Bug

I started this thread to try to get a "amping skills" or survival in the mountains" thread. It might help people to hear what others have learned the hard way.

This is a supplement to the "Alpine ABC's" thread in the Newbies section. "My First Bivy" was when I was 6. We hiked about 3 miles and gained about a thousand feet. That put us on top of Boulder Point in what is now the Rattlesnake wilderness. It is about 8500 ft with a few 9000 ft peaks around it. It was mid June so there was still four feet of snow pack in the basins and a big cornice on the ridge we camped on. My three older brothers, Dad, and I got there about 3 in the afternoon. We were all putting our packs down on the wind blown dry patch on the top of the ridge. It was a pleasant afternoon. I asked my dad, "Where are we going to sleep?" to which he replied, "Anywhere you want." I chose a bush hoping it would be softer than frozen ground. Insulite was not invented yet. Everyone found a spot much like a pack of wolves. We melted water in a 2 lb coffee can and chugged it down, charcoal and all. We melted more and had hot Ovaltine. The acrid smoke from sub-alpine fur burned our eyes and permeated everything with a wet dog smell. Or maybe it was the dog, Albert, I was smelling. There was a can of Campbell's Pork and Beans for dinner. We didn't stay up late because the fire sucked and the wind was coming up. I curled up in my $7 sleeping bag and the wool blanket my grandmother knitted, and wiggled into a semi-comfortable position in my bush. When I woke, it was stone dark. The wind was howling like a banshee. My back was to the wind and was cold. The wind was whipping right through the cotton shell and wool blanket like they weren't there. My teeth chattered and my knees knocked. I wiggled around to the leeward side of the bush but found no respite from the wind. I sat up and looked around for my loyal relatives but saw none. I realised at that moment what it meant to be under-prepared. It scared me at first but I was too miserable too lament for long. I knew I had to find some way to get out of the cold. I picked up my bag and stuffed the blanket into it. They were both being whipped around by the wind. I slipped into my tennis shoes and walked downhill through the snow the way we had come up. In about fifty yards, I came to a mass of bodies on a bare patch of ground and took up the leeward position. It was still damn cold but I got some sleep. When we woke in the morning, I asked dad why he didn't come and get me when they moved. He said he did but I was sound asleep so he left me alone. We each had an egg sandwich for breakfast and laughed about how cold we were the night before. One brother and Dad, waded down through the snow to Boulder lake and caught some fish. While they were fishing we ammused ourselves by jumping up and down on the cornice trying to get it to fall. It didn't. We hiked out the 3 miles to the road and then had twelve miles to hike out to where we could call for a ride. For lunch we shared one can of vienna sausages. My feet were blistered and I was totally fatigued when I got home. Somehow, I remember it as fun. I learned a lot. Always carry a square of canvas and later a square of plastic to cut the wind. Bring bread bags to keep my feet dry. Carry my own matches in case I end up alone. And never count on anyone to take care of me. Are there any other first bivy stories out there?

Wood is plentiful up the bridge creek road. I'll bring a saw.

This board's tone has changed significantly from harsh to less harsh. This is due to a stated effort by the moderators. It is my opinion that critiques with harsh words are colorful and realistic. Flame me whenever you think there is something I could learn from it. I may flame you back but at least you will know that you made me think about it. Those guys were lucky. I've been there too. But I was stoned.

The major difference between succesful alpine climbers and unsuccessful, (I'll define alpine as hike long, bushwhack to the base of the most promising line, climb it, bivy maybe, get down.)is that they are able to endure a whack of cold, wet, devils club and still at least pretend they are having a good time.

Why weren'tyou wearing it last night? Walking 1st ave in the dark without a helmet? That's dangerous. Nice job you guys!!!!

It looks questionable but the east side is not as drizzly as the west side. Cances are we will have a big fire and hang out. Maybe take a trip to Peshastin where it rains considerably less than Icicle. At any rate, I am going with full rain gear and tarps and tents and hot chocolate. Or there is always Walmart.... FRIDAY A 70 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S TO LOWER 70S. WIND SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH ON THE RIDGE TOPS. FRIDAY NIGHT A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SATURDAY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS LIKELY AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT. SATURDAY NIGHT A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SUNDAY MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S TO LOWER 60S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT.

No wonder you got nowhere. I give beta in a PM to anyone who doesn't flame me. I said I could list the drainages where there was good climbing. That's called beta asshole. Find the rest yourself. Ask yo momma to teach you some manners boy. Just stay the fuck away from the Bitterroots and quite whining. You probably can't walk far enough to reach the really good climbing anyway. Hey now! I wasn't flaming you-i was chiding... Lighten up, yo. This is Jordans tantrum, not mine. He's the A-hole. Goddamn canadians aren't as polite as they first appear. Sorry if my openness offended you. My macho upbringing is sensitive to acusations of "weeping to my mommy." OK the truth hurts. I'm getting old. But in my day.... Have fun in CA.

Cool fun. Nice story. Glad it was you. Next time, for variety, you could do the route that goes right up the middle of the face then link it with the route that crosses the face of teh fin on a great ledge system. This is a combo of two routes that you can see in the Becky guide. It goes at 5.7 (just a couple moves in two places) with nice cruisin granite all the way. More solid and more interesting than doing the Serp again. At least I think so. Then you can take the obvious gulley down the other way.

I recommend not bringing more than one rope apiece. Leave the best one at home since we will be top-roping everything. I'd hate to see someone get ripped off at the road. I will have one rope, rack, slingage, a couple L harnesses, one XS harness, A couple pairs of smaller shoes.

Mikey and I did some towers in that area. I'll have to look at the AAJ. We were young. We were stoned. We carried heavy loads long distances. Climbed many untouched rocks. Many I have not seen twice had multiple potential routes.

Blodgett beats any canyon I've seen in the Cascades. It is the most accessible and has the highest concentration, and has a pretty good guide book. There are other canyons with minimal approaches, say 3 or 4 miles plus a couple hundred feet of talus, that have lot's of smaller buttresses (only 3-5 pitches), better rock, and nobody goes there because Montanans are assholes. Roaring Lion is only a taste of what else is out there. If you are willing to hump up to the divide country, you get past the gneiss and into true granite. Different stuff. The gneiss tends to be sloping and inconsistent features with some unpredictable bands in places. The divide peaks have consistent cracks and features. Excellent granite for clean alpine trad. The top of Sweathouse has only one ascent that I know of. Slot Tower 10A, 6 pitches to a great summit. It is just one of about a dozen teeth on a sawtoothed ridge. The Finger lies in waiting untouched. TinCup Creek has some 10 pitch walls that I have done one ascent on. There are at least fifty other good lines up there. No one else has touched it as far as I know. I could go on. But the Cascades are great. I like the guide books now that I am old and feeble.

"Finally, screw you clownpuchers, I'm off to the sunny Sierras then back to school." You'll like California. Lot's of guide books. Cheers dude.

I could show you some cracks..... But to each his own. The long "approaches" tend to twart the rif-raf as has been demonstrated above.

No wonder you got nowhere. I give beta in a PM to anyone who doesn't flame me. I said I could list the drainages where there was good climbing. That's called beta asshole. Find the rest yourself. Ask yo momma to teach you some manners boy. Just stay the fuck away from the Bitterroots and quite whining. You probably can't walk far enough to reach the really good climbing anyway.

Thank you. I climb with the people I do to make myself look normal. You goina have a communication problm in th root boy. Norml folk stand out like a lawer in new suit.

I grew up there. Or was stunted there. Depends on how you look at it. Whenever I go back to the Bitterroots, I look around and see lines that I have done that are not recorded anywhere. Rick Torre has a lot of info but as was said above, there is a general reluctance to publish and attract attention. You will be happier in the Wind River range or the Tetons if you want topos and gear lists. Montana is wide open. Ain't no need for no books. You take yur gear an go climb somthin. Blodgett is well dicumented as well as Kootenai and the Lolo Domes. The rest of the Bitterroots are a giant playground just waiting for the adventurous climber. Ask a trad climber and you will get a flood of info. Ask a gym climber and you will get squat. True everywhere. I can list the best canyons to look in and give you some pointers to the obvious gulleys. There are endles lines to be done and a lot that have already been done but you will not know it if you go there. There is the occaisional soft pin or 1/4" bolt but mostly, you will find clean gneiss and granite with classic crack systems and incredible summit views of endless cracks.......Expect a little walking.

Gear up kids! Does anyone have a full sized griddle we ccan use to crank out pancakes in the morning? I will bring my two burner propane stove and I'm sure there will be others. I'll bring a big bag of Krusteaz mix. Let's have eggs and bacon too. That'll fuel em up for the long term better than empty carbs. We ran a little short of water last time too. Bring lots of water bottles/bags. Chatter Creek is way up the canyon. It could be cold so bring warm clothes. I will have a huge tarp or two. Some extra cord would be handy to tie it up.

Chill. I have the answers you seek. Check your PM's.

I think we have 12 cars paid for. After that, the price goes up alittle (if they check). All are welcome. I think my 10 yr old nephew and 9 yr old niece are coming too.

Wild Turkey is 101 proof. Good for "sippin" in the woods. I like the platypus bottles too. One for each flavor is a must.

I will be there. I'm easy to spot. I'll be wearing gators and shorts over capalene underwear.

ALWAYS do the right thing. NEVER fail. This will keep your wife from saying bad things about you at your funeral. It does not cover the reception.

Yup. It's them damn ethnics what done it.

Pulling out is our only reasonable action. Any further troops will only serve to prolong the killing. If we were willing, and I am not, to go in there with a truely overwhelming force and scortch any source of resistence, then we might win through respect but probably not even then with the jihad being global. No. Let the fundamentalists take over and run their course as they did in Iran. Eventually, the people of a nation that large will become uncontrolable and the resources (oil/money) too valuable to withhold. They will moderate themselves. It will not be a fun transition but I think it is inevitable. There is not enough political clout in the idealism of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfield/Ascroft to maintain such a horrific drain on our young adults nor our economy. The truely sad part is that so many have already died to an end that is not well thought out.