rbw1966 Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 A friend of mine and I made an attempt on Yocum Ridge yesterday. Got about a third of the way up the first gendarme before a very unexpected storm rolled in and we rappelled to the Reid Glacier. We got caught in a whiteout on the descent from Illumination Saddle. Route conditions were excellent until the gendarme, then we faced soft, shallow snow with a thin crust and bare, choosy rock. Protection was almost non-existent. Be prepared for high exposure, lots of ice and snow falling, scant pro and a long day. Leuthold Couloir, Sandy Headwall and surrounding routes were all in excellent condition. light rockfall. Quote
Nelly Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 I looked out my office window yesterday and saw blue skies and Mt. Hood engulfed in a cloud. Thanks for the post, I was wondering what it was like on the mountain. I'm heading up tonight to solo the Reid. Hopefully that cloud will stay away. Quote
rbw1966 Posted March 1, 2002 Author Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Zenolith: you the shit man. As a matter of fact, I did have to change my underwear after we rapped off onto the Reid. If anyone wants some booty, there are two pickets on the fall line coming down the south flank of Yocum below the first gendarme. Bring some rock pro if you plan to retrieve them. You'll need it. Quote
imorris Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 That sounds worth it. While you're up there you can pick up another two pickets out of the sandy g. schrund. Quote
imorris Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 Oh and come to think of it, 2 more pickets on the upper part of Devils Kitchen HW. Those actually would be pretty easy to get at, but later this year. Man there's a lot of litter up there. Quote
rbw1966 Posted March 1, 2002 Author Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dru: aintchu guys ever heard of bollards? Well Dru old boy, I'll let you come on down to Yocum and construct all the bollards you want. It pains me to leave my shiny gear behind. Perhaps I wasn't clear on the conditions: the snow was soft and shallow with a thin upper crust. My partner weighed in at a svelt 250 or so and I at a dainty 190. Bollards crossed my mind for about .001 second. My life is worth more than $20. Quote
Dru Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by rbw1966: Well Dru old boy, I'll let you come on down to Yocum and construct all the bollards you want. It pains me to leave my shiny gear behind. Perhaps I wasn't clear on the conditions: the snow was soft and shallow with a thin upper crust. My partner weighed in at a svelt 250 or so and I at a dainty 190. Bollards crossed my mind for about .001 second. My life is worth more than $20. A great old time quote from John Baldwin, Coast Range ski legend: "You guys may live but at least I will die with a complete rack!" Quote
imorris Posted March 1, 2002 Posted March 1, 2002 That picture rocks. I've wanted to climb the route just to get my own version! To bad you seem to have a 50:50 chance statistically of dying when climbing with Wick. Quote
wotan_of_ballard Posted March 2, 2002 Posted March 2, 2002 Yocum Ridge gets wider and easier higher up(slightly)<b>yocum ridge.jpg</b> Quote
mattp Posted March 2, 2002 Posted March 2, 2002 It seems to me that one of the most difficult parts of the climb was just after a break in the ridge, slightly above midway. There are a lot of variations, however, and I suppose one's challenge on any given day may vary greatly due to conditions and the route-option chosen. Quote
CraigA Posted March 2, 2002 Posted March 2, 2002 That picture is the reason I am getting into more "technical" climbing. I too want a personal version of that picture. Does anyone know where on the route it was taken? I hiked into Paradise this summer and photographed the mountain but could not determine just where the picture was taken. (Not that my picture will have to be taken at the exact some spot, I just want to see it side by side with summer conditions). Which, by the way, I do not know how to post here. How do you add a picture to your post? Hope to climb the route in a year or two. Later Quote
rbw1966 Posted March 2, 2002 Author Posted March 2, 2002 I'm pretty sure the Wickwire photo was taken from the top of the third gendarme. It was a big inspiration for me as well. Quote
mattp Posted March 2, 2002 Posted March 2, 2002 I believe that "Wickwire photo" may have been inspired by a very similar photo that was widely circulated on a famous poster back in the 1970's. When I saw the poster, my reaction was much like Craig's: I want to do that. Maybe Wickwire had the same reaction? Quote
Zenolith Posted March 3, 2002 Posted March 3, 2002 craig, you had trouble locating the scene in the photo b/c you went to the wrong mountain. yocum is on mt hood. Quote
CraigA Posted March 3, 2002 Posted March 3, 2002 Zenolith Wake up....wake up, Paradise Park IS on Mt. Hood!! I guess I should have been more clear. I just figured Yocum ridge, Paradise (Park), both on the west side of Hood. Thought everyone would know what I was talking about... that's what I get for thinking. If I can figure out how to post a picture in here I would let you check out one of the shots I got. It's pretty good if I do say so myself. [ 03-03-2002: Message edited by: CraigA ] Quote
Zenolith Posted March 3, 2002 Posted March 3, 2002 if you have good photos of yocum email them to me and i'll post them(and credit you, of course) -i'd like to have some anyway (or email them to jon or tim -i think they'd like to have some). Pictures have to be on the web somewhere in order to link them here. i have never heard of paradise park -although i have no doubt that there is such a place. Quote
imorris Posted March 4, 2002 Posted March 4, 2002 Got a good look at Yocum R. doing the Reid HW (leftmost gully system) the other day. Much rock on lower ridge exposed now (obviously w/ the sun). You guys on the Yoc. route surely must have encountered a good bit of choss, or were about to before you bailed. P.S. I think I spotted where your pickets are. Reid HW gullies are in good shape (weather moving in tmr though) Quote
snowleopard_x Posted March 5, 2002 Posted March 5, 2002 Two climbers climbed the Upper Buttress on Yocum last Sunday. They described it to be in fair condition, which means - as good as it gets. I believe they had previously done the lower towers, and decided to finish the route on another day. I have barely been on the ridge, but it's not so much the lower towers that intimidate me as the upper buttress. It may be wider, but the protection can't be any better, and the exposure is huge. Plus, this would be when you would be most tired. Just an observation, not from experience. Wick's photo is indeed from the third tower. A bit of triva for you: The photo was taken by Dusan Jagersky. A third climber was with them on that trip. Who was he? If this weekend does storm, and next week is cold (it was quite cold up there Monday), it might be the best chance anyone's going to get at Yocum this year. Paradise Park is a very popular summer hiking and backpacking destination on Hood. Quote
Winter Posted March 5, 2002 Posted March 5, 2002 Wickwire's cover photo is pretty cool, but did anyone else find that the most interesting part of the book? Quote
snowleopard_x Posted March 5, 2002 Posted March 5, 2002 Well, he sure comes off like a terrible husband. You read the book and expect at the end to finally read that his wife left him! She must have as much will power as he did. I personally liked the book if only because he really spilled his guts, and didn't sugar coat it too much, or spend all his time pounding his chest. Fans of Wick's should check out a video called Fairweather. It's of the trip where he, Dusan and Al Givler climbed in the Fairweathers (with Steve Marts). Perfect cinematography by Steve Marts. Spectacular. It's one of the best films ever shot on climbing. Marts was the best. Still awaiting answers to my triva question. Quote
Zenolith Posted March 6, 2002 Posted March 6, 2002 If you go to this page you can see two photos of Yocum (at the bottom) that were emailed to me. http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/zenolith/Some_Trip_Photos.html [ 03-05-2002: Message edited by: Zenolith ] Quote
Zenolith Posted March 6, 2002 Posted March 6, 2002 i tried to link them in but angelfire won't allow it. grrrrr. Quote
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