sat Jan 10th. timberline to top of palmer

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jmkeary
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Joined: December 25th, 2010, 10:04 pm
Location: Newberg, OR
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sat Jan 10th. timberline to top of palmer

Post by jmkeary » January 8th, 2015, 5:55 pm

Heading up on Saturday to hike timberline to top of palmer. Maybe a little higher depending on timing. If you want to come along let me know. Plan I starting around 8-9am. Time for me to get back into climbing shape. Planning on 4 hrs up and back.

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Thomas M
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver,WA

Re: sat Jan 10th. timberline to top of palmer

Post by Thomas M » January 9th, 2015, 9:29 am

I was up there on Tuesday, the 6th.

The service trail formed by maintenance crew on snomobiles, near the lift, was the way I chose.
They were hammering ice off of the lift pulleys.

I used snowshoes for a short time before I got nearer to the lift. After that I didn't need them, but I used my microspikes the rest of the way.

There was a sheet of ice just about everywhere the crew did not drive the machines. Either side of the lift and on the Palmer. I used that opportunity to practice purchase with the microspikes. I love those gadgets!!!

Up top, the cats had scraped a flat area near the lift shack and it was just snowy and firm.

The ice up there was chunkier and I tried the spikes on that more coarse surface around the shack. I concluded that they don't work very well when the ice chunks are larger than the small spikes. Only a few of the spikes actually purchased the ice and they would not feel safe (at least to me) on that sort of surface.
I decided that if I go up higher, I would need real crampons with the longer spikes...and an ax.

To my surprise, I glanced toward Illumination Rock and spied a hiker coming down. I thought he would have crampons on for sure. However, as he approached I saw that he only had the Microspikes!!
He said that it was pretty scary because of the limited usefulness of the microspikes and he since he didn't have and ice ax, he had visions of falling and sliding down the rough ice!!!

If one is going to be exploring around up high off of the groomed area, I would suggest the use of crampons. You'll have more fun and be safer.

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