"Because it's there."

[Peregrinator]

Oh, man, McK, it's gorgeous! Wow. Thanks!

For the record, I don't care if people post non-mountain adventure stuff here.

Let's the three of us go next year; you guys can handle the paddling stuff, and I'll lead the rock pitches...

 

[McKenna]

Oh, man, McK, it's gorgeous! Wow. Thanks!

For the record, I don't care if people post non-mountain adventure stuff here.

Let's the three of us go next year; you guys can handle the paddling stuff, and I'll lead the rock pitches...

Awww, good to know! I think there's some good climbing in that canyon; I found myself wondering why more folks haven't taken advantage of it! If nothing else, there's some good bouldering spots!

 

[Saint Peter]

Awesome river pics, McKenna!

 

[McKenna]

Awesome river pics, McKenna!

Shall we make it a four-some next year?

 

[thør]

Shall we make it a four-some next year?

What were you paddling?

 

[Saint Peter]

Shall we make it a four-some next year?

I would love to do a river trip!

We could cut down on the gear by sharing a sleeping bag. You know, efficiency and all of that.

 

[McKenna]

What were you paddling?

I was in the raft, which turned out to be the better choice. Large and not terribly maneuverable, we still made it through with few mishaps. My friends were in an IK, and that thing was more like a tub than a kayak. Even though it was supposed to be self bailing, my friends sat in water pretty much the whole time. I watched them take it through a few Class IVs and they just got tossed around like so much detritus.

I'm not ready for a hard-sided kayak; maybe next year. Otherwise, the raft works just fine!

 

[McKenna]

I would love to do a river trip!

We could cut down on the gear by sharing a sleeping bag. You know, efficiency and all of that.

Why, yes! I hadn't thought of that. How very ultra-light and green-thinking of you. Reduce and conserve!

I'm headed to that Arkansas in your neck of the woods next month for a very short trip.

 

[thør]

I was in the raft, which turned out to be the better choice. Large and not terribly maneuverable, we still made it through with few mishaps. My friends were in an IK, and that thing was more like a tub than a kayak. Even though it was supposed to be self bailing, my friends sat in water pretty much the whole time. I watched them take it through a few Class IVs and they just got tossed around like so much detritus.

I'm not ready for a hard-sided kayak; maybe next year. Otherwise, the raft works just fine!

Whatever you are most comfortable in is the best!

In an open canoe, I tend to get a lot of splash in WW and I dress to be in the water. It can get pretty warm, sometimes. If I need to cool off, I can always stop and swim.

 

[Saint Peter]

Why, yes! I hadn't thought of that. How very ultra-light and green-thinking of you. Reduce and conserve!

I'm headed to that Arkansas in your neck of the woods next month for a very short trip.

How fun! I am told the water is perfect this year. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Saint Peter]

Whatever you are most comfortable in is the best!

In an open canoe, I tend to get a lot of splash in WW and I dress to be in the water. It can get pretty warm, sometimes. If I need to cool off, I can always stop and swim.

A proper j stroke would prevent that splashing.

 

[thør]

A proper j stroke would prevent that splashing.

Sometimes a hard C-stroke, followed by leaning back with a prolonged low brace keeps the splash down.

 

[thør]

For armchair paddlers, there is whitewater tv.

 

[McKenna]

For armchair paddlers, there is whitewater tv.

Oooh, hemlet cam! I like!

I watched the one from this week, from Italy. Class II and III?! *yawn* (Just teasing!)

 

[McKenna]

I am SO buying this t-shirt!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/KennaMc/raftingshirt.jpg

 

[Peregrinator]

I love the short, McK!

Went hiking today...we climbed Mt. Mitchell, just south of St. Helens. 6.2 miles, gains 2100 feet. Nice afternoon. Some pics:

Clearcuts everywhere:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Peregrinator/IMG_3780.jpg

Snow on the trail:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Peregrinator/IMG_3784.jpg

And sizeable snowfields below the summit:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Peregrinator/IMG_3788.jpg

This rock formation reminded me of the crotchety judges from the Muppet Show:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Peregrinator/IMG_3799.jpg

And great summit views of the South Cascades. This is St Helens and Rainier in the background:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Peregrinator/IMG_3804.jpg

 

[thør]

Denali Update

From the ADN:

"Searchers on Saturday got their best look yet at midrange levels of Mount McKinley where a Colorado climber has been missing for several days, but there's still no sign of 41-year-old Gerald Myers.

Clear weather allowed searchers aboard fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter to get the first good look at areas between 14,000 and 17,000 feet, a section that had been obscured by clouds during the first two days of the search. Myers was traveling along the West Buttress above 17,000 feet when he was last seen.

Also on Saturday, a Cessna 206 from Hudson Air scanned the north side of North America's tallest peak, the first time that side of the mountain had been searched.

"There's a big chunk of mountain that's only getting seen today," Denali National Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin said Saturday afternoon. "But still no sign of Dr. Myers."

The last confirmed sighting of Myers, a chiropractor from Centennial, Colo., was on Tuesday. Initial reports put him near the 20,320-foot summit on Wednesday, but rangers now believe the climber spotted there was someone else wearing similar colors.

Myers left his three climbing partners at 14,200 feet early Tuesday morning and was making a solo attempt to summit North America's tallest peak. He grabbed a pair of skis from a cache at 17,200 feet, but it's believed he was carrying little other gear, including a stove or a sleeping bag, as he made his solo summit attempt.

A friend in Colorado familiar with Myers' plans said on Thursday that Myers intended to ski down the mountain. Such intentions may have put him on one of two very steep and risky routes that require skis to descend -- the Orient Express or the Messner Couloir.

McLaughlin said the search will continue today. A privately owned twin-engine Conquest is returning to its Anchorage base, but two Army Chinook helicopters, capable of high-altitude flying and hovering, are being brought in from Fairbanks, she said.

"We're still actively searching," McLaughlin said.

One climber has died on McKinley this season -- a 61-year-old New Yorker who collapsed from apparent natural causes while on the approach to the 14,200-foot camp.

Some 404 climbers were on the mountain Saturday, according to park service statistics. So far this season, 129 climbers have concluded their expeditions, with 63 of them reaching the summit. Usually about half of McKinley's climbers reach the summit."

 

[McKenna]

Lovely photos, Perg! What a beautiful, clear day.

Thor - I was most intrigued by the "404 climbers on the mountain..." Sounds busy, but doubtul folks see much of each other, eh?

Have you become conditioned to those who go missing? It hardly seems a surprise anymore.

 

[thør]

Thor - I was most intrigued by the "404 climbers on the mountain..." Sounds busy, but doubtul folks see much of each other, eh?

Have you become conditioned to those who go missing? It hardly seems a surprise anymore.

It's a big mountain and there are different routes. But the easiest route is the west buttress, and most folks go that way, so you'll run into other parties on the mountain, all the time.

Camping can be a zoo or a party.....

http://www.ii.uib.no/~petter/mountains/5000mtn/Denali/D6/206.jpg

Conditioned? Well, people who take chances, sometimes lose. And, people take a lot of chances up this way. I hope they find this guy that's currently lost.

 

[thør]

Alaskan on top of the world.

" FAIRBANKS -- A Fairbanks man has summited Mount Everest.

Alec Turner, 43, reached the world's highest peak at 5:48 p.m. on Friday.

Turner is one of two dozen climbers on the 2009 Himalayan Experience expedition led by Russell Brice.

The international expedition is being captured on film for the 2009 season of "Everest: Beyond the Limit," a reality series on the Discovery Channel.

The climb was staged from Nepal, taking a popular route along Everest's southeast ridge.

Turner, a former Bering Sea crab fisherman, attempted to summit Denali in 2007 and 2008 but was turned back by stormy weather. "

 

[Saint Peter]

The missing Colorado man's support group are all saying he was very skilled, very safe, yada yada. Why he took off solo with limited gear is beyond me.

I hope they find the guy, but finding anything other than a colorful chunk of ice gets more remote by the minute.

 

[thør]

The missing Colorado man's support group are all saying he was very skilled, very safe, yada yada. Why he took off solo with limited gear is beyond me.

I hope they find the guy, but finding anything other than a colorful chunk of ice gets more remote by the minute.

Just one lapse is all it takes.

 

[McKenna]

The missing Colorado man's support group are all saying he was very skilled, very safe, yada yada. Why he took off solo with limited gear is beyond me.

I hope they find the guy, but finding anything other than a colorful chunk of ice gets more remote by the minute.

Just one lapse is all it takes.

I've been thinking about this whole idea of "calculated risk." It came about on my recent river trip; we were talking about shooting bigger rivers, the Snake and Salmon in Idaho, for instance. These rivers swallow boats much bigger than our raft, whole. They have rapids like "Pair of Dice" which just make me think of the gamble one takes choosing to go over such a rapid. 50/50, maybe less? I don't know.

I'm not "in" to big risk, but I like a little adventure; I want to live to experience the next adventure. I kind of wonder sometimes, though, if these guys who scale these ginormous mountains have run out of "easier" hills to climb, and so keep going and going, calculating the risk, and taking off anyway. I just wonder when enough is enough? (Not only for them, but for me, too.)

And then there's the title of this thread, "Because it's there." Why do it? Because it's there. But... when is enough, enough? When is it too much? Is it ever?

 

[thør]

I've been thinking about this whole idea of "calculated risk." It came about on my recent river trip; we were talking about shooting bigger rivers, the Snake and Salmon in Idaho, for instance. These rivers swallow boats much bigger than our raft, whole. They have rapids like "Pair of Dice" which just make me think of the gamble one takes choosing to go over such a rapid. 50/50, maybe less? I don't know.

I'm not "in" to big risk, but I like a little adventure; I want to live to experience the next adventure. I kind of wonder sometimes, though, if these guys who scale these ginormous mountains have run out of "easier" hills to climb, and so keep going and going, calculating the risk, and taking off anyway. I just wonder when enough is enough? (Not only for them, but for me, too.)

And then there's the title of this thread, "Because it's there." Why do it? Because it's there. But... when is enough, enough? When is it too much? Is it ever?

There's always the what-if's. On the river, I rig to flip and dress to swim. If the rapid is one where there's a good chance to flip and the consequences of swimming are not acceptable, I carry around. I like to stack the deck in my favor; I wear a high-float PFD, a helmet and a dry-suit, but all that won't help me out of a log-jam or an undercut bank.

I suppose, that you just have to figure out for yourself how far you want to go. Skills can reduce the risk, because you have an out. Say, just knowing how to use an ice axe to self arrest a slip will allow you to cross a hard packed gully in the mountains, safely. But, there are other situations, where you should just turn around. It's good to play with the kids who have better skills than you do. And ones with more experience. Talk with them about judgment. Ask why they make the calls that they do.

And try very hard, to never get into the "what the hell am I doing here?" position.

 

[McKenna]

There's always the what-if's. On the river, I rig to flip and dress to swim. If the rapid is one where there's a good chance to flip and the consequences of swimming are not acceptable, I carry around. I like to stack the deck in my favor; I wear a high-float PFD, a helmet and a dry-suit, but all that won't help me out of a log-jam or an undercut bank.

I suppose, that you just have to figure out for yourself how far you want to go. Skills can reduce the risk, because you have an out. Say, just knowing how to use an ice axe to self arrest a slip will allow you to cross a hard packed gully in the mountains, safely. But, there are other situations, where you should just turn around. It's good to play with the kids who have better skills than you do. And ones with more experience. Talk with them about judgment. Ask why they make the calls that they do.

And try very hard, to never get into the "what the hell am I doing here?" position.

Good advice, Thor. Thank you.

Wanna play?!