Norman_Clyde

Swaterfall, glad you got out there. Sorry we couldn't join up on Friday but probably worked out for the best. One of my Dynafits pops off when climbing, if I'm on uneven terrain and have to apply much of a twisting force. This is a major pain, but I am still sold on Dynafits in general. This particular pair I bought used-- I suspect somebody sold them because they weren't working perfectly. (A used axe is one thing, used bindings another. Not the wisest move on my part.) But with the heels locked in, they have performed as expected, never releasing unless required to. With the heel locked in, it's hard to see how one could generate enough rotational forces to twist out of the toe without releasing the heel first.

Klenke, you can help me with my rehab by joining me on the West Side of Rainier, sometime between the 22nd and 28th of May. That is the week I finally come up for air.

At the Enumclaw station last week, they told me White River won't open until late June. Unless all this hot weather changes their minds.

There is a good description in Dee Molenaar's The Challenge of Rainier .

Perfect pass is SO suck. Go for it, as long as you don't mind yo-yo-ing down to the valley floor and back up, 2000 plus feet of filthy 40 degree bushwacking. Probably better if done early, when the talus and some of the brush is snow covered. But by July it'll be too late.

Nice place, not too smoky, not too loud, able to carry on good conversation without shouting myself hoarse. Maybe I can make it back with less than my customary 4 to 6 month delay.

First I saw the helmet off, thought "Whoa, this is a Doonesbury first, B.D. without a helmet! What's up?" Then I saw the stump. I wouldv'e missed it if not for the part about the helmet.

It does appear that the current administration has no qualms about setting the stage for Armageddon. In fact, I suspect Bush sees himself as God's instrument, fulfilling "God's Plan". Fundamentalists, who are by definition incapable of appreciating another's position, are unable to perceive how they often resemble their own sworn enemies. Who else believes he's on a holy mission, carrying out God's Plan? Maybe...Osama bin Laden?

I'm not so good at predicting snow conditions. Is there a software upgrade that will allow me to add a Zone of Powder, Corn and Slop to my Topo program? Once I dial these zones into my GPS then I will know what grade of wax to apply on my descent. Seriously now, that looks like it was fun.

At least 2 hours. From Ipsut Creek to Buckley is around 40 minutes, from Buckley to South Hill/Puyallup/hwy 161 is around 20 minutes, and from South Hill to Paradise is probably 75 minutes. There is a shortcut on the map (Graham to Thrift to Orting, hwy 162), but I suspect it does not actually save time. Planning a carry over on the W. or NW side? I'm thinking about the same.

At Enumclaw ranger station this week they said not till June at the earliest.

There is always the Ipsut Creek approach, lots of elevation gain but not too many extra miles, or even a long traverse from the West Side road. I've read one TR of a Mowich Face climb where they came in from the west, took 2 days to get to high camp, but sounded like they had a good time.

I passed by several really prime camp spots on Wapowety Cleaver and the base of the Turtle on my way to Hazard on the first day. It's a long day for sure to Hazard from Paradise, quite a bit further away than Muir, with about 2000 more feet gain (1000 feet higher, plus about 1000 feet lost descending to the Nisqually). But I'm not sure I'd want to add those 3000 feet to summit day. There are some safer bivy spots down from Hazard a few hundred feet, according to Gator's book. I don't recall these being obvious, but then I was pretty wasted. I would not urge you to plan a post-summit camp day out of any fatigue concerns. The glissade down the Turtle took us all of 15 minutes, and the alpine slide down Wilson Gully to the Nisqually was even more fun. Once you get to the Turtle, just about the only work left is the hike up from the Nisqually.

We still plan to go Friday. I'll have more days off come June. Weather may be better then, but snow likely will not be so good.

At last I have a single day off, and plan to head early down to St Helens on Friday, weather permitting. Have to be back in Seattle by 6 so it will have to be an early summit. Anybody game?

Starting in May I'll be working in Port Townsend a few days a month, 24 hour shifts, 8 AM to 8 AM. Once in a while I may even be coherent enough to go climb something the next day. I'll send you a pm before I go next time.

I am looking for a ski destination for 4/16 (one week from today), but will require a relatively minor objective or a very early start, as I have to be back in Seattle by 6 pm.

Pressure inside the plane varies with the type of plane and how old it is. I used to think that the pressurization was controlled precisely, but a Boeing engineer once told me that they simply pump air into the cabin and it slowly leaks out through all the rivet holes. The pump has only one setting, so the older (leakier) planes have a higher effective altitude. I think it varies from about 5000 to 8000 in terms of equivalent pressure. Some of the newer planes are built tight enough to recirculate their air. These are probably more highly pressurized. Any Boeing employees want to weigh in? Also: hyperventilation leads to alkalosis, not acidosis. Everyone at altitude tends to hyperventilate to get enough oxygen, which reduces circulating CO2, causing alkalosis. Diamox corrects this imbalance to some degree.

Nobody gets killed just because someone tells them that. A person is only at risk if they actually listen. A big part about being a good climber is tuning out the noise and listening to your inner voice of reason-- as Girlclimber did.

Don't continue CPR out of any hope for organ donation. In these cases, CPR is useless to perfuse vital organs for the same reason it's useless to revive the person, i.e. massive internal bleeding and disrupted circulation. Organs not dependent on circulation, such as the cornea, can still be harvested later and do not depend on CPR. However, there is a time limit on harvest for these as well, in the range of hours I believe, making organ preservation for any wilderness victim a real longshot.

Strong leadership work. Successful team behavior on both of your parts. It's not always easy to make the difficult but correct decision. Don't despair about the Ledges this year. "Winter" may be almost over, but the route ought to stay in at least until mid April, unless it gets really warm.

Several trails cross the range, as you probably know. If you use the trail system, the length of the crossing varies from about 45 to about 55 miles. In other words, doable in a day if you were sufficiently motivated (and had a ride back to your car). There is no continuous high alpine traverse like the Bailey Range going east-west, since you would have to cross at least one river (Elwha, Dosewallips) on the way.

As an ER doc I have to decide both when to start CPR and when to call it quits. I agree that a victim of massive trauma, who has no respirations or pulse in the field, is very unlikely to survive. If a medical person at the scene decides to call it quits on CPR, that's fine-- this lifts the burden from all others involved. But if no medical person is present, continuing CPR is the right thing to do, for moral/ethical reasons, not even so much for the well being of the victim, but for the sake of rescuers and family members. No one wants to live with any lingering doubt that they might have made a difference, but chose not to try. Family members will not have to ask if something more could have been done. Hats off to all of you who did your best to save Robert. You will probably sleep better at night because of what you did. The risk of disease transmission was yours to assume, just as you assume risks in climbing, because you decide it is worth it. Don't let anyone tell you that you wasted your efforts-- you didn't.

I had the same thought about the 500 foot cornice. 500 feet wide, maybe, not 500 feet thick.

Pete Nelson in Seattle is a professional treehouse builder. Not sure of the name of his business. He's written two coffee table books about treehouses. The first book tells about building a WAY cool treehouse on Saltspring Island. His book was one of my inspirations for building a house on stilts in my back yard. Didn't have a tree big enough-- but it feels kind of the same inside.