Maine-iac

Dooode it is just under a 3 mile walk from where they gate the road to cloud cap. Takes a couple hours to do, but if you are looking at the north side of the mountain what's a couple extra miles? I did the Spur at the end of march last year and it was fantastic. We soloed it and came down the sunshine route. We brought a tent up to the stone shelter which made the day a little more manageable. It would be very long car to car, or cloud cap to cloud cap (esp. for a beginner).

Phillips has a great monitor! monitor It is light and easy to carry around. Might not be fully waterproof, but it is under $20k!! You can spend upwards of 35k so this is a steal! haha.... I have a really old Polar watch that I like. It had just the basic features, but I was able to cycle through them and it would show the different zones and my target zones. No need to spend $$$$ but just like everything you should spend some money on it just so you don't waste your time. Mine, back in the day, was probably like $90. It is also worth getting a few books on HR training just so you truly understand what it all means and how to translate your results to what the books are talking about.

Across the board? No more Coast Guard rescues of boaters or commerical fisherman? No Medic One calls for heart attacks or car accidents? If you don't want your Medic 1 I'll that that crew! You Seattle folks have one of the best EMS groups in the world. I'm not going to hound these guys for pulling out, I wasn't there and all I read was second/third hand reports, so I don't know what they were thinking about. But when I was in AK we planned for those hard days. I expected to carry a little heaver packs incase I couldn't be flown out on time and just made sure to have my head screwed on straight. Would I have pushed the button? Maybe or maybe-not. From what I read, probably not, but I wasn't there and I don't know the guys. Would I return the gear- yeah probably since it sounds like the guy who has it knows who that party is (depends on how easily it is to track them down). Would I ask for some money to help cover the bush flights. Yeah.

All of the climbing I have seen at Smith is lead climbing- unless you head over to North Point then you can just drop a top rope. For lead climbing at smith you will typically need 10-14 draws (looks like you could make 7 or so out of the gear you already have.) For just top roping you have more than enough odds and ends to make it work, you just need to figure out if you can drop a rope from the top or if you have to lead it. Maybe pick up a daisy chain for safety or know when to clove hitch yourself in. My top rope setup might just be two draws, or 3 locker biners with cord or a runner.

AWESOME!!!!! Who did you guys fly in with? Did you ski out to Stony River Lodge? I was there over this summer and the potential in that area is off the charts! Way to get after it!!

Yeah Mausolus is a crazy mountain!! I spent a week in that area this summer. Makes getting to Denali look like going to the mall.

Good article on pulmonary altitude issues: MG Levitzky's Pulmonary Physiology- CH 11 "The Respiratory system under stress" I would link you guys, but I'm logged on through a university so the link won't work.

http://www.skihood.com/Community-and-News/Meadows-Blog/Posts/2011/03/%7E/media/A9091F53CCAB422EB0E7B81263958AAA.jpg

Snowspark bring your gear to the summit. The ski off the top is WELL worth lugging it up there. You should be able to skin about 3/4 of the way up, then it gets a little too steep for skinning. My advice is to hit the summit just after sunrise so that you can ski the upper slope right as the sun gets on it. Then chill out on the hogsback for a while and let the sun melt up the next 4500 vertical feet into some nice corn. The only thing you need to watch for is that the upper slopes are not totally rimed up (also check your avy conditions). This photo is of me skiing right off the summit ridge. Photo- F. Sproat.

Get yourself a good gym partner and have treadmill battles. I put many miles just by walking on treadmills, it is the most boring thing in the entire world but it gets you fit. Arguably one of the harder things in mountaineering is the mental aspect of it- and if you can last a few months of flat land training only, then you will be the strongest out there! Go for long walks- I was doing 10 mile walks here in Iowa and that seemed to do the trick. But 3 times a week on a treadmill busting ass (with an incline) for 40-60 minutes will make you burley in the outdoors. For Rainier you need endurance, so the long boring stuff is perfect. I know that's not quite what you were looking for, but I am in a similar location by being in Iowa at the moment. (Also what kind of medic are you?)

Slightly different goals... Not kill anybody during clinicals/ride time. Pass NREMT-P Get outside as much as possible in the "2 weeks" I might have off between now and Oct.

Are you sure that it is a .gif or one of the formats accepted? I ran into that the first time trying to get my picture up. Also I think there is a size limit. So maybe you are at the 80x80 but just over the size limit. I am on a mac and agree that uploading pics can be a PITA, but for my profile pic I used the program Grab, it comes on all macs and you can just resize things easily and check also to see how large it is.

why don't you go up the SS, down the sunshine then back up Cooper. OR instead of the SS make it harder and go up Leutholds or Reid and cut over a little "earlier".

Can you get ahold of a stationary (indoor) trainer? Then you could use any bike on it (as long as you put a slick tire on the back). You should be able to get one fairly cheaply and it might be easier to find than a stationary bike.

Please point out to me where there is a natural break between the Karakoram and the Himalaya. http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/topographic-map.htm I don't see it there, or on either of the Google Earth, or Google Maps, or on Nat. Geo's maps. Good on for those guys getting out there in the winter though!

Move to yard sale?

Also PM'd about screws/screamer.

Second Devils tower. That place is AWESOME. There is also a ton of climbing and great exploring around rapid city (black hills, sturges motorcycle rally, mr rushmoore, the pinnacles for climbing), the badlands are well worth your time checking out (I did a heli ride for 60$ and it was worth every cent) south dakota will be your state for shitty places to stop off and see random stuff. There are a number of NPS along the way. I think the hard part would be to choose between going to the Tetons/yellowstone or going north up to glacial national park. If you have the time/money I would see both places. Not as much climbing up in glacier but it is gorgeous and remote. I've done the drive from Iowa to Oregon 4 times now so I've gone all the ways you can. We can chat more if you want.

Situational awareness is equally important as having the right tools. Sure a doctor or nurse is not going to open a field cath. lab, but they should understand the situation a little better than somebody with minimal training.

I think it is safe to say if somebody gets hurt in the outdoors they stand a better chance of survival/return to normal life if somebody that they are with, or themselves, is medically trained. Also, in everyday life people do stupid things and first responders make the difference. So, how much first aid knowledge do you have? I'm a WEMT-B but am in a paramedic program currently.

Beacons do nothing??? Holy horse shit. By that logic you probably solo everything right? A beacon is a tool just as everything else one uses while on that climb is. If you are reading an avalanche report while considering a climb what does that mean? Either there is a potentially dangerous slope on the approach, on the climb itself, or above the climb. I would take a beacon on any aspect of Hood, unless I was on the N. face, Black spider, or Yocum; same goes pretty much for all of Rainier. If there is snow at any angle over 20 degrees I'd have one on. If I am on a flat approach then on an alpine rock/ice route (not snow) then I probably wouldn't. Clearly this person does not understand a beacon and when one should be used, and by whom; or maybe they don't enjoy the snow.

Kontrashabuna Lake, AK Lower Twin Lake, AK Interrupted bathroom break

Dude keep in mind that the ones hiring arn't stupid either. They know you have a degree in economics so that means you not as thick as a brick (although....), and you live in OR. While not the mecca for climbing, your resume shows that you bust your ass and stand on top of what oregon has to offer. Would you rather be bottom of the class in an Ivy League setting or top of your class in a public setting.... You make damn sure you are getting done what is realistic to be done in Oregon. Just like in a business nobody is going to be hired if they are a total fucking clown who happens to be good at crunching numbers, but they will be hired if they bust their ass and do their best.

Choada it is in the works now. Plans are set to be presented to the state of Alaska by 2012. So far in the history of mining once plans have been presented, and permits asked for nobody has been turned down. Just some quick facts if you don't want to read the article. This mine will be approx 2 miles wide and close to 2000ft deep (just the open pit part), the underground portion is expected to be of similar size just underground. The tailings dams will block up entire valleys, and one of the earthen dams will be the largest dam in the entire world. I spent 3 months this summer in the Lake Clark area which is just to the east of the proposed site. It was by far the most beautiful place I have seen anywhere in the US/CA or Europe. The people there were great and were also fairly heavily opposed to the mine, but for these small towns the thought of any sort of money flow through their towns is pretty large and some will vote for money now then beauty for the grandchildren. It is a lot easier to change somebody's attitude than to fix a poisoned and devastated Bristol Bay. Just to compare the fish: The annual expected return for the entire Columbia River area is approx 100,000. The annual expected return for Bristol Bay is 30-40 MILLION.