scm007 Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Coming off this week of precipitation, and getting some of the hottest temperatures we have seen this year thus far, what are the Hood experts opinions regarding the relative ice/rockfall danger for this weekend? I am on summitting from 6-7AM, getting down around 9. Is this adequate for the weather conditions brewing right now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 same answer as always - it will likely be fine, but keep your head out of your ass and aware of danger! bring a 6 pack adn stow it on the hogsback and get high, high, high as georgia pine on the way back down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm007 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 Ha ivan I love your answers. Seems a little silly to bring a 6 pack to the hogsback, I will likely just bring a 30pack to T-line for way less effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 heresy! Â okay fine - there are far lighter performance enhancers you might carry for the uphill bit (i should know i almost got run over by a snowcat once indulging in them ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelySummit Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 My plan is to summit via the chute at the same time. We are leaving cave at 11pm. The time down...record time in the sled; after the tallboy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptown_Climber1 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Just got back from mountain.....ice fall was horrendous- maybe the worst I've seen. We took a few close calls from some serious buzz bombs, got pelted by smaller ones throughout. There was also a rescue on the mountain early this morning. We heard it happen from the saddle about 4:30 this morning.....huge ice fall erupted from Crater Rock, catching a large group unawares.(Broken leg apparently?) Ice flying down off of Crater Rock was downright scary. We camped at the saddle last night with intentions on Reid Headwall, but there was crap flinging every which way throughout the night. Balked on that and headed up West Crater Rim, where it was also bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbcbd Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 The freezing level for this weekend, including nights, was supposed to be above 13K'. I guess what you saw makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 To add to Ptown's report. I summited around 10, and around 10:45 or so on my decent the entire south side of the mountain erupted in ice fall. I was taking golfball to baseball sized chunks in no apparent cycle of reason. There where several parties above me that did not have helmets, and had to bunker out at an ice gendarme. I basically ran across the "traverse" with my pack and helmet as protection. I yelled at the parties to "run" but they ignored me. I went on my way down the Hogsback. I have neither seen that amount of icefall this early in the day. It was scary, but manageable on my part. I mean, it was raining countiniously and getting worse as I decended the hogsback. Â If you go, go early, and get off early. I left at 2 am, and that was apparently not early enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 (edited) ... Edited May 17, 2009 by Frikadeller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 winter is the proper season for volcano climbing the good lord made summer for big rock-mountain clambering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 the good lord made summer for big rock-mountain clambering  Not everyone is into "big-rock-mountain clambering"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 the good lord made summer for big rock-mountain clambering  Not everyone is into "big-rock-mountain clambering"... perhaps it was my interest in not getting smushed by decaying volcano slag that compelled me to the deviation?  there are many fine moderate, non-volcano (and thus non-rime n' mud clad) mountaineering options to our north as well that folks should consider as alternatives on days like these - forbidden, sahale, stuart, shuksan, etc. i used to sneer at rock-clambering fools too till i went and did the fisher chimenys on shuksan in the depths of summer, and i haven't much looked back - join us!  congrats on your climb though - certainly not trying to harsh on it, just reminding one and all that you can have similiar exotic fun this time of year w/ perhaps less risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Guy Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I summitted this morning around 6:30am, and even then ice fall was pretty bad. The descent had a few "hunker down behind my helmet and pack" moments for the larger chunks, but like Frikadeller said, it was raining continuously - and sounds like it all morning long. Â I've never moved so quickly back to the Hogsback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm007 Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 I guess my fear about the conditions was realized your posts pushed me to not going. Thanks a lot  Hopefully with this weeks relatively constant weather we will break off all of this shit that has been accumulating and next weekend will be much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 the cooper spur has less of a problem of this kinda icefall i think - it involves bivying up high, but this time of year i think it's the cooler easy way to the top - descend the sunshine route for extra points! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_beanntan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I summited the wcr route via a castle crags exit onto the west side to avoid all the ice fall. Most of the larger ice fall was in my opinion climber related. Climb the Pearly Gates to avoid the crowds and the ice Fall. I am observed that although there was ice fall coming off the rim most folks were still doing the high wcr traverse, directly under the huge rime formation. Â My advice is to have a plan in case you see lots of people above you kicking ice down on you. Also today in these conditions if you are going to climb directly beneath some expect them to kick ice down, choose a different line and wear a helmet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 congrats on your climb though - certainly not trying to harsh on it, just reminding one and all that you can have similiar exotic fun this time of year w/ perhaps less risk  Oh,I did not take your comment as harshing on my climb. I think that you are right, and had the person I was with not suffering from "summit fever" I would have turned around at hogsback, because I cold forcast the impending doom just by observations of the conditions (and the 10,000 newbs flailing around up there) but thought that if we went fast we could make it. and we did, just barely.  If I had the intestinal fortitude to leave my mental security blanket of snow cover, I would love to clamber the rocky stuff. But you can't really ski back down rocks, now can you? maybe one day, when I decide that a set of cams and nuts seems more of a reasonable purchase over some hot shit ski or snowboard mountaineering equipment, that will be the day I will probably never look back at some rock and ice belching choss pile volcano climb again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I guess my fear about the conditions was realized your posts pushed me to not going. Thanks a lot  Hopefully with this weeks relatively constant weather we will break off all of this shit that has been accumulating and next weekend will be much better.   Awww dude, thats too bad. You could still have had a fun time skinning up to hogsback, and then dropping in from there, and still had a great ride. Remember, it's not always about summits, but the line you ride back down!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluck Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Sounds like there was another accident up there today as well. Details still sketchy, but it sounds pretty bad. Here's hoping for another good outcome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pup_on_the_mountain Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Got to the Hogsback before 4 AM this morning, but shit had already started raining on the WCR traverse. Turned back from there. Looked like a party of 10-odd people was taking an uncharacteristically long time at the middle of WCR traverse. We were guessing that may be someone got hit, and the others were tending to the injured, but didn't wait to find out. Another team looked lost trying to get on to the correct Pearly Gates gully, and were stuck for a long time there as well. Â Hoping for a good outcome ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_beanntan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 (edited) yes someone got hurt on the Mt Hood today and PMR was activated at 6.40am this morning. Subject evacuated by helicopter and PMR was placed on stand down at approx 1pm Edited May 17, 2009 by sean_beanntan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Water Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 yeah summited with lonelysummit and some others this morning - lots of crap raining down, though yes much of it in the chute was just from climbers above. we left timberline at 10:30 and were right behind a big group who took a snow cat up. Â someone else took a baseball sized piece of ice to the face as we ascended the chute, but it was because they looked right up when ice was called. they flailed for a moment, but then turned around, hope they didn't bust a tooth or anything more than a scrape/bruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptown_Climber1 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 The stuff being knocked down by climbers up above was mostly the softer, smaller stuff. Irritating, but not the dangerous chunks that were sloughing off of the crags. When we were on our way down,traversing below Crater Rock, there were some bowling ball sized pieces flying down that scared the living crap out of me.....found myself playing a game of dodge ball that had some pretty serious consequences. This was the same spot where the woman was hit earlier in the morning. I just point this out to make the point that much of the serious ice fall had nothing to do with people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frikadeller Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I just point this out to make the point that much of the serious ice fall had nothing to do with people. Â Yup! The snizz that was raining down on me was coming from the rime ice formations, and some serious sized stuff too. There where no climbers above me when the mountain erupted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelySummit Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Water and I summited early. Frik; 10am seems late, I like the running part though! We did see someone get hit hard in the face with ice; climbers should remember that when the party above yells ICE that they should not look up. Hate to hear about the fall, it looked bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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