Holy Crap

Wow. Today is the second time I have checked my email in 2.5 weeks. There is a lot in there. I am going to ignore all but the most important things and get to more importanter things, like blogging. My roommies aren't actually crazy, and the house now has 5 people living in it instead of 3. Much better environment. As far as the house goes, we still have no internet, but progress was made on the 3 months worth of garbage stored in the garage(apparently ordering a pickup service is too complicated). That was kind of an ultimatium they got when I saw it.
I got a Cinch device, so I have been rope soloing at a short climbing area down by the river that has really sketchy toprope anchors (the bolts are wiggly, but equalizing 4 of them is ok right?) I also found some five star basalt cracks up tumalo canyon while working on a trail last friday. there are toprope anchors on them and some other spots along the river so I have to go try them out tomorrow afternoon.
Also managed to go rafting on the deschutes this weekend with 20 or so from various parts of the area. We managed to be the "drunk boat" and appareantly pissed off the churchies in their boat (not sure how) so I never really met them. Everyone was too drunk/tired/antisocial in the evening to do anything so I went for a hike/climb up the canyon wall that was a lot farther than I thought, but it was really nice to get away from it all and stumble around in the dark for a few hours. Quite a nice view from the canyon rim. Ok, I am going caving with some friends I met.
Oh, and I think I got a job offer. It starts in 2 weeks so I might not be employed by the FS by the next blog. The guy said to call himn next week with a number I want for an annual salary, and I get a new truck. Sounds fun!
Peace

My first 14-er!

Greg and I both quit our jobs last week so we planned to go to Leavenworth this week but realized the weather might not be very ideal. So we ran south for three days and had a very leisurely time on Shasta. It was his second time and my first on the mountain but neither of us had done The Avalanche Gully route before.

After a short hike up in the snow we arrived at the Sierra Club Horse Camp which has a large shelter built in 1922(?). The club owns 740 acres inside the wilderness area and makes the land available to hikers and climbers. We hung out with the camp host and her friend for the evening and watched the weather rage on from the comfort of the lodge and a bottle of Southern Comfort. The only incedent at night was having to convince Greg that he was having a nightmare and the tent was not collapsing. The next morning we hiked along Olbermans Causway (singularly the oddest thing I have ever seen in the backcountry) which is a 1/3 to 1/2 mile long stone pathway that was erected by an old cabin caretaker back in the day for climbers heading up the mountain. We camped at 10,400 that evening at Helen Lake (no lake) and planned for the next morning. Next time I climb Shasta, it wil be in two days instead of three because Greg and I had to kill a lot of time in the tent and we were really bored the whole time. After playing Hold 'Em with rocks, reading every label we could find, taking pictures of everyting we could think of, and considering trying to order a pizza to 10,400 ft, we finally passed out. We woke up at 2am, chased a mouse out of our brekke, and started up the hill by 3am. We moved fast and climbed a small chute to gain the Red Bank before rock and ice fall started. The sun came up shortly after, but not before we both lost feeling in out toes and fingers for a short time (shouldnt have stopped moving). After chasing two disappointing false summits we finally found the real one and got to hang out on top in 5 mph or less wind and sunny skies. On the way down we passed 4 other parties several hours behind us. Couldnt really glissade because all the new snow had filled in the track. While we were heading back down, Greg had two comments I found to be quite funny. One was "I didn't feel like I was going to die once on this trip!" and "Wow, I didn't even swear off mountaineering once this trip!" That really sums up the mountain for us. I highly recommend this route to anyone who wants a mellow mountaineering experience. Great beginner route.

There are more pics at www.orst.edu/~rothi if you are interested.

below Red bank

Greg climbing a chute through Red Bank

Above Red Bank

OMC; alive and kicking at 14,162 ft

The Sierra Club cabin

A Brave New World

Now begins another one of lifes little transitions. Moving one's life to a whole new area is quite a change and one that I am a little apprehensive about. At least I am moving to a place that I am generally familiar with, but it is still going to be a little lonely not having my usual group of funholes around to keep me entertained (and my god, what are folks in Corvallis going to do for entertainment without me around?!?). I don't even get to bring Colleen along on this new adventure. At least she can come visit, but that really isnt as good as just having her around all the time! The last time I did this was 6 years ago and you all can see how that ended up! (drugs, alcohol, sex, and climbing are really all that has come of my last big life transition)
I guess a little change every now and then is good for the soul, so I might as well jump right in and enjoy myself. Hell, at least everyone speaks english where I am going and there is no such thing as fan death in Bend!