The Joy of Summiting, and Realizing it was only Halfway

The last Mt. Whitney trip went very well considering weather and medical hardships. The trip started out of the Whitney Portal with forecasted winds around 115 mph at 12,000ft. This is not a good outlook at any elevation, but of course, the summit is another 2,500 ft above that.

The first night at low camp (10,000 ft) we received 85 mph winds and really had to hunker down to make it through the night. The next day looked bleak as the winds were supposed to be even stronger. When we woke to a chilly but bluebird day, we were all very surprised and thrilled – there was no question which way we were heading. The next day proved to be very cold but manageable.

We awoke around 4 a.m. to start our summit bid. Everyone did very well getting ready in the frigid temps, and we made it to the notch at 14,000 ft around 10:30 a.m. After summiting, the winds picked up and made the lowering quite challenging for all the guides at their belays. We all made it to the notch and descended back to camp with the last group rolling in a bit later around 6 p.m. One of them didn’t feel well and was coughing quite a bit. Another client (who is a doctor) came up and made me aware of the situation. After further examination, it was apparent this client had pulmonary edema; the best thing to do was head down.

After some logistical arrangements, I took the client all the way to the trail head and then drove him to Lone Pine. Following a few hours of sleep, I headed up to low camp to meet the others and help carry loads down. We all made it back to Lone Pine for some celebratory beers and pizza. The whole crew was back together relating stories of our great adventure.

It is always good to remember the summit is only halfway. Had we not been able to get our client down it could have turned the situation into something much worse. I think we pushed the limits a little by summiting everyone, though in the end was the right call. I also think we made the right call by putting in the effort to get someone with pulmonary edema all the way down and not taking a chance even though we did have altitude drugs to give him.

Here are more pics from the trip: http://www.karstendelap.com/portfolio/mt-whitney-img-trip-mar-31-2012/

The Sweet Lemonade

Mt Whitney towers above the Sierra (14,500 ft.) as the Lower 48 States’ tallest peak. I usually guide the “Mountaineer’s Route” in the early spring where there is much snow and, with the altitude, it becomes a full-on alpine climb. When someone signs up for a trip, they will have put a lot of time and money and focus into it. When I tell them we have to turn back, they are defeated and rightfully so. I always have feelings of  abhorrence when making the decision to turn folks around. It is never an easy decision, I think a fellow guide and friend of mine explains it well here: Will Gadd Blog

It is easy for folks to get so focused on a high point that they become unaware of the other options around. I always try to have options for clients instead of just saying, “Sorry, your trip is over.” After descending on this past Whitney trip, we played with all kinds of options like back-country skiing, rock climbing, ice climbing, an avalanche awareness course, and so on. Everyone decided that the ice and rock climbing were good choices and had to throw out a few other options due to snow instability.

What I find most compelling about these trips is the fact that the clients leave with a better view of climbing and the mountains, as evidenced by the following comments:

“This trip ended up being so much more challenging in different ways than I had ever expected.”

“I didn’t think I would like ice climbing. Now I love it!”

“There is so much more to climbing than I imagined.”

“Where can I sign up to go rock climbing again?”

“How can I learn to do this on my own?”

“This was amazing! I will definitely be back….and maybe even try Whitney again.”

“I am not very good with sudden change. This trip has opened my eyes…”

I think reaching the summit is one of the best experiences one could ever have. I also believe it offers the least number of learning opportunities. I am grateful to my clients for trusting me on the decisions that I have to make in the mountains and want them to know that I will try to make the best decision for their safety and learning and provide them with a truly memorable experience.

More photos here: Mt Whitney 3-24-12

For further reading check out the IMG blog: http://www.mountainguides.com/wordpress/2012/03/29/whitney/sometimes-the-lemonade-tastes-better/

La Sportiva TC Pro

After slipping this shoe on well over a year ago, I haven’t found anything that can perform and be as comfortable. La Sportiva markets this shoe as a technical face and crack climbing shoe. They are right on, but I have found it to perform well on harder sport routes as well as the longer crack climbs that everyone raves about this shoe on.

I have been climbing in the Owen’s River Gorge on my days off from guiding alpine objectives in the Sierra this last month. The only rock shoes I brought with me on this trip were the TC Pros. You can see I am trying to stay with the “trad ethic” in this picture here: socks, rolled up pants, helmet. I was going to put a pack on and have a rack slung over my shoulder but was afraid I might weigh myself down too much to hold on to the small technical holds on this overhung climb.

So as an all around high performer, this is the perfect shoe for a long road trip!

Getting Bored Guiding Clients up Mountains

We are asked the question many times, “Don’t you get tired of guiding the same climbs day in and day out?”

Lindsay had this question arise during an AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor course and explained the difference between guiding and climbing.  A participant followed up,  sending her an email with this quote from Gaston Rebuffat:

“With the inevitable repetition of the same ascents, the work of the guide could become tedious, but the guide is not just a machine to climb slopes of ice and walls of rock, to know the weather and the route. He does not climb for himself: he opens the gates of his mountains for his companion. He knows that such-and-such a climb is interesting, that this particular arête is as delicate as a piece of lacework, he knows at w

hich turn there is, suddenly, a wonderful view. He says nothing but his reward comes with the smile of his companion when he sees it. If the guide could take pleasure only in his own climbing, he would quickly lose his appetite for the mountains; that has been the case with some who have failed to understand their calling and who no longer follow it. The guide gladly climbs the same crack or the same slab five or ten times in the summer, but his happiness comes from a deeper feelin

g, his feeling of kinship with the mountain and the elements, his feeling of responsibility towards a man who has complete confidence in him.”

This pretty much sums it up! Gaston was a well-known mountain guide and pushed to have climbers be one with the mountains instead of fighting to get to the tops of them. While probably not invented by him, the “Gaston” was named after this strong fellow.

I tell folks all the time that climbing is merely one of the tools I use to do my job, which is guiding.  It is no different than navigating, cooking, planning…..this list could go on.  Steve House once made a comment to a friend of his when asked if he was having fun climbing in France. Steve replied, “Not climbing, guiding. Still fun!”

So in the end, it is really about the people you meet, the places you see, and the times you have…

Hope to see you on the opposite end of my rope soon!

Deuter Speedlite 20

The new Speedlite pack by Deuter is living up to its name. While built for fast and light adventures, the pack is loaded with features. I especially like the rear pocket that is almost not noticeable. It carries a small micro-puff coat very well, which came in handy when climbing last week in suboptimal conditions in the Utah desert. The compression straps on the pack keep it very slim when not fully loaded. After wearing it through a few chimneys, the pack held up very well, and I hardly noticed that it was there.

Deuter says the pack has a 15 lb load capacity. I put this to the limit with my camera gear and was able to get some great pictures like the one you see here.

This will be my “go-to” pack for long multi-pitch adventures.

*update* As I stated, this was going to be my go to multi-pitch pack, and it was! It was great for multi-pitch ice in Canada-carried more clothes than I ever needed, and it is cold up there! It also did really well keeping everything dry in the pack.

Check out more on the Speedlite 20 here: www.deuter.com

Preparing for Ice

If you live in the Southeast, you know must be in shape when the ice is, because it isn’t around for long.  I prepared this video for a “Guides Tip” for FMG but figured I would share it here as well.

Icy Road to Canada

On the way to Canada for some training with the Canadian Avalanche Association,  I was able to get in a bit of skiing and ice climbing.  It started off in RMNP, CO, where we got up to Hidden Valley for a day of “rock” skiing. I then checked out Loch Vale Gorge and climbed the not-so-classic Ice Chim.  After Colorado, I headed to Wyoming and climbed for a few days in Cody. This place has adventure written all over it–long approches, steep ice, and hunters shooting all over the place made for long days and a great time! 

I then headed to Bozeman, MT,  which just so happened to be hosting their annual ice fest. It was great to see old friends and make some new ones.   Oh yeah, and this place is sick!!!

Last Few Months in Review

I have been neglecting my blog due to lots of work and training in the mountains. Here is a picture account of what I have been up to for the last few months. Hope you enjoy!

My knees were taking a beating, so my friends got us some good seating.

A quick layover in Boulder and we made our way over to Devils Tower…

A few days with some friends and the training begins…

Up and down Liberty Bell and, despite the conditions, this went really well…

After Being down low we head back to the snow.

Lindsay shows up; North Ridge goes down!

Friends invite us to the water, and we watch the show in the air.

Petzl Grigri 2

I have been using the GriGri for many years in my guiding as well as my personalclimbing pursuits. It was a game changer when it came out. Now that Petzl GriGri 2 has come out, it seems to be a game changer as well. It is 25% smaller and 20% lighter than the original GriGri. This has made me not even think twice on carrying it in multi-pitch terrain. It preforms great for lead belaying as well as for belaying off top anchors. Descending is still tricky even with small ropes. The Frieno carabiner works well for this with its friction spur to add a little grab without burning those hands. There is an issue with the rope getting caught behind the camming device. I have been unable to replicate this in a real situation but it is very possible. Petzl is aware of this issue and has said that no problems should arise. The fix for this is to pull down on the break end of the rope which will allow the the load strand to come back around the cam. Seems easy enough.

HDR Photography

High dynamic range photography is a form of photography that allows different levels of light in pictures to be put together into one image to give a scene a more real, and sometimes surreal, look.  Usually one will take three or more images with one being overexposed, one underexposed, and one at the correct exposure. These images are then put into a program to render them together. I have been using Photomatix pro to render my images, but this is also possible with programs like Photoshop.