Friedrich

I enjoyed your TR. Triple points for using the word "Enfilade" in any situation. As a fellow ex-resident of Tennessee,(3 glorious childhood years) I salute any reference to civil war jargon, however oblique. So it sounds like you got out in the mountains, had your summit experience, and made it interesting by eschewing the trail in favor of random exploration. Lord knows we've all done it. However, just as a point of clarification to your TR: if you pointed your snowshoes at the mountain from Alpental, you climbed the NW side of the mountain, not the SW. But hey, research, right? Whatever. I'm sure Bob or some other loved one knew EXACTLY where you were going, EXACTLY when to consider you officially overdue, and you armed them with a good clear topo showing your route and alternates, or printed route description, GPS coordinates, or similar itinerary, so they were ready to hand that to the search and rescue guys in case you had a slip or followed someone's snowshoe tracks out over a cornice. Right? Well at least you got the name of the mountain correct. Good man. As I said, Lord knows we've all done it. When we were younger. Stay safe out there.

Nice film, enjoyed the humble vibe. Best part was the outtake at the end!

Sweet TR Vro! That looked pretty sustained, well done! Too bad about the ropes, hope you get them back.

Last minute thing, but if anybody wants to come along on a quick morning trip up Guye peak's easy gullies (easy alpine climb with a very short approach), PM me. This is for Friday AM, like 8 hours from now. No I'm not too proud to climb Guye, it's good exercise and beyond convenient for a quickie. Newbies OK, this is a good "intro" climb and I've taken total newbie friends up this several times before. Wasn't really planning on climbing this weekend but just got the Jones for it. Avvy signs are clear for Friday but not so much for Sat, so it's Fri AM for me. Have car, gear, and we'll be back in Seattle in the late afternoon assuming you're in halfway decent shape. PM me in the next couple hours if interested. Should be fun! PS: Start packing, we leave in about 8 hours. Cheers, Friedrich

Well, Steve House is a fan of the Metolius Safe-Tech, and it's hard to argue against him. But everything is a compromise, so it might be best to specialize a bit. Although I have a great all-around harness by Petzl (no longer made) I find that for Alpine I always end up taking my BD alpine Bod. The light weight and easy/on off dropseat design just wins. I don't have to sit down or balance awkwardly to insert my boot-clad feet like I would with the Petzl; it's just thread, double back, clip and go. Ask yourself how often you hang while doing the type of Alpine climbing you do, and for how long. So one harness for sport which is padded and comfy, and a $30 alpine bod for the snow, that's my rec. You can permanently attach your ice clippers with tape like many people do, or use a sling like Dane and some others recommend. just my 2 cents.

I'd assumed the climb would be another way to raise funds. Another round of publicity, another round of donations.

I'd love to stop needless wars and help the world avoid all the bad effects that war brings. But right now I want to focus my time on helping a couple of kids who just lost their mom. Lets do it. I completely agree. We'll get behind this. Let's brainstorm some ways to help her family out. I'm in for the memorial climb. I'm sure it will get a lot of support. It would be great if someone who can speak for the CC.com community would take point on this. If we act quickly and announce the climb to the local TV news media before the evening news, it would make a big difference in the amount of money we raise for the kids. It should only take a few minutes to update the front page and include a link to a paypal donation page. Just some ideas. I'm not someone who can speak for the climbing community, but if one of you who's reading this IS, I have some public relations experience and can help make some calls. PM me if you'd like my help.

Damn, this is NOT the kind of hazard one expects to face in the wilderness. This is so sad, and to be honest it's kind of freaky, since I had planned to go camping at Rainier this weekend with my 7-year old daughter. Instead we opted to camp in the Alpental Valley again. I guess we would have missed this situation by about 12 hours either way, but damn, this kinda rattles the cage a bit. And I thought Friday night's sleet storm was annoying! At least there was no one shooting at us! This is so sad. Ranger Margaret Anderson's two kids are ages 4 and 1. May she Rest in Peace. To the rangers and other brave law enforcement people tracking down this maniac: Good hunting, and be careful. From the latest reports, it sounds like the guy left a lot of his gear in the car, and he's been walking in streams in an effort to hide his tracks. Maybe the mountain will take care of this guy before he can kill more people.

Will Gadd had some good comments about V-threads without strings on his blog recently (See answer#2, here) He also referenced a study about study about ice anchor strength which looks at vertical vs horizontal V-threads, and re-boring existing holes. It's a long study but the conclusions section is only one page.

Well done, mad respect for having the wisdom to stay within your limits. Do the same thing next time. I'm no Grand Master, but I hear the wise ones raise their limits for specific climbs by training in a safe environment.

That is some damn fine photography right there. Impressive!

Not sure if you're looking for irony, comedy, inspiration, or instruction, but among Hollywood "movies," here are some contrasting suggestions: "Touching the void" is based on the famous Joe Simpson book, and has great climbing footage, great performances, and a gripping story. I recommend you wear a puffy while watching it. Otherwise you'll get too cold. "Vertical limit" makes a great drinking game. If something explodes, drink. If someone is shot, drink. If someone dynos on ice tools, finish your drink. You will pass out, laughing. "The Eiger Sanction" is sort of a blend between the two. It combines old-school inappropriate jokes, Clint Eastwood tough guy awesomeness, and incongruously good climbing footage into one great guys-night package. "K2" is a conventional Hollywood movie, a bit cliched but has some great climbing footage and is generally inoffensive when it comes to accuracy. Enjoy

I'll second that. I've found the full-length pad to be worth the weight for me. I consider the energy saved by sleeping better outweighs the energy cost of hauling the extra 4-6 ounces. And if you go with one of the new fat ultralight pads the weight difference is even less. Just be careful with it and bring a couple repair patches in case of crampon invasion!

Yes, The third pitch was good too. We saw the screw hole you'd left the day before at the top of p2. I set up my anchor just a tiny bit higher. From there, traversing left onto the near-vertical curtain is the way to go. We were kinda bummed to see your tracks leading up to the base, but I suppose something this visible must have attracted others over the years as well. This is a great little route, 3 short pitches of good ice and very accessible. The foreshortening effect makes it look pretty low angled, but as you noted, it is not! Each pitch had an exciting near-vertical finish that was very sporting. A nice classic feel in a small package, recommended for anyone comfortable leading in the solid WI3 range. Thanks for a great trip, Spionin, and the Nice TR & pics! Kudos on your strong leads as well. Friedrich

Nice one Feck! Love the pics, sweet crazy lighting.

WOW! Fantastic, inspiring story, photos, and TR. Well done!

It really works!

Congrats Feck! Great pics too, nice! Reading your Trip report, for some reason I started hearing an old Simon & Garfunkel song in my head. "Slip-sliding away..."

That is a bummer. I was drooling over these at pro mountain sports and was thinking of replacing my old original hotwires with them. The high KN strength rating despite the large size and light weight seemed almost too good to be true. Guess it was. RIP Photon biner

Poor Technique

Huzzah Karl! Awesome TR, awesome pics. Go man go

Jens I am with you on this. The loss of public access to corporate interests always starts with these small incremental steps. Does anyone know if the user permit in question is available online? or if not, how to file a FOIA request to get a copy? Maybe someone knows the best person at the Access Fund to pass this along to. I think we have a few concerned citizens on this, but I certainly don't have the time to fight it myself (which is what they always count on, of course). I highly suggest everyone read Jens' thread.

Good video. At first I wasn't sure how this was relevant to this particular mod, because it didn't have anything to do with pickets. Then I looked at his blog post again and I realized you were looking at the rubber keeper on the sling joining the picket and his locking biner. You have some sharp eyes, I didn't notice that.

Right on! I put up a top 9 on the other thread. There are some amazing TR's on here of hard FA's on remote Alaskan peaks, but for me, the "regular guy" stuff a little closer to home is the most FUN to read. Here's my favorite. Nice blend of sporty climbing, humor, and local achievability, with great pictures throughout. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=974525

Here's some other good ones: An amazing FA in Alaska New route on Fitzroy WOW Great Bugaboo TR with an accidental variation that actually improves the Becky-Chouinard route. Fun TR about bouncing around the swiss/italian alps with friends Great TR of Liberty Ridge with pics and video New Route TR -most details are in the comments but great FA Great shots from the birthplace of alpine climbing, Chamonix Sunniest TR induces much envy It's impossible to have too many Bugaboo TR's. Here's another.