Tennessee

I purchased 12 spots in two backcountry huts at Rogers Pass in the Selkirks of BC and still have 7 spots left after soliciting all my friends (lame, I know). If any of you have interest in going, let me know by emailing me at bourneography@yahoo.com. I unfortunately don't have a lot of time to check this board very often so don't reply to this unless you have a question and you can wait for an answer. The first one reserved for the nights of Feb 11-12 is the AO Wheeler hut which is 1km from the road and sleeps 24 people. So we have half of the hut. You can basically bring the kitchen sink to this hut, so it is the party hut. The good skiing is accessed with a one hour ski up valley. The second is reserved for the nights of Feb 13-15 is the Asulkan hut which is another 3 to 5 hour ski up valley from the Wheeler hut and sleeps 12 people, so we have the whole thing reserved. This is an amazing skiing hut, you can step out the door, put on your skis and do a 800 foot tree glade run or ski uphill to access open alpine and glaciated terrain. Here's the beta on the huts: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/wheeler.html http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/asulkan.html Here's some ski pics around the Asulkan hut: http://members.tripod.com/~Schryer/1999/Asulkan.html Here's the price breakdown: Feb 11-12 Sun-Mon - Wheeler hut ($32 per night or $22 for ACC members) Feb 13-15 Tue-Thu - Asulkan hut ($22 per night for everybody) 6 day 5 night price if you are not an AAC Member - $130 6 day 5 night price if you are an AAC Member - $110 *AAC Annual Membership - $56 7 out of 12 spaces are left. If you want to come and bring a friend or two, it's cool, you can forward this info to them. at this point I'm just trying to get my money back. The 5 of us who are going so far are all pretty cool and laid back, advanced skier/boarders. Two on Splitboards the rest on skis. We definitely like to party it up, but we'll be going to bed pretty early usually in order to get up and get on the mountain. Ages are 32, 32, 32, 36, and 24. Everyone is from Bellingham except one from Jackson Hole. To go you gotta pay for all 5 nights or find your own person to split with if you can only make certain huts on certain days. The Asulkan hut can be hard to get into, but the Wheeler is not a problem. If you only wanted to go to the Wheeler hut you might even be able to book extra space there on your own, if you did this you would want to do it soon by calling the Alpine Club of Canada at 403 678 3200. If you think you can go, let me know by emailing me at bourneography@yahoo.com. Later, Andy

I climbed there in November of 1999 and put up a few new routes that will one day be discovered by some adventurous person. Couldn't really tell you where they are other than on an island called "three peach beach" translated to English. I'm sure everything has changed a bit since being there, but one thing I can say is to watch out for sharp items on the beaches (glass, needles, etc.) and don't climb on the rock that is less than vertical despite how inviting it looks from below. It is extremely sharp and dangerous. The overhanging light colored rock is where the good climbing is. Have fun and don't forget to learn some of the language before you go. It's easy and it makes a better impression on the local people.

Actually, the rule about no guiding on Friday or Saturday nights does not apply to the routes in the "Muir Corridor" (DC, Gib Ledges, Nisqually), or any other non-summit trips. There is no guiding on weekends on the other routes where guiding is allowed - Liberty Ridge, Emmons, Fuhrer Finger, Kautz Glacier. There is no guiding allowed at all in the pie shaped area above 7000 feet starting at Success Cleaver going around to Ptarmigan Ridge.

Huh? They are expanding into Tibet as a means of conquering a "renegade" province. The Han Chinese view China as always having been theirs despite ideas of independence on the part of the misguided and backwards theocratic Tibetans. Not entirely dissimilar from their views of the Republic of China (Taiwan) He's right, Han Chinese see Tibet as originally "theirs". A long time ago, China conquered Tibet. Sometime later the Tibetans gained independence (and sacked Xian, the capitol of China in the process). When China gained power again with Mao, they "took back" Tibet in 1959. The reason they see it as the "peaceful liberation of Tibet" is that Tibet had been under a theocratic government run by the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism headed by the Dalai Lama. At that time, China thought of all religion as being bad, especially when it is combined with government (think Taliban). So now that they are building roads, power grids and bringing economic growth to Tibet, they use this as propoganda to the rest of the Chinese to show that they are being a benevolent force rather than an oppressive occupier. The few Tibetans that are brave enough to go against the rule of the Chinese military are harshly dealt with because the Chinese Government fears an uprising. Followers of the Dalai Lama commonly try to get into or out of Tibet through Nepal or India, and they are seen as enemy forces. Therefore, the heavy handed nature of their military forces on the border of Nepal. The amazing thing is that most Chinese people I have met don't see why the whole world is against their "liberating" Tibet. They think that propoganda is affecting world opinion and unfairly judging China for what they see as a peaceful take over of a backward nation that used to be theirs in the first place. Just be aware that it is the Chinese government that is bad, not Chinese people. Sounds a lot like another country I know . . .

Nice! Is this route written up in a guidebook? Sounds familiar but couldn't remember. What is it rated?

Hey slc heath, that is my friend's stuff. Funny I saw this, as her and I did Serpentine Cracks yesterday to try and get it back. I was perusing the site and saw your post. I can (or she) can describe the gear, and can describe why the hell it was left up there. the short answer was an epic from stuck ropes actually on the way up (followers rope stuck in a flake, you probably saw that too) and getting caught in the dark. PM me with your email or something, I'll do the same. Thanks a lot, I'm sure she will be super happy to get her gear back, she is definitely not rich and climbs all the time, so they are in desperate need. thanks so much.

Here's some beta for climbing in Thailand: -don't spend more than one night in Bangkok, there's a reason for that song -pay up front for all the days you plan to stay in a bungalo, you get a cheaper price -don't stay in the places near the beach unless you can afford it, inland places are cheaper. Dream Valley is a good bargain. -bring lots of chalk -bring all anodized biners, or else they get destroyed by the salt water environment -don't bring a bunch of shorts/tshirts, you can buy cooler ones in Bangkok for cheaper and they make good souvenirs -Bring a sweater or jacket on the bus ride from Bangkok to Krabi, they crank the AC and it gets too cold to sleep -you can buy pot from the bartender at the Insomnia Bar -always bargain and don't offer a price that you aren't willing to pay. if they accept your offer, you should buy it or they get really pissed -don't buy any drugs in Bangkok -learn some Thai, even a little makes a good impression -visit the Northern part of the country if you have time (Changmai, Pi) although with 2 weeks you'll probably stay in Railay the whole time -bring some strong antibiotics like Cipro and Flagyl -find the underwater cave entrance that tunnels through Happy Island, a very cool adventure -always stare down the bearded monkeys, they love that -make time to climb Ao Nang Tower, it's worth it -get a posse together and rent a boat to do some deep water soloing near Chicken Island -beach towels are as expensive in Thailand as they are here, and they all suck -you can get mosquito repellant there -if the tide suddenly goes way way out, run

http://www.skipressworld.com/us/en/daily...l?cat=Adventure

Has anyone out there done NF of Buckner? I'm hoping to get some beta on the approach via Sahale Arm, up and over Boston Peak and onto the Boston Glacier. Or if you highly recommend the Sharkfin Col approach instead, I'd be interested in hearing why. Are there any points of reference or an elevation where you need to make the crossover onto the Boston Glacier? Basically I'm thinking of camping at the Sahale highcamp and doing the North face of Buckner with summit packs only, then descending the Southside of Buckner and return to camp via Horseshoe Basin. It looks straightforward, but is there anything to watch for as far as terrain barriers or places that cliff out on the way back to camp? thanks.

was this with the Bellingham Parks and Rec?

Jason gave some really good advice. American Alpine Institute has been guiding in Bolivia for like 26 years and offers a pretty flexible trip: http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail.asp?program=11

I got some great beta from these guys http://www.wildirisclimbing.com/ It's the climbing shop in Lander. I emailed them last year about the Winds and they gave me excellent info. I'm sure it all depends on who answers the emails, but there seems to be some pretty knowledgable climbers working there. It might be worth a try . . .

Don't forget about all that paperwork and red tape to get a Special Use Permit on Forest Service, BLM or National Park land. $1,000,000 minimum liability insurance requirement, application fees, user fees, and complicated annual reports. (Unless you are going to guide on hwy roadcuts or private land)

Yes, that first pic looks like DP. Was that second pic taken of the climbs to the right of DP or to the left? A couple friends went back up to climb DP again this sunday, but decided not to lead it. They did, however, set up a belay at the tree at the top of the climb and tr'ed it. They were glad that they didn't lead it, as the ice was steep with that rotten crust over it and there wouldn't have been much pro at all. After talking with several folks who have done routes up in this area, it sounds like these conditions are pretty normal.

That might be the one we climbed, not sure. It is pretty accessible and lot's of folks ski up there, I'm sure we weren't the first to try it. There's also another WI3 around on the northeast side of Table that's been climbed, listed in Jason's WA Ice book. I remember looking at it on Sunday, but when we went back on Wednesday it didn't look as good, maybe it just got covered in snow, being so low angled.

True Death Picnic was scary looking, but that's just to me. I bet a good ice climber wouldn't say that though. I'm just not good enough to cast off on ice that steep this early in the season. Besides the first 40 feet on cauliflower steppy stuff, the rest looked pretty fat and blue. And it isn't that the mixed lines aren't touching down, it's that they are just thin. There's tons of lines that go all the way down, but you wouldn't be able to get many screws in, if any. If you had a 600 foot toprope though, they would be a blast.

...

After skiing around Table Mountain (near Baker Ski Area) on Sunday and seeing many nice looking ice climbs, we went back up yesterday and climbed a 2 pitch route, 2 gullys to the left of Death Picnic. Our original intention was to climb Death Picnic itself, as it's definitely the most obvious and fattest line around there right now. But it's very steep and the first 40 feet or so is on cauliflower-type formations that are like little overhangs. There's also a crusty kind of ice formed over everything that isn't dead vertical, so you don't know what's underneath until you swing. . . sometimes good ice, but sometimes it's sugar snow or rock. Death Picnic looked too steep for our taste and we chose the other line. DP looks like a solid 5, our line went at about 3+ with marginal pro, but good enough. There's lots of other potential ice and mixed climbs up there. If it doesn't get too warm over the next few days, they should still be in pretty good shape.

We hiked in to the Hidden Lake Peak/Sibley Creek trail (the beginning of the Triad Approach to Eldo) and climbed a bunch of FAT, easy waterice climbs on Sat and Sun 11/8-9. There was so many frozen creeks you couldn't climb them all. Nothing any harder than a 3. A couple major multi pitch flows were accessible with only a mile and a half approach. I'm sure they are gone now with the warm weather and rain from Monday and Tuesday. . .

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is considering closing or decommissioning several roads around the Baker Lake Area. They are trying to close roads that are difficult or expensive to maintain. Two roads that are of note to the climbing community are: 1. FS Road #1152-014, this is the last road you turn right on when driving to the Sulfide Glacier Approach on Shuksan. They are considering 3 options: leave it alone, close it, or upgrade it. If it gets closed, the approach would become about 1.5 to 2 miles longer, I think. 2. FS Road # 1131- This is the last road you turn left onto when driving to the Boulder/Park Cleaver approach on Mount Baker. This is of note because this is not only a great moderate route on Baker, but it's also one of the best ski descents on the mountain. The road closure would add many many miles to the approach. You can write Mount Baker National Forest and express your opinion on the potential closures of these roads. (many other roads are being considered, but these two are the only ones I saw as being important to climbers/hikers). The main problem for us, obviously, is that we would have to walk a lot further to gain access to these moderate, classic routes. However, an argument that may hold more merit for the Forest Service might be that by making the approaches longer, they would inadvertantly be ADDING traffic and human impact to the other heavily trafficked areas around Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. Namely the Easton Glacier. If you find this to be important to you as a climber or hiker, please take the time to write to the Project Supervisor, Karen Nolan, at: Mount Baker/Snoqualmie NF Mount Baker Ranger District 810 HWY 20 Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 I just spoke to her on the phone and she was very nice and responsive to my comments. She said that hearing people's opinions on it would certainly influence their decisions on what to do. She was interested in hearing what the public wanted. So please make your letters polite, short and to the point. She'll be more likely to read them probably. Thanks.

. . . if it did we wouldn't need to advertise it, now would we?

Full Charge Bookkeeper needed at a nationally recognized international mountain guide service. Informal office 25-32 flex Hours/week. Automated accounting & Excel exp req. payroll exp preferred. Send Resume and Cover letter via email to lparberry@aai.cc, or fax to 360-734-8890.

No problem, but thanks for the beta. People should note that you can't walk off any of the routes on the Chief, because of the backcountry ban in BC, and possibilities for descending are limited depending on what route you climb. We rapped off Uncle Ben's after topping out on Bellygood ledge. It was a straight forward, plumline rappel, even though it was super exposed. Oh, and thanks for the compliment, but I'm actually American.

Thanks Fern for posting those. I'll have to figure out how to do that. Beta: after 4.5 miles on the overgrown logging road (where it abruptly ends) follow the trail going right up the hill where the big cairn is. DO NOT follow red flagging tape that goes straight. Follow trail until you can't see it any more. Then go up, up, up, traverse, traverse, up, up, traverse until you break out of tree line and into heather meadows. After a lot more traversing you will see a wide notch in the ridge above you (there's a narrow notch to the left of the wide one that you don't want to ascend). There will be a large tongue of snow leading up to the wide one and a large rock buttress coming off it's left side. Even further left of the rock buttress will be views into the Southern Pickets and the Terror Basin. Go up to the notch and then drop down snow fields into the only flat spot for miles and a most perfect campsite with awesome views of your objective climb. As for the climb itself, there's 3 pitches of sparsely protected 5th class climbing until you reach the ridge and gain your first views into the northern Pickets. Once on the ridge, here's the best piece of beta: There's a very large, phallic rock protrusion on the ridge just where it becomes steep. It creates a big roof. GO RIGHT of the roof and up and around the corner a bit for a short pitch of 5.8 or so. Then you'll end up on a little ledge on the right (Northern) side of the ridge where the incredible, wavey 5.9 handcrack splits a sheer wall. After that you are there. KILLER traverse from E to W summit, here's where you'll want to take photos. Descend your choice of routes on the W ridge. If you remember nothing, remember to go RIGHT at the big protruding roof. We climbed it in 2 teams of 2 and one of our teams went left of the roof and ended up in some 10+ overhanging corner with lots of lichen and a chimney. Upon hiking out, go to Good Food in Marblemount and try to eat an entire Mountain Burger. It's almost as hard as the climb.

OK that didn't work. Just click on the "attachment" link above. I can't figure out how to make it show up in the post. . .