pup_on_the_mountain

Nice work, and great photos Nastia! FWIW, in case you have not seen it already, here is the TR by Terry from a few years back. This climb was in late July under perfect conditions, though.

I was the one with Dan on that trip. Looked like a nice route, and I recall you guys were cruising! A minor detail, but IIRC, we did the trip on the same date in 2006.

Local folks, don't miss this one! For once, we all don't have to go to Seattle to see a great show . Where: Webster 11 (at the basement of the tallest building in Pullman). For non-WSU folks, nearest parking is in the green lots on Washington St (free after 5 pm), just off Stadium Way. When: Wednesday, Apr 21, at 6:30 pm. See you there .

He didn't have any complaints. It was of course Indian food, and being Indian, he didn't have any issues with it. BTW, he had done the course five years back (and not three years back as I mentioned earlier). FWIW, some pictures from his trip are available here.

Where are you located? A lot will also depend on what other options you are looking at, and on your current experience level. I'm guessing you're looking at their level 1 course (the first one), which is typically 4-weeks long. A friend of mine took this course with HMI 2-3 years back. It was a reasonable experience according to him, and definitely worth the cheap fees charged. This course typically includes an attempt on a ~5000m peak in the end (my friend was sick, and hence did not go for the summit attempt). Also, if you haven't been to the Himalayas, and have the four+ weeks of time at hand, this course would be a nice way to get a taste of the bigger mountains while learning the ropes, literally. Mountaineering in India is not a "recreational sport" as it is out in the West (US/Europe). Most instructors in HMI will be from the armed forces, and they often teach this course to increase the chances of getting promoted to higher ranks. While many of them will be experienced in climbing for the sake of climbing, it is not the main job for them - as it is often the case with climbing guides in US/Europe. As such, they often approach climbing in the same regimented way as they would approach an army operation. This approach by itself is not that bad - just that they won't treat you as a "client" or a "customer" as most of the guides out in West do. Thanks also to the regimented military approach to climbing, they are less or often not willing to make changes in the program to suit you better. For instance, I would've loved to take their level 2 advanced course, given my moderate experience level and some familiarity with basics. But as a rule, you cannot register for a level 2 course unless you have the certificate of completion of a level 1 course from HMI, or a similar mountaineering institute form India. As mentioned above, if you are based in the US, you'll be much better off taking a week-long course with AAI, or a similar institution. Of course, if you are traveling to India any way, and want to spend a bunch of time in the mountains, the HMI course will be quite worth it. If you have more specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Solid work!! Congrats :tup: Nicely written up as well.

I enjoyed Dan's presentation at Moscow, ID. Definitely recommended.

Those sunrise pictures are spectacular!!!

Looks wicked!! Strong work indeed. Hope to see the video from Wayne...

Awesome!!

Way to persist! Nice idea to start at 6 AM. We started for the same route at 12:30 AM, but got our butts kicked by the wind and cold lower down, and decided to bag it. Alpine start is indeed overrated .

Good point Gene. I stand corrected. I was too cheap to think about it when I was a student. Besides, the only "local" store I had around my place then was REI . Nowadays, I buy a lot from my local store. Heck, I almost doubled their total sales towards the end of last year as I was replacing all my stolen gear.

I learned the hard way to NEVER buy boots on-line. Trying to save some money as a student, I also bought my first pair of mountaineering/ice climbing boots on EBay, and decided to stick with it for a bit despite the not-so-comfortable fit. Screwed up both my toenails in one cold day of ice climbing. At least I had the lame excuse of not having a store nearby to try the same boot on (I was out in the beast coast at that time). If you're in Spokane, why don't you go try some boots at Mountain Gear? You can always buy the correct size on-line for a cheaper price, once you're sure about the fit. As Gene says below, better buy it from them directly. They'll happily order it for you. IMHO, it is not worth compromising the fit for saving a few bucks. You don't want to be up on Rainier with a boot that's chewing up your leg. You may even try asking the Mountain Gear folks to match the on-line price - they might cut you a deal. In that case, it would be a lot more convenient to return or exchange it, assuming the need for the same arises after you try the boot on snow. Good luck!

This is NOT on a volcano, but is in North Cascadses: It may be hard to generalize... Talking about NBC on Colchuck, there was a thin close-to-vertical step when we did it in a lean snow year. We drytooled it without roping up, as it was only around 10-12 ft tall. It was an easy snow ramp another time, when we went even later in the season in a good snow year.

You can just get it from Netflix??

Was an excellent talk and slideshow by Dan Mazur. He kept the packed audience engrossed with his storytelling style . For once, I was able to go to a talk like this one in this neck of the woods (Moscow, ID). Usually, I just read about them happening in Seattle or PDX (on weekdays mostly). I need to make it to a Rope-Up at some point.

I almost finished it, but my wife walked in at the 8th part right as Kurz was cutting the rope. Didn't go all that well with her... Nice find, but as Dane said, better not let your girl watch it.

Here's the owner.

I was talking to John Crock today. He and his partner went to check out these climbs earlier today. The lower falls apparently had water gushing down the middle, and the upper one had a hole that was getting bigger as they were standing and watching. They bailed. John says he never heard of these falls freezing completely as Wayne and Beau found it. Nice timing WayneBuea .

Looks awesome!

I'm deeply saddened to hear about your brother Scott. May he RIP. Hoping for a good turn for the other two.

Wayne, I hope you found someone to go with. I'm guessing you already asked Lane... I wish I could go, but am buried deep in end-of-semester shenanigans (aka work). PM me next time you're in this neck of the woods and looking for a partner. Beau, the WSU Alpine Club has been dead for a while. We need folks like you to get it back up. Shoot me a PM some time. - Bala

Belated Happy b'day Paul!! Hope you ultimately had the chance to get drunk .

Fantabulous!! Awe-inspiring read and pictures. I can't even dream of such a trip. Keep 'em reports coming Jay!