klenke

There's only one thing to do then:BAN ALL GUIDING SERVICES!!! The mountain doesn't care WHO you are! You could be Messner or just plane messed up, it still could have you for lunch and crap you out of a glacier 10,000 years later.

Yeah, that's right.Now I remember that oddity in the tallying system. I too lot it was an inflated way to do a stat. I would have done it like you say: number of deaths per attempted ascent (where "attempted" includes those who succeeded and those who didn't succeed). If you don't leave base camp, it doesn't count as an attempt. However, the stat for women I stated is corrected. Five have summited. Three died on the way down.

So, you wanna climb an 8,000 meter peak?Then check out this webpage: http://www.everestnews.com/stats.htm Your chances of not coming back alive will be pretty clear afterward. As for Christine Boskoff's endeavor to climb K2, one should note that only 5 women have summited the peak but only 2 have come down alive. So, based on these paltry numbers, her statistical chance of living through the climb if she summits is 40%.

Yes, it's interesting isn't it that no one really thinks about these runaway balloons being a litter contributor. I've never seen a mother scold her butterfingers kid for littering when he or she accidentally lets go of a balloon. Oh, and to mmcmurra I'd like to introduce the age-old adage: "What goes up must come down." The distance traveled depends on the wind on the given day and the strength of the balloon skin, while the elevation it comes to rest on depends on where the balloon popped. If it pops above Mt. Baker, it could fall on the summit. If it pops over the Skagit River, it may come down on one of Concrete's radar trigger-happy cops.

Are you doing this in the winter or later when the Salmon la Sac (Cle Elum River) road to Tucquala Lake will be snow-free? I have not done Daniel from the north side (Foss River), but I have done it from Tucquala Meadow trailhead. This is the standard non-technical route to Mt. Daniel. In the summer it is possible to do Daniel in a day car-to-car. Else, picturesque Peggy's Pond offers a good place to set up camp (making a scramble up Cathedral Rock's Northwest Couloir an interesting diversion after setting up this camp; there is or used to be a good picture in Beckey of this side of Cathedral Rock). The Cle Elum River road is in pretty good shape. However, there are a couple of rock-strewn fords which can be problematic to cross in times of high water (like in late-afternoon). I knocked the muffler off my Honda Civic in crossing one of these fords. There are also usually a lot of pokey drivers on this road (and a lot of RVs), so the going can be slow and tedious. The PCT to Cathedral Pass is super-easy going. The trail from the PCT to Peggy's Pond as it contours around Cathedral Rock is precarious in places but otherwise offers no problems. The route from the pond to the summit(s) is easy. Hyas Creek Glacier is inconsequential and really only barely qualifies as a glacier. It can be circumvented, if necessary. Mt. Daniel is a great mountain. I recommend it to a lot of people. The summit area is huge with many individual peaks all of the same height. Only the route up to the main summit would qualify as Class 3 in my book. ---Paul

I kind of remember the events the way Crazyjz does. As I recall, it was the quick (last minute) thinking of a competant USSR field commander that averted the launching of a "retaliatory" missile strike. Else we might still be sweating things out in a fall out bunker. Or maybe I'm thinking of "War Games". Perhaps the field commander played a game of Tic-Tac-Toe to decide.

"Every time it has been in some out of the way place..." Yep, that's right. I'm usually in the middle of nowhere miles from any trail or anything else made by human hands and I'm thinking, "Ah, finally, at one with nature." Then I look down and there's this blasted popped balloon shattering the natural peace of the place.

Hey, I was curious, is it just me? Am I the only one who comes across popped baloon remnants (including the attached stringers) in the Cascades all the time? The first time I saw one near Malachite Peak in 1994 I thought it was a fluke. But I've seen at least one such popped balloon every year since. I find them all the time. With their unnatural colors, they stick out like sore thumbs. Does this happen to anyone else and if so does it happen with regularity? I feel like an undertaker for the great balloon burial ground in the sky.

In case you want maps after all (never let someone else tell you you don't need them), Map Link, Inc. worked two years ago. I assume they're still in business. Number: 1 800 962 1394 I think they're located out of Texas. Maps are 1:50,000 scale. Can order color or B&W depending on availability. Availability might be low--especially for volcano related ones--as they are sent from the Mexican government. Also, if you request it, they can probably fax you an index of all their topographic maps of Mexico. It's about 11 pages with about 100 map references per page. So, as you can see, there are a lot of maps. But then, Mexico is a big country. Maps needed for certain peaks (depending on where you're going): ORIZABA Coscomatepec MEX50 E14 B46 (SW corner) Salvador El Seco MEX50 E14 B45 (Tlachichuca locale) Cuidad Serdan MEX50 E14 B55 (south approaches) Orizaba MEX50 E14 B56 (south approaches) LA MALINCHE Tlaxcala MEX50 E14 B33 (NW of mtn) Puebla MEX50 E14 B43 (SW of mtn; mtn is on this map) IXTACCIHUATL Huejotzingo MEX50 E14 B42 (mtn is on this map) Back then, the cost was $10 each plus shipping and handling ($7.50?). Maps arrived in less than a week, but you'll want to leave yourself some extra time in case of mistakes (as in them sending the wrong map(s)). ----Paul

Hello. I have just come back from climbing the Exum Ridge of the Grand on Sunday. And therefore, as it pertains to today's conditions, I can either confirm of debunk what others have said concerning the procurement of permits and the climb itself. If you want to know more, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and offer some advice if requested. For more info, you can email me directly as I will not be placing Teton information onto this climbing board. But here is one piece of information: like the Cascades, the Teton Range has also experienced a very low snow year. Paul