bonathanjarrett

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.

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On another vein, we saw two helicopter rescues while we were there (within 72 hours of each other). Both times climbers were plucked right off the spires. Be careful out there! Although, I have to say I was thoroughly impressed by the speed and efficiency of these rescues. I was told by folks we talked to that the cost of these rescues is paid totally by tax dollars. The rescued climbers aren't asked to pay. Can anyone confirm this?

The road in is in good shape. A couple of bumpy spots where the washouts occurred, but just about any car can get through without any problems. It's all patched up. It was probably about a 45min drive. You can cruise right along most of it.

Trip: Bugaboos - Various Date: 8/4/2007 Trip Report: I'll spare you the chest beating, and instead share the stoke. Conditions are currently great in the Bugaboos. The B-S col is cruiser up and down right now. Some photos for your viewing pleasure. Gear Notes: Standard alpine rack, ice ax, crampons, etc. Approach Notes: Red Bull for the all night drive

Anybody else, who has been there recently or have experience with this, want to weigh in? When I look at folk's Trip Report photos, I get the impression that it is available there.

Part of me agrees with the summit thing, then there is the idea that you need to be climbing in an "alpine environment" whatever that means, and then there is the fact that you are usually contending with other factors like approach, weather, 3rd and 4th class terrain, descent issues, glacier approaches, yaddy yaddy yaddy. I was poking around the AMGA website looking at the requirements for the Alpine Guide Course and was wondering how they might define "Alpine Climbing". So at the risk of getting a bunch of smart-ass answers, I thought I would throw it out to the cc.com community. I think Twight talks in his book about lines he puts up in the Alps that don't go all the way to the summit, are they alpine? There is, believe it or not, alpine environment in the White Mountains of New England. Is there alpine climbing there? Snow Creek Wall, Tuolumne... alpine climbing or is the approach too short? Genuine questions...

How would you define it?