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OutdoorGal
Social climber
Lehigh Valley, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 10:55am PT
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My apologies if this info is already out there, but would it be helpful (and doable) to the group here to post a list of the peaks in the pages that had been torn out by Matt? Do all the missing pages correspond only to the Ritter/Banner/Minarets areas?
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Aug 29, 2013 - 11:28am PT
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Secor 3d edition
Pages 369 - 398
From Iron Mt to the Watchtower: 3 miles
Watchtower to Banner: 3 miles
Banner to Dana Plateau 16 miles:
22 straight miles
In other words from south of the Minarets all the way to the Tioga Rd in Yosemite
That is a huge area. At least 20 major peaks (I'm not going to count them)
Known facts and my overnight hunches.
Riegelhuth solo in 6.5 hours. Assumed from TH. Decent time, not really fast. There are two 4th class routes. Lots of time for Matt to explore the region as far as Clyde and Cecile Lake.
Pre 3:00 am phone on and off but no sustained connection - accidentally flipped it open or meant to send a text/make a call and changed his mind?
Axe, crampons, boots and no helmet - always wore his helmet.
Why did he leave his helmet behind?
Possible scenario:
I'm guessing 3AM fog of mind (he didn't go to bed till after 9 PM) and a pre-arranged ride to catch.
Got in the car: later had the "oh shit" moment and decided to carry on. Possibly didn't find out till he got out of the car and shouldered his pack.
I might change my objective but would carry on.
Had climbed Clyde by the 5.5 Rock Route variation, Riegelhuth 4th class. Skilled enough for any of the Minarets to Banner 4th class routes.
His last day and had not climbed Ritter. By at least 300 feet, the highest peak in the region. SE Glacier is 3d class.
I'm guessing Ritter was his goal.
If Ritter: via Shadow Creek and Lake Ediza
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 11:50am PT
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no bus at 3am. if he hitched a ride, most likely someone would have come forward. if he was planning an 'epic' climb, he would have mentioned it the night before.
we are also assuming he took his gear with an objective in mind - maybe the 'objective' was so that it was not stolen. the stuff is expensive right? the crampons were not his.
no helmet (matt does not forget, he is borderline OCD)= no epic climb
no mention of it the night before while texting = no epic climb
solo = no epic climb
day trip = no epic climb
car is going to be ready tomorrow and he is planning leaving early and driving a huge distance = no epic climb
We are just assuming an epic climb becase it was his last day there. If Matt want to do something he would have already done it.
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LAhiker
Social climber
Los Angeles
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Aug 29, 2013 - 11:52am PT
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HighTraverse,
Thanks for your clear and concise analysis. I have one question for you and one for Ron and Tiffany, both about climbing gear.
For you:
-If Matt had intended to do class 4 or 5 climbing, is there other gear he would have brought with him besides the helmet?
-Would he have also tended to bring the helmet for certain types of travel on ice and snow?
Ron and Tiffany:
Previously, one of you said
in reading Matts past TR's. Yes, not having a helmet would have limited him.
Do you happen to remember which trip reports these might have been and what he said?
It would be useful to know whether he said things like "I forgot my helmet so I couldn't do such-and-such," or "I wish I could have done such-and-such but I didn't have my helmet," OR "I didn't have my helmet, but decided to risk such-and-such anyway, and it worked out fine."
ETA: I see that in the post before, Ron/Tiffany have already addressed the evidence about whether Matt would have done an epic climb under these circumstances, though it would still be useful to what he says in trip reports about being without a helmet.
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:12pm PT
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Notes from Matt:
-As I traversed back up to the base of Tempest, I saw him running/sliding down the 2000 ft snowfield to Avalanche. He reminds me of myself at 23/24 –too risky! I told him the snowfield covered the Granite Glacier, so there were sure to be some crevasses and such. Luckily he made it OK.
-Coming up with a plan. Yellowstone, climb Teevinot (?)
-Got an early start. Had to put on crampons for 2 snowfields on the way down to the Granite/Tempest Saddle. The fields were really narrow (20-30ft) but the snow was bomber hard and a slide could’ve run me a couple hundred years down the mountain into boulders
-another nightmare drive!
-Tried to stop at a rest area in WI to sleep, but it was too loud and buggy
-Every tough pitch has an easy way out
These tell me he plans, hates driving, awakes easy, awakes early, plans a way out/escape route, is careful (not 25 anymore) and knows his limitations.
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:23pm PT
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I don't think Matt would forget his helmet. I think it had to be left intentionally. ~ Tiffany
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T_Rex
climber
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:33pm PT
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Was Matt anxious to move on from Mammoth Lakes? Perhaps his phone call with his family/texts would indicate his state of mind with respect to feeling trapped there, or just inconvenienced by his lack of transportation.
The reason I point out: it sounds like the car situation was day-to-day. Is it possible that the mechanic told him that his car MAY be done on 7/17? If I was anxious to get out of town, I probably would have held on to the hope that the car would be done in the afternoon and stayed close to town, hoping to get the call that the car was ready.
I would be interested in hearing what the mechanic exactly told Matt about when his car would be ready. If he said MAYBE by the 18th, then it makes sense that Matt wouldn't wait around on the 17th for the car. However, if the mechanic indicated in any way that the car could be ready the 17th, would he have stayed close to town on that hope and try to catch up with his friends sooner than later?
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PAUL SOUZA
Trad climber
Central Valley, CA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:36pm PT
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Perhaps he took the boots, crampons, and axe for the approach to a rock route or just in case he encountered such conditions that would require said gear.
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LAhiker
Social climber
Los Angeles
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:37pm PT
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MGuzzy, interesting theory that Matt might have cached some gear. One piece of evidence that would weigh against it, however, would be if he left other, equally valuable, items in the tent.
So another question for Ron and Tiffany: where was the other ice axe? Was it with the tent or the car? And were other valuable items found with the tent? (If so, that might also rule out theft from the campground storage as a factor.)
Assuming for now that Matt didn't cache the items, what coherent narrative do they fit into? What tempting climbs/hikes in the area involve ice and snow, but not a helmet or other rock climbing equipment?
(These climbs might be a bit less epic than those that have mostly been focused on, of course...)
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:46pm PT
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The car was day to day, lots of back and forth. They told Matt looks like the car will be ready on the 18th. But they told him many dates up to this point. he was pissed, he told his dad he was ready to move on and wanted to get going. (again no epic hike)
My opinion, Either Matt stashed his stuff and went for a short hike, carried his stuff on a short hike (maybe to train with extra weight, doesn't matter why). By short I mean for Matt a 10 mile radius. even if he was looking for snow, it had to be close to SR. hitching a ride, epic hike, not probable.
We should get a map, draw a 10 mile radius on it from SR. Highlight area with snow, danger, 3 class,etc.. Grey out the areas we are 100 % he did not go to ( I would guess this to mean to the areas to the east ) I bet in narrows us down to 3 square miles, then more...
If it was foul play, forget it . All bets are off and no point wasting our time anyway.
Ron
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patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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^ This. It doesn't make sense that he took heavy boots, crampons, and a single ax, but left his helmet and another ax in the car.
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Heyzeus
climber
Hollywood,Ca
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Aug 29, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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When without a watch, I often turn my phone on in the middle of the night to see what time it is.
Did he have a watch?
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OutdoorGal
Social climber
Lehigh Valley, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:00pm PT
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Question from LAhiker:
"What tempting climbs/hikes in the area involve ice and snow, but not a helmet or other rock climbing equipment?"
I posted these comments made by forum members earlier in this thread on the "dreams" thread, but will post them here as well in case anyone wants to revisit them. I don't know whether Blue Couloir would have tempted Matt, but these comments make it sound like the hike there from Shady Rest would be about 10 miles and that Blue Couloir might have had ice/snow for Matt to explore.
POSTS FROM EASTSIDE UNDERGROUND
Blue couliar is where I would go if I wanted to test out ice gear/ boots. Very easy approach, not to far out there and one could round trip from shady without shuttle. decievingly steep and definately will find neve/ice, certianly alot closer than the Ritter range which would be a huge day from shady imo. Just an idea, who knows? Good luck
tdg119, in answer to your question, closest is Blue couliar probally under 10 mi from shady and a relatively easy approach.
Blue couliar is located on the south -east end of the mammoth creast . easily viewed from the lakes basin. out of cold water trail head take the trail to emeral lake up towards Hamil . Blue crag is the prominate feature you see on the crest looking SE. from Mammoth Mt. If Mattew was a solid ice climber blue couliar probably would not hold any interest to him, it's just the closest ice to town that I can think of, Bloody is bone dry, after a couple of poor winters only the most north facing are holding snow /ice. Sorry I don't have any photos on my computer. Cheers
POST FROM ß Î Ø T Ç H:
eastside underground's comments about the Blue Crag area has merit. Years ago I almost bought the farm there on the lower snowfield. The fact that Matt had already been climbing/ hiking Mammoth Crest - he may have been attracted back for a closer look at the interesting rock, and ice over there. It seems to me that it would be a fairly easy outing for a search party to head up the Duck Pass trail, and then back NW toward several good vantage points on the ridge overlooking the Blue Crag area, to have a look with binocs etc.
One question from me: Are "Blue Crag" and "Blue Couloir" one and the same?
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LAhiker
Social climber
Los Angeles
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:06pm PT
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OutdoorGal, a couloir is like a high steep valley or gully -- according to Wikipedia, a couloir is "is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain." I'm not familiar with the area, but think that Blue Couloir is next to Blue Crag.
Here's someone's report about a hike to Blue Couloir in August of 2006, with pictures:
http://highwire.stanford.edu/~galic/hiking/mammoth2006/crest.html
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:09pm PT
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Here is are Search Area. Note, Ritter and all that are out of range. Question - What is snowy, icey in this circle? ~ Ron
EDIT: this is tool i am using, just zoom and go to Mammoth Lakes: http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps-radius/
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PAUL SOUZA
Trad climber
Central Valley, CA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:11pm PT
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With a single axe he would have been heading for snow, not ice. Even if he was heading for ice, later realizing he had forgotten the second tool, he would have chosen an alternative route.
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:14pm PT
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ok, what area in the circle has only snow?
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OutdoorGal
Social climber
Lehigh Valley, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:18pm PT
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LAhiker: Thanks. I posted back to you in other thread too.
Wow, beautiful views (including Mammoth Mountain) from the Blue Couloir in that trip report. Thanks for posting your reply and that link. One sentence stood out to me from it (and this was August, albeit 2006):
"Plenty of soft snow in the midday. Ice axe and crampons are convenient on the steepest part."
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T_Rex
climber
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:29pm PT
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Yes, there are lockers in the main lodge at Mammoth Mountain.
Ok,so Matt was anxious to bug out of ML. Was he calling the mechanic for updates or was the mechanic calling him? ie, would he have turned his phone on sometime on the 17th to receive a call from the mechanic? If he was AWAITING a call from the mechanic notifying him that the car was ready, he would have turned the phone on sometime later in the day, right?
If he was in the habit of keeping the phone off (to conserve battery) and only turning on to make - not to receive - calls, then it wouldn't matter. But if he was awaiting the call from the mechanic to clear out of there, maybe he would have turned it on and stayed where the phone would have received signal. That the phone never went back on after 3am could be indicative of where he went that day. (Not sure if this makes sense to anyone but me right now!)
I would just be very interested in how things were left with the mechanic.
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tdg119
Social climber
Northampton, PA
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Aug 29, 2013 - 01:33pm PT
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Areas of Interest. What can we resonably eliminate, highlight? - Ron
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