mvs

Has anyone gone up in the last two weeks? I guess it'll be a snow-covered rock climb. Still fun under such conditions? Thanks for any info, have a great weekend! --Michael

Yes, Mike A. and I got skunked by dripping, wet brush. But if it's dry, it's a great approach. I reached the edge of the Sloan Glacier from that approach in late October and found it really enjoyable. See this: http://www.mountainwerks.com/cma/sloan.htm --Michael

Thanks Geordie. That link didn't work for me, but this one does: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/northcentral/maint/area3/nc2001/nc1.htm

Peter Chapman and I climbed the ice formation below Source Lake this morning (that avalanched on Mike and Ray in December). A big chunk had fallen off in the last few days. Possibly earthquake tremors? The ice is rotten when approaching the tree with orange/red slings, but takes good screws before that. --Michael

from the Wenatchee Daily World Wednesday, February 14, 2001: --------- Ice Climber in critical condition after fall A man who fell approximately 100 feet Tuesday while ice climbing north of Coulee City was in critical condition this morning at Central Washington Hospital. Douglas A. Deveny, 32, Crystal Mountain, suffered head and other injuries but his helmet saved him, said Grant County Undersheriff Mike Shay. “He had some pretty big gouges in his helmet. He’s lucky to be alive,” Shay said. Deveny was climbing alone on ice-covered basalt cliffs on the north side of the Million Dollar Mile cut along Highway 155, about 8.5 miles north of Coulee City. The area overlooks Banks Lake from the East. He slipped and fell but managed to crawl to his car, where a passing motorist found him and called deputies at 2:05 p.m., Shay said. He said deputies determined the height of his fall from his ice pick, which was stuck in the ice where her fell. They said a rope was suspended on the face of the ice but that it wasn’t tied to him. ------ Let's hope for a full recovery, --Michael S.

Peterclimb: weren't you profiled in the October '78 issue? I seem to remember a long rant about scramblers not taking chances anymore. You had a really good "sneer" picture.

Pawing through some old bins downtown. This older issue featured Mount Si and a good article on frost fracturing. Note the subdivision of grades above 4.9. For more info, see http://www.mountainwerks.com/cma/scrambler.htm. =), --Michael [This message has been edited by mvs (edited 02-04-2001).]

I understand the motivation for a .org in this way. A .com domain suggests proprietary information, that can be used for profit, or removed at any time when the venture fails. (I'm not saying cascadeclimbers.com is like this, this is just my fuzzy impression regarding the difference between .com and .org in the abstract). Hey, what if Tim reserves cascadeclimbers.org, makes that the primary name and redirects traffic from the .com to the .org? Then we get 1) the excellent database infrastructure he's been talking about 2) the existing community and name 3) the beginnings of a real organization, (recently) charged with "journal of record" for new climbs. --Michael

I haven't been able to convince Dan that my post was written in the spirit of discussion, not offense. So I've removed it, in hopes of making amends.

<deleted> [This message has been edited by mvs (edited 02-01-2001).]

<deleted> [This message has been edited by mvs (edited 02-01-2001).]

<deleted> sorry, I posted twice [This message has been edited by mvs (edited 01-31-2001).]

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What about a strong association between a web site and a "journal of record."? The existence and support of the published journal gives legitimacy to the web site, and the site satisfies a need for new information, both for consumers (us) and the journal author(s). The site assumes that you have a recent edition of the journal. Then a hyperlinked list of corrections, updates, and new routes would be very relevant. Wouldn't it be great to have this for the Alpine Guides? The legitimacy question is very important. I remember waking up one day to find the rocknroad.com database was offline. The site needs to exude the stability of a university. A .org name or hosting on the journal publisher's site would help. Best of both worlds? --Michael ------------------ [This message has been edited by mvs (edited 01-24-2001).]

I saw that $15 dollars notice on the Mountaineer's web site, but I went down there anyway. I'm not a member of that organization, but they only charged me 15 cents per page. The special collections room at UW doesn't have the complete set of AAJ, but they have most of them. I went there yesterday too. But note that they close at 5 pm. The Mountaineer's library is open until 9 pm.

If a ~6 pitch 5.7 trad route is called for, SW Ridge of Symmetry Spire in the Tetons is my favorite. Each pitch is interesting, the scenery rules, and it's nice to look at the route from the Jenny Lake ferry to the car. I suffer from "my favorites list is also my climbs list", because of limited experience and time. I've never finished a climb and said "That sucked" yet, it's always been just the opposite. --Michael

Awesome story! A friend and I did the route in july '99, with a bivy at the false summit. There is so much room for variation. I've been told you can get around the technical pitch below Long John Tower if you want to. Some other friends climbed it strictly on the ridge top the whole way. That has to "win" on style points!

This is just my site. Gumby-style trip reports. http://www.mountainwerks.com/cma --Michael

This is Jeff Smoot's new website. There are excellent pictures and stories. http://www.climbingwashington.com --Michael