Mike_Gauthier

You otter know there is nothing fancy about that question. Where is the Jiggler?

Good thing I have short (very little) hair. I wonder if there are any otters in the Bayou? I bet the gators keep them at bay.

Can you believe it?

I'd wait a while before making digit predictions... Chris is very hopeful and in excellent condition/spirits. What a great weekend, went to Muir on Sunday. At least one team of 3 made the summit via the Ingraham Glacier. A few others were considering it on Monday. Hopefully someone will post some info. There were nearly 75 (maybe more) skiers/boarders/snow-shoers on Sunday enjoying the perfect boot track to Muir. The snow was "OK", a bit firm, and some rocks were definitely exposed between McClure Rock and Pan Point. I'm curious to hear how the guys attempting Little T did... Hope you post. Nice to see so many backcountry users in the park on such a great weather weekend. As stated, this is the winter to climb Rainier.

Thanks for the report!

Wildlife biologist and park ranger Karsten Heuer hiked, paddled, and skied 2100 miles from Yellowstone to the Yukon to test a dream against reality: Could established parks be linked by wildlife corridors, allowing animals to move from one "island" to another? How intact was the landscape? More importantly, would people who lived and worked in the area embrace the idea? Karsten Heuer, author of "Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bears' Trail," will present a slide show in Seattle. This is an adventure story--but it's also about ground testing a bold conservation idea. Wednesday, February 23 7:00 p.m. Kane Hall, University of Washington Slide show presentation followed by Q&A and book signing Free!! Hosts: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and University Bookstore "Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bear's Trail" is Heuer's account of what he experienced during his remarkable journey. The lessons of wildlife biology are balanced by stories of the trail, stories of beauty and awe but also of avalanches, raging rivers, and grizzly bears. The rigors of the trail doom one romantic relationship for Heuer, but rekindle another. Along the way, Heuer learns how to explain himself and the Yellowstone to the Yukon ("Y2Y") Conservation Initiative to wary audiences of ranchers, loggers, and others with a stake in the land. Y2Y is not a plan to eliminate roads or impose "superparks." It's a different vision, one that emphasizes both economic and environmental sustainability and, above all, local control. Karsten's name may be familiar to those who attended the Environmental Film Festival in Seattle. Karsten and his wife Leanne Allison envisioned and produced the dramatic film, "Being Caribou." Their epic five-month journey follows the caribou migration across the rugged Arctic tundra, showcasing the herd's delicate habitat and the devastation it would face if proposed oil and gas development is allowed in the herd's calving grounds in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

I did some research regarding road openings this past weekend when the weather was exactly as you describe; this is what I found. On Friday Feb 18th, the road opened at 6:51 AM On Saturday Feb 19th, the road opened at 7:15 AM On Sunday Feb 20th, the road opened at 6:37 AM There was no entry for Monday the 21st, however the person I spoke with said that the road opened at roughly the same time. The road opened at 6:50 AM today.

Let me see what I can find Alex. It may take a while, but I'll ask around.

This is the winter to climb Mount Rainier. I've been getting route condition questions but don't have any specific information. The Kautz, Fuhrer Finger, Gib Ledges and Emmons looked great last week, but that was from the air. Those climbers who generally find Rainier to be a slog, may now find it to be more technical, difficult and interesting, as there is a lot more ice on most of the routes. The recent incident involving Ptarmigan Ridge is an excellent case. That route, normally a grade III/IV, is definitely a grade 5. Very icy from the onset, and a lot more challenging. If you're looking for some tough winter alpine climbing, Ptarmigan Ridge, Success Cleaver, or Tahoma Cleaver may be your routes. As a reminder: The weather looks great for climbing this weekend, There is self registration on the front porch of the Paradise Old Station, The public hut and outhouse at Camp Muir are accessible, The road to Paradise has been opening rather early each day. If visiting the mountain this weekend, have a great climb. I’d be very interested in any route reports.

I don't know of any "properties" sold off? In fact, the number of NPS units has increased. I know that 9/11 was hard on travel, and therefore NPS recreational visits.

Recreation visitor stats to NPS areas from 1916 to present. This includes the addition of new areas. See attached if interested. 438944-NPS2004Stats.doc

A trip to the Olympics sounds awfully suspicious. Is Ted of Talkeetna aware of this Mr "mtnmouse?" And aren't you from Anatone WA??

For everyone interested in the Nisqually routes, see attached photo.

Here is an image taken during the SAR. Note descent tracks from center of image, to lower right. I'm having a hard time inserting the image in this post, as the file is too big and I don't have a photo program to downsize... Perhaps someone can help?

FYI, Recent rescue. Note descent route and conditions, BURLY! I'll try to post an image of the upper Nisqually Basin taken yesterday after the SAR. Off-duty Rainier guides rescued CRAIG HILL; The News Tribune Last updated: February 8th, 2005 06:44 AM Two climbers were rescued from the upper slopes of Mount Rainier on Monday after nasty weather turned a planned two-day climb of the 14,411-foot mountain into a six-day ordeal. Chris Bamer, 25, is being treated for frostbite on 18 of his fingers and toes at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center after being plucked from the mountain by an Oregon National Guard helicopter Monday morning. His partner, Rob Montague, 28, of Olympia, was not injured and hiked off the mountain with rescuers Monday afternoon. Bamer will spend two more days at Harborview while doctors determine if any of his digits must be amputated. “In his own words, he has serious problems with 18 (fingers and toes), particularly his left hand,” said Mike Gauthier, Mount Rainier National Park’s lead climbing ranger. “But he doesn’t think he’s going to lose any of them.” Rescuers reported that the tips of some of Bamer’s fingers and toes turned black. The outcome could have been much worse for both men, Gauthier said. “These guys had a full-on epic,” Gauthier said. “They are fortunate to be alive.” Bamer and Montague are both first-year climbing guides for Ashford-based Rainier Mountaineering Inc. and were making an off-duty ascent. “They do not have the experience of our older climbers,” said Alex Van Steen, one of RMI’s most experienced guides. “But they are both great climbers.” Gauthier said both men have “a great deal of mountain fortitude,” which is what got them in trouble before it saved their lives. Bamer and Montague started climbing the difficult Ptarmigan Ridge route Feb. 1, planning to finish their trip in two days. Ptarmigan Ridge is a steep route on the mountain’s northwest slopes that should only be attempted by experienced climbers. It’s a harder climb than the Liberty Ridge route where four climbers died this summer, Gauthier said. “And it’s rarely done in the winter,” Gauthier said. Fewer than 200 of the 10,000 people who climb Rainier each year attempt the summit via any route in the winter. The climbers’ ascent was delayed by hard, icy slopes that required them to belay each other on more than 20 steep pitches. The men told Gauthier on Monday night that they regretted not turning back when they realized the climb was going to be considerably more demanding than they expected. When they did not return home by Friday, they were reported missing. Bamer made radio contact with the National Park Service Saturday and said they were still on route, but that he was suffering from frostbite. They reached the summit Saturday, but were unable to descend because of whiteout conditions. They were forced to camp on the summit between Liberty Cap and Columbia Crest. They attempted to descend via the Gibraltar Ledges with radio guidance from Gauthier on Sunday morning, but bad weather limited visibility and knocked them off course. “Conditions were so bad they couldn’t see anything,” Gauthier said. “It was done by Braille, so to speak.” At one point, Montague had to leap off a small cliff. He landed and was buried up to his head in snow. During a post-rescue helicopter flight, Gauthier found the men’s tracks and discovered they had descended Nisqually Cleaver, a much more difficult route than the Gibraltar Ledges. The route took them into dangerous avalanche territory. “They heard avalanches around them, and avalanches covered some of their tracks,” Gauthier said. Bamer and Montague spent Sunday trudging through chest-deep snow before encountering the rescue party of climbing ranger Stoney Richards, former rangers Chad and Lara Kellogg and RMI guides John Lucia and Paul Maier. “There was a unique angle of stress because climbing rangers and guides all know each other to some degree,” Gauthier said. “We weren’t going after unnamed climbers.” The climbers and rescuers spent Sunday night at Camp Muir at 10,188 feet on the southeast slope of the mountain. “Less-experienced climbers might not have survived,” Gauthier said. “They were very fortunate.” Craig Hill: 253-597-8497

Sobo, Joe hasn't worked here in quite a while, but you are correct, he did spend a LOT of time in the AK range last summer. I suspect that you'll be seeing his name QUITE a bit in the upcoming months, as he has some VERY cool projects in the works... ; ) Stefan, The number of general park visitors have also been decreasing, and there has been no fee increase at the gate. Park visitation has slowly dropped for a while, but particularly after 9/11. I've checked around, and the numbers are also dropping at other big mountain areas that did NOT see a fee increase. Denali raised their fee to $200 this season; so we'll see if a $50 fee increase has any large affect there. Also, we saw an increase in climbers when the fee was first introduced (from 0-$15); a $15 increase didn't seem deter climbers then. Some climbers may not visit (register?) b/c of the fee, but it's very important to note that the high years were probably a result of the increased hype around mountaineering that the entire sport experienced in the late 90's. The numbers we are seeing now are similar to the numbers we saw through the early to mid 90's. I also think that the increased attention around the accidents/rescues/fatalities deterred some climbing teams. People did call to cancel trips, feeling that 2004 was a bad year. Personally, I like climbers, and hope that more come to visit the park. Yes, the size of the climbing staff would probably fluctuate if 20,000 climbers showed up. We are subject to market forces too.

Ditto, Nick. I was curious about the same thing. I have been watching the Nisqually routes all winter. Went to climb the Nisqually Cleaver a few weeks, and found that snowpack on the upper mountain is also quite lite. Access to this route involved a lot of rock work (personall I'm into the Rainier rock). In normal years, there is nice ramp to gain the cleaver. The upper route looked good however. It is possible to "thread" a line up the Nisqually Glacier, but you'll definitely be exposed to NUMEROUS crevasse and icefall issues. I'm not saying the routes can't be done, but they are far more burly than normal. I'd give both routes a little more time to fill in...

See attached link for 2004 Mount Rainier Mountaineering Summary. http://www.nps.gov/mora/climb/Climb04.htm I'll post the 2004 Mountaineering Accident Reports with analysis when done.

I'll add material to the condition report when more information comes in. The weather looks "reasonable" this weekend!! I suspect that a handful of climbers will be on the hill. Hopefully folks will post reports, or I'll connect with people in person. A reminder, check and monitor the avalanche conditions. This winter has been a cycle of storms and clear periods. Additionally, there has been quite a bit of new snow over the past week. That said, the skiing/boarding around Paradise has been absolutely excellent. I've also been wondering about the ice climbing; I'll check on the typical locations this weekend. I have a feeling that they're in...

Point taken! Thanks, I'll look into this.

To be clear, we are discussing two completely different issues, climber registration and road opening policies. I do not oversee the road patrol or road crew operations, I am merely trying to help, but I want to be clear, that's not my job, authority, or responsibility. Usually, the road DOES open earlier when there is no snow. Patrol rangers come to duty and opening the road is generally their priority (some days 7 AM, sometimes 9 AM depending on days of the week and shifts). The road crew starts plowing quite early, but they wont open the road until a patrol ranger is on. Again, this is for a variety of safety related reasons, and I believe they are needed. There aren't enough rangers to consistently "double shift." What I mean is the bulk of the traffic actually comes in later and stays later. Rangers need to cover the closing of the road and the ending of a shift; and of course there is more to work than just opening and closing the gate...LOTS MORE! It's a tough answer, but there just aren't enough resources to open things up as much as we'd all like. Please consider that these issues are more complicated than they first appear. I've found that for every good idea, there is a good chance someone has an argument to do things differently. Jockeying for funds is always competitive, and there are a LOT of very important projects the NPS is engaged in. I always recommend that you tack an extra day (or 2) to your winter trips. As for a promotion Dan, nope... I was on a work detail.

I won’t spell check you; I rely on spell check myself. The contractors had to redesign the inside of the hut b/c they needed to put the historically accurate door (on the South side) back in. During the summer, the two doors and roof vents greatly increase ventilation. This new door demanded a change to the interior, which in turn decreased some of the sleeping space. The inside, however, is much more orderly and there are better places to prep gear and cook. As noted, it’s still a struggle to keep things venting in the winter. I feared that those vent tubes wouldn’t work with the snow/ice. Venting has long been a problem, particularly in the winter when no one will cook outside. Keeping the door cracked is the best you can probably do. Thanks for the feedback. Oh yeah, the Nisqually Icefall is a great winter route, highly recommended!

I’m definitely not the gate authority, but I have to deal with the gate just like everyone else. In fact EVERYONE who works are Rainier deals with the gate when recreating... I hear what you’re saying about round trip Muir time, but that doesn’t change those operational constraints I've referenced. A point of clarification, the gate closes to UPHILL traffic at 4:30; the down hill gate closes 90 minutes later (6 PM.) Keep in mind that the gate times slowly push back as the days get longer. So in Feb, the uphill gate may close at 5:30, the downhill gate at 7 PM. If you get locked behind the gate, you get a million dollar fine and are required the help clean the bathrooms at Camp Muir. Actually, the rangers leave a combo for the lock on your vehicle at Paradise. The combo will get you out from behind the gate at Longmire. And so everyone knows, the combo is changed very frequently. To be very clear, there ISN'T a million dollar fine and we wont make you clean the Camp Muir Bathroom.

Matt It's mostly snow. Late in the summer, the route is all rock. The snow can get quite hard, and there are short sections of forzen ice (where the snow melts and refreezes). The route is southern exposed, so it gets soft fast. I brought one ice tool and one mountianeering ax.