Bug

I knew a guy named Dan once. A date introduced me to him and said Dan was interested in climbing. I was into cragging in the Bitterroots at the time and asked if he was interested in that. He said no. He was interested in mountaineering. About ten years later I went to a slide show on K2 at a friend's house and it was Dan putting on the show. He and a friend had done it prety much alpine style and spent a night in a snow cave way the hell up there. The next time I heard anything about him, he was on the radio talking about how he found a guy dying at 28,000 ft on Everest and helped him get down. Go Dan.

Personally, I hate seeing registers up there. I don't care about the ones that are discrete - little tubes buried in a pile of rocks. But the big silver boxes that stand out like a phallus in a convent are just too much.

I used to refuse to sign them until I became "Bug" which is short for "Dung-Beetle". Now I sign them "Bug was here. No shit."

There is a theory out there that most giardia is from your partner's hands, not from the water. Eat your own gorp slim-master.

As was said earlier, find the face of a drift or hill that is not about to slide with you in it. Dig straight in and then up. When you are high enough that the floor of your cave will be higher than the top of your entrance, start digging sideways. This traps the warm air in the cave. If the top of the entrance is higher than the floor, it will be MUCH colder and drafty. Put a high vent hole in a place that is not going to get buried by snowfall or blowing snow. Out the face you dug into works best. A ski-pole-basket size hole is perfect for me. Have the floor of the cave slope up a little bit so it will drain into the entrance. Dig small ditches around the outside edge. Smooth out the roof so you do not have dripping stelagtites. This is nearly impossible to get perfect. I love my goretex bivy bag and my 2lb Polarguard 3D bag for that reason. To each his own. I use a metal shovel. stick it straight into the snow and make a four-sided block. Pry it one way or another to get it to break off in the back. You may have to cut it in half or dig out one side to get it to break off. Hand it out to the person outside who can then make a wall to channel the wind. I like to sit outside the cave a lot. The inside is really nice for reading since the walls reflect all the light in every direction. Chop in some shelves for gear and stash. You can cook in there if you have good ventilation. I always make two extra high vent holes and plug them when I am through. Don't think about the fact that it could all collapse on you any second. Bring a dog. If you don't have a dog, bring a girl-friend but they eat more, whine more, and you have to carry most of their gear. Bites don't it?

This is what came to mind for me too. If you have 4x4 you can get to the trailhead on the West side pretty easily. The road is good it just may be buried in snow right now when you get up higher. When you are on the summit you get a great view of Mt Index west face.

Your accident sounds like it happened on very steep terrain. Typically, simul-climbing is done in easy terrain where one might even consider going unroped. But at the very least, both climbers are comfortable with the difficulty level. I always try to have three bomber pieces in at least. The idea is to move quickly between difficult sections.

Dicey for me after many years of climbing. It is very easy climbing but the exposure is around 1000'. That is enough to mess with your head and make you do something stupid. Yes, boot fit is most important. But for beginning climbing, you might not need the really stiff boots. Find a few cheaper boots to test out. Look in second hand stores and garage sales. Until you are really sure about what you want your boots to do and how to fit them to your feet, don't spend a bunch of money. I slog up Rainier with hiking boots and flexible crampons. If you are getting into ice climbing then you need the stiff boots. If you are getting into alpine rock and snow, lighter boots are better. The climbing style is important. Laces that allow you to control the snugness around your lower foot and toes is important. Those Titanium ice fields would not be adjustible at all for the lower foot. I would not even consider them for mountaineering if I were you.

Jamin, You sound like a danger to yourself. You seem to understand that. But I am not clear that you are aware of how much danger you subjected other people to. If you were roped to me and threw yourself out of control on purpose to test my ANYTHING, I can't guarantee I would remain rational. That said, I haven't become irrational climbing in over 30 years. People get hurt walking to the bathroom. Tendonitis or a twisted ankle can disable a climber for months. Why would you puposefully risk doing that or worse, to someone else when there are ways to learn the skills without risking injury? Impatience I suspect. A lack of compassion perhaps. Maybe pure ignorance. All of the above? You might as well kick them in the crotch as hard as you can. It would be less painfull overall than getting two broken legs above the boot because you decided to test their arrest skills without a backup anchor and with crampons on. There is nothing "nice" about that. It doesn't matter how fun it is to hang out with you if you get me killed. Am I perfect? Hell no. When I was 19 and climbing in the Valley, I was way too reckless. I finally took a 60 ft grounder that changed my attitude and that of the belayer I bounced past. The situation I was in left me with no doubt that I was about to die for the entire fall. 3 or 4 seconds is a long time to consider the stupidity of not learning and using skills that can practically guarantee your safety. Since then, several good friends have died climbing for reasons that could have been prevented easily. 20/20 hindsite for sure but why repeat their mistakes? If you have any inclination to practice some patience and limit yourself to conservative practices while roped up, I would go out with you to teach you some alpine safety skills and practices. You would have to understand that you don't do something I tell you not to while we are roped up or to any of my equipment. I simply do not want to see you die and/or cause someone else's death if there is something I can do to prevent it. PM me if interested. Don't bother if you are not interested. I will not debate this or participate in this thread any further. I'll drive.

Thanks for the TR guys but that's a different forum. Yuk, yuk, yuk,

Nerves grow back very slowly. Wierd as it may sound, a good way to get your hands to increase circulation, especially good for rainods, is sit in a cold place under-dressed with your hands in a tub of hot water. It trains your body to react to cold body temps by increasing circulation to the hands. Like I said, wierd.

Hey Beck! I think I have your MSR pot grabber from the ropeup. PM me if you are missing one. bug

Life is not that simple. Uncompromising people are not always "totally honest" about their abilities or intentions. Some people just do not pay attention to what they are saying. And so forth. The point is, "use caution with this guy." He has made one trip with one climber who reports a lack of good sense and no signs of having had any remorse or consideration for the concerns of a teammate. Since I put in a post encouraging this guy before I knew anything about him, I feel responsible for balancing that out. The post that "trashed" him was not originally posted openly which displays some common sense compromising. The entire thread should try not to trash the guy without some constructive criticism. That would be, "listen and learn from others". The summit will be there next time. The skills to climb more chanllenging summits will only come with the patience to learn the skills that prevent injuries and deaths.

You miss the point completely. The newbie was unwilling to listen and work it out. I have been climbing for a long time and still listen and learn. Those who do not, worry me. A lack of willingness to compromise or collaborate on the part of a partner is enough for me to end a climb. I have seen what can happen when one person thinks he or she knows what is best for a group or team and will not compromise. Usually the whole trip becomes a fiasco in an effort to pump the ego of one idiot. Or worse.

The "Old Days"?! Mallory attempted(/climbed?)Everest wearing less than most of us would attempt Rainier in. Probably would have made it with a more experienced partner. That sucks. It was not cool that he died. Come to think of it, I don't remember anyone ever referring to someone's climbing death as "cool". Where does that notion come from? What are we supposed to say when there is a death? "That was stupid"?

Never mind.

So much for Newbies being spray free. Frigin posers. How many ignorant questions did you all ask when you were starting out? Or were you born with crampons on? This forum is FOR questions like this. Clearly, the answer to glissading with crampons on is "NEVER!!!" The post directing you to Accidents of North America was a good idea. I love to read accident reports and still, after 30+ years of climbing, frequently learn something valuable. Ask more questions and ignore the idiots. PM me if you want.

Watch out for avy slopes and go out and epic dude. Maybe you will not get the first ascent but if you are careful you will have a great adventure.

Be aware that the heavy holiday traffic can trap you on I90 for hours.

I look forward to your 2007 review! Very nice.

Nope. At North Bend I90 was a parking lot. We went up the MiddleFork and hiked in the rain. Garfield was covered with snow and slush. There may be some ice up there someday soon if the temps drop 10 but right now it looked like a glazing. Otherwise uneventful. Merry Christmas!

http://www.avalanche-center.org/Bulletins/Northwest/avalanche.php Avalanche danger is going to be high at Snoqualmie pass Saturday. I will still go out somewhere near there since I have to pick up my girls for dinner on Christmas eve (Sun). But the chances of getting all the way up to the east ridge are slim. There are other ridges and valleys to access.

http://www.avalanche-center.org/Bulletins/Northwest/avalanche.php Avalanche danger is going to be high at Snoqualmie pass Saturday. I will still go out somewhere near there since I have to pick up my girls for dinner on Christmas eve (Sun). But the chances of getting all the way up to the east ridge are slim. There are other ridges and valleys to access.

Hello. I am planning a trip up into the Alpental valley and if avalanche conditions permit, up to the east ridge of Chair peak Saturday and Sunday. Conditions should be pretty good. I will be on skiis and will dig a snow cave. This will be a non-technical trip. Since my buddy has decided to visit his parents rather than sleep in a snow bank, I find myself going alone. So it occurred to me that there might be some people who would be curious about how to do a few of the things that are required to survive in the mountains in the winter and even have fun. If you want to come along, send me a pm or reply here. I am pretty easy-going and flexible. Cheers, Bug

RIP. All my best to the families.