Mt. Rainier Kautz Glacier Climb

I am way behind on posting photos from the trips I have done lately on my blog, so hopefully I will have a bunch of posts both here on the AAI blog as well as on my own in the next week or so. I will start with my latest trip since it has the fewest photos to sort through.

A Mt. Rainier greeting agent. Much more friendly than the Rangers. Actually the rangers were great!


Here is a panorama from our camp. Mt. St. Helens in the distance.
Crossing the Nisqualy Glacier.

Justin, Kate, and Liz.

Another guide services camp below us.

Scott near the summit.

Scott at the summit.

Liz with about ten steps to go.

Fist Bump!

The rappel down the Kautz Ice Chute.

Kate back at camp.

Heading out in less than perfect weather.

A panorama of the entire Muir Snowfield.

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 7/29/10

Northwest:

--A climber was killed Tuesday on Mount Rainier when he slid into a crevasse high on the Emmons Glacier. Lee F. Adams, 52, was descending from the summit with three other climbers when the last person on the rope tripped and fell, according to a Mount Rainier National Park news release. The four were swept off their feet and, after unsuccessfully trying to stop their fall, they slid into a crevasse at 13,000 feet. To read more, click here.

--A Bothell woman died Sunday after she fell 800 feet from Mount Baring, near Stevens Pass, and her parachute failed to open. Rick Hawkins, a spokesman with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, said the 32-year-old woman was climbing with her husband about noon Sunday when she jumped off the mountain ahead of him. To read more, click here.

--AAI guide Lyle Haugsven had an eventful weekend. On Friday he road his bike 113 miles from Seattle to Paradise on Mount Rainier. On Saturday, he climbed from Paradise to the summit of Mount Rainier and back. And then on Sunday, he road his bike another 113 miles back to Seattle! On his facebook page, he called it Type II fun, that is something that seems really fun when it's done and over with...

--Canadian super-climber Sonnie Trotter, has taken a step back from high end 5.13 and 5.14 climbs to create what will likely become the most well-trodden route on the Stawamus Chief. The Squamish Butt Face is a three pitch 5.9 variation away from the normal Squamish Buttress route. To read more, click here.

The Flagship REI Store in Seattle
Photo from Wikipedia

--The most creative companies in the world understand that design is about creating experiences that consumers crave. In a new book, "Design Is How It Works: How Smart Companies Turn Products Into Icons," former Seattle Times and BusinessWeek reporter Jay Greene explains how several companies, including Kent-based REI, use design to address needs consumers never knew they had. To read about how REI has used design to get you into their store, click here.

--It’s not something you see much on YouTube… at least, not yet. A Camas, Wash., man found guilty last May of illegal off-roading on Washington State trust land, was sentenced to go on the video sharing site YouTube and apologize for damage he caused driving his Chevy 4X4 around a locked gate in Yacolt Burn State Forest. Clark County District Court Judge James Swanger gave Rickey Sharratt, age 28 at the time, a choice between 40 hours of community service on a labor crew or going on YouTube to describe his offense and the damage it caused. Sharratt chose YouTube. To read the rest of the article and to see Sharratt's video, please click here.

--An Arizona man who was rescued on Mount Hood over the weekend is in fair condition. Lucio Barajas, who apparently suffered a broken leg on Saturday, is being treated at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. To read more, click here.

--A California family of three became stranded hiking near the summit of South Sister and called for help Friday evening, triggering a successful all-night rescue operation involving nearly three-dozen volunteers and deputies.Deschutes County 911 got a call around 6 p.m. Friday seeking help for three stranded hikers on the South Sister, just below Prouty Glacier, said Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Coordinator Sgt. Scott Shelton. To read more, click here.

--It appears that a fixed line and draws left by an individual working a project at the Skagit County Crag were stolen this week. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

The Moon over Half Dome
Photo by Ansel Adams

--Rick Norsigian's hobby of picking through piles of unwanted items at garage sales in search of antiques has paid off for the Fresno, California, painter. Two small boxes he bought 10 years ago for $45 -- negotiated down from $70 -- are now estimated to be worth at least $200 million, according to a Beverly Hills art appraiser. Those boxes contained 65 glass negatives created by famed nature photographer Ansel Adams in the early period of his career. Experts believed the negatives were destroyed in a 1937 darkroom fire that destroyed 5,000 plates. To read more, click here.

--On Friday, July 16th, rangers destroyed a marijuana plantation in the park containing 8,125 plants worth an estimated $32.5 million. In the near future, trash, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and other hazardous materials will be removed from the site. The plot, located near an area where a large number of marijuana plants were removed on July 1st, is believed to have been planted by people with ties to a Mexican drug trafficking organization. No arrests have been made yet. An investigation is ongoing. To read more, click here.

--A wildfire is burning in the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area of the Inyo National Forest. It is burning in between US 395 and the north end of the Mono Craters, south of Highway 120 East. Highway 120 East is currently closed, as are Test Station Road, the day use areas at South Tufa and Navy Beach on the shores of Mono Lake. The fire is currently 1000 acres. The cause of the fire is under investigation. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The body of a missing 17-year-old Boy Scout was found in Zion National Park on Thursday, a day after he was reported missing from a backpacking Scout group. The 12 hikers noticed Corey Buxton, of Las Vegas, was not with the group about 1 p.m. Wednesday, when they were near the Hop Valley trailhead on Kolob Terrace Road, said Ron Terry, park spokesman. To read more, click here.

--Zion National Park officials say three men who were swept away by a flash flood in a canyon were washed over a 40-foot drop and survived. Two of the three men also went over another 60-foot plunge as the water rushed through Spry Canyon on Saturday in the Utah park. To read more, click here.

--After much rigorous planning, training and implementation, the park launched its short-haul program with two missions on two consecutive days last week. On Friday, a 61-year-old man from Salt Lake City suffered an angulated ankle fracture while in the upper reaches of the Left Fork of North Creek, an area popularly known as “The Subway.” He was short-hauled out, transferred to an ambulance, and taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, with ranger/paramedic Rob Wissinger as his attendant during the operation. The second incident is also described in the previous abstract. To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--Not many people visit the remote Garhwal region of the Indian Himalaya, but this Spring two Portuguese climbers, Raulo Roxo and Daniela Teixeira, made the journey to the region. They climbed new lines on Parvati Parvat (20,528') and Ekdant (20,013') as well as establishing the first ascent of an unmapped peak that they called Kartik (16,781'). To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

The Tetons

--On Wednesday, July 21st, lightning struck on the Grand in Grand Teton National Park, hitting seventeen people and killing one of them. The day after the strike, rangers recovered the body of a 21-year-old Iowa climber who was knocked off the 13,770-foot-high Grand Teton during a lightning storm. Park officials identified the victim as Brandon Oldenkamp, 21, of Sanborn, Iowa. Oldenkamp was in a climbing harness, tied to a rope and on belay when the lightning struck, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said. His friends watched him disappear at a feature known as the Belly Roll on the Owen-Spalding route. To read more, click here and here and here.

--One climber has died and two others are injured after being struck by falling rocks in the southwest Colorado mountains. San Miguel County authorities say 59-year-old Peter Topp of Colorado Springs died Monday before two helicopters could reach the climbers. He was one of five people traversing the ridge between Mount Wilson and El Diente in Dolores County. To read more, click here.

--Crews rescued a woman who suffered serious injuries in a fall while climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday. The woman, thought to be in her early 20s, was about 30 feet up Beckey’s Wall when she fell at about 12:30 p.m., said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Mecham. To read more, click here.

--Claws had been removed in the latest illegal killing of a grizzly bear in northwest Montana that's under investigation by state and federal wildlife law enforcement. "We are concerned about the claws entering the commercial market," said Kqyn Kuka, a Conrad-based game warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. To read more, click here.

--At least one bear rampaged through a campground Wednesday near Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the night, killing one person and injuring two others during a terrifying attack that forced people to hide in their cars as the animal tore through tents. Three separate attacks left a male dead and a female and another male injured at the Soda Butte campground. The female suffered severe lacerations from bites on her arms, and the surviving male was bitten on his calf. Both were hospitalized in Cody, Wyoming. To read more, click here.

--There are a number of plans that have been proposed for the extension of the Appalachian Trail across international boarders. Extending the trail into Canada makes a lot of sense, but what about extending it along it's ancient historic geographical line through Europe and Africa? That's what one group is currently proposing. To read more, click here.

--Last week the Public Lands Service Corps Act (HR 1612) was passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This important piece of legislation, which already has passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 20, 2010, would dramatically expand opportunities for young people to serve on public lands through conservation corps’ programs. To read more, click here.

--Kelly Cordes writes a great article -- after an injury of course -- about why you should wear your helmet! To read it, click here.

Conditions Report - July 28, 2010

NORTHWEST:

Photo Credit Andrew Yasso.

--The lower Coleman icefall is free of snow and the seracs are growing. Check out this solo Baker trip report.

-- Anacortes Parks and Recreation (Mt. Erie) reports: It looks like the peregrines on Mt. Erie have successfully raised their three chicks this year. The chicks have fledged recently and been seen (heard) hunting with the parents in other areas. We will lift the voluntary closure on July 31st.

-- The Forest Service is closing Mountain Loop Highway (Forest Service road 20) to traffic through August at various locations to install culverts. Construction will close the road 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

Aug. 2-3 at milepost 39.5.
Aug. 4-5 at milepost 37.8, 42.5, and 34.7.
Aug. 9-10 at milepost 35.2-36.85.
Aug. 11-12 at milepost 38.6.
Aug. 16-17 at milepost 39.7.
Aug. 18-19 at milepost 40.4.
Aug. 23-26 at milepost 38.25 - 38.00.
Aug. 30-Sept 1 at milepost 39.00.

-- A couple Mt. Adams reports can be found here and here. For the most part, stellar conditions.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Sno-Park permits are available for purchase in Washington State. To purchase a permit and/or read more about them click here.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.-- Route and Conditions Report from Mt. Baker Rangers: Mount Baker Climbing Blog.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.

ALASKA RANGE:

-- For the most current updates on Alaska, please see our Dispatch Blog.

--Forecast for Denali.

SIERRA:

--Check out this Cathedral Peak trip report. They escaped from thunderstorms and just about dogged all the rain....

-- A Tioga road plowing report can be found here.

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass.


ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

RED ROCK CANYON:

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

JOSHUA TREE:

-- Some campgrounds will close for the summer season. See here for more info.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

Jetboil vs. Whisperlite

For a very very long time, guides used MSR Whisperlites with near exclusivity. Why? Primarily because these stoves provided two large advantages:

1. They're easy to fix in the field. No matter how gummed up the stove is, it's possible to get it to work.
2. It's easy to check the level of fuel in the fuel bottle.

MSR Whisperlite

There are some disadvantages to a Whisperlite to:

1. Eventually they need to be cleaned and worked on at nearly every meal.
2. There are multiple parts that could potentially get lost.
3. If they are not running properly they will burn a lot more fuel.
4. Unless you have a platform for the Whisperlite, it will sink into the snow when it gets hot.
5. It doesn't necessarily boil water quickly.

These disadvantages brought most guides to a point where they became quite interested in alternatives. The first real alternative to make waves was the Jetboil. I remember my first encounter with this product...suprisingly, I wasn't impressed.

It took me a little while to warm up to this new system. I really liked the way that the whole system could be packed into the mug-shaped pot. It seemed convinent. But initially I wasn't impressed by the lack of a windscreen, the need for canister fuel, or the need to keep the canister off the snow in order to make it work well.

Jetboil Personal Cooking System

It was working with a guide who used the Jetboil constantly that turned me. He would climb an ice route and hang it at the top of a pitch, throw some ice chips in there and then have tea before continuing to climb. He was easily able to carry the stove around while it cooked food or boiled water...and speaking of boiling water, it was really fast. He could cook in the tent (not the vestibule) with the door open to vent fumes. And the pot itself was designed to double as a mug.

I became a big fan of the Jetboil shortly thereafter. I haven't gone back to the MSR Whisperlite simply because I have far too many bad memories of trying to get my stove to work in the cold or, honestly, trying to get it to work at all.

MSR Reactor

In all fairness, MSR has come out with its own answer to the Jetboil. Though I haven't used one yet, the MSR Reactor is considered to be a comparable product. Some say it's better. But I'm a bit stubborn. It takes a lot to get me to change. I will probably have to see a guide do something cooler with the Reactor than to simply hang it at the top of an ice pitch before I try it. I'll probably have to see it carry my pack or something.

Like I said, I'm a bit stubborn...

--Jason D. Martin

The Worst Climbing Movies Ever

For a non-climber, climbing is a foreign thing. All of the participants are adrenaline junkies looking for their next fix. This perception in conjunction with a serious lack of knowledge about climbing culture have come together over the years to provide us with some very bad climbing films.

You might think that there is little to no value in a poorly executed climbing film, but you would be horribly wrong. The value in these films is wholly unintentional. Most people can suspend their disbelief under certain circumstances. If there is something unrealistic here or there, we usually choose to ignore it. But in some films, it is utterly impossible to ignore the problems. They get it so wrong, yet play it so straight, that the films actually become quite comic.

The worst offenders take poor plot-lines, poor dialogue and incredibly ludicrous climbing scenarios and successfully -- though unintentionally -- weave them into a cinematic mess that is so unbelievable they seem surreal. Three films stand out as the worst of the worst. And indeed it is because these are the worst offenders that they are so fun to watch.

Cliffhanger (1993)

Synopsis: A high end climber and search and rescue expert -- who lost a friend in a tragic, but totally avoidable, climbing accident -- is forced to assist a group of gun-wielding thieves in their quest to find boxes of money scattered throughout the Rocky Mountains. Oh yeah, as this is a Sylvester Stallone movie, he does this mostly in the snow wearing a t-shirt. And sometimes he's even topless...

Cardboard characters, racial and ethnic stereotypes, and a script that is so unrealistic that there isn't a moment of the film where one doesn't laugh at the stupidity of the characters are all components of the vast majority of the Stallone films. This one certainly does not stand out as being different or of a higher quality.

Cliffhanger does have a few didactic moments for climbers. We learn that it is really not a good idea to shoot a machine gun at the cornice that you're standing beneath. We learn that we should be terrified if the stuffed animal in our backpack falls. And of course we learn that you shouldn't mess around with Rambo.

Suprisingly, the original storyline of this film was based on a true story. Climbing author, John Long, gets story credit for the film. In 1977, a plane filled with marijuana crashed in the Lower Merced Lake in Yosemite National Park. At the time it was winter and the lake was difficult to get to. Long lived in Yosemite when this happened and watched the incident unfold. It is likely that his original story pitch represented this true story, but was warped by Hollywood into a Sly Stallone vehicle which really is too bad.

Vertical Limit (2000)

Synopsis: A high end climber and photographer -- who lost his dad in a tragic, but totally avoidable, climbing accident -- must rescue his sister from a crevasse as well as from a crazed climber. Oh yeah, and he's supposed to do it with bottles of nitroglycerin. On K2.

A great deal has been said about this film in the climbing community. Indeed, it may be possible that this was the most talked about "bad" climbing film of all time. Why? It's just way over the top.

In the opening scene, somehow all kinds of cams and pins rip out of a desert tower leading to an incredibly unrealistic accident. Somehow they mixed up the party scene in Joshua Tree National Park with base camp on K2. And somehow, they thought that a mountain climbing rescue drama needed a few things to spice it up. It needed a villainous character who murders people high on the mountain. It needed characters wandering around on the glacier with full racks of shiny cams with no rock climbing in sight. And clearly to make any climbing movie realistic, you need to have unstable nitroglycerin.

A lot of people like to talk about leading man, Chris O'Donnell, and his radical running leap over a chasm high on K2. My question is, have you ever run in crampons? Have you ever run at altitude? Were that me, I would have probably tripped over my crampons while hyperventilating, thus falling down to the bottom of the bottomless chasm.

I know that I'm not the only one who noticed another problem with O'Donnell's portrayal of a world-class climber. Every time he talks to his sister (Robin Tunney) throughout the film it looks like he's trying to seduce her. It appears that O'Donnell only knows how to play one thing while working with a female counterpart on screen and in light of these two character's relationship, it's a little bit icky.

Vertical Limit was way over the top. Every scene was an excercise in excess. And every beat of the story seemed more unrealistic than the previous. It's likely that this was -- to some extent -- intentional. Film-makers often build action with sequences that are more and more dramatic throughout a movie. In Vertical Limit, this one-upmanship did not lead to an edge of your seat movie experience. Instead, it lead straight to serious unintentional comedy.

Take it to the Limit (2000)

Synopsis: A bad boy from the city -- who was in a tragic, but totally avoidable accident with a stolen car -- hangs out with a bunch of inept climbers who appear to have near-terminal cases of ADHD. Oh yeah, he does this to pick up a girl.


Famous B movie producer Roger Corman was behind this strange adventure. And ironically, even though it is a B movie, this film probably has the best script of the three. The problem is that with little to no knowledge of climbing culture or climbing itself, an okay script turns into an exercise in the ludicrous.

There are a few scenes that stick out as being over the top. There's the time when the hero and his girlfriend get stuck on a cliff approximately a hundred feet up a third class pitch with no way to get down. Then there's the time when they go "climbing" on a water tower; only to leave the hero stuck on top because he doesn't have climbing shoes. And then there's the time that they go toproping, but they give each other so many high fives when it's suggested that you literally wonder what they were smoking.

Perhaps the best part of the entire film is the rap. A rap, you say? Yes, a rap. Every time they go climbing the rap starts. It goes something like this:

• Take it to the limit, the limit, the limit
• Take it to the limit, the limit, the limit
• Take it to the limit, the limit, the limit
  

By no stretch of the imagination is this a difficult rap. No, it probably took about ten minutes to write. But if one thing is for sure, once you see Take it to the Limit, you won't be able to get the words Take it to the Limit, out of your head...

Ironically, outside the climbing world, these three movies no longer have a life of their own. Clearly, they weren't just bad climbing movies. They were just plain bad. For better or worse, we're responsible for keeping these movies alive. I suppose I can live with that...

Trailers for Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit may be seen below. Follow the link to watch the trailer for Take it to the Limit.

Take It to the Limit

--Jason D. Martin

July and August Climbing Events

-- July 31 - Aug 1 -- Golden, CO -- Managing Human Waste

-- Aug 6-7 --Utah -- Cedar Mountain Adventure Experience

-- Aug 7 -- Denali Park, AK -- Denali Education Center Auction

-- Aug 21 -- Moose, WY -- Grand Teton Climber's Ranch Anniversary

-- Aug 28 -- Truckee, CA -- Craggin' Classic

Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you stoked!

As the weather seems to stabilize, and the sun stays out for longer, certain climbing areas become more consistently enjoyable here in the Northwest. One of those areas is just across the border from us, in Squamish, BC. I really cannot do Squamish justice in one paragraph, nor does this video do it justice in four and a half minutes. However, just trust me when I say Canada really takes care of their parks, and Squamish rocks. Here is a clip put together from shots taken at last weekend's mountain festival.

Squamish in a Day....Eh!!! from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

While we are talking about climbing in other countries, may as well stick with the theme and go with this hilarious video from Australia. Cedar Wright, the same guy who made the previous video, has a little too much time on his hands. However, he ends up making pretty solid videos, and it seems like he climbs pretty darn hard. If you can drone out the music, you'll notice some pretty stellar climbing going on, and may just be inspired to renew that passport.

Australia Climbing Adventure_THE MUSICAL_Total Eclipse from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.