JasonG

Nice work Dan! So this would be the third descent? Interesting that it had not been skied up until this year (at least that is what I think I read on TAY). Are conditions that different from the previous several decades, or now that it has been done it is on people's radar?

Happy Birthday Tom!!! Looks like you will have the gift of sun for the next few days....

Ha! Yeah, I probably played in Lightroom a little too much on some of these. I blame Gord's shades- they had me under their spell and I don't even play for that team!

Trip: Frisco Mountain - Lyall Glacier Date: 5/29/2011 Trip Report: Since Mr. Sepultura was about to leave town for the summer to fish in AK, the gang all convened in Sedro early Sunday for a trip to Rainy Pass. The forecast was less than perfect, but we had to get out and get some exercise at least. Although we started in clouds and ended in a thunderstorm, the key part of the day was sunny and warm. It was good to be back in the North Cascades. We started by skiing up and Across Lake Ann, noticing an impressive slab avalanche that had recently come down and broken the ice of the lake. The crown was at least four feet! Although it appeared to have been triggered by a cornice failure, we were a bit surprised. Gord hid his surprise behind a pair of wicked shades. We carried on up to Maple Pass and messed about in a white out for a bit until the clouds parted, revealing that we had picked a good day. We got a look at Frisco, then dropped about 1000' into Maple Creek. Turns out we should have followed a group of three farther up the ridge and saved us some work. Not liking the looks of a cornice, we opted for the great scenic circle route around the southwest ridge of Frisco, eventually merging with the southerly summit slopes. We left our skis right below the summit and booted to the top. Great views! Summit Ridge Benzarino and Goode Corteo and Benzarino We then backtracked a bit and booted up the the col to access the Lyall glacier and began the run down to Rainy Lake. Be aware that there is a giant cliff band that you need to pass on skier's left. Admiring Frisco from Rainy Lake. A good day in the hills! Approach Notes: Sloppy snow

Yes, form letter- mine looked the same. Maybe Ryan can shed some light on the reimbursement claim?

Bingo. That is what I don't get about this whole deal. It didn't sound like Monika was asking for huge damages, just the actual cost of her injury (lost wages, medical bills, etc.), the testing she had performed on the bike, and the cost of the bike itself. It all would seem reasonable given the obvious defect in the fork that caused a very serious injury. It seems after paying Monika (without involving the insurance companies), they could have issued the recall and dealt directly with the negligent manufacturer to recoup their costs. But maybe they were afraid that this would open REI up to lawsuits from less reasonable people that were injured by the defective fork (and may not have heard about the recall)?

Thanks Matt, I had read the opinion that Jay cross-posted previously- and was looking for another legal mind to weigh in on the matter. I've learned a lot about how our system works, imperfect as it may be. Much appreciated.

Thanks Matt. So the system is set up so that if REI bucked the trend and accepted blame, they would be such a target that they would be sued out of existence? Sorry to keep going at this, I am just trying to comprehend our legal system, and why this case is being handled the way that it is. And, has been said by many, many others, I too am very sorry at the passing of Monika. I had only met her briefly, but she was not someone you ever forget. Thanks to Ryan and others for keeping her memory alive, and fighting on her behalf.

mattp- Could you try and elaborate a bit? I don't understand how/why it has to be that way with a co-op. Couldn't they become self-insured like some docs/clinics and tell the insurers to buzz off? It seems like in corporate america, this is the way things work, but something seems very, very wrong when a member "owned" business adopts the same attitude. Couldn't they have settled after the first decision, and parted ways with their insurer? I understand your point that our system still penalizes those who put out defective merchandise, it just seems that non-profits could do it with a lot more straight talk and less BS.

From TAY: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=20872.0 Regardless of which legal opinion you believe, there is some something seriously wrong with our system/REI when something like this takes place. Disgusting and infuriating.

That first photo is especially amazing, thanks for sharing! Talking with you about the Gunks while doing trail work at Erie certainly got me thinking about trying to make a trip out there sometime. Some of my wife's family is in NY, so I could probably gain some points at the same time . .. .

Oh man, this thread made my day. I had thought the hardman pads were out of production (not sure where I heard that rumor). Not so: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442094583&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701645 Cool, mine is looking pretty sorry with duct tape patches and all. And no, I am not hard. This is my knock around camp pad, so I don't have to worry about popping the thermarest . . .

Nice work Tom! How is the lower portion of the "trail"? I heard that some scofflaws brushed/marked it somewhat a year or so ago . .. .

She is a beautiful pup, that Scrambles.

Thanks for posting that link, certainly a much stranger story than first reported.

Good to know, thanks Tom!

Wow, nice off-the-beaten track ski! I've wondered about that torment basin route. Pretty easy to follow? Not too brushy?? Thanks for the report!!

I heard an officer here in Mount Vernon say that >80% of all property crime in town is METH related. That amazed me that one drug could be responsible for so much of the theft. The few meth heads I have run into while out on the river or in the woods I would want no part in fighting- they don't seem human. I don't envy the police.

I seem to remember stopping maybe 10-15 vertical feet from the tippy top as it looked to be a blade of ice only a few feet wide and ready to fall off. That was in December of 2002, after a pretty decent winter. It wasn't too hard (relatively) to get close to the summit. After topping out on Zurbriggen's ridge and joining the Linda Gl. route at the summit rocks, I still remember the sinking feeling watching a house-sized chunk of ice come off the bigger gun barrel, sweep across the ice shelf, and rumble down the glacier towards the hut (very nearly killing a team on the ice shelf). My new wife (we were on our honeymoon) turned to me and said "Isn't that the way we have to go down?" "Ummmm. Yeah." At that point I am pretty sure she would have rather been bouldering at Castle Hill. Some day I will have to go back for the Grand Traverse (not with my wife), and keep my weather fingers crossed.

When was that Dru? I don't seem to remember it looking quite that vertical. . . .

The classic line on Aspiring: http://www.ericandlucie.com/New%20Zealand/Aspiring/IMG_6886W.jpg The "easy" side of Cook- we climbed Zurbriggen's Ridge, the obvious snow line below the summit: http://www.trentw.net/Sports/New-Zealand-Mountaineering-1/Upper-Tasman-21-28-Feb-05/418447_zSBx2/2/16753302_PEkWw#16753302_PEkWw-A-LB

I think NZ is a great place to go climbing once you are a fairly experienced climber. I thought Cook by even the "easy" routes to be somewhat more intimidating/difficult than Liberty Ridge. Quite good climbing (if weather/conditions allow), but it is far more dangerous than most all peaks in the Cascades. I also thought the SW ridge on Aspiring to be a classic anywhere, but again harder than most Cascade climbs. I think both of our summit days on Cook and Aspiring were 15+ hour jaunts. As a friendly bit of advice, don't hike in to the Plateau Hut on Cook- the heli ride is very much worth the cost. As Tvash pointed out, the tracks to the climbing areas tend to be rough. The huts make up for it, but the weather can be very, very bad- so they are kind of a necessity. It is a great country and one I would consider going back to each winter- if it wasn't so darn expensive to get there. There are plenty of great hikes (tramps) to go on if the weather/climbing conditions stink (which is likely). Lots of crags too....

Nice work, you nailed it!!! If only my home and work commitments let me have a little more flexibility . . .next time!

Although I really hate to admit it, I can relate. With my youngest just a year old, and my oldest three, I am still in the midst of the sleep deprived craziness. It will do strange and unsettling things to a person (at least me), and although I haven't hurt my kids, I know exactly where it comes from. I would not be able to cast the first stone for sure. We all make mistakes- some are more horrible than others, unfortunately.

Cool! Give me a ring next time you are up for Erie and need a partner Curt, I need to get back in climbing shape.....