Rad

Saavy climbers might be advised to keep an attorney clipped to their harness. (preferably between the grigri and the sporto-chalkbag) They could document any gross negligence, breach of oral agreements, assaults, or other crimes observed en route. Resulting lawsuits would be filed in real-time via satelite-linked crackberry.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the fallen climber. ........................ Regarding all the other fluff: didn't we just do this on the Yellow Jacket Tower thread? I thought the mods decided (and I agree) that an accident announcement thread should have bare details and well wishes and no spray/extended discussion. Discussion is good, but start a separate via ferrata thread elsewhere and yank your wankers there. That way when the injured party, who seems to be on the mend, ends up dying in the hospital you don't look like even more of an ass than you already are. More generally, perhaps mods should establish a protocol or lock accident announcement threads soon after the relevant details are divulged. Perhaps these could go into a new forum for accident announcements, a place where family members could read well wishes and condolences without being exposed to everything else.

nikki, It's unclear from your message what you want - partners, beta, a date tired of missionary position? - If the weather is good and avalanche danger is low your climb should be a 30 degree snow hike on the largest glacier in the lower 48 states. You should be confident in crevasse rescue skills and be in excellent condition before attempting this route. Good luck. Others: I'm not the dream police, but we don't poop on noobs, right?

Comment period over.

I will have to miss the party today. I hope the weather holds for y'all. I was at X38 yesterday and despite the sunshine a lot of climbs were drippy from seepage from recent rains. Others were perfectly dry. I'd expect the same today. Cheers, Radrigo

The 'shit' needs to be divided into 3 classes: 1 - Acts of God/nature (totally unpredicable rock falls, landslides, lightning strikes, and perhaps some avalanches). We cannot control or predict these. 2 - Human error (rappelling off rope ends, tie-in errors, belayer errors resulting in dropped climbers, slipping on ropeless approaches/descents). These are preventable. 3 - Hybrid acts (slips on wet rock that was difficult to protect, avalanches that might have been predicted, leaderfalls due to broken rock/ice, rockfall in gullies). Most of the accidents we hear about are in categories 2 and 3, where experience and good decisions make a huge difference. Yes, shit does happen, but we should keep practicing, keep learning, and keep our minds focused in dangerous situations.

If we can learn something from the mishaps from our fallen comrades that's great, particularly if the discussion is reasoned and respectful (2 things that can be rare here). My hat's off to people like Genepires and Alpinistandrew who shared their own mistakes/bad luck stories, risking ridicule, so we can learn something.

Thanks Blake. I sent an email supporting rebuilding the road. We're off to Stehekin in a few weeks. Will you be at the bakery there this summer? yummm.... Hope you enjoy the remainder of your time in NZ. Rad

Nice post. CC needs more folks like yourself willing to post their moderate adventures here. As you've seen, lots of others will read and appreciate them. Your story also reminds me of the number one reason to wear a helmet: people above you might drop their expensive toys on your head! Cheers, Rad

Sorry to hear of your fall. Trust may take longer to heal than your injuries. At VW the belay test is with your own ATC and then they set you loose to belay with GriGris - with no training on them or test that you know how to use them. That seems like a screwy system. Perhaps they've improved it since I tested some years ago... I had used ATCs for years but never touched a grigri before I first went to VW. I figured it out, and still don't like lowering people, but I've never dropped anyone. ................ Dude, looks like you're the poet who can't spell it.

The arch probably wasn't damaged the other day. The reputation of climbers was. Dean Potter, like it or not, represents all climbers in the eyes of the public. To call this climb an act of communing with nature is ludicrous given the presence of multiple cameras, the timing to coincide with optimal film lighting, the repeats to make sure the cameras got it all recorded, and the press release. It was clearly intended to be a very public performance. This clear public rejection of land management policies and accepted practices sends a clear message to the public: climbers refuse to play by the rules. This attitude may undermine access efforts of many climbers around the world. Why should land managers work climbing into their approved activities if climbers just ignore the resulting regulations anyway? What's next? Pouring gasoline down a rock face and setting it on fire? Remember that? It was certainly a more egregious crime, but Climbing magazine responded immediately and correctly. What will Patagonia do?

"Just Do It". CC.Com group outings can be good - it's like speed dating with ropes - you can watch people to see how competent they are (where's that brake hand?) - and if you don't click with a partner you can switch on the next route or on the next outing. Ask yourself: Can I trust my life to this person? Can I spend ten hours with this person without going insane? Climbing ability may actually be less important than these two.

OK, so it trades sexism for Disney values. Hollywood is all cliches, right? The main point is the climbing footage and mtn scenery are way better than the ES.

That's what I thought too so I saw it again last year. Ugh. What a bunch of male posturing, worthless womanizing, deadpan dialog, and Eastwood sweat scenes leading to some mediocre climbing footage, unimpressive mountain cinematography, and a completely cheesy finale. IMHO this is a much more beautiful film in all those dimensions (available through Netflix, no less): Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Awesome echo effects at Lake Serene...but then it wouldn't be so serene.

Chris, 1 - Don't look for approval on this board. There is definitely some useful info, but it is often buried under a thick coating of slime. Certainly don't let posts here dampen your new-found enthusiasm. 2 - If you were happy with your guided experience then it was money well-spent, no matter what others may say. Welcome to the Northwest. Come visit again soon and spend lots of money to support the economy.

No worries.

Alex, Chris, and I stayed and did the two routes on Croc after y'all disappeared into the mist. The right one is juggier and cleaner than the left one. When we got to the NBBnG no one was there. Until next week...

I'm keen to check out Neverland (X38 Far Side), but I'll go with the flow...

Bump. Same bat time, same bat channel?

Deja vu tomorrow at the same rendezvous?

Gene, I'm glad it wasn't worse. Thank goodness for your skull bucket. Get well soon. In the meantime, you can still belay with that good hand, right? Cheers, Rad .............................. It's good to keep these things in perspective: TAOISM ... Shit happens. ZEN ... What is the sound of shit happening? HINDUISM ... This shit happened before. MORMON ... This shit is going to happen again. PROTESTANISM ... Let the shit happen to someone else. CATHOLICISM ... Shit happens because you are BAD. JUDAISM ... Why does this shit always happen to us? CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ... Shit is in your mind. EXISTENTIALISM ... What is shit anyway? RASTAFARIANISM ... Let's smoke this shit. CC.COM ... Shit happens, and then you spray about it.

Sounds great! See you there.

Is this going to happen tomorrow? The weather looks great. Where are y'all going to meet/climb? I can get away early and have space if anyone in Seattle needs a ride.

The data in question, thanks to Mike: Mount Rainier visitor and climber numbers