pup_on_the_mountain

Hell yeah!!! Fuck'n Awesome :tup: .

Okay.. I don't know whether I can come out any nicer. Good to know you had fun up there, but, honestly, I'm more happy that you made it back without killing yourselves. In fact, I have the same feeling every time you post a TR. If you sincerely want to find experienced partners to do climbing with, deeds such as this one (and posts such as this one) are not going to help you. The common theme in most of your TRs has been "it was looking tough and dangerous, but I still did it. I'm a stud". You have more of the same theme in this TR. Most climbers would instantly dismiss you as being "crazy and stupid" after reading your TRs, and would think hard many times before climbing with you. On the other hand, if you change the theme of your posts to "it looked dangerous, and so I decided to back off", you will find many people to climb with. For instance, If you had gone all the way to the base of the summit block, and decided not to climb that choss-pile, people would think "this dude has made a good decision". In the same way, if you had said "it looked rocky and dangerous to glissade, and so I plunged down", people would've loved you. Unfortunately, free soloing chossy 5.2 does not make you a climbing stud. On the other hand, you could've died trying to get off that summit block. Similarly, glissading shitty 45 degree snow weaving your way through rocks also does not make you a climbing stud, but you could've hurt yourselves hitting a piece of rock. Its good to know that you have adequate control to weave through rocks when glissading, and you can free-solo 5.2 rock. At the same time, you would've won more praises if you had shown the presence of mind to decide not to do these things, despite knowing you do have the ability to do them. If you haven't read it yet, read this TR. Ryan has many years of experience climbing and skiing, and is real good at them as well. Think a little about how and why he turned back. The day you post a TR where you say "I turned back because it looked iffy", you'll find many climbing partners. You can get farther and higher with these partners.

Thanks for asking, but its more or less the same as what it was before . I have gotten a new chair to position me better in front of my computer at work, and started using a wrist guard with a splint. The wrist guard is not perfect though - the split goes from inside my palm over to my forearm. It might be better if I can splint the side of my hand instead. I couldn't find a wrist guard that immobilizes that sideways movement (think about moving your mouse left to right on the mousepad while keeping your elbow more or less fixed). I'm doing high-rep exercises to strengthen related muscle groups. May be it'll get better in a few weeks. Technical climbing is out for a while I suppose .

Awesome trip, and an excellently written TR as well . Thanks for sharing Ryan! I wish I could get six days in a stretch to go play in the mountains .

Awesome!! Cool pictures as well. Looks like them to me. Reminds me of the backyard of my house back in India...

This is utterly sad news.. I didn't know either Brian or Mizuki personally, but have followed their TRs and posts here. Can't believe they are gone. My condolences to their friends and family.

I forgot about the time change.. with that (and if I drive like you), it should be less than 7 hrs from Pullman . That's not bad at all .. Have fun at COR!

Hmmm.. I was talking to John Crock @ Hyperspud about Borah NF. He said he did it in early July. At least the year he did it, they found good alpine/water ice most of the route that time of the year. He recommended late June/early July as the best time, assuming you like to see more ice than snow. He didn't have any big issues with things falling down on them either. Was this a low snow year up there? I'll be interested in this route, but am tied up for a few weeks (and weekends) though. Please post any conditions/beta that you might accrue when/if you make an attempt. TIA! Its about a 9-10 hrs drive for me (from Pullman) , but hey, John Frieh will drive 15 hrs from PDX for you (and he'll say I'm a wimp ).

Shouldn't this thread be in the Alpine Lakes forum? (M)Gods, could you please ...

Sorry Goatboy.. I didn't catch the NE Couloir well in any of my pics. The best view I got of the entrance schrund is this one (you can also see the exit cornice, but it is not clear): I thought the cornice blocking the left exit was a sizeable one. Also, there was a ton of loose, windblown snow on the summit plateau. We were consistently sinking to our thighs till we were some ways down from the summit on our way down. It was the deepest snow that we encountered the whole day, and was quite annoying . A team of eight people were up there Saturday doing the glacier route (my buddy talked to them at the trailhead). Apparently, they saw a bunch of stuff falling off the "couloirs" (not sure which one though). There was some spindrift pouring on us when we were in the NBC, but things were quite stable other than that on Sunday.

Awesome job!! I need to get on that mountain. Thanks for the motivation.

NBC on Colchuck. Surprisingly, we were the only ones there (on Sunday - we went car-to-car). I was expecting at least a few parties with the road being open. There might've been some parties in there on Saturday though.

AlpineMonkey reported the previous weekend that there was a big cornice at the top (left exit out of the NE couloir). We saw the same thing yesterday. Further, there might be a decently big schrund at the entrance to the couloir as well. I'll check my pics from yesterday to see if I got one with the NE couloir in it (I'll get to them tonight).

I just called the Ranger Station. The road is OPEN . Apparently, you can drive all the way to the trailhead as well.

Thanks a bunch for the suggestions Layton!! I'll try the wrist guard. I'm doing exercises (high-rep, low weight) using a thera-band, and also using a light-weight cooking pan (don't have a dumbell rod at home). What exactly do you mean by "work on"? Massage? And by "someone" you mean a PT or a Chiro? The doc already took an x-ray early on -- everything looked normal on it.

Layton, its the ulnar side (pinky side). I do not feel any pain on the thumb side. The answers to the three questions you listed are indeed NO (I can't recall falling on my hand, no pain over scaphoid, and no popping). So, if indeed I've injured my "wrist meniscus", what do you recommend is the right treatment? Frosty, I do ice my wrist - may be I'll make it more frequent. I don't think I'm sleeping with my wrist/hand in a weird position. I tried (as suggested by PT) ace bandage to get some support for my wrist, but it seemed to hurt more. So, I do no use any wrist guards. What kind of wrist guard do you use?

Thanks for the suggestion ils.. being in Pullman, seeing an ortho in Seattle might not be all that feasible. In any case, I'll go see an othro nearby (Pullman-Moscow or Spokane). A year is indeed a long time.. and I simply cannot afford not to type for a year (unless I want to get deported back to India ). But the doc was probably describing a single case in which it took a year to heal.

Awesome!! Have fun and post a TR and some nice pics when you get back.

No. No. If I remember correctly, the doc (and my PT) talked about the place where the ulna meets or rubs against pisiform and triquetrum. My PT showed a picture (from some Anatomy picture book if I remember correctly) that is quite similar to the one below. As far as I understood, she was talking about the fluid in the cavity between the articular disc and ulna; but I might be wrong. The pain is pretty much concentrated on the bony projection of the ulna and a surrounding area of 1/2 inch radius.

I've been having some pain in my right wrist for more than six months now. It hurts most when I lift loads with my wrist twisted down - think about carrying a heavy suitcase, but holding its handle higher up than when your hand is pointing straight down from your shoulder. Another (possibly better) illustration might be hanging (or pulling hard) on my quark (ice tool). It also gets soar from typing a lot on my laptop or PC. I really cannot avoid typing (and I'm right handed), and hence I shake my hand out frequently when typing for a long time. It does not hurt if I'm pulling on loads straight up or down (such that my wrist is not twisted). So, it doesn't bother when doing push-ups, as long as I'm careful not to twist or load my wrist. I saw my primary care physician about this issue back in January, and he put me on Naproxin (Aleve) for four weeks (two tablets twice a day, and more in case of excess pain). The pain subsided when I was on the medication (and doing normal things including climbing and typing), but came back as soon as I stopped taking the pills. I did not want to take too much of the pills -- the pain was not unbearable, and I did not feel it when not putting stress or strain on my wrist. Hence I stopped taking Aleve. The doctor told me that I might have to rest my wrist fot a long time (may be up to a year) before the pain goes away. I do not remember falling on my wrist any time. My doctor's diagnosis was that I was short on the lubricating fluid in the cavity that connects the bone in my forehand (ulna) and the carpal bones. This condition typically happens due to over-use (from typing and/or climbing?). I was thinking carpal tunnel, but I do not have some of the typical symptoms associated with it (like tingling sensations). I also do not have any pain in any other bones or joints. In extreme cases, one could inject some fluid (or a steroid?) in this cavity, and that is supposed to relieve the pain; but since mine was not that extreme a case, he suggested not to do it. As an alternative, he referred me to physical therapy. I've had seven or eight visits to my PT since then, and she has suggested putty squeezes to inclease blood flow to my wrist/palm, and other exercises to strengthen surrounding muscle groups (forearm, wrist etc.). Things have not improved much though. I've not been climbing hard on my right hand/wrist for the last month or more (heck, I've not been climbing much at all), but have been doing the usual load of typing. I'm starting to lose faith in PT.. Has any one had the same/similar condition/symptom? What was your experience? Are there any supplements that I could take to help with the recovery? Sorry for the longish post and TIA.

Pardon the side-tracking.. Chad, what is your big trip in June going to be, if you don't mind sharing the info about?

Climing wet slab sounds spicy.. good job! That place is fun. BTW, is Alpine Lakes the correct forum to put this TR?

Thanks for the pic Mr Clam.. I had seen your TR. So, you guys were aiming to climb pretty much the ridge in the center of this pic?

I dug up this old thread.. TG says its AI2. Any one has some info about the current conditions? More snow? Or is it too late into the year already? I tried reaching TG by phone, but he's off till Monday. Any one else climbed this face? Also, how feasible is it to try this route car-to-car? I've never been to the Eagle Caps, and there is not much info on the interweb. I have the Burstad hiking book, but that does not have much info about the peaks/climbing options. Help out this bro willya?! TIA!

:tup: Schweeet!!