Bronco
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Posts posted by Bronco
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I'm really glad you guys came away from the experience unscathed and appreciate your detailed and honest account. It's pretty valuable for future LR climbers as you were very lucky but did show a lot of perseverance.
I'm sensing a lack of Cascade volcano experience, maybe overall mountaineering experience? I'm wondering if you can tell us how heavy your packs were as well? A max of 40lbs is preferred on this type of route.
Some observations/suggestions: Most route descriptions I've read clearly state to access the Carbon Gl at 7,200' and trend to the West side of Liberty Ridge up to Thumb Rock. A lot of this type of information is valuable to have accessible (I keep mine in my thigh pocket) as the memory can become fuzzy when under stress. I'll usually copy a route map or topo onto the back of a hand typed route description including the pertinent info like key elevations, approach data, landmarks, etc.
The term "rock" is used loosely in regards to Mt. Rainier. It's not really rock, more dried/frozen mud holding cobble's at best or just loose nasty scree more commonly. Climbers attempting this route should be comfortable on loose 3/4th class terrain with a full overnight pack at altitude. We spent maybe 2-3 hours climbing the ridge from the Carbon to Thumb rock. You really want to move fast here and reduce the amount of time exposed to the steady stream of rockfall. I can't imagine the stress you were under spending 20 hours in that zone.
It's uncommon for fatigue to improve as you ascend, good job managing what could've developed into severe ALS symptoms. I continued up Rainier once with a partner displaying those symptoms and by the time we reached the summit, he was hallucinating. It was scary and we were lucky his symptoms improved significantly by descending.
An extra fuel canister is always good insurance. Glad you guys survived.
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I'm sure Mark would figure it out ahead of time but E. Wilmans has a couple of short pitches of mid-fifth, definitely not a "scramble" for normal folks.
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'Shadow' home inventory could burden U.S. housing agencies, watchdogs say.
WASHINGTON | Thu May 30, 2013 3:54pm EDT
May 30 (Reuters) - Millions of U.S. homeowners are months behind on payments on government-backed mortgages, raising the risk federal housing agencies will end up facing the cost of managing a fresh flood of foreclosed homes, two government watchdogs said on Thursday.
Some 2.7 million borrowers have missed several payments on mortgages backed by the U.S. government, the inspectors general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a joint report.
These loan delinquencies represent a "shadow inventory" of homes that could hit the market if foreclosed on, which would need be managed by government-run Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or some other federal housing agency.
Once seized, these so-called real estate owned properties, or REOs, present significant financial challenges to these government agencies, the report said.
"Not only are current REO inventory levels elevated ... they may rise over the next several years depending on the number of shadow inventory properties that are ultimately foreclosed on," the report stated.
Since the housing market boom and bust, the government has employed billions of dollars to help borrowers manage high-cost loans and stabilize neighborhoods hit by foreclosures. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD, which oversees the nation's mortgage insurer, the Federal Housing Administration, have been burdened with a glut of repossessed properties as a result of the housing market collapse.
Not only does the government need to cover maintenance costs, it also needs to hire real estate agents and contractors to rehabilitate and sell the homes. Finding cost-effective ways to deal with the supply poses a challenge, the report said.
"These networks require significant oversight to ensure that they perform effectively and that they mitigate both REO-related expenses and foreclosure's negative effects," the report stated.
The report said the shadow inventory, which is made up of loans that have been delinquent for at least 90 days, is more than seven times the inventory of REOs that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD currently own.
"Even a fraction of the shadow inventory falling into foreclosure could considerably swell ... inventories of REO properties," the report warned.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration are backing about nine out of every ten new home loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned about 158,000 REO properties at the end of September 2012, while HUD had about 37,000.
HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have all taken steps to shrink their REO inventories, the report noted. Fannie Mae has already launched a pilot program to mitigate the costs of foreclosures, auctioning off some of its properties in bulk to investors with the intention to convert them into rentals.
Another good article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324682204578517731339959980.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
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Depends-
Are you going solo or with a team?
Is your team carrying a rope?
Would you feel bad/stupid if you punched through a snow bridge, plummeted into a crevasse and the answer to the first two questions is "yes"?
Other factors include weather, are you on skis, experience with glacier navigation, visibility, snow conditions etc.
Personally I wouldn't even consider going on the Nisqually at this time of year without a rope and competent partner.
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I've suspected this may be an attempt by the extremist Skagit/Whatcom ski mountaineering cell to initiate jihad on the tribes to the South and interfere with our traditional migration trails to the north just before the summer ski season starts. This "Septula" guy in particular is probably on the Homeland Security watch list.
Why don't they just install a ramp on each end of the remaining span?
[img:center]http://fwallpapers.com/files/images/dukes-hazzard-6.jpg[/img]
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Great pics and TR!
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Nice Tom, thanks for compiling these TR's into one massively inspiring list of climbs to dream about.
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CAG is the Cascade Alpine Guide by Fred Becky. Volume 1 covers Hwy 2 south to the Columbia River. You can pick one up cheap on Amazon.com if you don't have one.
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Hi Josh:
This looks like a slight variation to the Anderson Creek Route (pg 204 and 205 of the CAG vol. 1.) If I were going up Index this weekend, I'd give heavy consideration of following the Peris-Index traverse to avoid potential cornice collapses and avalanches coming down the Anderson Creek drainage or the Hourglass drainage on the Lake Serene side. After this weekend, it looks like the snowpack should stabilize after it cools off a little. http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/2/
Most of the easy routes have been done on Index due to it's proximity to HWY 2. There are probably some unclimbed couliors that I've seen from the summit of Persis but they are likely winter routes.
Have fun and enjoy whatever route you decide to do! Look forward to your TR.
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Several years ago I had a pair of those and found that they are finicky to adjust (too tight restricts circulation, too loose they fall off)and as a result, made me very slow in transition. I sold them after a couple of climbs.
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Sounds like a Mid-May opening, thanks Woodcutter!
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Pretty sure I saw these two guys cross the finish line just as the bombs detonated, think you have barriers to your fitness/training goals?
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Any updates on the status of the road opening to Mountaineers Creek Trailhead? Still a lot of snow?
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This contractor could've made a fortune building at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky. Hardly any regulatory oversight on $2-$20 million homes. Good times!
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Nice!
Great photos as usual!Is Scott pointing at ABP in that photo with Larrabee just behind him?
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Love your writing/reporting Dan, humility is a rare commodity these days and it's refreshing to see.
That is a respectable climb and sick point sick on the sickter scale decent!
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Nice climb and photos. I like the shot looking across the crater.
It's a wise practice for someone in the group to bring a small stove on any route that there's snow/ice in case it's not feasible to carry all of the water you need or you need more than anticipated. Sounds like the weather may have been warmer than usual for early March.
Keep up the good work.
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Price drop to $95 for skis and skins. Great touring, approach or spring time skis.
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Article Here: http://utahavalanchecenter.org/blog-avalanche-airbag-effectiveness-something-closer-truth
Bottom Line:
Ignore the 97% number and the 3% number. My best guess is that avalanche airbag packs will probably save a little more than half of those who would have otherwise have died in an avalanche. They will never save all of them because 1 out of 4 will likely die from trauma of hitting trees and rocks on the way down and an additional 1 out of 4 will probably end up in a terrain trap (deep burial), buried by a secondary avalanche or caught in an avalanche that does not travel far enough for the inverse segregation process to work (larger objects rise to the surface).
In addition, people will increase their exposure to risk because of the perception of increased safety, which will cancel out some, but not all, of the effectiveness of avalanche airbags.
As usual, our choice of terrain is far more important than rescue gear. Un-survivable terrain will always be un-survivable. In terrain with few obstacles, terrain traps, sharp transitions and smaller paths, avalanche airbags have the potential to save significantly more than half of those who would have otherwise died. And that sounds pretty good to me.
I wonder if the Cascades would be considered less than optimal terrain for ABS bags (as opposed to the Rockies) considering the cliffy terrain and density of tree strainers. I also wonder what the difference is between the $1200 and $500 ABS packs.
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All of these are great suggestions (esp. the Leukotape), but the main issue may be one of not getting out enough to toughen your heels/break in your boots. Once you find a good fitting boot, stick with it and do as much hiking in them as you can locally, so when you do your big mountaineering trips they aren't trashing your feet.
I totally agree with Jason on this, I've gone so far as wearing mountaineering boots for yard work. Trail running is great for working the muscles on your feet and toughening the skin as well.
Here's another deskjockey after a 30+ mile weekend -
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Downtown Snohomish has a few newer restaurants and small batch distillery that's been open for a couple of years. Snohomish Bicycles on the corner of First and Ave C have an unpretentious staff and do some group rides around the area. I don't know if you're into the multi-use paved trails but they've also recently completed the Centennial Trail from Skagit County all the way down to Second Street next to McDaniel's Hardware. Personally, I prefer Snohomish over Capitol Hill any day, especially if I had youngsters YMMV.
Everett is still...Everett.
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What tent is it specifically?
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Still undefeated?
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Looking for Lowell's secret stash
[TR] Torment Forbidden Traverse - TFT 7/13/2013
in North Cascades
Posted
That is awesome!