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Wanna do a 14ner this New Years Eve or Da



 
 
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  #21  
Old October 2nd 03, 08:43 PM
Gary S.
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On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 14:00:58 -0400, "Tommy T."
wrote:


"Gary S." wrote
I'll let you start counting altitude from the ocean floor, if you
start your hike there.


Being a little inconsistent there aren't you Gary? Where do you start those
Colorado 14ers, Needham?

I was replying to lukasz, who was saying that some claim Mauna Kea as
starting from the sea floor. Geologically, it is a volcano that is far
higher than Everest, if there were no ocean. We always count from sea
level, and I was suggesting how one could make a more interesting
hike.

You can't claim a bigger climb without doing a bigger climb.

Tommy T.

Explanations for the uninitiated number 1: some Colorado 14ers have roads
clear to the top and others can be approached by 4 wheel drive or mountain
bike or horse. For purposes of claiming an ascent of a 14er, various
standards have been suggested. One frequently asserted rule is that one
should hike/climb at least 3000 feet to claim a 14er.

There are many "rules" as to what peaks count.

In New England, the AMC has the list of official 4000 footers. A
summit must be at least 200 feet above the ridge connecting it to the
next peak, otherwise it is considered a shoulder of the other.

The Munroes in Scotland have a similar rule, differentiating between
summits and "tops".

When altimeters, and then GPS became common, the list had to be redone
to correct for the older map's inaccuracies.

The Adirondack 4000 footer list has never changed, although in fact
resurveying has shown that some should be added and others removed.

Where one starts in order to "claim" the summit is interesting. Any
set of rules will be somewhat arbitrary

Some do Mount Washington in NH by driving to a trailhead at 3000 feet,
and going up Ridge of the Caps to Jefferson, and then over to
Washington. Is this "cheating" over starting at 2600 feet (Ammanoosuc
Trail) or 2200 feet (Pinkham Notch)?

Denali at one point could only be climbed by starting about 30 miles
away, at about 1000 feet of altitude, with some hairy river crossings.
More recently, almost everyone starts by flying in to the Muldrow
Glacier at 7000 feet. Does this mean that none of these Muldrow
starts will count?

Goran Krupp seemed to be quite the purist. When he climbed Everest, he
started by cycling from his home in Sweden to the base of the
mountain, soloed to the summit, and then rode home. He did several
other trips in this style.

Explanations for the uninitiated number 2: Gary S. lives in a town near the
Atlantic Ocean where the lowest parts are barely above mean high tide.

My house is about 30 meters above MSL, according to the USGS map and
my GPS. I think I'm OK until the ice caps are about half-melted.

The nearest part of Dorchester Bay is about 10 miles due East, and
relatively few waves make it this far.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
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  #23  
Old October 2nd 03, 09:02 PM
Tommy T.
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"Gary S." wrote Some do Mount Washington in NH by driving to a trailhead
at 3000 feet,
and going up Ridge of the Caps to Jefferson, and then over to
Washington. Is this "cheating" over starting at 2600 feet (Ammanoosuc
Trail) or 2200 feet (Pinkham Notch)?


Well, you sent me to my maps. I maintain the Tuckerman Crossover Trail and
visit it three time a year, always hiking up and often visiting the summit.
I've started at 1300 ft at Appalacia to the North and right at 1000 ft on
the Davis Path to the South, in addition to those you've mentioned and a lot
more.

Tommy T.



  #24  
Old October 2nd 03, 10:30 PM
Gary S.
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On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 15:36:33 -0700, lal_truckee
wrote:

Jean-Marc Boivin launched a glider off Everest's peak in 1988 - lousy
thermals, tho; high sink rate.

P.S. Didn't Steve McKinney and crew do an earlier flight from the West
Ridge?


I believe that some French climbers do what is called an enchainment,
where they climb Face A, use a parapente (a parachute that functions
like a hang glider) to descend to the base of climb B, and so on.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
  #25  
Old October 2nd 03, 10:36 PM
lal_truckee
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Gary S. wrote:

From sea floor to summit it towers more than 5.6 miles (9 km), larger
than Everest from the surrounding area or from sea level.

The ultimate climb, one would step out of the bathysphere at the
lowest sea floor, and then climb along the ocean bottom to the shore
line, where you would change out of the deep sea diving suit, climb up
to the summit, and then launch from the summit with a hang glider and
catch thermals as high as possible.

If anyone actually does this, I should get royalties


Jean-Marc Boivin launched a glider off Everest's peak in 1988 - lousy
thermals, tho; high sink rate.

P.S. Didn't Steve McKinney and crew do an earlier flight from the West
Ridge?

  #26  
Old October 6th 03, 04:20 AM
Vinnie
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My Black Shepherd was the quickest dog to ever pick up avy rescue that I've
ever seen. I buried my buddy (with avalung) in a pit ~3 feet deep, 300
yards from where my dog was tied up out of line-of-site, wandered around the
snowfield for quite a bit before going back to her to avoid the possibility
of her just following my tracks to him. When I told her to 'go get it' (a
keyword we had been using since she was a puppy to find hidden articles,
inlcuding people under blankets, behind bushes, etc.), she stuck her nose to
the ground and started a classic 'Z' search pattern. Her pattern carried
her right past where my buddy was buried, she passed right near the spot
where he was buried, just beyond it she cocked her nose in the air, spun
around on her heels and actually dug him up. She repeated this type of
performance enough times that we stopped testing her after a couple of
years.

Shepherds have wiry hair which very few snow conditions will stick to, they
are extremely intelligent, and mine has showed an amazing ability to
tolerate the freakin idiot Labs that people insist on brining into the
backcountry with no manners or training. She has been attacked numerous
times, always giving the lab, husky or chow a look like, sheesh, what an
idiot. She did have to put one exceptionally persistent doby on it's ass
one time. Should have seen the stupid owners face, like "hey I have a
doberman, it's supposed to be bad ass". She sent it home shivering. By the
way, they are excellent climbers too, she summated 15 14ers with me
(including winter ascents) before she had to retire to family
hikes/skis/snowshoes.

14ers, what can I say, Colorado boasts 54 (depending on which list you
accept). Californians like to point out that they have a few and get their
nose bent out of shape and try to equate us with Texans. Well...they can
have the freakin place, people climbing all over each other has been my
experience with the Sierras. Try to make a day trip and bag Whitney and see
what comes of it, took me two years to get a permit, and then all I saw was
**** strewn about the mountain above 12,000 feet and at the base of the East
face.

Alaska, ahhh...if one could find gainful employment and not have to ****
ugly fat chicks (99% of unattached Alaskan women) it would be paradise.

Oh, back to the original posting on this thread, I'm not seeing a lot of
folks lining up to sign this guy up for a NYE climb. I would suggest Mt.
Bross (from the East, 3 to 4 hrs. depending on fitness), Mt. Elbert (from
the East, 3 to 4 hrs.), or even Mt. Sherman (again from the East 2 to 3
hrs). Eastern aspects get the early light, which can make snow conditions
unstable, so get an early start. Late December snows are not known for
great stability.
I had an incredible day on La Plata (North-Western slopes) in April, about
3100 vert of crampon/ice axe work on moderate slopes, stay away from the
steeper aspects, get up on the ridge early and enjoy the views and the trek.
My recollection of Shavano is that the Western slopes (most likely approach,
specially in winter) are pretty steep and somewhat grassy, very good terrain
for avy conditions. Quandry is a nice winter climb, but somewhat long and
you can't see the approach very well from the trailhead (or even the
highway) which makes it difficult to assess the conditions up higher. Nice
skiing on the descent when conditions are even fair though.

Vinnie

"Kurt Knisely" wrote in message
...
In article

, B.
Cooke says...

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Bob Lee wrote:

avalung and inflatable balloon backpack thing are debatable items.

Hey,
how about an avy-rescue dog? Those are handy.


Too funny... Every once in a blue moon I ski with my roomate; his Husky

is
quite proficient as a rescue dog (or so I've been assured). Problem is:
the damned thing hates me, so I doubt its utility.


I can visualize the headlines now... "Man rescued by dog, bleeds to death

from
bites"

I've seen a number of Labrador Retrievers trained as Avy dogs. I guess

they
have good sniffers and lots of energy, but I'm not sure I've ever met a

"smart"
one?

-K




  #27  
Old October 7th 03, 02:41 AM
Vinnie
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check my other posting cali-boy, you californicators don't have the market
cornered on 'correctness' either. "It is not a tooomah, it is Los Angeles"
(soon to be the next sound-bite from your governer).

V

"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...
MoonMan wrote:

In ,
B. Cooke typed:

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Bob Lee wrote:


avalung and inflatable balloon backpack thing are debatable items.
Hey, how about an avy-rescue dog? Those are handy.

Too funny... Every once in a blue moon I ski with my roomate; his
Husky is quite proficient as a rescue dog (or so I've been assured).
Problem is: the damned thing hates me, so I doubt its utility.



Sorry to be an ignorant Brit, but what is a 14ner, apart from a very
succseful conker?


A 14ner is one of the 14,000 foot peaks in the contiguous United States.
(I believe "contiguous" is part of the definition - usually the Alaskan
and Hawaiian 14,000+ peaks are not included? Correct?)

BTW Collyradicans misbelieve that they have cornered the market on
14ners, and so assume when speaking of 14ners - as usual, they are
incorrect.



 




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