MAY 2005 SCREE

General Meeting

Date: Tuesday, May 10th

Time: 7:30 PM

Where: Peninsula Conservation Center

3921 E Bayshore Rd

Palo Alto, CA

(see below for directions)

Program: Kilimanjaro: A Good Place To Start by Linda Sun

Kilimanjaro is one of the easiest seven summits. It is so close to the equator that weather is almost always nice. You do not need ice axe, crampons, or rope. Take the trail all the way to the top!

Linda Sun is currently the Publicity Chair for the Peak Climbing Section.

Directions: From 101: Exit at San Antonio Road, go east to the first traffic light, turn left and follow Bayshore Rd to the PCC on the corner of Corporation Way. A sign marking the PCC is out front. Park behind.

Restricted Mountaineering Trips

So…you want to lead an official Sierra Club mountaineering climb, with ice axe and crampons and possibly rope, AND, you want to be insured? It happens! There are two such trips listed in this issue of ‘Scree’ and they followed this process:

1. Contact the PCS Scheduler (aka Chris Prendergast, currently) and ensure you’re an approved leader for the specific class of climb;

2. Contact the Chair of the PCS Mountaineering Committee (aka Dee Booth) and make sure that appropriate guidelines are followed (ie: application forms);

3. The Chair of PCS M.C. will assist you in obtaining approval from the Loma Prieta Chapter Mountaineering Chair (aka Hal Tompkins, currently);

4. Once Chapter M.C. approves your trip, all information/paperwork goes to the Sierra Club Mountaineering Oversight Committee, currently chaired by Tina Bowman.

All of this can be completed via email, if so desired for ease of completion. Here’s a bit more information and definitions to help you out:

Mountaineering Outings: outings that require the use of ropes, runners, ices axes, or crampons. These list of items is referred to as ‘mountaineering equipment.’ No free-soloing or vertical ice climbing will be allowed on any outing.

Snow/Ice Outings: these are outings that require snow-ice equipment as a potential safety tool. On some outings, this equipment may not be used; on other outings, its use may be prolonged.

Mountaineering Oversight Committee (MOC):

The MOC has been established to ensure that the Sierra Club runs as safe a program as possible, and to satisfy the insurer. The MOC members have expertise in mountaineering and rock climbing. The committee has two responsibilities: (1) certifying entities (a mountaineering group) to sponsor mountaineering outings; (2) reviewing all proposed mountaineering outings to ensure that: (a) the leaders are qualified to lead the proposed outing; (b) the outing is properly conceived and well-planned; (c) the leader will be screening potential participants for the proper experience, physical ability and equipment.

The MOC works with leaders to ensure that mountaineering outings will attract participants and are run with the safety of the participants as a paramount consideration. The members of the MOC are appointed by the Outdoor Activities Governance Committee (OAGC). To maintain objectivity, the MOC members who lead mountaineering outings have their outings reviewed by other members of the committee, as well as by the sponsoring entity.

Post-Outing Requirements: After running a mountaineering trip, the leader is required to submit to the Sierra Club Outings Department the following within 30 days of the completion of the outing: (a) Sign-in sheet and Liability Waiver (including membership numbers, signed by each participant; and, (b) an Accident Report Form if an accident or incident occurred on the outing.

Training Trips: Participant training trips and leader training trips are eligible for restricted trip status. These training trips require increased controls. All training activities must be undertaken with precaution and all steps must be taken to avoid accidents, injuries and possibly resulting claims.

For further detailed information, the Sierra Club MOC has resources located via the Sierra Club website. Or, contact Dee Booth, PCS M.C., for additional details [dlbooth813@sbcglobal.net]

PCS Trips

PCS trips must be submitted through the Scheduler (see back cover for details).

Don’t Let Your Guard Down!

Date: May 28-30 (Sat-Mon, Memorial Day Holiday)

Peak: North Guard, 13,327’

Class 3 with Class 4 summit block

Ice-Axe, crampons needed; snow travel

Map(s): Mt Brewer: 7.5’, Mt Whitney: 15’

Leader(s): Robert Suzuki, suzukiR@sd-star.com

Arun Mahajan, arun.mahajan@att.net

What better way to see the Sierra in the Spring than from atop one of the finest peak climbs in the Kings-Kern divide? After a strenuous walk-in to camp from Road’s End in the Kings Canyon NP on Day 1, we attempt North Guard on Day 2 by the south face and hike out on Day 3. We will need ice axe and crampons on the snowly slopes and a belay may be used on the Class 4 summit block. Participants must be experienced in the use of ice axe/crampons and must be good Class 3 climbers, preferably with some roped climbing experience. Besides the relevant regalia for a multi-day climb, participants must bring ice axe, crampons, harness, belay device, personal biners and slings.

Since this is a restricted Sierra Club trip, participants must be Sierra Club members.

Hasta La Vista Baby!

Date: June 11-12 (Sat-Sun)

Peak: Spanish Mountain, 10,051’, Class 1/2

Leader: Debbie Benham, 650-964-0558

Deborah05@sbcglobal.net

CoLeader: Bill Kirkpatrick, 408-244-7607

wmkirk@earthlink.net

Join us for an early season trip out of Wishon Reservoir! A real trail all the way with a use trail to the tippy-top. This route offers the most outstanding views of Kings Canyon. Come seeJ Newcomers will be given preference. Six on permit.

Trickling Down the Hourglass

Date: June 11-12 (Sat-Sun)

Peak: Mt Dade, 13,600’ Class 2/3

Ice axe and crampons needed; snow travel

Maps: Mt Abbott

Leader(s): Dee Booth, dlbooth813@sbcglobal.net

Arun Mahajan, arun.mahajan@att.net

The Rock Creek and Little Lakes Valley section of the Sierra offers some of the best scenery and high altitude climbing that one can get in this range and all within half-a-day’s walk from the trailhead. Our objective this weekend will be to summit Mt Dade via the aptly named Hourglass Couloir. We will hike in early and drop packs and attempt this route. The longer days and the snow, softened by the afternoon sun on this moderate slope, will offer a good challenge to our ice axe and cramponing skills. After summitting, we will get back to camp, then have a relaxed walk out on Day 2. We will even b able to complete the drive and get back home at a reasonable hour!

Participants must be good Class 3 climbers and experienced in the use of ice axe and crampons on moderate to high angled slopes. Since this is a restricted (official) Sierra Club trip, participants must be Sierra Club members. Permit is for six people.

Roundtop: 10,381ft.

Date climbed: 2^nd April 2005

By Arun Mahajan [arun.mahajan@att.net]

We had planned to climb Roundtop initially on the 20^th of March, but had to cancel due to the bad weather. Similar reasons had prevented us from doing it on the 27^th of March, but, Saturday, the 2^nd of April, promised to be a little better so we tried it then.

The eight of us, Rick and Dee Booth, Stephane Mouradian, Dmitry Nechayev, William Humnicky, Scott Kreider, and organizers, Ron Karpel and Arun Mahajan, started off at about 10:15am from Carson Pass. The weather was good although we could see lenticular clouds to the north. We made our way past Lake Winnemucca toward the slopes leading to the saddle connecting the south ridge of Roundtop to the Sisters. Stephane, Rick and Dee split off to do the Sisters and the rest of us, after a brief break to switch to ice axe and crampons, went towards Roundtop. There was a layer of brittle ice over the rocks below the first summit. Due to the large amounts of snow on the top of the north fork of the couloir that tops out just below the true summit, the little funky rock-step to get to the summit block was trivially hard.

After a few summit photos, we quickly departed since it was getting windy and cloudy. As we were coming down from the summit, we ran into Rick, Dee and Stephane who had finished climbing the taller (northern) hump of the Sisters and were now coming up to do Roundtop as a bonus climb.

We waited for them and had lunch. By this time, it had gotten quite windy and the wind blew the snow on our faces—so some of the group started going down. The snow conditions were not ideal for skiing either as there was a think layer of powdery snow on breakable crust. Also since, grooming machines no longer do Roundtop’s slopes, skiing down was quite hard for me, but Stephane made it look easy!

Once past Winnemucca on the way back, the weather got to be tolerable again, but it had been quite bad above the lake. We were back to the cars in about six hours.

Boogiamanos: How to Beat the Tax Man to Ventana Double Cone and Carmel Peak

Date Climbed: April 15 – 17, 2005

By Natalie Guishar

At 4,853 feet (1,479 meters), Ventana Double Cone is one of the more remote peaks in the Ventana Wilderness, located along California's Big Sur coast. Ventana is Spanish for “window” and the word was given to the region because of a window-like opening in one of the surrounding hills. Though not as high or well-known as Junipero Serra Peak or Cone Peak, Ventana Double Cone is the only peak that actually lies within the Ventana Wilderness. It sits at the center of the northern part of the Santa Lucia Range, and is the divide point for the Little Sur, Big Sur, and Carmel River drainages.

The Highway 1 drive to the trailhead boasts famed views of Monterrey Bay and its surrounding small towns. A spectacle of ocean borders one side and green pastures the other. After driving 11 miles South from Carmel, we turned onto Palo Colorado Road, which runs through a quaint, remote, and sometime ramshackle, residential community literally nestled on top of a canyon creek running through giant redwoods. This nine-mile windy road (this author got mildly car sick) ended at the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp where Botchers Gap, our trailhead, begins.

Our group (which included Tom Driscoll, Carmen Garcia, Nancy Fitzsimmons(co-leader), Richard Gigax, Natalie Guishar, Liz Harvey, Stan Huncilman, Wild Bill Kirkpatrick (leader), Cathy Luchetti, Chris Prendergast, Bob Suzuki, and Dan Tischler) departed in the late morning of April 15 from the trailhead. Our goal was to leisurely reach camp at Pat Springs, approximately 8 miles ahead and 3000’ in elevation gain.

The hike began with Wild Bill’s rousing call for the team to “boogiamanos!” (As Bill explains, the command comes from the root verb “boogiar”, meaning “to boogey”. Proper conjugation of the verb adds the reflexive plural “amanos”.)

During our breaks, we entertained ourselves by speculating about the sometimes conflicting trail signage – sometimes two signs right next to each other offer conflicting mileage to the next camp or destination. For example, one sign showed an approximate distance of two miles to the next camp site, while the other listed the same distance as only one mile. (We reached the consensus that there must have been an invisible, one-mile gap between the signs.)

We reached Pat Springs around 5 PM, in time to set-up camp on a hilly but green meadow, cook some grub, and catch one last hike before bedtime -- up a grassy knoll where we marveled at the sunset, the ocean, and the hills beneath our feet. Two members of the group ventured further ahead to a secluded camp, where they saw two pheasants running across the trail. We then returned to camp after sunset and retired early that evening to the gentle hoots of owls.

On Saturday morning, we departed camp at 8:30 AM and began the 15-mile round-trip hike to the Double Cone summit. Much like the previous day, the hilly hike gains and loses 4000’ in elevation. The hike immediately begins with a hike up Uncle Sam Peak and winds through spectacular displays of blooming purple and blue lupin,e owl’s clover, and California poppy, just to name a very few.

Though a clear trail leads to the summit, and the registry leads one to believe that the trail was regularly climbed, we were engaged in constant bushwacking through live oak, manzanitas, ceanothus, and poison oak for the last mile to the summit. Some of us were lucky enough to be able to rely on Carmen Garcia’s Tecnu after full-body tangles with poison oak. Upon emerging from the last bit of bushwacking, we rounded the bend onto South Double Cone and saw the stone foundations of an old fire lookout.

The summit views were outstanding, with full visibility of the Ventana Wilderness and a fog-blanketed Monterrey Bay. Looking Northwest, one could see Pine Ridge, Uncle Sam peak, and to the Southeast, the largest of them, Junipero Serra Peak. From the summit, we noted that the hillsides in this wilderness are covered in the thickest chaparral imaginable, making cross-country travel all but impossible. Nevertheless, some of us decided to catch the trail back down to the saddle and scramble up to North Double Cone, where we witnessed Bob Suzuki’s famed mountain-goat-like abilities in rock hopping.

On the way back to our Pat Springs camp, we identified several more living species, some indigenous to the wilderness, such as a peculiar mushroom, and others less indigenous, such as another group of Sierra Club hikers planning the next morning’s summit bid. We made it back to camp without incident, took creek “baths”, and shared stories about past hikes around our supper stoves.

The next day, the group departed camp around 9:30 AM and decided to tag Carmel Peak on the way out to Botchers Gap.

Lou Reichardt:

8000 Meter Man

Ever talk to someone and realize you really are out of the loop? Wished you’d really, really read the book, not just the jacket? That every name mentioned is in who’s who and truly are household names? Should have memorized the 8000m peak list? Louis Reichardt, PhD, well-known in his field, professor at USCF with his own laboratory, and, of course, exceptional mountaineer with a history to strive for and dream about, answered some of my queries in a telephone interview last month.

For we 4000m folks, here’s a review:

Lou Reichardt was a member of the expedition that summitted Nanda Devi, 7816m, in 1976 via a new route, the North Ridge. Some of you may have read the book by John Roskelley, also a member of the’76 team, Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition. Lou’s comment, “Ad Carter [editor of ‘The Alpine Journal’] called and asked me if I wanted to go. With that invitation, you don’t say ‘no’. Willie [Unsoeld] had originally tried it in ’39 and he wanted to go, too. Well, then, I just talked them into doing something different.” The circle of peaks in the Indian Garhwal Himalaya is known as the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. In the mid-1960’s, the government closed the area, re-opened it in 1974, then closed it again for environmental reasons. It remains closed to this day.

In 1978, Lou was a part of the American team that made the first ascent of K2 at 8611m without oxygen, starting up the 1976 Polish route, then moving onto the Abruzzi Ridge. James Wickwire, Louis Reichardt, John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway summited on September 6^th and 7^th. I asked Dr. Reichardt why ‘without oxygen’ and he answered, “We would have used it, if it had worked! [I] always think of losing a few IQ points without oxygen.” K2 lies in the heart of the Karakorum range that straddles the border between China, Jammu and Kashmir (currently claimed by Pakistan and India). K2 base camp is five days walk from the last village, all of it on glaciers. Weather is less stable than on the more popular Mt Everest with windows of good weather being less predictable and shorter. At the time, obtaining a permit to climb K2 was tough. Lou reported, “Jim Whittaker asked Senator Kennedy to pull a few strings and we were able to get one.” [It should be noted that Jim Whittaker led Robert Kennedy on a first ascent of Mt Kennedy, a peak in the Canadian Yukon named for slain-President John F. Kennedy.]

In October 1983, George Lowe, Dan Reid, Jay Cassell, Lou, Carlos Buhler, and Kim Momb summited Mt Everest [8372m] via the still unrepeated East Face (or Kangshung) route. Dr. Reichardt has not been back. “We did use oxygen on this climb,” he said, with a grin unseen over the phone. Permits were harder to obtain back then: “Dick Blum was able to get us the permit from the Chinese government. You see, his wife [Diane Feinstein] went to Shanghai in 1979 to set up a SisterCity between San Francisco and Shanghai. The Chinese government saw the importance of San Francisco as a SisterCity, and, we got the permit [to climb Mt Everest from the Chinese side].” Once they received their permit to climb, Lou “…persuaded Dick to go with the new route.”

Today, the Chinese government has allowed many permits on the same route. Many climbers consider this a safety issue and hope that in the future, the government will restrict the permits to just a few teams on each route. “There is an illusion of safety in numbers. In actuality, K2, more than Everest, is not safe for multiple groups at the same time and there is a dismal survival rate,” Lou stated. Over the past 20 years, mountaineering has changed, become more popular, and some say this popularity has forever changed the dynamics of this rugged pastime. “The sense of remoteness is gone. You have these satellite hook-ups now,” says Lou. If there are pluses to increased popularity, it’s that “…there are a lot more people now, so it is cheaper to climb a large mountain. [It] used to be there were significant political implications. Now, you can get a permit on a regular basis.”

Lou stepped down as President of the American Alpine Club in 1997: “I owe them a great deal. They sponsored each of my expeditions and I was able to pay some of this back while President. I’m still involved in AAC with committee work. “ One of his fondest memories while President of AAC was “…raising tons of money to renovate a high school in Colorado. The Colorado Mountaineering Club helped quite a bit with this.”

Lou still climbs and he’ll often go out to a local climbing area after work in the San Francisco Bay area. He has not gone abroad to climb the big mountains since his 1983 summit of Everest, but he loves to go to the Sierra: “I especially like Northern Yosemite. It’s less populated and more rugged.”

Thanks for the interview Lou and see you on top of MatterhornJ

--D. Benham, editor

Hogsback Heaven

Mt Hood Trip Report

Date Climbed: April 9, 2005

By George N. [alpinist@earthlink.net]

This report was originally posted on summitpost.org and is reprinted with permission from the author.

The Route

Southside (Hogsback) route - 3 miles (each way) - 5,200ft elevation gain

Climbing Gear

Crampons, ice ax, helmet, harness, chest harness, 30m 8mm glacier rope, prusik cords, ascenders, carabiners, belay device.

Conditions

The area received over a foot of fresh snow during the preceding week. Night time temperatures at the Timberline Lodge were just below freezing. Day time temps were in the upper 40's(F). Winds were blowing 30-50 MPH while we were there. The snow was reasonably consolidated and avalanche danger was moderate.

April 8: My friend Dave and I flew in to Portland from Chicago, rented a car and drove to the Timberline Lodge. We arrived just in time to rent snowshoes before the gear shop closed at 5pm. We had a fantastic dinner in the lodge, packed our backpacks, and were asleep by 9pm. The time zone change was in our favor and made our early-to-bed, early-to-rise plan a little easier.

April 9: We awoke at 3am, got dressed and had a light snack for breakfast. The temperature outside was around 20(F) degrees, with ~30 MPH winds. By the time we got bundled up and put on our snowshoes, it was 4am when we hit the trail.

We started up the climber's trail just east of the lodge. However, in the dark with fresh snow, it’s pretty hard to tell where exactly you are. We ended up hiking up one of the ski runs and just followed the compass needle north. About half an hour up the trail, a Snow Cat nearly ran me over. It seemed pretty early to be grooming the slopes. We thought perhaps the driver was grooming a path for us. (What a nice guy!) Later, we discovered that they use the Cat to shuttle climbers up to the hut. (Isn’t that cheating?!) Well anyway, at least we could follow the lights and be sure of a clear path for a while.

We ran into another group of climbers around 5:30am. They looked like they were half frozen, huddling next to a ski lift for wind protection. We stopped briefly to talk and they seemed amazed that we were actually going to continue towards the summit. They seemed young and inexperienced, but they were still low on the mountain and the sun would rise soon. So we didn’t worry about them much. I assume they turned back as we never saw them again.

It was pretty slow going in the dark, with a steady head wind. We stopped a few times to make some clothing adjustments, or to de-ice our goggles. We reached the Silcox Hut at first light. As we continued up the Palmer Glacier, we broke through the cloud layer at around 8000ft and could finally see the route ahead. There was a team ahead of us and another one behind us (but not the college kids we saw earlier). The route thus far is not very steep. It starts to get a little steeper as you near the Devil’s Kitchen. We stopped for a break there and then continued to the Hogsback just around the bend.

We reached the Hogsback by 10:30am and were treated with an incredibly picturesque view of the snow covered formations inside the crater; Crater Rock, the Hogsback, the Pearly Gates and the breathtaking ice coated crater walls themselves. It’s truly spectacular to see! Once inside the crater we dropped our packs at the base of the Hogsback, swapped our snowshoes for crampons, got out our ice axes, and ascended towards the Pearly Gates. The snow on the Hogsback was 6-8 inches deep and pretty easy to climb. We passed the bergschrund on the right. I actually read that it was open during the weeks before our trip. However, with over a foot of new snow in the past week, the bergschrund is now closed again and we saw people walking over the entire length of it (roped). --> You should obviously take great care in passing the bergschrund, which ever side you decide to take... The route gets a bit steeper in between the Pearly Gates and the snow was harder, but we didn't feel the need to rope up.

Once above the Pearly Gates, it’s a short, easy climb up to the summit rim. The sky was crystal clear, however the wind was now gusting to ~40-50 MPH. We didn’t stay long, but what a great view!

We retrieved our packs and started what we hoped would be a hasty retreat back to the lodge. However, as we descended past the Devil’s Kitchen, we encountered white out conditions at around 10,000ft. It was so thick, we could barely see the snow beneath our feet. In fact, we both took tumbles on several occasions on the way back because we couldn’t see where we were stepping. At one point, we both rolled off a 10ft hill…! Luckily we landed in soft snow. What’s worse is that we couldn’t see any landmarks to tell us if we were on route. Since my GPS batteries had died, our only course was to follow the compass needle due south. After a couple of hours of very slow hiking, the clouds opened up just long enough for us to see that we were about 1⁄4 of a mile west of the chair lift. That was all we needed to get us back on track.

We stopped briefly at the Silcox Hut for a break. When the driver of the Snow Cat offered us a lift back to the lodge, well, we couldn’t refuse. (It's only cheating if you use the Cat going up the mountain...)

We made it back to the lodge by 5pm. I was tired but filled with the deep sense of satisfaction and elation that I only get following a successful summit. And that was the end of a truly fantastic day of climbing.

Private Trips

Private trips are not insured, sponsored, or supervised by the Sierra Club. They are listed here because they may be of interest to PCS members. Private trips may be submitted directly to the editor.

Date: May 7^th, Saturday

Mt Lassen, 10400’

Contact: George Van Gorden, 408-779-2320

Vangordeng321@aol.com

Date: May 27-30, 2005 (Memorial Day Holiday)

Selenite Range and Dry Mountain Range: Kumiva Peak

Contact: Vicky Hoover, 415-977-5527,

Vicky.hoover@sierraclub.org

Date: July 10-24, 2005

Slovenian Alps “Hut-to-Hut”

Contact: Arlene Blum, Arlene@arleneblumcom

Website: http://www.burger.si/SLOIndex.htm

Date: August 12-28, 2005

Huayna Potosi (19,974’) and Nevado Illimani (21,200’)

Near La Paz, Boliva

Contact: Dan Tupper, 408-742-8693,

Dan.tupper@lmco.com

Date: October 1, 2005 (15 day trek)

Trek/Climb in the Mt Everest area, Nepal

Contact: Warren Storkman, 650-493-8959,

dstorkman@aol.com

Date: January 14, 2006

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania [optional safari following]

Contact: Warren Storkman, 650-493-8959, dstorkman@aol.com

Chicks With Picks Summer Program

(from the desk of Kim Reynolds, Founder)

Mind Over Mountains: Thought [i]Provoking Adventures – CWP invites you to join them for two, free, bridge-line calls designed to give you an overview of the program and answer questions. Please RSVP as there is limited space available.

“Mind Over Mountains” offers transformational experiences that incorporate yoga, hiking, rock climbing, peak cimbs, meaningful workshops, life coaching, spa treatments, healthy meals, and lovely accommodations. Our retreats are open to women of all abilities and no prior experience is necessary. For dates and prices, see: www.mindovermountains.com/calendar.html

Wilderness First Aid Classes

Looking for that first aid class so you can lead trips for PCS this summer!?! Look no further!

Bobbie Foster at Foster Calm offers 16 hour wilderness first aid classes that teach all you’d want to know plus a day of practice (called ‘scenarios’ for the uninitiated). Contact Bobbie at bobbie@fostercalm.com or check out her website at www.fostercalm.com. A list of upcoming WFA classes in California:

May 7-8: Stanford

May 14-15: Rancho Cordova

May 21-22: Palo Alto

May 24-25: Davis