plumbbob

My apologies. We have not met. I thought you were a friend of mine in L-Town named Gordon. I did visit last weekend and got a good ski in on Mt Cashmere. Same time you were getting high adventure on Dragontail. Enjoy L-Town.

http://mountainagency.com/Mendenhall/index.htm

The last time I was drinking in L-town I was at your house.

How about between Feb. 6th and 9th. I'll be in Wenatchee visiting.

The climbing potential around Skagway looks like it is unlimited. Lots of slabs, pinnacles and summits above the highway and railroad on the way to White Pass with access from both the road and the railroad. South of town along Lynn Canal there are some stunning peaks. Access from the water would be strenuous to say the least. Flying in to the ice cap in a fixed wing may be an option and if you had the $ using the helicopters that are flying tourists would get you to things fast. The weather in Skagway is different from the rest of SE, it reminded me of Eastern WA, dry with the pine forest smell. However, the rock I have touched close to town was flakey weathered granite, with few cracks. If you do decide to spend a summer there take your gear.

Troopers say avalanche probably claimed two climbers on Devil's Thumb By KLAS STOLPE, PETERSBURG PILOT Alaska State Troopers ended a search last week for two Canadian climbers missing near Petersburg since mid-April. Authorities believe the two may have perished in an avalanche. Troopers led a three-day search for Guy Edwards, 30, and John Millar, 24, of British Columbia. The two, with Kai M. Hirvornen, 33, of Vancouver, B.C., had been dropped off on Baird Glacier two weeks before. They skied three days via Witch's Cauldron to set up a base camp near the 9,077-foot Devil's Thumb for an attempted climb on its 6,000-foot-high northwest face, a route that has never been conquered. Edwards and Millar were last seen Sunday, April 13, on their night ascent of the northwest face. According to trooper Search and Rescue Coordinator Lt. Chuck Lamica, Hirvornen did not feel comfortable with the climb and chose to stay behind. "He watched their progress by their headlamps on the mountainside until about 1:30 Monday morning," Lamica said. "That was the last time they were seen." The two climbers took gear and food for a four- to five-day climb. When they didn't return by April 18, Hirvornen became concerned and skied to the head of Thomas Bay. Using a hand-held radio, he contacted the tugboat Western Mariner, which provided a communication link to the Petersburg police and troopers. Hirvornen was picked up that evening by a TEMSCO helicopter and flown to Petersburg. A search began the next morning with troopers, TEMSCO helicopters, Petersburg Search and Rescue volunteers and the Juneau Civil Air Patrol. Troopers suspended the search on April 22. "There were avalanches occurring in that area before they started their climb," Lamica said. "There were avalanches occurring during the four days or so that their climb was supposed to be occurring, and there have been avalanches occurring pretty much continually since this search started. "Based on the fact that we have found zero clues on that mountain of them, we feel pretty strongly that this case is probably avalanche-related and we also feel the odds of survivability at this point are about zero." Bill Glude, director of Southeast Avalanche Center in Juneau, was flown to the area April 21. Glude advised searchers that avalanche conditions made it extremely hazardous to try to put a search-and-rescue team on the northwest side of the mountain. Glude said there was evidence of recent avalanches in the area of the climbers' intended route. "Sometimes we can bomb an area to make it safer for operations," Lamica said, referring to intentionally triggering avalanches to clear away the hazard. "In this particular case, because of the terrain and amount of snow and ice, it was Glude's opinion there was no way to render this area safe. We suspect these gentlemen have probably been hit by an avalanche, and there is just no safe way to go in and dig through debris. "We feel very confident that if they were alive and somewhere on the mountain or the icefield below, we would have found them. They are experienced climbers in good physical shape with a lot of knowledge. We would have seen some type of signal or attracter. It was a dangerous route at a dangerous time of year. I expect that the odds caught up to them." The climbers left at base camp their avalanche rescue beacons, which would have helped pinpoint where their bodies are. Troopers said they will seek DNA samples from family members to help identify the bodies if they are found. Said Lamica, "We haven't done a lot of that in the past, but this way if we find a body down the road we can get some closure for the families." Thirty-nine climbing parties have gone to Devil's Thumb. Fifteen of those excursions made it to the summit on routes other than the northwest face. Another 15 parties have tried the northwest face, and all have failed. There have been two confirmed fatalities on Devil's Thumb. In August 1977, Nichols Rouner died in a fall while soloing. In July 2002, Marc Springer and three other climbers reached the summit via another route than the northwest face. Springer was buried by a large rock slide while trying to scramble to a higher location for better cell phone reception as he awaited pickup.

This is the Alaska State Trooper press release. The news is not good. My condolences to family and friends. PETERSBURG...SEARCH AND RESCUE...ON TUESDAY, APRIL 22ND, STATE TROOPERS HAVE SUSPENDED SEARCH EFFORTS FOR TWO CANADIAN CLIMBERS WHO WERE ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB DEVIL'S THUMB, A MOUNTAIN LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES EAST OF PETERSBURG. GUY EDWARDS, 20 AND JOHN M. MILLAR, 24, BOTH FROM VANCOUVER, BC, BEGAN CLIMBING THE NORTH FACE OF DEVIL'S THUMB ON THE EVENING OF SUNDAY, APRIL 13TH. THE NORTH FACE HAS NEVER SUCCESSFULLY BEEN CLIMBED. A THIRD MEMBER OF THEIR PARTY, KAI HIRVORNEN, 33, ALSO OF VANCOUVER, STAYED AT THEIR BASE CAMP AND WAS ABLE TO WATCH THE TWO CLIMBERS DURING THE FIRST FEW HOURS OF THE CLIMB. HE LOST SIGHT OF THE CLIMBERS SOMETIME AROUND 0130 ON MONDAY MORNING. THE TWO MEN INTENDED TO RETURN TO THEIR BASE CAMP WITHIN A FEW DAYS. HIRVORNEN WAITED FOR THEM UNTIL THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH THEN STARTED HIKING OUT OF THE AREA TO SUMMON HELP. HE HIKED DOWN BAIRD GLACIER, REACHING THOMAS BAY ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, WHERE HE USED A VHF RADIO TO CONTACT A PASSING BOAT. A HELICOPTER WAS SENT OUT TO PICK UP HIRVORNEN AND BRING HIM TO PETERSBURG. THE SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS THAT ENSUED INVOLVED THE US COAST GUARD RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER IN JUNEAU, THE ALASKA STATE TROOPERS, THE PETERSBURG SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM, THE JUNEAU SQUADRON OF THE CIVIL AIR PATROL, AND TEMSCO HELICOPTERS. MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAMS IN JUNEAU AND SITKA WERE ALERTED TO STANDBY FOR POSSIBLE DEPLOYMENT. TECHNICAL ADVICE AND OTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED BY THE SOUTHEAST AVALANCHE CENTER IN JUNEAU, SEADOGS IN JUNEAU, AND THE ALASKA MOUNTAIN RESCUE GROUP IN ANCHORAGE. WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CONDITIONS HAMPERED THE SEARCH EFFORTS THROUGHOUT THIS MISSION. BAD WEATHER RESULTED IN THE SUSPENSION OF HELICOPTER OPERATIONS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. EXTREME AVALANCHE CONDITIONS PREVENTED THE USE OF GROUND SEARCHERS OR MOUNTAIN RESCUE PERSONNEL. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT AVALANCHES HAD BEEN OCCURRING IN THE AREA BEFORE THE CLIMBERS STARTED THEIR ASCENT, WERE ON-GOING DURING THE TIME EXPECTED TO COMPLETE THE ASCENT, AND CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE SEARCH EFFORTS. SOME OF THESE AVALANCHES INVOLVED THE RELEASE OF HUGE SNOW SLABS MEASURING UP TO SIX FEET THICK. IN SPITE OF THESE HAZARDS, DURING BREAKS IN THE WEATHER A TEMSCO HELICOPTER WAS ABLE TO SEARCH THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN AND THE ICE FIELDS THAT SURROUND IT. EXCEPT FOR THE BASE CAMP LEFT BY THE CLIMBERS, NO SIGNS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY WERE EVER FOUND. IT IS BELIEVED BY INVESTIGATORS THAT THE TWO MEN WERE PROBABLY STRUCK BY AN AVALANCHE SOMETIME DURING THE FIRST 24 HOURS OF THEIR CLIMB. IT IS ALSO BELIEVED THAT SUCH AN EVENT WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY BE FATAL TO THE CLIMBERS. BOTH MEN POSSESSED AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVERS, DEVICES WHICH SEND OUT AN ELECTRONIC SIGNAL TO HELP SEARCHERS LOCATE AVALANCHE VICTIMS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CLIMBERS DID NOT TAKE THEIR TRANSCEIVERS ON THE CLIMB. THEY WERE LEFT AMONG THE GEAR AT THEIR BASE CAMP

Climbers missing in Southeast OVERDUE: Canadians were trying to be first up Devils Thumb face. By PETER PORCO Anchorage Daily News (Published: April 22, 2003) Two Canadian climbers are missing on a distinctive mountain near Petersburg after a weekend of mostly bad weather hampered search efforts, Alaska State Troopers said. The search for Guy Edwards and John Millar of British Columbia was kept on hold most of Monday too as low clouds kept a helicopter pilot from flying close to 9,077-foot Devils Thumb, troopers said. It resumed when the clouds broke Monday evening. The pilot indicated that avalanches had occurred in the area recently, said trooper Chris Umbs in Petersburg. Devils Thumb rises from the Stikine Ice Cap about 30 miles northeast of Petersburg. A Utah climber fell and died there in July. Edwards, 30, and Millar, 24, were last seen on the north face by their climbing companion, 33-year-old Kai M. Hirvornen of Vancouver, British Columbia, more than a week ago. All three are seasoned mountaineers, the troopers said. They apparently chartered a boat that took them and supplies to last four to six weeks to the base of Baird Glacier about two weeks ago, Umbs said. They had planned to do a lot of climbing, he said. For three days they skied about 20 miles up Baird and another glacier, Witches Cauldron, to the base of the mountain. Hirvornen "just didn't feel like going up with them" when Edwards and Millar left camp April 13 with gear and food for a four- to five-day climb up the face, Umbs said. In the middle of the night, Hivornen saw the shine of their headlamps, his last glimpse of them. The weather was poor for most of last week. Hivornen became concerned Friday when his partners had not returned. "He didn't know if they were hunkered down, and he wanted to get help," so he decided to come out, Umbs said. Hivornen skied to the head of Thomas Bay, where he called for help with a hand-held radio, according to troopers. A pilot for Temsco Helicopters in Petersburg picked him up Friday evening and brought him to town. At 5 a.m. Saturday, the pilot flew off to search for the other two, taking Hirvornen along. Two fixed-wing pilots with the Juneau Civil Air Patrol joined the search, troopers said. By Saturday afternoon, worsening weather grounded the CAP planes, and by 7 p.m. the search was suspended for the night. The Temsco pilot made several trips to the area Sunday as the weather allowed, troopers said. The first recorded climb of Devils Thumb was in 1946. It is an infrequent destination, said Colby Coombs, a Talkeetna mountaineer and co-author of "Alaska: A Climbing Guide." There's no easy way up; the area is remote, and the mountain is close enough to the sea that it collects plenty of bad weather. The few people who try are almost all experienced climbers, Coombs said. Its 6,000-foot north face, the route apparently taken by the missing climbers, is a prize yet unclaimed, said Joe Reichert, a National Park Service ranger in Talkeetna who scaled Devils Thumb by a standard route 10 years ago. "It's one of the most coveted unclimbed faces in North America," he said. Daily News reporter Peter Porco can be reached at pporco@adn.com or 257-4582.

Two climbers from Vancouver BC are overdue on Devils Thumb. They are attempting the NW face. Three climbers were droped off about three weeks ago in Thomas Bay. They skied up the Baird Glaicier and into the Witches Cauldron. Two went up on the face with 5 days food. After a week the third skied out to the coast and radioed a pasing boat. A search by air started last Sunday and continues as weather permits. The only name I caught on the morning news was Guy Edwards. Hope for the best.

Don't know how yet but there was a fatality on Devils Thumb on Saturday. This was in The Anchorage Paper Climber killed in fall in Southeast STRANDED: Second climber stuck on Devil's Thumb until weather clears. By Sean Cockerham Anchorage Daily News (Published: July 29, 2002) A climber from Utah has reportedly fallen to his death on Devil's Thumb near Petersburg and his companion remains stuck on the peak with the body until the weather clears. The surviving climber on Devil's Thumb, who is believed unhurt, used a cell phone to report that his climbing partner had died sometime Friday night, state troopers said. The dead climber was identified as Marc Springer, a 30-year-old from Layton, Utah. Troopers said that four climbers, each with at least 10 years of experience, had been on a weeklong climbing expedition on Devil's Thumb, a 9,077-foot peak about 25 miles northeast of Petersburg in Southeast Alaska. Two of the climbers, 22-year-old Mark Anderson from New Mexico and 26-year-old Janelle Jakulewicz, had been picked up by Temsco Helicopters late on Friday. But bad weather forced the helicopter to return to Petersburg without retrieving the other two climbers. One of them was Springer and the other was a fellow Utah resident named Mike Anderson, whose exact age has not been determined, state troopers said. Then, sometime on Friday night, Springer apparently fell to his death. The details are sketchy. "The report came in from (Anderson) who was on a cell phone with very low batteries," said Petersburg Fish and Wildlife Trooper Scott Carson. "He didn't elaborate a lot." Members of the climbing party who were retrieved on Friday have speculated that maybe Springer fell from a cliff located near their camp at about 7,000 feet, Carson said. The group had been using the cliff for exercise. On Saturday morning, after hearing of the accident, Temsco Helicopters attempted to reach the scene. The helicopter made it to an ice field, called the Witches Cauldron, located at the base of the peak. But the weather was too bad to continue. On Sunday the weather worsened. "It's pretty much pea soup here," Carson reported on Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service indicates the weather may not clear enough to reach the scene until Tuesday or Wednesday. Carson said that Anderson, the surviving climber on the peak, apparently has a week's supply of food and is believed to be at the 7,000-foot camp. He has been out of communication since Saturday morning. Springer, the Utah climber who has reportedly died, was mentioned in Alaska news reports last year when he was stricken with high-altitude sickness at the 14,200-foot mark of Mount McKinley and needed to be airlifted out. Reporter Sean Cockerham can be reached at 907 257-4343 or scockerham@adn.com Utah climber named