dkemp

I suspect you wont hear from many 'cause not many have been in there. I went to Roger Robinson's slide presentation a couple months ago - he went on and on about the Tokosha area. He said the Tokoshas will go years with no traffic at all. Lots of unclimbed peaks, if you like that sort of thing, and the pics he showed were of some stupendous terrain. His slideshow was all about getting people off the West Buttress and showing alternatives. Great show - I wonder if he does it every year. Anyway, call Roger if you havent already - he'll get you very excited.-Dox

Went to Staircase this weekend - this probably doesnt help you a lot but for what its worth - http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/web10.pl?FreshReports+tr+df+20020324-6978193+time+trails+ BTW, I think going to flapjack lakes would be a fine conditioner. I also wish to go to Black & White Lakes and, since I enjoy having an actual destination, perhaps snowshoe climb Mt Gladys. Have fun,-Dox

Here's to Stetattle Creek!

We enjoyed Stetattle Creek so much we spent an extra night there. A girlfriend of one person in our party called the sheriff (jeez!) and the rangers were at the cars when we arrived next morning. They couldnt believe we had come out that way - asked us twice - "so, you came out Stetattle Creek?"

Torrent Creek is correct, thx. (freudian mistake?) -Dox

Comin' off Sourdough Ridge near Elephant Butte, alongside then crossing Torment Creek, and out via Stetattle Creek - strenuous and unpleasant.

Was planning on Ruby or Sourdough this weekend, glad I called first. NCNP told me yesterday the road is closed at Newhalem due to ava hazard - might or might not be open by weekend. -Dox

I've done a bit of glacier study also and have no indication that crevasses are narrower in winter - just covered over. As you know, the term we hear in early summer "crevasses are opening up" is technically misleading, but who cares - we know what it means. Surprised to hear about cracks on Silver Star Glacier - I thought it was stagnant. Was surprised at the number of significant cracks on Ruth Mtn last September too. I know its a popular teleski in early summer, probably okay, but there are cracks.

Anyone tried Copper Mtn this time of year? -Dox

Just kickin' around an idea for early July. I love loops so... I thought it might work to hike in to Rainbow Lake, down into upper South Fork Bridge Creek, up north slopes of McGregor to Sandalee Gl, up Sandalee Gl to McGregor summit, down the trail and back to Stehekin. Camps at Rainbow Lk and Heaton. The Red Fred says nothing about the Sandalee Glacier. Any info on such a route? -Dox

Thanky kindly. North Ridge - you bet. And since we'll have 12 days of perfect weather we also plan to hike up the Muldrow to Gunsight Pass and hike the first little bump up Pioneer Ridge, Point 9240 - should provide some nice views! -Dox

(heavy sigh) Stick - check. Headnets - check. sit in the rain for a week - um, check. go home frustrated - er, check.

My pals and I are heading for Mt Brooks in June. Anybody crossed that McKinley River? I expect it to be the crux of the climb... -Dox

Yeah - Yay! Alaska's my favorite! -Dox

dude at the coffeeshop I frequent is a filmmaker. He knows I climb and so mentioned to me that his filmmaker buddies are now ramping up their effort to produce the documentary. I ran into him just this morning and he told me. Sounds like its getting started in earnest.-Dox [ 03-14-2002: Message edited by: dkemp ]

oh man, I just have to chime in here. I started eyeglasses when I was eight years old. My eyes were bad, man, including astigmatism. I could never get the hang of contacts - I beat the crap outa my eyes gettin' them in there. of course I suffered with eyeglasses/prescription glacier glasses in the outdoors of the PNW. Had the surgery three years ago. Goddam, I'd buy the company and put my name on it if I could. Its truly a liberation. Can you tell I like it? I'm 20/20 in both eyes - no complaints at all. I've been to 17k twice - no problems. Hiked out several trails in the dark - no problems. Basically no problems whatsoever. If I had it to do again - knowing what I know now - I would go running back, thrusting my cash at those people, pleading with them to rip open my eyeballs and fry 'em with their ray gun.-Dox

Re Azure Lake, a fun journey is to hike up Sourdough trail from Diablo, then venture out on the ridge above Stetattle Creek toward Elephant Butte. Amazing views - just splendid. We came down Torrent Creek and out Stetattle Creek to make a loop. It was, er, strenuous. We weren't trying for Azure Lake but it seems remotely possible from there. Hmmm... dont miss Beckeys description of Stetattle Creek before attempting it.

Acknowledged - and usually I have at least one aluminum blade in the party. I'm planning on carrying this thing on a 20 mile approach and would like to shave a little weight - thus the question. Since my earlier post I found a site that sells Lifelink products with some descriptions. Yeah, it appears the composite is stronger but weighs a little more and (usually) costs a little more.-D

So, Outdoor and More has Lifelink shovels - one has the polycarbonate blade and is $35. the other has a 'composite' blade and is on sale at $35. I've been looking for a LifeLink website to explain the difference but cannot find one. Any ideas on this? Why one or the other? Perhaps the composite is stonger but heavier?-Dox

Ah, nice site, I like it. 'Course, not to be confused with the 'other' Bushwhacker Climbing Club - http://www.bushwhackernewsletter.org/ -Dox

I did make such an arrangement. We negotiated my salary down and my time off up. I get 9 weeks a year, but dont get paid what my collegues do. Thats okay, I need the 9 weeks. I think if each of us brings it up at the job interview we can make it happen. We gotta break out of this workin' 50 weeks a year crap. Ridiculous.

Well drat. they've gone and done it. a climbing guide for AK. I thought there was an unwritten code that prevented such a thing - or at least for everything except Denali and Alaska Geographic. I love looking at maps and 'discovering' a climb, then the excitement of finding a photo of the mountain, then, best of all, going to Mtneers Library and finding route descriptions in AAJ. A guidebook just makes it too damn easy, man, and cheapens the effort. There's too many guidebooks and not enough imagination. Well, it wont ruin my day or anything. And yeah, I'll buy a copy - hell I've got all the guidebooks for the Cascades and Olympics. Why not AK too?

We flew to Mex City, then right on to Veracruz. Approached via bus to Coscomatepec, a beautiful little city. At the local hardware store we obtained a ride to the mountain in the back of a vegetable truck to Senor Gueterez camp at 10,000ft, then hiked 4 miles up to the hut through pine forest on a trail. Havent done the other approach, from the west, but would recommend approach from the east. Gotta admit, we didnt summit 'cause we spent more time on the approach than we budgeted time for. There are obstacles in this approach, for instance no-one, and I mean no-one speaks English on that side. But we considered it all part of the fun, and my poor Spanish improved considerably. no crime whatsoever. felt safe the entire time and nobody tried to rip us off. Obviously I have unfinished business there. When I go back I will go in from the west but go out to the east, down to 'Cosco' and out to Veracruz. In this way we'll get the best of both and do a sort of 'approach-traverse'. Our website is down now but tomorrow I will send a link to an article we keep there. -dox

A grasshopper walks into a bar and asks for a beer. Bartender says "ya know, we have a drink named after you." Grasshopper says "you got a drink named Irving?"

Hey Ken, I have sent you an email. It might be easier to converse that way. When we returned from Bolivia, my pal Doug wrote up a little article which we placed on our club site, http://www.bushwhackernewsletter.org/bolivia.htm - check it out. It includes the hotel name and guide service that we used. We didnt use guides except to deliver us to the climbing areas - this worked really well. More info to come either by email or cc.com. -Dox