freeclimb9

go for the full trans-op. Dr. Stan Biber is the go to guy. Trinidad, Colorado. And you thought Boulder was a weird town.

Use of the word "tragic" is correct in describing the Mt. Hood accident. See third defintion especially tragedy: 1a. A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. b. The genre made up of such works. c. The art or theory of writing or producing these works. 2. A play, film, television program, or other narrative work that portrays or depicts calamitous events and has an unhappy but meaningful ending. 3. A disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life: an expedition that ended in tragedy, with all hands lost at sea. 4. A tragic aspect or element.

A non-insignificant part of any climb is a flip of a coin, roll of the dice, lady luck, . . . "Objective" danger has taken out a lot of compentent people in climbing as in other pursuits. BTW, guilt is an emotion put on you by others. Remorse is self-created.

this is on a lighter note too: Q - What did one saggy boob say to the other one? A - If we don't get some support soon people are going to think we are nuts. [ 05-31-2002, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: freeclimb9 ]

quote: Originally posted by pindude: "Should we pay for climber's rescues?" [/QB] The bummer was that the Rainier operation was a recovery, not a rescue.

How the fall occurred: (from the LA Times) quote: A team of six firefighters and their companions from the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Department moved toward the summit. Assistant Fire Marshal Cleve Joiner, who had brought his 14-year-old son, Cole, along on the climb, said his group was about 800 feet short of the summit, climbing below two teams of six other people. Suddenly, the team at the top lost their footing, plowing down into the groups below them, taking a total of nine climbers into the crevasse, Joiner said. "It just happened within a matter of 20 or 30 seconds," he said. Joiner's son was one of the nine trapped in the crevasse. Joiner used his cell phone to call 911, summoning rescuers, though he was still unsure of the fate of his son. Whether these teams were roped together is unclear. It would seem they weren't using running belays (pickets, deadmen, etc.). Bummer they couldn't self arrest, but the slope was pretty steep (65 degrees quoted in the article), so they'd get going fast very quickly. The highest team just wipered off the lower people.

I've never pondered whether gluing "chunks of polished granite to frosted glass" is unethical, or not.

Vegetable, I would think the guy would've stopped at Camp Schurman if he descended Emmons/Winthrop for help. But maybe the camp isn't currently staffed? The paper reported he made a call from St. Elmo pass area. It's all speculation, really.

quote: Originally posted by pope: Is it worth all the effort? It never is. It'll just be another obscure lee-than-test-piece sport climb. It's just a local diversion that's safer than messing with Momo girls. And dirtier, too.

a wee, but crucial, flake hold on a new route has me worried. I'd like to have it remain attached to the cliff. Any suggestions for glue re-enforcement? Type of glue appropriate for limestone?

quote: Originally posted by climberbro16: Thats in Idaho right? My freind says there is a City of Rocks in New MExico also. The City of Rocks in NM is in the southwest part of the state, and features some bouldering. The closest town is probably Silver City (named for the hair color of most of its residents?). City of Rocks, ID, is a National Reserve noteworthy for its great rock and historical value (it was on a popular varation of the Oregon Trail). More than bouldering in Idaho's City of Rocks.

The pooh-pack is a little too disco. Here are some more streamlined packs:

actually, bad weather = no crowds

Clyde, as I understand it, the snowmachine-packed trails have been of benefit to the large mammals of Yellowstone. They expend less energy walking them, and winter-survival rates are higher. Whether this is good, or bad, is subject to debate. Snowmachine use in Yellowstone has occurred for five decades. Is this historical use?

Midweek snows in the Teton pushed me southwards to feed the rat. Instead of a run to Jackson for a go at the Middle Teton, or Mt Owen, I made the lonely drive to Great Basin National Park (GrBa) for some alpine climbing. The GrBa exemplifies the best of the NPS: it's free; the rangers are friendly; and when I asked about information on climbs at the Visitor's Center they photocopied all they've got for me, and gave me the stapled copy. Plus, it's a spectacular place. Some of the biggest Mountain Mahogany I've ever seen is there plus these really old Bristlcome cone pines (walked past one with a sign indicating it's 3200 years old). The mountain centerpiece, Wheeler Peak (13,000' elev) has a gnarly 2,000' northeast face of bullet quartzite broken into shoebox-to car-sized pieces, none of which is joined to another. The sound of rockfall in the glacier cirque was constant during the day. The rock is total crap. But I was there to climb snow and ice. On Friday morning (5-24), from the Bristlecone Pine trailhead, I shuffled through fresh powder (it stormed the previous day) to the Rock Glacier (could the southermost glacier in the US?). Started up the Northwest Passage couloir (AI2) to test the start of Wandering Aengus (WI4). The Aengus couloir featured a crust of 1" ice over knee-deep sugar, so I kept up the Northwest Passage to the Pleiades couloirs. I opted for the Lost Pleiad variation (WI3), then wandered among the tottering gendarmes higher to top out about 50' below "Nameless Tower" (peak 12630). Route conditions were mostly neve topped with a few inches of dry powder. There was water ice in the Lost Pleiad but it wasn't the WI3 difficulty the Park's guide indicated. Maybe 2+, at most. The crux of the climb was the last 300' where sun-softened snow balled in the crampons, and especially where I climbed over wet and snow-covered rock --5.easy-- to gain the shoulder of the Nameless Tower. Total climbing elevation was 1600' by my altimeter. I opted out of standing on the summit of the Nameless Tower since gaining it involved a class 2 way-scary traverse: a two foot wide ridgelet of stacked rock with fatal consequences if something slipped. I scrambled over Wheeler, and was back to the trailhead in a few hours. The climbs were in descent shape, but will be better in June by my estimation. Right now, the Northwest Passage and other chutes off of Jeff Davies Peak looked prime for a ski, or snowboard descent. If you're ever in Eastern Nevada, and need a fix, the Great Basin National Park is a worthy stop. More climbing info at http://www.iceclimb.com/NV.html Routes on the Nameless Tower (the most routes are on the Tower since the rock is relatively more stable):

I support use of snowmachines in Yellowstone. It's a critical component of the local economies for the communities surrounding the park to provide for visiting 'bilers. They spend a lot more money than any other user group.

A man goes to the doctor with a piece of lettuce dangling from his rectum. “That looks nasty,” says the doctor. “Nasty?” the man says. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Why are you picking on the Newfies? They stopped clubbing baby seals, no? Agent Orange's "joke" is a variation on how to make a Jewish American Princess scream twice (answer, wipe yourself off on the curtains after anal sex). Neither of 'em are too funny. Okay, here's one that's safe for the kiddies: Q - What did the 0 say to the 8? A - Nice Belt

quote: Originally posted by Mike Gauthier: FYI, climbing fees are not park of the NPS fee demo program. what you are actually getting is a special use permit. I searched the nps.gov website for more information on "special use permits", and found there to be no nation-wide standard for what is "special". Many NPS sites had references to "Special Events" that required a permit. Typical is what the Golden Gate National Rec. Area has posted: "A special use permit is required of activities that provide a benefit to an individual, group or organization, rather than the public at large . . ." like "sporting events, public spectator attractions, festivals, concerts, ceremonies, cultural programs." NPS sites in Washington State are unique in charging a fee for climbing (Not that special of an event on a mountain, IMO.). The Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) website (www.nps.gov/mora/) refers to climbing fees as a "Climbing Cost Recovery Fee" designed to recoup "costs for climber safety and education, upper mountain human waste management, and program administration". It's charged to people who wander onto glaciers, or go above 10,000'. Other NPS sites where climbing is practiced, but not considered "special" (so not targeted for extra fees) include Devil's Tower, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon (which, BTW, includes Mt Whitney which is over 10,000' and visited by thousands of defecating people every year), Joshua Tree, and Grand Teton, among others. MORA's "program management" must be costly.

quote: Originally posted by sk: Besides, it's not what you wear on the outside that matters Are you referring to an appliance(s) of some sort?

rule #3: cinder blocks can be used for both car-jack stands AND furniture.

Other National Parks than Rainier offer world class high angle rescue capabilities without additional user fees. The $15 is slow, but hard, ass-rape. It's been implemented and continued by the Park management. If you feel inclined to believe that it helps cover toilet maintenance, consider that the shitter on the lower saddle between the Grand and Middle Teton is paid for by the guide services who operate on the mountain. So your $15, by comparison, subsidizes RMI among others. Here's what the park Super, Jon Jarvis, says the fees are spent on: Projects. Not Rescue. "Recently, Mount Rainier has used fee money to: - rehabilitate miles of degraded areas on the Wonderland and other cross park trails, - repair individual campsites in Cougar Rock and Ohanapecosh campgrounds, - construct group campsites and accessible sites in campgrounds, - provide new interpretive signs in visitor centers and along roadside interpretive areas, and - provide accessible toilet facilities with baby changing stations in developed areas of the park."

In wind, you can also use a pack like a rope bag, or have the rope lap-coiled in a sling clipped to your waist, and rappel. Lowering increases the risk of cutting your rope.

In case you were wondering, they're dark meat. Supposed to be an aphrodisiac. The Koreans like it in stew.

b-rock: some ropes are prone to sheath slippage. I wouldn't call it normal though. The vast majority of the rope's strength is due to the core, so strength diminishment isn't an issue. But, if you ever jumar on a rope whose sheath slips, it's terrifying. Also, your cutting of the slipped sheath will result in a rope with compromised ability to stretch. The rope's quality in terms of catching a leader fall is lower afterwards, IMO. Point that out to Maxim, and ask for a replacement rope that isn't "normal". joekania: If your friend rapped with a figure eight, or used an ATC (or similar device) that wasn't centered on his/her locking biner, the rope will twist, new or old. Rapping a rope with a well-centered sticht plate, or ATC, will straighten it out.