Alex

I think what we need is a quiz! Jon, Tim, to arms! You could take the GAPE TEST on cc.com and rate how much of a gaper...you...um...your friends, yeah, your friends...are! The very last question should be "You take tests to see if you are a qualified gaper"

This has been a tragic week http://www.msnbc.com/news/759138.asp My thoughts go out to the rescue crew and the victims. With the coming weekend of warm, sunny weather, lets hope that those people planning trips to the peaks remain smart and alert. I know I always hate pointing out when people are being fools, but I would suggest that if you are heading out, don't be embarrassed to call people on idiotic behavior in the mountains. We don't need any more of these accidents.

"First time on Rainier" doesnt hold water with me. My first attempt on Mt Rainier was Liberty Ridge too, in early April, and my party was rolled by a storm when we were at Thumb Rock. We were lucky and got down the mountain and back to the edge of the Carbon and relative safety. It sounds like this party took a risk, like many parties before them, and tried to tough it out in very poor conditions. They did nothing wrong, besides follow their dreams. Things did not work out. My thoughts for the survivors and families. Alex [ 05-30-2002, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]

Dan-it looks like from drawing on the link that you didn't go all the way to the very top of the main couloir on your first try (left a bit below the summit). Basically, high on the face all the couloir options run out. We followed the path of least resistance initially, but even that necked down and got pretty damn steep and ended it a 10-15 ft sloping rock chimney. Not alot of positive holds there. With a little more snow it might have been casual, but it was bare and not easily passable. We didnt see any easier way from that point, though with less snow and perhaps some rock shoes some of the options would be completely probable. But, it sounds like you guys had a hell of a time trying to get past it. I guess I'm wondering if I was looking at the same rock step that thwarted you guys. Maybe so, maybe not...? My only reason for being so particular (other than I'm a dork) is that I'm thinking of heading up there this weekend to give it a go if things get cold and freeze. You might have a tough time topping out. Basically, if you try the way we went successfully, and there isnt any ice over the WI 2+ ice step, you might get shut down. It was very thin ice even in the middle of winter, I dont know what its like now with a high freezing level. If you try the variation that we initially backed off of, you might get higher, but its hard to say. Certainly with drier rock and no crampons on you might get past it. Alex

-- You carry a Dayton bar to the crags instead of rock pro -- despite being one of the most towering living legends in climbing, you still feel the need to steal Greentrails maps from REI -- You avoid telling even your own partners about the solo "Mt Hood incident" -- you get repeatedly STOPPED COLD by flood control posting to this thread -- you have known the owners of cc.com for years now and they still havent offered you a moderator position hmmmmm -- you take an onsight lead fall on Cat Crack, in front of the chick you are trying to bed -- you get drunk at Pub Club and reveal to the pubsters that you think icegirl, allison, sayjay, and AlpineK are all really hot!

You caught me red-handed! quote: Originally posted by Dru: You have the Tooth on your climbing resume and it is listed as a 5.5. You have a climbing resume period.

Sunshine!

blah blah blah. jasons alrght - just take a sec to see past the label or the profession

hey man this is some funny shit, keep it coming. -- you encourage threads like this one.

-- you use the term "freshiez", either as a matter of habit or as an autosignature -- you actually put "personae" into an online Avatar. RURP, its not D&D, buddy! -- you quit a lucrative job at Microsoft to become some lifty loading ass in central Oregon. Mmmm, skiing in the rain. Mmmmm. -- you climbed rock and ice once upon a time for fun, now you climb trees for a living!

- you maintain your own website to spray about your own accomplishments and climbing (and sailing) prowess - you call it "Enigma Couloir" - you spray about your first ascent on the NF Big Four - you dont toke at Muir - you try to become a washington hardman, realize you have to actually grow a nutsack for that, and take up skiing instead - you shallowly change your online avatar name because people have somehow miskaken the lower case 'l' for an uppercase 'I' - your cc.com avatar name happens to be your microsoft alias - 3500 of the 3502 posts you have made to this site are meaningless - you lambast the mountaineers for their high-impact activities, then go clip bolts, use chalk, and carry TP in the backcountry - you use too many fucking emoticons in cc.com posts

book of the dead

John, I wouldnt do it until later in the summer, it could be very wet.

I climbed this route last year with Tom Breit. It was a nice route and a good time. I would recommend doing it before July if you want to do something more straightforward, and avoid the later-season conditions of the NW ridge. Here are some pictures that will give you a good idea of what the route is like. http://www.mountainwerks.org/alexk/climb/adams.htm

right on! Welcome to Washington!

perhaps, since you are a moderator Lambone, you could move this post to Spray where it belongs. Thanks, Alex

I did this approach in April 1995 (?). It is a long approach. Alot of the approach is along a narrow trail that first travels some mile along the Carbon River, then climbs a climbers path past the snout of the Carbon on the left and starts winding along the moraines at the edge of the glacier until you break out above treeline. Somewhere between the glacial snout and 8000 ft you could break out onto the glacier and ski, but we did not. I don't remember, but I dont think we had any floatation at all. The ski back wouldnt be particularly good, since the glacier isnt very steep in its lower reaches. The Carbon only becomes jumbled at around 8000, and as early as we went, we DID NOT ROPE UP on the glacier at all, all the way to the base of Lib Ridge. We did come very close to getting snuffed by an avalanche off Liberty Wall. Your mileage my vary. It may be a little less casual now, in May. It took us essentially 2.5 days to get to Thumb Rock, but I dont remember if that was slow or fast: we did eat salmon stakes and fresh veggies at Thumb Rock, but were going pretty light (bivy bags, shovels) so draw your own conclusions. I guess all I can say is approaching via Ipsut Creek is longer than almost any other approach on Rainier. I would bring snowshoes. I would go as light as you possibly dare, 1 tool, bivy, aluminum crampons, etc

I beg your pardon? There are actually a number of us who live in the Rainier Valley/Seward Park....we just maintain a lower profile than you free-love Ballard Scandy hippies. quote: Originally posted by mattp: Good luck with this, Sara. If you are good at this, Alpine K may be out of a job. I would second the Ballard Bar and Grill, except that I might be accused of selfishly wanting to have pub club in my own neighborhood. Maybe we should have it in Columbia City, where no regular posters live anywhere near.

ok, just wondering if you were using double-step aiders, which I could see working pretty well with just 2 aiders, too. The Kong fifi is nice, I have a few of those (but I dont like how they shift sometimes). If 2 aiders work for you, cool, it just sounds uncomfortable to me -kinda like aiding in a Black Diamond Bod harness. The 4 aiders thing only gets in the way when leaving the ground, since the spare isnt free to hang straight down then. They do get tangled sometimes, especially if you are asleep or traversing. But on steep ground/harder aid the calming effect of being comfortable and highstepping comfortably makes up for the added stuff to manage, for me. Alex

JGoat, I started climbing on the East Coast, and the bugs out here really are nothing compared to black fly season there. A little OFF or something, but no 100% DEET required Gordon S and iceguy had good beta, I would suggest you try to go as light as humanly possible - no plastic boots, use aluminum crampons, leave the bibs behind and get lightweight wind pants, get a real lightweight shell, eat astronaut food, use megamid or bivy or Bibler, etc. The Hoh River trail is long and flat, minimize your pain == more enjoyable trip Alex

Dan, ask Summer, she's the Valley Queen of Logistics.

erik, I am kinda curious what kind of aiding you are doing, and what kind of aiders you are using? Even on moderately steep (read: vertical and +) routes, you cannot possibly balance standing with both feet (offset) in only 1 conventional aider..so how do you? My setup is: 1 daisy girthhitched to belay loop, with locker on the end and 2 conventional aiders. 1 daisy girthhitched to belay loop, with locker on the end and 2 conventional aiders. 1 Fifi hook as close to body as possible. At any one time, one of the daisies is on a piece, one foot in each aider level with the other (for a nice comfortable stable stance), while the other daisy and aiders hang far below me, between my legs and out of the way while I place the next piece. Once the piece is placed, I retrieve currently idle daisy/aiders, clip next piece, bounce, commit, and unplug the set I had just been standing on to avoid the potential static fall. Back in the day when I was cheap, I tried to do aid with only two aiders. It was slow and painful and confusing and off-balance, so I am curious as to how you make it work let alone think its better than 3/4? Are your aiders double-step aiders? Alex

that col is a long long long uphill slog in with camping gear, sayjay, go really light!

Matt Anderson, I speculate that they really meant "fall factor" as a way to say "dynamic loads on the belay". In other words, the more rope you have out, the more force absorbed by the rope during a fall, the less force applied to the belay (unless directly against the belay). Just speculation Alex

[ 05-10-2002, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]