Seamstress

I did not witness the fall, but I spoke to him (and witnesses)about it. I was with him until the paramedics arrived and am an EMT. There was significant drag caused by the pro in place and sliding down the corner. He did hit the ground head first and was bleeding from the back of his head with very little injury anywhere else on his body. I was amazed. Of course we are all worried about what we could not see at that time.

A young man fell from Rabbit Stew on 10/6/2012. It was a long leader fall, maybe 50', impact with his head. He is from WA. I have not seen any newspaper articles or forum posts about him. I am hoping that he is doing well. All of the people on the scene were very generous with their time and clothing to tend to him. I am not particularly interested in instigating any finger pointing. Sending him best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Certainly climbing numerous peaks in winter/spring conditions will help with your confidence. Be sure to discuss your desire with the guides you climb with. So many times, you can be led up a mountain and not really need to do all the physical labor or be privvy to the decisions that are being made. Example - doing Rainier with a guide service that has camp set up for you is a much different experience than the physical labor you will be subjected to to climb Denali. Adams can be done in one long day. Better training for you if you can drag a big load up to lunch counter - not the typical guide experience. For St. Helens, you can drag a load up the Winter route to 4,300'. Again, this won't be the typical guided experience. Whitney is the least comparable climb. The rock bands would make dragging a sled impossible. However taking a large backpack up to the lakes is certainly training. I might suggest Shasta instead. What I highly recommend is figuring our how much experience you can get going up and down in deep snow with a large load. The fitness level to drag 100+ pounds up the hill in deep snow every day for three weeks is much different that a one day to one week trip. Get a sled and rig it to the back of your pack. All the iterneraries you read are ideal. You may not have ideal. You may have to carry double loads three days in a row because weather didn't allow you to get going as expected. When you put as much time and money into an adventure like this, give yourself the best chances for success. What steep snow covered objective can you drag your load up and down near your home? My training tip - make the extra ballast for your load water. That way if you are spent on your training, you have the option of dropping 10 - 20 pounds. I don't think that the load ever becomes inconsequential (or maybe that is just for a small lady like me). The notion of taking a large load up 3,000 vertical needs to be no big deal for you to be ready for your trip rather than merely survive the trudge to 14 camp. Find a ski area and walk the boundary in snowshoes up to the top in all kinds of conditions - deep snow, icey. Good luck. I'd be willing to take a motivated mid-westerner up my home mountains of St. Helens and Adams. I'd have you taking the entire load and explain why this is good for your training!!!

The logging company doesn't own the land. It is DNR land loaded with trails that are busy with hikers, horses, and hunters. The area has been published for decades. I looked for it 13 years ago and eventually found the right place to park.....the dirt roads and hike in will keep the crowds down. We wandered over to this nice little area.

I have enjoyed the new book. It has helped me avoid hours of research, driving, trespassing and hopping on a climb that is totally over my head. This is much better than the previous Gorge Classic Climbs and includes many more areas. There is still adventure to be had, but at least I know it is worthwhile before embarking on the quest to find the crag.

One last attempt to find a good home. I'm going to put these on consignment if no takers here.

Try in advance. My eyes won't tolerate that.

I have used hard lenses, soft lenses of all types and varieties in the back country for decades. Keep in mind that your depth perception may be thrown off by switching between contacts and glasses. There is great benefit in wearing what you always wear. Small bottles are great. A spare set is a good idea. Keeping the lenses on your body, especially at night, is key to keeping them from freezing and being able to find them quickly. I generally use the clear care system at home, but that won't work with the irregular schedule of backcountry climbing. I use a different all purpose solution for the back country. Try the solution you are going to use before you go away. Whenever you change solutions, your eyes may not like it and tear. Best to try that before. I keep the small bottles in my travel kit. They are small enough for the plane, small enough to take backpacking, and will last three weeks of daily use. Perfect.

Love long and detailed. Excellent, and glad you made it home safely to your sweetie.

And I thought my wedding day at Cathedral Ledge in NH was unusual. Nice "floaty" quality to the pictures.

Rainier in August - 9,000 vertical feet, sunny - your feet will bake. This advice comes from a former New England girl who froze her toes many times back home and does lots of snow slogs now in the Cascades.

I have always been cautious. The regularioty with which I get out is more complicated than BC/AC (before child/after child). I started climbing when I already had two children. I get an occasional bold day, and many days afraid to climb above my last piece. My husband has definitely dialed it back substantially. Since we bring our kids to the crag a lot, he didn't want to risk taking a fall and cratering in front of our daughter. He is also less fit due to a change in jobs, so not able to easily do what he used to do. He used to solo single pitch climbs up to 5.7/5.8 and one rope length. Now he avoids soloing, leading x routes, and enjoys the conversation on the ground

Good first experience. The ice axe is a good idea to arrest if glissading. We have had two serious glissading accidents in the last week - including July 3. The ash pile is safe - just tiring.

Update - bought some Dynafit TLT5 TFX boots, dynafit vertical bindings and Black Diamond Starlett skis. Had just a few hours to try them out on Sunday, so I ran part way up St. Helens. The whole set-up is about 3.5 lbs. lighter than my old set-up and weighs 12.5 - 13 pounds. The boots were were such an improvement hiking uphill, and performed almost as well as my mountaineering boots. I didn't feel any restrictions on mobility, and they are lighter than some of my winter boots. I had them molded in the shop. My feet did not overheat like my old scarpa boots. The hell stayed firmly planted in the heel cuff, and I had no blisters depite a rapid 6 miles of up and down, with lots of sweating. If it was really cold out, not sure how well these would do. However it rarely gets that cold here in the Cascades, and the overheating with the old boots required stopping and taking my feet out of the boots every 1.5 miles. I was a little worried about my toes walking downhill. The boot cable held my foot back just enough that I didn't jam them. Based on a friend's recommendations and the shop, I practiced manipulating the bindings a few times in the living room. Out on the hill, I had no issues, and the transitions were fairly quick. The trail was so filthy, alternating between dirt and snow, that I didn't want to put my skis and skins on too early. The skis were light enough (5 lpbs 6 oz) that I didn't really notice the weight on my back. I charged up to 5,500', thoroughly testing the boots climbing performance, before stopping. So I still need to test the new set-ups skinning performance. I am optimistic that I'll like it. The snow was cardboardy with a glissading trench and a bootpack in the slope. Rocks are now sprouting from the snow. I found the skis easy to command, and they navigated around and floated over obstacles reasonably well despite the light weight. I haven't tested the edges on ice, nor was I faced with deep powder. They should float well. I'll probably try some icy sections of low consequence before committing to a tricky icey section. I found myself migrating towards the steeper parts of the wall, enjoying the ski, rather than shopping for the lowest angle. That is a good sign. So far, thumbs up. Thanks for the advice.

3,000 vertical feet in an hour - nice. I only have on of those in me. Sounds like you have transitions wired. Wether you have a record - who cares. Did you have fun? Did you challenge yourself? Check and check.

The Memorial Service for Nick Hall was very nice, fittingly in Paradise. The opening Rescuer’s Prayer: When I am called to duty, God, wherever people fall, give me strength to save a life, whatever be the call. Help me embrace a little child before it is too late, or save an older person from the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert, and hear the weakest shout, and quickly and effectively bring my neighbor out. I want to fill my calling, Lord, and to give the best in me, to bring my every neighbor back to their family. And when it happens on same day - my earthly life does end, please bless with your protecting hand, my family and my friends.

I always look at a variety of forecasts. Go to the Timberline site and look at the snowcast http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Timberline/6day/mid - I find that the most helpful. It is quite nice for Sunday - though it looks like an early start is warranted given how high the freezing level will go. How comfortable are you with navigation in the clouds? How do you feel about wind? Sunny and a freezing level of 11,000 with winds of 10 mph and dropping looks quite stellar. Always look again before you pack the car to go. Always go up to the top of Palmer before deciding to turn around. Many times I find that I climb above the clouds into fine weather. The one element that these weather forecasts miss is the ccloud ceiling. I am picky about wanting to summit with views. However, I can be quite comfortable navigating by Braille.

I agree. Opportunities for great recreation continue to shrink here.

If you read the stories about him, his family is all in the rescue/ems/fire business. Helping others is part of his DNA. We weren't there. No one should blame the rescuees. The first rule of rescue is to ensure your own safety. If you feel compromised, don't do it. That is easy to say and hard to do. Some of this party ended up in a crevasse. They had enough going for them that they did not die or go off the mountain. We do not know if they were physically able to self rescue at that time. As a rescuer, I would much rather that you call when you are in trouble but not totally screwed. Those are much easier to do. No one intends to get in trouble in the wilderness - experienced, new, well equipped, ill-equipped. Sometimes we think we know what we are doing, and then we have an educational experience. There but for the grace of God goes you or I. Blame is unimportant. Learning is.

Look at the Rainier Climbing Blog. There is a TR from last week. Looks good.

It has been an astonishingly bad year for the NPS staff at Rainier. Each gave their lives in the service of those who play on the mountain.

Updated: 6/18/2012] ROAD CONDITIONS The 8040 road to the South Climb Trailhead is blocked by snow at Crofton Ridge trailhead; 3 1/4 miles from the Cold Springs trailhead. Park in a way as to not block traffic. Please remember to drive slowly and caustiously this road is very narrow and curvy. The 23 road is closed between Randle and Trout Lake due to snow. The crowd is a result of the very short season that folks can get into the Cold Springs TH. You are looking at 22.5 miles and probably 8,000+ vertical. That is a lot for a single day, but quite doable for a day and a half.

Saw a TR - sounds like many had a great day.

It was a stellar day. The snow is starting to disappear fast.

Yes.