Bigtree

Am planning on climbing Mt. Rainier August 10 - 12 via Camp Schurman/Emmons but have no permit in-hand. Does anyone care to speculate on the chances of obtaining a mid-week permit for 2 at White River in early August? Our schedules are flexible enough to wait an extra day if needed but not much longer.

Thanks for the feedback bstach and Dru. I picked one up at the local MEC here in Victoria this morning. Cheers.

Does anyone out there have any experience with the Integral Designs South Col Bivy Sack that MEC is selling? See http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detai...D=1152316084520 . Seems to offer some pretty good value for the money (~ $200). Thanks.

Here's some pics from Sunday June 18th.

Was speaking with Tom at the Mt. Adams ranger station a few minutes ago (Tuesday June 13). He advised that there is road access established to Morrison Cr. campground now. He said it was OK to park at side of road/might be able to get into campground. 3 km snowshoe/hike to trailhead. Snow is patchy along road but at least 5 ft at Cold Springs. I'll be catching a ferry/driving down Saturday and will try and tag the summit between Sunday - Tuesday.

Clipped this from an article in MountainZone.com: "...We used a technique called space hauling which is similar to the old dumb waiter elevators (we're the dummies). Basically the haulbags are tied to one end of the rope which goes up to a pulley and then the three of us are clipped to the other end of the rope as counter weights. Since we weigh more than the gear we are hauling, the haulbags are brought up with theoretically little effort on our part. However, the bags get stuck every corner and roof and when the bags are raised up to the pulley the three of us have to then ascend back up the rope, so we end up jugging twice the distance of the actual haul!"

This is helpful information Duchess - thanks.

I heard from someone whom I consider to be a reliable source last weekend that despite the well known policy of requiring climbers of Mt. Rainier to obtain coveted mid-summer climbing permits for all summit attempts, park officials lack the regulatory authority to enforce such requirements (i.e., their bluffing and in the event a climber were to thumb their nose at the requirement and decide to climb without a permit park officials cannot stop them). Does anyone with an understanding of the US National Parks regulatory scheme have any views on whether this is true or not? I'm also curious if the same holds true for National Forest areas such as Mt. Adams. BTW, I'm not interested in lectures or ethical debates about the issue - just curious about how such a potential enforcement gap could be allowed to exist.

I heard from someone whom I consider to be a reliable source last weekend that despite the well known policy of requiring climbers of Mt. Rainier to obtain coveted mid-summer climbing permits for all summit attempts, park officials lack the regulatory authority to enforce such requirements (i.e., their bluffing and in the event a climber were to thumb their nose at the requirement and decide to climb without a permit park officials cannot stop them). Does anyone with an understanding of the US National Parks regulatory scheme have any views on whether this is true or not? I'm also curious if the same holds true for National Forest areas such as Mt. Adams. BTW, I'm not interested in lectures or ethical debates about the issue - just curious about how such a potential enforcement whole could be allowed to exist.

1. Assuming the snow is too firm to plunge the picket in by hand, simply use the top of your axe (i.e., the broad flat portion between the adze and the point) as a hammer. 2. Optimal length depends on a number of factors such as anticipated snow conditions (spring oatmeal vs. something lighter that requires a picket with greater area/purchase), intended use, how much weight you are prepared to pack, etc. I pack a single MSR 3' as an all-rounder and a light-weight spare axe (the second axe is more versatile for me than the second picket - can be used in a pinch like a picket vertically or buried as a deadman for crevasse rescue work). Ideally, you would have a a couple of 2' and 3' and bring what you anticipated you might require. 3. My personal view is that a carabiner is quicker/more efficient by far.

Hey, thanks for the tip. The comparison chart of 10 devices is great (http://www.mountainlife.us/). Cheers.

Nice touch. I'll take two. Thanks for the feedback. The other string referenced above has some good discussion/information. Cheers.

Does anyone have any thoughts on avalanche beacons, as in, digital vs. analogue and value for money? I have used analogue previously but digital or dual mode seems where manufacturers are heading these days. The "Nic-Impex ARVA Advanced Avalanche Beacon" carried by MEC looks good: The "Backcountry Access Tracker DTS Avalanche Beacon" also seems increasingly popular:

I bumped into the following on-line information regarding basic crevasse rescue and glacier travel skills and thought it would be of interest for newbies who haven't yet got ahold of a copy of Freedom of The Hills: http://www.acmgguides.com/html/tipstech/mountaineering_contents.asp

Alas, no. But hope to tag the summit of this beaut via the North arete at month's end with some folks. Will post the full route/pics then.

Just a test - trying to post a photo.

Excellent TR and pics. I particularly liked the cartwheel on the summit.

You can find the bittorrent for Eiger Sanction here (not that I would ever download stuff like this for free mind you): http://ts.searching.com/search.asp?h=&query=Eiger+Sanction&submit.x=20&submit.y=7. The scenery is great but the hollywood schtick was too much for me - like Clint's green construction helmet. ...and you can find Cliffhanger here: http://ts.searching.com/search.asp?h=&query=cliffhanger&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 ...and although you didn't mention it, Touching The Void has got some very realistic scenes: http://ts.searching.com/search.asp?h=&query=touching+the+void&submit.x=0&submit.y=0.

4th time lucky for Garibaldi? Doesn't really matter anyway so long as you had a good time. Ego usually just gets you killed faster. Great pictures/blog site by the way (especially the Berner with saddle bags). SH

I know its rather geekish but check out the folding solar panel at the attached link as an option for recharging on the go. I've pondered a work situation or two where this would have come in handy for charging electronics such as sat phones in remote places: http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/p...fromSearch=true

Here's a topo for the basic approach to the Wedge at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtree/127692511/ (the Wedge and Lesser Wedge are located in the bottome right of the map). Maybe someday I'll figure out how to includes pics in my posts - with a limit of >/= 100 000 bytes it doesn't seem to accommodate much.

Here's an update on Elk River Trail (Vancouver Island). Left car at ~ noon April 4, 2006 (snow in parking lot). Planned camp was Landslide or Foster Lake and possible climb of Colonel Foster via S. Col route the next day. Had to mount snowshoes at about 1 mi mark. Snow conditions became deep at about 5 mi mark (> 4 ft in open and ~ 2-3 ft under cover), very saturated (re: heavy slogging) and avi prone (had to cross 3 fresh slides that had crossed the trail and made it down to the river's edge) just prior to 2nd campsite on the flats. Determined that conditions were too tough and risky to proceed further so turned around at 6.5 mi and was back at the car by 8 pm. Note that I was in the valley the first week of March last year and made it Foster Lake with ease in ~ 5 1/2 hrs, only encountering continuous snow on the trail adjacent Landslide Lake. So I'd say its a heavy, albeit more normal than last, snow year. Wasn't really paying much attention to Elk Mt. but heard lots of action up there on my way out in the early evening. I've posted a map and a couple of pics at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtree/. Cheers.

Impressive but about as stupid as the free falling stunt that killed him leaving a wife and child or two behind as I vaguely recall.

I bought a Cinch early last year and have used it a couple of times since on different ropes > 9 mm. I found it to be light and straightforward for use; however, I find the lever too small for my liking which often results in abrupt and jerky releases. The following link is for the Trango Cinch FAQ site updated to Feb '06: http://www.trango.com/pdfs/CinchFAQ.pdf. The document suggests not using on anything < 8.9 mm. I probably wouldn't buy it again without some design modifications. As for using with small dia rope, Catbird said it best.