Rich

Mount Rainier. Second try, first summit. Rich

Trail up Adam's is marked well on the south side. As the trail begins to fade or on snow look for cairns which mark the way. I doubt the road to Cold Springs is open yet. Probably will be mid July, check with rangers. Rich

Yes I know this will probably result in a bash RMI thread, but I know there are those out there considering signing on with a guide service. It’s late but here goes. I went up June 3 – 7 for the Muir seminar. Took the seminar to gain some knowledge and experience to take with me on future climbs. Getting to the top wasn’t my primary goal which is good as we didn’t make it. The guides showed us a lot, but we didn’t get much time to practice. For instance we only spent half a day practicing crevasse rescue. But it’s all good as I can add that experience to book knowledge and feel good about going up with friends and practicing. I know that is how most of you learned in the first place, but I don’t have any good climbing friends. I’m looking to go up again with some guys in late July. I don’t know them, just had a couple of phone conversations with them, we were put in contact by a mutual friend. I don’t think I would feel comfortable with going with them without RMI and I’m not sure they would take me in the first place. RMI improved my crampon technique, showed me how to build anchor systems and rappelling. They also taught rope travel, traveling on fixed rope and with running belays. All of the guides were great, had a lot of knowledge. They were good about visiting the hut each evening and just letting us pick their brains. I picked up a lot of little tips and ideas on everything from eating & packing to keeping warm. On summit day we reached about 12,400 ft when we were alerted that a rope team of 3 that was just behind my rope team had fallen into a crevasse. This was the couple that was going to get married on the summit and their guide. We descended to the scene and watched the guides in action as they did what they had taught for real. We then downclimbed to Ingraham flats where we collapsed and buried a tent to prepare for the Chinook. The tent belonged to the two climbers who were later found dead that day. Some things I took from the experience was first, a respect for the mountain. Secondly was the importance of knowing the skills of those on your rope. While on a traverse behind the top of Cathedral Rocks, the second on the rope fell. The third also peeled off. Rob, the guide, was leading and arrested as did I, bringing up the rear. The second in quit at the Flats. On the headwall the third guy wanted to quit, he was skittish about the wind and slope and worried about falling. Lastly I got far enough to know that I can do it and am confident enough in my skill level to hook up with some guys. I think it was money well spent and am looking forward to July and getting up that thing. Rich

They need to get the Libery Ridge out of "50 Classic Climbs". Too many yahoos totally underestimate that climb. Sounds like he just got hit in the head by falling rock, how does this make him a "yahoo"? It's a risk we try to minimize but we all take it. Rich

Get a goretex repair kit and patch it. One year later my patch doesn't look perfect, the edges are curling, but repair is holding. Rich

Thanks Michael for the good info. I have experience from both sides of the fence on this issue. Sounds like things have changed since the early eighties, particularly pay. For inmates, work for an outside company was the hit. Most prison jobs at McNeil Island in the early eighties payed between 25 to 50 cents an hour. A company job payed up to around $1.50 an hour. If you got a major infraction you lost the job. The hardcore inmates weren't interested in working, they just want to lift all day. Guys working these jobs will eventually be released. The move sounds like a sound business move. They may have been able to save even more money by shipping the jobs out of the country. Would that be a better alternative? Rich

Beefcider, You had said that you were grilling the guides weekly. Do you know who your guides are? Did you just call down there to find out? Rich

I'm signed up with RMI in June also for the longer class. I've done Adams several times and have a group of friends who have offered to take me with them on Rainier. My main reason for choosing RMI over friends for Rainier is that I don't want to do something stupid that injures someone else. I'd also like to have some degree of confidence in myself in a situation such as a crevasse rescue. I have some book knowledge, now I'd like to actually do the basics. Then with some practice with friends, I hope to continue climbing unguided.I've read the various posts about RMI and have seen the cattle drive myself in a few trips to Muir. I'm willing to put up with it in hopes of gaining some basic skills that I can then use and improve on. Also while I do have most of the equipment I need there are a few things left to aquire which I hope to get a better understanding of which features I really want. Rich

Wrench, If you're serious about the plastic boots check out www.barrabes.com. Save big money over REI or anyone else. I've been waiting to get a new pack. Got my small dividend and large credit card rebate. Rich

You did the crime, pay the fine. Rich

Broke my wrist last w/e and now have a cast to the base of the fingers and partially on the thumb. None of my gloves will go on except an oversized shell. Planning on wrapping fingers with gauze if needed. Any other ideas. Rich

I am planning on taking my brother up Mount Adams this summer. He has retinitis pigmentosa, he is legally blind. If the sun is very bright he can see somewhat but has no periphial vision whatsoever, and cannot see after dusk at all. I am not an experienced climber, but have done Adams 3 times. We're doing the south climb, basically a walk up. I plan on being sure he uses trekking poles for the approach and staying close to him to warn him of dangers and possibly stop a fall. We will take 3 days instead of 2 to try to avoid dusk. Any other suggestions to help ensure his safety or other things to think about? Rich