Pencil_Pusher

While I admire the person wanting to catch the burglar, think about the possible outcomes. Beat and spray paint the kid and then you can't call the cops. Even if you do/don't, at that point the kid will just say he was minding his own business and then got jumped. The police will track you down and you'll be the criminal. Your best bet, if you decide to stake things out, is to provide for your own self defense, take control of the situation until the police arrive, and then file your report. Everything you do, once the police are involved, will have to be justified, FYI.

Oh, and another thing, the rock on Sherpa is looser than a two-bit hooker. If you're belaying, seek cover. Serious cover. It seems the crux of the climb is not the difficulty of the actual climbing, rather not tipping off the multiple rocks that might kill/maim your belayer or freakingly cut the rope.

Little poodles bark and yap up a storm, especially over the internet. Okay, you got me. Like everyone else here, I really don't climb. I just modify all the trip reports I see in my monthly Mountaineers magazine. I'm waiting to find some internet-chickie who digs my style.

Thanks for all the beta, folks. We bivyed in the basin below the col. There WAS running water, but when the temps got down, the well went dry. There is a few snow patches still left on route causing us some confusion as to the actual route. Needless to say, going up black lichen/moss means you're definitely off route!! We had to bail on Sunday due to that A1 start and the weather, but a fun trip nonetheless and great directions provided by you all to boot. This trip is, as has been said, totally do-able as a day trip. Light and fast.

We were bivying this Sat to do an attempt on Sherpa's West Ridge and I decided to spend my free time going up Stuart, from near the basin below the Sherpa/Stuart col. I had hiking boots, four-point crampons and my ice axe. It's mostly a hike on up some couliors, with some rock scrambling. The climbing from the false summit to the actual summit was more of some moderately exposed scrambling, nothing to rope up on, just be careful. Going down is where I really wanted full crampons. I reached the summit at 7pm and going down was difficult as the snow hardened up and it became increasingly difficult to safely descend, the boots didn't penetrate and the purchase was minimal. My heart goes out to anyone stuck on the north ridge of Stuart (or anywhere on it)on Sunday. Perhaps it let up, but it blew in cold and fast with some balled-snow (?) coming down. When we got to Long's Pass and looked at Stuart, quite a bit of the 6200 ft and up area had a light coating of that ball-snow on it and Stuart itself was enshrouded in clouds. It had been raining pretty good ever since we left that 6200 foot mark all the way to the car, with a brief let-up at Longs.

Geez, if you all want self-protection, perhaps it's better to go with the credo, "Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six." Pack some firepower, even if just a 38 derringer.

I was curious if anyone had any suggestions as to the approach for this and whether it would be feasible to go light and make the West Ridge of Sherpa a day climb? Thanks for any info.

quote: Originally posted by Bronco: if you want a summit type pack and it has suspension, will it fit in your big ass pack? B] Bronco: So you were saying about summit packs with no suspensions? Chill out folks, I know people have big egos here but take a chill pill. Then shut up and climb.

Great, Dan. That's what I'm here for, to take crap from someone I'm offering suggestions to. Have fun climbing.

All you need is a razor blade. Improvise with everything else. I do like the story shown above of folks cutting the webbing off their packs to rap with. Some good thought... and guts stepping out on that...I think I'd sacrifice a chunk of my rope first.

I call it alpine climbing. I don't carry a drill although I have considered doing such to save the trees and bushes getting mauled as rap anchors. If I use aid to get past something I cannot climb, I have no qualms about it. Wouldn't it suck to get that far and retreat because I couldn't free it? As with everything, liars only fool themselves. The experience is what makes each trip unique. But to say, "Oh you cheated using your knees or going for that move," is ludicrous. Hang-dogging is a big grey area. Isn't there a redpoint definition out there? I think (?) that's for a free ascent less the hair combing. I'd still tend to associate climbing etiquette folks (less the bolt/chipping debate) with those same snobbish, cigar in one hand, martini in the other folks. We each climb for our own reasons. You could be some goofball with a good knowledge but no climbing. Or someone with climbing who twists the story to fit your needs. Even a guy who once did all the things you claim to detest. Either way, I'll still be hungry, tired, sore, cold, and forgetting yet another thing on one of my trips. I'll try to keep mum about the ashamed part. See you around.

Nothing more to add for me. Get in a pissing match with a skunk and you'll wind up smelling like one.

Wow, I like Beck's thought process. Wish I could remember what the heck my pack is called. It's basically a bag with a top pouch, weighing in under two pounds. Frameless, I don't know how big, and 58 dollars brand new. Probably should be an oversized book bag. Anyhow, it was big enough for my half of the climbing gear, bivy, and stove (joke... Snow Peak Giga). That was a nine mile hike in with 5500 ft elevation gain (Prusik via Snow Crk). With these frameless packs, comfort is sacrificed for an objective, the climb. You just need to punch the bulges a few times to level things out, then haul butt. I've also got a Kelty Tornado which I think is 4000+ cubic inches weighing in at four pounds. I've used it for all my trips now to include three day trips on Helens, Shuksan, and Rainier. Good luck. ---oh yeah, and I pro-dealed the Tornado for $52. get killer deals working for the goods stores. [This message has been edited by Pencil Pusher (edited 06-20-2001).]

I'll second Beck's thoughts. Responding to Bronco: Why the heck would you want to carry a separate summit pack with suspension??? That's your choice (and money) I guess, but if I was going to carry a summit pack at all, it'd be a sub 2 pound frameless pack that I could wad up into a ball or strap on to the outside.

I thought the Mounties offered tons of outings for you folks? Go on as many of these as you can and market yourself. Buy them beer, whatever. Better yet, grab one of your fellow classmates and go out yourselves. Hopefully they taught you most of what you'll need to know there in the Mounties. Do it again and again. You NEED time on the rock and the only way to get it is to do it. Go top rope at Exit 38, Marymoor, or the rock gyms.

So basically the pope's beef is with folks that say they can climb at a grade higher than he thinks they should. You don't get to be a good climber unless you push your limits and mime, comb the hair, rehearse, fall, etc. Add "onsight" to your vocab, dude. That brings out the experienced, the gifted, and the poodles that are all yap and no go. The confessional here is a joke in itself. people don't have a conscience that they've cheated, it's all show here on the internet. On top of that, the very things you purport to claim hold no place in "real" climbing are the EXACT same things you yourself did!! Your screen name should be hang-dogger, eh? Or maybe Fluffy. Okay boys and girls, listen up. Cheating DOES make you a better climber. Cheat, but don't lie about it. Push your limits and have a fun time doing it. Then when the pope gets done sucking on his cigar, you can hear him say "Mack, mack mack mack mack mack. Mack mack mack. Mack mack mack, mack mack MAAACK!" Smile to yourself and think: wow, this was a great day climbing. Wait... I've got it all wrong... you belong to the Mountaineers, don't you, pope? That explains it.

No, I was the sorry, solo dude that wasn't successful at hitch-hiking down Icycle Creek Road yesterday. Once past 8 mile, I just got pissed and figured if I went this far I could finish it off without a damn ride. I only climbed Little Annapurna. I had no clue what Asgard held in store for me, that was my first time on it. A 13 hour day, so not too long.

Touching the void, part II. You could always leave the knife at home and just bring a razor blade. Saves weight. Other than that, no, sorry I don't have any useful info.

The shame I live with every day. The horror, complete horror... Everybody's a real tough guy over via keystrokes, huh? Hump x amount of miles to get to a TRAD (look it up sometime) route and you'll find that anything goes when push comes to shove. I feel so ashamed.

The 14th brought dry rock, so it's back in condition. Still snow going up Pineapple Pass. Great because we get to miss all that crappy scree and loose rock normally associated with this approach.

Went in via Snow Creek. No snow till Lake Viviane. Snow makes trail hard to follow thereon out. Little Annapurna pretty easy, at most you'd need 4-pt crampons with your ice axe. Spectacular views. Exited via Asgard. Still snow to Asgard Pass, going down pretty much snow free. Asgard Pass to Colchuck Lake was the most treacherous part of the trip with loose rocks and boulders. Staying on trail difficult, routefinding easy. Spectacular scenery again coming down Asgard. Most of the lakes up there have melted free of ice except for those lakes around Little Annapurna. Plenty of free flowing water all around so why bother packing extra weight when it's so readily available? I'd love to go back to Little Annapurna just for the awesome scenery it provided although I wouldn't do this as a day trip again... close to 27 miles r/t to car at Snow Creek?

Forgive me Pope, but when I climb I do not care if I sin. I do whatever necessary to get to the top. Etiquette is for those who care. Slap me silly, or have Donna do it.

There's a company out east that has a vaccination for Lyme Disease called Lyme-Rix. It's shown 70% effectiveness, which is 70% better protection than what you have now. It totally sucks that a little piss-ant tick can permanently screw us up for life, just with one bite. At least with a woman...

As of last night, June 12th, the approach to the Tooth via Source Lake trail is awesome. 10% loose rock, 90% solid snow steps; very different from the normal loose rock/slippery ground approach. Anyhow, some fresh sluff, Tooth looks like it got a good coating of snow. Pineapple Pass snow all the way up, very easy to ascend. Seems quite a bit of snow fell the past few days, I was breaking trail in calf-deep snow from basin up. By the weekend, assuming no more snow/rain accumulation, the climbing route might be dry.

Anybody know what kind of pro to bring for this? Anyone been up there lately? Looked snow free from Prusik, but that's a ways off.