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Tazz Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
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Thu May 03, 2007 8:04 am
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Grizzy Yellow Cedar Hugger
Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 1936 | TRs | Pics Location: Switchbacks |
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Grizzy
Yellow Cedar Hugger
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Thu May 03, 2007 8:56 am
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Awesome TR ....and Awesome pictures! Hope your ankle gets better...
All the birds have flown up and gone;
A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.
We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I. ~Li Po~
All the birds have flown up and gone;
A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.
We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I. ~Li Po~
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Opus Wannabe
Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 3700 | TRs | Pics Location: The big rock candy mountain |
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Opus
Wannabe
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Thu May 03, 2007 9:13 am
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Yana Hater
Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 4212 | TRs | Pics Location: Out Hating |
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Yana
Hater
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Thu May 03, 2007 9:26 am
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Thanks, Tazz!
Fortunately, neither dicey nor I had a camera during the final portion of the ascent.
I do have one thing to add, however:
Ice Axe Not an ice axe Also Not an Ice Axe
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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Tazz Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
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Thu May 03, 2007 9:39 am
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hopefully dicey will elaborate on those shots!!
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Yet Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 2634 | TRs | Pics Location: Happily Ever After |
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Yet
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Thu May 03, 2007 9:59 am
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Yana wrote: | Not an ice axe |
No, but it looks like it would make a good blade or flake tool as used in the upper paleolithic period.
I like the first photo! The expression on dicey's face is one of a pure delight, like a little kid.
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dicey custom title
Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2870 | TRs | Pics Location: giving cornices a wider berth |
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dicey
custom title
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Thu May 03, 2007 2:03 pm
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Thanks Tazz! Great report. Sorry I don't have any pictures to add, but I generally don't bring my camera if the weather is supposed to be crappy. I think Yana leaves her camera at home when the weather is going to be crappy to somehow encourage the weather to "prove she made a mistake".
Anyhow, the first part of the trip went down pretty much as Tazz reported. I don't blame her one bit for not wanting to continue up once crampons were needed. A bum ankle + crampons is really asking for trouble!
Yana and I continued up the gully, gaining the ridge quickly. We removed our crampons here as the rest of the route appeared to be a rock scramble. Yana questioned the wisdom of leaving the ice axes behind in case we came across any more snow, but I assured her we would be able to find an exclusively rock route to the summit. Since we were leaving our packs, and mostly needed both hands to climb (class 2 or a little harder when wet and partially snow covered), we didn't have a way to carry the axes anyhow.
Off we went. The scrambling was fun over wet, mossy, loose rock. Care was taken to find solid hand and footholds and to not knock rocks down on each other, or dislodge large loose blocks. Where staying on the ridge became impractical due to cornices or dizzying exposure to the east, we traversed ledge systems to the west. Then, we came upon a steepish, wind sculpted snow filled gully, with the summit just beyond it. Darn! There wasn't a way around this one. What to do? Improvise, naturally!
I grabbed a rock for "just in case", and Yana grabbed a short sturdy stick, which I secretly coveted. I wasn't all that happy about crossing this slope without an ice axe, but short of turning around, there weren't any other options. I set out carefully, making good solid steps for Yana to follow. Halfway across, I was committed and feeling more confident. At some point it began to snow pretty hard. Across the snow slope, we had a short rock scramble to the summit and whooped to Tazz so she would know we made it. After about 30 seconds or so, we carefully retraced our route back to our packs and brushed off the snow (which was blowing crazily upwards along the ridge), put our crampons back on, and rejoined a waiting Tazz below. Trip out was uneventful, other than a few slow glissades in the sloppy, sliding snow.
Thanks to Tazz and Yana for putting up with me on my whacky adventures! It sure was nice to use all the equipment we brought for once
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Tazz Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
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Fri May 04, 2007 11:04 am
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Jason Hummel Member
Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 1209 | TRs | Pics Location: Tacoma Washington |
Yana: those pictures remind me of when I used a rock to cross a slope on Mount Rainier. I ended up slipping a few hundred feet. Ha. Not a good idea. Maybe I would've made it had I had the stick, too?
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Conrad Meadow bagger
Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 2298 | TRs | Pics Location: Moscow, ID |
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Conrad
Meadow bagger
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Fri May 04, 2007 12:11 pm
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I've used my trusty $1 trowel as a poor man's ice axe on occasion.
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Elliott Haybaler Member
Joined: 07 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 | TRs | Pics
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I love the winter shots from this trip since it is a hike i've done so often in the summertime. So, so different Nov-May! Nice trip report! But I'm almost more impressed that you went to the climbing gym afterwards. Are you all just physical freaks of nature? I'm interested if you have special tips or philosophies for taking care of your bodies that you can share. Especially dicey, your pace is relentless (trip after trip). Do you ever wear down? Do you hobble out of bed the next morning like the rest of us? Perhaps this deserves a thread of its own. Anyways, cool report!
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Tazz Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
Member
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Fri May 04, 2007 11:46 pm
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rumpus!
one secret...shhh don't tell... the more you do the less pain you feel.....
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Matt Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 4307 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
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Sat May 05, 2007 1:03 am
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Yana wrote: | Not an ice axe |
Perhaps there should be a course on proper selection of pointy rocks for self-arrest.
My first time up Sahale, I didn't have an ice axe, so I carried two pointy rocks on a steep section and they stopped me rather well when I slipped.
The next time up Sahale, I brought an ice axe, but knew nothing about how to use it, so I tried dragging the pick while glissading and left the axe stuck in the snow a hundred feet above me when it immediately pulled out of my hand.
So, luck is helpful, but training really is better.
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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