dave schultz

Bump for the new year!

not if you drink the new DPS Kool-Aid ...

I'm a little perplexed by the slab you triggered. How far from the crown to the stauchwall? what was the bed surface? did you evaluate the descent and snowfield before committing to the climb? did you look at the details for the snow after you triggered the slide? I don't remember reading anything on NWAC about skier or climber triggered, only control triggered slides. I have not been out into that terrain yet this season, and am thus very interested in anything you might have seen. Two reports of climbers not mixing well with fresh snow while descending from Chair ... maybe not the best place to go in those conditions. You got pretty lucky. http://media.nwac.us.s3.amazonaws.com/media/filer_public/9a/37/9a3701a9-c36c-43e6-a974-7631d934a554/chair_peak_accident_1_4_14.pdf http://media.nwac.us.s3.amazonaws.com/media/filer_public/33/73/33735d46-4a66-4e49-b9dd-88124d8157c2/chair_peak_15_jan_2013_report.pdf EDIT: I just re-read the 16 Dec Snoqualmie Pass TR on TAY and they had a 15cm deep 18m wide wind slab propagate and release - smaller than yours, and not as unusual to trigger while skiing. Your report makes it sound like the snow was very touchy ... Dave

weekly bump for updated items. thanks!

Located in Everett. DPS are drilled for 7TM power tours, I have an extra set I'd be willing to part with for the right price.

do you know how far you can drive along cascade river road?

Bump. Sold items have been one-lined. Added: Women's Medium Scarabee Softsheel Ski Pants (coffee bean color) (wife's, they are in PERFECT condition, we're just going a different direction with her pants). $100 Women's Helly Hansen Ski Pants (white) (wife's, they are in good shape, we're just going in a different direction with her pants). $25

Bump. First Light is spoken for, but not yet sold. Sold items have been one-lined. Make me an offer! Thanks!

2012 Petzl Helios Helmet, orange, well used - $20 2009 Black Diamond Half Dome Helmet, blue, moderate use - $20 2016 Camp Speed Helmet, green, new - $40 2014 Arcteryx B360 Harness with middle gear loop removed, used, a year of heavy use, a few of light use left. - $35 LOTS of retired rope of various lengths, dog leashes, training stuff, rugs, etc. - $0.20 per foot 0.4, 0.5, 0.5, 0.75, 0.75 BD C4, all in good shape. I would go whip on any of them. - $25 each Neutrinos - $3.5 each (deal with volume) Silver Red Purple x 2 Blue Green Yellow x 2 Mammut Locking Pear - good shape, $4 Mega Jul, good shape - $10 ATC x 2, good shape - $5 each Princten Tec Apex Headlamp (very bright, large size) - $20 Mammut Headlamp (medium bright, medium size) - $15 Princeten Tec Fuel (not very bright, but small) - $10 2012 First Light Tent, one small duct taped hole, only used on snow and four nights in Garnet Canyon in GTNP - $100 2009 Black Diamond Womens Harness, a year or two or light/moderate use left (only due to age), looks new and was never heavily used - $10 Pair of android leashes for current gen BD Cobra or previous gen Viper (may work with current gen Viper, but I cannot confirm) - $15 each ($25 for the pair) 2012 La Sportiva High5 188cm ski, drilled with several quiver killers. Probably best to meet in person to make sure your bindings will fit. Size 13/30.5 boot, so if your a lot smaller probably better. - $100. 2012 DPS Lotus 120 hybrid 190cm ski, drilled with several quiver killers. Same deal as above. ADDED: Women's Medium Scarabee Softsheel Ski Pants (coffee bean color) (wife's, they are in PERFECT condition, we're just going a different direction with her pants). $100 Women's Helly Hansen Ski Pants (white) (wife's, they are in good shape, we're just going in a different direction with her pants). $25 Pics available upon request. Deals made to move this stuff to a home that will use it. Located in Everett, easily get around the general area from Seattle to Bellingham. Thanks! Dave 239-two-three-three-2002

Hi, I recently moved back to the PNW after spending several years in the Northeast; and am looking to build my partner base back up. I'm looking for a partner for this weekend, Saturday or Sunday, and it looks like the weather will support just about anything. Some ideas: Prusik Peak. Solid Gold would be a stretch, but doable. South Face might be warmest. West Ridge would be most casual. Stuart. Complete NR or Upper NR. Maybe WR if you don't want to go for the big ticket. Something on CBR? Something on Boston Basin? TFT? Johannesberg? Open for ideas... Skiing up at Baker or up on Rainier are also totally in the cards. Would also be up for Index, Snow Creek, Icicle Creek, etc. Maybe Darrington if you've got some ideas. WA Pass is also a good option. Freezing Levels around 14k Sat and Sun AM, dropping to 10k throughout Sun. I'm good for leading 5.10, or up through 5.11 depending on style, pro, safety, etc. Grade IV in a day is also fine, though this time of year would require quite an early start. I'm safe, several years of experience, and have a current WFR. Thanks! Dave 239-two-three-three-2002

The weight of the sum'tec is one of the enhancing features about it. The gully is not really designed for anything other than being on your pack in case you need it; if you need it, you'd be happier with the sum'tec; if the terrain is challenging enough that sum'tec's weight is too much you'd wish you had a real tool (and definitely not the gully). Ice axes and tools are one of those things where the skimping of weight is counter productive. I actually looked for the heaviest axe I could find when purchasing my most recent one. You definitely don't want to be in a position, pull you axe out, and realize your ultralight toy is no match for the snow, snice, neve, or ice in front of you ...

His opinion is not exactly scientific. I would argue that webbing is easier to judge the quality when compared to cord, making the decision to trust it or beef it up easier. I thought I had read that webbing is more UV resistant than cord; though, in my quick google search, I can't find any real evidence toward either being any better against UV. Some quick numbers: 6mm Edelrid 9 kN 2023 lbs 25 g/m 81 lb/g 6.5mm Bluewater 9.3 kN 2100 lbs 26.3 g/m 80 lb/g 7mm Bluewater 10.4 kN 2360 lbs 32.9 g/m 72 lb/g 1" Bluewater Webbing 17.7 kN 4000 lbs 40 g/m 100 lb/g I find that cord makes a master point better than webbing, but this tends to focus the wear in a single area. This works best with larger diameter cord or rope. Redundancy is achieved with two loops around the tree, rock, etc; and this requires a longer length. Adding a length requires a double or triple fisherman, though you could maybe make a reasonable argument for using other knots. Another way to add redundancy is to add two independent loops of webbing, which may be easier and likely uses less length than the cord with masterpoint strategy. The two loops of webbing also prevent isolated wear since the loops are able to rotate around and spread the wear. Does accessory cord have a true core with a sheath? Looking at mine, it appears there is a core, but it is fairly small. Regardless, the strength of the webbing is an order of magnitude higher than the strength of the cord. So, I use webbing because: (1) it is significantly stronger. (2) I am/was under the impression it was more UV resistant than cord, I'll do some more research to try and find the answer. (3) I am able to easily remove a significant amount of the tat at an existing station (i.e. all the nasty shit), while leaving the one or two best lengths of cord or webbing, and simply add a loop of my own webbing (which is easier than cord) to improve the overall station and remove the excess trash. (4) on a route where I think there is a possibility of needing to beef up a station, I will bring about 10 feet of webbing, which is sufficient to beef up at least one station. Anything beyond one station I will use my cordage and, if needed, my rope. (5) on a route where I KNOW I will be adding an unknown number, but definitely multiple stations, I will bring 30-40 feet of webbing in a continuous length, which should give me plenty to add the required stations. The cord and rope are still options. A lighter to clean the edges of the webbing is nice. For v-threads, cordage is still king, and I use the cut off ends of a set of double ropes at 7.8mm. Cut to pre-measured length make for easy threads.

My current philosophy is: 7mm for rock terrain (ie real rock climbing, real falls possible) 6mm for alpine terrain where real falls are very unlikely; and ski terrain where the loads are significantly less than vertical. Who made the 9kn 6mm? I currently use 6.5mm dynamic prussik cord from bluewater in the alpine and on skis, but still use full 7mm for rock terrain. For a dedicated quad, ie four total strands I would think the 6mm should be totally adequate, but would potentially limit you in application if you were in rock terrain and wanted to undo the quad. I've also shifted to webbing for reinforcing or upgrading tat, though cord works if you don't have any webbing. For leaving cord, 6mm seems fairly limited on the time it will add value before it's just another POS that needs to be cut out.

Hi PNW, This is an early feeler for a partner in the Seattle area. I would be flying in from the East Coast on Friday, so would need a pick up from the airport and share a ride for the weekend. I would fly out on Monday early afternoon, need to be back at work early Tuesday. I did something similar about two years ago: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1142967 Ideas: Rainier or Baker for a snow/glacier climb Enchantments c2c (or basecamp) Washington Pass Looking for alpine objectives, equal desire for snow/glacier and rock. Earlier this season I spent about a week on Rainier, a week in RMNP, and four nights in GTNP. I'm good for just about any snow/ice and up to .9/.10 and grade IV on rock. Thanks! Dave 239-two-three-three-2002 daveschultz125(at)gmail(dot)com

Day One Packing in the parking lot. View from just after dropping off from the trail to Muir. Ken and Andy crossing our first rock rib. Looking back across the Van Trump Glacier. Mountain Goats. Andy posing for the camera. Me posing for the camera. Looking across the Kautz Glacier: with the Kautz Route on the upper right and the Success Cleaver on the left skyline. Evening, me in my open bivy and Ken in the Ultamid. Cool view with the rope and the Ultamid tent. Day Two Crossing the lower Kautz Glacier. Crossing the Success Glacier. Ken and Andy working their way up the Success Couloir to gain the Success Cleaver. Me scouting for a bivy spot along the Success Cleaver around 11,700 feet. Ken and I perched on our spot for the short rest before continuing up the Cleaver. Ken all wrapped up for the evening. Day Three Night, long-exposure shot of Ken and Andy moving along the upper portion of the Success Cleaver. Another night, long-exposure shot of Ken and Andy moving along the upper portion of the Success Cleaver. Andy motoring across the to the DC from below Point Success, Columbia Crest on the left. Day Four Andy flattening a used fuel canister at Muir. Andy and Ken looking across the Ingraham Glacier. Looking up the DC route from the middle of the Ingraham crossing at 8,500 feet. Me booting up the snow ramp to gain the weakness along the SE ridge at 8,600 feet. Andy belaying for the rock pitch. Me working on a pin. Me making it through the lower section of the rock pitch. Shadow of our team along the Whitman Glacier. Ken on the Whitman Glacier. Andy and I starting to prep our bivy area. Day Five Sunrise from our bivy. Morning light on our bivy with the moon in the background. Andy and Ken working their way to the middle section of rock on Little Tahoma. Ken and Andy working their way up to the top of Little Tahoma, Emmons Glacier in the background. Andy making the last moves to the top of Little Tahoma. Andy and I at the tippy top of Little Tahoma. Andy waiting for Ken and I to descend the rock section of Little Tahoma. Looking down towards our previous bivy spot. Day Six Bivy site in the morning shade. Morning light hitting the DC from our bivy. Andy belaying me across a crevasse to scout our route down the Cowlitz Glacier. Me jumping the moat on the lower Cowlitz Glacier. Andy and I moving down the Cowlitz. Ken and Andy moving down the Cowlitz. Looking back at the lower Cowlitz Glacier. Andy and Ken working across to gain the Edith Creek Drainage. Me looking down the Edith Creek Drainage. Group shot at the end. Back at the car, gear exploded again.

Jason, the link worked, thanks! Pics to follow on the next rest day.

Photos are sorted, but when I try and go the "galley" page, it says "access denied" ... anyone know how to fix this?

Trip: Success Couloir to Cleaver, Disappointment Cleaver Descent, Little Tahoma, Cowlitz Descent Date: 8-13 July 2017 Prep: In early 2017 I started bouncing emails back and forth with objective locations and ideas. Ken and Andy agreed to join, and we agreed on Rainier. The objective was a Circumnavigation: starting at Paradise, up Success Cleaver, down Tahoma Glacier, up Ptarmigan Ridge, down South Emmons, up Little Tahoma, and finishing at Muir and returning to Paradise. Flights were booked, and the great gear race began. We endlessly debated food and gear options, seeking the most practical and lightest options. Day 0 - 7 July 2017 Ken and I arrive in Seattle, my flight being last and then delayed. Andy had arrived earlier and made an acclimation trip to Muir for two nights on Wednesday and Thursday night. We stayed in a motel near Longmire and got final night's sleep in a bed. Day 1 - 8 July 2017 We leave the motel after showers and a breakfast, arriving at the Paradise Climbing Information Center around 10am. We got our permit, and began weighing and packing our gear - questioning every item and comparing weights of all items. Detailed gear selection at the end. We departed Paradise just after noon, packs weighing 56 (with the rope), 55, and 55 lbs. We slogged up with the crowds and parted ways with them around Panorama Point as we crossed the Nisqually and headed up towards the Kautz Glacier Route. We roped up for some this, then un-roped at a flat section and broke left across another rock rib and made a short descent back to the snow. We continued traversing left until we could gain a clear view of following day's route to the Success Cleaver, sighting a heard of goat along the way. We bivyed east side of the Wapowety Cleaver around 7,800 feet. Ken and Andy set up and slept in the Hyperlight Ultamid, I opened bivyed on top of my Brooks Range tarp. Day 2 - 9 July 2017 We got up around 6am and were moving by 8am. We expected this to be a shorter day, only needing to gain access to the Success Cleaver. We crossed the cleaver then descended on to the lower Kautz Glacier and roped up. We moved across and up the Kautz and then dropped on to the Pyramid Glacier eyeing a potential weakness in the Success Cleaver. Upon gaining the Pyramid Glacier it was clear the weakness was shedding too much rock to safely ascend, and we opted to ascend the Success Couloir instead of descending farther to gain the Success Cleaver. We climbed and gained the Success Glacier and opted to take a gulley climber's left of the proper Success Couloir, this had some more sporty bergschrund crossing and would lead us to the upper section of the Success Cleaver. We had originally wanted to bivy around 10,000 feet, but could not find a suitable bivy until 11,700 feet at 4pm. We bedded down in chopped out individual platforms for a few hours rest before heading up the rest of the route. Day 3 - 10 July 2017 We woke up at 10pm and were moving by 1115pm. We needed to be at the top to descend Tahoma Glacier during the morning hours to keep out of the afternoon soft snow and shedding cycle. We made relatively fast work up the rest of Success Cleaver to Point Success, climbing in the full-moon illumination with little need for the headlamp. We topped out around 6am or so, and had enough time to descend the Tahoma; but based on pace, our larger-than-expected day two, our overall conditions and the warmth of the mountain we decided to abandon the plan and headed down to Muir to re-think our strategy. We cross the summit and found the trail down the DC, stopping a couple times to rest and brew. We arrived at Muir, spoke with the rangers to modify our permit, and settled in for an early bedtime. Day 4 - 11 July 2017 We woke up relatively early, for not having a plan. The mountain was so flawless that we had to come up with another plan for our time (we still had four days and three nights of supplies). We spoke to the rangers again and had a plan to go towards Little Tahoma. We refined our glacier travel technique on our way and found the weakness along the SE ridge at 8800 feet to be in full-on sketchy rock conditions, but was passable. We dropped onto the Whitman and headed up to a bivy location on the east side of the SE ridge at around 9300 feet. We made a luxury open bivy platform for three with a common wind wall. Day 5 - 12 July 2017 We had another casual wake up and packed for the day, leaving most of our stuff at the bivy site protected by my tarp. We booted to the top of the Whitman, and accessed the rock and scrambled to the summit. With a nearly windless and flawless summit, we knew we made the right decision to continue the trip instead of just heading back to Paradise. We opted to make one rappel near the lower portion of the rock, and then descended the Whitman, continuing to refine the descent skills, including one big crevasse jump for fun. We re-packed headed back down around to the weakness in the SE ridge. We chopped all six pounds of webbing from the rappel station and removed the single hollow ring and left two cords with two biners. The rappel was easy and soon enough we were back on the Ingraham and decided that we did not want to continue into the night and that chopping some platforms while the snow was soft was the best plan. There is a deep snow drift around 8550 feet, where you are protected from the ice and snow from above as well as from the rockfall from the ridge, but there was the constant sound of rockfall. We each made our own platform and settled in for the night. Day 6 - 13 July 2017 We once again got up relatively casually and made quick work of crossing the Ingraham and gained the Cowlitz at 8500 feet. We descended the Cowlitz, utilizing a small rock island on skier's left at 8200 feet. We had an exciting moat jump, and then continued down on snow and ice before traversing skiers right at 7500 feet aiming for the Cowlitz Rock Col. At 7200 feet it didn't make sense to continue to the Col, so we climbed up and over the ridge to 7500 feet where we gained the Paradise Glacier. From here it was an easy shot down the Paradise Glacier, to Edith Creek Basin and then to Paradise. We arrived at the Climber Information Center just after 4pm. Group Gear: Brooks Range Guide Tarp (small, single person) Hyperlight Ultamid (pyramid style, weighed just about one pound, used once) Two Jetboil 1.0 liter stoves / burners Two shovels (one had a short shaft, and SUCKED) One Probe (not used, but would have probably been helpful descending the Tahoma and traversing towards Ptarmigan Ridge) One Brooks Range 35cm Igloo Saw First Aid Kit (lots of meds, bandages, etc) Small Repair Kit (trekking pole repair, utility knife, fabric repair) Sat Phone 16 oz thermos Goal Zero Nomad 7 Solar Panel 1600g of canister fuel Canister punch (to puncture and then flatten) Spare pair of warm gloves Spare pair of glacier glasses 3 pins 5 nuts 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2 BD Ultralight Cams (never placed, but were racked for the SE ridge weakness) 12 ice screws (2 racked for glacier travel, remaining never used - planned for use on Ptarmigan Ridge) 2 x 24-inch pickets 3 x Yates Cable Picket 1 x SMC deadman 60m 8.5mm half rope Personal Gear: Two technical tools (Cobra, Viper, Quark) Longer Axe (73cm, 60cm, 66cm) Trekking Pole Steel horizontal front point crampons (all) La Sportiva Trango Ice Cube (all, perfect for this trip) Everyone had a microtraxion, 2 double runners, 4 single runners, and a cordollete We all had hardshell pants and wore them for the entire trip, next-to-skin tights were normally worn underneath the pants to allow the pants to be fully vented without allowing sunburn to occur. We all had hardshell jackets, but only wore them during the night climbing up Success. Andy and Ken used a combination of long sleeve, short sleeve, and wind shirts throughout most of the trip. I used a hooded Patagonia Sun Shirt for the entire trip, except for the night climbing up Success. Ken and Andy used a full length NeoAir Xtherm, I used a half length Xtherm Ken and Andy used 30- to 35-degree WM bags, I used a 45 degree Brooks Range quilt 5,000 - 10,000 mA of rechargeable battery capacity, augmentable with the solar. Oven bag liners between inner sock and outer sock - created a frictionless interface to prevent blisters and keep the outer sock dry, meaning you can get by with fewer socks and just rotate two pairs of inner socks. Final Thoughts and Notes: We used 105g of fuel per person per day. We each brought about 2,800 to 3,000 calories of food per day. The only item that we did not ever use was the probe, and it may have been useful on the northern side of the Mountain. The Ultamid was a pain to put together, but if we needed the shelter we could have erected it and protected it from the wind. We never needed it. Next time, I would bring only 2,000 - 3,000 mA of capacity and rely on the solar panel. Even though our sleep systems and layering systems were all quite different, we each liked ours own and each worked well. 1 oz of sunscreen (full small tube) would have been enough per person for this duration, we brought one 3 oz extra tube. 1 full tube of lip balm / sunscreen per person was more than enough. Ken and Andy used their phone to navigate and learned a lot about navigating on a phone, I used a dedicated GPS unit. Protection from the sun cannot be overstated. We adequately covered and applied copious SPF to our only exposed skin of mouth, face, and nose. Starting the trip, we might have been a little behind in protection as Ken and I had minor sun burn blisters / chapping on the bottom lip the healed during the week after. Next time I might carry a 1oz of 70SPF specifically for this area, and 1oz of 30 SPF for any other exposed skin.

C"mon Dan ... 60 minutes to Muir? 4900 feet per hour? Maybe you should give the FKT a shot. I'd suggest that 2 hours on skins is smoking it. I'd agree with the 3 hours, and everything else. I'd suggest the early start. You'll be able to sleep on the plane, and you'll be jonesin' to start in the morning anyway. Additionally, the napping and people watching at Muir is priceless, and worth the early start.

I was there early July 2014, another big snow year, and skis were helpful. My partner was without skis and managed just fine, but was slower. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1126562 I did not bring normal shoes, but my boots hike very well. If you have room to bring them, might not be a bad idea. Regarding snow on the WR, we did not have any issues. Might still be some around, but that would surprise me; I would think it would not be a problem, though. Have fun!

I picked up some of the flex bars. Thanks for the link!

Jason, I am sure a lot of people on here have used the full gamut of ideas. I personally wear a compression elbow sleeve (Cooper Fit Pro) on my L out of rehab and my R to be proactive in avoiding it. My understanding is that this helps recruit additional tendons in the elbow which helps in preventing the over-exertion of the sore / damaged / inflamed one(s). This is my main method and I have been at it for a couple years now. In order to "recover" from the initial onset of the pain I had to do a pretty good amount of therapy (from common sense and internet browsing). The main staple of that is listed below: "Hammer" elbow rotation. In both directions. This helps strengthen the tendons. People also use / call them "golf club" rotations, and use a golf club. At the gym we have a broom stick and I ski strap a fishing sinker on it to adjust the resistance. I have done random other suggestions, but the above is my main, go-to movement. When doing pull ups and any other "pull" workout (including the climbing gym), I will do lots and lot of rotations to loosen and warm up the elbows. I sometimes can feel the pain after a long day of hard climbing, but the thing that pisses it off the most and the fastest is if I am in a really bad belay position: and have only one real way to manipulate the rope and the L elbow ends up taking a lot stress. So, I am very cautious about ensuring I don't build a belay where that will be a problem, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Otherwise, I think mine is completely back under control and it has not limited my climbing for well over 1.5 years. Hope this helps, Dave

I disagree with Marlin. The mechanics of it will, in fact, work, but the forces are generally not considered acceptable. It will be hard to nearly impossible to haul up a victim going through an ATC (or similar) in guide mode without generating excessive forces on the anchor (by needing to add mechanical advantage). The only way I have been taught, read, and teach is the progress capture pulley or a prussik. Your concern of needing to rappel should also be a non-issue because you can always rappel with a munter.

Thanks Dan. All of our estimated overnight stops will be above 8k, with the average around 10k. We'll be using Jetboil 1.8 and 0.8 liter titanium and aluminum pots. My usage in the winter is about 63g/person/night (2.2oz/person/nigh) for sustained day-after-day usage. For a two-day, two-person climb I bring a 4 oz canister of fuel. For 7 days and three people we are planning on the above allowance, and bringing about 1350g of fuel.