Rad

Luck favors the prepared. No helmet on 3rd class loose mountainside? That, in my opinion, presents far more danger to the noggin than climbing Outer Space. Two tales of risk - accidental vs calculated MY pregnant wife and I went to climb N face of Vesper in August. At the trailhead I realized I forgot the iceaxes at home. Oops. I brought crampons for myself but figured she'd be ok without them. In the parking lot another party of 3 friendly yahoos said they didn't have any axes or crampons and thought we'd all be fine. Well, we got to the glacier xing to get to the base of the route and it was much more frozen than we'd anticipated. Hmmm. I tied into the end of our rope and was 'belayed' as I I cramponed across. I had a walking stick to self arrest (not much use there as the glacier was rock hard in the shady spots). Turned out the glacier tongue was wider than we thought and my friendly yahoo belayers had to ties two 60M ropes together - by the time I was tiptoeing across the final 100ft of bullet hard 35 degree suncups the rope was utterly useless. Stayed in balance and made it just fine. I anchored the end of the rope and we set up a handline that my wife and two yahoos clipped into for the traverse. Yahoo #3 had to come across with a pseudo-belay. We all were fine, but lack of foresight had needlessly endangered me and Yahoo #3. The yahoos then got off route and we left them in the dust as we cruised the lovely steep buttress. Notably, two other climbers passed us as we were crossing the glacier - they had crampons and axes and decided not to rope up for the crossing despite crevasses down below. We each have our different levels of acceptable risk. Think hard about accepting more risk at the spur of the moment than you would accept if you had prepared for it. A few weeks later I went into the Pickets with my buddy Ed for an amazing adventure. We went super light and exposed ourselves to risks of exposure to cold and glacier issues...but we had very carefully planned every item we would bring, how we would use them, and how we would deal with the potential adversities that might come our way. Our judgment was not, in hind sight, perfect, but we survived and had a truly inspirational adventure. We brought heavy boots and crampons for glacier travel but I decided to use cleaning tools instead of an iceax for self-arresting. We had no pickets or screws. However, I chose a route up the Terror Glacier to a notch by West MAc spire that was crevasse-free, and we climbed it in the evening when it was soft enough to kick steps fairly easily. We brought only 1 60m rope, no bivy sacks, no sleeping bags despite the weather forecast for showers. It did mist and got damn cold. (seach photo gallery for spaceman Rad for an idea) Lesson: next time I'll wear stiff tennis shoes, get superlight strap-on crampons, a stubby iceaxe, and bring a light down bag and bivy sack. Do I have regrets? Definitely not. Take home message - there is a big difference between taking a calculated risk and being foolish. You have to know when to back off or go for it and that often comes from a curious blend of experience and gut intuition. It's all part of the glorious mystery that is life. Lastly, go read John Dill's opening to the Yosemite Free Climbing guide - it is an excellent treatment of accidents, risks, and preparedness.

One time I got off route on a steep climb in Pinnacles Natl Monument and pulled off a big flake of lovely lichen when I grabbed the crux knob. It nearly dropped out of sight but thankfully I caught it in my right eye, without even blinking about it... Then there was the time my partner accidentally dropped John Long's entire ginsu knife set from his rucksak high on the Eigerwand when he was readjusting his hemp line. I caught six of the eight knives in my teeth as they rocketed at me but alas the other two went plummeting into a crevasse far down below. I later learned that a marmot used them as daggers to claw his way out of said crevasse via a WI8 route before using them to slice open my tent and devour my stash of gorp. When I returned, I found that the knives were still razor sharp. Have since mailed the whole set back to Largo... Oh yes, and my wife is a damn good catch, but that's another story...no foolin' Anybody going to the slideshow on the 4th of Nov? I don't see it on the events list anymore...still happening?

Sperry is a delightful summit w/a short approach. Mark, glad to hear the NE ridge is quality - I've eyed it twice while heading up in that area for other things. Looked a little loose but great exposure. To state the obvious, one can get to the Sperry summit by scrambling/hiking/bushwhacking the W side via the basin near Vesper. Then there's Vesper. The N Face route is choice. Enjoy those colors...

Sounds like fun. I have a few slides and short stories to go with them that may be amusing. Please provide some details about what you want on the CD...images we can 'view as slide show'? That would be easy. Also, can you put this on the calendar of events? Thanks for organizing.

MF at the Gunks. Anybody been on that? I took a 15-20 footer from high on the 1st pitch and swung back into the lip of the roof. The only thing that protected the family jewels from damage was my brand new locking biner, which now has a nice gouge in it. I went back up, fell again but only for 12ft, and then fired it on the third time. MF certainly kicked my ass. Rating? Gunks 5.9. A classic! .....................

I'm thinking of taking some relative newbies up Shuksan via the Sulphide glacier. I've heard the central gully/scramble on the summit pyramid can be jammed with rock-trundling yahoos. I think I remember hearing that the East (or was it South) ridge is an attractive alternative with decent rock and easy 5th class moves. My questions are: Is there a route there and if so which ridge? Is the rock any good on it? Is there pro to be found? Is it worthwhile or should we just don our helmets, wait in line, and hope the yahoos don't drop anything on us? Finally, is there snow on the S face of the pyramid? (Despite the storm last week the recent sun would suggest to me it any snow may have melted.) FYI, the friends I'd be taking up will not be capable of climbing steep verglas or ice. Thanks much.

A sad day indeed. In the article it says, the partner "disconnected himself from the rope so William could rig the rope for the rappel". That would explain how the rope could have fallen with the climber and not dragged the belayer over too. I agree that we all need to remember that viligence is vital. Moreover, I think it is important to remember that most climbing is a team effort - between belayer and leader - if the leader gets into trouble he/she may not have the mental focus to avoid making mistakes. That appears to be the case here, though the actual steps that led to the accident are unclear. I'd suggest that when possible, the belayer should lower the shaken/injured leader to the belay to assess the situation and recover. At that point the team might decide to go back up and try again, send the other person up to try, or pull the rope and leave gear and rappel from the anchor. Either way, it allows the team to make a joint decision rather than put all of the responsibility in the leader's hands. Generally, it might be wise at times of stress to put more trust in our team members, even when they are neophytes, because at least they have not experienced the emotional and physical trauma of the leader fall, and thus may be more level-headed. Hopefully that makes sense. My condolences to those involved.

Chair peak, though beautiful, is choss so wear a helmet and be careful.

Have not been up there in 2 years, sadly, but would highly recommend the E ridge route. Outrageous and continuous exposure is the big draw, coupled with moderate but interesting climbing, and no ugly crevasses to negotiate, add a few views and it's a great route. The E ledges descent was really no problem despite its reputation, though you may want to countour gently back to the ridge crest rather than swim up the gravelly gully at the end. You'll see when you get there. Another possibility is to go up E ridge and down W ridge, which I've heard is great but have not done. We dubbed the shoulder below the E ridge start as potshard ridge because rocks of that size and shape skitter underfoot with every step. Nothing dangerous though. No unusual gear requirements. A single rope will suffice for the E ledges descent and raps off towers en route - though it may not get you down if you bail off mid-route. Others can comment on that. Enjoy...

Yes, it was my first time to the Pickets. Truly Inspirational. We went super light...maybe too light as you'll see in one photo. There was really no possible retreat down the Terror glacier, which made it rather committing, especially as the weather took a turn for the worse. But we made it. Will give you beta on Barrier access and bushwhacking at the slideshow. Meanwhile, I've figured out how to upload a few photos of our trip... Spaceman Rad Near E summit of Inspiration A few more photos of our trip Hopefully those links will work. Spaceman Rad

Mark, Wish I'd seen your topo a few weeks ago, though your beta was helpful. I went and repeated a small part of your Inspiring traverse with my fellow masochist Ed, managing to avoid the worst of the Terror Glacier. We went from trailhead to West McMillan/E Towers col on the first afternoon/evening, including Terror glacier ascent by headlamp. Bivy in the notch. Then across the 5 towers and up Inspiration in mist/drizzle the next day. Partner had trouble freeing the 5.8 layback and then just jugged the 5.9 crux on the E ridge of Inspiration (what an amazing pitch!). We reached the E summit of Inspiration just as the clouds cleared for sunset and we decided to bivy there. Brrr. In the am we crossed the summit ridge to the W summit of Inspiration and then rapped/scrambled down the W ridge. We were hoping to link the Pyramid and Degenhart that day but bailed for various reasons (were out of water and hadn't encountered any snow to melt - short on sleep because we were a bit light on warm gear - and of course the fog/drizzle set in again, oh well). Instead we contoured to the Barrier/Degenhart shoulder, melted snow to rehydrate and napped. We then crossed over to the Barrier in the evening to a bivy on the ridge near the Chopping Block. Climbed the Chopping Block that day and then thrashed down the barrier to the trail junction and back to the car that night. The bushwhack down the bottom of the barrier ridge was interesting. Thankfully some climbing fool left a 12-pack of Rainier Ale for us to tap into near the end of the logging road . It provided some last juice for the hike out in the dark. Twas a wonderful adventure in pristine wilderness. Anyway, I expect to see you at the slideshow in a few days. Look forward to swapping some tales and seeing your photos then, cheers, Rad

Wayne, Thanks for the beta. Weather permitting, we'll have a go at the mini-traverse you mention. Can you comment on the difficulties of continuing past Inspiration up Pyramid and Degenhart in hopes of descending down the Barrier ridge? That would add a lot of spectacular climbing and avoid the Terror glacier entirely. Feasible for 5.9 mortals? Decent bivy sites on route (I see you didn't bivy in that section)? Drinking water access? Thanks much. Definitely planning to attend the slideshow.

Congratulations on a fantastic climb. Achieving a long-standing objective in good style while making a major first ascent is grounds for celebration - in whatever fashion you damn well please. I am not aspiring to the second ascent just yet, but really want to climb the E ridge of Inspiration later in August with a buddy and from what I've heard it would be best to avoid tramping up and down the Terror glacier. I was wondering if you could comment on the difficulty/route to get from McMillan over to the E ridge of Inspiration. Difficulty? Rock quality? Other major obstacles? Once over Inspiration what would be the best route down off the Mtn back to flatland? We'd plan to go super light (right!) and carry over. Any comments would be appreciated. What we're looking for is a tremendously exposed ridge that's not harder than 5.9 or so and doesn't require extensive crevasse hopscotch. If there's another ridge in your enchainment that is as good or better than Inspiration and meets these criteria I'd love to hear about it. ........ Finally, will you be giving any more slideshows? I bet you could get people to pay to see it down here in Seattle... just a thought.

Fellow fools, I'm planning a little adventure and am considering the E Ridge of Inspiration. I think we're up to it but I'd like some beta on condns, descent etc. FYI, we did the E ridge of Forbidden and are looking for an alpine rock route of similar or better caliber...and we're actually looking forward to thrashing in to the Terror basin. A few questions: 1 - I'd like to take just 1 rope (60m). Is that good enough for the descent of the W ridge or down the S face variation? Are there any landmarks for where you started that S face raps? Maybe we can utilize the gear you left behind... 2 - What can you say about the upper Terror glacier. My glacier experience (3 years and a dozen routes or so) is lower than my rock experience (13 yrs of trad rock all over). Obviously we'll bring ax/crampons/rope. Any special considerations or comments on difficulties, moat, bergschrunds? It will be late August when we're there. 3 - What rock gear is needed? Standard rack? Large gear? I'm confortable running it out on terrain up to 5.7 or 5.8 but probably want to have the right gear for the 5.9 crux. 4 - Where is the best place to camp? 5 - Estimated time for RT from high camp? (on E ridge of Forbidden we took 21 hrs from a camo low in the Boston Basin back to same - w/a nap on the slabs under the light of the full moon - and we had to wait for 90 minutes before we could pass a slower party at the start of the route). FYI, we're giving ourselves 4 days car to car - 1 day in, 1 day to climb, 1 day for weather contingencies, dashing up MacMillan, or just absorbing the wilderness ambience while dreaming of pizza, and 1 day out. Thanks.