Mt Rainier storm & flood damage photos - Ohanapecosh

Snow is accumulating at Paradise. I measured 46" total, with 15" of fresh snow this morning. It looks and feels like winter and if the park were open, skiers, boarders and snowshoers would be enjoying the early snowfall. But the floods really did a number on the roads and as the days pass, it becomes more clear how complicated the damage is, especially with the prompt arrival of winter.

Since it's going to be difficult to write about the climbing routes and upper mountain while the park is closed, I will devote more energy to the events surrounding the park being reopened. There will be updates, damage assessments, projected repairs and ongoing weather observations. I'll also pull together photos, when possible, like these NPS pictures of the Ohanapecosh area.

Above left is an interpretive sign in the Grove of the Patriarchs that has been flooded with mud and silt. Normally, this type of sign rests about 3 and 1/2 feet above ground.

The heavy rain also lead to a number of landslides, like this large one near Ohanapecosh Campground. The slide started on the road above (out of image) and swept everything in its path down to the Ohanapecosh River and Campground.

Here is the primary deposition zone for all of the timber that was unearthed in the same landslide.





The river also moved and in doing so, took a couple of the campsites with it. Here is the new loop C of Ohana.

Rana-gate

This morning, before dawn.

"Hurry, bring your camera!"



Bullfrog at the gate (Rana catesbeiana).



"I'm not stuck, I just like the view."

What's the Point?

Obviously the point of a crampon is to make life easier (and safer) on any surface that boot rubber won't.



From the inception of the blog I have harped on crampon fit and crampon durability. Broken crampons frames, broken bails and loosing a crampon mid pitch was a fairly common experience for many climbers. It is less common now with a little conversation in the community and some education as to the cause.



Thankfully this will be ashort blog post and not about crampon failures.



It really is a pretty short topic. About 7.5mm give or take a mm or two.

And thankfully the cause good or badissimple...it is your choice.



Not uncommon for some one to ask me how long I run my front points (think dual front points for the moment). For theuninitiatedthat might seem strange.



On smooth, plastic, late season Canadian ice I like to have a fairly short set of front points. I know the ice will easily supports my body weight and the sticks (boot swing and tools)are easy. Typically the front point I like on winteralpine ice as well. Alpine ice is not water fall ice. It isn't generally as steep or technical. But it is generally hard as old concrete.I don't need any more leverage on my size 45 boots than absolutely required.



A rookie mistake on water fall ice is getting your heels too high and popping a crampon. It is also a rookie mistake to run your front points too short on bad ice and ...you guessed it....pop your crampons every other footplacement.







What you are looking for in a foot placement besides full penetration of your front points is the additional support of the secondary points. Monos offer some additional options here if you know how to use them to best effect. But from what I have seen most don't know how to take advantage of a Mono on ice.







Same crampons and front points shown above on the Scarpa 6000s. Just a different point of view. I am using the back toe bail hole here. But your boot to crampon fit will be defined by your boot sole andwhich hole in your crampon isrequired to get the appropriate front point length. Other experienced climbers run even longer front points that what is hsown here in similar conditions. Monos especially so.




Rookie mistake? Been there, done that. To the point I was wondering if I still knew how to climb vertical ice. Humbling experience. And that was just on atop rope! If I had done that on lead it would be a long time before I would be back for more. It was scary, insecure and really, really pumpy just trying to get and stay on my feet.



It is a subtle call and not one I made a conscious decision on, although I should know better by now. One of the longest nights of my then very short climbing career was a 4000' alpine ice face done of crampons that had been sharpened a few too many times. The overly short front points were making my life miserable with insure feet. I vowed then not to let that ever happen again. But it seems my memory failed me. I did do it again recently on much harder technical terrain...even if it was only a top rope problem.






In typical crappy snow/neve/ice alpine conditions with snow covering anything from rotten air filled snice, to bullet hard, black ice always better to error on the side of caution and have more front point than you need rather than less. But less important on alpine terrainthan on steeper technical terrain...like the conditions you'll find on most water ice.












In the wrong conditions the only penalty is a little more strain on the calf by using longer front points. In the right conditions you gain additional security and solid feet. Always a bonus to have good feet!




The .75mm is the distance between the front an back toebail placement on a Petzl or Black Diamond crampon. Pretty much a .25". Unless you are alwaysclimb on smooth dry and plastic ice or hard mixed (rock climbing) you'll generally want more crampon front point than less. Bottom line super short version? When in doubt, goLOOOOONNNG! You just might be better at this sport than you first thought :)



Mono points? Same deal. Short on rock. Long or longer on bad ice.

Another Orchid

Although this isn't an orchid, it sure does look like one.

Crevasse fall - Climber Injured on Kautz Glacier

Kautz Glacier, Mount Rainier

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1, a climber fell approximately 15 feet into a crevasse at around 11,400 feet on the Kautz Glacier of Mount Rainier while descending the Mountain. The injured climber, Mitchell Bell, was rescued from the crevasse by his four teammates. Bell had injured ribs and visible lacerations to his head and face, but he was conscious and in stable condition. A doctor in the team quickly determined that due to his known and potential injuries, Bell could not continue the descent without assistance. Two members of the party climbed down in search of help, leaving the doctor, another teammate, and the patient at the scene. Back at Camp Hazard about 1,000 feet below, they found Alpine Ascents International (AAI). Several AAI guides responded to the request for assistance and contacted the National Park Service. A plan was put in place for two AAI guides to travel to the accident scene that evening to assess the injured climber’s condition and bring with them materials for an overnight stay on the Mountain. Based on their assessment, the Incident Commander, David Gottlieb called for air-lift/hoist extraction the following morning.

Within an hour of take-off on Wednesday morning at approximately 6:45 a.m., a US Army Reserve Chinook helicopter from Fort Lewis successfully extracted the injured climber from the Kautz Glacier. The patient was transported to Madigan Hospital for further medical evaluation. He was released later that day.

You can find more in the ST and PI.

~ Monica Magari

Reaching the end of the line

Old railway carriage at the Northampton and Lamport railway. Well worth a visit they have there own web page just click on the link for news, history and upcoming events
www.nlr.org.uk

Old British railways sign on a carriage



Steam saddle tank loco




Diesel loco under wraps





Pitsford and Brampton signal box and brake carriage






Just reward..
A pint of Guinness at Brampton Halt.I must do this again soon. I hope this has given people an insight to the Brampton Valley Way. I plan to add more photos soon. So don't worry it's not the end of the line for the blog but just the beginning.C.B

Hairpins

Only when reviewing the route months later did I realise that I must have climbed for 7 miles to the high point of Cushendall Road. Effortful as this must have beenon a small wheel folding bike, itdid not register as such in my memory. What I do remember: Ascending - almost like floating - through an expanse of short, scraggly pine trees, past a surreal lake with steam rising off it. After that, there were farmlands and more farmlands, with their scatterings of placidly grazing sheep. Before long, I was at the top, and now the foggy glens edged by the sea spread out in front of me. Looking down, it was hard to believe that soon I would be at sea level.




I was not, at that point, used to descents longer than a couple of miles. This one was around 6. It began slow, but the grade steepened as it continued. As I gained momentum, the surrounding grasses and the sea began to blur together with the fog, into one green foamy mess. I felt intermittently dizzy and sleepy. In the distance I glimpses another forest and welcomed the variation in landscape.




When I saw the sharp curve in the road ahead, it was a jolt to my system, even though I had seen the map and knew to expect it. From my vantage point, the hairpin turn looked like a giant version of an actual hairpin. Somehow I'd thought the distinct shape only emerged in aerial pictures, and could not be glimpsed as such in real life from a bike. But there it was in front of me, a hairpin sure as day. There was the flash of recognition of what was about to happen, and then it happened. I reduced speed, then reduced it again, and leaned, and still felt the violent yank of whatever force did not want me to make the turn. But I made it: Braking clumsily, drenched in sweat and on the verge of skidding, I made it. For the rest of the descent I was wide awake.




Another time, back in Boston, I joined a friend on an unfamiliar route through some local hills. Having finished a climb we were about to descend a high traffic road, and she warned me not to pick up too much speed. The wind carried her voice away, but I could make out "Sharp turn! ...end up opposite traffic lane!" Gingerly I cycled around the bend, which I discovered to be another hairpin. Again it stunned me that even with the cars speeding past, even with the row of strip malls in the distance, even with all my energy focused on making the turn while keeping my line of travel, I could make out the shape of the mighty, beautiful hairpin.




So that makes two so far, which is also the number of actual pins I usually wear in my hair. That connection bears no significance what so ever, but it pops into my mind when I use the pins - just one of those silly associations.




Some years ago, a Tyrolean friend told me - in great, descriptive detail - about the Stelvio Pass, with its 48 hairpin turns. A vintage Austrian picture book was produced, dramatic hand gestures were involved. When she said her uncle liked to ride his bike there, I thought she was joking. How could such a thing be possible, on a bike? I felt lightheaded just looking at photos of the bends, scattered through the mountain like pins in some mad woman's hair.

Exit ..

Followed up an excellent day of climbing in Darrington with a not-so-excellent day at Exit 38.

Started the day at Interstate with the intention of finally checking out Off Ramp. Before climbing, we figured out the approach to Off Ramp, but noticed it did not have anchors assessable for top roping. So I decided to warm up on Eating Dust as the stump no longer exists and makes Eating Rocks a bit more difficult start than it was previously. I had no issues on the climb and set up a top rope for Steen to climb. She climbed Eating Dust and then we both climbed Eating Rocks. I brought her to the top so I could finish off with Insomniac, but I balked after clipping the first bolt and could not seem to figure out the moves. My calves were noticeably sore from the previous day and after about four attempts, we decided to rap down.

On the ground we were met by Adam, Zach and his girlfriend. They were going to climb in that area while Steen and I checked out something different. We walked over to Kiss of the Crowbar a nice 5.7 route that I had climbed a few years ago with Lindsay. I started up and found it to be runout and couldn't even locate the second bolt so I went left to climb Attack of the Butter Knives before seeing the second bolt. I then made a traverse back to clip the correct bolt and then back tracked to unclip from the off route bolt.

I was then able to proceed upward. However I was still balking. Steen asked if I wanted to come down, but I told her I was going to go for it. As I clipped the third bolt I realized it suffered from the same problem the second bolt suffered from. The bolt was poorly placed and caused the carabiner on my draw to come to rest on the rock's edge. This concerned me as I was afraid of the biner breaking in a fall. The wind was blowing and I did not feel comfortable climbing upward from that point. But I noticed there might be a bypass around the next steep section by going around it to the right. I informed Steen of what I was about to do and went around to the right. After going around and up, I was a bit above the previous bolt and did not feel comfortable trying to get back on route. I then informed Steen of my decision to attempt to walk off to the right. There was a grassy ledge system with some small shrubs that I was able to traverse until I got to walking terrain. I called "off belay" and untied to walk down to Steen.

I apologized for the lack of my finishing and told her to pull the rope and told her I hoped Adam would be able to complete the route to get my gear. It was Noon, and we decided after telling the others that we would sit in the sun on the talus field and enjoy lunch. It was shady and cold near the base of the wall, and not much better on the route, so the less windy and more sunny talus slope provided a welcome change.

Adam two clips up on "...Crowbar"

After lunch Zach and his girlfriend left to go for a hike while I belayed Adam up Kiss of the Crowbar. He tried to rectify the same issue I was concerned with and did it with adding an additional biner on the bolt. He made his way surely to the top and set up a top rope for Steen and I to climb. While Steen was halfway up a guy came by that was an acquaintance who was hoping to get on the route. I told him I would skip the top rope and he could have it after Steen. Adam instructed me to head to Squishy Bell to see if I could set up a top rope there. I hiked up to Squishy Bell where there was already two parties on routes (which left only one anchor open.) Instead of being the person who holds movie theater seats when others are not in the theater, I dropped the rope and my jacket at the base and went back to pick up my pack. After explaining the situation to Adam, I headed back to wait for him and Steen to join me.


Steen cleaning the anchor on "Crowbar" with McClellan Butte backdrop.

By the time they joined me, I had convinced myself that I would lead Winter Rushing In to set up a top rope for November Glaze. Thankfully, I had no issues leading the route and set up the top rope. Steen followed Winter Rushing In and then all three of us top roped November Glaze. Which is a fun route that has a difficult move to reach the second bolt. After that route, we packed up and headed home.

This was a frustrating day for me as I climbed well the previous day but had some head issues attempting to lead today. Interestingly, I did not have those issues on the final lead, so I am not sure what happened. I guess some times you have off days, or off climbs. I'm going to put it behind me and look forward to the next climb.

Lake Superior Sunset

Sunset over Lake Superior this evening was one of the best I've seen in a while... and right now it is very still and calm outside (and relatively warm!), with the light from a half-moon illuminating the landscape. What a beautiful day!

Balancing Act

The logs were laying every which away. They were huge logs and some would be balanced on top of others. This big one was proped up on a smaller one. Makes you wonder why it doesn't fall, and when will it happen. I just hope on one is under it when it happens.

In Case You Were Wondering...

Yes, I did find someplace cooler! When last I left you, I was sweltering in 100 degree temperatures, along with much of the Midwest and the East Coast! Thursday morning (July 21st) I continued driving through Toledo and on into “Pure Michigan” northward. At Standish (north of the “thumb”) I followed U.S. 23 along the coast of Lake Huron. It was a very nice tree-lined drive with little traffic, but views of the lake were few and far-between. Of course, I could have stopped at one of the many public access areas but the temperature was still near 100 degrees and I was quite comfortable in my air conditioned van!



The temperature did drop the further north I drove but still in the 90s. Oddly enough it wasn't until I turned inland a ways that the temperature dropped into the upper 80s. I spent the night at very pleasant State Park at Onaway on the shores of Black Lake near the upper tip of the Lower Peninsula. The temperature actually got into the 70s overnight. Upper 70s but 70s nevertheless!



It seems that every campground has a different atmosphere to it. Some have open campsites with little privacy but the people seem friendlier there than at the campgrounds where the sites are more secluded. Some, by their very nature – such as those on or near lakes - tend to be noisier than others. It was tempting to spend a few days at Onaway but it was a busy place with lots of kids and dogs and was very noisy.



So on Friday morning I went in search of a more quiet, secluded place where I could simply relax and perhaps work on the research papers I had accumulated while in Ohio...



No, it's not Michigan! But thought I'd share this, which was taken about six weeks ago in the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps it will make someone feel a little cooler during this heat wave ;-)

Facebookization

Why don't she write?!

Facebookization.

I've meant several times to start up again -- geez, it's been a year! But well... blogs (writing and reading) for me are huge time sucks. And Facebook is the huge time suck that I've been abusing most recently.

Note to spammers: that does not mean that you can graffiti my blog with your crummy, spammy links. I still delete those.

Anyway, I'm still alive, though parched with drought. Thinking about starting back up again, or at least posting every now and then.

The photos show something I've been obsessed with lately: I'm on a huge succulent kick, potting them up in thrift-store finds. I can't say which is more squee-inducing, finding new plants, or discovering containers that speak to me (marked way, way down).

Paths Almost Crossed

Ruffed Grouse and hiker on a backwoods road in Northeast Minnesota.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1920)

[page 1 - no date]
The 11th Annual Reunion of the Phend - Fisher families was held at the home of John Phend at Tippecanoe Ind. with fifty three members and eleven friends present among whom was Rev. Harper and family of Tippecanoe. Many more would have been there had it not been such a rainy day.

After singing "Blest be the Tie that binds," Rev. Harper offered Thanks and then each one proceeded to help himself or herself to the basket dinner.

In the after-noon a quartet composed of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wherley and Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Phend sang several selections after which the secretary's report was read and approved and several short talks were given.

The following officers were elected.
Jacob Phend Pres.
Will Phend Vice Pres.
Fred Ernest Sec.
Christ Phend Tres.

[page 2]
Iva Wherley was chosen as chairman of the entertainment committee. A collection of $4.20 was taken to pay for several minor expenditures. It was decided by vote to hold the next reunion at the home of John Ernest at Elkhart.

Fred ErnestSec. The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Still Climbing

So as many of you might have noticed our updates have been kind of few and far between lately. We've had some pretty hard times this summer and this site has felt the effects of tired rangers. We as a group definitely want to extend our thanks to everyone that has supported our program and what we do here at Rainier throughout this summer. Your positive support is greatly appreciated!



As we enter the backside of August, a time when climbers start to shy away from Rainier for many reasons, we just want to say that Rangers are still up there climbing, staffing high camps, training (still) with some new and very exciting rescue techniques and pretty much around to serve you for a while still. The standard routes are holding up great right now, with the DC staying as direct as it can for late August and the Emmons holding solid all the way up the Winthrop. Many of the non standard routes such as Mowich Face and Edmunds Headwall, to name a couple, seem to be in really good shape up high still, access over the bergschrunds seem to be the major cruxes. The weather looks good for a late summer adventure, so come on out and get some!

!French Doors!

From the time we moved in 8 years ago we haven't cared for the sliding glass doors that led to the back yard. So on Friday we went to Lowes Home Building Store to get a new light to put in the yard as ours had quite. We did get the light but found French Doors on sale at a price we could almost afford. So we splurged and bought them. The first photo is of the old door after we pulled it out as I forgot to take a photo before it was removed. Next are photos of the opening for the door from inside and outside. Then come the photos of the new french doors as we got them in place and then got the lock on the door. We really like our new door but it has really confused the dogs and cats. The sliding glass door opened on in the left corner for them to go in and out. The new door opens in the middle. They keep going to the corner to get in or out. I hope they learn soon. I am sure they will.

Cottonwood Tree

This is the biggest cottonwood tree that survived the fire in this little area. Paseo del Norte highway is to the left of it. The pathway runs to the right of it. You can see the dead cottonwood trunk that has the sandhill crane on top of it. The Rio Grande River is farther on beyond the tree and park.

Hyak ..

What a difference a week makes. Although not in temperatures. (Telemetry shows the temp at Hyak today never exceeded 8°F during the time we were there.)

Julie and I headed to Hyak for a skin/ski trip. Snoqualmie has not yet opened Hyak or Alpental, due to "lack of snow." While it was adequate for skiing, it was probably not suitable for commercial skiing. A few more feet should hide the remaining conifer tops and all the alder. We decided on this location due to the 'short' drive, and moderate to high avalanche danger. Also, there was a "deadly" storm scheduled to hit later in the day, and we wanted to be home before that.

There were quite a few people out with the same idea. But, not as many as I saw last week at the Silver Basin. There was about a dozen or so "backcountry" skiers there. Probably a half dozen Nordic skiers and a few snowshoers. (Or is that slowshoers?)

The idea was to skin under the Keechelus Chair and then figure out what made sense for the descent. Under the chair was somewhat skied out, but it was the obvious line. There was a nice skin track on the way up, and we had no issues arriving at the top. At least that is what I thought. Julie lagged behind a bit, but I believed it to be because this was her first skin since the spring. When she arrived at the top, she explained that her back was bothering her and she was unsure about how the descent would affect it.

After some mulling about, we decided to descend under the chair. (The way we came up.) Julie was interested in attempting some powder as she did not have great success last season with deep powder. I too was interested, as my ski day last Sunday was less than ideal. We took our time on the way down with a couple of stops for Julie to reattach her ski. Near the bottom, we took the cat track as it didn't have as many alder branches sticking through it. (It didn't have any actually.) It was an alright run.

It was now 10:45am. Due to her back, Julie did not feel up to another run. I negotiated with her that I would head up and be back to the car by noon. To my surprise, I was able to skin all the way to the top and have a nice run back down in time to leave the parking lot at 11:55am. The second run was really nice for me. I was able to link turns and build some speed. I crashed once and arrived back at the car with snow pouring out of my clothes. I skied well.

(Photo by Julie Labrecque)
My photos are here.