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What's most unfortunate is how this issue has become hopelessly politicized by both sides. There was a time when someone's credentials meant something and experts were taken seriously. Now thanks to meddling by politicians, pundits, activists, and special interests, no one is respected or taken seriously regardless of their expertise. We're just left with a bunch of blowhards with political agendas pointing to isolated weather events as "proof" that global warming is/is not real. We've reduced this to a high school level debate over pollution limits versus the rights of industry to maintain profits. Are these mutually exclusive? BTW, the Emmons, and I believe, the Carbon, are both advancing last I heard. It's believed that the cause is indeed the rock debris insulating the glacier.

It seems to me that on-site leading at this level of climbing has been made possible precisely because of rehearsing and practicing at even higher levels. You may be correct in stating that the above climber is not really a 5.13 climber if it takes them weeks or months to redpoint a .13; however, I would suspect that their efforts at this level is exactly why such a climber will walk up to almost any 5.12 and flash it onsight, exactly in the pure style you advocate. Which is to say, rehearsing and soforth has helped bring onsight grades way up from what they once were, or at least, brought them up much faster than they would have otherwise risen. And with these rising onsight standards, it's no accident that alpine style, and speed, in the mountains has evolved accordingly. Traditions are great, until stubborn adherence to them causes them to stifle progress. Roll with it.

OTH, What camera are you shooting with on all these trips? The sharpness and color of your images is outstanding. Excellent effort on your climb as well.

Hey John, When Joe and I did it in 1998, the rockfall had already happened, probably within a few months prior to our ascent. The approach ramps were covered in tons of loose, shattered debris. Lunger's description sounds a lot like what we did: I recall the opening corner with a rightward undercling flake leading to an endless, splitter hand crack. Near the top, this crack continued above and appeared to get wider and became a flake/pillar as it topped out. We weren't sure that finishing on this was the right way so we did a short traverse out left, which led around a corner into the massive rock scar, which had much lighter colored, pinkish rock. We belayed on an small, leaning, exposed, debris covered ledge. The final pitch was a 10 foot traverse left into a very steep crack which appears to be the same one which bobbyperu is climbing. That crack was about 40 feet and led to the pillar's top and easier ground, and was definitely the crux of the route. So I'm confused, is this the original way or a variation to it? We sort of were under the impression the original last pitch had fallen off and the steep crack we climbed was something revealed by the rockfall. It does also sound like continuing up the main crack system offers another way out.

Most people I know who work or once worked for the park were there simply for the love of the park and the opportunity to work in it. The internal politics of the NPS however are enough to exasperate anyone. I left before I could get too wrapped up in it. As for the flood, well- my own view is that it was worth the months of total closure while park engineers developed a better solution that prevented further and unnecessary destruction of what I think we'd both agree is one of the park's finest forests, one which had already seen tremendous natural damage. Indeed this prolonged closure was not good for local business, or for general access, but like you said, this flood was an extraordinary contingency. Granted this is my personal aesthetic speaking, but in times like this we should simply ramp up our patience and prepare ahead of time, because, being that it's the mountains, it will happen again. As well, those with a monetary stake in the road's open/closed status should also recognize the vulnerability they have being so reliant on the mountain to not, well, be a mountain, and they should also have their own contingency plan for such acts of nature (just as anyone should be prepared if they suddenly become unemployed). Not being unsympathetic- it's terrible for them- but just being realistic. The type of employees you speak of may well exist, but I truly believe that most of the superintendents and administrators are prone towards diplomatic, reasonable decisions that steer the middle ground between the extreme views that pressure them from both sides on a constant basis. Siding with wildly unpopular special interests is not going to help their career very much either. I do know Steve Klump (the guy in the article) and I'm pretty sure he's no activist, he's just a nice guy who cares about the park resource and told his bosses he felt they were making a mistake-and in fact it sounds as though the stringent review processes you yourself mentioned were possibly bypassed by the park's top brass in favor of a politically (local) popular decision to open the park as fast as possible regardless of the damage that would be required to make it so. I still think that the biggest threat to our parks going- not only to the resource, but to the cost and breadth of public access, and to the overall aesthetic experience in the parks- is the gradual bankrupting of the park system over the past several decades by elements in Washington DC who would like to see the park operations, maintenance, interpretation, all of it- taken over by private interests, whose chief concern will be not with the park, or with the public's wishes, but with making money. I'm not opposed to private enterprise in principle, but I firmly believe that the stewardship of our national parks and its heritage is or should be as much the responsibility of- flawed as it is- our federal government, as say, national defense, for example. However much you or anyone mistrusts the integrity of government, there at least remains an avenue for public input and recourse in relation to public lands, that I think becomes very watered down and insulated when we sell off our public lands to private interests. Climbing fees and the like are only one unfortunate byproduct of this fiscal strangulation of the parks. The neglect of the parks system is a national travesty.

OTH, You're on the grand tour, man. As a kid, I used to walk by all these peaks on family backpacking trips and dream about climbing them someday. My summer trips since have never ventured far outside Tuolumne, though. Your reports are motivating me to change that! Cheers

Fairweather, apart from muzzling the personal views of park employees and discriminating for government employment based on the applicant's socio-political views, I would hope that you don't also propose this purge as a first step towards removing all oversight of NPS policy as related to environmental issues. While I don't know a thing about PEER, given your intense mistrust and dislike of the government, I would otherwise assume you would applaud an effort to hold the government accountable; or is accountability not so important when it comes to protecting the park resource measured against keeping the road open at all costs and keeping money flowing? I'm not trivializing the latter issues but I am saying that both have to be considered with equal weight. Government agencies shouldn't be given absolute trust with anything- including protection of the resource. Pulling a page from your own book, I'd also ask if you would suggest that any park staff who own businesses in Ashford or surrounding communities, or who hold membership or stake in any pro-development lobbies, be terminated as well, for similar reasons of conflict of interest in unfairly influencing park policy from within?

Overall trends speak louder and more accurately than extreme events on either end of the spectrum.

Thanks for the beautiful photos and trip reports from the Sierras. Please keep it up!

I used the new prototype Vipers in Alaska this season. I like the head weight distribution and swing of the new Viper better than the old Viper. The new integrated fang is nice since there is a hole in the spike for clipping in spring leashes on alpine routes. The 'strike' is bigger than the old clamp-on one and therefore much more useful. In short, I think these tools are GREAT and I recommend them highly.

Why do you think Colin stayed on the mountain for another week?

Trip: Denali - Denali Diamond Date: 6/19/2007 Trip Report: At Colin's and others' request, I'm posting as a trip report an email I already sent out to friends, with a few additional photos added. Enjoy. -MW We flew to Kahiltna base camp on June 2nd and over the next several days ascended the west buttress of Denali to the 14,300 foot basin. We arrived here with 3 days of food. We would leave 10 days later with at least 4 times that amount. On our 9th day on the mountain, we went from 14 to the summit on a nice day… joined by over 100 other folks who had camped up at 17,000'! Here's the fixed lines two days earlier: Although it was a surreal experience, it was actually the first time I had ever summitted Denali by this route, and I have to say I enjoyed it plenty despite the crowds. As always, Colin enjoyed himself too: Two days later, Colin joined the extreme ski team and climbed the upper West Rib to the summit and skied the Orient Express in his mountaineering boots and miniature skis, while I gave an exertion cough I had developed some opportunity to recover. In ensuing days, the ski team went on to ski the Messner, Rescue, Orient, and numerous other steep chutes on both the north and south peaks of the mountain, taking advantage of some of the best ski conditions in many years on these features. A stretch of mostly good weather during this week also allowed our friends John (Jedi) and Evan to climb the Cassin Ridge in 3 days after they took a chance on an ambiguous forecast that yielded bomber high mountain weather. Their successes were contagious and fired us up. On the evening of the 16th, we descended to our "basecamp" at 7,800' at the junction of the northeast fork, and the following evening left this camp for our planned route: the Denali Diamond, a 3500' granite wall left of the Cassin Ridge. The route then continues up an additional 4500 feet of steep snow terrain alongside, then on, the upper Cassin Ridge. We made rapid progress up the northeast fork despite unfrozen snow conditions and reached the bivouac crevasse at the foot of the Cassin Ridge in 5 ½ hours from 7,800'. We spent the day resting as light snow fell and visibility remained limited, but a forecast for 2, possibly 3 days of sunny skies and high pressure kept us optimistic. At midnight that night, the clouds evaporated and we began climbing. We simul climbed a half dozen easy pitches of snow and ice to where the wall steepened. I then led several easy to moderate mixed pitches with some simul climbing. The route unfolded beautifully, with astounding rock quality and well iced chimneys and grooves that provided continuously stellar climbing. Colin led a block of pitches up some wonderful mixed terrain that brought us to the "Diamond", an enormous block that dominates the wall. I then led a very steep squeeze chimney filled with ice, followed by a difficult mixed pitch. Soon we found ourselves entering the final crux corner system that leads to the snowfields hanging above. Colin led two very steep waterfall pitches (5+) which held sustained and continuous 90 degree sections. I thought these quite reminiscent in terms of difficulty and quality to the "Shaft" on the Moonflower of Mt. Hunter. The first of these leaned left and actually overhung in places, requiring some delicate and technical stemming: The second pitch began with a short but technical M6 mixed step, followed by relentlessly vertical but excellent ice. As with everything we had climbed to this point, the protection and rock quality was absolutely superb, allowing us to focus entirely on the climbing, and maximizing our enjoyment. A short ramble above the second step led us to the infamous crux pitch. To the right, the FA party's notorious 25 foot, A3 roof loomed. This looked very intimidating. Just left of this was an even worse looking chimney (unclimbed): Just a bit further to the left, the main corner continued above as a 40 meter, vertical, inside corner, with no ice. This pitch, climbed by the 2nd and 3rd ascent parties, had never been freed, but was estimated at M7. The plentiful cracks assured us that it would go one way or another, but at this point in the day (15 hours) our primary goal was simply getting the rope up there. We brewed up some water as the afternoon sun began to blaze upon us- our timing was working out as hoped, climbing the hardest part in the warm sun. Colin started up and the climbing proved quite hard. After 20 meters of mixed free and aid, he belayed, to recover some pieces that would be needed above. I belayed from a fully hanging stance while Colin worked out more mixed free and aid climbing to another belay 30 meters higher. Following with both packs was a major pumpfest. Above, instead of the easy terrain we were now hoping for, we were treated to 2 more pitches of M5-ish climbing in icy, awkward chimneys, before we abruptly exited into the massive snowfield paralleling the upper Cassin Ridge, at about 16,000'. It was 9 PM, hour 21 since leaving the base. Although the Alaska Range was surrounded on all sides by enormous thunderheads, the weather up here was beautiful and windless, a perfect day to be on this huge face. Finding only hard ice and thin snowcover, we were forced to climb another 600 feet to find snow deep enough to obtain a tent ledge without having to chop into ice. Both of us were now very dehydrated and therefore pretty much knackered; as such, this last section of "easy" climbing was, for me at least, the mental crux of the whole climb, and I had to dig deep. Once settled in the tent we could begin repairing the deficit we'd put ourselves in, brewing up much water and eating a good meal. We then slept soundly in Colin's custom 2 person sleeping bag; between this bag and the BD firstlight tent, our bivi setup weighed almost nothing yet allowed us enough comfort to get a good rest. Day 2 was bright and sunny, so we slept in and did not begin climbing until 2 PM. This day was like a whole different climb: all snow climbing, and at altitude. We broke trail in variable snow conditions for over 3 hours before finally joining the Cassin around 17,500'. Anticipating a cold, late evening summit, we stopped at 19,000' to brew up in the evening sun and prevent a repeat of the previous day's dehydration. Smoke from lightning caused fires began to infiltrate the mountains, but otherwise it was relatively warm and beautiful. At 9:45 PM we stood alone on the summit in a cold stiff wind, happy it was now all downhill from here. Our time on the 8000 foot face was 45 hrs, 40 minutes, and this was the route's 5th ascent. At just after midnight we reached the tent and food we'd left behind at 14,000 on the west buttress. The weather shut down the following afternoon. I love it when the timing is this perfect. We remained on the mountain for another week: me at Kahiltna basecamp with Lisa, Colin at 14,000 in hopes of some further climbing; but, the weather would not allow it. On the positive side, with the right connections, Mountain High Pizza Pie delivers to basecamp in 90 minutes or less: Gear Notes: Standard alpine rack to 3", 6 screws (mostly 13's), handful of pins of all types, lots of slings, a light pack, and a good weather forecast. Approach Notes: The Northeast fork of the Kahiltna is always a heads-up experience, but don't let rangers or British climbers tell you it's near-impossible. Go look for yourself, move fast, and use common sense.

The thought of crowds heading here demands a friendly heads-up: Ride the Lightning is relatively cleaned up since it's creation, but there are other adjacent routes on the wall that are not as clean. The wall is high enough and the rock loose enough to warrant a high degree of caution if any parties are on the wall above you. Take heed, be observant, and wear a helmet.

I remember reading this one in the "Overheard" section of Climbing a few years back. Jim Donini was hangdogging a 5.11 route in Eldorado when a 15 year old kid walked by and noticed him hanging on the rope. 15 y.o, to Donini: "I just onsighted that route the other day" Donini: "That's great kid, you should try alpine climbing, you'd love it!"

Hey Ducknut, One more thing- if you harbor a secret desire for a 1980's era Chevy Caprice, Buick Skylark, Dodge Aries-K, Pontiac Grand Prix, or Chrysler Cordoba...welcome to Alaska! You'll find a virtually unlimited supply to choose from up here. Some even come with all the quarter panels and bumpers still attached!

Ok I admit, it's been probably 6-8 years since I was there. The times I went there it had about as much "frontier" atmosphere as a bar in Seattle's U-Village does today (but with plenty of attendant weirdos to distinguish it). I've been out of the loop...I guess Bernies stole all the customers from Humpy's, then? On an even funnier note, did you notice that Fantasies on 5th changed their sign a year or so ago? The cartoon 70's-era skank got an upgraded look- her hair looks more modern, like, 1984!

Eagle River et.al...well let's also remember that the Alaskan version of 'style' bears examples in things like...covering the Tyvek on 3 sides of your house instead of zero...etc. As for Jesus freaks, Eagle River has nothing on Glennallen or Paxson. Re: the women. The ladies used to say "odds are good but the goods are odd". That's still true in rural areas and the latter is true everywhere, but Anchorage has a positive ratio of F:M these days. 'Koots: Used to be a place to sit with your back to the wall, both to protect yourself and to have a good view of the inevitable late night knife fight, or so I'm told. Today, it's full of frat boy and sorority girl lookalikes who go there to vicariously pretend they're hardcore "sourdoughs" hanging out at a "real" Alaskan tough-guy tavern. Except the nightly event is more likely to be a wet t shirt contest sponsored by the local hip hop station and emceed by it's dj's. Yeehaw!

Well, on the positive side: XC ski trails right in town and along the waterfront (Tony Knowles coastal trail) for after work cardio. Ice climbing in Eklutna, Seward Highway, and Portage an hour or so from city center (admittedly, much of it is not that interesting compared to, say, the Rockies...but still a lot better than any NW day options most times). Potentially good lift skiing at Alyeska an hour away. Endless backcountry ski options 20 minutes out of town. The darkness in dead of winter is an issue, but you learn to make the most of your daylight. A mild climate by Alaska standards, being next to the water. Beautiful scenery and clean air. The worst traffic is usually like a weekend day in Seattle. Alpine climbing possibilities between the Chugach, Talkeetna, and Alaska Ranges are endless. Lots of cool glacier traverses and things to do over weekends. Sea kayaking in Whittier/Prince William Sound, 90 minutes away- about as good as sea kayaking gets if the weather cooperates. Great hiking/fishing in the Kenai 2 hours away. Downsides: The city itself largely has a dumpy, 70's feel to it. Rock cragging here, and in most of Alaska, pretty much sucks...the few dry summer days you do get. If you have the money and don't mind a bit of a commute, check out Eagle River (kinda the "Bellevue/Kirkland" of Anchorage...) or Chugiak. In Anchorage, the upper hillsides above Rabbit Creek and DeArmoun Road are the places to live if you can afford it. I don't know much about prices. Avoid the Spenard neighborhood unless you like hookers, street drunks, drug dealings, and shootings.

Tuolumne Meadows/High Sierras. Wx is a a sure bet.

Thanks Clint! If I may add to this, the problem with the landings in the Ruth is not the snow depth or the crevasses, it is that there has basically been a full month of very strong winds, with no precipitation, and the glacier surfaces have become very hardpacked and bumpy. There was an enormous amount of snowfall in the Alaska Range between July and November last summer/fall, particularly above 6000 feet- in excess of 25 feet according to one estimate- so I'm confident the snowpack is deep on the glaciers, just very windpacked. For the past month, Alaska has been gripped by a strong and persistent arctic air mass. Paul from TAT says daytime temps in the Ruth are steady at -10 to -20 F during the day!!! Presumably, much much colder at night. From the NOAA website, check out this interesting info: The same pretty much goes throughout central/southcentral Alaska. Anchorage has had well below normal temps every single day in this period. Talkeetna's warmest low temp in the period is +7F!! Brr. In any case...it's still winter, and things can change quickly. One 10 foot dump and it's a new day.

Invention is always fun while cragging, but as soon as the going gets too rough, I like to invoke this magic phrase: "if I was in the mountains, I'd use it!"

You and Jed started your own candy company??? How nice. When you have a chance, I would like an autographed gift basket of Almond Roca. And your dirty socks from FitzRoy.

That's cause most everyone in Alaska is related. At least, that's true in Wasilla...

Some great info and responses on here, thanks to all. In the end it doesn't seem there is one camera that will do it all, at least, not all the ideal features I would prefer. So have to consider which one's are expendable and which are must haves. Two of the must haves I do think are a wide, quality lens, and EV compensation. Thanks again for the advice, everybody.

I'm in search of a used, roomy 2 man or smallish 3 man tent, something designed to withstand high winds and snow loads (i.e Alaska, Himalaya type weather). NF VE-25, Oval 25, Mountain 25, etc, and MH Trango 2 or Trango 3 are examples of particular models that typify what I am looking for. Thanks in advance.