texplorer Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Greetings all, Sorry I haven't had a chance to post this sooner. And sorry there are no catchy pics as I am a poor person without a fancy digital camera. But. . .anyway had a classic day up on hood on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Saturday afternoon my partner redeemed his REI store credit for some Quark Ice tools and we headed up the mountain. After getting conditions beta from Crackman we decided on the Sandy Glacier headwall route. We made good time up to the saddle in cold weather since it was a clear night under a full moon. We dropped down onto the Reid and descended down next to the Yokum ridge. While downclimbing some crevasses on the Reid I saw an small avy on the opposite side of the glacier. We crossed the Yokum and had a nice spicy traversing downclimb through excellent alpine ice. Once on the glacier we headed up and leftward. As the gully narrowed spindrift blowing off the top of the mountain flowed down around us and off the rocks like crystal waterfalls. It seemed as if we climbed 50-55 degree slopes forever sometimes getting spindrift in the face. Finally we reached the summit ridge and found the usual Sunday morning crowds ascending the Bantam Death march route (aka south side). We could see from Rainier to the Three sisters. The most clear day I have ever had on hood. I was pretty tired we seemed to make it down rather fast. Back in the taco bell in Sandy I bit into a large 7-layer burrito only to have the roof of my mouth and throat feel on fire. I guess the UV was really high because I actually got sunburned on the roof of my mouth. Now, I'm recovered and eating jalapenos again and am ready for another spicy climb. Maybe I'll head up to smith for some spicy bolt clipping. Quote
wdietsch Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 right on Tex ... could you tell what kind of shape the north side of the upper buttress was in ? Quote
jkrueger Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Nice to hear a TR out of you that didn't turn into an epic! And in keeping with true Texplorer style, it seems you added a little spice just to keep things interesting... Next time the UV is high you might consider breathing through a snorkel. Quote
texplorer Posted January 24, 2003 Author Posted January 24, 2003 dietsch, are you talking about the upper buttress of cathedral or yokum or something else? shred, I checked my watch and where it showed 8600ft I didn't see an obvious route over the ridge as it mentioned in the guidebook. I assume we descended another 300-400ft before crossing on several steps. Quote
iain Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Nice Tex! What elevation did cross the Yockum? Around 8500?classic. Quote
wdietsch Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 dietsch, are you talking about the upper buttress of cathedral or yokum or something else? yocum ......Y-O-C-U-M ...... yocum Quote
iain Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 I was also referring to the standard question that must be asked before and after every sandy headwall venture, what elevation did you cross Dwight Yoakum ridge? nice climb tex! killer ski down isn't it...oh wait...hope you got a nice hike in around the the scenic palmer on the way down. Quote
texplorer Posted January 24, 2003 Author Posted January 24, 2003 The upper Willie Nelson looked sparce still. Probably doable by my standards but then again TG and I attempted the route in . . shall we say . . not ideal conditions. Oh yes, the snow was just mushy enough for a knee-friendly descent too. Quote
sketchfest Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Hey Tex, You didn't happen across a white helmet laying down on the Reid did you? Funguy would like to get it back if anybody picked it up. Quote
rbw1966 Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Bantam? Do you mean "Bataan"? Nice climb Tex! Sandy Headwall was one of my more memorable Hood climbs. Quote
Crackman Posted January 24, 2003 Posted January 24, 2003 Climb-on Tex! Nice TR. Glad you got the route while the gettin was good. I've got a good picture of Donnie on that climb -- we'll just paste your mug shot on it and presto you'll have pics. Quote
texplorer Posted January 24, 2003 Author Posted January 24, 2003 Bantam? Do you mean "Bataan"? Um yea, I guess I've been reiden SK's posts for tu long Quote
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