Pinecone Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 I heard this is one of the hardest routes in North America, and thought that it can only be done in five or more days. Quote
ashw_justin Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 it was surprising that no one raised any issues with the idea of leaving one's partner People take extra risks to do extra-ordinary things. That's a partner selection issue. Sounds like one of the guys picked a partner that he didn't feel that he had to take care of, and the other picked a partner that would show him some crazy shit. Pick your partners to balance your personal security vs. ambition. You get what your intent pays for. Skykilo et al. for example is one of those high-risk high-payoff investments. Quote
scottk Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Contratulations to both Sky and Casey for this incredible acomplishment. Am I correct in assuming that this is the first ski of Liberty Ridge? It has been inspiring to watch Sky and others push back the frontiers of ski mountaineering in the Washington Cascades during the last few years. And thank you for sharing the experience with us through your stories and pictures. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Its been skiied a handful of times, atleast that have been reported. In May of 1980, Chris Landry was the first to ski it. However, he was 11 days on the mountain total. Sky and Casey definitly crushed the shit out of it though. Quote
Alex Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Am I correct in assuming that this is the first ski of Liberty Ridge? No, its been skiied at times in the last 30 years. Lowell has the first decent as 1980 May 12 Chris Landry Liberty Ridge Ski descent Quote
AllYouCanEat Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 (edited) Landry may have took 9 days, but don't doubt that it may not take as many as 9 day trips before you get good enough conditions to summit and ski. Landry came from out of state and skied a line that kicks ass in a style that says, "I'm here to do it, and I'm gonna do what it takes." While sky wakes up in the morning, looks at the mountain and says, "God damn, I'm gonna ski that bitch today!" Liberty was also teled in 83. Edited May 2, 2006 by AllYouCanEat Quote
jmace Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 I think David Persson holds the record for fastest descent. Also due to an icy patch Quote
G-spotter Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Yeah and he had yo yo skiied two laps on the north face of Shuksan just a few weeks before Quote
Gary_Yngve Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 (edited) Wow...now that's a TR. While everyone is praising the achievement, it was surprising that no one raised any issues with the idea of leaving one's partner where you did. While a great skier, it didn't sound like his climbing skills were as good as yours... what if you didn't return and he had to downclimb himself. Now he's at risk as well. Also, 12K in one day is a HUGE risk for altitude illness. Suppose you had returned and he was unconcious with HACE or hacking up frothy sputum and in HAPE. All seem like reasonable things to take into consideration... As I understand it, someone going up to 12k will likely feel the lesser symptoms of AMS, but: HACE rarely develops below 12k, and HAPE generally requires at least 24-48 hours before onset. Edited May 2, 2006 by Gary_Yngve Quote
Mike_Gauthier Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 I think David Persson holds the record for fastest descent. Also due to an icy patch He soloed the route, then skied it back to Thumb(He skied the bergshrund and the Black Pyramind) on telegear. Sadly, on his SECOND run, he missed a turn on the Black Pyramid section. Quote
G-spotter Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Well, it was a simulsolo... Robin McK was there as well. The events surrounding the fall are not that much different than in Sky's TR except that Sky didn't fall on the icy patch (and DP was on teles). Quote
mattp Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 These regional forums are for posting trip reports and discussing climbs and the like. If you want to make jokes about someone's death or fight a flame war, please take it to Spray. Quote
Norman_Clyde Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Wow...now that's a TR. While everyone is praising the achievement, it was surprising that no one raised any issues with the idea of leaving one's partner where you did. While a great skier, it didn't sound like his climbing skills were as good as yours... what if you didn't return and he had to downclimb himself. Now he's at risk as well. Also, 12K in one day is a HUGE risk for altitude illness. Suppose you had returned and he was unconcious with HACE or hacking up frothy sputum and in HAPE. All seem like reasonable things to take into consideration... As I understand it, someone going up to 12k will likely feel the lesser symptoms of AMS, but: HACE rarely develops below 12k, and HAPE generally requires at least 24-48 hours before onset. Correct. Sky and Casey were probably not above 10K elevation for more than 5 or 6 hours. For someone to get HAPE that fast is almost unheard of. It usually takes at least one night. Indeed, Maybe safety at altitude was one reason for climbing in a 24 hour push. As they descended they were probably thinking, "Thank God our HAPE risk is diminishing!" Quote
Mike_Gauthier Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 He soloed the first run, but yes, simo-solo the second... And yes, his partner down climbed what David fell on... I didn't know DAvid, but he seemed very, very fit. Quote
Mike_Gauthier Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 These regional forums are for posting trip reports and discussing climbs and the like. If you want to make jokes about someone's death or fight a flame war, please take it to Spray. Yeah! Quote
jmace Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 Thats too bad you deleted Dru's repy it had some good information in it, I have never heard the whole story before. Maybe you could take out his tiny reply to you so Mike can post his thoughts..Or if you dont beleive that we should discuss route history in TR reports maybe you could create another link..any ways I thought it was a good post Quote
mattp Posted May 2, 2006 Posted May 2, 2006 It was a fine post -- and he's welcome to repost it without the jab. Quote
iluka Posted May 3, 2006 Posted May 3, 2006 (edited) Wow...now that's a TR. While everyone is praising the achievement, it was surprising that no one raised any issues with the idea of leaving one's partner where you did. While a great skier, it didn't sound like his climbing skills were as good as yours... what if you didn't return and he had to downclimb himself. Now he's at risk as well. Also, 12K in one day is a HUGE risk for altitude illness. Suppose you had returned and he was unconcious with HACE or hacking up frothy sputum and in HAPE. All seem like reasonable things to take into consideration... As I understand it, someone going up to 12k will likely feel the lesser symptoms of AMS, but: HACE rarely develops below 12k, and HAPE generally requires at least 24-48 hours before onset. Correct. Sky and Casey were probably not above 10K elevation for more than 5 or 6 hours. For someone to get HAPE that fast is almost unheard of. It usually takes at least one night. Indeed, Maybe safety at altitude was one reason for climbing in a 24 hour push. As they descended they were probably thinking, "Thank God our HAPE risk is diminishing!" The point about getting up and down is a good one... it definitely diminishes the risk. You are also right about the timing of these things... HAPE usually starts within 2-5 days of ascending. What's a bit different here is the amount of physical exertion associated with the climbing and heavy exertion is a risk factor for HAPE. HAPE has also been seen as low as 8,000 feet and according to one study maybe even lower. There also case in the Rockies where east coasters fly out in the morning and hit the chair to the top of the resorts in the afternoon and get in trouble. You're right... less likely. Not unheard of. As for HACE, it typically is not seen until above 13K but that's not a hard and fast rule and I have heard of deaths from HACE at around 12K. I've also been involved with some chamber studies on high altitude physiology in which we had people at elevations of 11-12K and within 4 hours, a few of them had severe AMS that quickly could have proceeded to HACE if we hadn't taken them out. A lot of this is anecdotal, of course, not a lot of good data on any of it. In the end, it boils down to someone's individual susceptibility and what works for some will not work for others as the response to altitude varies a lot between individuals. The key is to know what one's tolerance is... and clearly Sky knows his. Edited May 3, 2006 by iluka Quote
Lowell_Skoog Posted May 3, 2006 Posted May 3, 2006 Am I correct in assuming that this is the first ski of Liberty Ridge? Skiers who seek first descents generally play by a rule that says you need to ski the entire route, if it is potentially skiable. So this descent would be classified as a "partial." Quote
Fairweather Posted May 3, 2006 Posted May 3, 2006 Wow. I'm in CC.com rehab and am only posting when something here gets my heartrate up.... Your picture is the best ever posted on this website. I don't know if you're the photographer or the subject, but that pic belongs on the cover of Couloir or Outside or...The New York Times! Absolutely breathtaking. Quote
dbb Posted May 3, 2006 Posted May 3, 2006 psssssh, Sky looks like he's about to pull a stem christi in the picture and his pants CLEARLY do not match the rest of his outfit... err, I mean way to go Sky! Quote
ken4ord Posted May 3, 2006 Posted May 3, 2006 Hell yeah Sky and Casey! Damn Sky everytime I read your posts makes me miss the PNW. Nicely done. Quote
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