DanO

Any recent news on the recovery? Dan

Because of the knee, hard fast training is out, I can only do moderately paced peddling at steady pressure. I find I can get some sweat going and get a good leg work out, but it does not hit the lungs much, the best I can do. But after a 45 minute workout my legs can be surprisingly sore for at least two days. After a few months of this my legs may adapt, I suppose with hiking with a pack that this will make great cross over training. For anyone interested, what I do is put on a moderate pressure setting on the bike then I do half the time down lower where my knees raise up to around horizontal. I am careful during this period as it puts more strain on the knees, Then I do half the time setting with the seat two notches higher. I find this hits a broader range of muscle groups. I find that if I lubricate the knee by a caster oil wrap this also helps the knee and healing. This is a treatment that works on knees and other parts of the body. Go to the health store and ask about a wool wrap and castor oil. You wrap the body part, knee, ankle, whatever with the wool wrap with castor oil on the body part, use kitchen clear plastic wrap over the wool wrap-saturated with castor oil. The procedure I am using currently. Wrap the knee for about 15min(Castor oil Wrap), then do the stationary bike, then after that ice the knee. Works pretty well. The knee is a long time injury, I think it is slowly getting better and as long as I don't overdo it the bike workouts actually seem to help it. I posted this to give someone else a idea if they wanted to try it out. As for translating to mountaineering, I am wondering about that, shall see, has to help I think. Dan

We got a stationary bike a few months ago, I have been hitting it about thirty to forty five minutes several times a week. Would do it every day but I find I need the extra recovery time. I am surprised on how a good workout it gives me. Pretty convenient as I do it watching TV in the spare bedroom in the evenings. I feel my legs getting bigger and stronger. But I don't feel like it translates totally to the hiking motion with a pack. I wonder if any here has done the stationary bike workout and how well it translates to mountaineering? Any suggestions on the best length of time for the workout? I can't hit it too hard as to baby my bum knee along. Dan

I am not new to climbing, but new to spring and winter accents in the cascades as a leader. I have looked at whitehorse to climb sometime in the future, maybe this end of winter and spring. I looked at the standard route and the glacier route. I checked the general avalanche forecast for the region and it looks pretty good as far as I know, a 1 for less than 5000 feet and a 2 for above 5000 feet. I not planning to do the climb this weekend as I am tied up Sunday, but would you consider it a green light as far as general avalanche danger and weather conditions? What else should I consider? I know about snow loading in general but not sure how to apply this exactly on this climb. Is there a check list procedure? Thanks Dan

To solo down a 70 degree slope with only a mountaineering ice axe, if you had one, would be very difficult and very risky at the least. I am sure his partner and other climbers did all they could. Condolences to family and friends.

Never been to that mountain or spot, I imagine to solo down it would have to be suicidal before I would not do it, to get to a partner. Goes to show that self rescue is the best option or at least set up camp around a injured party, if at all possible. I have been thinking to bring bivy gear, even on day trips just for such a accidental, for in case. Belay coat and half sleeping bag, light stove and pot for water. Helo rescue is great, but depends on good weather. Dan

Good clean fish, a few bites a day including the bones will help the healing process. I myself eat a little salmon often out of the can. I get salmon canned in BC, as the wild salmon from Alaska is often canned spoiled it seems to me and often the other is fish farm. I am getting lately the wild catch canned Salmon from BC. I find it in the Mount Vernon Co op. I am at age 41 and one hard climbing trip to the gym a week is all I can handle and heal back up from. When your younger it is hard to believe that a injury can stay injured for forever and ever. As the above says, it is best to make a full recovery. You can push it and really be screwed up for a life time. So heal up totally, and then start to train carefully. Dan

The City of Anacortes will no longer require instructional climbing groups on Mt. Erie to provide the City with a hold harmless agreement, proof of insurance, or participant waivers. Thanks from me at least, this seems like a great positive step for the climbing community. I climb and hike often on Mount Erie and want to contribute to taking care of the mountain while allowing access. I will tread lightly and pick up any trash that I may see, but to date I have seen none that I remember of. Good show. For the next generation of climbers let us enjoy the outdoors and be good citizens. Dan

The City of Anacortes will no longer require instructional climbing groups on Mt. Erie to provide the City with a hold harmless agreement, proof of insurance, or participant waivers. Thanks from me at least, this seems like a great positive step for the climbing community. I climb and hike often on Mount Erie and want to contribute to taking care of the mountain while allowing access. I will tread lightly and pick up any trash that I may see, but to date I have seen none that I remember of. Good show. For the next generation of climbers let us enjoy the outdoors and be good citizens. Dan

On the back side of the face your looking at last post there is a road to a trail. The trail leads to the top and there is a register. I walked along part of the face, I wish I had a gas powered hammer drill and bolts. I would like to put up a few routes. Of course it is covered in algae and junk. There is a way to drive in, but I have not found out how yet. I have been biking in. There is a creek at the bottom at the face for water for camping. You can actually drive up and then could have a fairly short hike to the face at a couple three places. There is no trail that I can see of to the bottom of the face. No signs of it being developed. I am sure it can be trad climbed as is with long run outs, but I would rather have a bolt gun of some sort, sort of chicken of massive fall potential. Maybe a good route or two of safer trad routes?, have to look harder. A lot of potential. Dan

In walker valley there is a thousand foot cliff face on bald mountain totally ripe for development. The area is a logging area so I doubt anyone would care about climbers, climber trails and bolts and so on. Would be sort of silly considering the vast tracks of logging clear cuts and bulldozer created logging roads etc. But who knows for sure in today's world? Anyway As things are going climbers will have to expand into other areas. The cliff face looks like prime climbing real estate. As far I as I know virgin, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Dan

It seems the war against drugs was a flop so they are going with a war against climbers. No doubt that will be more successful.

I suggest you try both methods, my method of using two balaclavas or a ski mask and a balaclava is not that common. What you do is carefully put the two on so you have just a small eye slit to see through with your eyes. In use you can adjust for wind if you like, if one side of the face is getting all the wind you can make that slit small on that eye and larger on the other eye out of the wind. I personally find that I sweat so much that I am effectively blind because of all of the frost on the inside of the goggles when I use goggles. If nothing else you will have a backup method if you or a party member loses their goggles. Dan

Think serious, two layers of anything should work fine if you have a hood on a belay jacket that works well(or also good hood on gortex jacket). If no good hood on belay/shell jacket think really good balaclava and another layer like a thick ski mask. Remember the wind can gust over a hundred up there. Dan

The usual conditions is windy and very cold in winter, which means no exposed skin. I do not like down, don't use down mitts. Your sweat will collapse the insulation in your mitts. I don't like the ski goggle method of protecting your eyes from the wind. When you sweat the inside of the goggles will freeze up and you can't see. Better to take two balaclava's and make a eye slit to see through. Or you take one balaclava and a ski mask. You put the two on at once and make a eye slit to see through, works much better than ski goggles. You can carry the ski goggles and the gear I named and try both systems to see what you like best. The weather rules on the mountain, if you have to stop up high with no gear you will freeze to death in bad weather. Even in relativity good weather you would freeze to death in a night in winter if left out. You may want to carry a snow shovel. Practice self arrest, with ice axe, with ski pole and with your body alone. Carry crampons of course, carry snowshoes if you drop into a bowl the snow can be soft and really deep. Dan

Wait until you see this, you will cream in your shorts. I wish I had one myself, I know nothing except this video I just found. You can operate it with your hands alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgn1Psq0V24

How about some sort of personal flying machine? They make some small neat flying contraptions, a lot of risk and fun, but you don't have to slog your way up. Just soar over the tops and valleys. Of course I think this more dangerous than most normal climbing, but you can do it. Dan

I was climbing in the Tetons in the summer going up a steep snow gully to go to another climb. One member fell, had on a heavy pack, steep snow all slushy from the sun. He had pretty good self arrest position, didn't slow much until he hit a pile of gravel, then he stopped, slid about 20+ feet. I decided to solo the crappy rock section beside the snow after I saw his fall, me with heavy pack, I doubt my way was better , he and a partner made it up the snow gully after the fall. I am no super expert, but soft snow can be hard to self arrest in. You need to act fast and in good form, I would think to dig in toes hard and fast. Better yet to belay yourself at all times when in these conditions. You plunge the spiked in of the ice axe for self belay. Climb safe, reason for these posts. Dan

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/148353.jpg I imagine the rock will be wet and maybe snowy. But not verglassed. Serious situation to climb up, but a good team should be good to go on it. Hope the weather gives a window for a direct lift. This says a strong party can make it to the base in one long hard day. Can be done, but not much gas left for a rescue, especially carrying extra rescue gear, the weight. Would need the strongest climbers. Maybe mules(hikers not real mules) to carry the extra weight and the rescue climbers go light? To have more energy for the buttress. Say a prayer. Dan

My GF a climber, I taught her how to climb and did at least a couple of times did the self arrest exercises. All positions with a ice axe, then all positions with a ski pole, then self arrest with the body alone. Here is the photos of how to self arrest with a ski pole. http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/57090/how-to-self-arrest-head-first I do my hands differently when I do it, I put my lower hand and upper hand above my shoulder and lean into it with my body weight. Then I practice self arrest with my body alone, you cup your hands at your face and you place your cuped hands and elbows into the snow and arch your back and push in your toes. We did this a couple of years and my GF had it down pretty well and I felt good about teaching her and the practice we put in. All this a year+ ago. As climbing season approached this year. I felt nervice as sometimes she gets her hand placement wrong to do self arrest. We was planning to do a climb on steep snow and I asked her if she could self arrest and she said yes, of course!! But still I lingering doubts, one evening I made it a point to do all the types of self arrest to practice them all, she was reluctant. I still had the skill pretty well, but even I got better after a few runs. She couldn't get the hand placements or body positions right on her first few tries...... For some reason her memory or automatic body memory did not have self arrest down after about a year+ without practice. Something to think about, of course I don't know about this accident. I try to practice these skills once a year weather I need or not. Climb safe. Dan

Trip: Rock climbing at darlington, 3 o'clock wall - Date: 5/25/2009 Trip Report: Hello Went for the first time to 3 O'clock wall in Darlington Washington. Went up Forest Road 2060 about 3 miles and a snow and tree avalanche had the road blocked. Luckily we had our mountain bikes in the truck so we biked up to the trail head, we walked and pushed the bikes in about 2.5 miles. Since we got a late start we just did the first pitch of the 5.7 on the north buttress on 3 O'clock wall. The ride back down the road made bringing the bikes a joy. There was a few down trees along the way, we went around or over them. Plan to go back again and finish the climb someday. Bring your mountain bike if you have one for the road section, if you want to climb there or hike 8 mile trail. Dan

Hello, I know it has a good boot track, but I still wonder if I should bring snowshoes or not? Any opinion? Thinking of going this sunday evening to monday. Thanks Dan

I have not used these yet, but thinking of trying them out. I use ski poles anyway. If I was going to do a long glacier climb I would probably use my old heavy axe anyway. I think these would be good for lighter usage. http://www.cliffgear.com/details/climbing/iceaxes/1186/all http://www.backcountryworld.com/showthread.php?t=396&page=2 I have used S.A. grips since there introduction 25 yrs. ago. They work good for climbing until the snow becomes very hard.If there is exposure and I am carrying my skis I will switch to an axe and a grip for better self belay protection. DANGER ! this type of tool is minimal at best at arresting a fall! My brother stopped a fall by quickly assuming proven S.A. position and committing to one grip. I have taken 3 slides. My first reaction was to use both grips to stop , but both quickly rotated out of the snowpack!Commiting to one pole-grip using proven S.A. technique was the only way to slow myself to a stop. Practice and quick reaction cannot be over emphisised.The falls were taken in soft slurpie,firm, and very hard snow conditions,all required the same tech. to stop.

I have been looking at all the hats on the REI website. Anyone have any favorite hats? One of the hats is this one. http://www.rei.com/product/781572 Use it on glacier climbing etc. Thanks Dan

7 to 10 miles with a 30lb plus pack 3-4 times a week about half the distance should be going up and down hill. The best training for climbing, is actual climbing so do so every chance you get on the weekends. Dan