Freeman

I think I am that engineering sort of guy and will release a report to the Sheriff. Out of respect to the family I don't want to comment right now.

Trip: Omens and Triumph - NERidge Mt Triumph Date: 9/15/2007 Trip Report: When I climbed Mt Triumph six years we damn near died on the way home. The combination of 11 hours of climbing, 5 hiking out and a 4 hour drive home dodging suicidal Bambies in the Methow convinced me that when I did it again I would spend a second night on the mountain. My chance came when Tom, the Founding Father and President of the CFCC, told me he could escape the mine on Friday. We knew it was a good omen when on the drive over we saw an eagle posing for a totem pole sculptor. At least we thought it was an eagle. Had we known do you thing we would have changed plans? Naw. At the bivi just over the notch we watched tendrals of fog drifting up the valley below the Picketts. The bet was whether darkness or fog would befall us first. The next morning it was obviously clear just above the whiteout, and since every day in the mountains with Tom is a sunny day, we headed for the climb. Four youngsters from Seattle and a team from Oregon/Ohio joined us at the notch. We let the youngsters go ahead. Starting slow and easing off we were able to stay comfortably behind them, with the fog still in the valley. The climbing is sustained 5.fun and we had the Fun-o-meter on the peg all day. The last time I had climbed it we came to a steep wall on the other side of a deep gash near the top. My partner and I played Rock Scissors Paper ("your lead", "no your lead") as the climbing looked 5.hard. After a few minutes we discovered that by wandering up the gash a bit a trail led to a couple of pitches of class 4 and the top. Several raps and some down climbing we were back at the bivi at dinner time and the next morning, fully in the clouds. Mist turned to full on rain during the hike out, but we did spy the official bird of the CFCC. Coffee in Newhalum, IPA in Mazama, and dinner in Wenatchee, and the Methow Valley dear herd didn’t lose a member. Gear list: the first time we must have just used nuts but a small rack up to #2 or #3 works well. The #3 was nice for the top of the crack pitch but you could probably finagle smaller stuff. A 60m rope works for rappels, the second one just touches down. Bit of advice, spend a second night at the bivi, it is just too good to leave.

Went up to try it a couple years ago and chickened out, er, got rained off. Scott Johnson says it has a bad reputation with folks around Mazama.

This isn't spam, but I've got a really nice Jeep Grand Cherokee for sale. Located in Wenatchee - new all seasons plus chains if you need them (I've only used them once and that was to pull a friends Subie out of a ditch). It has served me very well.

As a rescue dude I become more aware of the forces on anchors and all other parts of the system, and consider "loaded", "tensioned", and "shock loaded" systems entirely differently. We commonly build statically loaded raising and lowering systems with very high factors of safety, normally equalizing anchors to one focal point (aka master point). When we start getting into tensioned systems, I personally believe they should be engineered - I have seen highly tensioned pickoffs that have enough mechanical advantage to move a truck being used as an anchor. In the climbing environment I think it is worthwhile understanding the forces on anchors and how different slinging configurations load the anchors both statically and dynamically. Each year I do a little "Physics of Phalling" class for our local SAR group talking about these things - with a little high school geometry you can easily understand what is happening with your anchors. Good bolts in good rock normally don't fail, but as you all know, short runners or the "american death triangle" (which I've come across on a number of rap anchors) really does dramatically increasing the loading. Many years ago I assisted in a rescue in the N Cascades and later the victim told me that he listened as each pin was placed. He said he knew there wasn't one good pin in the rock, yet we lowered and belayed two people (200kg) for 600 feet of overhanging rock.

A nest in the hole between the 1st and 2nd bolts of the 5.7 on the left side.

All I know is that some CCMRA members were called out, then called off for something on YJT. We were told they took care of themselves.

Fasulo is a good book, but I think the new one by Tsyon and Loomis is an easier read. And it isn't gym rats vs. trad climbers - I'll bet most people on SCW or Castle Rock don't have a clue what to do if their leader falls and is injured. Unfortunately my 25+ years with our local rescue unit tells me there are some skills that are lacking in a lot of climbers. But to bring this whole discussion back to the original post, I had a similar incident a couple of years ago - I was following Viper Crack (5.6 my ass) and popped out near the bottom. My belayer locked off and was out of hearing range and I couldn't touch the rock. After a lot of screaming and a few efforts to swing back to the rock it was pretty easy to take my Purcell off the belay loop on my harness (I use that for my anchor tie in), make a quick foot loop, throw a short prusik on for my waist and climb the ten feet or so back onto the route. No different than hanging off the lip of Canary.

Not only do I always carry a couple of cordeletts, one short prusik and a few locking pears (in addition to at least one Purcell Prusik), our little group practices all the basics of "self/parter rescue" at least once a year. (We happened to do it last weekend under the umbrella of a CCMRA training session). Skills I want my partner to know is how to escape a loaded belay (and get back into it), how to ascend a tensioned rope with whatever is hanging on her harness, how to counter balance rappell with an injured climber (me) including stopping and placing another anchor so she can continue, and how to pass a loaded knot if she was lowering me on two ropes. We were practicing this stuff one evening at our local gym and one (very good) sport climber came by. He said "why do you need to know that crap?". I said, "if you never go above 30 meters you don't. Otherwise, I don't want to climb with you".

In about 1980 my wife, who was working in a mountaineering shop, gave me a copy of Chouinard's book for Christmas. Inside was a note "You will spend Christmas vaction learning from the author". I spent three days taking an ice climbing lesson from Chouinard and Jim Donini - I can still remember him french stepping up the Smear with one long piolet. Dates me, I guess. And, yeah, I've still got my bambo piolet and my Terrors in a box somewhere.

I'll ask the probable first ascentist tonight what he thinks. btw - he told me sunday that his ice pitch count is over 70 so far this year after we ran a few laps on Pearly Gates (another recommend WI-fun climb. Heck of it is, he works too.

Because you spend so much time hunched over, Mark Shipman christened it "Bend Over" or "Bend Over, Baby". Sounds reasonable to me. From the top of the 6th or 7th pitch (there is still some spotty ice above to the left) you can walk up circa 100 meters, then contour over the top of Goat Dome and down to Snow Creek trail. There will be a path.

Congratulations to you both Matt and Zosia, and may you have many happy days in the mountains. I haven't downloaded my pics yet but I took several telephoto shots of you on the traverse - if you PM me your e-mail addy I'll send them to you.

Please, do, however, watch for snakes.

[quote The scenery is pretty nice , from what it looks like: Yeah,