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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Jul 12, 2006 - 10:41pm PT
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that's f*#king californians for ya...sheesh
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Jul 12, 2006 - 10:44pm PT
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I read the same post on www.whitneyportalstore.com forum. I had to laugh. If he had done even the slightest bit of research he would have known that the ice or hard snow at the top is a common obstacle. I hate it when people blame the inter web for there screw ups. He eluded to the fact that nobody warned him that it could be dangerous. How in the world did people manage to climb without the web to hold there hands.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Jul 12, 2006 - 10:51pm PT
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He's worried about class 4 with a 25 pound pack?
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BCD
Trad climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Jul 13, 2006 - 12:33am PT
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Maybe they should employ someone to stand up there full time and holler "YER GONNA DIE!!!!" at everyone who attempts the Mountaineers Route.
I'd be happy to do this job, but would need someone to hold my hand on the way up and down.
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Ropeburn
Trad climber
Riverside, CA
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Jul 13, 2006 - 12:35am PT
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What an epic.
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Anastasia
Trad climber
Near a mountain, CA
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:23am PT
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This proves that Darwinism sometimes doesn't work.
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:36am PT
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Give him hell fellas! Any body who doesn’t know a Mountain from a F*#king Mountain deserves to die! And what a wimp! Why, even my granny can dance up class 4 with a 25 pound pack, ice or no ice. And imagine, being reckless and cruel to the extent of taking his beloved girlfriend into the Hall of the Mountain King.
Warning signs aren’t enough. I feel it imperative that all competent “Mountaineers” and noble “Stonemasters” take council and establish guidelines, prerequisites and YES, YES, Credentials before these unashamed newbies are allowed past the trailhead.
As guardians of the high peaks, the mountain elite must come together and unite in the effort to preserve the sanctity of the High, Hard Places to which we, the elite, have been given keys. Only when we subject these twinks and wankers to a gauntlet of derision, ridicule, and, yes, laughter will they feel the weight of the abomination they have set out upon.
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JuanDeFuca
Big Wall climber
Stoney Point
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 13, 2006 - 01:50am PT
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It could be a troll, and we are all dancing on the nylon.
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andanother
climber
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:08am PT
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Come on Jennie,
I think you're being a little harsh on him. He did, after all, do a bunch of research on the internet before heading out. So he wasn't really a "newbie" at all. Most mountaineers will tell you that is the best way to prepare for mountaineering.
The Internet told him it was safe. What more could he have done?
And now that he is an experienced mountaineer, at least he took the time to post a report for everyone. It's good to know that there is ice on the north side of a 14000 foot peak after the biggest winter on record. Who would have thought that?
Sometimes after an epic I like to post info like "That trail is much steeper than it looks in the picture", or "It says class 2 but I KNOW I made at least 1 class 3 move in there". After one of my worst epics I posted a warning that said "It's March and I couldn't find the hiking trail because it was covered in snow!"
Even some of us "mountain elite" still have a lot to learn.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:10am PT
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seriously, where ya gonna find extra sling on top of Whitney?
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:17pm PT
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You're right A.A., I was too harsh with the poor pilgrim. Beg the forgiveness of all who were offended. A major blunder, but I know the climbing elite are compassionate and forgiving and will overlook my trespass as have forgiven the tresspass of the hapless dolt to whom the thread is dedicated.
But, mercy, how can a girl establish herself among the mountain elite without throwing ridicule and derision at someone who f*#ks up. It seems to work for the guys.
I mean, isn't the "Spirit of Mountaineering" centered around competitive rigor, one-upmanship and malicious scrutiny. No, I can't climb 5.11 or even 5.10. But, by hell, I can point fingers and sneer with the hardest of the hard men.
So I FEEL entitled. And feeling thus entitled, here is my pontification to our maligned Mt Whitney adventurer: FORGET ABOUT CLIMBING. GO YE DOWN UNTO THE SEA IN SEARCH OF THE GREAT WHITE WHALE. HUNT HIM UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. AND WHEN YOUR HARPOONS FAIL AND YOU ARE BOUND TO HIM BY YOUR OWN EVIL ROPES AND ABOUT TO PLUNGE INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE ICY SEA,GIVE THANKS TO GOD THAT THE CREW ISN"T AROUND TO SCRUTINIZE YOUR F*#K UP!
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:17pm PT
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Steve Roper's guide lists the climb as class 2-3 and that the ice can be bypassed. This was not the case in Sept 82. It was iced up solid. Wearing sneakers and without ice axe or crampons we turned back at the notch. I think it's always an ice climb.
On the way up we met an ashen faced fellow who had free soloed the face and expected an easy downclimb with the mountaineers route. Said he almost died. He had one piton that gave him some purchase on the ice.
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Finn
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:30pm PT
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Jennie that was genius. Coffee in the nose is rough but sometimes it's worth it.
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andanother
climber
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Jul 13, 2006 - 01:50pm PT
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OK. Enough with the sarcasm. I'll spell it out for you.
No one is pointing fingers and sneering at his ACTIONS. We've all made mistakes. We've all been there. That's how we learn.
We're pointing fingers and laughing at the fact that he was dumb enough to post something so blatantly obvious. Ice? On the North side of a 14000 foot peak? Really?
I've done some pretty dumb things in the past, and I still continue to do dumb things. Sh#t happens. That's the way it goes in the mountains.
The difference is, I'm not dumb enough to get on the Supertopo (or wherever) forum and say things like
"WARNING! The supertopo doesn't say your rope might get stuck when rapping off Mt Whitney"
or
"WARNING! The Internet didn't say it was going to rain on tuesday!"
We're laughing at the guy becuase he is implying that somehow the internet "sandbagged" him. We're laughing and pointing fingers because he is a typical american.
I don't care what level you climb at. I don't care what silly mistakes you made. Those mistakes make good stories and learning experiences.
We've all been there.
The problem is, this guy isn't taking responsibility for his own actions, and he didn't learn a single thing from his mistake. He just blamed it on someone else.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:06pm PT
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But afraid of class 4 with a 25 pound pack???
And THAT bit was on rock, dear jennie, not ice.
Call me Unconvinced.
HEy what state are you in? I might need to add you to my list of "at least one woman I pissed off in every state".
Who cares if it's a troll? If it is, then it's a pretty good one. I got a laugh out of it anyway.
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:23pm PT
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Thanks, Finn, but I'm truly not worthy. Have you ever stumbled onto a website, thinking you've discovered a goldmine of information and communion with kindred spirits, then read a few posts and realized you're still chest deep in the same old tired dog cynicism? If it wasn't for Jody and a few other clear headed folk I'd have deleted the icon three days ago.
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Finn
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:29pm PT
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Can't say I see eye to eye with the LEO, doesn't take away from the composition of your post.
I'd say we've all been "there" when it comes to finding that saving grace near the top of a climb that awards us the summit.
Cliche Touche
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G_Gnome
Social climber
Tendonitis City
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Jul 13, 2006 - 02:42pm PT
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Hmmm, and here I thought Jennie was making fun of us for being so 'high and mighty' and lording it over a lesser climber. Sad fact is that we have all been there at one time or another. Most of us lived to try again another day. Most of us aren't stupid enough to complain about our screwup to the internet though.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Jul 13, 2006 - 03:01pm PT
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Jennie = Ann Coulter!
GASP!
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