Rad
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Posts posted by Rad
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There is no spoon, but there will be a trail.
Here's how it will happen:
1 - A few people go and tell others how great it is and how to get there.
2 - More and more people will go. A crude path will be carved out if the impact of their footsteps is stronger than the vegetation growth and various modes of erosion. The path will be direct, prone to erosion in places, and may have braids in confusing or difficult sections.
3 - If the area is featured in a popular guidebook this will increase its use, particularly given its proximity to populated areas. The path may be worn into a more prominent trail. If the erosion and braiding are bad, certain users may decide that it's worthwhile to build and maintain a proper trail. Perhaps no one will improve the trail and it will continue to evolve with use.
4 - At this point there will be an established climber's trail that follows the consensus route to the climbing area. This might be just like unmaintained access trails that now lead to and from many climbs (South Pickets, Eldorado basecamp, Snow Creek Wall, Baring, Kaleetan, Index town walls etc etc). Is that bad? I don't think so.
5 - Natural forces (landslides, vegetation growth) may erase the trail over time if its use falls below a certain threshold (is Dome in this category?).
Wilderness is sacred.
Please remember that we didn't inherit the earth from our parents, we borrowed it from our kids.
See ya out there.
Rad
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Thanks gents. Very helpful.
Looks like a fun outing. Alas it will probably have to wait until next season.
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What was it that 'spanked' you on the Flagpole? I'd like to get out there.
Did you do the approach described in Nelson? Is it possible to rap off Annapurna?
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Nice report and photos Blake.
Has anyone placed fixed gear out there yet. Should we grid-bolt it or leave it unblemished? Can you guess my vote?
Anyway, keep on
Rad
ps. I take it you're out of the Stehekin bakery for the season. My family and I were nibbling the goodies up there a few weeks ago. Yum!
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FYI, the friction sections on Condorphamine are not sustained so you should look elsewhere for longer slabs.
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I'm not perfect. Neither are you.
Now we've gotten that out of the way let's get down to business:
BLUE BAGS* are not just for Rainier, the Boston Basin, and the Enchantments. Take them into other pristine alpine wilderness areas where biodegradation is too slow to prevent water supplies from being contaminated. They're free, they're easy to use, and they won't rupture in your pack unless you drive over it with a
.* the free double bag poop transport system available at ranger stations, which you need to visit anyway to get your permits.
Here's some encouragement for the squeamish among you: on a recent trip into the Green Glacier are of the Twin Sisters range I had the urge to purge right before we got on the glacier/snowfield. In that rubble-filled canyon it was clear that anything I did would wash directly into the valley water system in a heartbeat (or fartbeat). So I used a blue bag, carried it in my pack up technical rock, down butt-bumping talus, through dense and nasty brush to the car. The bag was still intact when I disposed of it in Bellingham. I don't want a medal, I'm just trying to point out that it's easy.
An example of what not to "do": When I went to the Gothic lakes area last May I crossed a creek below a waterfall and found someone had cut cable on the thin snow bridge DIRECTLY OVER the creek.
I guess that was the flattest spot they found. Yuck! 
Maybe karma will find it's way into that person's water bottle someday.So please keep our lovely alpine wilderness areas pristine by carrying BLUE BAGS, using them, and returning them to civilization for disposal.
If you can't pack out your steamy lump then bury it at least 200ft from any water or channel that runs into water.
OK, I'm getting off my high horse now.
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It's a beautiful September route with some of the best views in the Cascades.
There's only a little talus below the summit pyramid and that's not bad at all.
Go get it!
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Apologies for the optimism. There are worse things in life than bushwhacking and logging road slogs.
Thanks for an excellent adventure Darin.
I think there may be other lines on the E face of Skookum that are more sustained... maybe next year. Send a CD of photos when you can.Radrigo
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Nice work. Maybe you guys did the FA of that crack.
Any signs of other travel in it?Glad you made it down the gully safely. Early season (in non-mutant years) that might be nice snow.
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Great job on your trip. Epics make for good stories even if they usually involve suffering.
Crux pitch: We thought that final steep crack you climbed looked good but we only had one #2 and one #3 camalot so it would have been way run-out. Instead, we traversed 30ft right and found another crack up the wall. It was certainly a spectacular, clean 5.9 hand and finger crack. I don't know which one is the 'real' route. Does it really matter?
We too were concerned about the broken Terror glacier and decided to avoid it entirely by doing a mini-Pickets traverse.
The snow on the approach to West Mac/5 towers col is very mellow. The 5 towers are fun and not too hard (maybe some 5.8 or easy 5th if you bypass certain summits). We found the descent down the W ridge of Ispiration very straightforward to the Pyramid/Inspiration col.
We crossed the top 100m of the West Inspiration gully and it was a bowling alley of death blocks. We went one at a time and each set off a shower of rocks from pebbles to refrigerators that exploded down the lower gully. I can't imagine rappeling down that to the glacier.
The scramble across Pyramid and Degenhart was easy and pretty, or if conditions are favorable you could climb the ridges ala Marko, Colin and Wayne. The traverse to the Barrier and the Chopping Block is pretty straightforward. The Chopping Block NE ridge is a nice, easy line.
In short, you can easily avoid the Terror glacier entirely if you have 3-4 days for your trip and are willing to go light and carry over. Going light has the added advantage of a more enjoyable approach.
Other photos from our trip include:
Terror glacier from Inspiration E ridge
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My son is now 18 months and our daughter was born this past June. Fatherhood is wonderful, if diaper-full, so far. Has my risk profile changed? Yes and no.
I have always had a desire to come back in one piece with my head intact. For that reason have never soloed routes near the limits of my abilities. I wear a skull bucket for most climbing.
That said, I've willfully entered 'must not fall' situations, as we all have. These have been on lead but also on approaches and descents where a rope wouldn't help anyway. I have been out since having the kids and my risk level is only a little more conservative than my pre-kid level. Still, my perspective has changed. It used to be "If I die here I know I've already lived a full life with no regrets." Now I have lots of reasons to be around for years to come and to be healthy enough to share climbing and hiking with my kids when they're older.
I look forward to adventures with my kids, and in my book adventure involves uncertainty and risk of one sort or another. How will I feel when they climb trees or cross rivers or climb? Probably nervous as hell, but I'll try hard to encourage them and not be over-protective. Life without risk, on the couch surfing cable, wouldn't really be an example I'd want to set for them anyway.
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Are Dean Potter and Peter Croft and John Bachar crazy for soloing hard rock routes onsight?
Was Chris Landry crazy to ski the Liberty Ridge?
Are Jens and Loren crazy to have climbed their line on Jberg?
Was I crazy to solo Del Campo this morning?
We all find our own acceptable level of risk.
If you think a route is too dangerous don't climb it. To lure others onto a route without making them aware of its dangers would be irresponsible IMHO, but it would be acceptable in the time-worn tradition of sandbagging.
Jens and Loren, I find it inspiring to see people push themselves beyond their own perceived limits and succeed, regardless of what the difficulty is or whether I will ever do the same climb. Great job and thanks for the post!
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Dberdinka and I linked pitches (as indicated below) so you don't need to use those bolts (unless I'm confused about which bolts you are referring to). The placements near the bolts in question are solid so you can easily skip them. There is a small ledge with cracks for an anchor just above them.
60m rope variation:
P1 = short climb/scramble to the big tree.
P2 = chimney, layback, and walk the ledge over to the base of the 5.9 finger crux.
P3 = 5.9 crux, two corners and small roofs, pass bolts in question, belay at horizontal cracks and semi-hanging belay.
P4 = Corner with many pins leading up to a sea of knobs.
P5 = Knobs to goatland.
Lastly, there are many pins and bolt-like things on the pitch above the bolts in question that looked questionable. In these spots it would be hard to place nuts or cams, so if you're on a mission to replace fixed gear I'd look into those instead.
Leave the route alone.It's been safely climbed countless times as is.
The need to "fix" it is contrived and pointless.
That's what I think too.
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Ralston still living life to the fullest after accident
Story Tools: Print Email
Associated Press
Posted: 2 days ago
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - As he sawed through the final strands of his own tissue and skin with a dull blade, Aron Ralston was overcome with emotion, awash in a wave of euphoria unlike anything he'd felt before.
Malnutrition and dehydration, delirium, searing pain - none of it registered anymore. Held captive by a half-ton boulder at the bottom of a narrow canyon for five days, Ralston freed himself by severing his own arm, gaining an unexpected second chance at life.
Two years after being trapped in a canyon and having to saw off his own arm to escape, Aron Ralston is happy to be alive. (E Pablo Kosmicki / Associated Press)
Resigned to death the night before, Ralston felt more alive than ever, glowing from what he believed to be the close of one life and birth of another.
And he hasn't stopped living in the two years since.
"At this point, I've got the confidence to know that I'll get through anything in my life given I have the motivation to do it," Ralston said. "If it's an act of survival, we've all got a reason to keep living. It may not be pretty, but surviving is grit and determination in its highest form. I learned that I've got the capacity to do a hell of a lot more than I thought I could if I have the proper motivation."
Heading out on a relatively benign - at least to an experienced mountaineer such as Ralston - hike through a slot canyon in the Utah desert in April 2003, Ralston became trapped when a chockstone dislodged and trapped his right arm. With little food, less water and virtually no chance of being rescued, Ralston used drastic means to extend his life, from drinking his own urine to rigging ropes and webbing to support his weight.
Unable to budge the boulder with a makeshift pulley system or break it with a multi-tool, Ralston escaped by torquing his arm against the rock to break his bones, then ripping through his decaying flesh with a small, dull knife.
His bloody stump wrapped in a makeshift sling, Ralston rappelled down a 60-foot drop, then hiked six miles through the desert before an improbable sequence of events, including stumbling across a family of hikers and getting to a helicopter just in time, helped save his life.
It was a staggering display of human will and survival, and the tale spread inspiration across the world.
"It really was a miracle that things just worked and fell into place," said Donna Ralston, who spent two frantic days coordinating rescue efforts for her son from her Denver-area home. "I feel like there was a reason why things happened in the way they did. It wasn't just happenstance."
She's not the only who sees it that way.
During his darkest moments in the bottom of the canyon, Ralston had a vision of a young boy. Unlike his previous visions that final night, Ralston said he was able to touch this one, lifting the boy upon his shoulder with an arm missing its right hand. Ralston had come to terms with his death the night before and now this boy, which he believed to be his future son, had given him a reason to live.
And Ralston has done just that.
Though the first few months after the accident were filled with surgeries, a kaleidoscope of painkillers and frustrating inactivity, it didn't take Ralston long to return to what he loves. It started with hiking and running with friends, and pretty soon he was back scaling 14,000-foot peaks, skiing summits and climbing ice walls.
Using prosthetics he helped develop, Ralston completed a nine-year project of scaling the highest point in all 50 states, then became the first person to solo climb all 59 of Colorado's fourteeners (14,000-foot peaks) in winter, crossing the last 14 off his list after the accident. In January, he summited Argentina's 22,840-foot Mt. Aconcagua, the world's highest mountain outside Asia, then climbed and skied 10 peaks of at least 13,000 feet in the spring.
Ralston also got into ultrarunning, first taking on the Leadville 100 high in the central Rockies, then testing his willpower and fitness in the diabolical Hardrock, a 100-mile race featuring 66,000 feet of elevation change. In case that wasn't enough, Ralston tried surfing, spent more time mountain biking and did all kinds of hiking and climbing.
Aron Ralston, the climber who cut off his own arm to survive a harrowing ordeal in a Utah canyon two years ago, is able to still climb with the aid of a specially designed artificial arm. (Reno Gazette-Journal, Marilyn Newton / Associated Press)
That Ralston's love for the wilderness didn't diminish with his accident isn't a surprise; he's had a spiritual connection with the outdoors since he was a teenager.
What did change was Ralston's appreciation for those closest to him. Content with isolating himself and doing things on his own before, Ralston now makes sure family and friends are included in his life more and understands how much they mean to him.
"I think my spirituality is very similar to what it was before. It wasn't as if I went through some kind of enlightenment and figured out all the answers," said Ralston, who'll turn 30 in October. "I figured out what was important to me, but I knew that before. I just didn't express it as much to the people I appreciate, to my family and friends, and I've tried to be more practiced in that."
And it goes beyond his inner circle.
As his astonishing story of survival spread, Ralston was inundated with thousands of letters and e-mails from people thanking him for giving them inspiration. The correspondences continued and spiked again when his best-selling book, "Between a Rock and Hard Place," hit the shelves last fall.
Realizing his story meant so much to so many people, Ralston lifted the spirits of thousands more by reliving his ordeal in person. Sure, some of it is for profit, but most of his speaking engagements are for nonprofit organizations and fund-raisers, with plans to hit a few colleges later this year.
And while he's fulfilled all his current speaking contracts, Ralston keeps telling his story, the weight of obligation still too heavy for him to escape.
"We're proud of him because of the person he is and because he feels so strongly that he has a story that is inspirational, and he's willing to tell it over and over and share with other people and give people hope," Donna Ralston said. "I think that says a lot about his character."
As for the future, Ralston doesn't want to look too far ahead. His immediate plans include a tour for the paperback release of his book on Sept. 1, and more writing for magazines such as Men's Journal and Outside.
Ralston also plans to do more speaking, is in talks for a motion picture about his life and will continue running Ralstar Enterprises, the company he created to handle the opportunities that have come with his newfound fame.
Of course, there'll be plenty of time in the outdoors, too.
Ralston has been invited to climb in New Zealand this winter and will head to the Himalayas next year to ski a pair of 8,000-meter peaks. He's also planning to high-point all 50 states again, this time in 50 consecutive days, and would eventually like to climb K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
Beyond that, Ralston has no specific plans other than to meet the boy in his vision - when the time is right.
"I think it's out there and it's not something that I treat lightly," Ralston said. "At the same time, I realized there's a lot that's going to have to change in my life before I become a father as far as how I live, my priorities, where I might live. When the time comes, that's something I want to be just as passionate about as how passionate I am in how I live now."
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Rivers are now very, very low so you might get someone who tells you it is knees or lower.
Last week I could easily wade across Icicle Creek by the Snow Creek bridge and trailhead. Normally it's 5-10 ft higher and you'd be swept to Leavenworth if you tried.
Other options include: Belay her across or have her cross clipped to a fixed line with a runner. Then you'd be schwacking with a wet rope on your back.
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Many, myself included, choose to use their real names or some permutation therof.
Others, like halloween party guests, masquerade in costume. Doubtless, they have various reasons for remaining hidden.
Both sets can inform and entertain, both can lie, attack, and spray. I think neither is inherently more reliable than the other.
By watching the posters over time, regardless of their avatars, you can decide whom you will trust
and whom to ignore . ps. NOLSe, change your personal info any time of the day or night.
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Nice job guys.
Juan, looked like ice 2 weeks ago. See photos:
Gene Pires and I went to do it in a day 2 weeks ago. We crossed the Boston glacier, hopping more crevasses and sketchy bridges than any glacier I've crossed before.
We got a good look at the N side of the N ridge from the higher/first notch and decided it was a no go because we had one axe apiece, no pro for ice, and I'm an ice newbie/wannbe. Tough call, but it felt right.
We retraced our torturous path across the glacier, climbed over sharkfin col on easy rock, and returned to the car around dusk.
The next day I went up Eldo with another friend. In comparison, it was a creampuff outing, with extra lovely frosting.
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Yes, a pine marten.
Good photo. They're usually shy.
They like to eat
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West Mac spire, Forbidden, Eldorado, Sloan, Mt Stuart, Mt Constance, Dragontail, and others.
Do you want to climb these Cascade classics in a day from car to car? If so, you should probably spend more time working on your cardiovascular fitness levels than crimping on plastic. How do you keep fit?
Never one to spend much time in gyms, I seek outdoor cardio-workouts that have the following elements:
Minimal driving hassle, no major bushwhacking, a steep and non-technical route, killer views, no crowds, a good swimming hole near the finish, and, of course, beautiful alpine terrain.
We're so lucky to have lots of local spots that fit the bill.
Two of my recent favorites:
1 - Baring mountain summit via the scramble route from the Barclay Lake trailhead (class 2+). 3800 feet of vertical gain in 2 miles. There is no maintained trail. Get out of the creekbed quickly and gain 1800 feet in the first half mile! Intermission is a half mile of moss-laden narrow forested ridgecrest with views through the tall trees. Then ascend more steep pine needles, a nice talus field, and continue up to the summit. Pros: You probably won't meet anyone after you leave the trailhead, no trail means more of a wilderness ambience, and the views are outstanding from the summit. Almost all of the steep climbing is in the shade! I wore sneakers and shorts and came away with nary a scratch. Cons: no water/fluids after you leave the creek down low. My unverified time to the summit: 2:14. Lactic-ass-id burns forced rests up high. You'll probably be under 2 hrs. The cliff looks steep enough for base jumping, which would spare the knees the descent. Swim at Eagle falls and check out the local teen scene, brah!
2 - Denny creek trailhead to the summit of Kaleetan via the S ridge scramble (class 2/3). 4000 feet of vertical gain over 5 miles from trailhead to summit. Pros: there's an excellent trails so you can wear running shoes and run much of the way if you like. You are near water almost the entire way so you don't need to carry it. Cons: this is a mid-week outing as the trail can be very crowded. Also, the route is not as steep as some. My jogging time to the summit: 2:27 (No Fido timers available). Swimming hole: Denny creek near where the road crosses the last bridge.
What are your favorites?
(Don't say Si or Rainier
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Bouldering in the buttermilks w/Sharma and
Call Wilson's Eastside sports in Bishop and ask them some questions. That's the local climbing/backpacking store. They should have ideas for you.
Whitney and Tuolumne (Cathedral) will involve a lot of quality
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Someone actually got it right this time
Amen.
If you liked Brian's article send him an email telling him so.
He responded to me promptly the last time I sent him one, and I'm sure he appreciates notes from climbers as he is one.
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Nice photo of the OW pitch. It shows how a butt scum/chimney/stem helps ease the difficulty.
I remember doing a similar move on the crux corner fist crack on the Braille Book in Yosemite. That one, at 5.8, was greasy and felt harder than this one on Backbone. Then again, I led the former and followed the latter.
So much for your pure onsight!
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The Sleeping Pen
When the pulse of pounding blood,
Tempest tossed in the human flood of tasks,
Ebbs into gentle waves and then still,
It all comes flowing back to me
Like the silent reflection of a beautiful peak
Brought clearly into focus as the wind-whipped ripples
Of the lake are silenced,
I am here,
I can't see in their eyes if they can see her too,
Forested green rising gray granite into windy blue,
Or simply concentric, amorphous rings on a green topo sheet,
Flat in scientific ignorance,
But I can smell the spruce calling beyond my roof,
Needles softly nestling deep in a million silent layers,
Connected like summer snowflakes
Under my sleeping spine,
I will not fight the sea of clouds in blue
Or try to channel the granite wind into human sails,
But simply let go in millions of tiny cells in tune
As it all flows utterly through me
In chaotic rhythms no voice could ever hope to capture
Nor words confine to flat, black lines,
There is nothing I need to know of how,
Only here and now,
How ironic then, the sleeping pen,
When we both are trapped in flatland square,
Craving ever twisting, curving lines,
Only to find in silence sublime
The great glory of life gushing right beside our path,
Burbling clear waterfall pools of mossy stones
In rhythmic, atonal synchrony inside these veins
If only we'd just stop to listen.
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Perhaps all of us find a piece of inspiration there at times.
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OK. Maybe I'm overreacting and it's all just playful banter from otherwise nice people.
I certainly wouldn't want to censor or sanitize this site as some of the most interesting parts come from the more colorful chacters. Flame on!
I just hope you realize that each of you can influence our public standing for good or bad.
Look at the how the Mtneers deftly managed the press regarding the Sharkfin accident. The post here on cc got more hits (>15,000) than any other post I've seen on cc. Perhaps a lot of those hits were from non-cc folks. I bet if the accident had not involved the Mtneers then it would have been painted in a different color by the press.
Lastly, hats off to Mike Gauthier whose NPR chat on Mt Rainier this morning was both educational and entertaining.
Seems to me, most folks here are independent thinkers who are not going to have their real-life personality significantly changed by something they read/post in a silly internet thread.Let's hope you're right, but then why do they spend so much time here? Boredom at work?
Grizzly Bears
in Climber's Board
Posted
Important Message for all Nature Lovers, Campers, and Hikers.
Camping, hiking or working in wild country can lead to close
encounters with bears, and because each species may react in a
different way, it is important to know how to tell them apart.
With the increase in bear attacks in recent years, Parks Canada
has come up with some strategies to keep you safe. Although you
don't want to startle a bear, you do want to let a bear know you
are in its vicinity. By tying a small bell to your jacket, the
gentle sound will be will heard and the bear will head in the
opposite direction. Just in case you still find yourself face to
face with a bear, also carry a can of pepper spray.
Under field conditions, bears are rarely in plain view; usually
they are partially hidden by shrubs, trees or rock. The next
strategy is to learn which bears are in the area you are
visiting, i.e. Black Bears or Grizzly Bears.
The foolproof way to tell, is to look for bear scats (droppings).
You can examine these scats to identify the foods consumed by the
bear. If the scats have a sweet fruity smell, and contains
berries, you can be sure it from a Black Bear.
If the dropping smell of pepper and contain tiny bells, you know
it's a Grizzly Bear.
...............................
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Here's another way to tell Black bears from Grizzly bears.
First, as soon as you see a bear, climb up the nearest tree.
If the bear climbs up the tree and attacks you - it's a Black
bear.
If the bear pushes over the tree and attacks you - it's a
Grizzly bear.
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