some Knob Creek. If you survive all that, come back and ask about Scoth.

Conditions at Timberline are improving. But the wind gauge at the top of the Palmer appears to have broken. For friends and family looking for info, current mountain conditions at Skibowl, Timberline and Mt. Hood Meadows are available at the Northwest Avalanche Center website. http://www.nwac.us/mtnweather.htm 12-15-2006 Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center Timberline Lodge, Oregon Precip gage not heating 12-15-06 MM/DD Hour Temp RH Wind Wind Wind Wind Hour Total 24 Hr Total PST F % Min Avg Max Dir Prec. Prec. Snow Snow 6000' 6000" 6000' 6000' 6000' 6000' 6000' 6000' 6000' 6000' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12 14 1300 38 100 4 15 32 265 .11 .11 -0 76 12 14 1400 38 100 4 14 29 262 .02 .13 -0 72 12 14 1500 37 100 4 14 34 260 0 .13 -0 72 12 14 1600 37 100 5 13 25 253 .01 .14 -0 74 12 14 1700 37 100 5 15 36 251 .04 .18 -0 72 12 14 1800 37 100 7 18 32 253 .05 .23 -0 70 12 14 1900 35 100 6 20 43 256 .09 .32 -0 70 12 14 2000 33 100 8 22 52 257 .06 .38 -0 71 12 14 2100 30 100 6 24 52 267 .02 .4 -0 71 12 14 2200 26 100 10 26 53 267 0 .4 -0 72 12 14 2300 25 100 10 25 50 266 0 .4 -0 72 12 15 0 23 100 9 24 52 265 0 .4 -0 71 12 15 100 23 100 7 22 42 267 0 .4 -0 71 12 15 200 23 100 7 18 34 269 0 .4 0 68 12 15 300 22 99 6 18 37 273 0 .4 2 68 12 15 400 21 99 5 15 33 271 0 .4 4 73 12 15 500 20 99 6 15 25 273 0 .4 5 73 12 15 600 19 98 3 13 26 270 0 .4 7 74 12 15 700 18 98 4 12 23 269 0 .4 9 77 12 15 800 19 98 3 11 22 278 0 .4 10 81 12 15 900 17 97 6 15 33 285 0 .4 10 81 12 15 1000 17 97 5 14 32 280 0 .4 10 81 12 15 1100 17 98 3 13 23 272 0 .4 11 82 12 15 1200 17 98 5 12 24 275 0 .4 11 282

Guys, I feel the itch to chip in and help out just like you do, but I honestly don't think its worth while at this point to put untrained people into the field until the weather clears up. If trained SAR folks are getting turned around at the top of the Palmer, its clearly brutal out there and only getting worse. The last thing we need is someone else out there in bad shape. If a call from PMR goes out for experienced climbers to assist in the efforts, then I'll be there with lots of others from this site. Hopefully the insurance and liability BS won't keep them from asking for help when the weather clears if they need it.

Can we please save the speculation, spray and banter until we know what happened up there and get everyone back safe?

The press is watching us. I'm sending out strong thoughts to everyone up on the mountain.

Sometime early Thursday morning, the men, who have not been identified by authorities, slipped a handwritten note in the mail slot of the office for the Hood River National Forest, said Doug Jones, permit specialist with the Mount Hood National Forest. “We don’t see these very often,” Jones said. All entry points into the wilderness have self-issue permit boxes where climbers and hikers are supposed to leave their permits to enter the forest, “but they are not really kept up during the winter,” Jones said. He said there is no climbing register where the men started their climb. He said there is a permit box, but since they are not from the area it is likely they did not spot it, Jones said. The climbers instead jotted a note and left it at the forest office on Oregon 35, south of Hood River. He said in the brief note they said they planned to take the route through the coulirs, or canyons, on the north face, “which tells me that they are probably going up to the right side of Elliot Glacier,” Jones said. “The Cooper Spur route goes left. There are no coulirs up there.” Uggghh.

Man, this sucks. I'm sure they've had a rough couple of days up there. Hopefully the PMR folks will get go get them and bring them all back safe.

Any chance anyone was on St. Helens today with a condition report?

Yo Doug, so how exactly was your case disposed of? Curious minds want to know. I thought there was a plea deal involved.

aw shit - serious work distraction. i've still never been to this place but have a week planned there sometime in the Jan-Feb timeframe.