timmy_t

Uhhhhhh........

Thanks a lot mr banos!

I was kind of kidding about the bears, but thanks. Although, did you hear about the bear attack that just happened to the Bellevue city councilman? http://www.seattlepi.com/local/427935_bear06.html Crazy. Wonder what the glaciers look like on Olympus right now. That would be another way out, avoiding the Elwha snow finger.

HEY! To anybody who has done the Bailey Range traverse this late in the season, do you have any route advice for me? Any sections that might be way more of a pain in the ass than I would like? Any spots where there are bears hiding just off the route, waiting to jump me and steal my Scooby Snacks? I'm thinking about doing it the last week of October if the weather is ok, which it probably won't be... OR, any ideas for another 7-9 day route through ONP?

Thanks for sharing. I may hit you up for some beta in the near future...

Maybe if you wanted to respond to one of my specific criticisms I would have a different way of looking at it when I saw it again. I wanted to like it. I was excited going in. I just found myself rolling my eyes a lot. It's an amazing story and I respect it, but that's why I liked Simpson's "Beckoning" so much.

Sorry if I'm behind the times on this, we usually get movies (and everything else) later than the rest of the civilized world up here! We're still into mullets and jean jackets, for example. Thanks for the link goatboy.

Just saw "North Face" in Bellingham last night, based on Kurz and Hinterstoisser's attempt to climb the Eiger Nordwand, and I just want to say that it was disappointing, even not good. There, I said it. Joe Simpson's "The Beckoning Silence" was much, much, better (link below). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmjJBu0xiwc It wasn't "Cliffhanger" or "Vertical Limit" bad, but I don't understand why they changed so much of the drama of the retreat, especially with what ensued after the avalanche. And I didn't like how the climbers were mostly portrayed as selfish assholes (wait...). The rival team were idiots, and the rescue climbers had to be guilt-tripped into helping with the rescue attempt. Then there was the inevitable added drama of the sleazy journalist and the almost-girlfriend. And of course every piton was about to pull out, and every step was a near-danger of slipping. Could have been better, rats.

I think it's on "The Horn" in the Henry Mountains in Utah?

Was there 9 days ago: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=946147

Trip: Mount Baker (ski) - Coleman-Deming Date: 3/6/2010 Trip Report: My friend Brennan and I took advantage of the bluebird day on Saturday and climbed/skied Baker's Coleman-Deming route (as did about 10 other people). If you have a soccer mom minivan like me you can drive to within five minutes of the trailhead. If you have anything else you can drive up to it. The snowpack looks like mid-June in the trees down low. The crux turned out to be the icy trail through the trees, which I actually slipped and fell off of at one point. I slid about 30 feet down a steep frozen hillside before coming to rest against a tree. Oops. Somebody had set a great skin track right out of the trees (thanks!), and it continued all the way up the Deming and onto the summit hump (minus about 300 feet above the saddle where we had to boot pack up). Here we are on the Football Field As you can see, there are no downhill ski tracks yet. What a day. Here's Brennan against Baker's backdrop as we continue up the Coleman Glacier Here's the first skier we saw coming down, in front of Colfax Peak And here's a snowboarder coming down the Deming in front of the rime ice-covered Roman Wall It was mild with no wind on top, so I snapped this shot of Brennan as he changed his wet shirt. It's March, for the love of God. (The axe is merely a photo op prop) The snow wasn't bad coming down the Deming. And, you know, the view... The snow below the saddle was amazing, super fun. Looks like a good turn was had by all. One final shot of a serac piece in front of Colfax 'Twas a good day. Gear Notes: Skis Skins Summit Burrito Approach Notes: You can drive to the trailhead. Try not to fall off the trail.

So if you had a boomstick that one time, you would have pointed it at the bear and it would have run away? You are exactly who I'm worried about with this legislation. Anyway, I'm going to go out on a limb and call bullshit on your claim that you've been "tracked by cougars for hours, many times." And it's spelled "bushwhackin'." Duhhh.

The embarrassing thing is that I found out about this law when I was on The Onion's website. "Finally I can protect my family from the giant sequoia." http://www.theonion.com/content/amvo/guns_now_legal_in_national_parks

What do y'all think about this stuff from the article: "The new law does not change prohibitions on the use of firearms in national parks and does not change hunting regulations. Being allowed to carry a firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge does not come with permission to use it." Then what's the @#$%ing point? If it's self-defense against animals, a couple of questions come to mind: How many documented cases of animal attacks within national parks could have been prevented with a gun? How many were provoked by silly people? How many could be just as easily thwarted with, say, bear spray? And if it's self-defense against crazies, how often have you heard of crazies in national parks running around shooting people? For me, it's not that I'm worried about my own personal safety. I'm more concerned with the psychological implications. I don't want to think, "Does this person have a gun? Does that person have one?" while I'm hiking around. And I know I will. Here's another fun comment: "Many Washington State Parks rangers are armed. Most national park rangers are not armed." Wonder if that will change.

There's a cool new series of talks one Wednesday a month up at the Chuckanut Bay Brewery in Bellingham. Tonight (2/24, 7:30pm) a geologist from the NCNP is giving a talk on glacier monitoring in the park. Come drink beers and eat good food and get your learn on. Pretty cool. http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/02/22/1300738/north-cascades-glaciers-on-tap.html

So apparently this law went into effect on Monday: http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=26352 If I understand it correctly, you can carry loaded guns but you still can't use them? I wonder how long before companies start competing to make New Fantastic Ultralight Titanium Firearms for hikers. Good lord.

You'll be fine. Go climb one of the Illiniza peaks first (@ 17,000'). You can spend day 1 at the Illiniza refugio (15,600'), day 2 summiting, day 3 resting, day 4 at the Cotopaxi refugio (15,700') , and day 5 summiting. That's enough time, just pay attention to your brain. Moggely guides are fun.

If you met him in person you wouldn't wonder that... Nicest guy ever who could crush you.

Save 2 for me...

Wow, well, it's not that big a deal, I think they're $20 new. But if you are giving away free visors, who am I to refuse?...

A friend and I climbed Prusik Peak on Monday, and we think he left his Black Diamond visor (black, brand new) on the summit. While the odds of it still being up there are slim... he would love it back. Tim (360) 424-5238 or PM

No, please. No more of this.

How do you have time to take such amazing photos while still maintaining that speed?!

Nice job, thanks for the TR. Not a grizzly.

Trip: Eldorado Peak - East Ridge Date: 6/28/2009 Trip Report: My friend Brennan and I climbed Eldorado on Sunday, so here's a quick report for the kids so's you can see the conditions in the neighborhood. The weatherman (weatherperson?) was right on the money this time: light rain on Sunday morning, then clearing. Here we are in Torment Basin, complete with T-shirt drying on rock while weather clears. The trail is melted out between Torment and Roush Basins, although we didn't see it until the way back. Here's our Inspiration Glacier sunscreen break Climbers on the East Ridge Party of 9 busy not breaking any land speed records on the East Ridge. These were the only open crevasses on the entire route. Brennan approaching the summit, with the Torment-Forbidden traverse taunting us in the background Moraine Lake, Buckner, etc. from Eldorado's summit Brennan coming off the top Klawatti Peak Glacier Peak and the ridge separating Roush and Torment Basins Cascade Pass area Happy to be done with this part of the trip down. Gear Notes: Nothing open on the glacier, a few holes right of the route for the final 500 feet, you make the call. Approach Notes: Cross the creek. Go uphill for a long ways. Walk over big rocks until you get to snow.