from tire chains to crampons

[W]

oohhhh, man. Gator where are you when we need you?

actually that was me that the solo climber got pissed at- as he approached I said, "hi do you have a solo permit?" and he totally lost his shit with me and I had to shout at him to get him to mellow out. then he came down later and apologized when he got back to Muir and explained what had happened before meeting us. Funny guy- we became friends after that. I think he was Czech.that's right, Halling, now I hear you work as a cook for RMI at high camp, and wash the guide's undies down at Paradise.

[Sean_Halling]

Don't forget that I get to clean out the exclusive RMI-only latrine too. At least I get to hang-out with Mary and listen to her words of wisdom when she deems me worthy enough to bask in her presence. Sometimes on a good day..she lets me fit crampons on the clients before they move out on their summit attempt.

[W]

yeah well being the RMI turd-herder is more prestigious- those "indie" turds smell bad, unlike RMI turds.

[Sean_Halling]

I have a bad information story that goes something like this. One beautiful, cold, crisp clear morning I set out for a solo climb up the DC. Everything was as it should be in the world. I was moving along without a care in the world..feeling great. About half way up the cleaver I see about four groups up ahead of me with their headlamps piercing the darkness looking for the right direction to to head up. I hear someone yell," which way do we go?" Clear as a bell I hear a female voice yell back, "go right." I heard some people questioning this direction. The female voice asserts that she is with the NPS and knows which way to go. Now unfortunately if these groups would have gone to the right they would have found themselves tumbling down to the Emmons Glacier. I caught up to this suppossed-NPS climber who was dispensing this information. I am 100% sure that she was not a climbing ranger or even a NPS employee. She was probably one of those volunteer student intern types. Anyways I tell the lead group to go to the left and lead them on up to the top of the Cleaver. I continued on to complete a great climb marred only by the memory of this person who led people to believe she was a climbing ranger and was on the DC dispensing bad info. So if I have witnessed bad info being dispensed on the upper mountain...I can only imagine how much more bad info is handed out down below by more non-climbing ranger types.

[jhamaker]

>>>the $150 fee implemented for Mckinley/Denali climbers....but it sounds like they are using the $$$ to support climbers and cover lagitimate programs.<<<

I have yet to see any causual data. There have been less deaths, are there less Koreans? Do we need an (allouette) helecopter on permanant standby in May and June?

>>>The $15 fee at Rainier is also reasonable for Muir and Schurman to cover the cost of waste removal. But why do climbers on other routes have to pay this fee?<<<

Good question - I think they just want our money. I heard that waste removeal is done by the WA Nat'l Guard for free - as training.Remember when the fee was being touted as a rescue fee? Then the lawers for the NPS saw the liability issue. I say let the Mountains be. They have been there longer than we, remove the rangers and red tape, alow people to make their own decisions.

[jhamaker]

Conditions above muir?

Did Sean Sears make it up?

[Mike_Gauthier]

what the hell happened to this posts’???hey JRCO, i can see why that incident sticks in your mind. it would in mine too. i have a very bad taste for XXX, b/c of a bad run in. i’m sure W can recall. hey W, remember our day in port townsend?below is the accurate transcription of that phone call from ptarmigan ridge, this one is REAL folks, and sadly, its not that unusual. thankfully, we have so many great mountain rescuers in the pac NW. TMR, SMR, and OMR are a GREAT rescue resource for backcoutry travelers!mattp, I really enjoyed you meeting you at the slide show this fall. so i have to say, you’re a progressive guy, get over the bad information syndrome that’s plaguing you. especially something that happened to your friend 10 years ago. also keep in mind that many of people occassionally have suffered from bad information. anyway, NPS rangers aren’t the only ones who give inaccurate information in this world. we all take in crummy information from other sources?(like the media, corporations, etc?) hey “somebody,” who claims to be “nobody.” i’ve been apologizing a lot, but i’ll do it again, “sorry to hear you received some bad info about the kautz route years ago.” i feel that W addresses your point rather well so I wont expand, unless you have another query. i'd like to correct a few things however. first and foremost, rmi does NOT have an exclusive toilet... they did in the past, but don't anymore. anyway, leave rmi out of this. W said one thing that was GREAT in my opinion, “You would think that someone even thinking of attempting Ptarmigan wouldn't have to ask any questions about it, much less call from the foot of the freaking route to ask how HARD it is!!?! Argh! you see what I mean?” this implies that we get a lot of specific questions about really technical routes. we like to share this info, (if we have it), but sometimes you want to ask, “if you’re going to climb that hard route, why are you asking us for such specific directions?” this reminds me of the earlier posts about people who want to hear anything from the ranger, as long as it’s good! many people inquire about hard routes in the ranger station, but sometimes i wonder if they’re doing this to impress the folks who are with them. kind of like name dropping. would you agree W, Sean? about soloing. again, W sums it up well, except for ONE MAJOR POINT. climbing rangers should NOT be soloing while working. personally, i’ve stopped. we did this in the past, but we don’t anymore. the major reason being this, it’s NOT a good example to be set. rainier attracts so many aspiring climbers, it’s important that the NPS rangers set a good example, ESPECIALLY regarding safety. i’d like to add that we also like to wear helmets! especially on the DC.if you really want, let’s take the “climbing fee questions” to anther thread? the national guard does NOT remove climbers waste for free. as for sears, i hope to see him around longmire soon, hopefully he made the summit. and hopefully (he or his partner ryan), will post something about. hey marek, did you climb? any report? lastly, and I suppose this goes out to everyone, if you have something to say about the federal government, put it in WRITING! believe it or not, your agencies DO listen! if you have a better way of doing things, by all means, let the government know! don’t just bitch, get involved! it’s damn easy to criticize, but much harder to actually mend complex issues. one warning though, be prepared to compromise. there WILL be others’ who have equally as fervent of opinions, however they will be from the “other side.” as sean halling cynically points out, mary knows what’s best for everyone on the mountain. and as mary always says, “carry your tire chains while visiting rainier in the winter. and don’t camp at, camp hazard.”Transcript: Message Received at Paradise Old Station 7/1/99 at 2:17 PM

Cell Phone Connection: “Hi There! We’re the Jadow… Jadow (sp?) party….[then says to his companion: “that right?” ] ….calling from 10,300 feet on Ptarmigan Ridge. We’re a party of six…we had some concerns …about the…when we get to… We’re looking at doing the 1934 variation, going…ah… towards the…uh… Mowich Icefall Route, coming out of the exit gully…uh, the rock exit gully. I was wondering if you could call us back. These are our questions: …as we’re coming along the top, traversing towards the rock exit gully…how steep is that? And then when we get to the rock exit gully, does anybody there know what it like? The length, the…the class of it? Whether its like…uh…easy class five and then what have we got at the top? Is there a place for belays, snow or ice belays? So you can give us a call at 604…that’s area code…604-603-7490. Its approximately 2:19…um… in the afternoon. Thank you very much, hopefully you can get back to us straightaway.”

[AlpineK]

[ 02-13-2002: Message edited by: AlpineK ]

[AllYouCanEat]

The rangers I've met up at high camp have always been rad. You guys have a hard job. I've always received good info from rangers (those that climb). The two rangers who climbed ptarmigan ridge last year, gave us some great beta and a ride up to the parking lot. And W, the women, by the way, we met up at Little T, was about 4 or 5 yrs ago. She wasn't a climber, that's for sure.

[Duchess]

"I continued on to complete a great climb marred only by the memory of this person who led people to believe she was a climbing ranger and was on the DC dispensing bad info."

bitterness causes indigestion, sean

[ 02-14-2002: Message edited by: Duchess ]

[mattp]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Gauthier:

get over the bad information syndrome that’s plaguing you.

---

You're right Mike. But the trauma of these past horrors plagues me still. The idea that my own government would lie to me... it's just too terrible to imagine! And the idea that rangers are people too, who might get tired of answering the telephone and don't want me grilling them when I call at 4:30 pm on Friday, just how do you suggest I should cope with this?

Its getting better all the time. As I noted earlier in this thread, I find more and more rangers who actually seem to believe it is part of their job to give accurate information to guys like me, and as I have become involved in some trail projects and other access issues I have met some land management types who are really working hard to preserve our recreational lands while promoting public access.

But I just can't seem to let go. Do I need therapy?

[Dru]

I just looked up 604-603-7490 on the mybc.com people finder and its an unlisted number.

[chucK]

Hey Mike! Thanks for all the good posts.

So did you guys call those Ptarmigan Ridge guys back or not?

[W]

maybe they were getting too many beta phone calls from the rangers at Rainier and had to block their number.

[W]

Chuck,

No we didn't- in fact, if the truth be told- Nick, Aaron, and I came into the ranger station and Sean Halling was there and he says "you guys gotta dial in to our voice mail and listen to this message...i just wanted you guys to hear it before I erase it". I guess that makes us bad, bad, bad.

[W]

actually we might have tried to call, but no one answered, because by the time Sean got the message it had been over an hour since they called. But if one of us did call them I am thinking it was more out of amusement. but the above conversation is accurate...