JERRY_SANCHEZ

Yes- The skiing was really sweet yesterday. I went backcountry skiing near steven's Pass and there was about 7 inches of powder on good solid base. I didn't see any avalanche activities. Funny how conditions change from the day before. I went on Sunday and the snow was solid mush. The weather was pretty good with light winds and sun showed up at times. Chains required and there was many accidents

CHECK THIS ARTICLE OUT FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS? Disputes heating up on snowy back trails By Chris SolomonSeattle Times staff reporter With timber harvesting all but stopped on federal lands in the Northwest, new battles are nudging the old logger vs. tree hugger debate out of the spotlight. One close to home pits environmentalists against recreationalists, and recreationalists against one another — hiker vs. mountain biker, snowshoer vs. snowmobiler, backcountry skier vs. helicopter skier. In the Okanogan-Wenatchee national forests, two environmental groups have challenged a decision by local Forest Service officials to renew permits for snowmobile outfitters. Those groups, along with some backcountry skiers, are also challenging the permit for a 14-year-old heli-skiing operation in the forest's Methow Valley. On Monday, acting deputy regional forester Gary Larsen turned both decisions back to local ranger districts with orders to give the public another chance to comment on the proposed permits. The companies will receive temporary permits to continue this winter. Such conflicts are not new in the Methow or elsewhere but are increasing as more people head to the woods for recreation, and as the "toys" and equipment to access the backcountry improve, according to Forest Service officials. "There are a lot of people out there on the national forest who would really, really like to go there and not see another person," said Jennifer Zbyszewski, recreation staff officer for the Methow Valley Ranger District. "And that's getting harder to do. "The more popular places are where the numbers are increasing, and we're seeing increased tension." For the past three years North Cascades Heli-Skiing in Mazama has sought renewal of its five-year permit to fly skiers within a 300,000-acre area in the Okanogan National Forest. For $675 a day, a helicopter drops skiers on mountaintops and retrieves them after long, powder-filled runs. Business has been growing about 20 to 30 percent annually, to nearly 600 skiers last winter, said Randy Sackett, who has owned the company since 1988. Sackett wants permission to roughly double the potential skier-days, to 1,050. A skier-day is one skier skiing for one day. Three snowmobile outfitters also applied for renewals of permits to deliver rented snowmobiles to clients and guide them from 10 Sno-Parks in the Tonasket and Methow Valley ranger districts, and to use a warming hut in Blackpine Basin, a popular snowmobile area. All of the companies had permits in the past. After environmental analyses, the district rangers in October agreed to grant permits to the operations. But both decisions were appealed by the Kettle Range Conservation Group and Methow Forest Watch. Another group, the North Cascades Backcountry Skiers, joined in appealing the heli-skiing permit. "We're not trying to shut down heli-skiing," said Matt Firth, an ardent backcountry skier who has lived in the nearby Twisp River Valley area since the mid-1980s. Some self-propelled skiers fear that a potential doubling of heli-skiers, and the possible addition of a second helicopter, would impinge on the solitude that backcountry travelers seek, said Firth. "Anybody who's ever spent time in the mountains in winter can appreciate that a helicopter flying overhead is a big intrusion." Environmentalists claim the Forest Service does not fully recognize the impacts that heli-skiing and snowmobiling have on sensitive or endangered species such as lynx, grizzly bear and wolverines — particularly when those businesses are combined with private snowmobile use, which makes up most such use in the area. "They have utterly failed to address cumulative effects," said Susan Crampton, a field biologist and board member of Methow Forest Watch, a small environmental watchdog group. "We're talking about a long list of uncommon and reclusive wildlife that is being pushed and pushed and pushed." Crampton added that she is not against snowmobiling. "But it's the Forest Service's responsibility to manage that without damage to forest resources," she said. "And they haven't done that." She said the groups would sue if necessary to block the permits. Sackett, of North Cascades Heli-Skiing, himself a backcountry skier, said concerns are overblown. He said the company doesn't plan to double its business, and wants the option to use a second helicopter only if a private party wants to reserve it. Guides and pilots rarely see wildlife in the high alpine environment in winter, Sackett said, but the company agreed to avoid some slopes that might contain mountain goats and will be required to report sightings of wolverine tracks or dens. Such recreation conflicts remain limited mostly to urban-influenced areas, but the issue will only increase as more people move to once-rural places, said Ken Karkula, program manager for recreation special uses for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C. "You're going to have the pressures, as the national forests become the city parks, the county parks, if you will," Karkula said. The number of conflicts has also increased as the toys of the backcountry have changed, said Al Soucie, snow ranger for the Salt Lake Ranger District in Utah, home to an ongoing dispute between heli-skiers and backcountry shredders. Better snowshoes, snowboards that can be split and used as skis to ascend mountains, and more powerful snowmobiles make going deeper into the mountains much easier, said Soucie. Chris Solomon can be reached at 206-515-5646 or csolomon@seattletimes.com.

ANYONE UP FOR SI????

YOU?

WELL LOOKS LIKE A GOOD WEEKEND TO STAY IN BED WHAT DO YOU THINK FOR BACKCOUNTRY SKIING???

HEY SINCE EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT THE KRISPY KREME I'M THINKING OF BRINGING THEM TO THE NEXT TUESDAY MEETING. ANYONE AGAINST THIS?

HEY I TRY TO GO TO KRISPY KREME LAST NIGHT BUT THE LINE WAS STILL TOO BIG... BUT AT WORK TODAY MY COWORKER BROUGHT IN 8 DOZENS OF THE DONUT AND THEY TASTE GREAT I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD SOURCE OF FUEL FOR CLIMBING RIGHT??? THANKS FOR THE WEEKLY PUB NIGHT OUT IT WAS FUN HEARING ALL STORIES...

YOU CAN HIKE UP MT. SI WITH YOUR ICE CLIMBING PLASTIC BOOTS

I WENT UP MT. SI THIS PAST WEEKEND

THIS POST SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE TOPIC FOR "PLASTICS VS LEATHER"

PLASTICS ARE GOOD FOR HIKES ON MT SI. I SEE PEOPLE WEAR THEM ALL THE TIME UP THERE...

WHY DOES THIS PEAK HAS SO MANY ACCIDENTS??? CHECK THE REPORT BELOW: Climber killed in fall near Snoqualmie Pass 10/14/2001 Reported by Roberta Romero NORTH BEND - A 49-year-old Tacoma man is dead after falling more than 500 feet down a cliff at Guye Peak just north of Snoqualmie Pass. The man - whose name has not yet been released - was an experienced hiker. He and a fellow climber made it to the top of Guye Peak Saturday afternoon. They used ropes and stayed together as they worked their way up the cliff, then the man fell. “It’s pretty common that once you finish the technical portion of your climb you let your guard down a little bit, you relax a little bit, you’re not quite as leery of what’s going on and that’s when accidents happen, and apparently that’s what happened here,” said King County Sheriff’s Deputy Zbig Kasprzyk. Observers at the base of the cliff say weather could have been a factor. It had snowed and was raining around the time of the fall. “The mountain peaks were snowy, wind was blowing, and it was raining. I wouldn’t have been up there,” said witness J.B. Stempak. A search and rescue team recovered the victim’s body late Sunday afternoon

MT. SI

MT. SI

HELLO EVERYONE DOES ANYONE HAVE ROOM FOR A RIDE TO THE ROPE UP? I HAVE TO WORK ON FRIDAY UNTIL 4:30PM. IF ANYONE HEADING UP THERE FRIDAY EVENING AND HAVE ROOM FOR ONE PERSON LET ME KNOW. I WILL PAY GAS EXPENSE. THANKS

WELL WE DID THE SIBLING CREEK APPROACH TO ELDORADO PEAK THIS WEEKEND AND ALL I CAN SAY IS IT IS 10 TIMES BETTER THAN ELDORADO CREEK APPROACH. THE SCENERY IS SPECTACULAR AND WELL WORTH THE LONGER APPROACH. THE 3RD CLASS GULLY IS EASY TO CLIMB DOWN/UP BUT EASY TO MISS. HIKED FOR ABOUT 2 MILES ON THE RIDGE RIGHT AFTER SIBLING PASS GOING EAST. WHEN YOU GET OFF THE RIDGE AND HIKE ON SNOW FOR ABOUT 1/4 MILE ALONG THE RIDGE, THE GULLY IS LOCATED JUST WHEN YOU DESCEND THE SNOW RIDGE. IT IS LOCATED IN A FLAT SECTION WHERE YOU CAN PITCH A TENT. THE ENTRANCE TO THE GULLY IS SMALL BUT OPENS UP AS YOU HEAD DOWN. THERE WILL BE FEW MORE UP's AND DOWN HIKING AND SOME TALUS FIELD TO ATTEND, BUT THE ROUTE IS OBVIOUS FROM THERE (SHOULD SEE FOOT TRACKS ON SNOW). YOU SHOULD HEAD UP A BIG SNOWFIELD TOWARDS AN OBIVOUS PASS - JUST SOUTHWEST AND RIGHT AFTER PASSING THE TRIAD SUMMIT. YOU CAN CAMP AT THE PASS (BIG FOR A TENT) OR DESCEND DOWN COUPLE HUNDRED FEET TOWARDS ROUSH CREEK TO A ROCKY BIVI SIGHT WITH RUNNING STREAM. YOU WOULD HAVE TO DESCEND DOWN ABOUT 700 MORE FEET TO REACH ELDORADO GLACIER. FROM THERE THE ROUTE IS STRAIGHTFORWARD AND CREVASSES WAS NOT AN ISSUE. IN FACT I WAS SURPRISE WE DIDN'T SEE MUCH OF CREVASSES THIS LOW SNOW YEAR. THE SUMMIT RIDGE IS STILL GOOD WITH GOOD FOOTHOLDS TO BALANCE. THERE APPEARS A SMALL BIVI SIGHT ON THE ROCKY SUMMIT. WE STARTED AROUND 2:00 PM SATURDAY, CAMPED ABOUT 8:00PM AND SUMMIT THE NEXT DAY AT 9:00AM. WE HIKED OUT AND BACK TO THE CAR WITH HORRIBLE BUGS AROUND 3:00PM. JUST REMEMBER THE GULLY IS LOCATED RIGHT WHEN YOU DESCEND DOWN THE SNOWFIELD THAT IS LOCATED ON A BIG FLAT SECTION. DON'T GO TOWARDS THE BASE OF THE TRIAD (FURTHER EAST). I DON'T UNDERSTAND JIM NELSON'S ROUTE (SELECTED CLIMBS) DESCRIPTION OF "EAST MOST GULLY". DID ANYONE ELSE TOOK OR TRY TO TAKE ANOTHER WAY DOWN?

WE ARE PLANNING A TRIP TO ELDORADO PEAK THIS WEEKEND AND JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS BEEN UP THERE RECENTLY. WE PLAN TO HEAD UP SILBLING CREEK ON HIDDEN LAKE TRAILHEAD AND TRAVERSE TRIAD... THANKS

WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPEND IN THIS SITUATION??? I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE CAN HAVE HEART ATTACKS WHILE CLIMBING.... London magazine editor dies on Mount Rainier August 3, 2001, 09:30 AM ASHFORD - A prominent business magazine editor from London died on a guided ascent of Mount Rainier with his 16-year-old daughter, and park officials said a heart attack was the most likely cause. Lawrence "Laurie" Minard, 51, succumbed about 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the 12,000-foot level, said Peter Whittaker, operations manager of Rainier Mountaineering Inc. Minard's daughter's name and hometown were being withheld. Guides tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other lifesaving techniques for 45 minutes, but Minard never regained consciousness, Whittaker said. The death occurred as the group of about 25 climbers and guides ascended Disappointment Cleaver, a rocky outcrop beside the Emmons Glacier and one of the steepest parts of the most popular route to the 14,411-foot summit. An autopsy in the Pierce County medical examiner's office was pending. Mount Rainier National Park officials said the suddenness of the collapse indicated a heart attack. In the last death on a climb led by RMI, a Mount Rainier National Park concessionaire, an avalanche hit a rope team on Disappointment Cleaver on June 11, 1998, and swept away Patrick Nestler, 29, of Norwalk, Conn. About 3,000 people a year pay go on RMI-led summit attempts. Minard, who worked for Forbes magazine in London and often wrote the "Sidelines" column for a companion publication, Forbes Global, rented most of the equipment he and his daughter used, and they might have been on their serious mountain climb, Whittaker said. He seemed fit and healthy days earlier in a daylong training session on the peak, and his death "really caught everybody by surprise," Whittaker said. The group's departure from an overnight stop at 10,080-foot Camp Muir was delayed two or three hours because of bad weather and began about 3 a.m., Whittaker said. About 4 1/2 hours later, Minard said he was having trouble breathing, asked to unclip from the climbing rope and sat down. A guide stayed with him while the others headed for a planned rest stop near the top of the cleaver. "Within a couple of minutes, he stopped breathing," Whittaker said. Guides halted the climb, began CPR and other emergency measures and established radio contact with a doctor as Minard's daughter and the other climbers watched. The rest of the group made their descent Thursday afternoon. Minard's daughter was met by his mother, who lives in the Seattle area. Minard, a native of Seattle, earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., in 1972, then studied political economy for two years at the Graduate Faculty of New York's New School for Social Research, where he worked closely with Robert Heilbroner. He joined Forbes as a researcher and reporter in 1974 and became special correspondent in Asia in 1978, European bureau chief in London in 1979 and west coast and Asia bureau chief in 1983. He was appointed assistant managing editor of Forbes in 1985, deputy managing editor in 1987 and managing editor in 1989. He was appointed editor of Forbes Global when it was launched in September 1997

HELLO EVERYONE SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS BUT I WORKED IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE BEEN UP MT. CHALLENGER LATELY OR AROUND THAT AREA. MY BUDDY AND I PLAN ON CLIMBING IT NEXT WEEKEND. WE TRIED TO APPROACH FROM EASY RIDGE BUT COULD NOT FIND A WAY AROUND THE DEEP CANYON-LIKE RAVINE THAT WE HAD TO GET AROUND TO GET TO PERFECT PASS. SOMEONE MENTION THAT THERE IS A BETTER APPROACH FROM WHATCOM PASS BY GOING AROUND (NOT OVER) HANAGEN PEAK. ANOTHER APPROACH IS COMING FROM THE EAST FROM BEAVER CREEK BUT HEARD THE BUSHWHACK IS A NIGHTMARE. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

WE DID MT. OLYMPUS THIS WEEKEND IN THE OLYMPICS. WEATHER WAS PERFECT AND THERE WAS HARDLY ANY WIND. I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW BEAUTIFUL THE MOUNTAIN IT WAS. THE GLACIER WAS MASSIVE AT LOW ALTITUDE. I FELT LIKE I WAS IN ALASKA. THE ROUTE WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD AND EASY TO FOLLOW AS THERE WAS FOOTPATH AND WANDS LEADING TO THE WEST SUMMIT. THERE IS ABOUT 150 FEET OF SOME 4TH TO LOW 5TH CLASS SCRAMBLE TO REACHED THE TOP WITH A SUMMIT REGISTER. THE APPROACH OF 17.5 MILES TO REACHED GLACIER MEADOWS (BASE CAMP) SEEMED BRUTAL BUT THE FIRST 13 MILES WAS PRETTY FLAT. WE STARTED AROUND 10:30 AM AND REACHED THE CAMP ABOUT 5:00 PM. NEXT DAY WE STARTED CLIMBING ABOUT 6:00 AM AND REACHED THE SUMMIT JUST AFTER 11:00 AM. BACK IN CAMP AROUND 3:00PM AND HIKED OUT 7 MILES TO ANOTHER CAMP. WE REACHED THE CAR THE NEXT DAY AT 10:30AM AND MADE THE 2:15 PM FERRY AND BACK TO SEATTLE AROUND 3:00PM. WE PACKED LIGHT (BIVI'S AND LIGHT GEAR AND SMALL PACK) AND I HIKED IN WITH MY RUNNING SHOES - CARRIED MY CLIMBING BOOTS. I FOUND THIS TO BE VERY COMFORTABLE FOR MY FEET AND AVOID BLISTERS. I COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE HIKING IN WITH THEIR PLASTIC BOOTS. THEY DIDN'T LOOK TOO HAPPY. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS METHOD FOR LONG APPROACH?

Hey I was wondering if anyone made it to the top of rainier this weekend???

HOW DID YOU GET TO LIBERTY RIDGE ROUTE ON MAY 12TH WHEN WHITE RIVER ROAD WAS STILL CLOSED???

WENT UP TO WHITEHORSE MT THIS SUNDAY AND REPORTED GOOD BUT TOUGH SNOW CONDITIONS. THE SNOW IS NOT CONSOLIDATED AND WE WERE POSTHOLING UP TO OUR THIGHS JUST PASS LONE TREE PASS TO HIGH PASS. AVALANCHE SEEMED HIGH BUT WE DIDN’T HEAR ANY BUT SAW TONS OF NEW SLIDES. WE STARTED AROUND 7:00 AM, TAG THE SUMMIT AROUND NOON, AND BACK TO THE CAR AROUND 4:00PM. THE TRAIL WAS STEEP AND LITTLE MUDDY BUT ROUTEFINDING WAS NOT A PROBLEM. THERE WAS RED TAPE AND SNOW FOOTPRINTS LEADING THE WAY. THERE IS PLENTY OF SNOW STILL UP THERE AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE EASIER TO WALK ON WHEN THIS WEEKS HOT WEATHER WILL CONSOLIDATE IT.

MY FRIEND AND I WENT UP TO CAMP MUIR THIS SATURDAY (MAY 13) AND IT WAS WINDY AS HECK UP THERE. THERE WAS SEVERAL PARTIES WE SPOKE TO THAT ATTEMPT ROUTES BOTH INGRAHAM DIRECT AND GIBRATOR LEDGES ROUTES. THEY SAID THE ROUTES ARE "IN" AND GOOD CONDITIONS BUT DUE TO STRONG WIND, THEY HAD TO TURN BACK JUST SHORT OF THE SUMMIT. RIGHT NOW THE RANGER SAYS THE SNOW CONDITIONS IS LIKE MID-JUNE AND THE ROUTES ARE GOOD. RMI GUIDES HAVEN'T PLACE THEIR ROUTES IN YET BUT I HEARD THEY WILL START SOON. THE RANGER ALSO SAYS THAT RIGHT NOW IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO CLIMB AS THERE WILL BE TOO LITTLE SNOW IN LATE JUNE TO JULY.

WENT UP TO SIBLING CREEK ROAD ON 4/22 SUNDAY AND IT WAS DRIVABLE FOR ABOUT 3 MILES IN. WE HAD TO HIKED OR SKI ABOUT A MILE IN TO REACH THE HIDDEN LAKE TRAILHEAD. THERE IS PLENTY OF SNOW ON THE TRAIL AND THE BASIN. AVALANCHE DANGER SEEMED LOW WITH THE SNOW BEING HARD AND ICY. THE ROUTE TO THE LOOKOUT WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD. THE WEATHER WAS SNOWY AND WHITEOUT BUT THE SUN DID PEEK OUT FEW TIMES. SKIING DOWN THE SNOW TURN TO CORN AND MADE THE SKIING ENJOYABLE. THE ROUTE TO SILBLING CREEK PASS TO REACH THE ELDORADO GLACIER AND BEHIND SEEMED FEASIBLE.