Jump to content

West Ridge of Stuart


Jarred_Jackman

Recommended Posts

quote:

Originally posted by chucK:

Right you are Captain!!!!

 

and
ALWAYS
bring...

 

a compass

flashlight/headlamp,

extra food,

extra clothes,

sunglasses,

first-aid kit,

pocket knife,

waterproof matches,

and firestarter.

You know, for years I have carried this little black bag with the 10 essntials around on just about every climb (other than cragging) i have done. I think it comes from boy scout training..."Be prepared" and all that...It allways seems like a good idea to bring it, just in case, yet over the years I have hardly ever usd any of it. Lately I've been considering that it's just dead weight...

 

Then the unthinkable happened, Chrysten and I head up to the Canadian Rockies, and somewhere up on the Trans-Canada highway I realized that I forgot my precious little bag of "essentials" on the floor. Oh shit! What could I do? How could I climb a peak without it...?

 

Well, we bought a BD Ion lamp so we wouldn't have to fight over who gets to use the light, and I never even thought about all the rest of the "junk."

 

Now I am caught in a deliema, is that stuff really essential, or is it just a false sequrity blanket that helps slow you down and make your shoulders sore???? What do yall think.

 

[ 10-02-2002, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: Lambone ]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 46
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

bone,

 

kinda agree with you on that...

 

but i read that list and think to myself that i bring most of those items regardless...

 

and firestarter....dumb..there are a few things that will burn in the woods wet or dry..

 

the list is outdated in my mind.

 

erik

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a compass Only if I am in uknown terrain. Sometimes not even then!

flashlight/headlamp Only if it is an overnight trip or reallllly long day climb.

extra food I got weed

extra clothes I often forget that

sunglasses Only if stoned and dont want cops bothering me

first-aid kit mine is full of green plants

pocket knife for cutting belays when partners piss me off

waterproof matches People really use these [big Grin]

and firestarter see above [Wazzup]

 

[ 10-02-2002, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: Cpt.Caveman ]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah, my bag doesnt have any flint or steel wool... [big Grin]

 

on one trip up there we left the first aid kit behind, just bringing an ace bandag and some tape. Of course, since we did that, C slipped on some talus and cut her hand up real bad...we had nothing to clean it out or patch it up with...damned if you do, damned if you don't [Roll Eyes]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to bring things back on track-there is indeed a sign for "Longs Pass" at the junction with the ingalls creek trail. Not sure how new it is, but it's interesting that the FS signs a trail that isn't on a map and isn't maintained. Maybe I should buy a Trail Park Pass now . . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How were the mtn conditions lammy [Confused]

 

Just curious as I am a newbie to that range and couldn't figger out what the weather was going to do day to day. Probably could have done more myself but one of my partners was a weasel and the rest of us did not get along with him as well. At least we did some things though. There is a ton of rock climbing there and we met a bunch of cool people though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

huh? you been to Stuart before...whatcha talkin about willis? I'ts probly pretty chilly and on the verge of raining, or snowing. The ice cliff glacier was rumbling all day two weeks ago.

 

If you're serious then please be more specific...otherwise buger off mate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh, hehe...I knew that! it was my first time to the range.

 

um, well we returned on the 23rd, so I'm not sure what it has done since then. But here is what we saw.

 

The weather was great for the first two days we were there while we were figureing out what we were going to do. Then as soon as we started climbing it be came unsettled. Rain showers below 8,000ft, and snow flurries above. Plus it was really windy up above tree line, on exposed ridges and stuff. Nasty enough that we decided that the summit wasn't worth the suffering. It was nice down on the glaciers though.

 

Two weeks before we arived a big system moved in and put down up to 5ft of snow in some high places like Abbots pass hut. Then it was sunny and warm for a week, things settled out and melted quite a bit. The glaciers were mostly dry with some windblown pockets of snow. They were either blue ice, or firm snow crust. We didn't feel that it was nessecary to have avy gear as we didn't see any sign of recent slides.

 

The trees were turning color, the huts were empty...and it was really nice, just a bit cold. I'd head back again in mid-september. The rock routes loked steller...next time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey Heinrich, notice how none of these yappers picked up on you heading back to topic. just more coffee shop shit chat. you read the heading for the post and inevitably have to sift through all the spray and chat to distill the essence of the topic. i realize i strayed/sprayed from the topic too, but i have a point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:

Originally posted by Lambone:

oh, hehe...I knew that! it was my first time to the range.

 

um, well we returned on the 23rd, so I'm not sure what it has done since then. But here is what we saw.

 

The weather was great for the first two days we were there while we were figureing out what we were going to do. Then as soon as we started climbing it be came unsettled. Rain showers below 8,000ft, and snow flurries above. Plus it was really windy up above tree line, on exposed ridges and stuff. Nasty enough that we decided that the summit wasn't worth the suffering. It was nice down on the glaciers though.

 

Two weeks before we arived a big system moved in and put down up to 5ft of snow in some high places like Abbots pass hut. Then it was sunny and warm for a week, things settled out and melted quite a bit. The glaciers were mostly dry with some windblown pockets of snow. They were either blue ice, or firm snow crust. We didn't feel that it was nessecary to have avy gear as we didn't see any sign of recent slides.

 

The trees were turning color, the huts were empty...and it was really nice, just a bit cold. I'd head back again in mid-september. The rock routes loked steller...next time.

Werd up man that is the info I was lookin fer [big Grin]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a funny compass story. We headed in to Liberty Ridge from Sunrise once, traversing over Burroughs to St Elmo Pass, then hang a right and make for Curtis ridge. Being lazy, I'm fond of starting at as high an elevation as you can. We started late late in the afternoon, took a break at the great stone bench on second burroughs, and spent the night at St Elmo's. Well, naturally, it started to storm that night, so we decided to bail, but come back in about a week. Did I mention that I'm lazy? We stashed almost all of our gear, and started back through the near white out with just the map and a little water. Somehow we got off track, everything looks the same in a whiteout, and kept consulting the map, trying to make what we could see fit the topo lines. After a few rounds of "I think we're here" (point on the map) "No, I think we're here" (point on the map) we managed to reduce the entire area we were at into messy blur on the soggy map. The compass, well, we left that stashed with the gear. Eventually we headed down a snowslope, convinced we were on track to intersect some trail towards Glacier Basin, when it cleared just enough to provide a dim glowing spot where the sun was... behind us? We were happily heading in the wrong direction, making for the end of the Winthrop glacier. [Roll Eyes] And we thought we had it covered because we had a map. Needless to say, we got back late to the car (borrowed yellow camaro with green metaflake steering wheel) famished (no extra food) and cold (no extra clothes), and had to open up the can of tuna left in the car with the lug wrench. So, do I carry all that stuff now? Well, not really....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I brought all of that stuff along on longer climbs for a long time and never used any of it - until this season. I've had a couple of mini-epics this year and have actually had to dig into this stuff once or twice:

 

On grade III or longer climbs, or those with a really long approach, I pack along:

 

Knife

Extra webbing

Two Tiblocs, prusik, small pulley

Tikka

Windbreaker

Hat

Thermal top

A bit of extra food (just enough to fend off starvation overnight)

Lighter&Firestarter

Space blanket bivy

Shades

Map&Compass if I don't know the way...

 

Not sure what it all weighs - but I hardly notice it in the pack and all of the non-climbing stuff take up about an inch in the bottom of a bullet pack. Sure is nice to have when the time comes...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...