bonathanjarrett

Trip: Lane Peak - The Zipper Date: 12/27/2009 Trip Report: Taking advantage of the low avy conditions this weekend, my climbing partner and I climbed The Zipper on Lane Peak. We found nearly perfect conditions on the route, with firm snow for cramponing and bluebird skies. We also had the route and seemingly the entire Tatoosh Range to ourselves. Relatively low snow in the gulley meant that there was a short fun alpine ice step midway up the route. About 20 meters below the col, there is a gulley that leaves the main route and heads right. We didn't go that way, but it looked tempting with short sections of alpine ice before (presumably) heading out onto the north face. Anyone had experience with this variation? We took the "direct" route up from the col, heading straight up steep slopes. At the top, we were able to place relatively good rock gear and climb a short rock band to get onto the knife ridge. This was the best part of the climb by far with great exposure on either side and fantastic position. As one might expect, the summit views were sublime. We descended down around the backside, occasionally postholing on the south side. Dropping down between Lane and Denman required one bushy rappel that might have been avoidable with more snow. However, there were several rap slings on the way down, so perhaps it is normal to rap the couple of steep steps. Dunno. On the way out we pondered the route potential on the north facing buttress of Denman. Has anyone done this? It looked doable right now with some thin parts up high. I suspect it be about WI 3+ and be a couple/three pitches depending how you pitch it out. Gear Notes: Several short screws (unnecessary on the route) Small rock rack (useful if climbing the "direct" line mentioned above) Picket (placed only to warrant carrying it) Approach Notes: Slowshoes currently unnecessary.

Our route line is the left start. The S-shaped couloir is the right start which I believe is the "standard" start.

Down low, left side start is probably 60 degrees. Maybe a touch more. You can't fall off it if you can keep you feet under you which is why it was the first climb since rehabing the shoulder. The tools are really just for balance. WI 2ish. unklehuck is probably right in that the right side start protects better. I was able to clip a fixed pin, place a #1 camalot, and two more screws to protect the first pitch. I found that I could scamper up the ramp to the rib and have a look at the quality of the ice and be able to back off very easily before scooting across the rib and onto the face.

Trip: Chair Peak - NE Buttress Date: 12/13/2009 Trip Report: Myself and two others climbed the NE Buttress of Chair today. This was my first climb in a year and half after recovering from shoulder surgery. We found conditions to be good with ice up to the first belay and firm snow above to the second overlap. Screws over 13cm were useless though, except in the waterfall section at the top of snowfield. We climbed the route in four pitches with significant amounts of simul-climbing during pitch two and four. Our route is marked in red below. The first pitch S-couloir as described in Washington Ice is not in (at least in my judgement). Exiting it would require significant dry-tooling. The rap stations are all in good condition. Although it is worth noting that pulling the ropes for the first rap is a pain in the butt, and there is ALOT of friction across the buttress. I had to climb back up the couloir to pull them from a better angle. Gear Notes: Used: 4-5 screws 10cm,13cm, and 16cm, small rock rack including nuts, and selection of cams. Brought but didn't need: one picket Approach Notes: The boot track is well trodden, and flotation was unnecessary.

Trip: MT Rainier NP - Tatoosh Traverse Date: 8/22/2009 Trip Report: Initially the plan was to do all the peaks between Unicorn and Eagle. We cut things short after Denman though due to my feet getting pretty beat up. Leaving the trailhead at about 6:30am, it was not clear which weather forecaster was going to be right. Some said full sun. Some said a marine layer sitting at about 5-6000'. We ascended up past Snow Lake towards the clouds that shrouded Unicorn and by 7:30 things already were starting to break up. Then in one magnificent reveal the clouds rolled away leaving Rainier dominating the skyline. We ascending the horribly shitty scree gully to the col SW of Unicorn, skirting the remains of the snowfield that was bullet hard; scrambling up loose ledges put us on the heather slopes and the trail to the summit. We picked our way back down, and across to the ridge leading up to Foss Peak passing some amazing wildflowers and surrounded by fantastic views. Then it was on to tag the summit of Castle which was an easy low fifth, make it harder if you want on reasonable rock, climb. The descent slings are in good shape with a pair of rap rings. Again, stellar views abounded. It is a bit tricky to find the route over the ridge between the Castle and Pinnacle. It is not necessarily intuitive, but there are a series of cairns that lead to an improbable descent down loose ledges and on to the slopes on the south flank of Pinnacle. We were on the summit of Pinnacle by 11am once again enjoying the views of Rainier and the route to come. We descended down to the pass and tagged the easy summit of Plummer before returning to the small pond on its north slope. It was noon at this point and the wear and tear on my feet was getting worse. Having done essentially no climbing in the past year due to recovering from shoulder surgery didn't leave my toes well prepared to take the bashing of cross country travel in boots. So we tagged Denman and returned to the pool and lounged for about an hour watching the hordes of people ascend the trail to the base of Pinnacle. Around 1PM we gave up on finishing the traverse in favor of saving the extra wear and tear on my toes; the trip back down to road was uneventful except the steady stream of people we passed. Except the section around Pinnacle, we were essentially alone the whole time and the trip had a nice "wilderness" feel. That is if you look south. It's bizarre how the sound of Harleys really carries up the valley. That and the Paradise parking lot. So okay, if you close your eyes, and plug your ears, it feels like a wilderness experience. Great route,though. I highly recommend it and can't wait to do the western half. Gear Notes: 30m Rope Small selection of nuts, #1-#2 Link Cams Approach Notes: Cruiser in and out.

Sorry, but this rediculous and baseless bad mouthing of mountaineering groups is just plain stupid. Not a single Mazama group was on the South Side. All one has to do is check their online climb schedule to know that. Look here.

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I recently read Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez. Now, I have to call B.S. on some of what he tries to do in the book, but it is worth plowing through if you are at all interested in why some folks make it and others don't in severe life or death situations. Not once, at any point, or for any reason, does he attribute "modern technology" to the ability to survive. In fact he suggests that to rely on it often causes the individual to push past acceptable limits and rely on a crutch that may or may not actually be of any help. He looks at a variety of cases including the Yates/Simpson event. What he finds is that there is something deeply biological/carnal about our ability (or lack of ability) to survive. It is a function of being thoughtful, present, willing to act, and willful enough not to die. And lucky as well. Consider the case of the Shackleton misadventure.

If you can find a pair of Trango Guides, you might consider them. They have been discontinued, but if you scour the interweb, the leftovers are cheap, like $40 marked down from about $100. They take a strap-on crampon well, climb reasonably good, are super light (1 kilogram per pair), and have enough support to protect your ankle/foot in scree/boulder fields, etc. I have a flat wide foot and they fit me quite well.

Thanks. That was very helpful.

What do people think is the prognosis on SGC still being "in" over Memorial Day Weekend? Lot of snow this winter, but really hot over the last couple of days...

Get one of these bad boys! You can take rock fall to the face all day long.

Anyone know anything about the one perhaps two people who BASE jumped off Monkey Face on Saturday? I am surprised I haven't heard anything yet on these boards. I saw only the chute open as I was hiking over the top and approaching the vantage point. The mystery jumper was gone by the time I got to a better view point.

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So if you are just getting home from work and wondering what to fill your evening with, I encourage you to go to the Terry O'Connor slideshow this evening at 7PM presented by the Mazamas Expedition Committee. All of the proceeds from the event are eventually returned to the climbing community in the form of grants given to expeditions with interesting/unique objectives.

Bump. This event is coming up tomorrow night.

In reality you shouldn't be slamming your foot into the ice anyways. It is easier, more efficient, and just as effective to keep the points sharp, kick gently, and search for places where you can in fact just place your foot. If the boot is comfortable for you to descend a steep slope without your toes being smashed you are fine. If the boot is too big, you end up getting heel lift, and it just feels sloppy and makes your footwork sloppy as well.

I was up there this morning. We dug a pit at Crater Rock, and the test block sheared with minimal force. A half meter slab popped off. Discretion being the better part of valor, we decided to not take chances. Conditions were highly variable though, and we saw lots of people (at least one that tried to summit). Could it have gone? Perhaps...but who wants to get avalanched climbing the SS of Hood. Get your butt out there. Check it out for yourself. Don't rely on us to tell you its a go.

Thanks for fixin' the linky.

Link

I bought a pair of Freney XT's when I was living in NH in 2004ish. The intention was to have a pair of boots that would climb ice well. These do. In NH they saw several winters where I climbed 75-90 days a year in them. They have held up very well for me. More than issues with external stitching (which has been minimal to none) the insulation has compressed over time making them less warm they they once were. These boots which once kept my feet warm in temps dipping to the negative single digits are now comfortable only in the teens. Frankly in an ice boot, you don't need to worry about stitching blowing out because you aren't spending an inordinate amount of time "hiking" in them. Even waterproofness isn't a huge issue because the temps are usually low enough that there isn't alot of external melt trying to seep in. As well, if you are truly using them to climb ice in, you aren't even standing in snow most of the time. These are ice boots not mountaineering boots.

The Makah didn't decimate the whale populations. The industrialized world did. The Makah didn't assume that the whale populations would be able to withstand factory fishing or that they could simply move on to deplete another natural resource once they had nearly eradicated an entire species. Why punish them for the industrialized world's overconsumption, lack of ethics,and failure to have forethought?

The Makah have a standing treaty with the United States government that specifically and explicitly allows the hunting of whales. They also have a small allotment of whales provided to them by the International Whaling Commission. Their allotment is one of the smallest of any international groups allowed to hunt whales. In the years since the right was returned to them, they have not killed the number they were allowed to. The Makah were not forcefully "removed" from their lands like many North American tribes. However there was a definitive and explicit government policy of separating them from their culture during the turn of the century. This included "educating" them and forcing them to become farmers not whalers. The result of this forced acculturation was a serious decline in Makah culture and the meteroic rise in social problems for the Makah people. As for the use of non-traditional weapons to hunt, like high caliber rifles, the decision was made to do this to reduce the number of whales that were maimed but not killed during the hunts. Unfortunately the individuals currently hunting whales are not practiced in doing so. But they have been separated from their ancestral knowledge for nearly a century. If you want to know more, read A Whale Hunt which chronicles the resumption of Makah Whaling in the 90's.

Sad news for me today. I found out that the man who was my original climbing teacher and mentor passed away recently. Jim Salem was the reason why I found climbing and fell in love with it as a sport and a way of living. He was also the reason why I picked up and moved to the West Coast. At one time, in his youth, he lived in Portland and on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation as a professional potter. The way he spoke of the mountains, his love for them, and his love for the diverse ecology of the region helped me develop the gumption to leave New England when I was a teenager. He was a good climber, great teacher, and an exceptional human being. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Having been in a similar situation before, I would echo the comment that cutting back on climbing if you can't cut back on work is the most logical plan. You are not an old man, and the mountains will be there. Maybe this is a chapter in your life where you pick up something that will augment your climbing and set pure climbing aside for a while. I am thinking of how Mark Twight studied some sort of martial arts when he "gave up" climbing for a while. I would imagine taking up aikido (sp?) or something like that would help you both relax and stay fit. And the discipline and focus that it would foster would certainly carry over into alpine climbing and the mental and physical rigors that it requires. The mind/connection is critical. No point burning out on both climbing and work, because you feel like you "have" to do it.