dougd

This Washingtonian thinks our state will survive just fine without your "tourist dollars", your "facilities inspections", and, your incessant complaining. I propose a "whiney baby" forum be added to cc.com. It would be a catch all for this type of "discussion". It shouldn't be in a climbing forum IMO... I'll nominate KirkW to be the moderator of this new forum. Mods? Please? d

I did the keyhole route on Longs in 2009. Yeah it's a scramble, yeah it's worthwhile. I camped in the boulder field one night. The last bit to the summit commonly referred to as the home run is about 400' of what I would describe as low 4th due to the exposure. I saw some people backing down below that bit. Keep your eye out for elk, I ran across a herd of about 40 head at 11k on my approach. There are a lot of people up there but it's part of the fun IMO. I enjoyed meeting and talking with some of them along the way... While I was there I did a hike up Hallet's Peak also. RMNP is exceptionally beautiful. Try to take time to explore it after your climb of Longs Pk. Heed warnings about afternoon lightning storms! On my Hallet peak hike I got down early and was very glad I did, the last hour down to the shuttle lot a real bad storm struck as predicted. When I summited Hallet you could see very dark sky roiling and wind picking up, I quickened my pace down. I've been caught in lightning storms up high before (Tetons) and it's no fun... A lot of people and their kids ascending into obvious thunder heads as I was descending had me concerned but... They would ask me what I thought about this impending storm and I would tell them honestly that I would not go up into it, they would think for a little while, then head up anyway. Moms, Dads, kids, babies in strollers, dogs et al everyone continued up... Nobody got killed that day as far as I know... good luck, d

bump. Wish I could make it... d

Just found out it was Mark. Terrible news. I climbed with Mark in the '80's. He was a much more accomplished climber but took the time to help me improve not only in my climbing but in training for climbing. Great guy. He was so strong, and smooth. Damn... d

Oh my gosh! I cannot believe this. Mark Cartier falls/dies on the S Side of Mt Hood? I worked with Mark, and climbed with him in the 80's. I belayed him at the Beacon, we bouldered at Horsethief Butte and trained together at Rocky Butte... He was helping me step up my game and I was glad to belay him on his 5.12's that I was not ready for yet. He was really good on rock and as an alpine climber. Mark was a great guy. d

You should know better. Oh wait, maybe not... You may not ever understand because you never dared. d Dared what? Rather than attempt an appropriate rejoinder, I will simply say that what I think we are witnessing in Alex's solo climbing is a form of greatness. I was surprised by your brief comment in that I would expect a person who has enjoyed this sport for a time might have given due consideration to a post on this site concerning someone who is pushing the limits of our sport, at least the mental part of it, far beyond anything anyone has yet conceived. He knows well what he is doing, and why. He is honest with himself. How many of us can say the same? That some here can be so flippant, and careless, makes one wonder why he spends time here at all. d

You should know better. Oh wait, maybe not... You may not ever understand because you never dared. d

I've always loved words. When I was a kid I was always looking up words I'd heard and didn't know what they meant. Properly expressing myself has always been important. I've been a climber virtually all of my adult life. I've done my fair share of solo climbing over those years. Some of those climbs were relatively committing. I still climb mountains when I'm not recovering from motorcycle accidents or the like... Watching this young man climb, I am at a loss for words. IMO, our culture wears out superlatives on minor shit that doesn't matter so they are ruined when it comes time to put them to proper use... I really respect what he's doing. I think I understand it, even though I would not attempt to explain it. d

If I care now I'd have to pick between a team owned by a scam artist or LeBron James and his groupies. I'm going with none of the above.

That landing gear looks pretty hokey...

Uncertainty + Risk + Commitment = Rewarding Experience Nice job ryan. d

Or, maybe, just standard evasive maneuvers to avoid potential shoulder fired projectiles en route?

There are always people ready to offer unsolicited advice. Oh well. :-) A wise man once said "don't criticize what you can't understand"... I've tried to adhere to that adage over the years. Good on you and the boy K. Looks like fun. d

I think your sensitivity to criticism here is well founded. It has been my observation that all too often "contributors" monday morning quarterback other's shared adventures and this, unfortunately, has led to a reluctance by some good climbers to post up TR's. I really appreciate your sharing of this TR. The pictures are fantastic. As a climber/non skier, I must say I am more than a bit envious of the things you guys do in such places... What you are doing is significant, and for those of us who cannot reach these places and do these things it is very nice to be able to share in it in this small way. It's difficult to criticize effectively when not on site assessing conditions real time. Lowell: In '79 I was cutting my teeth on the dogshead route on St Helens and you were climbing stuff like this... I hope you're still climbing... d

Dasan nice work in marginal weather/conditions. Thanks for sharing the story. shapp, I hope you're reading this and throwing up as promised... d

Indeed it is.

haha You got a facebook page huh? d

cc.com at it's very best. Jason, thanks for sharing that story. d

We had 2 - 3 ft snow drifts, wind blown snow (pillows), to climb through for the first 500 ft or so of this route (pain in the ass) after leaving the ridge proper, then got into some good snice the rest of the way to the summit. It was pretty hard except for some brief sections of more windblown deposits of snow along the way. There was approximately 2 feet of snow that had fallen on the mountain the week of the 1st I think it was. I would surmise the second tool would be a matter of confidence, it's pretty steep ground toward the top... d

My partner and I climbed Cooper Spur the 12th of May and found a second tool to be necessary. We started from an open bivy at tie in rock at 0300 and summited at 0730... I was glad to be off the spur as it was very warm that day up there. Thought that descending the old chute on the South side would be much safer than downclimbing the spur so we did that. Not sure how it would ski in current conditions, we don't ski... Good luck, its a nice route, we really enjoyed the climbing. d

My, but you are the busy one this spring Nastia. The weekend sure turned out nice, didn't it? Very nice work, happy for you. d

We saw your tracks where you topped out from your climb when my partner Ryan and I traversed to the old chute after climbing the Cooper Spur Saturday morning. When we saw this week old set of tracks I knew who had made them, and the thought came to us, holy shit! Most impressive, very nice work you three. d

This is the best advice for you MC. There will most likely be a huge cattle trail down the Emmons for you to follow on your descent... If you remain bent on descending to Paradise, and fighting through all the bullshit on the DC or some such, AND there's enough cash and beer in play, pm me, I never need much of an excuse to visit MRNP... d