Everett, Wa. July 30, 2009 — A lightning storm rolled through the north Cascades yesterday, igniting approximately 30 more fires on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The additional fires range in size from a single tree to two acres.
Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources are staffing the fires with engines, rappellers, smokejumpers and hand crews.
“We are taking action first on fires that are a threat to public safety. Our primary focus is public and firefighter safety,” said Tony Engel, fire management officer for the forest. Fires that are not staffed are being monitored. Engel said the situation is unfolding, "We identified a number of new starts immediately after the storm cells passed and we expect to continue to identify hold-over fires."
Hold-over fires can linger undetected for several days after a lightning storm. Unlike the lighter fuels east of the mountains, heavy west-side fuels can harbor fire for longer periods of time. On the east side fine fuels ignite quickly and burn fast. “It is common to detect fires on the forest weeks after a lightning event,” Engel said.
Six fires have been detected in Mt. Baker District, within Whatcom and Skagit County; 10 in Darrington Ranger District, within Skagit and Snohomish Counties; eight in Skykomish Ranger District, within Snohomish and King Counties; and, five in Snoqualmie Ranger District within Pierce and King Counties. Along with the new fires, more than 50 have been detected throughout the forest.
“Detection is ongoing, and we expect to have additional fires,” Engel said. “We encourage the public to be careful with fire and report what they see.”
Report fires on the state wildland fire hotline at 800-562-6010.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Lightning Storms Ignite More Fires on Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
The American Alpine Institute just received the following email from Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest:
AAI Receives Best of Bellingham Award!
The American Alpine Institute just received notification that we have won a "Best of Bellingham" award. Following is the press release:
American Alpine Institute Receives 2009 Best of Bellingham Award
U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement
WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- American Alpine Institute has been selected for the 2009 Best of Bellingham Award in the Instruction Schools, Camps, & Services category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).
The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.
About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)
U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.
The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.
SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association
CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@us-ca.org
URL: http://www.us-ca.org
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Economic Recovery Projects Benefit Forest Trails, Facilities
The American Alpine Institute just received the following email from Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest:
Everett, WA, July 30, 2009 –Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest will receive $1.25 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for forest facilities and trails. “This will improve access for our public while helping our local communities,” said Forest Supervisor Rob Iwamoto.
Following are the projects on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the county they will be located in, and the estimated funding received. Work will start this summer and is expected to be completed in two years. This list is designated by project, county and funding:North end trail maintenance Skagit, Whatcom, Snohomish $150,000
North end facilities maintenance Skagit, Whatcom, Snohomish $310,000
Skykomish trail maintenance Snohomish $119,300
Skykomish developed recreation trailhead maintenance Snohomish/King $157,000
Skykomish dispersed recreation improvements Snohomish/King $25,500
South end trail maintenance King/Pierce $136,000
Forest wide hazard-tree removal Forestwide $80,000
Tinkham campground area repair King $35,000
Middle Fork campground day-use area repair King $80,000
South end trails and trailhead maintenance King/Pierce $158,000
“These Recovery Act projects are central to creating jobs and building a better, stronger economy in the future,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack when he announced the projects last week. Funded at more than $274 million, the 191 projects are located throughout the US Forest Service in 32 states.
“These projects exemplify President Obama’s commitment to sustainability, reducing our environmental footprint, and increasing energy efficiency, which will benefit the 178 million people who visit the National Forests each year, while generating additional tourism and stimulating local economies.”
The Forest Service trails system provides access to a wide diversity of users including hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers and all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts. In many ways, the benefits of maintaining the trails system are similar to those of roads. Trail maintenance includes protecting soils and reducing erosion, along with clearing vegetation, controlling invasive species, and removing downed trees. Repairs and upgrades to trail head and parking areas will improve access and safety for trail users. All of this is labor-intensive work requiring skilled workers to be hired under ARRA.
The ARRA directs the Forest Service to improve, maintain and renovate public and administrative facilities. As with the roads and trails system, there is currently a large backlog of maintenance needs for public facilities. Maintenance needs were identified through extensive studies of specific public facilities needed to support the primary outdoor activities that are best provided on the National Forests and grasslands.
Workers hired under ARRA will maintain facilities so that they contribute to safe, high quality outdoor experiences for citizens. Once work is completed these buildings will be more energy efficient, use less water, have a smaller environmental footprint and save taxpayer money.
Information on other Forest Service ARRA projects and related economic recovery can be found at:http://www.fs.fed.us/fstoday/ARRA/All_FS_ARRA_Projects_announced_as_of_%20090721.pdf
Fire Restrictions in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
AAI just received the following email from Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest:
Everett, WA, July 30, 2009 – The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest bans open campfires and restricts smoking beginning today.
“We need to take precautions for public safety,” said Forest Supervisor Rob Iwamoto. “These steps are based on weather projections and conditions on the ground.” Fuel moisture has been at historic lows and the National Weather Service predicts more hot and dry conditions ahead.
Wood and charcoal fires are only allowed in developed campgrounds that have established concrete or steel grated fire pits or rings. Campers can use portable stoves or lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel sources for cooking or heat outside of designated campgrounds. Smoking is allowed within enclosed vehicles, buildings and developed recreation sites. Violators can be fined up to $5,000 and/ or imprisoned up to six months in jail.
A list of campgrounds where fires are permitted is at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/2009-campfire-restrictions.shtml <http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/2009-campfire-restrictions.shtml> .
Because of similar conditions in other areas of Washington, visitors are encouraged to check with state or local fire protection agencies to determine other campfire restrictions.
For information about fires on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest go to InciWeb, Wildland Fire and Incident Information System at http://www.inciweb.org/forest/53/ <http://www.inciweb.org/forest/53/> .
Northwest Interagency Coordination Center provides general fire information at http://www.nwccweb.us/ <http://www.nwccweb.us/> .
Report fires to the Washington wildland fire hotline at 800-562-6010.
Fires are allowed in the following developed campgrounds:Campground Name Ranger District
Campgrounds: Douglas Fir Mt. Baker
Mineral Park Mt. Baker
Silver Fir Mt. Baker
Shannon Creek Mt. Baker
Boulder Creek Mt. Baker
Park Creek Mt. Baker
Panorama Point Mt. Baker
Horseshoe Cove Mt. Baker
Marble Creek Mt. Baker
Turlo Darrington
Verlot Darrington
Gold Basin Darrington
Clear Creek Darrington
Bedal Darrington
Red Bridge Darrington
Buck Creek Darrington
Sulpher Creek Darrington
San Juan Skykomish
Troublesome Skykomish
Money Creek Skykomish
Beckler River Skykomish
Denny Creek Snoqualmie
Tinkham Snoqualmie
Middle Fork Snoqualmie
The Dalles Snoqualmie
Silver Springs Snoqualmie
Denny Creek Snoqualmie
Corral Pass Snoqualmie
Ranger Creek Snoqualmie
Evans Creek Campground Snoqualmie
Campground Name Ranger District
Group Camping/Campgrounds: Boulder Creek Mt. Baker
Excelsior Mt. Baker
Horseshoe Cove Mt. Baker
Bayview Mt. Baker
Boardman Darrington
Gold Basin Darrington
Beaver Creek Darrington
Coal Creek Darrington
Esswine Darrington
Marten Creek Darrington
Tulalip Millsite Darrington
Wiley Creek Darrington
Miller River Skykomish
Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- August 30, 2009
Northwest:
--AAI Guide Dawn Glanc was featured on the cover of Alpinist 27. Dawn is slowly becoming a minor celebrity in the world of climbing athleticism. She won first place in the women's division at the Ouray Ice Festival this year.
--AAI Guide Alasdair Turner found an injured solo climber on the Ptarmigan Traverse this weekend. The weather was quite bad and included a number of lightning storms. Alasdair was not able to have the climber evacuated until after the weather cleared. To read about the rescue, click here.
--The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest will receive $1.2 million for "maintenance and renovation of trails and developed recreation sites" from the Federal Stimulus Package. Another $1.86 million has been slated for Pacific Crest Trail work in Oregon and Washington, routine maintenance and storm damage repair. To read more, click here.
The House Hope Stewardship Project, taken off the shelf with $1.4 million from President Obama's economic stimulus package, will thin and restore 890 acres. It's a tiny fraction of the 60 million to 80 million acres the U.S. Forest Service estimates need it nationwide, but people here feel as if this is a start — not only to grappling with the growing threat of wildfire in a warming climate, but in healing rifts between environmentalists, the timber industry and the Forest Service that have left the national forests in limbo. To read more, click here.
--The U.S. Forest service has developed a survey to increase the use and value of their visitor centers. To take the survey, click here.
Sierra:
--An excellent accident report was recently posted on Supertopo.com. A group of three climbers were involved in a significant rockfall accident on the Venison Blind (IV, 5.7). The group successfully evacuated an individual with a seriously broken leg. To read the report, click here.
The giant sequoia trees of the western Sierra.
Photo by Janet Kinsey
--Scientists in California have set up a unique experiment to track the life histories of some of the world's oldest and tallest trees. The project is designed to follow up research, in the Yosemite National Park, which suggests that giant trees are perishing as a result of climate change. To read more, click here.
--Disabled climbers Mark Wellman and Steve Muse made an appearance on the Today show last week. The video focuses on Mark's incredible climb of El Capitan with a broken back and how his ascent has helped to inspire many other climbers with disabilities. To see the clip, click on the video below.
--The Forks Fire in the Bishop Creek drainage launched this fire season with a dramatic show. Fortunately, no homes or other structures were lost. The more than 3,000 acre fire did grab the attention of residents and visitors. Now, the Forest Service wants to drive home the message - protect your home and educate yourself before the next wildland fire. To read more, click here.
Alaska:
--Denali National Park reports that there were 682 summits of Denali out of 1161 climbers this year, or a 59 percent success rate. On Mount Foraker, 8 of 15 climbers reached summit, or 53 percent success rate.
Himalaya:
--Finnish climber Veikka Gustafsson recently climbed Gasherbrum I in Pakistan, his 14th 8,000-meter peak without supplementary oxygen. Gustafsson is the the ninth person in history to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks. To read more, click here.
--A small team of British balloonists flew to 36,000 feet and took photos of Mount Everest. The phenomenal pictures that they took may be seen here.
--Mount Huashan is one of China’s five sacred mountains and is famous for its dramatic and precipitous faces. It has great cultural significance and is famous for being the birthplace of Taoism, which worships and upholds nature and morality. Leo Houlding, Carlos Suarez and their Chinese partner climbed the west face which is 6680 feet of mostly vertical granite. It took the team a whole day to complete the ascent and they were met at the top by a large group of Chinese media who had gathered to cover the climb which has aroused great interest in China. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--A US man has been found dead on the slopes of Japan's Mount Fuji, police said Friday, and a second body has been recovered in the area where he went missing with a climbing companion last week. American Jerry Yu, 30, was found near the summit of Japan's tallest mountain on Thursday, a police official said from Gotemba city at the base of the volcano about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. To read more, click here.
--San Diego climber Mark Winslow took his own life on Friday morning. Mark will be remembered as a an outstanding climber and a gentle person. He had a number of first ascents in the San Diego area. To read more, click here and here.
--The International Climbers Festival took place in Lander, Wyoming over the weekend. The festival featured climbing, slideshows, slacklining, crate stacking, beer drinking, pizza eating and dancing. To read about the festival, click here. If you're wondering what crate stacking is from that list, check out the following clip:
----The Boston Globe ran an editorial yesterday about President Obama and the National Parks. The story calls our new president a champion of the parks, but says that Congress can do more to promote and preserve the parks. To read the editorial, click here.
--Jean Trillet, a 61-year-old Swiss-Canadian climber, completed a new route on the north face of the Matterhorn with French climbers Martial Dumas and Jean-Yves Fredriksen. The new line is found between the 1935 and 1965 routes and climbs nearly continuous overhanging terrain. To read more, click here.
--Smokey the Bear was born in August 1944, sired by a committee of ad men and government bureaucrats hoping to safeguard a key war material: wood. Smokey today remains the face of the longest-running public service campaign in U.S. history -- a simple message delivered by an anthropomorphic bear. But Smokey's story is anything but simple. His uncompromising stance -- "Only you can prevent forest fires" -- helped alter the landscape by reinforcing the idea that fire was an enemy that should be eliminated, that the price to be paid for living in the path of wildfire was vigilance and will. Smokey's critics say decades of fire suppression helped create forests unnaturally thick with fuel, setting the stage for the infernos that march across the West every year. To read more, click here.
--AAI Guide Dawn Glanc was featured on the cover of Alpinist 27. Dawn is slowly becoming a minor celebrity in the world of climbing athleticism. She won first place in the women's division at the Ouray Ice Festival this year.--AAI Guide Alasdair Turner found an injured solo climber on the Ptarmigan Traverse this weekend. The weather was quite bad and included a number of lightning storms. Alasdair was not able to have the climber evacuated until after the weather cleared. To read about the rescue, click here.
--The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest will receive $1.2 million for "maintenance and renovation of trails and developed recreation sites" from the Federal Stimulus Package. Another $1.86 million has been slated for Pacific Crest Trail work in Oregon and Washington, routine maintenance and storm damage repair. To read more, click here.
The House Hope Stewardship Project, taken off the shelf with $1.4 million from President Obama's economic stimulus package, will thin and restore 890 acres. It's a tiny fraction of the 60 million to 80 million acres the U.S. Forest Service estimates need it nationwide, but people here feel as if this is a start — not only to grappling with the growing threat of wildfire in a warming climate, but in healing rifts between environmentalists, the timber industry and the Forest Service that have left the national forests in limbo. To read more, click here.
--The U.S. Forest service has developed a survey to increase the use and value of their visitor centers. To take the survey, click here.
Sierra:
--An excellent accident report was recently posted on Supertopo.com. A group of three climbers were involved in a significant rockfall accident on the Venison Blind (IV, 5.7). The group successfully evacuated an individual with a seriously broken leg. To read the report, click here.
The giant sequoia trees of the western Sierra.Photo by Janet Kinsey
--Disabled climbers Mark Wellman and Steve Muse made an appearance on the Today show last week. The video focuses on Mark's incredible climb of El Capitan with a broken back and how his ascent has helped to inspire many other climbers with disabilities. To see the clip, click on the video below.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Alaska:
--Denali National Park reports that there were 682 summits of Denali out of 1161 climbers this year, or a 59 percent success rate. On Mount Foraker, 8 of 15 climbers reached summit, or 53 percent success rate.
Himalaya:
--Finnish climber Veikka Gustafsson recently climbed Gasherbrum I in Pakistan, his 14th 8,000-meter peak without supplementary oxygen. Gustafsson is the the ninth person in history to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks. To read more, click here.
--A small team of British balloonists flew to 36,000 feet and took photos of Mount Everest. The phenomenal pictures that they took may be seen here.
--Mount Huashan is one of China’s five sacred mountains and is famous for its dramatic and precipitous faces. It has great cultural significance and is famous for being the birthplace of Taoism, which worships and upholds nature and morality. Leo Houlding, Carlos Suarez and their Chinese partner climbed the west face which is 6680 feet of mostly vertical granite. It took the team a whole day to complete the ascent and they were met at the top by a large group of Chinese media who had gathered to cover the climb which has aroused great interest in China. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--A US man has been found dead on the slopes of Japan's Mount Fuji, police said Friday, and a second body has been recovered in the area where he went missing with a climbing companion last week. American Jerry Yu, 30, was found near the summit of Japan's tallest mountain on Thursday, a police official said from Gotemba city at the base of the volcano about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. To read more, click here.
--San Diego climber Mark Winslow took his own life on Friday morning. Mark will be remembered as a an outstanding climber and a gentle person. He had a number of first ascents in the San Diego area. To read more, click here and here.
--The International Climbers Festival took place in Lander, Wyoming over the weekend. The festival featured climbing, slideshows, slacklining, crate stacking, beer drinking, pizza eating and dancing. To read about the festival, click here. If you're wondering what crate stacking is from that list, check out the following clip:
----The Boston Globe ran an editorial yesterday about President Obama and the National Parks. The story calls our new president a champion of the parks, but says that Congress can do more to promote and preserve the parks. To read the editorial, click here.
--Jean Trillet, a 61-year-old Swiss-Canadian climber, completed a new route on the north face of the Matterhorn with French climbers Martial Dumas and Jean-Yves Fredriksen. The new line is found between the 1935 and 1965 routes and climbs nearly continuous overhanging terrain. To read more, click here.
--Smokey the Bear was born in August 1944, sired by a committee of ad men and government bureaucrats hoping to safeguard a key war material: wood. Smokey today remains the face of the longest-running public service campaign in U.S. history -- a simple message delivered by an anthropomorphic bear. But Smokey's story is anything but simple. His uncompromising stance -- "Only you can prevent forest fires" -- helped alter the landscape by reinforcing the idea that fire was an enemy that should be eliminated, that the price to be paid for living in the path of wildfire was vigilance and will. Smokey's critics say decades of fire suppression helped create forests unnaturally thick with fuel, setting the stage for the infernos that march across the West every year. To read more, click here.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Conditions Report -- July 29, 2009
NORTHWEST:
Small fire in the Glacier Peak Wilderness caused by recent lightning storms.
Photo courtesy of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
--Recent lighting storms have triggered multiple fires in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. To see pictures of the fires click here. Below is the news release we received from forest officials:
Lighting Storms Ignite Fires on Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
Everett, Wa. July 27, 2009 — Lightning storms passed through the North Cascades Saturday igniting seven fires on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. All of them are less than a half acre in size.
The Jumbo Fire is four miles south of Darrington. Fire managers deployed eight repellers and a Type-1 helicopter to fight the fire and expect to contain it by tomorrow evening.
The French Fire is nine miles west of Darrington. Forest Service firefighters secured it Monday morning and expect to have it contained tomorrow evening.
Fire managers will monitor the Higgins Fire, nine miles west-northwest of the Stillaguamish River on the south face of Mt. Higgins, and the Gee Fire, seven miles southwest of Concrete.
Firefighters have contained Depression Lake Fire, south of Baker Lake. They expect to contain the Diobsud Ridge Fire tomorrow, five miles north of Marblemount.
The Necklace Valley Fire west of the Foss River and close to the Necklace Valley Trailhead is contained.
“I expect more fires from this weekend's lightning to pop up, so we will be running detection flights for the next several days,” said Britt Davis, North Zone Fire Management Officer for the forest. “Lightning-ignited fires smoldering since the weekend could become active and visible as weather conditions grow warmer and drier. Crews will continue to respond to fires as they are detected,” he added that because of the dry fuels and hot weather the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie has bumped the fire danger rating from Moderate to High.
According to the National Weather Service, the hot, dry weather has potential for isolated lightning strikes through Wednesday, with more lighting storms moving through the Cascade crest this weekend.
Report any new fires on the state wildland fire hotline at 800-562-6010.
--The road to Artist's Point above the Mt. Baker Ski Area is now open. Besides providing access to some of the most amazing alpine scenery that you can drive to in the lower 48 it also provides access to the Lake Anne/Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan as well as the Ptarmigan Ridge and the Park and Mazama Glaciers on Mt. Baker. Click here for pictures of the road work.
--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.
--The Tieton River climbing areas have been closed for the season due to nesting raptors. To read more about this closure, click here.
--We have recently received a couple updates regarding current Squamish conditions. Click here to read more.
--Below is another update from our friends up north about the current conditions in the Bugaboos:
Climbed the Cooper-Kor on the East Face of Pigeon today. Presently travel is good on the Bugaboo Glacier. Pigeon East Face is still weeping so we had some very entertaining summer waterfall climbing.
Pigeon West Ridge is almost pure rock now. A little snow and a couple of icy steps on the North side getting to the last pitch is all that needs to be negotiated.
Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is beginning to look less and less like a moderate ski run and is starting to show its true self. Lots of perched rocks on the Bugaboo side and the Schrunds are starting to yawn.
Crevasses generally are starting to open up all over the Bugaboos and the bare ice is getting harder to avoid. Road is in pretty good shape.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
SIERRA:
--For information regarding wall closures due to falcon nesting in Yosemite National Park, click here.
--We recently stumbled upon a very interesting and entertaining blog written by Bruce Willey about climbing in the Sierras. To read this nice piece of writing click here.
--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.
ALASKA RANGE:
--Webcam for Denali National Park.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
ALPS:
--The climbing season in the Alps has begun and we are accepting applications for our 2009 climbs of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger and many other peaks in France and Switzerland. Please call our office (360-671-1505) for current availability.
RED ROCK CANYON:
--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 scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.
JOSHUA TREE:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lighting Storms Ignite Fires on Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
AAI just received the following email from Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest:
Everett, Wa. July 27, 2009 — Lightning storms passed through the North Cascades Saturday igniting seven fires on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. All of them are less than a half acre in size.
The Jumbo Fire is four miles south of Darrington. Fire managers deployed eight repellers and a Type-1 helicopter to fight the fire and expect to contain it by tomorrow evening.
The French Fire is nine miles west of Darrington. Forest Service firefighters secured it Monday morning and expect to have it contained tomorrow evening.
Fire managers will monitor the Higgins Fire, nine miles west-northwest of the Stillaguamish River on the south face of Mt. Higgins, and the Gee Fire, seven miles southwest of Concrete.
Firefighters have contained Depression Lake Fire, south of Baker Lake. They expect to contain the Diobsud Ridge Fire tomorrow, five miles north of Marblemount.
The Necklace Valley Fire west of the Foss River and close to the Necklace Valley Trailhead is contained.
“I expect more fires from this weekend's lightning to pop up, so we will be running detection flights for the next several days,” said Britt Davis, North Zone Fire Management Officer for the forest. “Lightning-ignited fires smoldering since the weekend could become active and visible as weather conditions grow warmer and drier. Crews will continue to respond to fires as they are detected,” he added that because of the dry fuels and hot weather the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie has bumped the fire danger rating from Moderate to High.
According to the National Weather Service, the hot, dry weather has potential for isolated lightning strikes through Wednesday, with more lighting storms moving through the Cascade crest this weekend.
Report any new fires on the state wildland fire hotline at 800-562-6010.
The Kautz!
Last week I had the incredible opportunity to guide the Kautz Glacier on Mount Rainier. This was an unusual trip for a couple of reasons. First, I'd never climbed the route before. And second, a film team was supposed to follow us up the mountain.
After a bit of driving around, I picked up all three climbers from different locations around Seattle and made for Ashford, a small town just outside of Mount Rainier National Park. The diverse team included Dax, a geologist from Seattle; Peter, a scientist from Washington D.C.; and Virginia, a radiologist from Auburn.
Each of the climbers on the trip had already completed a fair bit of training ahead of time. Dax took a variety of courses over the years, the most recent of which was our Alpine Ice Course. Peter climbed in the Alps and on Mount Shuksan and Virginia completed all three parts of our Alpine Leadership series. It was a very skilled team.
Once we arrived in Ashford, we met the other guide for the trip, Dawn Glanc, and the camera people, Nick and Robert. Dawn has been guiding for six years and is slowly working her way up the climbing sponsorship food chain. She is currently sponsored by Mountain Hardwear and is being courted by a number of other companies. She's no small potato, she's on the cover of Alpinist magazine this month. And lastly, Nick and Robert were both Northwest climbers and filmmakers.
Nick and his Camera
Once the team was all together, we went through a thorough gear check and got everything together for the start of our ascent.
Nick videotapes as Dawn goes through the gear check
On the first day we hiked up to the base of the Nisqually glacier, made camp and reviewed some snow and ice climbing techniques. The filmmakers set-up their camera and went to work filming us while we went to work teaching. Both Dawn and I did our best to avoid stuttering or stammering as we taught in front of the camera. Both of us believe that we did a good job. I guess we'll have to see once they edit it together. Who knows, they can do a lot with footage. For all I know, they're going to make it look like Dawn voted me off the mountain...
Virginia and Dawn set-up a tent as Nick videotapes
Early the next morning, Nick -- the younger of the two filmmakers -- informed me that Robert had injured his back. This wasn't terribly surprising. The two were carrying nearly twice as much weight as the rest of us. Unfortunately, the injury forced the pair to leave.
Early on the second day of the trip.
.
We broke camp and made our way up to high camp. This was a difficult leg of the climb. We moved full packs up the mountain nearly 4000 feet under a searingly bright and hot sun.
At one point on the ascent, I attempted to chop a step in some hard glacier ice. Surprisingly, the adze of my ice axe bent completely over. Though the ice axe still worked, that particular tool had been on a lot of mountains with me. It was a sad moment in my climbing career. But it was only a moment, we still had a lot of mountain to climb with or without my nostalgia.
A broken ice axe -- like losing an old friend...
Peter and Dax working up toward high camp.
The author leading up a short rock pitch on the way to high camp.
Photo by Peter Kaskan
Eventually we established high camp in the rocks at 10,700 feet. This is the highest regularly used camp on the mountain and is normally a cold and desolate place. On this particular trip the camp was warm and inviting with water running out of the snowfields above. We quickly set-up our tents and began to refer to the location as home.
Peter and Virginia at High Camp
The following morning we got up well before the crack of dawn and grunted up to the first technical difficulty. We had to make a blind rappel down onto a shelf that worked itself into the Kautz Glacier proper. It's a little disconcerting to rap into complete blackness, but Dax, Peter and I each did it.
Unfortunately, Virginia and Dawn were forced to turn back at the rappel. Virginia was a trooper and an absolutely wonderful team member, but it wasn't in the cards for her that day. We have no doubt that the mountain will give her another chance in the future.
A climber leading up the ice pitches
Peter and Dax on the ice
After rappelling, Dax, Peter and I, quickly skirted below a series of ice cliffs to the base of a series of steeper ice pitches. Over the next couple of hours, we worked our way up the bulletproof ice by using steep ice climbing techniques. After completing four long pitches at altitude, it seemed like the rest of the climb was going to be a piece of cake.
The upper mountain -- of course -- had other ideas. What looked like easy French technique terrain, turned out to be steep and physical penitentes. Penitentes are snow or ice fins that stick out of the glacier late in the season. They are beautiful objects and give the mountain a lot of character, but they definitely require a tremendous of energy to climb through.
As we worked our way slowly toward the top, Peter asked for some help. "Jason, I need a little psych. Can you give me a little psych to motivate me?"
"Only a few hundred feet left," I responded. "We're going to make it. Only a few hundred more feet...a few hundred feet to the glory," I smiled.
The last few minutes to the summit were difficult, but both Dax and Peter held on. When they finally pulled up onto the highest point in the Pacific Northwest, there was no longer a deficit in psych...
Peter and Dax on the Summit
The view from camp the morning after we summited, before we descended.
--Jason D. Martin
After a bit of driving around, I picked up all three climbers from different locations around Seattle and made for Ashford, a small town just outside of Mount Rainier National Park. The diverse team included Dax, a geologist from Seattle; Peter, a scientist from Washington D.C.; and Virginia, a radiologist from Auburn.
Each of the climbers on the trip had already completed a fair bit of training ahead of time. Dax took a variety of courses over the years, the most recent of which was our Alpine Ice Course. Peter climbed in the Alps and on Mount Shuksan and Virginia completed all three parts of our Alpine Leadership series. It was a very skilled team.
Once we arrived in Ashford, we met the other guide for the trip, Dawn Glanc, and the camera people, Nick and Robert. Dawn has been guiding for six years and is slowly working her way up the climbing sponsorship food chain. She is currently sponsored by Mountain Hardwear and is being courted by a number of other companies. She's no small potato, she's on the cover of Alpinist magazine this month. And lastly, Nick and Robert were both Northwest climbers and filmmakers.
Nick and his CameraOnce the team was all together, we went through a thorough gear check and got everything together for the start of our ascent.
Nick videotapes as Dawn goes through the gear checkOn the first day we hiked up to the base of the Nisqually glacier, made camp and reviewed some snow and ice climbing techniques. The filmmakers set-up their camera and went to work filming us while we went to work teaching. Both Dawn and I did our best to avoid stuttering or stammering as we taught in front of the camera. Both of us believe that we did a good job. I guess we'll have to see once they edit it together. Who knows, they can do a lot with footage. For all I know, they're going to make it look like Dawn voted me off the mountain...
Virginia and Dawn set-up a tent as Nick videotapes
Early on the second day of the trip.We broke camp and made our way up to high camp. This was a difficult leg of the climb. We moved full packs up the mountain nearly 4000 feet under a searingly bright and hot sun.
At one point on the ascent, I attempted to chop a step in some hard glacier ice. Surprisingly, the adze of my ice axe bent completely over. Though the ice axe still worked, that particular tool had been on a lot of mountains with me. It was a sad moment in my climbing career. But it was only a moment, we still had a lot of mountain to climb with or without my nostalgia.
A broken ice axe -- like losing an old friend...
Peter and Dax working up toward high camp.
The author leading up a short rock pitch on the way to high camp.Photo by Peter Kaskan
Peter and Virginia at High CampUnfortunately, Virginia and Dawn were forced to turn back at the rappel. Virginia was a trooper and an absolutely wonderful team member, but it wasn't in the cards for her that day. We have no doubt that the mountain will give her another chance in the future.
A climber leading up the ice pitches
Peter and Dax on the iceThe upper mountain -- of course -- had other ideas. What looked like easy French technique terrain, turned out to be steep and physical penitentes. Penitentes are snow or ice fins that stick out of the glacier late in the season. They are beautiful objects and give the mountain a lot of character, but they definitely require a tremendous of energy to climb through.
As we worked our way slowly toward the top, Peter asked for some help. "Jason, I need a little psych. Can you give me a little psych to motivate me?"
"Only a few hundred feet left," I responded. "We're going to make it. Only a few hundred more feet...a few hundred feet to the glory," I smiled.
The last few minutes to the summit were difficult, but both Dax and Peter held on. When they finally pulled up onto the highest point in the Pacific Northwest, there was no longer a deficit in psych...
Peter and Dax on the Summit
The view from camp the morning after we summited, before we descended.--Jason D. Martin
July and August Climbing Events
--July 20 - 22 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- 2009 Mammut Bouldering Championships
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 25 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Sunburn Comp
--August 16 -- Squamish, BC, Canada -- 2009 Squamish Mountain Festival
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 25 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Sunburn Comp
--August 16 -- Squamish, BC, Canada -- 2009 Squamish Mountain Festival
Monday, July 27, 2009
The WhisperLite Camp Stove
Though many guides have upgraded to the Jetboil or the MSR Reactor, the WhisperLite remains the workhorse of backcountry cooking. The reason? It can be fixed. No matter how old a Whisperlite is, it can always be fanagled into working.
Sometimes these stoves require extra care. Older WhisperLites may actually require quite a bit of extra work. Some may even require work for every use...but they will work...
Following is a short video on how to run an MSR WhisperLite stove:
--Jason D. Martin
Sometimes these stoves require extra care. Older WhisperLites may actually require quite a bit of extra work. Some may even require work for every use...but they will work...
Following is a short video on how to run an MSR WhisperLite stove:
--Jason D. Martin
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Weekend Warrior -- Videos to get you stoked!
Well, seeing as it is now mid-summer and we are currently in the midst of a mini heatwave here in the Pacific Northwest, I though it would fitting to bring you some good old fashioned deep water soloing action. Nothing says summer like climbing on sea or lake cliffs with nothing to stop your fall but the cool, clear water below. Ahhh, doesn't that just sound refreshing?
Here is a little taste of the deep water soloing potential in Vietnam. The islands featured in this video are made for this stuff!
A deep water soloing blog wouldn't be complete without a video from Mallorca, that Mediterranean paradise that draws climbers in from across the globe.
What would be more refreshing than deep water soloing after a hardcore bouldering session in the Jordanian desert? I honestly have no idea....
What would be more refreshing than deep water soloing after a hardcore bouldering session in the Jordanian desert? I honestly have no idea....
Friday, July 24, 2009
Denali Photos
By AAI Guide Alasdair Turner
These are the photos from this years Denali trip. This was my third trip to Denali and one of my most successful. After a one day delay flying onto the glacier everything else went perfect. We summited on day 13. This was certainly the strongest team I have had on Denali, and a fun group of people to spend two weeks with.
This photo was shot on my first trip to the Alaska Range on a climb of Mt. Foraker. This is also the photo that I have sold the most copies of thanks in part to Denali Images Gallery in Talkeetna who have sold a lot of these for me. You can have your very own copy by ordering from here. That one won't have the route drawn all over it.
Crevasses from the plane.
Vaibhav on the flight in.
Kahiltan base camp and the ski equiped Otter that landed us there.
Ray.
Richard and Mary's rope teams just behind us.
A couple guys dragging sleds.
A snow sluff caused by warm temperatures.
A rope team ahead of us.
Two climbers on the lower Kahiltna Glacier.
AAI guide Mary Harlan.
Ascending Ski Hill.
7800 ft camp from the top of Ski Hill.
Camp at 7800 ft.
Richard at 7800ft.
Avalanche.
Ski hill
Pat taking a break.
Two climbers at Kahiltna Pass
Icefall below 11 camp.
Moving toward camp at 11,200 just above Kahiltna Pass.
Almost there.
The final few steps into camp at 11,200ft.
My good friend Ray.
Camp at 11,200ft.
Clouds signaling unstable weather while at 11 camp.
Two skier descend toward Kahiltna Pass.
Tony and Pat enjoy the beautiful weather.
Brian at the top of Motorcycle hill in high winds.
A cup of coffee and a sunset at 11 camp.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Seracs near 11 camp.
A campsite at 11,200ft.
Late evening light on Mt. Foraker and Kahiltna Dome.
Nearing the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Starting the climb out of 11,200ft camp with Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Crosson and Mt. Foraker in the background.
A very windy carry day.
Clouds spill over Kahiltna Pass from the north side of the range.
Richard and his rope team on Motorcycle Hill
Richard at the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Another team moving through Windy Corner in perfect weather.
AC Sherpa
Brian
Vaibhav, Brian, and AC Sherpa below 14 camp.
Angela
AAI Guides Angela and Mike.
Pat and Tony at the Edge of the World.
14,200ft camp with Mt. Hunter in the background.
Same as above.
14,200ft camp shot from half way up the fixed lines.
Park service helicopter at 14,200ft.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Richard on the ridge.
Tony on the ridge.
Richard leading on the ridge.
Juan and Vaibhav on the ridge.
AC Sherpa at the top of the fixed lines.
On the ridge near 17 camp.
What is unusual about this photo? Helicopters apparently can fly at over 17,000ft.
Richard in the tent.
Me.
Juan
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
17 camp.
17 camp.
Me calling in the dispatches, or talking to my lovely wife.
Me.
Two climbers taking in the view of Mt. Hunter.
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
Solo climber above Washburn's Thumb.
Climbers and Washburn's Thumb
Killing time at 17,000ft.
Juan
Seracs.
Clouds at Windy Corner.
Climbers on the ridge above Washburn's thumb.
Climbers on the ridge below 17 camp.
Richard at 17 camp.
Richard.... Looking a little wasted.
Sun shining through snow wall protecting the camp.
The team returning to 17 camp from the summit.
Clouds over Mt. Foraker.
The team coming down from the summit.
Decsending the Autobahn.
The team just below 14 camp on the way down.
A rope team above Kahiltna Base. Ash from the Mt. Spur eruption is clearly visible on the glacier in this photo.
Crevasses on the flight out.
This photo was shot on my first trip to the Alaska Range on a climb of Mt. Foraker. This is also the photo that I have sold the most copies of thanks in part to Denali Images Gallery in Talkeetna who have sold a lot of these for me. You can have your very own copy by ordering from here. That one won't have the route drawn all over it.
Crevasses from the plane.
Vaibhav on the flight in. 
Kahiltan base camp and the ski equiped Otter that landed us there.
Ray.
Richard and Mary's rope teams just behind us.
A couple guys dragging sleds.
A snow sluff caused by warm temperatures.
A rope team ahead of us.
Two climbers on the lower Kahiltna Glacier.
AAI guide Mary Harlan.
Ascending Ski Hill.
7800 ft camp from the top of Ski Hill.
Camp at 7800 ft.
Richard at 7800ft.
Avalanche.
Ski hill
Pat taking a break.
Two climbers at Kahiltna Pass
Icefall below 11 camp.
Moving toward camp at 11,200 just above Kahiltna Pass.
Almost there.
The final few steps into camp at 11,200ft.
My good friend Ray.
Camp at 11,200ft.
Clouds signaling unstable weather while at 11 camp.
Two skier descend toward Kahiltna Pass.
Tony and Pat enjoy the beautiful weather.
Brian at the top of Motorcycle hill in high winds.
A cup of coffee and a sunset at 11 camp.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Seracs near 11 camp.
A campsite at 11,200ft.
Late evening light on Mt. Foraker and Kahiltna Dome.
Nearing the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Starting the climb out of 11,200ft camp with Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Crosson and Mt. Foraker in the background.
A very windy carry day.
Clouds spill over Kahiltna Pass from the north side of the range.
Richard and his rope team on Motorcycle Hill
Richard at the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Another team moving through Windy Corner in perfect weather.
AC Sherpa
Brian
Vaibhav, Brian, and AC Sherpa below 14 camp.
Angela
AAI Guides Angela and Mike.
Pat and Tony at the Edge of the World.
14,200ft camp with Mt. Hunter in the background.
Same as above.
14,200ft camp shot from half way up the fixed lines.
Park service helicopter at 14,200ft.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Richard on the ridge.
Tony on the ridge.
Richard leading on the ridge.
Juan and Vaibhav on the ridge.
AC Sherpa at the top of the fixed lines.
On the ridge near 17 camp.
What is unusual about this photo? Helicopters apparently can fly at over 17,000ft.
Richard in the tent.
Me.
Juan
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
17 camp.
17 camp.
Me calling in the dispatches, or talking to my lovely wife.
Me.
Two climbers taking in the view of Mt. Hunter.
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
Solo climber above Washburn's Thumb.
Climbers and Washburn's Thumb
Killing time at 17,000ft.
Juan
Seracs.
Clouds at Windy Corner.
Climbers on the ridge above Washburn's thumb.
Climbers on the ridge below 17 camp.
Richard at 17 camp.
Richard.... Looking a little wasted.
Sun shining through snow wall protecting the camp.
The team returning to 17 camp from the summit.
Clouds over Mt. Foraker.
The team coming down from the summit.
Decsending the Autobahn.
The team just below 14 camp on the way down.
A rope team above Kahiltna Base. Ash from the Mt. Spur eruption is clearly visible on the glacier in this photo.
Crevasses on the flight out.Thursday, July 23, 2009
Fires in Glacier Peak Wilderness
We received this update from Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest regarding the recent fires in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
Lighting Strikes Start Fires in Glacier Peak Wilderness
Affect trails in north Cascades
Everett, Wa. July 23, 2009 — Thunderstorms and lightning have started multiple small fires in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, approximately 40-miles east of Granite Falls on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Many started in late June and early July. “Many of these fires, which started from lightening, can smolder for a month or more before anyone sees them,” said Britt Davis, North Zone Fire Management Officer for the forest. All are less than five acres, so hikers may see smoke in the vicinity. For now fire managers are monitoring the fires. “We have made the decision not to put firefighters at risk in the exceptionally steep terrain of the Mineral Park Fire or in the remote area of the Suiattle Complex,” he said.
Fuel moisture's have been at or near historic lows, especially for this time of the year. Davis said weather experts at the National Weather Service predict more hot and dry conditions ahead. “With the next round of heating and drying, the fire behavior could pick up,” he added. Davis asks hikers to report any new fires on the state wildland fire hotline at 800-562-6010.
Mineral Park Fire: lightning reported July 12 and is less than one acre in size. (latitude: 48.26.59, longitude: 121.09.24) Smoke visible from Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River Road and trailheads 766, 767 and 769.
Suiattle Complex-Chocolate Fire: lightning reported July 15 and is about two acres in size. (latitude: 48.06.34, longitude: 120.59.29) Smoke visible from trails 791, 792 and 798.
Suiattle Complex-Dusty Fire: lightning reported July 18 and is about five acres in size. The fire is located in Glacier Peak Wilderness (latitude: 48.09.28, longitude: 121.01.05) Smoke visible from trails 791, 792 and 798.
Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- July 23, 2009
Northwest:
--It appears that a small group of climbers were fined for trespassing at the Iron Mountain Crag, near Portland. There is little information available about why this happened. To read more, click here.
-- If you have not yet heard there has been talk of the beautiful and steep walls of Index becoming a quarry. Luckily though Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) has been working hard to block the granite from being quarried and keep the cliffs open to climbers. WCC has now been given the option to purchase the intended quarry site and is working to raise the money so that climbers will be able to scale the index walls forever. To read more about the WCC and their attempt to secure the land click here.
Sierra:
--What started as an offshoot of the successful partnership between the Wounded Warriors program and Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, has grown in a new effort by Craig Knoche and other Eastern Sierra volunteers who are working to help rehabilitate injured veterans of the Iraqi and Afghan wars by climbing all the 14,000 foot peaks in California. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--It appears that conflicts between expeditions on Nanga Parbat may have led to a fatality. It appears that a team cleaned a fixed line without the consent of the other teams on the mountain at the spot where a Korean woman was killed. It is common for expeditions from different countries to work together to fix lines on extreme peaks like Nanga Parbat. To read more, click here. Here's the original report on the fatality.
Notes from All Over:
--Ten climbers have died on two mountains in northern Japan, police said Friday. Eight of the climbers who died on Mount Tomuraushi were in a group organized by a tourist company, according to Yuji Kikuchi, a spokesman for Hokkaido police. A ninth man was climbing alone. One more climber died on Mount Biei, Kikuchi said. To read more, click here.
Mount Washington
-- A Massachusetts teenager who spent three nights alone on Mount Washington in April after he sprained an ankle and veered off marked trails has been fined more than $25,000 for the cost of his rescue. Scott Mason had been praised for utilizing his Eagle Scout skills — sleeping in the crevice of a boulder and jump-starting fires with hand sanitzer gel. But authorities say he wasn't prepared for the conditions he encountered and shouldn't have set out on such an ambitious hike. To read more, click here.
--A British Teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia's wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation. Nineteen year-old Jamie Neale told Australia's "60 Minutes" that we was a "total idiot" to venture into the wilderness 60 miles west of Sydney. To read more, click here.
--It appears that a small group of climbers were fined for trespassing at the Iron Mountain Crag, near Portland. There is little information available about why this happened. To read more, click here.
-- If you have not yet heard there has been talk of the beautiful and steep walls of Index becoming a quarry. Luckily though Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) has been working hard to block the granite from being quarried and keep the cliffs open to climbers. WCC has now been given the option to purchase the intended quarry site and is working to raise the money so that climbers will be able to scale the index walls forever. To read more about the WCC and their attempt to secure the land click here.
Sierra:--What started as an offshoot of the successful partnership between the Wounded Warriors program and Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, has grown in a new effort by Craig Knoche and other Eastern Sierra volunteers who are working to help rehabilitate injured veterans of the Iraqi and Afghan wars by climbing all the 14,000 foot peaks in California. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--It appears that conflicts between expeditions on Nanga Parbat may have led to a fatality. It appears that a team cleaned a fixed line without the consent of the other teams on the mountain at the spot where a Korean woman was killed. It is common for expeditions from different countries to work together to fix lines on extreme peaks like Nanga Parbat. To read more, click here. Here's the original report on the fatality.
Notes from All Over:
--Ten climbers have died on two mountains in northern Japan, police said Friday. Eight of the climbers who died on Mount Tomuraushi were in a group organized by a tourist company, according to Yuji Kikuchi, a spokesman for Hokkaido police. A ninth man was climbing alone. One more climber died on Mount Biei, Kikuchi said. To read more, click here.
Mount Washington-- A Massachusetts teenager who spent three nights alone on Mount Washington in April after he sprained an ankle and veered off marked trails has been fined more than $25,000 for the cost of his rescue. Scott Mason had been praised for utilizing his Eagle Scout skills — sleeping in the crevice of a boulder and jump-starting fires with hand sanitzer gel. But authorities say he wasn't prepared for the conditions he encountered and shouldn't have set out on such an ambitious hike. To read more, click here.
--A British Teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia's wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation. Nineteen year-old Jamie Neale told Australia's "60 Minutes" that we was a "total idiot" to venture into the wilderness 60 miles west of Sydney. To read more, click here.
--Last week a piece of legislation entitled the U.S. OUTDOOR Act was introduced in both the House and the Senate. The U.S. Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation (OUTDOOR) Act incorporates three critical components: 1) it creates unique classifications specific to recreation performance outerwear - high-tech apparel, designed especially for outdoor recreation such as hiking, biking, skiing, hunting, fishing, mountaineering and other recreational activities - in the U.S. Harminized Tariff Schedule; (2) it eliminates the diproportinately high tariffs on these products while preserving the competitiveness of U.S. based manufacturing; and 3) it supports U.S. jobs and technologies focused on sustainable, eco-friendly apparel supply chains. To read more, click here.
--Jeff Lowe was made an honourary member of the American Alpine Club on July 19th in Ogden, Utah. The criteria for the award are climbing achievments, contributions to the climbing community and vision. To read more, click here.
--A small crew of climbers took on a new 1,000 foot route on a Norwegian beach. Mike Brumbaugh, Ari Menitove, Andrew Burr, Brian Heppner and Rob Pizem climbed Man Hands (IV 5.11) after spending a significant amount of time cleaning the first three pitches. To read more, click here.
--The Reel Rock Tour climbing film contest has an August 1st deadline. Winners of the competition will have their films shown in over 100 cities throughout the world. To read more about Reel Rock and the competition, click here.
--The New York Times ran an editorial on Thursday which opposed the closing of state parks in California in order to help close the budget deficit. The premise of the article was that the parks provide cheap recreation and that closing them and then reopening them in the future could be far more expensive than just leaving them open. To read the editorial, click here.
--The 2009 AAI Guides Choice Awards are in and this years winning products are awesome. To read about the selected products and why they rock so hard check out Tuesday July 20th's Blog.
--Jeff Lowe was made an honourary member of the American Alpine Club on July 19th in Ogden, Utah. The criteria for the award are climbing achievments, contributions to the climbing community and vision. To read more, click here.
--A small crew of climbers took on a new 1,000 foot route on a Norwegian beach. Mike Brumbaugh, Ari Menitove, Andrew Burr, Brian Heppner and Rob Pizem climbed Man Hands (IV 5.11) after spending a significant amount of time cleaning the first three pitches. To read more, click here.
--The Reel Rock Tour climbing film contest has an August 1st deadline. Winners of the competition will have their films shown in over 100 cities throughout the world. To read more about Reel Rock and the competition, click here.
--The New York Times ran an editorial on Thursday which opposed the closing of state parks in California in order to help close the budget deficit. The premise of the article was that the parks provide cheap recreation and that closing them and then reopening them in the future could be far more expensive than just leaving them open. To read the editorial, click here.
--The 2009 AAI Guides Choice Awards are in and this years winning products are awesome. To read about the selected products and why they rock so hard check out Tuesday July 20th's Blog.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Conditions Report -- July 22, 2009
NORTHWEST:
Looking down Gran Torino on the SE Face of the SW Peak of Dome. Photo by Mike Layton
--Mike Layton and Wayne Wallace established a new route on the SW peak of Dome Peak. The route is called Gran Torino (IV 5.9+ 15p). The route was climbed on July 15 and ascends the impressive SE Face over what looks to be incredibly fun and challenging climbing. To read more about this first ascent click here.
--The road to Artist's Point above the Mt. Baker Ski Area is now open. Besides providing access to some of the most amazing alpine scenery that you can drive to in the lower 48 it also provides access to the Lake Anne/Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan as well as the Ptarmigan Ridge and the Park and Mazama Glaciers on Mt. Baker. Click here for pictures of the road work.
--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.
The Pocket Glacier from high on the Northeast Buttress of Slesse. Photo by Scott Burrell
--Scott Burrell and friends recently climbed the iconic Northeast Buttress of Mt. Slesse. After a harrowing sprint below the pocket glacier to access the route they found enjoyable climbing to the summit and then had a bit of an interesting descent. To read the full trip report click here.
--The Tieton River climbing areas have been closed for the season due to nesting raptors. To read more about this closure, click here.
--One of our guides Kurt Hicks recently returned from leading a 12 day Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership courses. Here are some notes regarding the current conditions he found while on the trip:
South Side of Baker: No toilets, lots of poo, treat your water! Running water available near Sandy Camp. Icefall cramponing slope is snow free but dirty. No great slots near Sandy Camp for crevasse rescue. Easton is in good shape but there is the same old huge slot around 8700 ft. 'Schrund is easily passed on the left or the right. The trail is snow free with only one small downed tree.Washington Pass: Snow free trail up to the South Arete. Bug are out. Afternoon thunderstorms are cycling through. Burgandy Col approach is snow free as well. There is some water available on both approaches. Lots of flies and hornets at Early Winter campground.
--Here are a couple updates from our friends up north about the current Bugaboo conditions.
Up a the Kain hut from July 11 - 15. Great travel conditions on the Crescent, Vowel, and Pigeon glaciers with penetration in the late pm only to boot top despite no overnight freeze. All the routes of the Crescent Towers area are dry; NE Ridge on Bugaboo has snow on the very bottom of the route but otherwise dry (I suspect that the upper chimneys still hold snow); Kain route is dry and in good shape. West facing Snowpatch Routes in good shape. W Ridge of Pigeon is dry to the small col between the 2nd and 3rd summits. Snow from there to the summit; we did not use crampons but did take ice axes. Bugaboo/Snowpatch col is in good shape with the schrunds just starting to show with good footing and a nice line of steps up it. We had a great day cragging on the nice cracks of lower Applebee Dome.Cheers,James BlenchUIAGM
--We have recently received a couple updates regarding current Squamish conditions. Click here to read more.
SIERRA:
--After a recent trip up the Mountaineer's Route on Mt. Whitney our guide Ian McEleney reported the following conditions as of July 11th.
"Most people will want an ice axe, but could probably get away without crampons and boots if they're careful. The trail in is snow free. In the gully there is a short section of snow (maybe about 200 feet) that was pretty soft and might be doable without boots. From the notch to the summit via the couloir there is still some snow but this can be navigated around fairly easily. The Northwest Traverse finish is still snowy but is melting quickly."
--For information regarding wall closures due to falcon nesting in Yosemite National Park, click here.
--We recently stumbled upon a very interesting and entertaining blog written by Bruce Willey about climbing in the Sierras. To read this nice piece of writing click here.
--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.
ALASKA RANGE:
--Webcam for Denali National Park.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
ALPS:
--The climbing season in the Alps has begun and we are accepting applications for our 2009 climbs of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger and many other peaks in France and Switzerland. Please call our office (360-671-1505) for current availability.
RED ROCK CANYON:
--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 scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.
JOSHUA TREE:
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
American Alpine Institute Guides Choice Awards - 2009
This year the American Alpine Institute presented six awards at the annual Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City. The equipment and clothing awarded the AAI Guides Choice designation have proven to be of the highest quality in their product category. The awards are determined on the basis of excellence in design, performance, and durability demonstrated in rigorous international field tests conducted by professional guides of AAI. Evaluations are made throughout the year in desert, cold weather, rain, snow, high wind, and high altitude environments. The American Alpine Institute has no financial ties or financial interest in any manufacturer or distributor. All testers and their expenses are paid by AAI.
A core group of AAI professional guides conduct Guides Choice field tests year round, throughout the world. Tests may be completed in a single long season (for example five summer months of intensive climbing in South America), or over several seasons (for example McKinley expeditions in the spring and Himalayan expeditions autumn). Because of the intensity and constancy of use, the wear and stress that gear receives during these tests corresponds to many years of use by a recreational climber.
The following products won this year's Guides Choice award:
Rab: Super Dru Jacket and eVent Technology
Rab advertises the following information about their jacket:
The Rab Jacket was manufactured with eVent fabric which is a major upgrade from GoreTex. It breathes far better than GoreTex and doesn't leak.
The Rab Jacket has been tested in incredibly diverse environments. Guides have thrashed through steep wet slide alder wearing the jacket in the Cascades, have fought their way up the heavily vegetated gullies in Red Rock Canyon in it and have worn it to the top of Denali. The jacket held up to each of these different adverse environments.
CiloGear: WorkSack Backpack Series
CiloGear brought us an absolutely phenomenal product this year. Their Worksack series is currently the in pack for alpinists from all over the world.
CiloGear has been working with us since 2007 and we have seen them go through generations of packs. After a great deal of work and a great many designs, they have created a very very good pack.
There is a misconception in a great deal of the pack construction out there. Some believe that the best way to build a pack is to add lots of extra straps and lots of extra flaps and lots of extra zippers that don't do anything for performance. CiloGear didn't do this. Instead, they created a perfect pack for the alpine climbing guide and the recreational climber alike. It has clean construction with no extra bells and whistles to get in the way of the pack's performance.
The CiloGear packs are light. They are versatile. And they are durable. This is the perfect storm that makes a pack close to perfect.
Drymax: Drymax Socks and fiber Technology
Drymax has completely revolutionized the way that we think about socks.
Most sport sock manufacturers claim that their socks wick the moisture away from the foot quickly. While this may be true to some extent, the question is, where does that moisture go? The fabric in a sock that wicks sweat away allows the moisture to adhere to the sock, which ultimately makes the sock wet. The sock may dry quickly when laid out in the sun, but that doesn't help you while your foot is inside of a boot. Wicking fibers require evaporation to dry and little of this happens in the closed environment of sport footwear.
Drymax has devised a fabric which forces the water through the sock and away from the foot. This helps keep the foot dry inside the boot. This may seem like it's been the goal of every sock manufacturer out there all along, but the science to make this happen has never been there before to do it right. Drymax is the first sock manufacturer to really do it right. The socks do exactly what they're supposed to do. They help keep your feet dry!
Cascade Design: NeoAir sleeping pad and Technology
Sleeping pads are almost universally problematic. They tend to be bulky. They tend to be uncomfortable. And when sleeping on the cold ground, they tend to be cold. The biggest problem of all is that if one does not get a good night's sleep, summit day will be all that much harder.
The combination of these problems leads to the reality that your sleeping pad is one of the most important pieces of gear that you carry. A poor sleeping pad could actually result in a climber's failure to summit!
The NeoAir sleeping pad breaks all the molds and stereotypes. It is exactly what a climber needs to be successful. First, it is one of the lightest air mattresses on the market. Second, it is literally three times warmer and more comfortable than its competitors. And third, the mattress packs down to the size of a water bottle. These three factors make this product absolutely awesome.
The NeoAir is designed with two sides, a summer side and a winter side. When the mattress is laid in its summer orientation it is slightly cooler. When it is laid in its winter orientation -- for sleeping on snow or the frozen ground -- it is significantly warmer due to technology which reflects the heat back up.
Every single guide who tested this product said that they wanted one immediately. Indeed, the guide's who have tested this particular product keep asking if they can "just use it for one more trip..."
Brunton: Solais Solar Panels and Technology
Over the years we have tested a variety of solar technologies in the extreme environments of the Alaska Range and the Andes. In that time Brunton has gone through a number of generations of solar panels. The Solais Solar Panels and the technology behind them are the most durable, compact and effective on the market.
The Solais Panels are far smaller than the competitors but still provide a good amount of power per square inch. This is thanks to their new Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) technology. It is this technology that also allows the panels to collapse to a very packable size.
On this year's American Alpine Institute Denali expeditions, our guides were repeatedly asked if other teams would be able to borrow our Solais Solar Panels so that they could charge their technology. This is because no other panels would work in the low light. We were always able to get a charge, no matter how bad the blizzard.
Julbo: Bivouak Fully Fashionable Fuctional Glacier Glasses
Every guide at the American Alpine Institute wears Julbo glasses. This is because they are universally recognized as the premiere eyewear for mountain activities throughout the world.
Guides are always looking for versatility in the products that they choose to use. And while the other Julbo products are excellent, the Julbo Bivouak stands out. The Bivouak is fashionable and functional. This product has magnetic side-shields which allow for a lower level of light penetration while working in the snow but allows a quick and easy transition to higher ventilation and a more fashionable look when off the snow. This is due to the low profile easy-to-use side shield attachments.
Cost, versatility and fashion make this a highly useful product for guides and recreational climbers alike.
To learn more about the Guide's Choice testing program, click here.
A core group of AAI professional guides conduct Guides Choice field tests year round, throughout the world. Tests may be completed in a single long season (for example five summer months of intensive climbing in South America), or over several seasons (for example McKinley expeditions in the spring and Himalayan expeditions autumn). Because of the intensity and constancy of use, the wear and stress that gear receives during these tests corresponds to many years of use by a recreational climber.
The following products won this year's Guides Choice award:
Rab: Super Dru Jacket and eVent Technology
Rab advertises the following information about their jacket:
Fully protective light weight mountaineering jacket in eVent 3 layer fabricAAI guides have found this jacket to be incredibly sturdy. The American Alpine Institute award went to this particular jacket after all 28 of our regular guides gave it a universal approval.
- Total weight: 400g.
- Lightweight eVent 3 layer fabric with abrasion resist on high stress areas
- Fully protective wired peak helmet compatible hood with volume adjuster
- Single water resistant front YKK zip with internal storm flap and rain drain
- 3 outer map sized pockets with water resistant zips
- Adjustable cuffs and hem drawcords
The Rab Jacket was manufactured with eVent fabric which is a major upgrade from GoreTex. It breathes far better than GoreTex and doesn't leak.
The Rab Jacket has been tested in incredibly diverse environments. Guides have thrashed through steep wet slide alder wearing the jacket in the Cascades, have fought their way up the heavily vegetated gullies in Red Rock Canyon in it and have worn it to the top of Denali. The jacket held up to each of these different adverse environments.
CiloGear: WorkSack Backpack Series
CiloGear brought us an absolutely phenomenal product this year. Their Worksack series is currently the in pack for alpinists from all over the world.
CiloGear has been working with us since 2007 and we have seen them go through generations of packs. After a great deal of work and a great many designs, they have created a very very good pack.
There is a misconception in a great deal of the pack construction out there. Some believe that the best way to build a pack is to add lots of extra straps and lots of extra flaps and lots of extra zippers that don't do anything for performance. CiloGear didn't do this. Instead, they created a perfect pack for the alpine climbing guide and the recreational climber alike. It has clean construction with no extra bells and whistles to get in the way of the pack's performance.The CiloGear packs are light. They are versatile. And they are durable. This is the perfect storm that makes a pack close to perfect.
Drymax: Drymax Socks and fiber Technology
Drymax has completely revolutionized the way that we think about socks.
Most sport sock manufacturers claim that their socks wick the moisture away from the foot quickly. While this may be true to some extent, the question is, where does that moisture go? The fabric in a sock that wicks sweat away allows the moisture to adhere to the sock, which ultimately makes the sock wet. The sock may dry quickly when laid out in the sun, but that doesn't help you while your foot is inside of a boot. Wicking fibers require evaporation to dry and little of this happens in the closed environment of sport footwear.
Drymax has devised a fabric which forces the water through the sock and away from the foot. This helps keep the foot dry inside the boot. This may seem like it's been the goal of every sock manufacturer out there all along, but the science to make this happen has never been there before to do it right. Drymax is the first sock manufacturer to really do it right. The socks do exactly what they're supposed to do. They help keep your feet dry!
Cascade Design: NeoAir sleeping pad and Technology
Sleeping pads are almost universally problematic. They tend to be bulky. They tend to be uncomfortable. And when sleeping on the cold ground, they tend to be cold. The biggest problem of all is that if one does not get a good night's sleep, summit day will be all that much harder.
The combination of these problems leads to the reality that your sleeping pad is one of the most important pieces of gear that you carry. A poor sleeping pad could actually result in a climber's failure to summit!The NeoAir sleeping pad breaks all the molds and stereotypes. It is exactly what a climber needs to be successful. First, it is one of the lightest air mattresses on the market. Second, it is literally three times warmer and more comfortable than its competitors. And third, the mattress packs down to the size of a water bottle. These three factors make this product absolutely awesome.
The NeoAir is designed with two sides, a summer side and a winter side. When the mattress is laid in its summer orientation it is slightly cooler. When it is laid in its winter orientation -- for sleeping on snow or the frozen ground -- it is significantly warmer due to technology which reflects the heat back up.
Every single guide who tested this product said that they wanted one immediately. Indeed, the guide's who have tested this particular product keep asking if they can "just use it for one more trip..."
Over the years we have tested a variety of solar technologies in the extreme environments of the Alaska Range and the Andes. In that time Brunton has gone through a number of generations of solar panels. The Solais Solar Panels and the technology behind them are the most durable, compact and effective on the market.
The Solais Panels are far smaller than the competitors but still provide a good amount of power per square inch. This is thanks to their new Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) technology. It is this technology that also allows the panels to collapse to a very packable size.
On this year's American Alpine Institute Denali expeditions, our guides were repeatedly asked if other teams would be able to borrow our Solais Solar Panels so that they could charge their technology. This is because no other panels would work in the low light. We were always able to get a charge, no matter how bad the blizzard.
Julbo: Bivouak Fully Fashionable Fuctional Glacier Glasses
Every guide at the American Alpine Institute wears Julbo glasses. This is because they are universally recognized as the premiere eyewear for mountain activities throughout the world.
Guides are always looking for versatility in the products that they choose to use. And while the other Julbo products are excellent, the Julbo Bivouak stands out. The Bivouak is fashionable and functional. This product has magnetic side-shields which allow for a lower level of light penetration while working in the snow but allows a quick and easy transition to higher ventilation and a more fashionable look when off the snow. This is due to the low profile easy-to-use side shield attachments.Cost, versatility and fashion make this a highly useful product for guides and recreational climbers alike.
To learn more about the Guide's Choice testing program, click here.
July and August Climbing Events
--July 20 - 22 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- 2009 Mammut Bouldering Championships
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 25 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Sunburn Comp
--August 16 -- Squamish, BC, Canada -- 2009 Squamish Mountain Festival
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 25 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Sunburn Comp
--August 16 -- Squamish, BC, Canada -- 2009 Squamish Mountain Festival
Monday, July 20, 2009
Triaxal Loading on Trees
Surprisingly, there is one mistake that both beginners and advanced climbers alike tend to make. Many people will wrap a tree with a sling and then clip the sling. Often the sling is wrapped around the tree in such a way that it is loading the carabiner improperly. A carabiner that is loaded from three directions is often referred to as being triaxally or tri-directionally loaded. This is very very bad...
In this photo the carabiner is radically tri-loaded.
An impact on such a carabiner could cause failure.
A tri-loaded carabiner is crossloaded. It will not hold a high impact fall. As such, it is important to use slings that are long enough to tie off. In the preceding example, there is not enough sling material to get all the way around the tree, but even if there was enough for the carabiner to hang more loosely, it could still triaxally load it.
One could tie the sling off with a pre-equalized knot, but this isn't required. The following photo shows one quick example of a tie-off that eliminates the possibility of triaxal loading.
Triaxal loading is a detail that a lot of climbers don't think about. But it is just these kinds of minor details that can get you in the end. The phrase, "the Devil's in the details," didn't come from nowhere.
--Jason D. Martin
In this photo the carabiner is radically tri-loaded.An impact on such a carabiner could cause failure.
A tri-loaded carabiner is crossloaded. It will not hold a high impact fall. As such, it is important to use slings that are long enough to tie off. In the preceding example, there is not enough sling material to get all the way around the tree, but even if there was enough for the carabiner to hang more loosely, it could still triaxally load it.
One could tie the sling off with a pre-equalized knot, but this isn't required. The following photo shows one quick example of a tie-off that eliminates the possibility of triaxal loading.
Triaxal loading is a detail that a lot of climbers don't think about. But it is just these kinds of minor details that can get you in the end. The phrase, "the Devil's in the details," didn't come from nowhere.
--Jason D. Martin
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you Stoked!
Well, I had a tough time coming up with a theme this week so I thought that I would just show a couple random videos to get your stoke up for the weekend. I hope you enjoy the show and have a good time out there!
The next two videos are compilations of extreme outdoor sports. Both were selected as videos in the Nissan Outdoor Games and one of the was also featured in the Banff Film Festival. They are high quality and chock full of action!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Shuksan Summit Climbs Offered
Mount Shuksan is one of the most beautiful mountains on the planet. The peak presents all of the most spectacular features that an alpine environment can offer - steep walls, hanging glaciers, heathered arms, and alpine tarns. Climbers from around the world look at this striking non-volcanic peak and say one thing, "I have to climb that!"
The Dramatic Nooksack Cirque
Mount Shuksan is one of the most photographed mountains in the world, and for a very good reason. The mountain is complex. Mount Shuksan is comprised of seven glaciers, four major faces and five dramatic ridges. Awe-inspiring icefalls and ice cliffs tower above open cliffbands, while blue-tinted glacier snake down between each of the major ridgelines. This is an utterly spectacular mountain.
The American Alpine Institute has been offering guided ascents of Mount Shuksan for over thirty years. Indeed, many of our current and former guides hold first ascents of new summer lines on the mountain as well as first winter ascents of obscure parts of the peak. In other words, our staff knows the mountain very well.
A Climber Approaching the Summit
Photo by Joseph Anderson
In all the time that we have been running trips to Mount Shuksan, we have never run group summit climbs open to the public. All of our guided ascents have taken place in classes or on private trips. This year we are proud to present group summit climbs of Mount Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier.
The Sulphide Glacier offers an ascent within the grasp of most climbers, but this is no "tourist route." Different climbing problems must be overcome at different periods during the season, and there are always a variety of challenge on both rock and ice.
Though the mountain is imposing, beginner and intermediate climbers often climb the Sulphide route. On our skills day, we will review the basics of glacier travel and self-arrest, and introduce the skills of route finding and hazard evaluation. For those climbers who have previous glacier experience, we will use the skills time to review and advance the techniques that you employ in glacier climbing and self-rescue.
The Dramatic Nooksack CirqueThe American Alpine Institute has been offering guided ascents of Mount Shuksan for over thirty years. Indeed, many of our current and former guides hold first ascents of new summer lines on the mountain as well as first winter ascents of obscure parts of the peak. In other words, our staff knows the mountain very well.
A Climber Approaching the SummitPhoto by Joseph Anderson
The Sulphide Glacier offers an ascent within the grasp of most climbers, but this is no "tourist route." Different climbing problems must be overcome at different periods during the season, and there are always a variety of challenge on both rock and ice.
On this three-day summit climb, our approach will take us to a beautiful camp at the foot of the glacier. On the second day, we will review the skills needed to climb the mountain and then on third day we will work our way to the summit. Summit day on this particular mountain requires one to ascend a moderate glacier to stunning summit pyramid. Depending on the time of year, the summit may be ascended via a short steep snow couloir or by a low-fifth class rock scrambling.
Mount Shuksan at Dawn
Photo by Ben Traxler
Photo by Ben Traxler
Though the mountain is imposing, beginner and intermediate climbers often climb the Sulphide route. On our skills day, we will review the basics of glacier travel and self-arrest, and introduce the skills of route finding and hazard evaluation. For those climbers who have previous glacier experience, we will use the skills time to review and advance the techniques that you employ in glacier climbing and self-rescue.
Mount Shuksan is arguably one of the coolest mountains out there. Images of it grace nearly every Northwest coffee table book and every Northwest calender. Join us for an ascent so that your feet might grace the mountain's summit...!
Jason D. Martin
REI/AAI Hiking Presentation
There will be a presentation of aerial views of hikes in and around the Mt Baker area on Friday evening, July 17th at the Bellingham REI by AAI backpacking guide Jeff Ries. The 7pm show will include an award winning photo essay of Mt Baker by professional Photographer Tore Ofteness.
The Winchester Lookout with Mount Baker in the Background
The Winchester Lookout with Mount Baker in the BackgroundThursday, July 16, 2009
Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- July 16, 2009
Northwest:
--A teenage boy who fatally shot a hiker last summer while bear hunting on Sauk Mountain was sentenced Friday to 30 days in juvenile detention plus probation and community service that includes talking to hunting-safety students about what he did. To read more, click here.
--On Saturday, friends and family mourned the loss of Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden by making a memorial walk around Green Lake in Seattle. The pair were murdered on the Pinnacle Lake trail near Mount Pilchuck three years ago. To date nobody has been arrested or charged with the crime. To watch a report on the walk and about the murders, please click on the video link below:
--A climber rescued by helicopter after spending four nights stranded in the North Cascades said Thursday that he was looking forward to brushing his teeth. Jason Schilling, 33, spent his time in a small cave on a rock face of 8,031-foot Mount Terror, about 24 miles east of Mount Baker. The Corvallis, Ore., man was stranded there until Thursday after he stayed behind to help his injured climbing partner, Steve Trent, who was rescued Sunday by helicopter. To read more, click here.
Protesters are trying to block timber removal from the Elliott State Forest.
--A day after protesters stopped logging trucks from entering a timber sale in the Elliott State Forest in Oregon, police have moved in and made arrests. Forestry officials delivered a letter last Tuesday night warning the protesters that their blockade was illegal. Roughly half of the 50-or-so demonstrators left the area voluntarily Wednesday morning, without being arrested. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
--The New York Times ran an excellent obituary on free soloist John Bachar last week. To read it, click here. John was killed while free soloing the Dike Wall above Mammoth Lakes on July 5th.
--In order to pay for maintenance of campgrounds, picnic areas and other amenities in the Red’s Meadow area, Forest Service Staff has proposed raising the day use fee for those who drive in. Right now, when you take the mandatory shuttle bus from Mammoth to Red’s Meadow, you pay $7 for an adult and $4 for a child. This fee stays the same. The bus is mandatory for most visitors, but there are exceptions. If you do drive one of these, “exception vehicles,” the fee could go up to $10 per vehicle. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Fourteen hikers were killed last week in the Chongqing Municipality of China. The hikers were in the lower reaches of a flood-formed river in the Tanzhangxia Canyon scenic spot, Wanzhou District when waters rose. To read more, click here.
--A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon's South Rim at 6:00 am on Monday morning. Park officials have not yet determined that this incident was a suicide. To read more, click here.
--AAI guide Mary Harlan and Jason Brown completed a first ascent on the North Rim of the Black Canyon of Gunnison this week. Road Head is a six pitch 5.10 route that climbs a prominent feature in the canyoin. To read more about this ascent, click here.
--The National Parks Foundation just launched the first-ever Your Parks Video Challenge. Participants have to film their personalized experience at a national park this summer for the potential to win a variety of prizes. To read more, click here.
National Park Services Director, Jon Jarvis
--Speaking of National Parks, the next National Park Service Director has been choosen. President Obama picked the seasoned Jon Jarvis, who heads the Pacific West section of our national parks and in a three-decade career has worked as a seasonal and interpretive ranger, protection ranger, a resource management specialist, a park biologist, and chief of natural and cultural resources. He also served as director for Wrangells-St. Elias and Mt. Rainier. This particular choice is somewhat controversial. To read more, click here and here.
Dave Turner's Camp on Baffin Island
Photo by Dave Turner
--Last week a trip report was posted on supertopo.com that ranks up there as one of the best trip reports we've seen. Dave Turner did a solo trip to Baffin Island to do some serious climbing and his story and photos from that adventure are absolutely great. To read the story, click here.
Skiing on Baffin Island
Photo by Dave Turner
--The National Park Service just closed the popular Jumbo Rocks camping area in Joshua Tree National Park for terrifying reasons -- swarming bees. Officials have closed the spot until August 10, unless bee activity diminishes. To read more, click here.
--Last week, after a year of training, the largest group of blind climbers and the youngest blind climber set two world records successfully summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. To read more, click here.
First Camel Ascents are a bit Uncommon
--A camel recently ascended Mount Washington. If you'd like to read about the first camel ascent of the mountain, click here.
--Environmentalists using park service rock anchors scaled Mount Rushmore last week and unfurled a banner along President Abraham Lincoln's face challenging America's leaders to stop global warming. To read more, click here. The following video shows Greenpeace activists rappelling down Mount Rushmore to place the banner:
--A teenage boy who fatally shot a hiker last summer while bear hunting on Sauk Mountain was sentenced Friday to 30 days in juvenile detention plus probation and community service that includes talking to hunting-safety students about what he did. To read more, click here.
--On Saturday, friends and family mourned the loss of Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden by making a memorial walk around Green Lake in Seattle. The pair were murdered on the Pinnacle Lake trail near Mount Pilchuck three years ago. To date nobody has been arrested or charged with the crime. To watch a report on the walk and about the murders, please click on the video link below:
--A climber rescued by helicopter after spending four nights stranded in the North Cascades said Thursday that he was looking forward to brushing his teeth. Jason Schilling, 33, spent his time in a small cave on a rock face of 8,031-foot Mount Terror, about 24 miles east of Mount Baker. The Corvallis, Ore., man was stranded there until Thursday after he stayed behind to help his injured climbing partner, Steve Trent, who was rescued Sunday by helicopter. To read more, click here.
Protesters are trying to block timber removal from the Elliott State Forest.Sierra:
--The New York Times ran an excellent obituary on free soloist John Bachar last week. To read it, click here. John was killed while free soloing the Dike Wall above Mammoth Lakes on July 5th.
--In order to pay for maintenance of campgrounds, picnic areas and other amenities in the Red’s Meadow area, Forest Service Staff has proposed raising the day use fee for those who drive in. Right now, when you take the mandatory shuttle bus from Mammoth to Red’s Meadow, you pay $7 for an adult and $4 for a child. This fee stays the same. The bus is mandatory for most visitors, but there are exceptions. If you do drive one of these, “exception vehicles,” the fee could go up to $10 per vehicle. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Fourteen hikers were killed last week in the Chongqing Municipality of China. The hikers were in the lower reaches of a flood-formed river in the Tanzhangxia Canyon scenic spot, Wanzhou District when waters rose. To read more, click here.
--A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon's South Rim at 6:00 am on Monday morning. Park officials have not yet determined that this incident was a suicide. To read more, click here.
--AAI guide Mary Harlan and Jason Brown completed a first ascent on the North Rim of the Black Canyon of Gunnison this week. Road Head is a six pitch 5.10 route that climbs a prominent feature in the canyoin. To read more about this ascent, click here.
--The National Parks Foundation just launched the first-ever Your Parks Video Challenge. Participants have to film their personalized experience at a national park this summer for the potential to win a variety of prizes. To read more, click here.
National Park Services Director, Jon Jarvis
Dave Turner's Camp on Baffin IslandPhoto by Dave Turner
--Last week a trip report was posted on supertopo.com that ranks up there as one of the best trip reports we've seen. Dave Turner did a solo trip to Baffin Island to do some serious climbing and his story and photos from that adventure are absolutely great. To read the story, click here.
Skiing on Baffin IslandPhoto by Dave Turner
--The National Park Service just closed the popular Jumbo Rocks camping area in Joshua Tree National Park for terrifying reasons -- swarming bees. Officials have closed the spot until August 10, unless bee activity diminishes. To read more, click here.
--Last week, after a year of training, the largest group of blind climbers and the youngest blind climber set two world records successfully summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. To read more, click here.
First Camel Ascents are a bit Uncommon--Environmentalists using park service rock anchors scaled Mount Rushmore last week and unfurled a banner along President Abraham Lincoln's face challenging America's leaders to stop global warming. To read more, click here. The following video shows Greenpeace activists rappelling down Mount Rushmore to place the banner:
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Conditions Report -- July 15, 2009
NORTHWEST:
Kevin Hogan scouting the route high on the Fin. Photo by Doug Seitz
--AAI Guide Kevin Hogan and friend of the Institute Doug Seitz recently completed the classic Backbone Ridge of Dragontail in the Enchantments. These guys were moving and completed the route car to car in a shade over 14 hours...very impressive! To read the full trip report click here.
--The road to Artist's Point above the Mt. Baker Ski Area is now open. Besides providing access to some of the most amazing alpine scenery that you can drive to in the lower 48 it also provides access to the Lake Anne/Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan as well as the Ptarmigan Ridge and the Park and Mazama Glaciers on Mt. Baker. Click here for pictures of the road work.
--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.
--The Tieton River climbing areas have been closed for the season due to nesting raptors. To read more about this closure, click here.
--We have had guides recently return from the South side of Mt. Baker. They reported that the conditions were good. Most of the crevasses are now open and easy to avoid. They are either so big that you can't miss them or small enough that you can't fall in. We also received a report that above and to the right of Survey Rock there was a major glacial release, leaving bus sized blocks of ice near the trail.
--We have recently received a couple updates regarding current Squamish conditions. Click here to read more.
SIERRA:
--After a recent trip up the Mountaineer's Route on Mt. Whitney our guide Ian McEleney reported the following conditions as of July 11th.
"Most people will want an ice axe, but could probably get away without crampons and boots if they're careful. The trail in is snow free. In the gully there is a short section of snow (maybe about 200 feet) that was pretty soft and might be doable without boots. From the notch to the summit via the couloir there is still some snow but this can be navigated around fairly easily. The Northwest Traverse finish is still snowy but is melting quickly."
--For information regarding wall closures due to falcon nesting in Yosemite National Park, click here.
Shirley Chalupa jugging up a pitch on Lurking Fear. Photo by Radek Chalupa
--Radek and Shirley Chalupa recently completed Lurking Fear on El Capitan. Radek wrote an in-depth report of the climb and took some great photos. To read more about this great climb click here.
Video of the Palisades by Leor Pantilat
The Minarets from Lake Ediza. Photo by Leor Pantilat
--Leor Pantilat was busy in the Sierras recently. He climbed both Clyde Minaret and Mt. Sill. Along the way he snapped some great photos and videos of the beautiful Sierra landscape. To read about his climb of Clyde Minaret click here, for Mt. Sill click here.
--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.
ALASKA RANGE:
--Numerous lightning strikes on the evening of July 10 resulted in two new fires in Denali National Park and Preserve. These two fires were spotted within 1000 years of each other at the base of the Ruth Glacier. Both fires have been safely contained and there are no structures immediately threatened at this time. For more information about the fires in Denali National Park click here.
--Webcam for Denali National Park.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
ALPS:
Dan descends the West Ridge of the Schusselkarspitze. Photo by Michael Stanton
--A longtime friend of the Institute, Michael Stanton, recently completed an alpine assault of the Eastern Alps. To read more about his adventurous climbs and see more incredible photos click here.
--The climbing season in the Alps has begun and we are accepting applications for our 2009 climbs of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger and many other peaks in France and Switzerland. Please call our office (360-671-1505) for current availability.
RED ROCK CANYON:
--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 scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.
JOSHUA TREE:
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Artist Point Road Opens Today!
If you happen to live in Washington, you’ll be pleased to know that the road to Artists Point opened this morning. Besides proving access to the most amazing alpine scenery that you can drive to in the Lower 48 States, it also provides access to the Lake Anne/Fisher Chimneys parking lot for Mt. Shuksan climbs and to Ptarmigan Ridge and the Park and Mazama Glaciers on Mt. Baker. It’s also one of the few locations with drive-up access to summer skiing in the US.
If you are visiting the state or if you live here and have non-climbing friends who like the beauty of the mountains, this is a "must see" destination. The views of the NW Face of Mt. Shuksan and the East Face of Mt. Baker are tremendous!
Highway Department Photos
If you are visiting the state or if you live here and have non-climbing friends who like the beauty of the mountains, this is a "must see" destination. The views of the NW Face of Mt. Shuksan and the East Face of Mt. Baker are tremendous!
Highway Department Photos
Rappel Rope Climbing Trick
One of my favorite "rope tricks" is to quickly and easily switch a rappel set-up into a rope climbing system. Indeed, I've been able to amaze a number of people with the simplicity of this set-up. One of our guides even referred to this technique as being "like magic" because it almost seems like a slight of hand it's so quick.
To easily switch from a rappel into rope climbing, you will need an autoblocking device from which you will rappel on an extension. This will require you to girth-hitch a sling through the tie-in point on your harness. Clip a locking carabiner to this extension and then run your rope through your autoblocking device the way you would normally rappel. The actual device will then be at chest or face height.
Extended rappels are extremely useful for a variety of reasons. They make it less likely that any clothing will get caught in the device, they ensure that your autoblock back-up is completely incapable of touching the the device, and they allow for tricks like the one described here.
To convert your rappel device into a rope climbing device, simply clip a locking carbiner to the "fin" of the autblocking device. From there, you will have to stand up on a small ledge in order to clip the fin to your belay loop. Once this is clipped, the device will autolock. If you pull rope through the device to climb up, it will automatically lock off.
In this picture, the sling was formerly the extension.
Photo by Zeph Locke
If you are on lower-angled terrain and are able to climb up the face, then you will not need to do anything more than to pull the rope through the device as a self-belay. However, if you are on steeper terrain, you may be required to add a foot prussik. This should be added to the rope above the device.
In this photo the sling is used for a foot prussik to assist in climbing the rope.
Photo by Zeph Locke
Once you have climbed back up the rope for whatever reason you needed to climb back up the rope, then you can easily revert the system back into a rappel by unclipping the device from the fin. Once you've unclipped this, your system will once again look like an extended rappel and you will be able to descend.
While rope tricks are rope tricks, sometimes they can be valuable. I have often used this particular trick to release a stuck rappel rope or do a variety of other things on the cliff. The more rope tricks that you know, the more tools that you have in your toolbox...and a big toolbox of tricks and techniques is arguably the best way to be ready for anything...!
--Jason D. Martin
To easily switch from a rappel into rope climbing, you will need an autoblocking device from which you will rappel on an extension. This will require you to girth-hitch a sling through the tie-in point on your harness. Clip a locking carabiner to this extension and then run your rope through your autoblocking device the way you would normally rappel. The actual device will then be at chest or face height.
Extended rappels are extremely useful for a variety of reasons. They make it less likely that any clothing will get caught in the device, they ensure that your autoblock back-up is completely incapable of touching the the device, and they allow for tricks like the one described here.
To convert your rappel device into a rope climbing device, simply clip a locking carbiner to the "fin" of the autblocking device. From there, you will have to stand up on a small ledge in order to clip the fin to your belay loop. Once this is clipped, the device will autolock. If you pull rope through the device to climb up, it will automatically lock off.
In this picture, the sling was formerly the extension.Photo by Zeph Locke
If you are on lower-angled terrain and are able to climb up the face, then you will not need to do anything more than to pull the rope through the device as a self-belay. However, if you are on steeper terrain, you may be required to add a foot prussik. This should be added to the rope above the device.
In this photo the sling is used for a foot prussik to assist in climbing the rope.Photo by Zeph Locke
Once you have climbed back up the rope for whatever reason you needed to climb back up the rope, then you can easily revert the system back into a rappel by unclipping the device from the fin. Once you've unclipped this, your system will once again look like an extended rappel and you will be able to descend.
While rope tricks are rope tricks, sometimes they can be valuable. I have often used this particular trick to release a stuck rappel rope or do a variety of other things on the cliff. The more rope tricks that you know, the more tools that you have in your toolbox...and a big toolbox of tricks and techniques is arguably the best way to be ready for anything...!
--Jason D. Martin
July and August Climbing Events
--July 3 -- Harrisburg, PA --Climb up the 50
--July 6 -- Telluride, CO --Fire on the Mountain: Film Screening and Auction
--July 7 -- Anchorage, AK --Slideshow with Timmy O'Neill
--July 11 -- Boulder, CO --Memorial Service Set for Fallen Climbers
--July 11 -- La Fayette, GA -- Rock Town Clean Up
--July 8-12 -- Lander, WY --International Climber's Festival
--July 17 -- Bellingham, WA --Aerial Tour of Mt Baker Hikes part II
--July 18 -- Castlewood Canyon, Castle Rock, CO --Summer Sandstone Series: Castlewood Canyon Bouldering Comp and Clean-Up
--July 18 -- Raleigh, NC --American Alpine Club Wilderness First Aid Course
--July 18 -- Sunnyvale, CA --ASCA Climb-a-thon at Planet Granite
--July 18 -- Strasburg, VA --Environmental Stewardship Adventure Day
--July 20 -- Reel Rock Film Competition Submission Deadline
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 6 -- Telluride, CO --Fire on the Mountain: Film Screening and Auction
--July 7 -- Anchorage, AK --Slideshow with Timmy O'Neill
--July 11 -- Boulder, CO --Memorial Service Set for Fallen Climbers
--July 11 -- La Fayette, GA -- Rock Town Clean Up
--July 8-12 -- Lander, WY --International Climber's Festival
--July 17 -- Bellingham, WA --Aerial Tour of Mt Baker Hikes part II
--July 18 -- Castlewood Canyon, Castle Rock, CO --Summer Sandstone Series: Castlewood Canyon Bouldering Comp and Clean-Up
--July 18 -- Raleigh, NC --American Alpine Club Wilderness First Aid Course
--July 18 -- Sunnyvale, CA --ASCA Climb-a-thon at Planet Granite
--July 18 -- Strasburg, VA --Environmental Stewardship Adventure Day
--July 20 -- Reel Rock Film Competition Submission Deadline
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jeff's Flying High Photo Extravaganza
AAI Backpacking Guide and pilot, Jeff Ries, took a trip to fly out over the Rockies and got some great photos for y'all to enjoy. Also included is a current photo of the Bugaboos and what the Bugs look like in August. Lastly there is a photo showing the present conditions of the Muir snowfield on Mount Rainier. Check 'em out.
Mt. Temple 11,621 Near Lake Louise
Mt. Temple 11,621 Near Lake Louise
Mt Athabasca on the Banff/Jasper border
Bow Lake with the Wapta Icefield from saturday
Mt Assiniboine, 11870 ft, east face
North face Mt Assiniboine with lake Magog near base
Mt Athabasca, Andromeda and the Athabasca glacier leading up to the Columbia icefield.
Current Conditions in the Bugs
Bugs in August
Present condition of the Muir snowfield on Rainier--Photos by AAI Backpacking Guide, Jeff Reis
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Video Tribute to John Bachar
The climbing world suffered a great loss on July 5th when John Bachar was found dead at the base of the Dike Wall near his home in Mammoth Lakes, CA. John was one of the most prolific climber and free-soloist of our time and his many ground-breaking feats and accomplishments will be forever remembered within the climbing community. He is widely considered as one of the greatest rock climbers to have ever lived and has touched the lives of all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time. May he live on through the fond memories and incredible stories that will inevitably be told for many generations to come.
Here are a few videos to remember the man, the myth, the legend, John Bachar.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Memorial to Slain Hikers
In July of 2006, I was in Bolivia. My wife came along on the trip that I was guiding and we had just returned from a series of high altitude ascents in the Condoriri region of the Cordillera Real. We were back in La Paz and Krista was assisting me as I prepped for the next stage of the trip, a short expedition to Illimani (21,122').
A normal part of returning to civilization is the obligatory email check. Usually, when I come out of the field my email is full of the normal stuff, junk-mail and correspondence with friends. Bad news seldom comes in emails. Instead, it tends to come over the phone. But we were nearly unreachable, so the bad news came in an email...
Our friends, Mary Cooper, 54, and her daughter, Susanna Stodden, 27, had been brutally murdered on July 11th, 2006 while hiking on the Pinnacle Lake trail in the Mount Pilchuck area of the Mountain Loop Highway.
Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden
Family Photo
Three years later, there are still no solid suspects and no known leads. Most murders are relatively easy to solve. It's usually a relative or the victims have well-known enemies. Mary was a librarian with the Seattle School District and Susanna had taken the summer off before starting a new job at the University Child Development School in Seattle. All of their relatives were cleared of the crime and these women simply didn't have enemies. It didn't take long for the Snohomish County Sheriff's office to site the case as a random killing.
I grew up just a few houses away from the pair and in 2006, this news hit my wife and I like a freight train. But it hit more than just those who knew the victims. This senseless crime impacted the entire outdoor community of the Pacific Northwest. Suddenly, the wilderness that we all value so much had something far more dangerous lurking in it than the normal objective dangers that we face every time we're in the field. Somebody was out there who randomly killed two women for no known reason...and this person is still out there...
On the surface, the outdoor community has recovered. It doesn't appear that anybody is staying out of the woods anymore because of this. But this incident is still buried in the community's psyche. There are deep scars there, and occasionally they can be seen on the surface. The Pinnacle Lake murders are commonly referenced by hikers, climbers and backcountry skiers on websites like nwhikers.net, cascadeclimbers.com and turns-all-year.com. Every time a body is found in the wilderness, or an article gets posted about somebody doing something stupid with a gun (like mistaking a woman for a bear and shooting her), or an argument about guns in National Parks comes up, it seems like this incident is brought back into the light.
The scar of an incident like this will always exist in our community. Think about how deeply the Peter Absolon rock trundling incident impacted both Lander and the climbing community as a whole. Granted this was only two years ago and it is a completely different thing, but the scars of that particular incident run so deeply that it was referenced as recently as this week on summitpost.com. There was closure to the Absolon incident when the rock trundler pleaded guilty, but it still haunts the community. There has been no closure to the Pinnacle Lake murders and as such there is the possibility that these scars will be there for a very long time.
Tomorrow evening, on July 11th, -- the third anniversary of their murders -- a group of Mary and Susanna's friends and family will have a memorial ceremony at Green Lake in Seattle. They will meet at the Green Lake Community Center at 7:50 and begin walking clockwise around the lake at 8:00. The family would be honored by any members of the outdoor community that would like join them on their memorial walk around the lake.
--Jason D. Martin
A normal part of returning to civilization is the obligatory email check. Usually, when I come out of the field my email is full of the normal stuff, junk-mail and correspondence with friends. Bad news seldom comes in emails. Instead, it tends to come over the phone. But we were nearly unreachable, so the bad news came in an email...
Our friends, Mary Cooper, 54, and her daughter, Susanna Stodden, 27, had been brutally murdered on July 11th, 2006 while hiking on the Pinnacle Lake trail in the Mount Pilchuck area of the Mountain Loop Highway.
Mary Cooper and Susanna StoddenFamily Photo
Three years later, there are still no solid suspects and no known leads. Most murders are relatively easy to solve. It's usually a relative or the victims have well-known enemies. Mary was a librarian with the Seattle School District and Susanna had taken the summer off before starting a new job at the University Child Development School in Seattle. All of their relatives were cleared of the crime and these women simply didn't have enemies. It didn't take long for the Snohomish County Sheriff's office to site the case as a random killing.
I grew up just a few houses away from the pair and in 2006, this news hit my wife and I like a freight train. But it hit more than just those who knew the victims. This senseless crime impacted the entire outdoor community of the Pacific Northwest. Suddenly, the wilderness that we all value so much had something far more dangerous lurking in it than the normal objective dangers that we face every time we're in the field. Somebody was out there who randomly killed two women for no known reason...and this person is still out there...
On the surface, the outdoor community has recovered. It doesn't appear that anybody is staying out of the woods anymore because of this. But this incident is still buried in the community's psyche. There are deep scars there, and occasionally they can be seen on the surface. The Pinnacle Lake murders are commonly referenced by hikers, climbers and backcountry skiers on websites like nwhikers.net, cascadeclimbers.com and turns-all-year.com. Every time a body is found in the wilderness, or an article gets posted about somebody doing something stupid with a gun (like mistaking a woman for a bear and shooting her), or an argument about guns in National Parks comes up, it seems like this incident is brought back into the light.
The scar of an incident like this will always exist in our community. Think about how deeply the Peter Absolon rock trundling incident impacted both Lander and the climbing community as a whole. Granted this was only two years ago and it is a completely different thing, but the scars of that particular incident run so deeply that it was referenced as recently as this week on summitpost.com. There was closure to the Absolon incident when the rock trundler pleaded guilty, but it still haunts the community. There has been no closure to the Pinnacle Lake murders and as such there is the possibility that these scars will be there for a very long time.
Tomorrow evening, on July 11th, -- the third anniversary of their murders -- a group of Mary and Susanna's friends and family will have a memorial ceremony at Green Lake in Seattle. They will meet at the Green Lake Community Center at 7:50 and begin walking clockwise around the lake at 8:00. The family would be honored by any members of the outdoor community that would like join them on their memorial walk around the lake.
--Jason D. Martin
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- July 9, 2009
Northwest:
--A Duvall climber slipped while on a snow field just below Monte Cristo Peak on Sunday and fell about 700 feet to her death. The death of Lindsey White, 39, is the first climbing-related fatality in Snohomish County this year, Snohomish County sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom said. To read more, click here.
--In addition to the fatality in the Cascades this weekend, there were a number of rescues. Be careful out there! Here is a rescue round-up from the holiday weekend:
--A plan is starting to come together that will decimate the backcountry skiing and climbing outside of Squamish. A new 25 lift resort is being proposed on the Brohm Ridge near Mount Garibaldi outside of Squamish. To read more about this development and to learn what can be done to stop it, click here.
--It appears that one of the grizzly bears in Washington's very small grizzly population was spotted on Cascade River Road last week. Check out some grainy pictures here.
Sierra:
--John Bachar, 51, was found dead at the base of the Dike Wall on Sunday, not far from his home, near Mammoth Lakes. Bachar was well-known for his free solo ascents throughout the world. It is assumed that he was free-soloing and fell. To read more, click here. To see a video of him free-soloing in the eighties, click on the following video.
Alaska:
--The American Alpine Institute's Denali Team #8 successfully summited on July 5th. Andries Botha -- from Edmonton, Canada -- deserves a special mention. Denali was the last of his quest to climb the Seven Summits! To read more, click here.
--James Clapham and Gavin Pike recently completed new routes on Peak 11,300' and on Mt. Church in the Ruth Gorge area of the Alaska Range. To read more about these ascents, click here.
--Matt Klick and Samuel Johnson recently completed a new route Hayes Range on Mount Balchen (11,140'). The new line requires steep, mixed climbing for 14 pitches. To read more, click here.
--Two well-known Northwest climbers made a first ascent on the west ridge of the Burkett Needle on July 4th. Dave Burdick and John Frieh put up the fifth route on the feature and called it, "Smash and Grab" 5.8 M4 IV. To read about their ascent, click here.
Himalaya:
--Ed Viesturs was featured on Colbert Nation this week. To watch the video of Ed and Stephen Colbert, check out the following:
--The UIAA Medical Commission says better education is urgently required to prevent the deaths of pilgrims going to high altitudes in the Himalayas. High-altitude sickness may have been responsible for the deaths of at least eight Indian pilgrims over the past couple of weeks during the pilgrimage to the Kailash Manasarovar area, located at 4,560 metres above sea level near the Nepal-Tibet border. To read more, click here.
--Young Sherpa conservationists are organising a race on June 18 to draw attention to the devastating effects of Global Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Himalayas. The The Beat the GLOF Action Run will be the highlight of the Imja Tsho Action Event 2009, and has been initiated by Nepali mountaineer Dawa Steven Sherpa. The race will demonstrate that even the fastest runner cannot escape from a GLOF, a flood which is caused when lakes formed by melting ice burst their natural dams. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--The UIAA Safety Commission recently adopted a draft of the first-ever safety standard for braking devices at its May meeting in Golden, Colorado. The standard, which will be published and available from September 30, 2009, lays out performance parameters and testing procedures for belaying and abseiling devices. To read more, click here.
--The New York Times recently published an editorial on the an ambitious environmental bill entitled, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. The bill is currently awaiting action in Congress and has been doing so for a very long time. It has never come up for a vote. To read more about this bill, click here.
--The International Space Station has been responsible for numerous scientific achievements. But what use is it to climbers? Well, this week that question was answered. The station video taped the eruption of the Sarychev Volcano off the coast of Japan from space. And this video is not only cool, but it really makes you feel that being anywhere near an active volcano is a bad idea. Check it out below:
--A Duvall climber slipped while on a snow field just below Monte Cristo Peak on Sunday and fell about 700 feet to her death. The death of Lindsey White, 39, is the first climbing-related fatality in Snohomish County this year, Snohomish County sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom said. To read more, click here.
--In addition to the fatality in the Cascades this weekend, there were a number of rescues. Be careful out there! Here is a rescue round-up from the holiday weekend:
- It appears that there was a helicopter extraction near Green Giant Buttress on Friday. Source.
- Two climbers were extracted from the 3800 foot level on Mount Index on July 3rd. One had a lacerated knee. Source.
- Immediately after picking up the climbers on Index, Mountain Rescue extracted a hiker with a severely dislocated knee from Copper Creek Falls at the eastern foot of Big Bear Mountain. Source.
- A climber had some teeth knocked out by rockfall on Mount Rainier on the 4th. He was evacuated by helicopter. Source.
- On July 6th, there was an accident on Mount Terror in North Cascades National Park. A climber was evacuated by helicopter, while a second climber was left with a radio and asked to walk out. Source.
--A plan is starting to come together that will decimate the backcountry skiing and climbing outside of Squamish. A new 25 lift resort is being proposed on the Brohm Ridge near Mount Garibaldi outside of Squamish. To read more about this development and to learn what can be done to stop it, click here.
--It appears that one of the grizzly bears in Washington's very small grizzly population was spotted on Cascade River Road last week. Check out some grainy pictures here.
Sierra:
--John Bachar, 51, was found dead at the base of the Dike Wall on Sunday, not far from his home, near Mammoth Lakes. Bachar was well-known for his free solo ascents throughout the world. It is assumed that he was free-soloing and fell. To read more, click here. To see a video of him free-soloing in the eighties, click on the following video.
Alaska:
--The American Alpine Institute's Denali Team #8 successfully summited on July 5th. Andries Botha -- from Edmonton, Canada -- deserves a special mention. Denali was the last of his quest to climb the Seven Summits! To read more, click here.
--James Clapham and Gavin Pike recently completed new routes on Peak 11,300' and on Mt. Church in the Ruth Gorge area of the Alaska Range. To read more about these ascents, click here.
--Matt Klick and Samuel Johnson recently completed a new route Hayes Range on Mount Balchen (11,140'). The new line requires steep, mixed climbing for 14 pitches. To read more, click here.
--Two well-known Northwest climbers made a first ascent on the west ridge of the Burkett Needle on July 4th. Dave Burdick and John Frieh put up the fifth route on the feature and called it, "Smash and Grab" 5.8 M4 IV. To read about their ascent, click here.
Himalaya:
--Ed Viesturs was featured on Colbert Nation this week. To watch the video of Ed and Stephen Colbert, check out the following:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Ed Viesturs | ||||
| ||||
--The UIAA Medical Commission says better education is urgently required to prevent the deaths of pilgrims going to high altitudes in the Himalayas. High-altitude sickness may have been responsible for the deaths of at least eight Indian pilgrims over the past couple of weeks during the pilgrimage to the Kailash Manasarovar area, located at 4,560 metres above sea level near the Nepal-Tibet border. To read more, click here.
--Young Sherpa conservationists are organising a race on June 18 to draw attention to the devastating effects of Global Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Himalayas. The The Beat the GLOF Action Run will be the highlight of the Imja Tsho Action Event 2009, and has been initiated by Nepali mountaineer Dawa Steven Sherpa. The race will demonstrate that even the fastest runner cannot escape from a GLOF, a flood which is caused when lakes formed by melting ice burst their natural dams. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--The UIAA Safety Commission recently adopted a draft of the first-ever safety standard for braking devices at its May meeting in Golden, Colorado. The standard, which will be published and available from September 30, 2009, lays out performance parameters and testing procedures for belaying and abseiling devices. To read more, click here.
--The New York Times recently published an editorial on the an ambitious environmental bill entitled, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. The bill is currently awaiting action in Congress and has been doing so for a very long time. It has never come up for a vote. To read more about this bill, click here.
--The International Space Station has been responsible for numerous scientific achievements. But what use is it to climbers? Well, this week that question was answered. The station video taped the eruption of the Sarychev Volcano off the coast of Japan from space. And this video is not only cool, but it really makes you feel that being anywhere near an active volcano is a bad idea. Check it out below:
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Conditions Report -- July 8, 2009
NORTHWEST:
Matt Clifton tackling the first aid section of the East Buttress. Photo by Martha Stevens
--A couple parties completed the Direct East Buttress of the South Early Winter Spire recently. Both wrote detailed trip reports regarding the current conditions on the route, including a reported loose block right below the 5.9+ roof crux, at a small tree growing out of the crack. To read more about the climbs click here and here.
Valerie Wall leading up to the summit ridge of Mt. Buckner. Photo by Hayley Wall
--A party completed the North Face of Mt. Buckner recently. The climbers, who happen to be sisters as well, documented the trip well with photos and current conditions. To read more about their climb click here.
Looking out at a snow traverse on the Torment-Forbidden Traverse. Photo by John Calder
--John Calder and his partner celebrated the 4th of July by embarking on a one day attempt of the classic Torment-Forbidden Traverse. Read about their fantastic climb and the current route conditions here.
Ty Tyler on the incredible ridge climbing high on Mt. Goode. Photo by Andrew Sullivan
--It was a busy weekend in the Cascades. Everyone seemed to be celebrating Independence Day in the same way...climbing! Andrew Sullivan and his climbing partner Ty Tyler climbed the Northeast Buttress of Mt. Goode. To read an account of this ascent and the conditions in the area click here.
Brandon Helmstedder leading the crux pitch on the N. Ridge of Mt. Baker. Photo by Tyler Lappetito
--Tyler Lappetito and his two friends, Brandon Helmstedder and Leif Whittaker, headed out on July 2nd to climb the North Ridge of Mt. Baker. Tyler wrote a great summary of their climb and posted some valuable information regarding the current conditions of the route. To read this report and check out some beautiful photos click here.
--Crews will start clearing the road to Artist Point above Mt. Baker Ski Area on Monday, July 6, according to a state Department of Transportation news release. To read more click here.
--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.
--One of our guides, Dawn Glanc, recently returned from Boston Basin. She reported numerous downed trees located in slide paths. These areas are becoming treacherous due to the melting of snow underneath and could collapse if being crossed. Use extreme caution if traveling across these areas on the trail.
--The Tieton River climbing areas have been closed for the season due to nesting raptors. To read more about this closure, click here.
--We have had guides recently return from the South side of Mt. Baker. They reported that the conditions were good. Most of the crevasses are now open and easy to avoid. They are either so big that you can't miss them or small enough that you can't fall in. We also received a report that above and to the right of Survey Rock there was a major glacial release, leaving bus sized blocks of ice near the trail.
--We have recently received a couple updates regarding current Squamish conditions. Click here to read more.
--More updates from our friendly neighbors to the north with regard to the Bugaboos:
Just had my first trip of the season up to the Bugs and things are looking good. It is definitely still a bit early but there is already lots to do.
Road
The road is in descent shape and ok for a small car with a bit of navigating through ruts around KM 34. I was in a Toyota Matrix and had no problems.
Trail
The trail to the Kain hut is mostly snow free but there are a couple of significant piles of avalanche debris and a few fallen trees to negotiate along the way.
Travel Conditions
Generally, things seem a little ahead of usual. There is still lots of snow above the hut but the moraines are melting out fast. Travel on the lower elevation snow is good in the morning (with a good freeze) and becomes a bit of a slog in the PM when things warm up. Up high (above ~2800m) you can still expect up to knee deep foot penetration through a breakable crust but
this would only affect the last bit of glacier to the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire. The Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is in good shape right now but there is already lots of loose rock melted out on the sides.
Routes
Most of the regular stuff is climbable with a few snow patches remaining. The low elevation routes in the Crescent area look dry as do many of the routes on the west face of Snowpatch. There will inevitably be some wet sections on most routes but they are shrinking by the day. The higher shady routes like the NE Ridge of Bugaboo and the Becky-Chouinard will likely have snow and ice in them for a little while yet.
Bears
There is a sow grizzly with two, one year old cubs hanging around Bugaboo Creek these days but there was no recent evidence of their presence on the trail.
South Howser Descent
A new descent has been established from the South Howser Tower that avoids the cornice, loose rock and rope eating flakes of the existing descent. It roughly follows the North Face-Ridge route towards the Central Howser. Stop in at the hut to see a detailed topo.
Cheers,
Marc Pich?
ACMG, IFMGA
Mountain Guide
SIERRA:
--For information regarding wall closures due to falcon nesting in Yosemite National Park, click here.
--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.
ALASKA RANGE:
--Webcam for Denali National Park.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt volcano. All of the major landing strips are melting out. Strips on the Kahiltna, the Ruth and on the Pika are all in poor shape. Access to the range will be limited in the very near future.
ALPS:
--The climbing season in the Alps has begun and we are accepting applications for our 2009 climbs of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger and many other peaks in France and Switzerland. Please call our office (360-671-1505) for current availability.
RED ROCK CANYON:
--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 scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.
JOSHUA TREE:
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Following Denali Summit, Bikini Anyone? – Team has the Mountain to Themselves
“Hello everyone. We’re glad to tell you that we are back at 14,000 feet. Getting here we felt like we were walking into summer. It really is summer here, and we’ve been basking in it! It’s 50 degrees in the shade and a lot warmer than that in the sun. If I had a bikini, I’d be wearing one, but didn’t think to bring one. Never thought I would need one on Denali.
We stayed at our 17,200’ high camp yesterday because it was so windy. It was cold, and there were super high winds last night. They were consistently running at 35-40mph with 60 gusts frequently. There was also a lot of new snow, so it was continuously spindrifty, and it would have been extremely unpleasant climbing. Staying put was definitely the right thing to do. It’s important to be patient on the way down as well as on the way up!
The wind dropped to 15mph at 6am and then went down to 5 to 10 by 8am. So we were happy to pack up and come down this morning. We made it in about four hours. Most of the time was spent between the top of the buttress and the camp at 14,000. Coming down from 17,000 along the top of the buttress was nice – most of the snow had been blown off by the wind, but coming down the fixed ropes the snow was thick and wet. It really balled up on the crampons and was a pain.
So here are a few messages from this very happy group of climbers:
Kevin will call Jean on Thursday afternoon.
Andreas wants his daughter to change his flight to Edmonton to Friday afternoon.
Phil says "Hi" to his dad!
So the current plan is a dinner of big, juicy cheese sandwiches and then early to bed. We’ll get up in the night and pack up and descend to Camp 1. We want the lowest possible temperatures to freeze up the snow pack. We’ll spend Wednesday day there and then get up in the night again and descend to base camp, arriving there in the early hours Thursday. We scheduled our ski plane pickup with K2 Aviation at 9:00am Thursday morning. Hopefully the weather will co-operate! We’re looking forward to being down and soon seeing friends and loved ones.
We’re still psyched about reaching the summit. We should tell you that just like summit day when we had the mountain to ourselves except four other people, Camp 3 at 14,000 is now deserted except for one other group. This is normally such a busy place. It’s funny how quiet and empty it is here now. The rangers are packing up all their stuff and getting ready to leave for the season.
It’s been a challenging year for weather, and we feel lucky we had the good conditions when we really needed them. After all the other AAI teams did so well again this year, we were especially glad that our team could summit too, since it's the last of the season.
It’s been a great trip and we’ve had some really good times together. These guys are pretty funny. We’ll call you again to let you know how we are doing as we make our way down. Talk to you soon and see you all pretty soon!”
NOTE:
You can follow the progress of all AAI Denali expeditions on the dispatch page of AAI's website: www.aai.cc The URL for the specific page is:http://aai.cc/currentnews/ Use the drop down to find the team you want to follow.
Dispatches are posted Monday through Friday on the dispatch page. Aside from special events (e.g., summits, major storms, etc), they are posted on this blog only on the weekends. On Mondays they are moved to the dispatch page.
Lack of a current dispatch indicates that the team is really busy, that they have had a problem establishing an adequate satellite transmission, or that they haven't been able to use their solar panel to recharge batteries and are preserving their batteries for safety needs.
The Double-Fisherman's Knot
Arguably, the most difficult knot to teach is the double-fisherman's knot. It is normal for our guides to spend a significant amount of time with students on this particular knot. And even with a lot of time spent focusing on it, some still don't come away with a master's level knowledge of it.
If you have this knot completely wired, then congratulations. If you don't, then this blogpost is just for you...!
The Double-Fisherman's Knot
The double-fisherman's knot is a knot that may be used to join two ropes together. The ropes may be of similar or dissimilar diameters. It is a very secure knot. Indeed, it is so secure, that it is often recommended for cords that will be permanently tied together such as prussik loops.
The biggest problem with the double-fisherman's is that it is very difficult to untie once it has been loaded. As a result, it is not recommended for quick situations where you want to tie two ropes together, such as in rappels.
The Canadian Guide, Mike Barter has put together the following video on how to tie a double-fisherman's knot:
--Jason D. Martin
If you have this knot completely wired, then congratulations. If you don't, then this blogpost is just for you...!
The Double-Fisherman's KnotThe biggest problem with the double-fisherman's is that it is very difficult to untie once it has been loaded. As a result, it is not recommended for quick situations where you want to tie two ropes together, such as in rappels.
The Canadian Guide, Mike Barter has put together the following video on how to tie a double-fisherman's knot:
--Jason D. Martin
July and August Climbing Events
--July 3 -- Harrisburg, PA --Climb up the 50
--July 6 -- Telluride, CO --Fire on the Mountain: Film Screening and Auction
--July 7 -- Anchorage, AK --Slideshow with Timmy O'Neill
--July 11 -- Boulder, CO --Memorial Service Set for Fallen Climbers
--July 11 -- La Fayette, GA -- Rock Town Clean Up
--July 8-12 -- Lander, WY --International Climber's Festival
--July 17 -- Bellingham, WA --Aerial Tour of Mt Baker Hikes part II
--July 18 -- Castlewood Canyon, Castle Rock, CO --Summer Sandstone Series: Castlewood Canyon Bouldering Comp and Clean-Up
--July 18 -- Raleigh, NC --American Alpine Club Wilderness First Aid Course
--July 18 -- Sunnyvale, CA --ASCA Climb-a-thon at Planet Granite
--July 18 -- Strasburg, VA --Environmental Stewardship Adventure Day
--July 20 -- Reel Rock Film Competition Submission Deadline
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
--July 6 -- Telluride, CO --Fire on the Mountain: Film Screening and Auction
--July 7 -- Anchorage, AK --Slideshow with Timmy O'Neill
--July 11 -- Boulder, CO --Memorial Service Set for Fallen Climbers
--July 11 -- La Fayette, GA -- Rock Town Clean Up
--July 8-12 -- Lander, WY --International Climber's Festival
--July 17 -- Bellingham, WA --Aerial Tour of Mt Baker Hikes part II
--July 18 -- Castlewood Canyon, Castle Rock, CO --Summer Sandstone Series: Castlewood Canyon Bouldering Comp and Clean-Up
--July 18 -- Raleigh, NC --American Alpine Club Wilderness First Aid Course
--July 18 -- Sunnyvale, CA --ASCA Climb-a-thon at Planet Granite
--July 18 -- Strasburg, VA --Environmental Stewardship Adventure Day
--July 20 -- Reel Rock Film Competition Submission Deadline
--July 25 -- Obed/Clear Creek, GA -- Help Clean Up the Obed
--July 25 -- Hinckley, OH -- Whipp's Ledges Cleanup
Monday, July 6, 2009
Funny Climbing Quotes
Climbing is a sport rife with literary characters who have said some very funny things. With the help of this website, I was able to come up with a nice list of quotes. Here are some great one liners:
These are all great and the website that I found these on has a great deal more. What climbing quotes have you heard? We would love it if you would post them on our comments page!
--Jason D. Martin
"A climber's day always starts at the crux: getting out of bed." -- Unknown--It's pretty common for people on the internet to talk about how they're great climbers. We often refer to this as spray. Dawn Alguard had a great response to such an individual on the rec.climbing google website:
"I don't want to write about climbing; I don't want talk about it; I don't want to photograph it; I don't want to think about it; all I want to do is do it." -- Chuck Pratt
"One method of getting loved ones to look more fondly on your climbing is to tell them that since you've started climbing you hardly do drugs anymore." -- David Harris
"There is no difference between religion and politics. Both involve lies and fanatical beliefs that generaly defy logic... Just like rock climbing." -- David Schuller
"To qualify for mountain rescue work, you have to pass our test. The doctor holds a flashlight to your ear. If he can see light coming out the other one, you qualify." -- Willi Pfisterer
"Here's the thing. You'd like to talk about yourself and what swell stuff you've climbed lately. Well, who wouldn't ? As it turns out, we have a format in which that sort of spray is acceptable. It's called a TR. In a TR, every other word can be 'I' and the words in between can be numbers representing how rad you are, though it's a time-honored tradition to throw in a few sentences about how afraid you were that you *weren't* going to [insert heroic deed here] before getting to the part about how you do.--A student working on a research paper once asked Mike Garrison how glaciers move. The student asked, "can you please tell me what you know about the movement of glaciers?" Mike's response follows:
Your trouble is that you're trying to disguise your spray as RFIs or attempts at actual human conversation and no one is fooled. It is quite possible to say 'Now that I climb outside so often I find that I absolutely suck at gym climbing and since I'm having a miserable time there, what with everyone snickering at me and falling off of things I think I should be able to do, I'm asking myself why I spend the money on a gym membership when I can go to rec.climbing and get snickered at for free' without mentioning a single number."
Glaciers feel best when they have one movement per day. Some glaciers do just fine with fewer movements, but when they don't have movements for a long time the result can be quite bad. Glaciers which move much more frequently tend to have loose and soft terminal moraines (also called rock piles).--One time Greg Hamilton was asked what he suggested as a high altitude training regimen. He responded with the following comment:
Glacial movement is almost always associated with the release of water. But sometimes glaciers release water without experiencing a movement.
I suggest going out to the nearest pub and getting completely, and utterly, wasted. Make sure you smoke at least 1 pack of unfiltered Camel's. Get the full ashtray, pour a drink in it and then pour the mixture into a water bottle.
When you get home (ideally around 3:30am) stick the vile mixture into your freezer. Put on your best goretex and thermal layer. Climb in. At 5:30am, get out, drink (chew?) the mixture and go run the biggest flight of stairs you can find. Run until your heart threatens to explode.
The dehydration caused by the alcohol should adequately simulate what you may experience at higher altitudes. Your lung capacity should be sufficiently impaired by the smokes to simulate a oxygen poor environment. The freezer episode should adequately replicate a bivy. Drinking the booze/butt mixture should simulate your lack of appetite.....
Oh — once your finished your workout, go to work (to replicate the long walk out).
These are all great and the website that I found these on has a great deal more. What climbing quotes have you heard? We would love it if you would post them on our comments page!
--Jason D. Martin
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Weekend Warrior -- Videos to get you stoked!
Well, I hope everyone is gearing up for yet another 4th of July full of celebration and great outdoor adventures. This week I decided to bring all you Weekend Warriors a little dose of speed ascents, since nothing quite says America like climbing as fast as you possibly can up a rock/snow/ice face. So, enjoy the show and try not to light anything on fire this weekend!
Friday, July 3, 2009
An Ascent of Forbidden Peak
On June 27, 2009, DC Dugdale and I began a four-day trip to Boston Basin with the American Alpine Institute. This was not DC’s first trip with AAI, but it was our first trip together. Our objective was the Northwest Face of Forbidden. Neither DC nor myself had ever climbed the route before, but the route looked amazing.
The line had all the qualities of a Cascades adventure. There would be glacier travel, steep snow, and rock climbing. There was limited route beta available for the climb, and the conditions were still holding at late spring. So with the spirit of adventure we headed up to the peak.
On day one we hiked into Boston Basin. We planned to camp at the lower camp. The trail in had more blowdown than normal. Fallen trees and other avalanche debris obstructed the trail. The recent winter destruction made the trail even more arduous than usual. Even though the trail seemed tedious, we made it to camp in good time.
Boston Basin from the Standard Camp
Photo by Dawn Glanc
On day two we awoke to thick clouds. It drizzled throughout the night. We choose to chill a bit due to the weather. As the day moved along, the clouds broke and the blue sky replaced the gray clouds that blanketed us. With a mid-morning start we began to climb the mountain. Our goal for the day was to bivy at the top of the west ridge col. we headed up the couloir, moving together through the steep snow. A few easy rock pitches led us to the notch. We made our camp in a very precarious looking spot. The tent looked like it was going to fall off the mountain at any moment. However the ledge was flat and just the right size. We settled in and started to melt snow for water.
After dinner we scoped the descent into the Northwest face. Looking down from the notch into the northwest face was daunting. The snow heading down was very steep, too steep for down climbing. Little to no rock was exposed, which meant that the rock rap stations might not be available. We thought that if we went for it, after we pulled the rope from the first rap, we would be totally committed to the northwest face. After some scouting and some discussion, DC and I came to the agreement that the route was more than we were willing to commit to. The plan was then changed to climb the west ridge.
On day three we awoke to another bluebird day. It was beautiful. The temperatures were great and we were stoked to climb. The west ridge was calling to be climbed. The route was beautiful alpine ridge climbing and the views were incredible. We made it to the summit in a reasonable amount of time and we were able to enjoy it uninterrupted by others. We then down-climbed and rappelled our way back to the notch.
The striking last pitch of Forbidden
Photo by Dawn Glanc
After returning to our bivy, we packed camp and headed down the coulior. Three double rope full-length rappels and some down climbing returned us to the glacier. With fatigue filling our legs, we pushed on down the glacier back to the low camp. Over dinner that night we reflected upon a great day. We could not have asked for better weather. It was another great day in the mountains.
The final day we hiked out to the car. Going downhill made the trail a bit easier. All the downed trees still makes for slow going even when gravity is in your favor. We passed a few other climbing parties as we were descending down the trail. Each seemed as eager as we were on the opening days of the trip. We smiled and shared our newly experienced route beta with those we passed. We were psyched to climb Forbidden via the west ridge. We had a true sense of accomplishment. I am now inspired to go back later in the season to try the Northwest Face again.
- - Dawn Glanc, AAI Guide
The line had all the qualities of a Cascades adventure. There would be glacier travel, steep snow, and rock climbing. There was limited route beta available for the climb, and the conditions were still holding at late spring. So with the spirit of adventure we headed up to the peak.
On day one we hiked into Boston Basin. We planned to camp at the lower camp. The trail in had more blowdown than normal. Fallen trees and other avalanche debris obstructed the trail. The recent winter destruction made the trail even more arduous than usual. Even though the trail seemed tedious, we made it to camp in good time.
Boston Basin from the Standard CampPhoto by Dawn Glanc
After dinner we scoped the descent into the Northwest face. Looking down from the notch into the northwest face was daunting. The snow heading down was very steep, too steep for down climbing. Little to no rock was exposed, which meant that the rock rap stations might not be available. We thought that if we went for it, after we pulled the rope from the first rap, we would be totally committed to the northwest face. After some scouting and some discussion, DC and I came to the agreement that the route was more than we were willing to commit to. The plan was then changed to climb the west ridge.
On day three we awoke to another bluebird day. It was beautiful. The temperatures were great and we were stoked to climb. The west ridge was calling to be climbed. The route was beautiful alpine ridge climbing and the views were incredible. We made it to the summit in a reasonable amount of time and we were able to enjoy it uninterrupted by others. We then down-climbed and rappelled our way back to the notch.
The striking last pitch of ForbiddenPhoto by Dawn Glanc
The final day we hiked out to the car. Going downhill made the trail a bit easier. All the downed trees still makes for slow going even when gravity is in your favor. We passed a few other climbing parties as we were descending down the trail. Each seemed as eager as we were on the opening days of the trip. We smiled and shared our newly experienced route beta with those we passed. We were psyched to climb Forbidden via the west ridge. We had a true sense of accomplishment. I am now inspired to go back later in the season to try the Northwest Face again.
- - Dawn Glanc, AAI Guide
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- July 2, 2009
Northwest:
--Twenty-seven year-old Kristopher Haskins was hit by two large boulders while climbing the Sandy Glacier Headwall on Mount Hood on Sunday. The impact broke both of the young man's legs. Haskins' partner, Jim Prager, was forced to leave in order to obtain help. To read more, click here.
--A climbing ranger was injured while skiing down from Mt. Rainier's summit Wednesday afternoon. Two rangers had reached the summit earlier in the day and were skiing back down to Camp Sherman when one punched through a hole in the snow and fell 40 feet into a crevasse, said Rainier Park spokesman Lee Taylor. To read more, click here.
Perhaps trails near I-90 will be a bit safer now that target shooting will be banned in the area.
--The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is closing several roads along the I-90 corridor to target shooters starting July 4th weekend. The closure area encompasses the valley bottom that follows the I-90 freeway corridor from exit 38 to the top of Snoqualmie Pass. The Tinkham and Denny Creek roads are included. This closure is primarily due to the numerous close calls that have taken place over the last few years. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
El Capitan from Wikipedia
--Speed climber Holly Beck was injured this week in an attempt to climb the Nose in a day on El Capitan. It appears that she took a fall while short-fixing which resulted in a concussion and a broken arm. She was evacuated by a SAR team. To read more, click here.
--It appears that there are a couple of small fires currently burning in Yosemite National Park. The Grouse Fire (250 acres) is about seven miles southwest of Yosemite Valley and north of Glacier Point Road. The Harden Fire (111 acres) is on the north side of the park, west of Harden Lake and northwest of White Wolf. The two fires are being managed to achieve both protection and resource objectives. To read more, click here.
Alaska:
--AAI Team Six summited Denali on Sunday and flew off the mountain on Monday. AAI Team Eight is currently staging their move to 17,000 feet. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--Italian Michele Fait fell to his death last week while skiing down from K2's C2 on the SSE spur. Together with Fredrik Ericsson, Fait was on his second partial descent down K2's slopes, when he suddenly fell. To read more, click here.
--Seventeen year-old Johnny Strange recently became the youngest individual to complete the Seven Summits. To read about this young man's incredible accomplishment, click here.
--Speaking of age...three Americans over the age of 60 reached the summit of Mount Everest this spring. To read more, click here.
Ed Viesters High in the Mountains
--It appears that world class high altitude mountaineer Ed Viesters will be on the Colbert Report tonight. Ed was the first American to climb all 14 8000 meter peaks.
Notes from All Over:
--A 28-year-old Las Vegas woman died Thursday after falling in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the woman as Margaret Plummer, a spokeswoman for the coroner said. She died from several blunt force trauma injuries and the cause of death was an accident, the coroner concluded. To read more, click here.
--The National Park Service has announced that after six years of collaborative negotiations, they have finalized and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Access Fund. The newly signed MOU frames a cooperative relationship between the climbing community and the National Park Service. It outlines the common interests that the parties share—such as conservation and planning—as well as how they will work together to reach common goals. To read more, click here.
--Does designating National Parks as wilderness help or hinder the prospect of winning protection for truly threatened roadless lands? Do the National Parks already have enough protection. Outdoor writer Bill Schneider of New West throws in his two cents on this politically hot topic. To read the opinion, click here.
--On June 25th a 50-year-old woman from Spain was butted and tossed in the air by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park. The woman and her husband were using a pay phone in the Canyon lodging area with their backs to the road. According to witnesses, two bull bison walked down the road, passing within 20 feet of the couple. One of the bison left the road, walked up behind the woman and butted her into the air. To read more, click on the June 25th report, here.
--Twenty-seven year-old Kristopher Haskins was hit by two large boulders while climbing the Sandy Glacier Headwall on Mount Hood on Sunday. The impact broke both of the young man's legs. Haskins' partner, Jim Prager, was forced to leave in order to obtain help. To read more, click here.
--A climbing ranger was injured while skiing down from Mt. Rainier's summit Wednesday afternoon. Two rangers had reached the summit earlier in the day and were skiing back down to Camp Sherman when one punched through a hole in the snow and fell 40 feet into a crevasse, said Rainier Park spokesman Lee Taylor. To read more, click here.
Perhaps trails near I-90 will be a bit safer now that target shooting will be banned in the area.Sierra:
El Capitan from Wikipedia--It appears that there are a couple of small fires currently burning in Yosemite National Park. The Grouse Fire (250 acres) is about seven miles southwest of Yosemite Valley and north of Glacier Point Road. The Harden Fire (111 acres) is on the north side of the park, west of Harden Lake and northwest of White Wolf. The two fires are being managed to achieve both protection and resource objectives. To read more, click here.
Alaska:
--AAI Team Six summited Denali on Sunday and flew off the mountain on Monday. AAI Team Eight is currently staging their move to 17,000 feet. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--Italian Michele Fait fell to his death last week while skiing down from K2's C2 on the SSE spur. Together with Fredrik Ericsson, Fait was on his second partial descent down K2's slopes, when he suddenly fell. To read more, click here.
--Seventeen year-old Johnny Strange recently became the youngest individual to complete the Seven Summits. To read about this young man's incredible accomplishment, click here.
--Speaking of age...three Americans over the age of 60 reached the summit of Mount Everest this spring. To read more, click here.
Ed Viesters High in the MountainsNotes from All Over:
--A 28-year-old Las Vegas woman died Thursday after falling in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the woman as Margaret Plummer, a spokeswoman for the coroner said. She died from several blunt force trauma injuries and the cause of death was an accident, the coroner concluded. To read more, click here.
--The National Park Service has announced that after six years of collaborative negotiations, they have finalized and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Access Fund. The newly signed MOU frames a cooperative relationship between the climbing community and the National Park Service. It outlines the common interests that the parties share—such as conservation and planning—as well as how they will work together to reach common goals. To read more, click here.
--Does designating National Parks as wilderness help or hinder the prospect of winning protection for truly threatened roadless lands? Do the National Parks already have enough protection. Outdoor writer Bill Schneider of New West throws in his two cents on this politically hot topic. To read the opinion, click here.
--On June 25th a 50-year-old woman from Spain was butted and tossed in the air by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park. The woman and her husband were using a pay phone in the Canyon lodging area with their backs to the road. According to witnesses, two bull bison walked down the road, passing within 20 feet of the couple. One of the bison left the road, walked up behind the woman and butted her into the air. To read more, click on the June 25th report, here.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
National Park Service Advises Visitors to Use Caution With Fire During 4th of July Holiday
AAI just received the following email from Denali National Park:
National Park Service Advises Visitors to Use Caution With Fire During Fourth of July Holiday
The upcoming holiday weekend is forecast to be warm and mostly dry, and Denali National Park and Preserve officials are asking visitors to be especially cautious with their use of fire while enjoying the park. As of this date over 300 fires have burned in Alaska, and two-thirds were human caused. Wildland fuels such as grass, brush, and trees can dry out quickly with warm temperatures, and if ignited can quickly grow into large fires.
Campfires are allowed in the park campgrounds that have fire grates but they should be completely extinguished after use. Fires are not allowed in the backcountry areas of the original Mount McKinley National Park that are designated as wilderness.
Fireworks are not permitted in Denali National Park and Preserve and will be confiscated. Persons using fireworks in the park may be prosecuted.
Updated park information is posted on the web at www. nps.gov/dena and park happenings can be followed real time at DenaliNPS on Twitter.com. Information can also be obtained by calling (907) 683-2294 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily.
National Park Service and Access Fund Sign Agreement to Work Together on Climbing Issues
AAI just received the following email from the National Park Service:
Washington DC — The National Park Service has announced that after six years of collaborative negotiations, they have finalized and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Access Fund. The newly signed MOU frames a cooperative relationship between the climbing community and the National Park Service. It outlines the common interests that the parties share—such as conservation and planning—as well as how they will work together to reach common goals.
The Access Fund has demonstrated a long history of constructive solution-building between climbers and Park Service officials, illustrated through successful climbing management in areas like Yosemite National Park in California, Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska, New River Gorge National River in West Virginia, and Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, to name a few.
The Access Fund and local climbers have made major contributions to NPS lands— such as collaborating on conservation events, participating in management planning, granting funds for trail improvements, and installing bear boxes. NPS officials recognize that climbers are a cooperative and responsible user group.
Numerous NPS officials provided endorsements for the Access Fund in support of the MOU, including the previous Superintendent of Yosemite National Park, Michael Tollefson. Tollefson endorsed the MOU “based on years of collaboration….that has directly benefitted park operations and the visitor experience, as well as work that less directly, but importantly supports park management strategic direction. We enjoy a direct line of cooperative and thoughtful conversation with [Access Fund staff], and believe that this connection allows forward-thinking solutions.”
Much of the value of this MOU will be realized by the Access Fund’s seventy-plus affiliated local climbing organizations, which can make use of the agreement to initiate relationships with managers of the national parks in their areas. The agreement will make it easier for climbers to develop mutually beneficial relationships with NPS officials regarding climbing management and stewardship issues. The MOU also will help these organizations express their interests when management planning is undertaken on NPS lands that contain climbing resources.
About the Access Fund:
Founded in 1991, the Access Fund is the national advocacy organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. The Access Fund supports and represents over 1.6 million climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and bouldering. Five core programs support the mission on national and local levels: climbing management policy, stewardship and conservation, local support and mobilization, land acquisition and protection, and education. For more information, visit www.accessfund.org.
About the National Park Service:
The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. For more information about the NPS visit http://www.nps.gov.
Conditions Report -- July 1, 2009
NORTHWEST:
Pat Gallagher on the Thin Red Line. Photo by Eric Linthwaite
--Pat Gallagher and Eric Linthwaite headed up to Washington Pass last weekend to attempt the Thin Red Line on Liberty Bell. For a full trip report of their adventure click here.
--Here is an update from Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest regarding fire danger:
High Fire Risk on National Forest
Unusually dry conditions have increased fire danger on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The risk is much higher now than is typical for this time of the year, and with the July 4th weekend approaching, please be careful with fire on the forest. Fireworks are prohibited on National Forest lands.
--Crews will start clearing the road to Artist Point above Mt. Baker Ski Area on Monday, July 6, according to a state Department of Transportation news release. To read more click here.
--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth, and Highway 2.
Steph Abegg nearing the top of the new route "Thread of Ice" on the Twin Needles. Photo by Wayne Wallace
--Steph Abegg and Wayne Wallace headed into the Pickett Range recently and climbed a fantastic new route on the North side of Twin Needles. The route is called "Thread of Ice" and looks super fun! For a complete report of the first ascent click here.
Brian Hench on the descent from Exfoliation Dome. Photo by Matt Perkins
--Matt Perkins and Brian Hench headed up to the Exfoliation Dome near Darrington and wrote a great report complete with current road and route conditions. To read about their climb click here.
--One of our guides, Dawn Glanc, recently returned from Boston Basin. She reported numerous downed trees located in slide paths. These areas are becoming treacherous due to the melting of snow underneath and could collapse if being crossed. Use extreme caution if traveling across these areas on the trail.
--The Tieton River climbing areas have been closed for the season due to nesting raptors. To read more about this closure, click here.
--A couple weeks ago we finally got a team into the North Side of Mount Baker. The Coleman-Deming Route is in great shape and the North Ridge looks to be in good shape as well with a snow-bridge still available to access the "Hourglass" approach gully. The Glacier Creek road is closed at about mile 2.5 and will not reopen until the Fall. It took our team approximately six hours to get into the North Side with large packs and about four hours to get back to the car at the end of the trip.
--We have recently received a couple updates regarding current Squamish conditions:
"A tree has dislodged itself from the crack and fallen over the third pitch of Peasant's route on the Chief. The tree lies right across the climbing line between the two bolts on the pitch just above the crux. There is no way around it, but with some force you can bushwack your way through it.
I recommend bringing a small folding saw with you up there. Unless you are prepared to clean a little don't try to pull it out of the crack because you will send mud and debris down the pitch below it."
-Conny Amelunxen, Canadian Mountain Guide
-Click here for current falcon closures on the Grand Wall
--More updates from our friendly neighbors to the north with regard to the Bugaboos:
Just had my first trip of the season up to the Bugs and things are looking good. It is definitely still a bit early but there is already lots to do.
Road
The road is in descent shape and ok for a small car with a bit of navigating through ruts around KM 34. I was in a Toyota Matrix and had no problems.
Trail
The trail to the Kain hut is mostly snow free but there are a couple of significant piles of avalanche debris and a few fallen trees to negotiate along the way.
Travel Conditions
Generally, things seem a little ahead of usual. There is still lots of snow above the hut but the moraines are melting out fast. Travel on the lower elevation snow is good in the morning (with a good freeze) and becomes a bit of a slog in the PM when things warm up. Up high (above ~2800m) you can still expect up to knee deep foot penetration through a breakable crust but
this would only affect the last bit of glacier to the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire. The Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is in good shape right now but there is already lots of loose rock melted out on the sides.
Routes
Most of the regular stuff is climbable with a few snow patches remaining. The low elevation routes in the Crescent area look dry as do many of the routes on the west face of Snowpatch. There will inevitably be some wet sections on most routes but they are shrinking by the day. The higher shady routes like the NE Ridge of Bugaboo and the Becky-Chouinard will likely have snow and ice in them for a little while yet.
Bears
There is a sow grizzly with two, one year old cubs hanging around Bugaboo Creek these days but there was no recent evidence of their presence on the trail.
South Howser Descent
A new descent has been established from the South Howser Tower that avoids the cornice, loose rock and rope eating flakes of the existing descent. It roughly follows the North Face-Ridge route towards the Central Howser. Stop in at the hut to see a detailed topo.
Cheers,
Marc Pich?
ACMG, IFMGA
Mountain Guide
SIERRA:
--For information regarding wall closures due to falcon nesting in Yosemite National Park, click here.
--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Yosemite National Park.
ALASKA RANGE:
--Webcam for Denali National Park.
The Kahiltna Dome
Archived Photo by Coley Gentzel
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt vol
Archived Photo by Coley Gentzel
--The snow is melting very fast in the Alaska Range this year. This is in part due to the ash on the glaciers from the Redoubt vol