montypiton

I've found surprising success with copying efficiency protocols from bicycle racers and kayakers. I was never a "slow" mover - cross-country runner when younger - but I got faster when I shortened my stride and sped up my cadence. Five years ago, I took a long ride in an avalanche and had both ankles rebuilt - had to learn to walk all over again, and am still relearning to run. Yet since shortening my stride and speeding up my cadence, many of my long-time partners are challenged to keep up with me. -Haireball

wish I'd found this thread earlier -- don't know about hips specifically, but I can offer some general perspective: took a ride in a lightning-triggered avalanche five years ago - broke "pretty much everything" - received last rites from the family priest - was supposed to have lost my right foot (ankle was fractured, and remained dislocated for over twelve hours) - when folks ask what I learned from the experience, I tell them I learned I'll be able to climb long after I've lost the ability to walk -- I was rock climbing before I could walk without canes, because for climbing I could use my hands to help with balance. My rebuilt ankles (the left was not as severely damaged as the right) were not strong enough to balance me for walking unassisted, but were fine for moderate rock climbing. I'm in the Tetons this weekend, to help coach a group of wounded veterans to the top of the Grand. My take on recovery? - physical therapy is just another word for workout, and PT stands as easily for Personal Trainer as for Physical Therapist. At five years along, I'm still relearning to run. As of last season (2014) I can hike off-trail sans trekking poles without a pack. With any load, I still need poles for anything more challenging than a sidewalk. I don't know Pat Timson well, but a list of equally inspirational figures in the Wenatchee area would include Dr Mark Shipman - has TWICE fully recovered from breaking his neck,(he still refuses to give up paragliding!?!) and at age 67 still pulls the occasional WI5. Dr Glen Fries - paralyzed below the sternum since a bicycle accident mid-nineties, has trained himself to WALK with canes. the joke goes "wrecked his bike, been walkin' around paralyzed ever since" Glen no longer climbs, but kayaks several days per week. Charlie Hickenbotham - retired schoolteacher climbing again after hip replacement last spring and my all-time favorite would be New Englander Hugh Herr - winning climbing competitions on prosthetic feet which he designs himself. For me, recovery felt like being a little kid again -- every day I could do something I couldn't do the day before. That was exciting! Folks don't get it when I tell them those were some of the most exciting, fun weeks of my life. Yeah, I was flat on my back for a couple of months, but every day I could do something I couldn't do the day before. Nowadays I have to wait longer between measurable gains, and it's nowhere near as exciting. But five years along, at age 62, I'm getting stronger every day. Other guys my age are fading slowly, but I have the privilege of getting BETTER, STRONGER each day, each year - so I feel compelled to view my injury as a gift. Continually improving function - it's like getting physically younger, each year, instead of older...!?! please keep us apprised of how your recovery progresses, and let us know when you're ready to hop back into the harness... -Haireball

Dr Peter Hackett, of Telluride, CO is one of America's leading authorities on human performance at altitude. Peter was one of the founding fathers of Himalayan Mountain Rescue, and it was his high altitude research facility on Denali (first year 1981) which evolved into the "clinic" the NPS now operates at "Denali City" (14k camp) each season. altitudemedicine.org is the website for his Institute for Altitude Medicine in Telluride. Peter's institute should be able to connect you with anything/everything you want to know... -Haireball

slightly different take - just got back from a six-week Euro-tour where we packed ultra-light -- fount via-ferrata set-ups widely available for rent (hire) at quite reasonable rates. unless you're planning many days of this, renting might be more cost-effective... it certainly was for us. -Haireball

Got a close up view of the north side of Stuart from "Axis Peak" (highest point on ridge dividing Stuart Lake from Eightmile Lake) on 8/2 -- Sherpa, Ice-Cliff, and Stuart glaciers all looking extremely lean. No snow at all in couloirs above, not even in Stuart Glacier Couloir. Rock routes - N. ridge Sherpa, Ice Cliff Arete, N. Ridge Stuart, Valhalla Buttress, Razorback Ridge, NW Buttress, and W. Ridge all easily accessed, but I would steer well clear of the couloir routes. Yes, this does put you some distance from the Enchantment basin. With a map of the Enchantment permit area, you can skate around the permit system by camping or bivouacing just outside the permit area boundary. I guess the main issue would be deciding how important to you is "Golden Week". If high quality climbing is enough, then it sounds like you're set for Stuart. If you want the Golden Week experience, it may be worth your while to pick up a copy of the permit area map, and do some homework... -Haireball

remember when "week" was "a series of seven consecutive days" - as opposed to now: "the way I feel on this crux"?

"Golden Week" in the upper Enchantments: Back in the 'eighties and nineties, Bill & Peg Stark (they named most of the features in the Enchantments) would hike up to Lake Viviane at the beginning of October, and spend the entire month there watching the larches turn. your timing is perfect, and Lake Viviane is just below the south face of Prusik Peak, dead center in the Enchantment basin. If I had your time window, I would not even consider going anywhere else... -Haireball

I've had surprisingly good results with plain old super-glue when boots come apart on trips and need emergency repair... some of these emergency repairs have proven fairly permanent! an easy fix when it works, and won't make things any worse if it doesn't. -Haireball

tons of stuff around Leavenworth - any straight crack on a day when no one's on it doing it free: Classic Crack (fat chance finding it empty, but it could happen), Z-crack, Angel, Canary (first pitch), Air Roof, Deb's Crack, Bo Derek, Mr. Clean, Catapult, Damnation if you have wide enough gear, etc, etc. pick a crack, any crack in fact, I routinely start people trad leading by having them do easy cracks (like 5.6 or so) on aid so that they have to load every placement, and make LOTS of placements to get anywhere. a pitch or two, and they're comfortable enough with placing gear to start leading easy free routes. -Haireball

Kurt Hicks - thanks for the link. that's an eye opening article, though I have to clarify that their testing yielded HIGHER strengths than I expected, particularly for the mid-clipped vertically placed picket. Definitely worth reading, in any case. -Haireball

Gene, Thanks for the clarification! I suspect most readers read your post correctly, but its been so long since I've truly STUDIED these protocols, I wanted to make sure there wasn't some newer test data that I didn't know about... -Haireball

Gene- I'm confused - by "bury the first picket pointing directly toward the victim" I presume you mean buried deadman style with the direction of load perpendicular to the picket itself. "first picket pointing directly toward the victim" could be read as the picket being slotted parallel to the direction of load -- not what I'd do. I'd aim the SLING at the load, with the picket perpendicular to the sling. Can you clarify? Otherwise, I concur with two deadman placements in series. This was the AMGA standard in the late eighties / early nineties.

try on as many boots as you can get your hands on, buy the one that feels like you were born in it, then throw the stock insole away and have a custom one made (assuming you can afford it - downhill ski shops have lots of versions available). the custom insole will add to the price of the first pair of boots, but my first custom insoles lasted twenty years, and outlasted four pairs of heavy-duty alpine climbing boots. as for toe-bang - as boots break in they will stretch and conform in width, but never in length. Fit the length to your larger foot (my left is a half-size larger than my right - a major pain-in-the-ass with rock shoes), then doctor the fit in the other boot as needed - a piece of molefoam on that heel, more sock, even add a neoprene insole -- whatever it takes. A qualified professional boot fitter may be of help - again, most likely found at a downhill ski shop. but don't skimp on toe-bang. I once had a pair of alpine boots rebuilt, and the size changed slightly, and I literally crippled myself on a climb of the Elliot Headwall on Mt. Hood. -Haireball

not familiar with Mt. Erie, but when my kids were that age, the wife and I just put them in swiss-seats and hung them from a nut. they were safe, couldn't escape, thought it was a swing so they loved it, and we could climb (always within sight) without worrying about them. that said, we also had them climbing easy climbs with us at that age. (our oldest climbed Orchard Rock at Peshastin Pinnacles at age 2)

as of last week, very little snow. trail route on left side is close to snow-free. if you go beyond the col at the top, you may well need axe and poons - but to get to the top of Aasgard, probably not.

a gal fell on the third pitch of the regular route, ripped a cam, ledged out, and broke both legs. Chelan County Mountain Rescue Association volunteers staging at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery for a rescue on Serpentine Arete on Dragontail were redirected to the Careno Crag mission. Thanks to the fortuitous positioning of rescue climbers and medics, the rescue was accomplished in less than two hours. The Lady was airlifted to Seattle (Harborview, I presume, but I haven't confirmed that). A mission report and photos can be found on the CCMRA Facebook page. -Curt Haire, Chelan County Mountain Rescue Association

I prefer a three-grade system derived from the YDS. the three grades are self-explanatory: 5-fun 5-whine 5-phooey no other beta is necessary or desirable...

recommend you buy the highest quality fill you can get your hands on -- 900, or better if you can find it. it will outlast the less expensive lower quality down, and be cheaper over the long (say twenty years) run. Also, maybe consider buying LESS bag than you think you need, with the idea of picking up a second bag to nest with it for colder conditions. I use a two-pound feathered friends three-season (15') bag for spring, fall, and moderate winter, a one-pound bag for summer, and the pounder goes inside the FF for subzero conditions. both bags get plenty of use, and I don't have a $500+ subzero bag gathering dust for years at a time. FF lets you order details like "extra girth", when you buy a bag, which makes their moderate bags good candidates for this tactic.

some of us don't bother looking for the old cable crossing. from the highway, count ridges/drainages downstream from the "Iron Bridge" (at "Picnic Rock" in the guidebook) to the tower visible from the highway. then, from the bridge, walk downstream that number of ridges/drainages, and head uphill. its a LONG way uphill. no trail, lotsa brush - you have to really want this one... the "Highway Route" in the guidebook is not as unpleasant as it sounds, and I found it a far preferable approach to the summit block as opposed to the grungy gully alternative... -Haireball

I don't see your answer to my pm... I can understand if you're hesitant to rope up with an Old Fart but if you're not finding partners, I'll be there during that time period, and looking for a partner...

of course they beg to differ, John! that's why its so hard to convince them that it can be FUN. I don't expect everyone to agree or like it, but the fact is I ENJOY nights in exposed situations. That doesn't mean anyone else has to, or should. I do have more fun with partners who do...

I have to admit, when it came to the point where I really NEEDED to climb this stuff faster than maybe an hour per pitch or so, I found I learned to Really Enjoy Bivouacs! Never did get fast, but got more comfortable... these days the major challenge is to convince my younger/stronger ropegun that an unplanned/exposed bivvy is not a Bad Thing... -Haireball

I've used an Arcteryx Nozone for over a decade - found it to be a great 2-3 day alpine pack, can reduce/strip it for shorter trips. removable top and hip belt. I removed all the "frame" crap - stays, framesheet, paper-thick-foam - and replaced it all with a half-length ridge-rest pad, folded in quarters to stiffen it as a "frame". seems fine for up to 40lb or so, and I've always got a bivvy pad. I like the look of Osprey's Mutant, but I've never carried one...

I'm convinced many climbers drastically underestimate when figuring caloric and hydration needs. 2000-2500 calories for a day of alpine climbing sounds like a starvation diet to me. I usually try for about twice that. On two Denali trips back in the eighties, we budgeted 10,000 calories per person per day. To stay optimally hydrated, I need to consume AT LEAST a gallon per day in addition to what might be consumed in food. And I've gone long days when TWO gallons seemed barely enough. So for winter climbs, the ONE item I am NEVER without is a stove with a generous amount of fuel. I hope that the purr of the stove helped mask the noise of my belching and dry-heaving on that bivvy with Kyle on Dragontail...

check your pm file