alpinespider

Get a picture of the route (which you have already) and go climb it. Take enough gear to cover a variety of situations....the conditions on ranier obviously can change daily from snow to bullet proof ice. I would personally carry extra body weight, you lose it in the first day or two of climbing anyway and it just gives you more reserves if you end up having to wait out a storm or other unforeseen event. Other than that just make sure you know what you are getting into....Lib ridge gets someone almost yearly.

Me and my cousin practicing self rescue hanging from the Ravenna St. Bridge at midnight so the cops wouldn't see us. One cop actually drove by and didn't even turn his head. There is or was some nasty brush under that bridge too...so it doubled as a nice cascades approach simulation.

Glacier...LOL That is a great poem...That one is going to be posted in my mircobiology lab!!!

Dracunculiasis http://www.answers.com/topic/dracunculiasis Try this one on for size. Learned about this in college in a parasitology class. The treatment involves wrapping the worm around a stick and pulling it out of your leg or whereever a few centimeters a day. 2 to 3 feet long and looks like spaghetti. Ummmm.....Spaghetti!!

After a 24 hour 52 mile hike up in the Pasaytan Wilderness my toes and the balls of my feet were numb for almost a year following that pounding.

Breezy, Don't worry about your question. Once all the true details come out then analysis of causes becomes more clear. You are doing the right thing by asking how the accidents are occuring but just a little premature. All climbers should learn from everyone elses mistakes or bad luck, that is why North American climbing accident reports come out every year so others can learn. You DO always have to trust your own instincts but you can always learn to avoid similar situations by analyzing past accidents. Keep asking questions and making good decisions and you be a lot more likely to stay alive in the mountains.

Found a backpack hanging out of a snow melt cave up by alpental. After a 2 hour excavation from the block of ice it was in, I was able to retrieve it intact. If you can tell me what kind of backpack it is, what the contents were, and where I found it, then it is yours. Otherwise I will keep the booty for my hard work. email me at alpinespider@hotmail.com If I don't get back to you right away it is because I don't check mail too often.

Excellent replies! Bravo for the comedy, I have been laughing my ass off reading these fine comments. See you all later, I have to go save someone in the death zone with a helicopter "speed ascent" and a case of nitro! Anyone care to join me? Sure I haven't climbed anything for 12 years, but I am saving someone so I will call on my super human powers (and two scottish guys).

Please tell me all most of you are kidding about this being an "OK" movie. It was downright bad at best! I also thought it was disrespectful to bring up Scott F. and Rob H. in the context that they did. They must have payed Ed V. alot of money. I think anyone that does alot of alpine mountaineering would agree that this movie was completely and utterly unrealistic. And yes I did go into this movie expecting some over the top stuff, but even expecting that I was still displeased. Anyway, that is my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.