Jason_Martin

An AAI guide almost did this link-up last year. He climbed Shuksan in the morning and then climbed up to the saddle on the North Side of Baker then bonked. I think he was planning on trying again this year... Jason

Certainly I could be wrong. Do you think I am? People rushing to look at a dead body, fighting to get around each other to see it... You decide...

I was thinking about G-Spotter's response...and indeed you could say that I'm part of the problem. I wanted to share my thoughts with this community to hear how people might respond. I was disgusted by the people flocking to the accident. That is the point of my initial post and I was curious what kind of responses might appear to that. But the people flocking to the accident were flocking to see this person's body. By reporting this incident, perhaps I too am exploiting this person's death. If it appears that way, I'm sorry...that definately wasn't the intent. Instead maybe the intent was to ask the question, are people more desenstized today than they were in the past? Have people always flocked to car accidents to see? Or is this really something that has begun to occur in the last fifty years?

Just musing...

Tonight we went out to look at baby stuff. We’re having a baby which – as many of you know – makes you think about things in a different light. Tonight we went to a restaurant and watched families eat with their toddlers beside them. And tonight we passed a police line. It wasn’t clear what was going on at first. We were driving. There were lights. There were patrol cops directing traffic. And there were a lot of people. A lot of people… As we were directed by, it became clear that there was a terrible accident. A motorcycle lay crumpled on the side of the road and a plastic tarp was placed carefully over a broken body. Clearly this isn’t something that one likes to see after baby shopping. It’s not something I like to see at all. But apparently I’m in the minority. As we were directed through a parking lot to go around the accident, more people arrived. Rubber-neckers they’re called; people who can’t help but look at the blood. Indeed, some of these appear to be people who relish at the sight of it. We moved slowly through the lot. People were flooding out of a nearby neighborhood to look and were blocking traffic. It was about nine o’clock at night in a suburb so some were wearing robes. There was even a woman wearing some kind of white skin cream all over her face. These people made a special trip out to see what was going on. These people made a special trip to see a dead person. There is something warped about this. Those driving by and looking are one thing, but people who decide to leave their houses in order to see a dead body are another. There is clearly some kind of disconnect. A person lost his life. Others found this event to be an exciting diversion a little bit more interesting than the normal Monday night line-up on television. In the film Stand by Me, a group of young boys go on a journey to see a dead body. And when they finally reach the body, they encounter something they did not expect. They encounter their own mortality and they come away from the experience more sober. They come away as better people and somehow more grown-up. I don’t think that’s what was going on tonight. Instead, people were going away to text their friends about what they saw. Instead, people were making cell phone calls to tell others where the action was. Instead, people were going away excited…excited that they got to see a dead person. Excited because they didn’t know the person, so he had no bearing on their lives. Just plain excited…

Great TR! One minor correction to your post...the organization at the RRR was the American Safe Climbing Association. They've been doing a tremendous amount of work replacing old sketchy bolts all over the west. If anybody is looking for another place to donate a little money for a good cause, check them out at: http://www.safeclimbing.org/ Jason

All AAI guides practice leave no trace techniques. This is very important to us. It is at the very core of what we teach. I suspect that anything this individual heard about a lack of leave no trace ethics was in jest. If anybody broke this set of rules, I doubt they would be brazen enough to brag about it to other guides. And indeed, I would be amazed if other guides didn't knock the individual for pulling something that puts our permit and our very livlihood in jeporady. If anyone wants to email me or discuss AAI in any way you're welcome to PM me. I'll send you my phone number and we can talk. I will openly and honestly tell you whatever you'd like to know from a senior guide's perspective. I won't B.S. you. I'm very proud to work for AAI. It's a good company filled with good people who honestly want to educate people on how to be climbers. We want people to learn how to be self-sufficient so that they can go out and do their own thing safely and effectively... Jason

Totally normal. Think about it like you're learning a language. As you learn more words it becomes easier to make sentences. And it becomes easier to learn more words. It's the same with climbing instruction. As you start to retain things, the next step will be easier to comprehend. Jason

Those animals spend all of their time below treeline. In addition to this they're outdoor animals. They never spend any time inside at all. My suspician is that some breeds do okay, while others do not. It appears that your dogs never had a problem, but that doesn't mean that no dog will have a problem. The incidents I refferred to in my initial post were definately snowblindness. The dogs were whining and placing their heads on the ground while putting their paws over their eyes. They wouldn't move in either case. And in both cases the owner had to drag them down the mountain on a piece of plastic or a tarp. I have to wonder about the idea that your dogs loved to get out on the glacier. I suspect your dogs just loved to get outside, but you loved to be outside on a glacier so that's where they got to go... Jason

I don't know if we have any vets who read this board...but I am personally aware of at least two incidents where large dogs went completely snowblind and had to be carried out. Both incidents took place on Mount Baker within a week or so of each other. I know that some dogs are bred for the snow -- think sled dogs -- but my gut instinct is that if we have to wear sunglasses in order to avoid serious eye damage, then what type of damage does the average dog recieve in a bright snowy environment? Especially a dog that is used to the dark cloudy days of the northwest? I've got to think that dragging dogs up above treeline in a bright and steep environment isn't very humane... Jason

The Red Rock Rendezvous is from March 23rd through March 25th. If you're not interested in the instructional elements of the climber's festival, then you should still sign up for the parties and slide shows at night. It's pretty fun. http://www.mountaingear.com/rr07/index.aspx The hot springs on the Nevada side of the river are closed due to construction. The hot springs on the Arizona side aren't too hard to find. Cross the dam. Drive to the first trailhead on the righthand side of the road (10 to 15 min from dam). Hike the trail for about four miles. Once you reach the river look for a stream coming out of the rocks. Follow the stream back uphill into a little slot canyon. You'll note that the water in the creek will get warmer and warmer. Eventually you'll find the hot springs with the inevitable old fat naked guy who seems to live at every hot spring in america. Jason

The point of having an ice axe is to use it for climbing. Self-arrest is only one of a number of uses for an ice axe. I do believe that you can do more with an axe quickly out of the piolet cane position than from the self-arrest position. Indeed, in some northwest climbing subcultures assumptions of inexperience are made about those who hold their axe in the self-arrest position. Not taking stereotypes into account, I still think that piolet cane is a better position in most circumstances. Unfortunately it takes a lot of practice to develop the muscle memory to automatically self-arrest from piolet cane. This is the main reason that people don't really want to switch...and it's a valid reason. If you screw up because you didn't spend enough time practicing your new technique it could be bad news for you. Jason

Depends on what kind of ropes you're using. If you're using twin ropes and you only clip one in, you're going to go for a very long ride before the rope stretch catches you. That's the fattest I've ever seen Strobach. The Right Stuff has never been more than a smear on my three trips back there. Are there still people saying there's no ice in Washington? Jason

The picture isn's at the best angle. It is really weird looking. I doubt very much that a falling climber could make a hex warp as radically as this thing was warped. Jason

Certainly could be...but a few years ago we had a good size earthquake here. Jason

The other day I was working on an old route in Red Rock. Some buddies and I are trying to replace all the old bolts to make this route a safe and fun climb. While we were up there, we found this: I should have got a better picture, but essentially it appears that an earthquake actually crushed the old Hex and sheered it sideways. Kinda' cool. Anybody else see any old gear that has been dmaged by earthquakes? Jason

An AMGA course is an excellent step toward being considered a "professional" by those you teach and by those who you might teach. As far as liability, you will need an airtight waiver. This will help to protect you. An AMGA course will help to protect you as well because if something were to go to court and the question arose about what the industry standard was, you'd be on the same page. Indeed, the liklihood of needing to go to court will go down as you obtain more training and have less loopholes in your own skillset. As far as the waiver is concerned, you should look at a number of guide service waivers. Most companies have them on the net for their clients. Make one up of your own and then have a lawyer go over it... Good luck! Jason

At least one third of all individuals who rappel Johnny Vegas get their ropes stuck. The gully is actually pretty cruiser. Jason

ivo and renon? nice trip report! it's nice to read about some great adventures. That was Renon. The Resolution Arete doesn't have great rock...as Mike said, it is an adventure climb. I think the dynamic of our group is what made it so fun. My favorite route in RR is currently Birdhunter Buttress. But don't go there if you're not used to RR rock or if you're worried about old bolts. Currently the route has a sold R rating due to bolt quality. But we're hoping to get some new bolts on it in the near future... Jason

No doubt the big pack was a huge mistake...but when all was said and done the Resolution Arete was one of the most fun climbs I've done in RR. Mostly because of the company! Good times! Jason

Intellectually, I know this... I know that we're not better than anyone else. I just get pissy when we're being knocked. I feel like some of these talk shows and forums are trying to corner us. And it pisses me off to no end that bad things are being said about these guys on Mount Hood. And as we all know -- especially around here -- it's easier to call names than to defend. You're totally right Matt, there is no way that we're going to win any battles with anger or emotion. Debate and defense is about logical and well defined arguements like those you suggest. I'll keep my pissyness myself... Jason

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As has been stated above, the value in Red Rock is in the long multi-pitch trad lines. Yes there are herds of people on some of the moderate classics and there are herds at the easier sport walls...but there are hundreds of climbs of both types where you will be the only one on the route. I find Red Rock's greatest value in long relatively unexplored traditional climbs. These have an alpine feel to them as they require a bit of an approach, may have some weather issues, and require commitment. There is low elevation limestone all around Las Vegas. I don't think it's that great. Some of it has graffiti and glass beneath it. A lot of it is a short approach from the road so kids will party there and break bottles. The Charleston limestone is better, but it is way too cold up there to screw around with anything but ice this time of year up there. I've heard this "over-rated" comment before. It seems to me that those who say this just don't try very hard to see what's really back there... Jason

Well put Winter. Sitting here with my pack loaded ready to go. Someone please, ring the bell. All you guys who want to go should volunteer when there's not an emergency... Then you can get trained and go next time there's a call. I doubt very much that anybody involved in this rescue has time to go through your climbing resumes and decide who's experienced enough to deal with eighty mile an hour winds, no visibility and extreme avalanche danger. Sounds like the guys on the mountain have the experience to know what to do. As has been repeatedly stated, they're probably all holed up on the peak in two separate snow caves. Hopefully they have the food and the fuel to hold out. On an attempted one day ascent they may have gone very light on these items...Indeed, it would not suprise me if the guy that was left in the snow cave at the top, was left with the vast majority of these supplies while the others tried to find their way down. I think if most of us were to leave somebody behind who was injured we would be apt to leave that person with all the food and fuel... Jason