David_Parker

Do those still work on the new 4mm spectra rope tows?

Trip: ChairPeak/Snow Lake - Snow Lake Couloir Date: 3/17/2011 Trip Report: Kurt and I made a St. Patrick’s Day descent of the Snow Lake Couloir. We don’t know if there is an official name for this so that’s what I’m calling it. We left the upper Alpental parking lot at 9:30 and were soon at a huge Avy debris field at Source Lake that was a little tricky to cross. Kurt fell down. We were fortunate to have a skin trail put in for us that lead us all the way to the notch on NE Ridge of Chair Peak. We followed this SW for a bit and then dropped off and skied super dry pow looking for the top of the couloir. We found ourselves cliffed out below the entrance and so we skinned back up until we found it. Since our skins were on we continued back up to the notch and skied the moonscape back down to the couloir. The top was steep enough for surface sloughing as we skied but overall it was stable. It was a fabulous powder run all the way to the lake. We skinned across the lake in sunshine and then back up to the ridge. We decided to go back up into the basin so we could ski direct fall line back to Source Lake. The path out was like a skier-cross track until we hit the cat track back to Alpental. I changed into my St. Patty’s day party attire. Back at the ferry I had a 1.5 hour wait so I hit the Owl ‘N Thistle for a few pints of Guiness. The place was packed and full on raging with live band at 5:00! Gear Notes: Green outer-wear, party hat, beads Approach Notes: Go late so there is a skin trail already!

What type of climbing. I know a few in Park City.....

1. Scarpa T2: Size 8.5 Excellent condition. Boot has 2 buckles and slightly lower back for touring. Very comfy! $90 Does anyone want leather? Nice soft comfy animal skin massaging your foot? 2. Asolo Extreme Racer: Want to try your kid out on tele? Start with this boot! size 7/7.5 $35 3. Merrell Supercomp: size 9.5 maybe I should keep these for the museum or plant flowers in them! priceless email dpparker60@hotmail dot com for photos

If you are shopping used or demo boots, the Garmont Synergy is not too beefy but I can still steer my fat K2 Anti Pistes with 'em. Time tested good boot....but the best boot is the one that fits

Did any one know this guy or friends/family? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38900691/ns/world_news-americas/?GT1=43001 Climber discovered after perishing in ice 21 years ago Hikers find well-preserved body of American in melting Canadian EDMONTON, Canada — A melting Canadian glacier has given up the well-preserved body of an American climber missing 21 years, Canadian media reported Saturday. Two hikers on a day trip found the body of William Holland, 38, of Gorham, Maine, on Aug. 15, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper said. Holland disappeared while hiking a treacherous route known as Slipstream, a frozen waterfall on a 11,338-foot peak called Snow Dome on the Columbia Icefields in April 1989, CBC News said. Parks Canada rescue specialist Garth Lemke told The Canadian Press news service that the glacier ice that covered the body had melted, leaving an eerie scene. "By the time we got there the body was fully exposed. We didn't have to chip the body out at all," Lemke told the news service. "He was generally skin and bones, having quite a mummified look to him. His clothes and gear were relatively intact, and if you look at where he was, he was basically in a deep freeze for the last 21 years." Holland was found with spiked boots on his feet and rope slung over his shoulder, the Citizen said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have notified Holland's family, the CBC said.

Hey Monika, we want to see some of your pics! Can you add to this thread! DPP

SPRING SKI FEST APRIL 30 to MAY 2nd! I'm pretty sure this is the 9th annual Washington Pass Ski fest and the camping location can't be beat! It's always a great party and bar-b-que. I do need to get a rough idea of how many people plan to attend this year. Drop ins are always welcome however. Please post asap if you or someone you know is planning on coming this weekend! If you need directions, you will need to ask and provide your email or contact info so I can get back to you. We hope you can talk a few friends into joining us. Plenty of camping spots and a nice cabin with big deck and party area.

In the name of safe crossings of the Wenatchee river, I'd like to suggest that climbers cross at the Candy Store in the lake that forms there and walk upstream on the other side. It totally avoids any risk of falling into fast moving cold water...something more likely to kill you than climbing Drury falls unless you are also ignorant of avalanche conditions.

I was in the Ghost last week. Right now, driving in is easy but I would still recommend chains even for your 4wd rig. You can legally drive to the GBU wall in South Ghost and we also drove to the main parking area in North Ghost for access to Wanda, Mushroom, Sunshine/Aquarius, etc. It appears the big hill was graded so it is in excellent condition. Issues remain on the table; for more information: http://www.gravsports-ice.com/icethreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=5050#Post5050

It's been about 24 hours since I started this thread and I was amazed to see 5 pages now. Obviously the opinion of morbidity is not enough to kill the thread and I agree with those that see the value of discussion. That is the beauty of cc.com. Consider now that I will now direct my father to see the value and discover different views on the subject. Off White is correct that this does derive from the recent tragedy on Hood which became national news and therefore caught the attention of my dad. I think in the back of his mind he still wishes I would abandon climbing. Many deaths in the mountains do not stem from a single isolated event. Those that do are the objective ramifications that fall under the concept "mountains kill." Rather I would venture to say that more deaths are a calvacade of human errors that at first seem insignificant, but lead to a point of no return. It wouldn't matter if you are a "climber" or a "hiker". imo (generally speaking)a "climber" is different than a "hiker" because he begins his venture with more technical knowledge for the advanced terrain and the gear to handle it. You could argue that in itself levels the playing field because it brings the venture into the realm of his perceived margin of safety according to his perceived capabilities. Nobody goes out prepared to die, they go out prepared to live. The ones that die quite possibly and simply, were not properly prepared or underestimated the potential objective hazards. So regardless if Mt. Washington tends to kill more hikers and one of our NW volcanos kills more climbers, in the "end" we are just people and another statistic. BTW, I did not see this as an opportunity to be right or wrong. I merely wanted to extract some discussion amongst climbers so that non-climbers who venture here can gain a new perspective. Thus my signature...

There is an awesome book called "Without Peril" that documents the stupidity of many deaths on Mt. Washington. Without doubt more deaths on Washington are due to "hikers" underestimating the real conditions that occur even in summer on that relatively "low" mountain. Granted, winter attempts on Washington are usually made by "climbers". Mt Washington happens to be exactly located in the triangle of weather fronts from 3 different directions; a perfect storm as you will. Our northwest mountains claim lives mostly of "climbers" who headed out with knowledge and were properly prepared for the conditions at stake. Tends to "tweak" the statistics doesn't it!

I've been having an online discussion with my Dad in Maine. He thinks more people have died on Mt Washington, NH than any other mountain in the US. Does that make it the deadliest? Is it fair to compare mountains you can "hike" to mountains like Rainier, Denali and Hood that require technical proficiency and gear? Is it more fair to divide number of attempts by deaths to determine which is more deadly? What is the most attempted/summited mountain in the US/North America/world? How does Fuji in Japan compare? It's all about how you want to use the statistics. Discuss....

VENUS REDUCED TO $225! These are SWEET boots! They will make you tele ski faster, stronger and leap tall cliffs in a single bound. Buy these boots and you will keep up!

Just "uploaded" photos onto cc but have no idea where they went now. They are not in my gallery for some reason! If someone can help me find them I'll post here.

My son and I climbed Mt Townsend on Sunday. Patches of snow on the trail in the woods and once to the main gulley (all snow)we just basically headed straight up, eschewing the trail. Snow was consolidated with corn layer! Occasional post hole, but otherwise firm. Wish we brought skis! Puget Sound had a double cloud layer with obvious rain shadow from Port Angeles to PT. Mt Rainier only thing visible in Cascades. The butt glissade down was really fun and fast. A few parties of hikers in inappropriate footware didn't get very far past the woods. For a flat top (more of a ridge) summit, the view is still amazing...good bang for the buck!

Did I mention the Garmonts are in tip top condition! Ladies, make me an offer.... compare to this! http://gearx.com/garmont-venus-womens-telemark-boot-2008.html

I'm an old fart too. I would agree with most above. I also think that often the focus is too much on gear and not technique. I started pounding snargs in the early 80's and used old chouinard reverse curve pick that wasted a TON of energy trying to remove. I learned quickly to file the teeth down...way down. But what I learned most was because I hated following a snarg climber who over-protected, was that it's still all about your feet. A good climber is looking down just as much as up. I always wanted to lead and some people think I run it our too much sometime, but I always climb with the mantra you just don't fall ice climbing. My pro is often just to keep from decking. Ice climbing is so much about your head, not your gear! How you swing your tools and feet is important, but also where you put your tools and feet is also. Experience teaches where you can get a good stick first time. Pressure melts ice so you don't always have to swing or kick. This works great for going over buldges. Just place it and pull on it for a couple seconds. It will melt into the ice and stick. I try to move my feet twice as much as my tools if possible. I often pull out my tools close to my waist. This is different on vert to overhang so all this talk depends on what grade you are on. Sorry if I digressed from "gear" to technique, but some of us still get up shit with old school stuff. For how much I climb recently I'm happy to borrow some leashless tols, but I'll probably climb with my cobras for a long time. And I still like straight shaft tools for alpine. I don't seem to have an issue with my knuckles much either. I still always carry a pair of dachstein thick wool mittens with leather palms sewed on. Nothing warms me up faster and I love them for rappels. Great discussion! Fast is safer.

1. Garmont Venus (womans/kids) mondo size 25.5 shell w/ gfit bladder. This is approx usa ladies 7.5/8. practically new cond! $250 2. Asolo Extreme Racer: Want to try your kid out on tele? Start with this boot! size 7/7.5 $35 3. Merrell Supercomp: size 9.5 maybe I should keep these for the museum or plant flowers in them! priceless email dpparker60@hotmail dot com

price please?

SOLD 6-9-09

BD Wiz kid harness and a pair of rock shoes for about a 6-9 year old....$35.00 (plus shipping @ cost). send pm...

I'm with A-Fox AND I did climb NF of Hood with party of 3. It is not that steep except a few spots, we managed the verticle ice bulges with the seconds climbing side by side or offset slightly above/below and as Fox says, auto blocking devices are great. I enjoyed chatting with the the other second as we climbed up. Overall, I don't think we were that much slower than a party of 2 at all... we also had no bivy gear so we were light and fast. We also had a great forecast and we were local. I think 3 is better if shit hits the fan or one climber gets hurt..... I concur the decision to go at all was the first/biggest mistake. Tragedies are usually a calvacade of small mistakes that add up to disaster.

Trip: The Brothers - Standard w/ hourglass var. Date: 5/17/2009 Trip Report: A few weeks ago my son Jordan was looking at the Brothers and announced he was ready to climb it. I had been waiting for this moment for some years so utilizing the fact both our birthdays are in May (he's 14) and the fact I far prefer snow to scree, I thought the timing was ideal. With the ideal weekend forecast, and after getting my lawn mowed Saturday morning, we took the slightly longer drive around the south end of Hood Canal due to the bridge closure. We began the hike around 3:15 and soon we were at sparkling Lena Lake. We took a break and then headed up through the Valley of Silent Men. I have to say of all the approaches in Washington, this is one of my favorite. The forest is lush with ferns and moss, there is a stream most of the way and the path crosses the stream numerous times on log bridges in gorgeous settings. We arrived at climbers camp at the fork, set up the tent and cooked dinner. It was just a treat to see that all this overnight alpine climbing stuff was a new experience for my son. He was truly enjoying every moment. We have climbed a few mountains before, but never overnight with full pack of gear. My son is not a morning person, but handing him a cup of hot chocolate at 5:30 helped get him awake. A bowl of oatmeal and we were off around 6:15. The climbers trail was easy to follow in the morning light and soon we were navigating the burned section and then up the steep stream bed. For the most part the flags are helpful, but sometimes not. Do not cross the stream onto the far ridge, rather stay in the stream bed until you gain the open slopes above. In warm sun we donned our harness and helmets and began the snow climbing, much of it in 2 day old avalanche debris. Soon we were at the point where we had to decide to take the hourglass or traverse right to circumvent the cliffs. The snow had not frozen the night before and step kicking was easy so I put him on a 30 ft. rope and headed up the hourglass, a narrow, slot couloir with rock walls on both sides. We crossed one moat half way and at the top we came up against a waterfall. A short section of 4th class exit right got us onto the upper slopes and we were excited to have chosen the much more direct and alpine variation. The main gulley above was soft, but we eventually found some steps from a solo climber above us which made things easier. We caught him at a lunch rock at about 6,000 feet. From this point it is difficult to choose the real summit block and which way to go. We went up and slightly left which got us to a short, narrow gulley and then onto a knife ridge. From there we could see the real summit was to the right. Not wanting to go back down, I headed up a very steep, but short section with big exposure off the west side. Jordan announced he was very scared, but I kept the rope tight until he joined me on a flat section. Looking up it appeared we would have 2 more similar sections of short and steep with knife ridge between, but the exposure was bothering him so we went down a short gulley and then turned left up a broader gulley. By doing this we avoided the middle steep section with exposure and we were at the 3rd and final section, but the exposure was not off the west side and only back into the gulley. Jordan said he was ok with this so up we went and soon we were walking the final steps to the summit. The view into the interior of the Olympics was fabulous and through some haze we could see all 5 Washington volcanos. Looking down on the Hood Canal and then finding the various Islands in Puget Sound was fun too. We found a sunny spot out of the wind in some rocks and shared some of our lunch with a couple chipmunks who quickly found us. We then headed down the real standard route and soon we were butt glissading in the biggest otter slide I can remember. Other than having to stop to give our frozen butts a break, we were down quickly to the top of the approach gulley and we took a long break on warm rocks in the hot sun drying out our socks and pouring water out of our boots. As we were sitting there Jordan said to me, "here come some more climbers", which surprised me at that time of day. I couldn't see anyone, but he said he saw some legs go behind a large rock. A few minutes later a large male goat appeared, not people! He slowly moved up past us and eventully worked his way up an impressive rock face, much to the enjoyment of Jordan to witness the true agility of a mountain goat! We continued down... and an hour later we were back in camp and we relaxed some more and casually packed up the tent. We were glad we had elected to approach in running shoes instead of wearing our boots because it meant we had dry feet for the hike out. We once again thoroughly enjoyed the hike down through the VofSM. The way too many switchbacks down from Lena Lake got annoying, but we joked about the Captain Handi(cap) trail and soon found the cold beer and pop in the car. An ice cream cone in Hoodsport was just the ticket to make the ride home enjoyable and we really enjoyed the changing view of the Brothers from the car as we drove north along the Hood Canal through Belfair, Bremerton and Poulsbo and back down Bainbridge Island to home. Gear Notes: Ice Axe, helmet, short rope,trail candy. Approach Notes: One of the most beautiful in Washington! Stay in the burned out section until you can access the stream bed in the gulley by avoiding slide alder.

Anyone recommend a good harness that won't break the bank for a 14 year old. Rock and alpine both....