TR Replies

In reading of your experience, it appears to me that the following rules were broken.
1. You were traveling un-roped on Glacier
2. You were not together as a group.
3. Non-skiers would think that 2:30 PM is way too late be that night on Mt. Rainier, prior to my ski career, I would have agreed. See below for skiers challenges. Speaks to Established practices.
4. Letting “summit fever” have the upper hand.

In my humbl...

author=korup link=topic=10009.msg40310#msg40310 date=1210280664">
Wow Amar, quite an epic. Glad you made it through fine. You've had a rather "spicy" few weeks! How many people can say they've spent a night in a steam cave??

I've had multiple trips where two-way radios would have made an enormous difference; probably worth the weight.

The rather "spicy" few weeks, specifically the cre...

Thanks for such an instructive and honest survival story.

There have been several mentions of things that "could have" greatly improved the situation such as radios, GPS, and roping up.  But, gear and precautions slow you down 100% of the time to protect against the much smaller percent chance of a given situation.  Being slowed down creates its own hazards.  Is there a clear lesson here that simply says, 100% of the time, "Okay, I'm throwing in the...

Wow, glad you guys came out unscathed, and thanks for sharing the story!  Way to keep your head on straight!  I think I was napping in the sun at Washington Pass while you were beginning your epic...

Sounds like you kept it pretty cool up there.  I think that I (I don't want to speak for anyone else) would find it hard to fight the 'Down Now' instinct, even if didn't truly know where I was going.

Hey, would you mind sending me your tracklog, and a waypoint for that steam cave bivy? ;D j/k (Seriously though, I love GPS, no matter how bad people try to make me feel about it.)

Amar,

Thank you so much for telling your story.  It is good to be reminded how conditions can change and cause survival situations to arise quickly.

I left Paradise with Monika several weeks ago for the same route.  At midnight, before dropping down to the Nisqually, I pulled the plug because I was freaked out about  the big summit cap that formed up as we were climbing.  Having had one epic getting off Sunset Ridge many years ago I easily recalled what...

Very nice photos Mark.Thanks for the slideshow.

Some photos from the summit team are here.  The Hogsback has deviated significantly to the west since last year, so we opted to take the old route up the Mazama chute.  Just below the bergschrund, we traversed left over reasonably steep snow, then ascended to a steep chute.  Above the chute, there was a boot track over easy ground to the summit.  The descent back to the Hogsback was time-consuming but not partic...

Just in the interest of discussion I would agure that staying together doesn't seem that easy to me in the conditions that Amar describes.  In those conditions you could actually be "together", or at least as together as you'd be on a clear calm day and still not be able to see or hear each other because of whiteout & wind.  At that point even slight divergences can easily lead people apart.

Of course there is nothing wrong with having a plan for what to do in...

Good job gang. 

Amar-
Thanks for your humility and of course, excellent photos and trip narration.

RE: cell phones on Rainier- in 2005 high on Liberty Ridge- we had ourselves a mini-epic (stormy conditions/running out of food and fuel) and all 3 of our cell phones sucked!  carriers were then AT&T/Cingular and Verizon.  We could see civilization below us, but couldn't make any calls.


Re: groups staying together, this is the obvious choice and negates need for r...

Or, the Scottish/British interpretation of awesome, which is awful, or appalling.  When I'd tell my grandma about something I had enjoyed, she used to respond by saying that's not awesome! 

Wow Amar, quite an epic. Glad you made it through fine. You've had a rather "spicy" few weeks! How many people can say they've spent a night in a steam cave??

I've had multiple trips where two-way radios would have made an enormous difference; probably worth the weight.

Thanks everyone for the kind words and support.

author=Pandora link=topic=10009.msg40304#msg40304 date=1210275714">
I'm just pissed that Amar got to ski the Thumb and I didn't!  ;)

Hannah

;D ;D ;D ;D

author=gregL link=topic=10009.msg40305#msg40305 date=1210276876">
Who's your cell phone provider?

Sprint, a...

Compelling reading, Amar, thanks. Glad you both made it down. Who's your cell phone provider?

Amar, first I am happy everyone made it off safe and sound.

Because I have heard so many reports of cell phone utility up high in our mountains, I was surprised that yours worked so intermittently apparently considering what appeared to be a good signal and connectivity.  Of greatest value would have been to communicate with your partner once you had split up and then sought to contact her.  Probably even more important than the ability to contact mountain rescue.  The...

Amar, thanks for sharing your story, glad that you and Hanna made it off the mountain fine.  Good job keeping yourself focused.

Wow- that was a harrowing experience to say the least!  It reminded me of the John Muir story where he got stuck on the summit of Shasta and spent the night lying next to a fumarole.

As allways. much thanks to you and Ron for organizing this marvellous annual trip and allowing me to bring my family. It's very special to have my son  and wife along and mix with all the terrific personalities on this trip.

Much kudos to my rope team of Stewie, Tangerine(Sidnie) and Ovrthills( Michael) who made the summit with me.

Stewie wants to do Rainier next but I'm going to make him read Amar's TR first.
Scotty

Joe -

April is the season of the Whites.  Try earlier rather than later so you can ski the complete Sherburne trail back to your car.  Oh, the Sherburne is the ski trail that exits the bowl and follows a CCC route back to Pinkham notch where you park your car.  Excellent skiing and beats the hell out of walking.  Combine with a summit bid and you've got a 4,000 VF descent.

SKiing later than April in the Whites is typically the realm of the addict.&...

Wow -- thanks for sharing.  Glad you both made it down safely.

Thanks for being able to share such an incredible event in your life! As I read your story it was hard to not try and put myself in your position and get a glimpse of the thoughts and fears you experienced. Very powerful and well written. Certainly nothing near what you and your partner experienced, but significant enough for me to always remember who's the boss in the mountains. The thoughts/guilt going on after the separation had to have been most difficult, along with what you had to do...

What an epic!!  Glad you and Hanna managed to keep it together while being separated.  Thanks for sharing the details of your experience.  Most importantly, glad you both are ok.  What an ordeal.

Thanks for shareing, not too many people would have known how to, or could of handled that situation. That must have been a hell of a rough night in the cave. Glad everything worked out.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Roundtrips are mandatory but sometimes they're difficult. Things happen and its how we handle adversity that matters.  I am pleased to hear you're both still with us.  There are much easier ways to lose weight.  ;)