Bronco

Yeah, maybe just give him some "special" handloads I made just for him.

Moses was a climber.

nice story Drew. It got me thinking One time several years ago, me and a buddy were elk hunting on Timberwolf Mountain (you can drive right off the summit of that sucker) near Naches and I discovered a 3' x 7' mound of freshly turned dirt miles from any road, I thought it might be the shallow grave of an FBI informant or other unfortunate soul. I pointed it out to my friend and he gleefully shouted "I get the skull!" then frantically dug up the entire mound. There was nothing there, but I took note of my hunting parter's behavior.

GAPER TR: Me and a buddy decided the weather would be "interesting" saturday 6/8 and headed out for E. Wilmans Spire. Drove through Granite falls in light precip at about 5:20am, as we traveled through Verlot the rain picked up a bit. Between Verlot and Barlow Pass it poured hard enough to make me feel sorry for the campers everywhere along the side of the road, everything was soaked. In the fog and rain, we missed the parking lot for Monte Cristo and parked about 50' in front of the gate to the road. As we sat there drinking coffee waiting for the rain to let up we noticed it had turned to snow, and we were only at 2,200'. We hopped on our bikes and were able to ride about 70% of the first 2 miles with one wipeout, ditched the bikes in the woods and walked from there over intermitent snow and wet, rough road. The snow appeared to be 4' deep in places still. All snow from the Town of Monte Cristo up to Glacier Basin, we took the same approach directly up to the bottom of the Wilmans peaks (as mattp took) rather than the longer trail up through Glacier Basin. Anyway, we climbed up into the clouds with intermitent snow flurries and sun breaks. Good cramponing through 6" of "cotton candy" new snow over a very firm base. Several small storm cells added to that amount, then the sun would come out and drop little sluffs off of the surrounding rock faces creating some pinwheels, although not huge ones. By now we had worked our way up into the final snow gully below the E. Wilmans spire (you can see it pretty clearly in mattp's photo above). The sun came out and we stopped to take in some of the peaks around us. I heard the distinct rumble you don't want to hear in a gully like that. To my relief it was only a rowdy herd of Pinwheels gathering speed as they rolled down to us. I warned my partner to "brace yourself" as some had suddenly veered over and were attempting to remove me from the gully. "go home posers" was definetly audible to both of us as the now flying debris slapped us around like a bully in a bar. As things settled down I checked on my parnter who was cleaning snow out of his collar and I looked for the opportunity to set up a running belay to finish the gully. My parnter however, comented that he was having second thoughts about continueing. Just as he finished speaking, a large slab let loose about 60' to our left that traveled to the floor of the valley (about 2000') I thought about how I didn't want to add to the list of lives the mountains have taken this season already. So, we headed down into another storm cell and it actually got bad enough to make us take cover under a big boulder until God's sandblaster got turned off. Ouch! Glissading down was fun, we stopped to do some "alpine bouldering" then roughneck combat mountain biking to the truck (trying to force the other combatant off the road, into trees, creekbeds or snow banks) At the truck there was a notice that the sheriff was wanting to tow my truck for "blocking the gate" that I had parked 50' away from. I thought that would be nice to return to, a 30 mile bike ride to Granite Falls However, In our haste and the poor visibility that morning we had driven right past the parking lot for the trailhead. oops! Pretty fun trip, plenty of snow in Glacier Basin still if you're looking for some skiing. (although a lot of it is avvy debris)

that's the funniest shit I've read in a while! You boys and girls play safely this weekend. Good job getting down alive mike!

this is the funniest review of a product I have seen yet. from www.outdoorreview.com Summary: I purchased one of these bivy bags for a gold prospecting expedition into the mountains and jungle of Ecuador. This was a rather regrettable decision, and I would advise anyone purchasing a bivy bag, to consider the terrain in which it will be used, carefully. Anywhere in the tropics (and perhaps sub-tropics) a bivy bag is hot and allows little air to circulate. This can quickly result in headaches (in any temperature), especially if the bivy is zipped up to stop heavy rain from entering. If attackers come into a camp, it can take a couple of minutes to get out of a non-hoop bivy, during which time a large rock can be brought down on your head. Physical sickness (e.g. food poisoning, altitude sickness) while using a bivy bag, is a nightmare, as one will invariably end up sitting upright - half out of the bag - exposed to rain and insects. Lying on the ground exposes a bag to swarms of insects. Some of which can eat through bivy bag (or tent) material, on their way to the main course. There is little if any room to store any gear in a bivy bag during sleep, and so it is can be exposed to the risk of theft or infestation (especially boots!). It isn't possible to cook in a bivy bag, and the smallest wind or rain can make using a (non-trangia) stove unuseable outside. In some environments (e.g. temperate) a bivy bag is useful where weight and space is a critical factor. In temperate climates, attackers and insects are not so much of an issue. If you are entertaining the idea of a bivy bag for the first time, get one with a hoop, and you will surely be glad of this. If weight and space is not a critical factor, consider the alternatives again. A lightweight tent, an army hammock, a mosquito-net tent, may offer a far more practical solution.

then there is this tent ID Single Wall Which is tiny but, fits the bill at 3lbs 12 oz. I have pretty much decided to go with a South Col from Pro Mountain Sports (1lb 8oz) cause Jim gets them with the "light floor" option. I'll maybe carry a 7 oz siltarp in questionable weather but still under 2lbs. and around $250. Thanks for all the input.

Gator: Thanks for the advice, I was thinking the same thing this morning. Let me see if I can break it down for folks with a short attention span (like me) USE YOUR HEAD PEOPLE! It is the most important single piece of gear you have!

Hanging out 4 pitches up any mountain with a busted ankle for 16 hours make you the Alpine Buddy of the week by default. Glad to hear you are ok instead of..... well, you know. And nice job of your friends and SMR getting you down! [ 06-06-2002, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Bronco ]

cheers!

take a 2lb bag of rice and a small blow gun. Eat rice and whatever you can kill along the way. Bugs are nutritious too.

This Etheral Bivy looks like the best of the bunch except the price tag Any body use one? Less than 2lbs and pole supported headroom. neato!

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: ......Just shut up and get a bivy for now. Then get a single wall 4 season is my advice But I already have a bomber EddieBauer tent that only weighs 16 pounds with no less than 5 fiberglass poles. I got several nice compliments on it when I took it up Mt. Adams south side a few years ago. "holy shit that is ahhh ahhh ahhh nice big tent haw haw haw!" Despite all the poles I woke up with the wind blowin' and the top of that sucker about 2" off my nose. I really thought I hit the big time with my "lightweight" walrus 4 season tent at 8.5 pounds. It has served me well in some storms but sucks the big one if I have to carry it (purchased at REI) [ 06-04-2002, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: Bronco ]

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: Whatever you get, bivy bags are damp. The "breathable" fabric doesn't breath enough. And they pretty much suck in a downpour. Combined with a small tarp I think I could survive a couple of nights.

Sold! [ 06-20-2002, 02:48 PM: Message edited by: Bronco ]

USSR surplus titanium looooong ass screws. They are cheap cheap cheap, light light light, and you don't need anything fancy with the knobs for most glacier travel. ie: you probably wont be hanging by one ice tool trying to place the screw with a waterfall coming down inside your coatsleeve. That's what I use for sloggin on the volcanoes. they also look good for posing around the camp muir hut. i like to rack about 10 of em on my bigwall gearsling and kick back in front of the outhouses where all the arriving climbers can gape at me, Heh heh heh. [ 06-03-2002, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Bronco ]

I am thinking a Bivy Sack could handle my fair weather mountaineering antics but, there seem to be a "shit pile" of designs and fabrics. I have looked at these manufactureres websites: Bibler Pika Feathered Friends OR Integral Designs Moonstone Marmot I have actually wrestled my way into a Bibler tripod, OR advanced bivy and a Bibler "hooped" bivy which cover the basic spectrum of designs. The "clamshell" type Integral Designs South Col seems to be the way to go so far, $134.00 at the MEC and a nice compromise between weight, price, durability, and ease of entry for one of the "clamshells". I avoided the bivys with the poles because of weight, price and ease of setup. Anybody have anything else to add that I have overlooked? Can any of you Kanadians confrirm the MEC South Col is actually the Integral Designs South Col? Your Friend, Johnny Come Lately

SNOWCLAW!! Anybody use one of these? Looks like a good climbers shovel except I am not too sure I would want to be traveling avvy terrain if this is all my partners had Probably melt if you used it as a stove stand also. Pretty Light though.

thanks for sharing, nice trip report!

In 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. 3 cheers! On a side note, on another May 29th, 188 years earlier, a fiesty Patrick Henry, after introducing 7 anti-Stamp Act resolutions before the colonial legislature said " If this be Treason, make the most of it!" when accused of treason by loyalist British bastards er ah, members.

to further explain the phenomena an example: A short guy was seen driving back and forth along the Icicle with a hottie stopping to "gape" at climbers and occasionally spew forth some beta on what to climb. He had been doing a good job of "gaping" because he knew where and when everbody else was climbing, yet seemed content to drive around "gaping" on Saturday. GAPER I on the other hand, was seen walking around the area of Snow Creek parking lot and Icicle Butt "posing" with climbing gear. Making sure to be seen by everybody, with rope, harness, gaitors and a #5 camalot, occasionally flipping through the guide book to pose as a climber. I was near some rocks later, flailing maybe, but still a stretch. POSER Get it right people.

ouch!

nice job guys, all in a day's work for SAR.

We had a great time mike, good fun climbing. And I thought the weather was just bad enought to keep the crowds away. Nice updates on your website!

another important category to discuss is that of the "CHESTBEATER" The chestbeater will parade around in front of others to draw as much attention to themselves and their accomplishments as possible (no matter how feeble). Some chestbeaters even post Trip Reports on the internet in hope of some recognition by their peers. Chestbeaters are aggressive and passionate about whatever they deem important so caution should be excersiced when the aggresive Chestbeater is encountered. Peers of the chestbeater also include the "gaper" and the "poser" the latter being sometimes difficult to distinguish from the chestbeater. One method to determine if you are dealing with a chestbeater or poser would be to announce they are full of shit in front of some hotties that are admiring the suspect's bravado. Be prepared (or armed) as the chestbeater will physically attack you without hesitation while the poser will sneak off into the shadows to lick his wounds. An alternate and safer method would be to search for Trip Reports on the internet. The chestbeater will have very detailed blow by blow accounts of each and every climb, no matter how boring they seem. The Poser may have none or very ambigious trip reports, ie: we went to leavenworth, I did this, we looked at that. The Poser tends to fall short of claiming to climb something, just lets others assume they are a climber by association or by being in the proximity of some climing area.