dberdinka

NO SHIT!! This is from the same website. If hiking in isn't your bag he'll fly you there! Well to the Palisades at least. "During my early years there, I stumbled across an abandoned trail that opens a back door into the high basin of the Palisades... We will transfer to four wheel drives on Saturday morning August 8 to get to the roadhead. From an old cow camp on Baker Creek, we begin to hike. A faint track through sage brush will seem umpromising at first, but it leads over a ridge to suddenly reveal the finest view of this cirque available anywhere. Breaking the journey (which is already easier than the usual trail climbing up Big Pine Creek.... This unusual approach opens up one further possibility that is even more exotic? flying to the Palisades. Up on Coyote Flat is a military airstrip, formerly secret but now wide open, where generations of jet and helicopter pilots have trained for high altitude landings. If you like, we'll arrange a charter flight with our friend Hart Drobish, who is the most experienced bush pilot in the Sierra, buzzing the Palisades summits just before landing. Call for details."

On 5/1 the Schreiber Meadows Road was blocked by snow at 2440' about 3.5 miles from the summer parking lot. Road won't melt out for a looong time. Snow conditions high on the mountain were excellent for skiing and/or climbing. Bring skis or snowshoes for the approach as it would definitely be a bit post-holey.

This outpouring of support....it just brings tears to my eyes. But were in the hell are my damn KEYS!? Actually, I've already managed to replace them. Toyota's have a key code that can come in very handy when your to lazy or stOOpid to keep a spare handy. This time was not as epic as 2 summers ago, when a mysterious rodent stole my keys away from under the chassis of my truck (common occurance evidently!). It happened midweek at the parking lot for Mount Gimli. Thats 20+ logging road miles away from the nearest little town and a good 80 miles from the nearest locksmith in Nelson. After 12 miles of hiking a series of friendly hippies in the Slocan Valey helped us get back in the car within 24 hours. One of those reaffirming-faith-in-humanity type stories.... Hope you're all enjoying your desk as much as I am on this beautiful day!

Lost my car keys on Saturday 4/27. Maybe at Pesh-ass-tin, maybe near Sams Hill or Trundle Dome, heck maybe in Ballard. Its half a dozen keys and a neon green LED light. If you happened to stumble across them send me a PM or reply here. Thanks.

Rereading my first post, I cringe a little knowing it will be interpreted as being derisive towards the skiers in question. It certainly comes off as being cavalier. Regardless, I think it is perfectly legitimate to review the actions of any climber who has died because (as already pointed out) generally there is a lot to be learned from such incidents. I'm willing to say that 99% of climbing fatalities result from human error. (There are always exceptions) That statement probably deserves a certain amount of explanation. Climbing is to a great extent all about risk management. Being fully aware of the level of risk one is accepting and doing everything possible to minimize it. Of course everyone has a different threshold for how much risk they are willing to accept. The spectrum ranges from the casual peak scrambler to the free soloist, etc. In my experience accidents and fatalities occur when we place ourselves in a position of greater risk than we originally planned on accepting. The reasons for doing so are many. Some general explanations being inexperience, group dynamics, tunnel vision (focus on goals) and carelessness. I've been lucky enough to avoid getting whacked on several of occasions. Every time I screwed up. Here are some examples. 1.) Spending a very long time, on a very small belay ledge waiting to rappel. Realizing I'm not clipped into anything as I finally rig my rappel. Reason: carelessness 2.) Skiing (actually cliffed out) directly below the Hanging Glacier when a very large avalanche decided to calve off. Reason: tunnel vision NOT objective hazards. Choosing to follow the best snow on the way down without giving much consideration to where we were. 3.) Watching a friend die when we were far to Inexperienced to be climbing that particular route. My point being, I doubt those guys went up their thinking they had 50% odds of surviving. To say, "It’s a great tragedy, but they died doing what they loved most. That is the price we pay for the beauty of the mountains", might make everyone feel better. But it does little to make any of us safer climbers. Climbing mountains is great, but it's not worth dieing for.

After eating a large serving of humble pie, I guess I'll be off to join the summitposter gang. Have a nice day!

Ok, I'll go ahead and put myself in the firing line here. So based on the AP article I can surmise (is that a word?) the following. Day 1 (Thursday April 4th) Sea level to 10,000' Day 2 (Friday April 5th) to 14,500' Day 3-4 (Sat-Sun 6th and 7th) to 16,000' Day 5 (Monday April 8th) to 18,008' Ok, so they all lived at 7,000+ feet, skied and climbed hard above that regularly. The weather was probably great (rarely on Elias in April?), so they chose to go for it (speed equals safety being the latest buzzword). Anyway you cut it that is a really fast rate of ascent. How safe was it? I would GUESS! that they were performing at less than optimal levels due to a lack of acclimization. Considering they were climbing and trying to ski down technical terrain that MIGHT have been near their limits ("It was survival skiing" was the quote in the Sunday paper) under optimal conditions. MAYBE (obviously?) they pushed it a little far. Fire away boys!

Ok, even the last rewrite was bound to piss someone off. Let it be forever expunged. Sorry Chuck. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [ 04-16-2002, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: dberdinka ]

Maybe this was beat into the ground a long time ago..but Wotan's got me thinking As excellent as Mr. Nelson's first book was, the second is by all means the worst "select" guide book I've ever seen. What is all that crap? and how did it get selected? The intros were never proof-read and seem to be lifted in chunks directly from the first. Worst of all whats with the REI model doing the hanging rappel of Pinnacle Peak? where's his pack? or is he going superlight? So to compare the Nelson's 1 -to- Becky's 10 ratio you'd need to take Fairly's old guide, count em up, add a few more and do your math. Dru, you going to handle that?

I own an old Black Diamond butt bag. It is buried in the bottom of a gear box somewhere. Basically, I never thought it increased my comfort level at hanging belays. It took some of the pressure off the leg loops, but created additional pressure points by smashing anything on my harness against my body. Carabiners, nut tools, etc. don't feel very good digging into your hip. [ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: dberdinka ]

If you choose to go to the most crowded route in Red Rocks on a weekend, one that attracts more than it's share of less-than-competent parties due to its classic stature, easy rating and solid pro, I think you should probably just suck it up, take it easy and deal with the waits unless you're given permission to pass. Basically you're there (hopefully) to have fun, just like everyone else. Climbing over, under, on-top-of and around other parties (particularly without belay ledges) is rarely fun for anyone involved unless your ego needs some bolstering. To solve the problem, get up earlier! (though you'd probably need to bivi to get dibs on that route) or pick something harder, remoter, or less classic. On Wednesday, March 27th my buddy and I showed up at the base of the same route to find ourselves 11th and 12th in line. We immediately bolted about 10 minutes away to Ginger Buttress where our only company that day was a big horn sheep. Great climbing on a fine line. On the hike out we ran into #7 and #8 on CC who spent 4 hours climbing and waiting on the first 2 pitches before bailing. Pretty harsh considering they started their walk in at 4:30 AM!

Whats the deal erik? We can practically smell that negative vibe of yours all the way up here (or maybe its just that lingering odor of T-town in its heydays). If you ever lived here what happened? Couldn't get a real job? Or are you just envious of the one region that has (so far) managed to escape inclusion in the ever growing Pugetopolous?

The standard route (east side I think) is a wonderful little climb on granite equal in quality to anything in the Washington Pass area. I remember it being 3 pitches and about 5.6-5.7 though generally easier. The route is fairly obvious with the final short pitch climbing up (and down) the very exposed "ear" that forms the summit. Bring a small rack. If it were 4 hours closer to the road it would be as crowded as the Becky Route on Liberty Bell.

A friend was in there through last Friday. Drove to gate and hauled sled from not far beyond. Seems to match Necronomicons beta. Have fun.

Hey Dru, I was just trying to think of this 10a near the Purina Crags thats has 3 (?) stars in the guide book. Existential Exit sounds right. I recall it being an excellent route, steep and spicy compared to most crack climbs in the area at that grade. While not really off the beaten path "The Bone" on lower Castle is definitely exciting and is a great link up to the south face of Jello Tower and Midway Direct-Direct. Spaghetti Sauce might be the best 5.8 anywhere with friction, to layback, to stem to jam to chimney. Fun!

I'm always drawn back to the Wind Rivers. The climbing is excellent but the remoteness, easy approaches, beauty of the landscape, the abundant wildlife and the lack of crowds have always made trips there special. The 18 hour drive across southern Idaho tends to be a little harsh though. http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~berdind/gallery/images/gallery3_lg.JPG

Unless you need multi-second exposures consider a monopod. They are light and cheap! You can even find trekking poles that do double duty. A monopod can give you about a 2-stop decrease in minimum shutter speed. Meaning you can shoot with a 24 mm lens at 1/8 a second vs. the traditional 1/30 or with a 50 mm lens at 1/15 a second vs. 1/60. In shadowy canyons or alpine faces that can be difference between a fuzzy shot and a sharp one. Of course it only stabilizes your shooting, you still have to hold onto the camera. A very nice monopod will run less than $100 and a good one is way cheaper than that. Check www.bhphotovideo.com

I'm just day-dreaming at work. Anyone out there ever climbed/attempted to climb one of those killer looking routes on the north side of Fury. Fill me in, fill us in. Give us a trip report. How was it. Any recommendations on logistics? Peace. For kicks: My one attempt at getting to Luna Lake ended with my partner spilling a pot of rolling-boiling water in his crotch. His long underwear did a great job of retaining the heat, and while I didn't inspect it myself he evidently had a pretty nasty burn where the sun don't shine. We, particularly he, spent the next day hobbling 12 miles out in the pooring rain. Suck.

Will Strickland -- Once again a voice of reason...

Well at least you got close enough to see it!

I second Will. After using/stealing my roommate's on a number of occasions the BD Raven is the perfect balance of weight, durability and functionality for an all-around axe. I actually own an Grivel Air Tech Racing ($55 from Telemark-Pyrenees). It's definitely lighter making it great for alpine rock climbs where the axe is a grudgingly carried neccessity, but for all around use, tromping up volcanoes, climbing steep snow couliors or whacking the occasional piece of ice the BD will be better.

Around Highway 542, Mount Ruth and the West Ridge of The North Twin Sister see lots of repeats. They are both excellent, modest day trips that just kind of grow on you. I like to spend time in Darrington and have been drawn back to Dreamer and now Safe Sex (its great!) many times. The approach, ambiance and climbing are worth repeating in spring, then summer, especially fall.... Up at Washington Pass The Southwest Ridge of S Early ("the other arete") is an excellent climb that I always look foward to as is the West Face of North Early and the East Face of Lexington. While I haven't repeated it I look foward to heading back to the Nw Face of Liberty Bell as well. I think all these climbs offer a nice consistent experience from beginning to end with sustained climbing at their respective levels, a pleasant but interesting approach and LOTS! of good memorys. Oh, they also offer a bivouac in the comfort of my bed or truck. Nice.

On Skagit Gneiss found on the likes of Eldo, Forbidden, Goode, Black, etc., I've found you can get by with very little. I usually bring about 4-6 stoppers (every other size to an 11 or 12), 2-3 small to medium Metolius 3-cams (#1, #3, #5) and 2 hand size hexs. Throw in 4 shoulder slings with biners, some extras of both and some belay stuff and you're good to go. 1-2 pickets might come along if there is some significant glacier travel or lots of steep snow. Generally bring an 8mm rope and double it up if anything really serious comes along and simu-climb single strand. Maybe a little sketchy, but...I'm still alive...I think.

Hey jstreet, I was one of the many bafoons running around the area. How'd you guys make it home? Did the keys appear?

Long live the Ex-Bellingham climbing brothers!! You know who you are. Peace.