I'll chime in with my $0.02 when it comes to describing why all of the newbies, wannabes and armchair mountaineers are facing some hostility on this forum regarding their questions and rampant speculations. I'm no Cascade climber, but I am a climber of 12 years from Colorado. The only real climb I've done in the Cascades is a one-push ascent of Mt. Rainier. If you don't know what that means, I don't think you have the experience to be standing on your soapbox telling the world what these guys should or should not have done.
Some "ground rules" as they are when talking to climbers in a climbing forum.
>>1)no conjecture about what might have been done differently (very understandably unacceptable under the circumstances)
Climbing is a very diverse sport conducted by a very small part of the population. Much of what we do is not understood by the layman and many of the techniques, strategies, etc. at times may seem counterintuitive. When climbers, who have spent years (or decades), working on their skills are suddenly questioned by armchair mountaineers from Peoria, we are naturally bothered by all those second guessing our hard-won experience. To speculate on the actions of experienced mountaineers when you have none, is foolish IMHO. Would you question the experience of a combat vet if you had never left the suburbs?
>>2)no questions or conjecture about the injuries sustained by Mr. James.
No formal information has been released about Mr. James' injuries as far as I know. To speculate about what may have happened, I think, is premature. Let's wait until we hear verifiable information before we begin judging what happened.
>>3)no questions about the weather, or how to find out answers to questions about the weather (thus the response "its called a search engine").
From what I have learned, the weather was clear and stable for the time period these men expected their climb would last. Unfortunately, the weather changed and the forecast wasn't entirely correct. Please speak up if you have never experienced an incorrect forecast or weather that has changed. Forecasts are fallible, weather changes - especially mountain weather, stuff happens. When experienced climbers head into the mountains, they craft their plans around likely weather they will encounter during their expected time out, extending it out perhaps 24 or 48 hours. You simply do not account for weather that might happen 7 days out when you plan on a 2 day climb. In any event, weather that far out can not be accurately predicted.
>>5)no questions or comments about news reports that we are able to get, since the news commentators are ignorant
Climbing is hardly a mainstream activity and because of that fact the media often reports facts incorrectly, misinterprets things or takes things out of context. Most media reports that concern climbing related activities should be taken with a HUGE grain of salt. Better to rely on the reporting of experienced climbers on forums such as this.
You do a disservice to everybody when you speculate about what may have happened when you have no experience to base your ideas on. There's nothing wrong with not having experience or knowledge (we all started there at some point), however it just bothers us climbers when people who don't know what they're talking about begin to spout off on all tangents.
And to you people who know nothing about mountain rescue, please stop offering your pithy suggestions. The guys and gals who are out on the mountain looking for these climbers aren't hacks. They know what they're doing better than you, better than me. They are following time-tested procedures and techniques that work. They have LOCAL knowledge of Mt. Hood, which most of the people on this forum, myself included, do not.
I apologize if this message comes off as being harsh, but my hope is to explain why climbers often take issue to unwarranted second guessing. What a lot of people fail to realize (from the comfort of the living room) is that the climbers and rescuers on Mt. Hood are taking into account a thousand more variables than most people ever realize. Just because something may seem logical while tapping away at the keyboard, doesn't mean it makes sense at 11,000'.
Batso
