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 Coffee swillin', wine lovin', Owl fearin' Andie McDowell stunt double, who sports retro gear
Vancouver, BC
5466 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2005 : 6:36 PM
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I wholeheartedly agree with you Kman. I am not a climber at all but I have taken some climbing courses out in Squamish with Canada West and played around with sport climbing at Smoke Bluffs. So, this woman who was in the course with me suggested that we go climbing together a couple of weeks after the course finished. I went out there with her and she had invited some guy she'd recently met at the gym, and his girlfriend. The guy claimed to be an experienced climber. His girlfriend had never done anything remotely like it before and was very apprehensive. Well the things I, as a newbie, saw him doing would curl your hair. He was trying to be all macho for his girlfriend, but I thought that what he was doing was very unsafe. The woman that I had met in the course would set up the anchors completely wrong, and when I pointed it out I was met with indignance and I am sure she thought I was the most anal retentive person she'd ever met. It got to the point where she didn't want me up there checking the anchors. Well I am sorry, but if this thing is what comes between me and death, I want to see it myself, especially given this person's total disregard for safety measures. I couldn't believe she had already forgotton these safety measures after having them drilled into us only weeks before. At one point I found her threading the climbing rope directly through the bolt at the top of Burgers and Fries, instead of using a carabiner. Also, she was trying to act more experienced than she was. After I failed to get through to these people, I simply declined to climb and sat there for the rest of the day. On the way back, she was driving, and she cut across the center line on blind curves on the Sea-to-Sky hwy numerous times, while she talked about how much better it was in other countries where you don't have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle. Just shows her attitude to safety in general. The very next week she wanted to borrow my climbing rope. Sorry, no. I never went out with her again. But I did run into her later that same summer and she mentioned how she was itching to get into lead climbing and the Chief, because she was already bored with poking around on the bluffs (after 2 or 3 times out). Sure.
Anyway, she probably told lots of people she could show them how to climb. Nothing wrong with finding people who have more experience than you, but if you've taken a basic course at least you know for yourself if what you are doing is safe.
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 Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
1100 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2005 : 9:10 PM
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quote:
At one point I found her threading the climbing rope directly through the bolt at the top of Burgers and Fries, instead of using a carabiner
That's no good. The bolts at the top of Burgers are not even rap bolts.
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Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
1100 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2005 : 9:13 PM
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| I love watching the macho noob guys trying to impress women at the crag. They get there ass handed to them on a platter every time lol. Then they make lame excuses. The last one I heard the guy made sure to point out that he was benching 300lbs earlier that day LMAO! |
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Coffee swillin', wine lovin', Owl fearin' Andie McDowell stunt double, who sports retro gear
Vancouver, BC
5466 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2005 : 09:25 AM
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| Actually I think I remembered it wrong (it was a long time ago and if I wanted to start climbing again I would definitely need a refresher course). She put the webbing through the bolt (I think), not the rope itself. Still, if I am not mistaken, it seems to me that that would cause to much friction on the webbing and wear it down. |
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Telkwa
1176 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 11:26 AM
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| There is an icefield at Fiddler Lake but I think you may find that it no longer reaches the lake. Thanks global warming. That's a huge trip you are undertaking. Views are pretty awesome from there. How are you getting to the Fiddler Lake area? There is some bush from the lake to Vanarsdoll. You may encounter some relic ice as well if you are taking the most obvious route but it shouldnt pose a problem. There are also grizzlies around so be careful. This used to be the Seven Sisters Venture area where they took helihikers for awhile. |
Edited by - telkwa on 06/16/2005 11:45 AM |
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 | Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 11:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by sandy
I hope you're not talking about the Coast Range having no big glaciers left 
quote:
Originally posted by scairns
I was speaking of glaciers in general 
I wish there were still glaciers that thick in this area, with global warming, were lucky we have any glaciers at all...
There are no glaciers in the Coast Range. The Coast Range is is Oregon.
There are, however, lots of icefields in the Coast Mountains. The largest, non-arctic glaciers in the world. |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
433 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 12:59 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by johngenx
We were at the toe of the glacier at Athabasca at the Columbia Icefields in 1994, being tourists. There are HUGE signs warning people not to go on the glacier, not even one step....
you mean this one (you can see the hordes of tourists on top of it):
When I was there (2001) the signs were small and well hidden by the crowds... but they were telling of numerous dead tourists who fell in crevasses... uhm...I noticed that sign after getting off the glacier in my sneakers...
I should have known better...looking at these:
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If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. |
Edited by - cdanes on 06/16/2005 1:01 PM |
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Telkwa
1176 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 1:15 PM
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I found this on the internet from the helihiking co. I believe it is Fiddler Lake north of Terrace |
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| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 1:15 PM
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| an interesting statistic, due to the increasing plasticity of ice with pressure, is that except in unusual circumstances, it's unlikely that crevasses will be more than ~50m deep, even if the glacier is 500m deep. |
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Terminator shade wearing, summit questing, double Grinding, Gordo voting self annointed 'dumb ass' and Aconcagua Bagga who dreams of Robson, Teton, The Judge, and.....and....
Port Moody, B.C
Canada
2210 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 1:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by kman
I love watching the macho noob guys trying to impress women at the crag. They get there ass handed to them on a platter every time lol. Then they make lame excuses. The last one I heard the guy made sure to point out that he was benching 300lbs earlier that day LMAO!
LMAO!! You gotta be kidding me. Sounds like somebody that's overdosed on chauch pills. |
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Terminator shade wearing, summit questing, double Grinding, Gordo voting self annointed 'dumb ass' and Aconcagua Bagga who dreams of Robson, Teton, The Judge, and.....and....
Port Moody, B.C
Canada
2210 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2005 : 1:57 PM
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quote:
Did anyone see the "SurvivourMan" episode where he traverses a small glacier alone? He had crampons, and that was it. I couldn't believe it. That was probably the riskest thing I've seen Les do.
I saw that but wasn't to bothered because it appeared in was snow free. I've on several occations wandered across glaciers that are bare ice. This is by no means and endorsment either and really probably should not be done but I won't let not having a partner stop me from doing what I want to do. I won't however wander on snow covered glaciers alone unroped. That's just stupid IMHO unless you are very certain about the condition and depth of snow pack above it. |
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traversing icefields
