TR Replies
You captured the August experience!
If I'd posted pictures it would have been really discouraging ::)
If I'd posted pictures it would have been really discouraging ::)
author=GregLange link=topic=29042.msg122270#msg122270 date=1375737056]
Telemack: Ran into the same German gent on Sunday out by Coleman. Very interesting fellow. Had gone up Sahale on Saturday...
Jah, same herr. He said he did the North Face of the Matterhorn back some years, and we talked about the Dolomites. He was planning on Coleman again Saturday, then up Sahale and out in time to catch an evening flight at SeaTac Sunda...
Telemack: Ran into the same German gent on Sunday out by Coleman. Very interesting fellow. Had gone up Sahale on Saturday...
Thanks for the pictures as my son is out there right now with a bunch of guys from an EC University who have been studying the North Cascade glaciers for over 30 years.
My son's a geology major and he's actually getting paid to be out there!!!!
He never took his skis ,alas.
They have been up there camping for a few days and are measuring all sort of parameters( ablation, stream run-off etc)
My son's a geology major and he's actually getting paid to be out there!!!!
He never took his skis ,alas.
They have been up there camping for a few days and are measuring all sort of parameters( ablation, stream run-off etc)
Nice! It was great to meet you two out there. We saw what I presume were your tracks on the south-facings slopes of the ridge further towards Coleman Pinnacle, and were quite envious - they looked great!
LaPaz and I were the 2 skiers you ran into. Glad you made it out as far as you did. We saw, as you likely did, the MASSIVE anvil-headed clouds over much of the Northern Cascades as we drove south on I-5. Have not yet heard how spectacular the light show was, but likely BIG. Nice to rub shoulders with you guys. That snow fan above Bagley Lake stays until the next snowfall most years. It's about 200' of vert, and 20 minutes from the car along the lake edge. Maybe see you in September...
I just tried to hike up the N. fork of the Tieton, to see what things looked like up there, but was thwarted by the washed out road, so hiked the PCT in stead. But we could see what looked like good skiing on Old Snowey, thanks for the report, makes me want to try a little harder!
author=mikerolfs link=topic=29046.msg122256#msg122256 date=1375656869]
Maybe it's time.
I think the best time is mid-July or earlier when the west side has better snow coverage so the passes to the east side giving access to McCall glacier can be reached by skinning. Or to approach from the east side but more snow would be also helpful. By now, it is all hiking.
Love that first picture! Thanks for the report. I've never been to the goat rocks. Maybe it's time.
That's one too many for me.
Maybe I should move to the Alps....
Maybe I should move to the Alps....
::) A handy tool: Mt Rainier Recreational Weather Forecast
I vividly remember one very snowy day when Regine and I were skiing up on Mazama Ridge above the back bowl, with very low visibility, when the thunder (and, I presume, lightning) started; that was spooky and we descended quickly :-[; every since then I have refrained from climbing above tree line when thunderstorms are forecast.
I vividly remember one very snowy day when Regine and I were skiing up on Mazama Ridge above the back bowl, with very low visibility, when the thunder (and, I presume, lightning) started; that was spooky and we descended quickly :-[; every since then I have refrained from climbing above tree line when thunderstorms are forecast.
author=rlsg link=topic=29042.msg122240#msg122240 date=1375502467]
How were the mosquitoes? ;D
It was definitely Man over Mosquito---I showed 'em my repellent bottle and they hightailed it before I had to deploy.
I ran into a German guy from Atlanta checking out our Alps, and he said he saw a mosquito on the snow for the first time in his life. That's one more than I saw.
Chuck, I'm glad you made it out without being cryspy crittered. I was wandering about the folks on the Muir snowfield. There was a film crew from Portland doing a shoot at the location of the old ice caves below the Paradise glacier when the storm hit. They may have gotten some footage. Look for it on channel 9. They were from Oregon Public Broadcasting I believe.
Zack
Zack
author=lolob link=topic=29042.msg122241#msg122241 date=1375507883]
How is the snow holding up?
Ditto to that question!
We were in the same boat but just above pan point. It was sketchy. I observed the strikes on the Tatoosh and hoped it would run down Stevens Canyon. We had been ascending on snow above the Muir toe for just a few hundred feet, I pulled out a sandwich, cracked a beer and suggested to Chris that we should wait it out and see if it runs east. He quickly suggested we share just one beer and then on his second pull said he was out. We quickly descended on edges and made it back to pebble creek...
How is the snow holding up? I was up there two weeks ago and things were still skiing pretty well where the suncups weren't too deep.
author=telemack link=topic=29042.msg122239#msg122239 date=1375498148]
Rainy night, socked-in day.
author=Hawthorne link=topic=29029.msg122189#msg122189 date=1375142663]
Bergschrund looks huge.
Do you have a photo you could post?
A group of us were up there a few weeks ago -- my first time. It would be interesting to see the difference between then and now.
Thanks Mike!
BP next season we have to get out here! That's a edelweiss twin 30m 8mm. We had another team on the summit top rope us off a rap anchor, faster and safer then setting our own pro.
BP next season we have to get out here! That's a edelweiss twin 30m 8mm. We had another team on the summit top rope us off a rap anchor, faster and safer then setting our own pro.
The best laid plans...Hilarious - Sounds like the kind of dumb thing Scott Presho would have done... ;)
Lightning SUCKS! Glad you got your July in... this TAY thing can be hazardous ;)
That happened to me many years ago in white mnts of NH-
We got pinned down on the top of Tuckermans Ravine by multiple lightning bolts all around us!
(forcast that day was for partly cloudy)
My buddy got knocked off his feet by the first strike, a near miss!
It is sooo scary when you are close to the storm and you feel sooo helpless!
I am happy that you endured with out injury!!
We got pinned down on the top of Tuckermans Ravine by multiple lightning bolts all around us!
(forcast that day was for partly cloudy)
My buddy got knocked off his feet by the first strike, a near miss!
It is sooo scary when you are close to the storm and you feel sooo helpless!
I am happy that you endured with out injury!!
Wow--that is harsh!!!!
Always appreciate the most important MOSQUITO REPORT too.
Always appreciate the most important MOSQUITO REPORT too.
That is quite the day in the mountains. Sounds like you should have called in sick to work and gotten out earlier....
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing the great photos!!! I know it seems trivial at times to post TRs and pics since there so many, yet one never knows when a sentence, or in this case, a picture will have a meaningful affect on another.
For some reason today that sunrise pic really hit me deep and hard. It's just so beautiful and made me stop, pause, reflect and be thankful.
So again, thank you for sharing and making my day brighter!
For some reason today that sunrise pic really hit me deep and hard. It's just so beautiful and made me stop, pause, reflect and be thankful.
So again, thank you for sharing and making my day brighter!
Whoah, sobering account into the group dynamics...must have been some major disputes earlier in their ascent to prompt those kinds of remarks...granted, could have been unrelated to the fall, and any tragedy like that is grim no matter what, but the shock must have been even worse if many of them were already at odds with other...plus what in hindsight was the horrible foreshadowing of the bars and bottle sliding down...
Ron’s comments remind me of what Joe Stock said to me at the top...
Ron’s comments remind me of what Joe Stock said to me at the top...
Nice talking to you Jonn - thanks for the reply on my TR. I'd thought of a summit try, but got a late start and it looked a little sketch from my top out.
I never understood the point of peeing in a bottle while out-doors, unless you're going to take it with you. There's a similar pile of sh*t on the ZigZag side of Illumination Saddle. Pic from last year.
I started to round it up, but there's some really disgusting stuff m...
I never understood the point of peeing in a bottle while out-doors, unless you're going to take it with you. There's a similar pile of sh*t on the ZigZag side of Illumination Saddle. Pic from last year.
I started to round it up, but there's some really disgusting stuff m...
That was us, hadn't seen your post before whipping up a quick TR. I think we were breaking camp when you motored by. It was a great day to be out.
author=Jonathan_S. link=topic=28980.msg122197#msg122197 date=1375184340">
In the interest of potentially learning something from this tragedy, anything to elaborate on here? (e.g., just safety for the ascent, or thinking of turning around because of firm conditions, and "garbage" as in other safety-related issues as opposed to LNT)
Any dea...
Thanks for the report! I call the rocks west of Cowlitz Saddle 'Land's End' where what's left of the ice divides. It's popular to ski down to the Cowlitz glacier flats from both there & the Saddle Most people climb back up to the east side of the Saddle from the flats, but it's also possible in prime time (May-June) to circumnavigate Cowlitz Rock via Fan Lake. I've been down the Cowlitz as far as the 70's terminus at the major turn to the south. L...
This direction this thread brings me back to a discussion I had years ago with 'gator (then Chief Climbing Ranger on Rainier):
It was one year around late June/early July and ‘gator was asking why I didn't do a summit ski of the upper Emmons since much of the lines that me and my compadres skied we every bit as steep if not steeper.
I responded that I had little affinity for skiing "fall and you die boilerplate", mainly because I still fell a fair amount and...
It was one year around late June/early July and ‘gator was asking why I didn't do a summit ski of the upper Emmons since much of the lines that me and my compadres skied we every bit as steep if not steeper.
I responded that I had little affinity for skiing "fall and you die boilerplate", mainly because I still fell a fair amount and...
Good report, Wad. From that saddle many people ski the slope then simply skin back up and retrace their route.
For me, the obvious takeaway is how serious an endevour descending Rainier is, especially on skis. It can be practically impossible to stop a fall once you have gotten going. And there are many no fall zones.
Looks awesome - wish I could have made it out there with you! Bro!
BTW, is that a Sterling Fusion Nano AT rope coil?
BTW, is that a Sterling Fusion Nano AT rope coil?
author=bfree32 link=topic=28980.msg122014#msg122014 date=1374002075">They were having some group dynamics issues and were arguing over safety and garbage during a rest stop...I guess that happens when on a big route with 9 of your best friends.
In the interest of potentially learning something from this tragedy, anything to elaborate on here? ...
author=Hawthorne link=topic=29029.msg122189#msg122189 date=1375142663]
Two left to close out 60 months.
Yeah baby! Hope I won't need t drive all the way to Oregon ....
author=tabski link=topic=29017.msg122131#msg122131 date=1374763145]
Finding nice stability, we proceeded with the next step of assessment.
Cool assessment. Sorry I am just drooling at my keyboard. :-[
The crankshaft was to put in the sock so you could beat up anybody who tried to steal your Bud Light!
It was not all skiing and Jeepen, there was flora, and fauna as well.
To the un trained observer you might think this guy had just skied 3000' of blower powder.
To the un trained observer you might think this guy had just skied 3000' of blower powder.
I should have met you at the trailhead. I'd have talked you into hauling your skis along and we could have taken pictures of each other on Little Anapurna :)
Few have your engine Mike. Nice work to ski that much that far in!
Every one of those pictures belongs in a calendar.
author=mikerolfs link=topic=29026.msg122175#msg122175 date=1375108437]
You mean you forgot your skis?
:) I've always got my 30 centimeter rock skis with the rubber edges...If you have to dirt hike up and down Aasgard Pass does anyone bring them? Maybe I'm just getting weak and old... I didn't even want to scramble up Little Annapurna! Now if I could drive a jeep up to Colchuck...
Very fun area in the winter if your snowmobile and ability level are capable of getting you there (if you have some old 120 track without much travel good luck to you). Best to do a dawn patrol though, once the bubbas wake up it's a free for all!
I never thought about skiing above gallagher. way to get some.
Somewhere stashed away from the high school era I have a photo standing near that summit register looking down at my old bronco. I'll have to plan a trip up next may or june in my snomorunner.
Somewhere stashed away from the high school era I have a photo standing near that summit register looking down at my old bronco. I'll have to plan a trip up next may or june in my snomorunner.
It's all about the orange hue -- looks fast when combined with the green boots!
(TGR is all over red boots being fast, but that's only for the down, not the combine up & down.)
The reasoning for the leash setup is something like the following:
1. Girth hitch a 3mm accessory cord loop (w/ double fisherman's) to a secure attachment point on the binding. That way I have something for hauling or just grabbing w/o worrying about breaking free.
2. Attachmen...
(TGR is all over red boots being fast, but that's only for the down, not the combine up & down.)
The reasoning for the leash setup is something like the following:
1. Girth hitch a 3mm accessory cord loop (w/ double fisherman's) to a secure attachment point on the binding. That way I have something for hauling or just grabbing w/o worrying about breaking free.
2. Attachmen...