dmuja

Tyring to avoid the rigidity of the MTY"S but I'm considering them or WAC or Boealps etc..- I've aready got most of the technical (rope, pro etc..) stuff going in the right direction atleast, I just think I need more experience in "grey zone" conditions to develope a better sense of judgement on things. Probly just need to do more climbing

sorry, i looked over a couple other posts and I see I was being a bit redundant... doug

Just felt like saying a few things in the wake of all the news.. Personally, I think there are too few mentors for too many new climbers - I'd like to find one myself - and there are too many "attitudes" from intermediate climbers who have thus far perhaps been "lucky" but take credit for it anyway thinking they are better than they might really be (btw-I'm not necessarily saying this about anyone on this board, really the people I've met are very willing to share info etc..).. Climbing is somewhat a dichotomy in that you need a bold ego to go forward and face your fears, but you also need the humbleness to back off when things arn't right for you at a particular time and place. You also need LOTS of information, both academic and experiential, something that takes courage, patients and TIME. To me it seems people now days want (NEED!) to push the limits right out of the gate and can be encouraged to do this by a kind of casual atmosphere where it seems like "every body is doing it". Seems to me that one could have the technical stuff down pretty quickly and be a physically gifted climber but still not quite be there with the more subtle decision making skills. The hardest thing, and the thing that probably can get you killed the fastest is poor judgement don't you think? People "underestimate". I think this is what really separates the old wise climbers from young bold types. You might live to become an old and wise climber but not without having or developing a good sense of judgement right? The learning curve is steep though. One thing I'm curious about is how many times you have been caught "flat footed" (while on a climb) on a slope or cliff, in the "gray zone" and decided to go forward any way? What I mean is, do you ever recall being in a situation where you felt like you wern't clear about what you were doing, or even KNEW that you were going against "the book" thing to do, but you went ahead anyway? I bet nearly everyone has been here, I also bet some never admit it. I find myself going up avy prone slopes a lot even after I dig a pit and find slab conditions. By luck I'm still here, but I know I need to learn more of the subtleties of snow pack because sometimes I find I'm going up in the "gray zone" just hoping nothing breaks..then later I think , "that was really dumb." Again, the learning curve is steep, and maybe good judgement is just something you are born with, not sure;-) I don't want to commit suicide in the mountains, but as it is now, my passion seems to bring with it a certain amount of risk... doug

sounds like these guys never got to thier cell phones, they were over due Monday! (r i p ). Just watch though, its getting in the news so much now that some stupid ass politician is going to try to score some points with some more stupid ass restrictions proposed - after all, its what they do best..

Re: The "DC" - I thought I'd try this again so...3 of us are looking for a 4th. T'would be nice (but not essential) to have someone who has been up this route, maybe more than once to join us for a climb somewhere between June 20 and 27th as a mid-week thing (hoping to lessen the crowd factor). We'll go for the dates with the best weather/conditions TBA.. If you can fit this into your schedule, then the slaughtered cow,pig, or broccoli -and of coarse BEER- will be on us... ahemmm...post climb My email ad is: dmuja@mail.com

Carry snowshoes MSR without the tails, you'll be glad you did - if you get to say 9,000 feet and find your self out of gas from post-holing because you wanted to save the weight , you'll be pissed. Poles too. Doug

RW I defer to you and your experience, no doubt way more than mine, but 35-40 degrees? I know its not K2 but I'll try to post a photo here see attachment Doug

Thanks Donn, yeah I was speaking of the Kautz Cleaver. We're still young'ns as mountaineering goes and were hoping to find an "easy" (relative) alternative to the DC route. Still learning about the different kinds of snow up there so I don't know if we have the judgement yet to climb "steep" snow without having someone along with a bit more experience.. Doug

Unless you guys are certain of the route down to the details I might take a bit of rope and harnesses for the part between the top of the ski slope and the start of the hogs back. A guy fell into a crevasse this year somewhere below and right of Crater Rock (I think you *are* on a glacier there, although you might not know it). I went up solo a month earlier and never heard of crevasses on that part though I did spot some even further right at like 7-8,000 ft from the parking lot. Had I researched the route better I might have hesitated to go solo - though I do feel more macho now JMHO - Doug

I've been "hill walking" for 2 years in Washington, done Hood, Baker, and Adams, some crevass rescue practice, and roped glacier experience on mount Baker. My partners have about the same. We're planning on a *mid-week* DC climb on Rainier but also looking at some alt "moderate" routes too. I posted something on the "partner" board but got no replies - I figured everyone was bored with the DC route or hate the crowds. I figured the DC was our best chance at making the summit given our experience level but I also didn't want to be crowded right off the route - thus mid week.

Whoa, I'm glad I asked now for sure. I was leaning toward the fig8's on one biner, then possible cross loading issues had me thinking, then Sno convinced me to go with 2 biners, and now I'm definately leaning toward joining the ropes first per Will. BTW, so I take it that one 30m rope is not enough for a team of 3 ?

Basically, it's what we already have on hand. I have these and a 60 meter 10.5 mil rope (heavy). I thought it would be easier to split the weight with 2 ropes amoung us..

Just curious about this route (Kautz Cleaver) as a possible alt route to the crowded DC. How hard is it? I'm thinking there is some steep stuff up high but Mike's book isn't clear (to me) about it after it joins with the success cleaver route. He seems to say one is steep and exposed and the other is not more than 35 degrees - but they join up high right? Any general beta would be helpful -thanks Doug

For glacier travel - a team of 3. I thought we should take two 30 meter ropes and connect them (If one is enough, let me know). My question is: Do we tie 2 figure eights (one on each end where the ropes meet at the middle man) and connect them to the middle man's harness via one carabiner? OR do we tie the 2 ropes together first near the middle man using doublefisherman knots and then clip him into the rope near the knot (via alpinebutterfly or fig 8)?? Just wondering Doug

3 of us are looking for someone who has been up this route maybe more than once to join us for a climb somewhere between June 20 and 27th as a mid-week thing(hoping to lessen the crowd factor). We'll go for the dates with the best weather/conditions TBA.. If you can fit this into your schedule then the slaughtered cow,pig, or broccoli -and of coarse BEER- will be on us... ahemmm...post climb My email ad is: dmuja@mail.com

Just wondering if anyone has been down the Glacier Creek Road (FS rd 39) lately, its condition etc, and if you can drive all the way to the trailhead for Kulshan Cabin (Baker trail tr 677)? I'll be doing Colman-Deming route in the next couple weeks.. Thanks, Doug