Threads related to Colorado mountaineering accidents but please keep it civil and respectful. Friends and relatives of fallen climbers will be reading these posts.
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Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
mtree wrote:Snow conditions also drastically change a route's difficulty...sometimes to the easier... as I've found out first hand.
+1. Was the snow mushy, soft, hard, iced over, had to be kicked in, plunged stepped, ...?
Some prefer to go up Little Bear in snow conditions precisely because it makes the Hourglass a relative cake walk. Same could be said for some Castle+Conundrum section and no doubt others where snow allows one to make steps, binds loose scree, or fills in ankle-twisting boulder gaps. Couple that with fair weather temps and you could have the best of both seasons for going fast-n-light.
"A few hours' mountain climbing make of a rogue and a saint two fairly equal creatures.
Tiredness is the shortest path to equality and fraternity - and sleep finally adds to them liberty."
The real important question here is, did he descend 3,000' before he got into the helicopter?
Rules are rules.
Your night on the ledge sounds pretty horrible. I'm guessing it's going to be one of those things that sticks with you for a while, but it's OK! Glad you survived, try to use the negatives of your experience as fuel to make yourself stronger and smarter.
djkest wrote:The real important question here is, did he descend 3,000' before he got into the helicopter?
Rules are rules.
Your night on the ledge sounds pretty horrible. I'm guessing it's going to be one of those things that sticks with you for a while, but it's OK! Glad you survived, try to use the negatives of your experience as fuel to make yourself stronger and smarter.
Cheers.
Longs Summit to Chasm Lake < 3,000 ft..........just sayin'
“If you're bumming out, you're not gonna get to the top, so as long as we're up here we might as well make a point of grooving." -Scott Fischer
mtree wrote:Snow conditions also drastically change a route's difficulty...sometimes to the easier... as I've found out first hand.
+1. Was the snow mushy, soft, hard, iced over, had to be kicked in, plunged stepped, ...?
Some prefer to go up Little Bear in snow conditions precisely because it makes the Hourglass a relative cake walk. Same could be said for some Castle+Conundrum section and no doubt others where snow allows one to make steps, binds loose scree, or fills in ankle-twisting boulder gaps. Couple that with fair weather temps and you could have the best of both seasons for going fast-n-light.
If you want to see photos, I think you can access the ones I posted on facebook from my profile and see the Colorado album (which I made public): https://www.facebook.com/samfrappier
Or try this photo I uploaded, which I've taken from the summit : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater
To answer your question, well there was sometimes iced over snow (rarely), but almost all snow was composed of 6'' to 1' of relatively soft snow on top of hard snow. At the spot I was stuck the snow was melting and there was a lot of debris in it (just to justify why I didn't eat snow).
When I was descending, there was always a good grip when I was in a snow path, even if I had to reach the hard snow below several inches of soft snow. Sorry for my lack of vocabulary haha.
Sam, your photos (hotlinked from your Facebook page) below and your description indicate that you had good, soft but binding snow conditions versus a lot of loose powder or iced over stuff.
You realize that now the mother will never take it back, right?
"A few hours' mountain climbing make of a rogue and a saint two fairly equal creatures.
Tiredness is the shortest path to equality and fraternity - and sleep finally adds to them liberty."
Next Gladbach video Mongoose needs to have a French accent. Happy all are safe, but the 10 essentials are just that, essential. Putting this connard on the same level as Muir is laughable at best. Stupid choices lead to stupid outcomes. Happy no SAR were injured during this rescue.
Sam, I think you would enjoy Climbing Longs Peak from the keyhole route in the summer. It might give you some sort of closure or peace about that mountain.
Or perhaps you should try something like Crestone Needle or Pyramid Peak- fun and challenging mountains with fantastic views. Colorado has a lot of fun climbing to be had depending on what you are looking for. Despite what happened you are a tough and determined fellow with some natural ability.
Do you think you'll ever come back to our state? I do recommend late June typically as the start of the season, unless you want to use crampons and ice axes for snow climbing. I know you made it without these specialized tools, but it is highly recommended.
