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SKAGIT ALPINE September, 2002 Newsletter of the Skagit Alpine Club Volume 40, Issue 9 WEDNESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS The monthly meetings of the Skagit Alpine Club have been changed to WEDNESDAYS! Our next meeting will be WEDNESDAY, September 4th at the 911 Building in Mt. Vernon, located just east of Skagit College on College Ave. SECRETARY'S REPORT: - Leigh Agler A vote was taken at the last meeting as to where to continue meetings. All present agreed to meet at the 911 building, which is only available on Wednesdays. (With the president abstaining his vote.) The advantages of a dependable, easily located space to meet with flexible hours carried more weight in the balance of the discussion than the tremendous step of changing our meeting days. Also discussed, was the importance of choosing a day and keeping consistent with that decision. Please, if you'd like to discuss this further or propose a re-vote, come to the next meeting, on the first WEDNESDAY of the month! Two announcements: The question of Moutaineering Oriented First Aid (MOFA) classes came up. Maggie researched this a bit and found that if we have 6-12 interested people, the instructor will offer a 30 hour class taking place over 2 weekends. This would include getting CPR and 1st aid cards, and responding to lots of practice scenarios. Interested? Let maggie Sullivan know at 724-3158. Voting takes place in November for new SAC positions. By then. Harold Mead will have graciously served a year beyond the 2-year limit set in the by-laws. Many other positions are open as well. This is the opportunity for new folks to make and shape the direction and feel of the club. Think about it. You, or you and your friends , holding prestigious positions in society. Just do it. Beyond that business, the meeting was a gab-fest of peaks and routes. We welcomed a new member, Kristine Srensen to the SAC fold. SEPTEMBER 4TH PROGRAM: Wade Bessett and Steve Trent present: THE PTARMIGAN TRAVERSE ³Our trip with Will Guckenburg and Andy "Digger" from August 10 - 15 was quite interesting and we'll fill you in on the details including how to role a car without injuries, climbing in rain/hail/snow, whiteouts, routefinding errors, wet feet, beautiful fogged-in ridges, drying clothes by wearing them, marmot and mouse control methods, lazy sunny mornings, bonding through hardship, glacier-prancing deer, letting go of climbing goals on long trips, caloric needs for climbers, training in San Antonio for long climbs, and how to make a Molotov Cocktail out of a Honda Civic.² PARK BUTTE LOOKOUT REPORT: by Ginny Darvill August 11 and 12 the Darvills finally got to Park Butte, having been delayed by late snow and bad weather. Thanks to the excellent work done this past year by co-cabin chairmen John and Marie Erbstoeszer, our trip was more of a housekeeping expedition than a work party. The building is in good shape and the trail also, but there is always a little something to be done. An ongoing problem there, as well as at Hidden Lake LO, is controversy over whether the Coleman stove works just fine or is a threat to life, limb and property. This year someone emptied both fire extinguishers on the stove and claimed it was not fit to use indoors. The next visitor, and we also, found it to function well. The instructions for use have been moved closer to the stove in the hope that reading and following them will help. However, it was necessary to haul up a new extinquisher and take down the two empties. (Thanks, Sylvia) Anyone going up with the room and the will to carry them back please call Fred and Ginny at 424-5854. The only problem noted was the Awful Box (aka Chopper Dropper or Heli Hole etc) the F.S. Has put in place of the failed composting toilet. Won't go into detail here, but it seems a little small for this popular location. Fall is a great time to go to Park Butte. When you're there, give the cabin a little TLC. Everyone appreciates it. TRIP REPORTS THE SURE THING by Skye Cooley My friend Keith is 100% Wyoming. He's a sober, long-sided fellow with a speaking cadence as stunted as a High Plains ponderosa. His incredibly long strides and nearly seven feet of height distort his movement across a mountain landscape; he looks like he's moving really slow. The truth is that he is actually moving far slower than he appears. Keith is deceptively slow. I've climbed a lot of Rocky Mountain peaks with Keith. Mt. Moran's CMC Route, the direct line up Lone Eagle spire in Colorado's Indian Peaks, and Maroon Bells' neighboor, Pyramid Peak are among the more memorable. But last year I had to bail on an invitation to join him on Denali. He went anyway, solo, officially recording his ³expedition² name as the Wyoming Alpine Club. I got a postcard from him, penned around 4:15 a.m., from the summit of Mt. McKinley. He had come from the comfy 14,000' camp at night and had the place to himself. I thought, ³Maybe Keith found his wings.² I was wrong. Last month, I got an opportunity to make up for my cash-strapped bail out on the Alaska trip. Keith was on his way up from Reno with a few days to spend climbing with me in the Cascades. I was jobless, hiding out in a small mining town in British Columbia (which I still am), looking again at a zero balance. So, of course, I did the most responsible thing and began making up a list of summits for the week. I wanted a sure thing. No delays. No weather delays. No crappy snow slogging. No crappy weekend tourists dropping their Figure 8's off ledges above. No crappy rock. No injuries. The only sure thing we have in Washington is, of course, Washington Pass. So for the next four days our goal was to be five summit photos with Vasiliki Ridge in the background. Cutthroat South Buttress, the Beckey Route and Overexposure on Liberty Bell, the southwest arête scramble of Whistler Peak, and Frisco's aesthetic ridge from Maple Pass completed the list. We accomplished our objectives in good style, perfect weather, and without incident save for one. I came face to face with the Mexico train station, time-warp slowness of my old partner. He had found no wings in Alaska. So I waited. I stopped here, sat down there. I mused, noticed the birds and trees. I managed to remember and recite the entire life story soliloquy of Dr. Evil, ³meat helmets, luge lessons² and all. Waiting, waiting, always waiting. Each afternoon, nearing the end of my rope (as his seemed to be barely moving), I was shocked to tears of joy when, on peak after peak, Keith managed to produce from his pack -- cold beer! Like I said, he's all Wyoming. During the minute or two it took to consume each high altitude brew, we reminisced about climbs of the past. He reminded me that we soloed the CMC in running shoes in 12 hours, and how Lone Eagle went in a 20-hour push with a waterless ascent and a bagless bivy despite the 18 miles of trail. He checked his watch, inexplicably we were early again. Deceptively slow? Hell, I'll take that kind of deception any day. I resigned myself to the summit register, entering as always, the following: 100 MPH WINDS SHREDDED OUR TENTS, BUT THE GIRLS LOVED IT. -- Sven Hedin and George W. Heyduke CONSERVATION NEWS (from www.skagitalpineclub.com) In June, Jason Keith, Access Fund policy analyst, traveled to Washington State and met with officials in the Mt-Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the Wenatchee & Okanogan National Forest, and North Cascades National Park to discuss climbing-related management issues. The purpose of this visit was to be pro-active in dealing with potential closures, management planning, and recreational impact issues. € Access Trails - A major issue on the Mt-Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is "user-built" trails (such as those that provide access to Mt. Baring, Forgotten Peak, Mt. Persing, and Mt. Shuksan). If such trails become seriously degraded, the USFS may have to limit recreational users numbers or close the trails entirely. The Access Fund pledged to help with the trails issue by providing grant funding and collaboration on climber education and outreach. € Road Closures are also an issue on Forest Service land in Washington. Some of the existing road system will be decommissioned while others will simply be "closed" through lack of maintenance. Near Darrington, the Copper Creek Road accessing the Green Giant Buttress is a road to be discontinued through "inaction" (it will no longer be maintained for the last 2-3 miles). Other roads, which provide climbing access but could be closed through lack of maintenance, include the Squire Creek Road accessing Squire Creek Buttress. Keith also met with officials on the Wenatchee & Okanogan National Forest concerning climbing issues on the Leavenworth, Methow and Tieton districts. Issues raised include owl/peregrine nesting and migration, high use levels, erosion, and route "cleaning" impacts to sensitive plant species. In the next few years, the USFS may develop a climbing management plan for this forest. The Leavenworth District will replace bridges up the Icicle Creek Road starting July 15, 2002. Eight Mile Road will be closed, thus greatly extending the approach time to the Enchantment Lakes area. The entire Enchantment allotment/quota (Alpine Lakes Wilderness) will be accessible through the Snow Creek Trailhead. The reason for the timing of the closure is because the USFS can't work in the winter, and because of conditions in their construction permit under the Endangered Species Act (impacts to the salmon spawning season). € Raptor Closures - Keith and Access Fund Regional Coordinator Andy Fitz spoke with USFS officials regarding the Midnight Rock and Noontime Rock raptor closure. The mandatory raptor closure at Midnight/Noontime followed an experiment in which the USFS instituted a voluntary closure; unfortunately this was not honored by some climbers. The USFS then imposed a mandatory closure that was lifted in mid-July after the peregrine pair were no longer using the nest. The closure is noteworthy, and fully supported by the Access Fund, because it is one of the most flexible and least restrictive of all raptor closures the AF has dealt with. € Sensitive Plants - The Leavenworth office expressed concerns that new climbing route activity might impact the 50-odd sensitive plants found in the area - some of which tend to grow out of cracks. Six of these plants are near climbing areas such as Castle Rock in Tumwater Canyon. New routes may be limited to protect these sensitive and rare plants. € Access Fees - The Leavenworth District made a point of their commitment to enforcing access fee collection. All violators will receive a $50 fine. The Access Fund opposes special "use fees" and will not support the USFS's effort to "police" fee collection. € Newhalen Climbing Areas - At the North Cascades National Park, Keith met with agency officials regarding a new sport climbing and bouldering area near Newhalem in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. These new areas are getting a lot of attention and the rangers are concerned with bolting, cleaning of moss, extensive manipulation of landing areas (terracing), and caching of tools. The Park will likely develop a climbing management plan for the area with assistance from the Access Fund. It is likely that existing and new routes will be permitted in the future, but in the meantime climbers should hold off on creating new routes until the Park can do natural and cultural resource surveys. The NPS will send out a "scoping" letter and solicit public input. If you would like to comment on climbing in the Ross Lake NRA, email Roy_Zipp@nps.gov to get your name on the mailing list. UPCOMING OUTINGS: September 21 : Monthly SAC Outing Ruth is getting ready to have a baby but we are still planning on doing monthly hikes with the club. Picked Saturday September 21st for the next outing. Not sure where yet but if you are interested call Lynn and Sancho at 428-4237. September 29- Easy pass Trail Maintenence Meet Dan Rogers 9 AM at the trailhead. This is an annual event for the club and I hope you'll join us. Everyone is welcome including well behaved dogs. Will work on brush clearing, trimming, digging, drainage, etc. Should be fun! If interested call Lynn and Sancho at 428-4237 for more details. Late Sept. or Columbus Day - Baker via Coleman - Naked ice (the ice, not you) glacier climb, Coleman rt Baker 3 days sometime late Sept or Columbus Day weekend, depending on ice and weather conditions. Climbing on hard ice when conventional ice ax arrest is impossible. Will practice picket and screw placements, advanced footwork and protection techniques. Pre -reqs of 2 previous Cascade volcano summits and/or trip leader invitation. Who's invitation? That would be Rick Rogers, 856-4517 or ricknbeth@valleyint.com EVENTS September 6-8 : Forest Fire Lookout Conference CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF LOOKOUTS A full 3-day agenda packed with events. VIP tour at the world's birthplace of smokejumping. Saturday evening catered special ribs and chicken BBQ with entertainment. Sunday tours to many of he area's 20 lookouts. Call 509-466-9171 or email rkresek@webtv.net for further information August 28 : Baby Shower for Ruth Brunner, Outings Coordinator Men, women, kids and dogs all welcome to celebrate the coming of a new-born hiker/climber! A potluck dish gets you in at 6pm. Call Lynn Postler for all the details. 428-4237. Have you seen the new website? www.skagitalpineclub.com Please send any photos, links, or stories to: ryan@neffis.com OR mail them to: Allen Grenz / OASYS, Inc. 1320 Riverside Drive, St. E, Mt. Vernon, 98273 Skagit Alpine Club Membership Form $15 / year Name Address City State Zip Phone I would like to receive the newsletter by ___ mail ____Email _____both Mail to : Skagit Alpine Club, Kathleen Grimbly - Treasurer 4658 Blank Rd, Sedro-Wooley, WA 98 |
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