Rad
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Posts posted by Rad
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No one has mentioned hiring a guide as a way to east the transition. A good guide can teach you a lot. Friends can help too, but they are more likely to have bad habits that transfer along with the good ones.
Take your brain and use it. The talk about what to do when you're losing focus is a bit disturbing. If you are losing focus then stop, eat, rest, do whatever it takes to get focus back because no good habits or fancy gear tricks will save you from that fatal moment of inattention.
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Do they plan to rebuild the washed out road into the Dosewallips area?
See the plan in Seattle and ask questions on August 24th, 5-8pm at the Seattle REI.
From the site:
Please note that in August, eight open houses will be held on the Olympic Peninsula and in Silverdale and Seattle. The schedule of open houses can be veiwed on this website under "Meeting Notices" and it is available under "Supplemental Information." Park staff will be available to discuss the plan and answer your questions and there will be poster displays, maps and information, along with opportunities for you to provide your input on the Draft GMP/EIS. There will be no formal presentation, so you are welcome any time during the meeting hours.
For comments:
Contact Information
National Park Service
Denver Service Center - Cliff Hawkes, DSC-P
12795 West Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-9901
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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.
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the fallen climber.
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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.
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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?
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Comment period over.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Wow! That rhymed.I'm a poet and I didn't no it.
Dude, looks like you're the poet who can't spell it.
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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?
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"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.
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You found the Eiger Sanction too cliched so you truck out the Disney climbing movie?
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.
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The Eiger Sanction was a good one.
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)
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Awesome echo effects at Lake Serene...but then it wouldn't be so serene.
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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.
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No worries.
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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...
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I'm keen to check out Neverland (X38 Far Side), but I'll go with the flow...
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Bump.
Same bat time, same bat channel?
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Deja vu tomorrow at the same rendezvous?
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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
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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.
How can newbies and old farts become safer?
in Climber's Board
Posted
Perhaps better than surfing the internet...
Hire an AMGA-certified guide, preferably one who is a personable teacher and not just a ropegun.
For this post, I'm talking about one guide taking one or two clients on a climb that does not involve an extended glacier hike on a cascade volcano.
Reasons to hire a guide for a personal climb/lesson:
1 - They can teach you a ton, including many outdoor skills other than just climbing.
2 - They have trained for and probably seen all of the climbing accident scenarios you're ever likely to encounter, and they should be able to help you spot and avoid ugly situations.
3 - They can help save your ass in the unlikely event something does go wrong.
4 - They can take you to cool routes custom-tailored to your ability and desired climbing style.
5 - They probably have knowledge (climbing history, geology, ecology) that will enrich your climbing experience.
6 - They will bring all the climbing gear you will need.
7 - They may do a lot of the hard work on longer trips (carry heavy gear on the approach, plan and cook food etc).
8 - They may have been part of climbing history themselves (I understand you can go climb with Peter Croft!).
9 - You may find a new friend.
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and reason number 10:
They will be much safer and more knowledgable than that guy you met on the internet or in the climbing gym last week.
I once hired Doug Robinson, a good friend of a good friend. He took me and my wife up the Sun Ribbon Arete in the Palisades, a route I'd always wanted to do but never had the right combination of time and partner. I already had 12 years of trad experience, and there was little climbing instruction in our case (guides are not just for newbies). It was probably the best money I've ever spent on climbing.
So...cough it up for haireball (couldn't resist!)
Full disclosure: I am not a guide, never was one, don't plan to be one, don't play one on TV, and have no financial interest in any guide or guide agency. I have never hired haireball or any other Northwest guide (yet) so I can't endorse any of them.