Z-Man

Heading to the mountains this weekend. Gonna be warm, am thinking early starts and getting up high, enjoy leading 5.9 AI3, got lots of ideas, send me a pm.

I got into medical school starting this next September somewhat unexpectedly and now need to figure out what to do with myself for the next six months. I need to keep working for at least another month to have enough money to survive until then, but after that I'm potentially completely free. I took off a Summer a couple years ago when I decided to change careers and spent the entire time climbing, which was quite fun, but I had a good friend with me the whole way, made a world of difference, and that likely won't be the case this time. Anybody got any ideas of what I should do this Summer?

check pms

Trip: Cashmere Mountain - Date: 2/12/2009 Trip Report: Hiked up Cashmere last Thursday, was beautiful up there. Was back in the Icicle yesterday and it had snowed over a foot above 4500 in the last couple days.

DOes anybody have contact info for Jeff Thomas, the author of Oregon High? If so, please pm me.

I have to work the better part of the weekend, but want to get out mon-tues. Rainier, Shuksan, stuart range come to mind. Send me a pm.

Let me know if any are yours.

partner found

Looking to get out this weekend, was thinking NE Ridge Triumph.

Found it sunday, 9/7, send me a pm if its yours.

What is the Sandpiper?

Science daily article American Physiological Society (2008, April 8). Backpack Straps Can Decrease Blood Flow In The Shoulder And Arm, And May Result In Loss of Fine Motor Control. More than 92 percent of the children in the U.S. carry backpacks. Typically the backpacks are loaded with almost one-fourth of the child’s body weight (22 percent) and worn with only one strap. Last year, a team of physician researchers examined the effect heavy-loaded backpack straps can have on children. They found the straps can significantly increase pressure when the load is ten percent or more. They also found that strap pressures with loads as small as ten percent of bodyweight can obstruct localized blood flow and contribute to shoulder fatigue. This year the team has examined pack straps and adults. In some professions, such as the military, firefighting and mountain rescue, the packs may equal as much as 60 percent of adult body weight. The findings of the most recent study indicate that even light loads of 26 pounds can decrease upper extremity blood flow, and may result in a loss of fine motor control and increased fatigue. The studies were conducted by Timothy Neuschwander, Brandon Macias and Alan Hargens, all of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California–San Diego. Dr. Neuschwander will present the team’s findings, Backpack Straps Decrease Upper Extremity Blood Flow, at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society, part of the Experimental Biology 2008 scientific conference. Background and Study Summary Backpack straps typically rest on an area of the body where they may compress the axillary vein which causes abnormally high blood pressure inside the veins and a subsequent decrease of blood flow in the shoulders and arms. The researchers speculated that blood flow of the large and small vessels of the upper extremity area would decrease in an individual while wearing a backpack. To test their theory, they examined eight healthy volunteers, six men and two women between the ages of 18-30. The right brachial artery was measured using ultrasound and the index finger pulp microvascular flow was measured using the photoplethysmography method. Baseline flows were measured immediately before and ten minutes after donning a 26 pound backpack. A ten minute testing period was chosen because people typically wear a backpack for at least ten minutes. This amount of time is also sufficient to measure flood flow. After wearing the pack for ten minutes, brachial artery blood flow decreased from 2.66± 0.36 to 1.52± 0.27 mL/s (p<0.05, paired T-test), and index finger microvascular flow decreased from 100 percent to 46±6 percent (p<0.05, paired test). Conclusions The researchers concluded that backpack loads of just 26 pounds decrease upper extremity macrovascular and microvascular blood flows, and may result in a loss of fine motor control and increased fatigue. According to Timothy Neuschwander, MD, the first author of the study and a physician, “We surmise that the mechanism of diminished blood flow is likely due to strap compression of the axillary vein. We think that backpack straps may benefit from a redesign that skirts the vein leading from the upper extremity to the heart.” Seems like shoulder pain is pretty common among climbers, could this be a contributor? Anybody thinking about changing the way they carry loads? But if we're all brain-damaged from even moderate amounts of time at moderate altitude, does it even matter?

There's a fixed #2 camalot in the chimney many people climb up high on the NE butt of J-Berg, seems to have been there at least a few years, anyone know who left that there? Seems like many of the peaks and routes around Washington Pass have loads of gear stuck in them. One trip to the Wine Spires last year netted two cams, one tricam, two nuts, five biners, and several usable pieces of tat.

Trip: Mount Shuksan - North Face variation Date: 2/17/2008 Trip Report: As may be garnered from the Climbers Board recently, Panos and I climbed a variation of the North Face of Shuksan last weekend over 3 days. This photo Panos took and annotated shows a pretty accurate rendition of our route. Conditions were a bit soft on lower-angled ground, but great on steeper aspects, there were countless long, steep white and blue streaks that could have been climbed. Very windy most of the weekend, but lots of fun, highly recomended. Panos took photos as well, he'll probably post his when he gets a chance.

My 1st gen pack also took a beating in a few 5.9 chimneys my first two trips using it and developed some tears. Graham replaced it free of charge with another when I documented the problems and brought his attention to it by email. The replacement pack has performed much more solidly and is overall the best pack I've ever owned. Keep trying him, I'm sure he'll help you out.

You gave me a good laugh at the end of a tiring day John. It was almost a shame we had to wipe it clean so we could see out the rear window, wanted to keep it to see what the locals would make of it. We didn't climb anything of note, I was just wondering who the artist was. Maybe I'll see you there next year.

check pm's.

You were definitely high on the list of suspects John, teach us to get such an early start. What did you guys do on New Year's day when they gated Hyalite canyon?

Who here was at Hyalite New Year's Eve? Someone brushed off our plates to check that we were from WA so figured it was one of yous.

Well done Mike, thanks for the entertainment and inspiration.

Looking for a partner for thursday. Thinking about NW couloir of Eldorado and some other stuff. send me a pm.

Yep, got that confirmed by Off the Hook's report. Like I wrote before, I think it was the last one.

Glaciated peaks and summits included. I've been on the summits you guys have mentioned in August and September and the highest point has been bare rock. Ruth has a substantial pile of choss making up the summit, check out the picture on the local freeze-dried meals available at REI for confirmation. Glacier, Rainier, and Baker all had bare rock, volcanic gravel, exposed in late season at the highest point. This is almost certainly because high winds don't allow much accumulation on the crater rims that form the summits on these peaks, plus heat from within on Rainier and Baker melts whatever does accumulate. I seem to remember Sherman Peak having snow on top... Even in May, Big Snow's highest point was bare rock when I was there. I haven't been on Adams in late season since 2001, but back then it was permanent snow and ice, is it still a snow summit as I've defined it above?

Are there any permanent snow summits left in Washington? Specifically is the highest point of any mountain in Washington snow-covered every day of the year? Seems like Eldorado was the last one.

Send me a pm if you lost them.