Mount Ellinor

This hike will be our most extensive training exercise leading up to our Mount Adams climb. We didn't even notice the lower trailhead parking lot driving up or down the road. We parked where everyone else did; on the side of the road at about 2900', where the road becomes inaccessible due to snow. There is an obvious trail that starts on left side of the road, at probably 2950'. This trail leads you through the woods to the upper trail head parking lot. We put our crampons on at about 4000'. The base of the massive avalanche chute is about 4500'. We thought our lightning ascent snowshoes would help us in the climb up the chute, but were completely ineffective in the steep, slushy conditions. So the snowshoes became three pounds of dead weight for the entire trip. The crampons were nice, but not necessary for the trip up. You should have an ice axe for safety going up, and to use as a brake for the glissade down. We were passed by everyone going up. We had 45 and 40 pound packs. Any yahoo with a will can get up this climb, but it is very steep. We saw some people on all fours on the steepest inclines. We camped about a 100' below the summit. I shorted myself on camp fuel and was unable to melt as much snow as I would have liked for water, plus we had a cold dinner. I won't make that mistake again. Two guys passed by our camp on the way to the summit at around 7 PM. It rained a little in the afternoon, and was fairly windy during the night. By the next morning, the previously slushy snow had turned to ice. The glissade chute had become to fast in most spots to attempt safely. Our crampons became absolutely necessary for the trip down the avalanche chute. I tried the glissade chute in a not so steep area. I started sliding before I was really ready to go, lost control of the ice axe, and went speeding down the chute, flailing and out of control. I managed to stop without breaking any bones. My wife retrieved the yard sale of gear I had lost on my silde. We decided that glissading wasn't worth the risk and walked the rest of the way. (You Tube Mount Ellinor glissade if your curious)
http://www.youtube.com/watc[…]MqWFqzY&feature=related