Mattski

Hey Clintoris, you received a lot of advice good and bad. As someone who is a guide and manages a 2 different guide services I will tell you qualifications that matter are a WFR(EMTs are for ambulances and ski patrols), a well rounded technical resume with some geographical diversity(it shows you are familiar with different environments and climbing, and good people skills. (an AMGA Rock Instructor course is a plus) People want to like the person who is responsible for their safety so that is where the misconception of baby sitting comes in, trying to establish a good relationship with your clients, not entirely different than other careers where a solid client base helps form a viable business. Gene is famous and right. You can PM me as well, I work for Mountain Madness so you can contact me to get an idea of what other companies offer. Good luck.

I skiied the Easton from the summit on the 6th with 4 inched of pow with mediocre visibility. Great skiing from the top to 4700'.

For what it is worth I would save my ducats and go to La-Grave. www.la-grave.com

I guess you can call it glade skiing, if you miss the trail at the bottom of Little Richards, go right. If you ski down Kempers, expect pain in the form of waterfalls, slabs and tight trees as you near the road.

Acouple of points I would like to clarify for you guys on the Crystal boundary and the MRNP: 1) The park wants to close the boundary, not Boyne. The Park perceives skiing into the park via lift access is a commercial venture on park property, hence the desire for the park to close the boundary "to limit the impact on the wilderness". go figure. As for the patrol going into the park, only for rescue or recreation. As for getting busted by patrol, not an issue, since they are only informing the public that if they get caught by the park rangers, they will get ticketed if they can't prove they came in from the road. If you have a lift ticket, hide it when you get to 410 and you won't have a problem. 2) There still are single ride tickets, you just need to ask. 3)When you ski down to 410, you come out 3.5 miles from the gate.

There is a group attempting to standardize the Avalanche Level I, II & III curriculums, They are AIARE, www.avtraining.org. Their website lists avalanche education providers that use the AIARE / AAA curriculums which were created by CAA/ACMG guru Karl Klassen, Jean Pavillard and several other avalanche educators from Alaska , California and Colorado. I suggest invest in a level I then if you want more education, look at CAATS level I in Canada (1week) or take level II which will give more tools for assessing stability. Good Luck

Just a couple of points to bear in mind about the backcountry and the safety equipment you use: 1 A beacon is only 1 of 4 tools you need for a safe journey or an effective rescue, your brain, a probe and shovel. A beacon alone will just allow your rescuers to locate not extracate. The reasons you use them are to make sure you can be found in case of an emergency or find a victim of an avalanche whether a member of your party or not. It is like a rope, you have it because it is cheap life insurance and it will give closure to your loved ones in case a tragedy were to occur. 2 You learn about avalanches, safe travel techniques, rescue procedures, because these skills will help you make the right decision, not the range of an analog vs. digital, or your calculation of your income vs tranceiver price gouging. Most successful rescues occured because the people involved recognized the situation, and used the skills they practiced and were safe and efficient in pinpointing and extracting the victim, whether it was an avalung, a search dog or transceiver. The bottom line is respect your playground and playmates and play fair by learning as much as you can before you leave the parking lot.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Dan are you serious about the note deal?! C'mon! Matt, it sounds like you left it just for a few hours ? IS this true give more details... I left the rope for a day, as I was teaching a course preping my students for the North Ridge. I fixed the line in the daylight after descending Sahale with plans to return the following day. */31 was my first opportunity to post any message, Matt

I fixed a rope on Sharkfin Col on 8/6, hoping to avoid a 2am struggle and 4 foot moat on 8/7, but someone decided that it belonged to them and took the rope without checking with half a dozen parties around, the picket it was attached to and the additonal piece in the anchor. The Party responsible was seen climbing Sharkfin Tower and probably grabbed the gear on the way down. I was planning on taking that gear with me, so I am writing this message to A)give this individual a chance to rectify his or her alpine Karma and contact me and return the gear(The equipment belongs to American Alpine Institute and the rope is more than one season old) and B)just say that as alpine etiquette goes, stealing fixed gear with other parties in the area, reduces places like Boston Basin to another cragging ghetto, with car break-ins and bad behavior. This has been one of the sorriest days I have spent in the mountains and I hope those responsible do not end up statistics in Accidents in North American Mountaineering, Sincerely Matt [This message has been edited by Mattski (edited 09-01-2001).]

I want to clarify a few things about the S. Early Winters route that is murdering the impossible; 1. Washington Pass is neither in the National Park or the Paseyten Wilderness area 2. One route with bolts does not make W. Pass a Sport climbing ares, 3. Yosemite has plenty of fixed protection as well as bolts that are maintain ed and some are even approved and placed by Royal Robbins, 4. The route in question will not have bolts the entire way, there are a number of moderate crack pitches and the bolted pitches will go at hard 5.12 or 5.13 in a featureless section of the SE face. 5. Remember that climbing is a narcissistic, useless activity in the greater scheme of things so if honest, responsible people are out there,putting up a route on a unclimbed piece of rock, not manufacturing a route, but putting a few bolts, I suggest not raising your blood pressure, enjoy your beer and work on your own projects, cheers.

I was in Whistler on Wed & Thurs (12/12-13) and We climbed a one pitch WI 3 at Calchek, not the the correct spelling, campgrounds about 10 km south of Whistler, take the right turn beofre the the basalt bluffs and Mad River Rd. The Ice was thin but very climbable. We also climbed Entropy on the Sous Bluffs in thin conditions. We climbed it in two pitches, 1st in 60 meters, 2nd in 30-40 meters. take nothing longer than 17 cm screws. We drove up Rutherford Creek and looked at the Glimmer twins but nothing looked thick enough to support body weight. Cheers ------------------ Matt S.