--We had an interesting Labor Day weekend in the North Cascades when it came to weather but that didn't stop a party from climbing The Tempest Wall on Colchuck Balanced Rock. Another party went searching for nicer weather with a trip to the seldom climbed Silver Horn on Silver Star Mountain.
--Climbers who stayed on the west side of the Cascades were greeted by some nice cloud cover this weekend. Like this party who attempted the Fisher Chimneys route on Mount Shuksan.
SIERRA:
--For up to date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.
ALPS:
--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.
-- Temperatures remain high in Red Rock, but people are starting to gear up for the Fall climbing season. Average highs throughout the summer range between 102 and 108. The campground is closed and will re-open next week!
CLIMBING MAGAZINE WEATHER:
Climbing Magazine weather reports for Yosemite, Denali and Rainier may be found here.
The topic of climate change took exceptional relevance here at Mount Rainier after the floods and wind in November of 2006 caused significant damage throughout the park(check out the Mt. Rainier N.P. report documenting the flood's damage), forcing our gates to close. This was not the first storm that hit this park hard, nor will it be the last. There is a high likelihood that future storms will cause similar damage (if not worse) and climate change will have as-of-yet even greater undetermined impacts on the park's resources. The result of this event and uncertainty brings into question the ability of the federal government to sustain long term access to places such as Mount Rainier from an economic and ecological standpoint. Obviously, this issue has implications for us all - recreationalists, admirers, climbers, skiiers, and just anyone living in a town near the park.
How will climate change affect Mount Rainier National Park? Well, this is the question that many are beginning to ask. You can be a part of this discussion on Wednesday, September 3, along with a panel of experts in climate change, outdoor recreation, economics, wildlife and roads and trail construction (among others). The evening's event, co-hosted by the Washington Parks and Forests Coalition, is titled, "The Way In: The Future of Access to Northwest National Parks". Panelists will focus on global climate change and how it will affect our national parks, especially Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks. This panel discussion is free and open to the public.
This event is co-hosted by the organizations from the Washington Parks and Forests Coalition, which include National Parks Conservation Association, Washington Trails Association, and the Student Conservation Association. For more information, contact David Graves at dgraves@npca.org or 206.903.1444 x25.
The hut keepers won't sleep in the Whymper Hut on Chimborazo. For them it's not a myth or a legend. It's a fact.
The Whymper Hut is haunted.
The hut keepers all have ghost stories about the place. They've all seen something in there. They've all felt something. Maybe it was nothing more than a candle inexplicably blowing out. Maybe it was nothing more than a door blowing shut. Maybe it was nothing. Or maybe it actually was something. They're certainly convinced.
It's not terribly surprising. Chimborazo is a dangerous mountain. Since its first ascent in 1880, this mountain has seen thousands of ascents and hundreds of fatalities. Many of those who died on the mountain have been stored in the empty third story of the hut. South Americans are superstitious and for them ghosts are simply a part of life. For them, a place that has been used as a morgue is no place to be when it is dark.
One of the stories goes something like this. A hut keeper was alone in the kitchen. There were no climbers there. He was washing dishes. Suddenly he felt something. It was like someone was watching him. But when he looked around there was no one there.
He went back to washing his dishes.
A moment later, somebody slapped him on the back. Whomever it was slapped him hard...so hard that it left a red mark in the shape of a hand on his skin. But there was still no one there. The young man immediately ran from the hut. After he got outside and into the freezing wind, he fell to his knees.
And threw up.
A lot.
Memorial Stones on Chimborazo
Another story goes like this. A hut keeper was sleeping in a bunk. The bunks in the hut are nothing more than wooden platforms where people lay out their sleeping bags and pads. The hut keeper was sound asleep when somebody grabbed the foot of his sleeping bag and dragged him from his slumber and onto the ground. It couldn't have been comfortable... One moment you're asleep and the next you've been pulled from your bed and thrown onto the wooden floor.
I suppose that the hut keeper could have simply rolled over and fallen out of bed. I suppose that happens a lot. But if he supposed anything, he supposed that the ghost of a dead climber dragged him from his sleep and onto the floor. He supposed that the climber wished to bring him with him into the next world.
And my favorite story of the group, goes like this...
An Ecuadorian guide and his client were alone in the hut. The guide told the client that they would wake up at one in the morning to start their climb. At midnight, somebody wearing an old school yellow one-piece Gore-Tex suit quietly came over to the guide's bunk and sat down on it. The climber never looked at the guide. Instead, he began to put on his boots.
"What are you doing?" the guide asked. "It's only midnight. Go back to sleep."
Without looking at the guide, the climber got up and walked away.
An hour later, the guide's client appeared wearing black pants and a red jacket. "What happened to the one-piece suit?" the guide asked.
"What are you talking about? I don't have a one-piece suit."
"But you were wearing a yellow one-piece Gore-Tex suit when you got up an hour ago."
"I didn't get up an hour ago," the client responded. "I only just woke up."
Modern climbing equipment and technique has evolved dramatically over the last two decades. Ice tools, rock protection and technical clothing are just a few of the many tools which have seen massive innovation. Perhaps the most commonly used tool which has seen the most evolution is the belay device.
Old devices were designed in such a way that they could only be used to belay a person off of a harness. There's nothing wrong with this when one belays a leader or topropes. The problem arises when dealing with a second. Some climbers elected to belay a second directly in line, while others redirected the load through the anchor. Neither of these techniques were that effective. They both provided the leader with additional technical problems.
The Kong GiGi was one of the first autoblocking devices on the market in the U.S.
In the late 90s, climbers and guides began to use autoblocking devices to belay a second. These devices allow one to belay two ropes simultaneously directly off the anchor. If the second falls, the anchor feels the weight, not the belayer. The best part of these devices were that they automatically locked up, immediately arresting the second's fall.
Today most climbers use one of two of these autoblocking devices that have the market cornered. The Black Diamond ATC Guide or the Petzl Reverso 3 should be considered standard equipment on every climber's rack.
Black Diamond ATC Guide
The following is a video about the Reverso 3 was produced by Petzl. You should be aware that this was designed to sell you the product. I'm not trying to endorse the Reverso 3 over the ATC Guide. I believe that the use of one or the other comes down to personal preference. This video has been included here to demonstrate how one might use an autoblocking device in the field.
