ryland_moore

Show us an actual picture, and I'll tell you.....

"Hey y'all, Watch 'is!" One drunk redneck to a group of rednecks "Awe shit, I could do that!" What the redneck's cousin said after he performed the stunt that got him killed.

When? I'll be up there soon.

Does that time include Chad having to take breaks to throw in a dip? Thanks for the dip on Aconcagua, Chad. I needed it!

What Unit is you tag in Greg? I've got mine too! Don't shoot my ass out there!

Just because you can't climb steep faces with hard grades with no means for protecting it traditionally, doesn't mean it is not a sport, isn't extremely challenging, or worthy to spend time on and climb.....I enjoy both, suck at both, and find each style challenging in different facets.

Bottled water is simply tap water from some random municiple water supply. Just read the labels. Most of the companies are owned by Coke and Pepsi anyways. Pull the wool off from over your eyes and quit paying a $1+ for 20 oz. of municple waterr that costs you a penny from your tap!

No offense, Matt. Just have a differnce of opinion. If placed properly, wands do not blow over, but may get knocked over by another party's rope etc. Usually the most heavily travelled routes are already wanded on Rainier, like Ingraham Direct because they are guided and the guides leave wands up for the season. Typically all you need to do is add a few more at a few choice locations and you are set! I have gone up Rainier and had to turn around because I knew I would not be able to find my way back until the weather lifted, and I have continued up in complete whiteouts using wands as I knew I could find my way back down. It is always a judgement call in the mountains. Not even criticizing these 2 parties all that much, but like in Accidents in Mountaineering, you can always learn from others mistakes. I'm glad to hear they summitted and made it down safely. Just may have been a little too quick with the cell that is all. Shit happens in the mountains and none of us are exempt. Except Trask, and that is cause he never goes

You all are forgetting one of the most popular one hit wonders! The Pina Colada Song by......................... The infamous Rupert Holmes!

I guess we don't think along the same lines Matt, as wands have allowed me to summit and descend in whiteouts on Rainier. Without them, maybe I would have been trying to figure out how to call White River (although I don't carry my phone on climbs). Wands are absolutely neccessary in incliment weather on the bigger mountains, and I wouldn't go up without them. Even a GPS can act up or be off. Look where it got Dan -!

Also, think about getting a pair of VBL socks (Vapor Barrier Liners). Climb High makes a decent pair. This will prevent the moisture from your feet wicking away into your other sock layers and will keep them warm and dry. I typically use a liner sock, then the VBL, then a large expedition sock on winter ascents or climbs like Denali and they work perfectly. No need to get overboots on summer climbs in the Cascades! You can also just buy a pair of plastics too, but the Extremes should be warm enough with this combo, and cheaper too!

I still think they might have slacked on the preparation. Even if they were prepared to hunker down and even if they did not request a rescue, where were their snow wands? If you are heading up a large glacier in potential whiteout, surely they should have been prepared to get back down following their nicely wanded path, whiteout or not, and with nine people spaced out 15' apart, that covers some serious distance! I don't know enough about what went on up there, but could see how the media could sensationalize it. Carry wands when in potentially bad weather. Quite simple actually! And if the can't find the wands they placed, then they obviously need more experience to do so. My two cents.

That's awesome. Congrats to Chad. Hope he is well. That time is pretty schweet too! After doing that route this spring, I have total respect for anyone who can do a climb like that. You must remember that the route itself is over 15 miles long from BC to summit, and that does not include any objective hazards, crevasses, and fixed lines. I am totally impressed. Now kick Dan's ass on Khan Tengri!

Sorry ANna, Jason and I didn't get finished with climbing until 10pm and finally made it out to the bar by 11:15! Sorry we missed you! Can't do it today, but we need to get together soon!

Wait, I thought we were talking tonight! I can't do tomorrow as I have some late meetings. Anyone going out tonight? Jason and I are still tentatively planning on grabbing a beer after climbing. ANyone? Anyone? Beuler? Beuler?

Jason and I will be the two short guys with chalk on our hands (chalk is aid!). Anna, I will bring your hat to you!

Alo, skis are included in those weights, which for my alpine boards was about another 10 lbs. I skimped more than Norm I think on the clothes, cause I only brought 1 change of underwear (thank god for Gold Bond on the Nutes!) and one cahnge of polypro, 2 pairs of socks and 2 liner socks. The rest was standard fair for a weekend on Rainier, except adding the down jacket and Chugach pants.

The loads were pretty heavy, and we probably could have gotten by with less, but we planned on being there for 28 days and figured that if we were already doing it expedition style vs. alpine style, then we might as well bring everything but the kitchen sink (the Megamid was plush and many folks were envious). We did cache some gear lower down that we decided we didn't need, but we figured that as long as we were spending all this damn money to get there, I'd rather only have to go up the route once then have to come back because we didn't have enough food/crap to weather out a storm. Although we ended up only spending half the time we had planned for, it was comforting knowing that we could settle in and weather out any storm at 14k if need be. Many people suggest just bringing along a couple cartons of smokes and some choice goodies to barter with and you can find a lot of food that way. However, we were offered very little food from other teams descending as it was a little earlier in the season. May be quite different in June though. I did meet one guy that went in super-light with friends and they summitted in 8 days (BC to BC!) but he works for Colby Coombs and has done the route many times. IMHO, for a first timer up there, I suggest being as self-sufficient as possible and taking the crap. You may only have to haul the shit to the 7,800' camp and can decide whether or not to cache something just about anywhere along the route. Yes, it can be a slog, and you don't feel like you are really climbing until high up, but it was still the hardest slog I've ever done and the views are well worth it. It's a big mountain no matter how you look at it and although technically not difficult, the West Buttress is the hardest physical climb I've done to date. Norm may also have had more weight than me. Norm's an animal! I think I had around 120lbs. when I left KIA which is pretty standard from speaking with the pilots for the time we planned to be out (mostly food weight). Plus I was carrying 2 pairs of boots (totally unneccessary), but was hoping to yo-yo up at 14k. We ended up not bringing skis up there as I tweaked my knee going back to 10,200 to pick up a cache. I was having fun skiing down and caught my tip and the binding didn't release. Skiing down was fun early on when the snow conditions were prime. But when we came down all the way, the snow sucked and I was poling hard to go down ski hill - the snow was so grabby! I skied from 11k to 7,800' unroped and having AT boots was nice, but definately could have just used a Silveretta 500/plastic boot combo with no problem. Also, if you do want to ski steeper stuff higher up, just bring AT or tele boots with Thermoflex liners in them. The route is never too steep that you can't summit in your ski boots as PeteA did.

Skip the Exum Ridge and do the Petzholdt Ridge just to the right. A lot less traffic and much more enjoyable climbing! As for other classics on the Grand, another suggestion is the North Ridge (5.7) or the East Ridge (5.7). If looking for ice, check out the Black Ice couloir on the East side and leads up to the top of the Upper saddle (does not go to the summit). As for other classics in the area, check out the CMC route on Mt. Moran. East Butt of Middle is a classic line but there are some tough pitches ( I think one 5.10 old skool that is way hard and I pulled on gear to get up). As for long multi-pitch, Death Canyon is awesome with tons of climbs. I have climbed Caveat Emptor and The Snaz, thanks to rope guns, and both are awesome, though I had more trouble with the Snaz b/c it is off-width even though it is a 5.9 and Caveat is a 5.10. You can do tons of routes, a couple a day from the Grasslands and tick off stuff on Cloudveil, Middle, South, and Nez Perce. Have a blast and watch out for those afternoon thunderheads - they like to produce some serious lightening!

I bet she is packin' heat so watch yourself there Greg! I'll buy a ticket to watch and will give a detailed TR after the dust settles! My odds are on Kitten.....

Jason and I are going climbing tonight, but were planning on grabbing a beer afterwards. You name the place and we'll be there after dark.

Hey Erik, ya didn't reach 6,000 yesterday. What up? SLACKER!

On Denali, I was regularly filling up a 32 oz. bottle, but one of our teamates, Norm was actaully filling up a 2 liter bottle! Holly bladder!

The best way to not feel bad at "altitude" in the lower 48 is to get in better shape. Yeah, you may feel some slight AMS symptoms at 10-12k, but it is not like you are moving there. You cannot acclimate to the elevation in such a short period of time. Since you are having a little trouble with the altitude, I'd reccommend going up to the trailhead late on Friday night and sleeping at a few thousand feet, then going up to high camp, on Saturday and summitting on Sunday. Or you could spend two nights at high camp, which is more than enough. 12,000' is not very high, and like others have said in this post, there are documented cases of pulmonary edema and thelike at these elevations, but they are very rare. Train a little harder, pace yourself (ie. move slower), add a little presssure breathing, and drink a ton of fluids. Why go to Muir if you are trying to climb Adams, just go to Adams instead! If you are still sucking wind and feeling like crap, then I would suggest a little more time in the gym. Best of luck!

Happy Birthday Dude! May you knock off a few on the tic list this summer and may sexy ladies drool over your every move!