wfinley

Since at least a few of you are either in the south or from the south I'll post this here. If you're not it doesn't matter because everyone loves clean granite! The Carolina Climbers Coalition just signed a contract to purchase Laurel Knob. Laurel Knob is the highest piece of rock E of the Mississippi (even bigger than Whitesides) - and has always been closed to climbing. The contract has been signed but the Carolina Climbers Coalition needs to raise $240,000 by December! This purchase is for 50 acres - including the entire face in the picture below. If enough funds are raised there will be one more big southern cliff you, or your kids, can go scare yourself silly on. Donations are tax-deductible and for a measly $25 (that's 8 soy mocha's) you can get a cool t-shirt! More information is here: http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/ To join or donate go here: http://carolinaclimbers.org/?page_id=30 or contact them at: http://carolinaclimbers.org/?page_id=12 More photos are here: http://www.shullphoto.com/CCC_Laurel.htm

The hardmen are all out doing routes right now... however most are sitting around town pretending it's still summer. There is an overland trail to the routes in Eklutna. You can rap to the base of most of these routes and not have to worry about getting your feet wet on the hike in. Likewise the Eagle River area typically has good early season ice. Caribou Creek is a good bet... but it's a long drive if you don't know for sure what's in or out. The safest bet (if ave conditions permit) are the Hillside pillars up at Hatcher Pass as these are up pretty high and in a dark gully. For ave reports watch the AK Ave thread on Teletips - many locals post ave condition reports weekly.

I know North Carolina is a long ways away from the Cascades... but everyone loves clean granite and i imagine at least a few of you have been to the area or are from there so I'll post this anyways. Don't know if you heard but the Carolina Climbers Coalition just signed a contract to purchase Laurel Knob. Laurel Knob is the highest piece of rock E of the Mississippi (even bigger than Whitesides) - and has always been closed to climbing. The contract has been signed but the Carolina Climbers Coalition needs to raise $240,000 by December! Don't know if any of you have been to Cashiers valley recently - I haven't for at least 10 years - but as of 10 years ago it was becoming country club hell. This purchase is for 50 acres - including the entire face in the picture below. If the deal goes through your kids will be able to climb nasty run out Carolina routes just like we used to. Likewise rumor has it there is a 7-9 pitch 5.7 waiting to be done (which is more my speed)! Donations are tax-deductible. You'll also get a t-shirt and receive good karma! More information is here: http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/ To join or donate go here: http://carolinaclimbers.org/?page_id=30 or contact them at: http://carolinaclimbers.org/?page_id=12 More photos are here: http://www.shullphoto.com/CCC_Laurel.htm

Norman_Clyde: that was eloquently put. Thanks for posting something so insightful. Last year my father passed away. He was in his late 70s and, according to him, had accomplished everything he wanted to do in life. He also was deeply religious and in the latter part of his life never once questioned his faith. He was fully prepared for his passing and I think approached death the same way he approached everything else in life - from working as a civil engineer in Nigeria to retiring as a cattle farmer in Virginia - with deep conviction that this was the path chosen for him and that he would not question it. I am certifiably agnostic and have never understood religion or faith - but in watching my father die I began to comprehend why faith plays such a role in people's lives. It is the human need to believe in something greater than ourselves and the need to believe that there are greater things in our life then what we see around us every day. Perhaps climbing takes the place of religion for many. For me it certainly offers the conviction that there are greater things in life than my measly computer job and the after work jog with the mutts. Likewise I look at great mountains and walls and have the conviction that there are greater things in life than my everyday routines. Whether this is nothing but justification is a good question - and not much different than Marx saying that religion is the opiate of the masses. As Clyde said - if we all lived 200 years ago we would embark on meaningful adventures - like bushwhacking across North America. Adventures that would eventually lead to something other then self gratification.

Actually that girlfriend moved out once while I was away on a climbing trip. My new girlfriend is also a climber thus we both have issues and can equally relate to each others selfish endeavors.

My ex GF was very quick to always point out to me how egocentric climbing was. There is no real way to justify the risk... you do it for yourself that's all there is to it. Many words can be used to explain the why to others - but in the end we do it for ourself... She always referred to mountaineering as a socially accepted form of drug abuse. I suppose the rational behind this is that many of us take comfort knowing that friends of ours died doing what he or she loved as opposed to, say dying because some drunk redneck plowed into him or her at a stop sign. I think anyone who climbs a lot is prepared to deal with the possibility of death. However should death (to one of our climbing friends) occur in some other manner (like a car crash) then it would be much harder to accept.

Having been involved in an accident on Denali that lead to the death of a close friend I make it a point to always write families who have suffered loss in the Alaska range. This past spring 2 twin brothers were descending Denali Pass and fell to their deaths. They were in their 50s and from Ohio - a state not really known for its mountains. Thus the family really couldn't relate to the mountain experience and the desire to climb regardless of the element of risk. Anyways - I wrote them back in June and just yesterday I received a letter back from one of the family. She wrote "The families, including myself, are surely struggling." It was very depressing and hard to read and made me think a lot about climbing and risk. It's easy to sit around with a bunch of climbers or skiers and say "Yaaa... you could die - but it's worth it dude." However - it's not so easy to explain to the father of a deceased friend why you chose to do a route that involved much more risk as opposed to the simple walk up. It's not so easy to explain the rational to a wife who lost her husband on a mountain she's never seen and has no real desire to see. That said - I certainly haven't given up climbing and find that I am pushing myself a bit more each year. Perhaps it is, as Stonehead said, a Promethean impulse. If I went to a shrink I'm sure he would agree. However my current theory is that after pushing myself on a route I reach a point where I become fully aware of the juxtaposition climbers face when they must weigh their own life and the ones they love against a congruent world which simply doesn't care. In this light I see a meaning in climbing (albeit a dangerous way to reach an enlightenment of sorts): It is only during adverse conditions that we can truly see and appreciate the things we love in life.

Lowell; my condolances to you and your family. May memories of your brother always warm your heart and bring joy to your family.

Wow... nice scans! Thanks for sharing Dylan! Those have been filed away in my 'must study further' folder!

Mt Hunter from Mt Crossan: http://couloirgraphics.com/images/misc/crossandescent.jpg Moonflower: http://couloirgraphics.com/images/misc/akr_kpe_49.jpg

We flew from Anchorage to Denver with ropes in one carry-on and rock gear in another. I left out the nut tools and didn't have any pins. I think if you're flying in / out of a domestic airport that sees climbers on a regular basis it would be OK. However if it's overseas or a small town I would check it... we've all heard the story of the the poor climber getting busted with a bag of chalk. Likewise - ice tools cannot be in your carry-on (I know a guy who actually tried that)!

Here is a related but not necessary on topic question: I am a fairly experienced climber and feel quite comfortable trying some of the 6000+ meter peaks in the Himalayas. I've been above 16,000' five times and feel like my body adjusts fairly well to altitude. However... this trip will be a honeymoon for me and my fiancee. My fiancee is a strong climber and very eager to learn more and push herself. We have done a lot of the local peaks together and this past spring / summer she did a trip into the Chugach and a trip to the Tetons and climbed quite well. We are planning a trip somewhere this spring (either into the Ak Range or Delta mountains) to try a peak around 13,000' - however this means we'll be heading over there without foresight of how she does at altitude. What's your take on this? Should we focus our spring trip on altitude alone and try to get up something bigger (like Orizaba) or should we focus on skill level and deal with the altitude when we get there with the realization that we could quite possibly be shut down early?

You guys rock. If you ever need beta on local peaks, fishing reports, ski conditions or wild nightlife around Anchorage PM me and I'll steer you in the right direction!

Thanks -- as for cc.com -- I never would have found these links without you guys posting.

Thanks dewey & mattp - the members link on the NMA website totally escaped me. We're basically looking to be as cheap as possible; to haul our own gear, eat ramen and yak steaks and if possible climb without a guide... as I get more info and talk to friends who have been there I'll probably post more specific questions.

A number of people have recommended specific companies / individuals. Is there a directory of trekking companies like this or should I just google individuals (I found Sherpa Shangri-La via google at http://www.shangrilatrek.com)? Also - dewey if you don't mind my asking -- how much did you pay? For all my research into this I still don't an idea how much I'd spend outside of airfare.

Thanks to all who responded and contact me. I now have a starting point to aid in in planning. To anyone who stumbles across this thread in the future below are some links that I found helpful: Project Himalaya: not organized particularly well but lots of photos and some info to aid in figuring out where to go: http://www.project-himalaya.com/index.html Nepal Mountaineering Federation: browse this site to get an idea of the red tape you'll have to navigate. http://www.nma.com.np/ How Do I Climb the Trekking Peaks of Nepal?: a good article along with a few other FAQ pages to help the totally clueless. http://www.hec.org/info/faqs/climb.htm Map of peaks: this gives an overview maps with links to pages with more info. http://www.visitnepal.com/getaway/nepal_peaks_climbing/peaks_map.htm Thanks again!

Thanks for the info everyone! I'll pick up the book. A couple quick questions: As a general rule of thumb - is one year out too late to start planning a trip like this or am I giving myself an adequate amount of time? Tom_Sjolseth: did you plan your itinerary yourself or did you tag onto other permits like you suggested? And finally - regarding getting on someone else's permit - Does this mean you become part of their guided party, or does it mean you're just climbing the peak the same time as them?

Next fall (Sept-Oct) I am taking off two months for a climbing trip. At first my partner & I talked about doing a Canadian Rockies / Wyoming / Yosemite road trip but lately we've been tossing the idea of a Nepal / Himalayan expedition. However... I have no clue as to where to even start looking for information on this. We would like to do a moderate peak (in the 21,000 range) with the usual glacier climbing, ridge - maybe a little low angle rock or moderate ice - who knows? Like I said - I have no clue. We don't want to do anything guided -- but don't have a problem with the more populated areas (as long as the route is good). Can anyone suggest a resource where we can begin to get ideas of costs, permits, areas etc.. Web sites, books whatever. Thanks in advance.

Yep... that's my 15 minutes. Jeff Munroe, my partner, was from Seattle.

I pulled a classic stupid mountaineering move a few years ago and tumbled down the Orient Express. I was 2500' of head over heels. It took maybe 30-40 seconds... who knows. It felt like 10 minutes. I remember clear as day seeing rocks in front of me. My thought was "So this is what it feels like to die". There was no remorse - no anger no fear; no religious convictions went through my head . I felt the exact way I feel when I lay down to go to sleep at night. But I didn't die... and coming out of a haze where you're certain to die into the horror of a terrible accident is a strange mixture of terror and exalation.

I have a NF Aerohead that is maybe 12 years old -- I've sent it back to NF twice, and twice ordered new parts for it. Once b/c it was destroyed by rednecks (while i was in it), once b/c due to an accident the tent was cached (I had taken it down and stuffed it) at 17,000 on Denali for a year and twice becasue I either lost gear or becasue the fly had gotten eaten out by high altitude sun. Every time NF replaced or repaired everything with no questions and minimal costs. The same goes for my sleeping bag (which was also cached on Denali for a year) - they replaced the bag - no questions asked. Their warrenty dept rocks hands down! True they have started making some poser gear (I bought a jacket some time back that had a sewn in sunglasses cleaner - how bogus is that?) - but the VE25 is still the choice for thousands of climbers. Clint - call NF and explain what happened (it doesn't hurt to rave about how you love their gear) and they'll get you a new set of poles for cheap.

Thanks for posting this... i have been wading through the plan bit by bit but I was having a hard time figuring out how it pertains to climbers. people can also find a bit of info here: http://www.akcenter.org/action.html#denali

I heard a rumor that there is a long ice route somewhere near or on the south face of Mt Gannett in the Chugach. Never seen it though and the source of the rumor tries to sell me on flying into the Chugach like a car salesman everytime I see him!

Regarding phones. 2 quick points: (1) TAT only has a limited number of radios. They tell you to rent sat phones instead. A sat phone is as small and light as a radio and if there's an emergency you can use it anywhere - as opposed to only line of sight like the CB radios. You don't get the evening weather report and KIA gossip from Lisa - but you can call the weather anytime you want. Likewise text messages (like weather reports) can be sent to your phone for free. (2) Why take a phone? B/c everytime there's an accident the first thing the NPS does is fly over and drop a phone or radio to the injured climbers. If that person had been prepared to start with then the risk and time spent in rescue would be halved. Likewise weather reports can be custom for your route -- i..e - in the Wrangells last month we actually called some dude at the National Weather Service and had him give us a custom prediction for 11,000 and higher. I get pretty sick of elitist climbers bitching and whining about cell and sat phones. They are tools like anything else - a pain when abused - a lifesaver when used properly. People who don't take a sat phone or radio on Denali spend every night walking around asking for the weather report -- and if there's an accident the rescue becomes a nightmare b/c of lack of communication.