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Scree for August, 1999
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This is the EScree - the Electronic version of the Scree newsletter from
the Peak Climbing Section of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club.
It should be viewed or printed with a fixed-pitch font such as Courier.
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This publication may not be posted on any public news group.
August, 1999 Vol. 33 No. 8
Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 8/29/99
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This issue of Scree will be on the Official PCS Website at
http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/scree
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Next general meeting (PCS meetings are the second tuesday of each month)
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Date: Tuesday, August 10
Time: 8:00 PM
Program: Escapade in Escalante
Follow Cecil and Kai down the strenuous canyons of
the Grand Staircase. Will they be turned back by the
deep waters of the Escalante? Will their camp be
destroyed by flash floods? Will the deer flies drive
Kai screaming into the river? Will the petroglyphs of
Scorpion Gulch reveal the secret to their escape?
Find the answers to these questions and more as we
weave our way beneath the towering canyon walls
Location: Western Mountaineering, Santa Clara
(PDF version has a drawn map here)
Directions: 2344 El Camino Real, Santa
Clara (between San Thomas and Los Padres),
parking in the rear.
From 101: Exit at San Thomas Expressway, Go
South to El Camino Real. Turn left and the Western
Mountaineering will be immediately to your right.
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Official, Unofficial, and Private Trips
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Recently, George Van Gorden and I were approached by the new
chair of the Mountaineering Oversight Committee Bill Oliver
regarding the loose distinction the PCS was making between
"Official" and "Private" or "Unofficial" trips. The concern Bill
raised is that people on a private trip may mistakenly think they
are on a Sierra Club sponsored activity. In case of an accident the
club may be legibly, because we do not make it clear that private
trips published in the Scree are not affiliated with the Sierra
Club.
Both George and I agreed that the ability to advertise private trips
in the PCS publications is an important service to our community,
particularly because the club cannot sponsor all the trips our
members like to run. At the same time, Bill Oliver has a valid
concern. The Sierra Club had been conceived as a deep pocket,
and been dragged into litigation for lesser things. We need to do
our best to protect the club, so we can continue to enjoy its
services. Following are the issues that were raised and how we
like to solve them.
Private or Unofficial:
One of the issues raised was how we call trips that are not
affiliated with the PCS. We should not call them "Private PCS
Trips" and we shouldn't call them "Unofficial PCS Trips",
because that creates the impression that those are PCS affiliated
trips (guess who was caught making this mistake.) We should
simply call them "Private Trips" (no PCS in there), as that is
what they are. I know we are all very proud in the fact that we
are members of the PCS and would like to express that when we
talk about our trip or sign the summit register. But let's try to be
careful not to create the impression that we are on a trip affiliated
with the PCS when it is not. I recently started to sign summit
registers adding, on a separate line, the phrase "Friends of the
PCS". I think "Members of the PCS" will work too. I know first
amendment gives every person some rights, but we ask that in
exchange for having your trip advertised in the PCS publication,
you try to be considerate of the PCS needs.
Scree Issues:
There were some mistake made in the list of "Official PCS Trips"
in the Scree. They were partly my mistakes, and partly other's.
We came up with a new scheme that will help reduce mistakes in
the list and also make the list available on line. See the "PCS
Calendar" link in the PCS web page. We also added stronger
words to the disclaimer leading to the private trips section in the
Scree.
Web Page Issues:
The "Calendar" link in the web page used to point to our advance
trip list which listed both private and official trips together. We
have changed that so official trips are listed in the calendar and
all other trips in the advance list. We will be careful to keep the
2 lists separate. We also improved the disclaimer.
What We Tell Participants:
We ask leaders that have their private trips listed in the scree to
make sure all their participants know that the trip is not affiliated
with the Sierra Club or the PCS. I am aware of situations where
participants of a private trip thought they where on an official trip
of the PCS... not a good thing. A private trip leader who doesn't
make it clear to his/her participants that they are on a private trip
may loose the right to use PCS publications for their private trips.
This apparently is not the first time the issue is raised. In the
past, a few changes were made to try to address this problem,
apparently we need to revisit this issue every so often. One
problem seems to be that the PCS has no representation in the
MOC, and so our activity and procedures get scrutinized without
us having a say in the manner. This time we requested and been
promised a PCS representative in the MOC. For now George, as
the PCS chair, will appoint someone to represent us. We may
want to add this position to the PCS bylaws for the future.
"Vy can't ve chust climb?" - John Salathe
-- Ron Karpel
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Sleeping Bag Care
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Here are various comments on sleeping bag care from the
broadcast list.
-- Bob Bynum, Scree Editor
Most down bags would rather be cleaned with gentle detergent
(such as REI's LOFT soap, not Tide) than with dry-cleaning
solvents.
The feathers do have some natural oils, and I've been told by
highend bag makers that dry cleaning can shorten the life of the
bag. I run mine down to the Laundromat every other year, putting
just one bag in one of the huge side-loading washers, then air dry
it for about an hour in one of the huge side-loading dryers. No old
shoe needed, the tumbling works just fine. Go easy on the soap.
-- Steve Eckert
I just took mine to a local dry cleaner. Nearly all of the ones near
my home offer sleeping bag cleaning, though they all send the
bag somewhere else.
The results were impressive, besides being clean, my bag came
back twice the size it was when I sent it in. I half expected it to
be ruined, but it turned out fine.
-- Eric.Busboom
I put both my SD down bag in the washer on
"gentle/warm/warm" for 2 cycles (about 45 minutes) and fluff
dried it on low heat for 1 hr and it also was twice the size as
before...and warmer and wonderfully clean!
DO NOT PUT SOFTNER (It is oil and you don't want Exxon
Valdez in your dryer or bag).
This is all according to the directions that came with my bags.
I must have done this 5-6 times in the last 2 years, but I use in
over 90 days per year so it needed it.
-- Rich Calliger
I bought some REI down soap and cleaned my own bag some
years ago. It came out very nice. However, I was very careful and
used a big laundry/work tub to do the work. I wouldn't
recommend a machine, too rough. Probably also makes a
difference if you're synth vs. down.
Mine was/is down and it took some days to dry between an
outdoor line (be sure you've got sunny weather for a few days)
and the cool-tumble dryer setting. I also think the more you wash
a bag, the shorter its lifespan.
I typically sleep in a "clean layer" to postpone the need for
cleaning.
-- Mark Adrian
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Mt Morrison, 12227 ft. - June 27, 1999
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A note on the conditions found on Morrison yesterday and a route description.
There is no need for an ice axe. Wear gaiters to avoid getting
scree in the boots. Everything on this mountain ambles, slips,
shifts, slithers and falls. In combination with nearly 5000 ft of
gain within very few miles, it gets to be a strenuous day.
The description of the route in Secor is dead-on and so are the
PCS and SPS trip reports.
Here is an attempt at describing the route:
Drive to the left end of Convict Lake as far as the road will take
you and park at the furthest parking lot.
You are 2/3rd of the way of the length of the lake.
Hike through brush to the first ridge line on the left of the lot.
You will meet an old jeep road, follow it till it ends in a short
distance at a stream. Follow this stream up, keeping it to your
right as it comes down a beautiful verdant valley. The stream
seems to originate from a small tarn. There is another tarn further
up which looks like it is turning into a meadow and then there is
a much larger tarn further up.
By following the stream, you are going behind (south) the front
peak (10800+) that blocks the view of Morrison.
Turn right (west) at the small tarn towards a cirque like valley
that is on the lower reaches of Mt Morrison.
A steep trail switchbacks through this valley till it tops out below
Morrison's east face. One of the many options to reach the
summit is to go straight up this face over class-2 and sometimes
easy class-3 stuff. This is the worst part of the climb. The summit
has outstanding views of Red Slate, the Minarets, Ritter, Banner,
the Inyos and the black, foreboding face of that equally loose and
unstable peak, Red and White.
Thanks to the many listeners on the PCS/SPS email broadcast
who offered useful tips and suggestions when I had asked about
conditions at Convict Lake and on Mt Morrison.
-- Arun Mahajan
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Official (PCS) Trips
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PCS trips must be submitted through the Scheduler (see back
cover for details). Trips not received from the Scheduler will be
listed as PRIVATE, without recourse.
*** Mt. Bolton Brown
Peak: Mt. Bolton Brown, Class 2, 13,538'
Dates: August 1-3 (3 days)
Leader: Debbie Benham, h: 650/964-0558 benham4x@aol.com
After reading about Bolton's first ascents, and seeing Lucy
Brown's footpath, my curiosity was peaked. This summit hides
from viewing via Hwy 395 behind the magnificent eastern Sierra
skyline. We'll see! Could be just a pile of old' scree. Trailhead is
Birch Lake, out of McMurphy Meadows, off Glacier Lodge Road.
Permit for 6. $3 covers permit fee
*** Dragon Weekend
Peaks: Dragon Peak (12,955) Class 3 and Kearsarge Peak (12,598) Class 2
Dates: August 7-8 (Sat.-Sun.)
Map: Kearsarge Peak and Mt. Clarence King 7.5'
Leader: Bill Isherwood925-254-0739 (h) 925-423-5058 (w), isherwood2@llnl.gov
We will meet Saturday morning at 9 AM at the trailhead for
Golden Trout Lake on Onion Valley Road out of Independence. A
2000-ft. climb will bring us to a camp near one of the two
unnamed lakes just north of Golden Trout Lake. For the ambitious,
Kearsarge Peak may be climbed Saturday. Sunday, we will climb
Dragon Peak from the col immediately south of the peak. Hike out
Sunday afternoon. Send a $10 deposit (call first) to secure your
spot. Trip limited to 8.
*** Grand Canyon of The Tuolumne
Backpack: Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, Class 1/2, Yosemite National Park
Dates: August 20-22 (3 days)
Leaders: Debbie Benham, (h) 650/964-0558, email: benham4x@aol.com
Bill Kirkpatrick, (w) 408/279-3450, wmkirk@earthlink.net
Join us for a 'reverse' peak trip through a pristine wilderness
canyon in beautiful Yosemite National Park! We will be out three
days, walking approximately 23 miles total with roughly 4-5000'
elevation loss and gain. We'll start at White Wolf Campground and
finish at Lembert Dome in Tuolumne Meadows, a one-way jaunt
up the canyon. $10 deposit required on sign-up and fully
refundable at the trailhead. Permit for 8. Co-listed with
Backpacking Section/Loma Prieta Chapter.
*** Blank Slate (Red)
Peak: Red Slate Mtn, class 2, 13123
Dates: Aug 21-22, Sat-Sun
Maps: Morrison 15" or Convict Lake 7.5"
Leaders: Charles Schafer cgschafer@lucent.com H 408-354-1545, W 408-324-6003
Aaron Schuman aaron_schuman@yahoo.com H 650-968-9184, W 650-943-7532
Kelly Maas maas@idt.com H 408-279-2054, W 408-330-1717
Details: http://sj.znet.com/~cynthiam/redslate.html
Climb lovely and scenic (if somewhat fractured) Red Slate
Mountain from Convict Lake. Believe it or not, there's no peak in
the Sierra Nevada to the north of Red Slate that is taller than Red
Slate.
*** Merced Peak
Peak: Merced Peak, Class 2, 11,726', Yosemite National Park
Dates: August 27-29 (3 days)
Leader(s): Debbie Benham, h: 650/964-0558, benham4x@aol.com
Anouchka Gaillard, h: 408/737-9770, anouchka@cup.hp.com
A long hike in to another classic of the Clark Range set in lovely
Yosemite National Park! Approximately 16 miles (one way) to the
summit with 4,000' gain/loss over three days. We'll climb the
northeast ridge after leaving the Red Peak Pass Trail near Upper
Ottoway Lake. Hearty and fit newcomers are welcome, and must
be able to carry full pack a long way on trail! Deposit of $10
required for signup which is refundable minus $3, charge for
permit. 10 on permit.
*** Mt. Langley
Peak: Mt. Langley (14,042), Class 1
Dates: August 28-29 (Sat.-Sun.)
Maps: Mt. Langley and Cirque Peak 7.5'
Leader: Bill Isherwood, 925-254-0739 (h) 925-423-5058 (w), isherwood2@llnl.gov
This is the southernmost 14,000-foot peak in the High Sierra.
Clarence King and Paul Pinson climbed it in 1871, believing that
they were making the first ascent of Mt. Whitney. They found a
cairn with an arrow on the summit.
We will meet Saturday morning at the Cottonwood Lakes
trailhead (driving instructions from Lone Pine are available) at 10
AM. We will camp at Long Lake (11,135) on Saturday and climb
the South Slope to the summit via the New Army Pass trail on
Sunday. Drive home Sunday night. Join us for a leisurely climb
with time to enjoy the scenery. There is a $10 sign-up fee,
refundable at the trailhead, less the cost of the permit. Send check
to Bill Isherwood, 37 La Encinal, and Orinda, CA 94563. Space is
limited to 8.
*** Mt. Goddard
Peak: Mt Goddard, Class 2, 13,568'
Dates: September 3-6 (4 days)
Leader: Debbie Benham, h: 650/964-0558, benham4x@aol.com
Co-Leader: Nancy Fitzsimmons, h: 408/957-9683, pkclimber@aol.com
This magnificant, stand-alone, peak is a showstopper from all
vantage points in the high Sierra. A long, long hike in (approx 20
mi), where we'll camp at Martha Lake, then summit via the
southwest ridge. I'm asking each participant to bring an ice axe
for summit day and all who participate should be proficient with
ice axe use. This is an MOC approved trip and participants must
be current Sierra Club members. $10 deposit required on sign-up
and fully refundable at the trailhead. Permit for 8.
*** Yosemite: Petit, Piute, and Volunteer
Peaks: Petit, Piute, and Volunteer Class 2
Dates: Sep 4-6 (Sat-Mon) Labor Day weekend
Leader: Steve Eckert
Co-Leader: Erik Siering
Help the leader celebrate finishing the SPS Peaks List in good
style. The 9-mile pack in, over almost-flat terrain with uncrowded
camping, should give rise to a nice party Saturday. A quick 7-mile
romp to the peak on Sunday and we're back in camp for the stroll
back to the cars. Reserve a spot early and pack the good stuff (for
the mother of all happy hours)! Co-listed with the Angeles Chapter SPS.
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Climbing Schools
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Here is a list of climbing schools recommended by various PCS members.
Mountain Adventure http://www.mtadventure.com/
Sierra Mountain Center, Bishop, CA http://www.sierramountaincenter.com/
Nidever Mountain Guides June Lake, CA http://www.themountainguide.com/
American Mountain Guide Association http://www.amga.com/
Moving Over Stone http://www.movingoverstone.com
Mountain Adventure http://www.mtadventures.com
Sierra Wilderness Seminars http://www.swsmntns.com.
Alpine Skills International http://www.aplineskills.com
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Rainier, A Summit Too High - Memorial Day 1999, May 29-30
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We were sitting on a downhill lip of a crevasse which formed a
small platform at 13,000 ft. The wind was relentless, and the
temperature around 5 degree. It was too cold to stay sitting on
the ice, so after barely 5 minutes, I got up and said, "Let's go."
The group ahead of us got up too, but instead of going up, they
turned around and went down. I guess they had enough. I started
to pull ahead. My teammates following. After less then 50 ft. I
stopped to catch my breath. I was very tired and could only
managed a few steps before stopping. Our progress was
extremely slow. I looked back. The tail of our rope was dragging
on the ice. Something must be wrong. Last time I checked, there
was someone attached to the rope at that end. I needed a whole
minute to figure it out in the thin air at this altitude. Our 4th
teammate untied himself from the rope and remained sitting at
the edge of the crevasse. A minute later we were on our way
down back to camp.
I am not in a habit of writing trip reports for not climbing a
mountain, but some people ask that I write this one. During our
planing for this early season trip we were told that the
Disappointment Cleaver Route was still closed and that the
preferred rout was the Ingraham Headwall. By the time we
climbed, the DC route was in full operation with a nicely cut trail
in the snow and a fixed rope for the lower stepper section. By
the look of things, I think the headwall would have made a fine
rout too, but we climbed the cleaver.
We had an uneventful trip to Paradise trailhead and to the start of
our climb. Luckily we had permit reservation, because they fill
up the quota for both Muir Camp and the Ingraham Glacier. The
ranger office was busy and filled with many happy smiling faces.
We were promised that the weather forecast is excellent and that
we should have little or no problem climbing, except that
everybody else in the Northwest was going to be there too. Our
plan was to hike up to Ingraham Flat and setup our high camp.
Then climb from there the next morning.
We made it in good time to Muir Camp. There were hundred of
people on the trail which made it into a giant staircase in the
snow. Most people, day hiked just to Muir Camp and return to
Paradise. A few remained at Muir Camp, and we could see only
one group ahead of us crossing the Cowlitz
Glacier on the way to Ingraham Flat. We roped up and
continued. With full packs and after climbing all the way from
Paradise it took us a couple of hours to get from Muir Camp to
the "flats". The total for the day was 5,500-ft elevation gain. If I
had to do it over again, I would have spent a night just below
Muir Camp to break the climb and get acclimatized. It was 6PM
when we arrived at Ingraham Flats. Digging up tents platforms,
fixing dinner, and fighting the wind pushed bad time to 9 PM.
Not much rest since we had 1:30 AM wake up on the following
day.
Our 2 AM start time got pushed to 2:30. We were tired and
disoriented a bit and couldn't get organized quickly enough.
There were already several groups on the route when we started.
We simply followed. Even before we reached DC, one of our
teammate decided to return to camp and get a full night sleep... a
good idea indeed, as it turned out.
We followed several groups ahead of us up the Disappointment
Cleaver.
Climbing the knife-edge of the Cleaver was the first time I
realized how bad the wind was. I had to lean hard against my ice
axe to avoid getting knocked over. We stopped at the top of the
Cleaver to rest. The trail at this point merges with the old trail
leading up from Ingraham Headwall.
Starting up again, we passed by a group that camped the night
there and was just getting out to return down. The view up was a
reminiscent of the biblical story of Jacob's ladder. There were
groups going up, and there were groups coming down. It seems
as if the trail was blocked at some point farther up, because no
one was going farther up, but I couldn't see why. And it was
crowded. The trail at this point was just a trace of many
crampons stomping the ice. It went back and forth twisting
around crevasses and climbing over snow bridges. We continued
the exhausting climb at a slow pace, and by 7:00 AM got to the
edge of the crevasse and the end of our climb, as I mentioned at
the opening paragraph.
Upon returning to camp, we crawled into our slipping bags to
complete the night sleep. By the time we got up, clouds were
moving in obscuring the otherwise clear sky. Concluding that
Monday is not going to be any batter, we packed our stuff and
returned home.
Participants: Nancy Fitzsimmons, Stephan Meier, Stephane
Mouradian, Ted Raczek, and your faithful scribe Ron Karpel.
-- Ron Karpel
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Climb High Sweet Charlotte - June 19, 1999
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The Stoic and I climbed the S. Face of Charlotte Dome last
Saturday, the route made famous in Roper's "50 Crowded Climbs
of N. America." Here's a full description if you want the details.
For me, the crux was the approach, although the Stoic described
it simply as "okay." We came in from the west, from Road's End
near Cedar Grove. The initial 7-8 mile hike up Bubbs Cr. was
lovely and pleasant, but the 1-2 miles of rugged cross-country
climbing 2000' up Charlotte Cr. was, for me, sheer Hell. When I
am encumbered with a heavy climbing pack, my damaged right
ankle does not perform well on loose or brushy terrain, and this
approach had both in spades, often at the same time. I think that
most mountaineering folks would have found it to be a rugged
and strenuous but otherwise unremarkable little hike. We camped
in a small stand of trees about 300 vertical feet below the dome
with an excellent view of the route. The entire approach took us a
bit less than 7 hours at my paraplegic pace.
The next morning, we left camp at a rather leisurely 6:30 AM.
The initial brush gave way to friction slabs and headwalls, but
nothing that should have been particularly difficult.
Unfortunately, in getting over the final headwall, we made a poor
choice of route, and ended up standing foolishly together on a
small sloping ledge, blocked by steep wet slimy slabs and unable
to downclimb safely. So, we were forced to break out a rope, slam
in a few pieces of pro, and I took a delicate and largely
unprotected lead up the marshy slab. Finally, we were able to get
to the base of the dome. About 300' of class 3-4 climbing brought
us to our first belay and the actual start of the technical climbing.
And that was pretty much that. The crux was the approach, as I
said earlier, and the rest of the climb was sweet but highly
uneventful. The weather was superlative for the entire day.
Insects were negligible.
Never before have I done a climb that matched the route
description so precisely (see Moynier and Fiddler for a topo).
About 12 years ago, I climbed Charlotte Dome with my original
mentor, John Woodworth, and, I think, never once managed to
find a pitch of the "classic" South Face route, although we had a
very good time. Our difficulty, I think was trying to find the route
by observing the dome from the east, for we had approached over
Kearsarge Pass. The start of the route, and many of its features,
only become obvious when the dome is viewed from the south.
The Stoic and I traded leads steadily over the 11-pitch climb. The
first 3 pitches I would have described as easy class 5 as opposed
to class 4. The "Slot Pitch" was my lead, and very pleasing.
Although steep, the rock of Charlotte is so featured with knobs
and edges that is always possible to make progress without much
difficulty. In fact, the combination of substantial holds and high
angle makes for satisfyingly gymnastic moves -- great fun! The
Stoic got the
"ambiguous and runout face," and did an excellent (and stoical,
of course) job of both tolerating the runout (30-40') and finding a
nice, 5.7 line through the ambiguity. I was graced with the lead
on the "Furrows" pitch, and this has got to be one of the best bits
of alpine climbing I've ever encountered. This formation is a long
sequence of deep-water grooves and solution pockets in a vertical
portion of the face. You could stem them, mantle them, or just
pull hard, but after each fun sequence you were again standing on
a substantial ledge -- the floor of the solution pocket above.
Repeat this many times and you have one heckuva fun pitch! No
memorable alpine route is complete without at least a little bit of
silly difficulty, and, on my last lead, I carelessly went astray. This
pitch is labeled "5.6, many ways to go" on the topo, but, I
discovered at least one of those ways was not 5.6. My choice of
"crack up, friction traverse L, bulge, and reverse hand traverse R"
is probably to be avoided in favor of simpler and more aesthetic
alternatives.
We arrived at the summit at about 6 PM. There is a summit
register on top, but someone, probably a climber that doesn't
approve of summit registers, appears to have hammered the
register tube permanently shut. The summit vista, and that of
whole climb, in fact, is very nice, featuring the Brewer group,
Stanford, Deerhorn, the Videttes, Gould and Dragon, and many
others. Not bad for a little (10,690') bump on the map!
The descent from the summit initially involved a fairly tricky
class 3 traverse that would be difficult to do in the dark. The
remaining descent was an easy walk down slabs to the east,
followed by a pleasant 120-degree rotary traverse at the base of
the dome in a rocky gully and adjacent slabs. An obligatory bit of
bushwhacking brought us back to camp at about 8 PM.
The next morning, we descended back to Road's End without
mishap. To keep me from sobbing and whining about my ruined
joints, the Stoic took down a double load of climbing gear, an
extra 10 pounds. (When I look at him just right, you know, I can
see a halo...) The 9-10 mile walk took my weak body about 4
hours, and we arrived at the car at about 1 PM. I was tired but
very happy and satisfied. The Stoic, of course, was a bit
dissatisfied because he hadn't gotten enough of workout." Next
time, darn it, I'm gonna give him the double load of rock gear on
the way up, too!
-- David Ress
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The Rolls Royce of Climbs - June 20, 1999
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I know the "Rolls Merriam" trip title confused a lot of people, but
it's not too much of a stretch from Rolls Royce to Royce and
Merriam to Rolls Merriam, is it?
Anyway, Robert Evans, Larry Sokolsky, Dylan Schwilk, and I
headed up the Pine Creek trailhead in what felt like the first
summer climb of the season - no jackets even at 7am, a
cacophony of birdsong to wake us up, and only occasional wafts
of sulfur from the local titanium mine... but strangely enough
there were few mosquitoes at the trailhead and none once we
climbed a few hundred feet.
The first major stream crossing left us looking at a sawn log
bridge under four inches of fast moving water, so we headed for
the lake outlet "cross country" on a good use trail and waded on
shallow flat rocks. (On the way out I discovered it was possible to
do the crossing with only one ski-pole-vault and keep your boots
dry, but others waded.) There was no snow at to speak of until
the Honeymoon Lake /Pine Creek Pass junction (which we
missed) and above that we tried hard to avoid the soft thin slush.
At the pass, at 1pm, Robert headed toward an apparent ridge to
survey the amount of snow between Royce Lakes and us while
the rest of us contemplated our navels and enjoyed the warm
afternoon. I was concerned about dry campsites and running
water, others about postholing in the snow with full packs the
next afternoon. We decided the pass campsites were too good to
pass up, but it turned out the higher lakes were more ice-free
than the ones at the pass and there would have been dry (if
somewhat unprotected and boring) campsites.
Starting before 6am, we were on the summit of Royce by 830am
and spent an hour up there reveling in the view and the warm air.
Dylan and I climbed both bumps just to make sure the register
was on the higher one and for hero shots (the lower bump is the
more photogenic, I think), then we stormed down the sand to the
saddle and rested briefly before heading for Merriam. We met
two other climbers who had camped at the upper lakes, but since
they chose the opposite peak to climb first each group had each
mountain to themselves. It was often possible to choose between
sandy walking, boulder hopping, or third class moves to make
things more interesting.
We spent less time on Merriam, and also climbed both bumps,
and returned once again to the saddle. The permanent snowfield
between the saddle and the lakes had not required crampons on
the way up, and by now it was so mushy that a standing glissade
only worked for a short distance. (It's 45 degrees at the top, but
only that steep for 100' or so.) The rest of the snow required a
glissade pad or slick nylon pants but was enjoyably fast with the
right gear.
Breaking camp was made tedious by the wilting heat - overnight
it barely froze dew on my bivy bag, but in the early afternoon it
was scorching in the sun. Summer Solstice or some such thing.
Anyway, we squished our way back down to the cars as the day
cooled, bottoming out around 6pm. Larry opted out of the second
peak, and hiked back to his car alone with only a surprise bath in
a stream crossing to mar the day. No bugs, no bruises, both peaks
in good weather. What more can you ask for?
-- Steve Eckert
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Mt. Sill (14,153') - July 3-5 1999 - Unofficial trip
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arun Mahajan (leader), Stephan Meier, Noriko Sekikawa, Karon
MacLean (got to write it down)
Arun planned this trip 6 months ago with rosy dreams of
following a friend up Sill's 5.5 Swiss Arete, on the east side of
the Palisades. Two weeks before the trip the friend dropped out
and Arun had to content himself with our company and Sill's
North Couloir. Lucky for me - I got the spot and this was one of
the nicest trips I've been on.
We zoomed out of the Bay Area Friday night in Stephan's rolling
bordello of an SUV, mysteriously encountering no holiday traffic
whatsoever. Reached Mammoth a little after 1am and caught a
few hours of sleep off of Glass Flow Road. Croissants and lots of
coffee at Schatt's, and onward to the Glacier Lodge trailhead
where we hoped to run into Kelly Maas and party, allegedly
attempting Middle Pal the same weekend but nowhere to be seen;
walking at 9:30.
The weather was hot and clear. We wended our leisurely way up
Big Pine Creek's North Fork trail and then south towards Sam
Mack Meadow, climbing past tiers of lakes and increasingly
stunning mountain views - excepting poor Alice, looming over
the approach and identified by Arun with characteristic lyricism
as a "festering maggot-ridden heap of slag". We made it to Sam
Mack Meadow by about 4:30pm due to Arun's heroic navigation
skills (it helped that there was a fine trail with only two
branches).
After luxuriating awhile in the lush, crag-cradled green of this
alpine oasis, we crossed the stream and headed southeast up the
Glacier trail. We hoped to camp near the east edge of the Palisade
Glacier, where indeed the next day we found excellent campsites.
An hour out of Sam Mack Meadow, however, the wind rose and
one of our number was feeling a touch of altitude sickness, so
around 6pm we found a slightly protected spot near a pool of
snowmelt and camped at around 11,500'.
The altitude sickness sadly persisted throughout the weekend,
and as a result the travel times listed here are generally slower
than a typical PCS pace.
I probably should have posted this to GEAR...
Dinnertime turned into a windy adventure when both MSR stoves
(a 10-year-old Whisperlite and a new Shaker Jet) and the two of
the three pumps between us malfunctioned. We fixed the one that
was just leaking through dry seals (bring your mineral oil, it's dry
there) and got by. When Karon unzipped her flapping tent,
humped up the hill by Stephan, she discovered a headlamp left
there by her last tentmate. But if you hear Stephan grumble about
hauling the Coleman lantern
Karon sneaked into his pack, it's not true. It was only a Petzl
Micro.
The wind gusted wildly all night, leaving a thick skin of ice on
the pool and inducing drowsy hallucinations of shredded tent flys.
Between the racket and the brilliant moonlight, we didn't sleep at
all. We stumbled bleary-eyed out of bed, questioning the sense of
an ascent in the gale from a vantage high above camp while
debating which shade of rose-gold Gayley's rugged pyramid and
Sill's regal, towering profile would turn at the sun's first rays.
But the wind died down and we hit the trail at 7am.
The Glacier trail hugs the northeast edge of a two-lobed moraine,
and turns into a duck-marked scramble up to a ridge bordering
the glacier's northeast edge, then a tedious boulder hop to the
glacier itself which was the first real snow. Still in the shade, the
surface was icy enough to merit crampons but otherwise easy
going.
The bergschrund, pronounced everywhere else around the
glacier's upper edge, leaves a good path to Glacier
Notch (we also heard there was still a weak bridge allowing
access to the U-Notch and North Pal). We reached the notch at
11:45, which Arun celebrated with his latest selection of Cliff
bars direct from Whole Foods, featuring the For Women Only
"Lemon Luna Bar". He extolled its superiority over the dozen or
so in his lunchbag, and we decided that the principal difference
being the shape, we would refrain from suggesting a sex change
but refer him to a marketing focus group.
Stephan and Noriko elected to rest awhile and enjoy the already-
impressive spectacle and then attempt Gayley (class 3), while
Arun and Karon went after Sill. The plan was to do both and we
weren't sure of the difficulty of the route up Sill, so we figured
we'd try it first while we were fresh. Secor calls the North
Couloir Class 4 (also the North Couloir Descent Route, although
these look like the same thing to me), but others had told us it
was hard Class 3. Climbers on their way down reported one
tricky spot where we might want a rope.
We quickly climbed up the L-shaped couloir between Sill and
Apex to its north - iceaxe but no crampons. As we neared the
saddle between Sill and Apex, we eyed Sill's north ridge and
guessed at the route and the nasty class 4 move. As it turns out,
we were looking at something that was probably in the low 5's;
the North Couloir route isn't visible even from the saddle. When
we turned south on the saddle and climbed a few feet, an actual
trail materialized along a ledge to our right, on Sill's southwest
side.
The trail soon dies out, but the route remains clear through lack
of options - it is mostly a fun class 3 scramble that circles and
rises counterclockwise more than 180 degrees around the
mountain and finally comes out on the summit ridge. Some slings
hung in one spot on the southwest rib, indicating that some
people rap down through this spot, and we wondered if we would
have trouble on the way back. We summited one hour from the
Sill-Apex saddle. Arun whistled at the orange spot on the rocks
below which was Noriko's parka, but got no response. The day
was clear, and all I can say is that Secor's claim that Sill has the
best view from any summit in the Sierra may be right on.
We hurried back down, having no problem on the class 4 section
(no rope required, a good thing since we didn't have one); and
reached Glacier Notch three hours after leaving it. Stephan was
on his way back from a try at Gayley; at 1/3 of the way up he
determined it was better completed with friends nearby. Arun and
Karon decided that Sill was so satisfying we didn't need Gayley
either, and we all dived off the Notch and glissaded down the
glacier to the dread boulder field and back to camp.
Along the way we met two groups who had done North Pal (one
pair hiked all the way from the cars in plastic boots, ouch) and
decided we wanted to do it next. After a scenic detour when we
missed the exact point where the Glacier route goes around the
moraine's eastern lobe, we reached camp at 7pm.
We found it swarming with mosquitoes, and missed the wind of
the night before. Stephan and Arun got to perform some class 5
moves after all, undoing the knots Karon tied when she hung the
food in the trees. Arun's couscous wouldn't cook and Karon's
water filter (a Pur) stopped working (dry seals again). But we
slept like babies. We left at 7:45 the next morning, to Sam Mack
Meadow in 30 minutes and the parking lot by noon.
However, the adventure had only begun. On the road out of the
park, just before hitting 395, we found ourselves on the front line
of a brush fire, cheering on heroic firemen and water trucks and
helicopters. After half an hour, we were advised that it would be
a while and there was a back way. we led our caravan back up
the road, where there was a roadblock and, uh oh, a Winnebago
just turning onto the perilously rutted jeep trail. With dread we
followed its swaying, hesitant progress for a mile, past a paddock
crammed with alarmed and staring cows - evidently their first RV
- and finally out to the road.
Yosemite was uneventful, but just east of Oakdale we drove
through another forest fire. And the crowning oddity: in a
roadside pen outside Escalon, a ten-minute-old calf wobbled to
its feet trailing umbilical cord and maternal slime.
Home at 9pm, delightfully mystified once again by the total
absence of traffic.
-- Karon MacLean
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Foerster Peak, Electra Peak - July 16-19, 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elena Sherman and I picked up our permit at the Tuolomne
Meadows Permit Station, which now opens at 7am. I thought it
opened at 8, so it was 8:15 before we hit the trail. We parked by
the permit station since I didn t know you could drive a half mile
to a closer parking lot near the lodge. We hiked in approximately
17 miles and 3000 of gain to where the Lyell Fork crosses the
Isberg Pass trail, dragging into camp a few minutes after 8pm.
Due to our late arrival and long first day, we left the next
morning about 7:30, later than planned. We followed the north
side of the Lyell Fork, passing both lake 10217 and the two lakes
at 10400 on the north side. From here we left the drainage and
headed directly to the small lake just below lake 10999 . At this
point we broke out ice axes and headed mostly on snow up the
north west bowl of Electra. We eventually climbed out to the
west ridge near the summit which was reached at 2pm. This
route is class 2. There was no register, but fortunately Tina
Bowman had provided me with a register to take. The cannister
was fortunately still there. Rodgers seemed too far to get back to
camp in daylight so we decided to leave it for another time. We
returned the same way to camp.
The next morning we retraced our steps up the Lyell Fork, but
crossed the creek with some difficulty at approximately 9500 .
We headed south to the first saddle immediately east of Peak
11210 , then traversed onto the northwest ridge of Foerster. The
greatest difficulty encountered was class
2. Once on the summit, lassitude started to set in. Although
Florence was beckoning, we lounged for an hour and a half on the
summit, then headed back to camp to get a start on the hike out.
On the way down, we found a much better crossing just below
Hutchings Creek.
Split over two days, the hike out was much more enjoyable. We
also had to contend with lots of mosquitos, including a few even
on the summits. All in all it was a pleasant first Sierra trip of the
year for us.
-- Scott Sullivan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Trips
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private trips may be submitted directly to the Scree Editor, but
are not insured, sponsored, or supervised by the Sierra Club.
They are listed here because they may be of interest to PCS
members.
*** McDuffie, Black Giant, Charybdis, Fiske, etc.
Peaks: McDuffie, Black Giant, Charybdis, Fiske, Huxley, etc. (Class 3)
Dates: August 7 thru 15 Sat thru Sun (9 days)
Maps: North Palisade, Mt. Thompson & Mt. Goddard
Contact: Charles Schafer (408) 324-6003 (w) cgschafer@lucent.com
Co-Contact: Bob Suzuki(510) 657-7555 (w) bobszk@bigfoot .com
If you've ever climbed to the top of Bishop Pass, looked off into the
interior of the Sierra, and thought that those magnificent peaks on
the horizon looked awfully appealing; then this trip is for you. . We
will hike in over Echo Col on Saturday and set up camp near
Helen Lake (at Muir Pass).
Secor says McDuffie, Black Giant & Charybdis are easily day
hiked from there, so we want to give them a try. There are also a
number of other peaks in that area that are worth climbing, and
between Bob and I we'll go after most of them. Towards the end
of the trip we will move south and climb Wheel, and perhaps
others in that neighborhood. Saturday and Sunday we will hike
out over Bishop Pass.
This should be a lot of fun, but it is a pretty ambitious trip so we
are looking for experienced class 3 climbers to join us. Ice axes
and possibly crampons will be required.
*** School's Out
Peaks: Recess, Gabb, and Hilgard
Dates: Aug 13-16 (Fri-Mon)
Contact: Steve Eckert, eckert@climber.org
A somewhat mellow west-side trip starting near Lake Edison. The
permit is full, but there is a short wait list if you want to get in line.
You could also get another permit and join us!
*** Agassiz & Winchell
Peaks: Agassiz (13,893'), Winchell (13,775') class 2,3
Maps: Big Pine, Mt Goddard 15' topo
Dates: August 28-29 (Sat-Sun)
Contact: Bob Suzuki, w: 510-657-7555, >8pm: 408-259-0772, bobszk@bigfoot.com
Nancy Fitzsimmons, w: 408-764-1761, h: 408-957-9683, Pkclimber@aol.com
Last fall our attempt to climb these 2 magnificent peaks in the
Palisades never got beyond Sam Mack Meadow. Constant snow
almost from the trailhead encouraged us to save these high peaks
for another weekend. We'll try again this August.
A fast hike in to basecamp will be followed by an assault on
Agassiz via the class 2 south ridge. Sunday won't be easier. We'll
enjoy the classic east arete of Winchell, then backpack out to the
cars for a late return to the BA, hopefully, with fond memories of
two successful climbs.
*** Clarence King & Gardiner
Peaks: Clarence King and Gardiner.
Dates: Sept 3-6
Contact: Rick Booth at 408-354-7291 or rick_booth@worldnet.att.net
Dee Booth, rdbooth@worldnet.att.net
Pack in from Onion Valley over Kearsarge Pass and Glenn Pass
into Rae lakes and eventually into Sixty Lakes Basin. Estimated
distance is 10 miles. This is kind of a chug.
Clarence King has a fifth class summit block requiring a few
moves of about 5.4. Gardiner has a longish fourth-class summit
ridge.
Requirements: Both peaks require rope and modest rock climbing
skills. You should know my wife or myself.
*** Middle Pal & Norman Clyde
Peaks: Middle Palisade (14,040'), Norman Clyde (13,920'), Class: 3, 4
Map: Mt. Goddard 15' topo
Dates: Sept. 4-6 (Sat-Mon)
Contact: Bob Suzuki day: 510-657-7555 >8pm: 408-259-0772, bobszk@bigfoot.com
Rich Leiker <2pm: 408-378-9522 >3pm: 408-453-4253 leiker@san-jose.tt.slb.com
This 3 day outing will be tough, but good. Saturday we'll drop our
packs at our basecamp near Finger Lake then tackle the northeast
face of Middle Palisade. We'll take all of Sunday to try our luck
with a class 4 route on the north-northeast ridge or north face of
Norman Clyde Peak. Only fast, strong peak climbers with
previous class 4 and roped climbing experience will be considered
for this outing.
*** Capitol Peak, Colorado
Peak: Capitol Peak, Colorado (14,130'), Class 3-4
Dates: Sept 4-6 (Sat-Mon)
Contact: Bill Isherwood, 925-254-0739 (h)925-423-5058 (w)isherwood2@llnl.gov
This is a class 3-4 climb up one of Colorado's more difficult 14'ers,
noted for its exposed knife-edge ridge. The plan would be to fly to
Denver Friday evening, drive to the mountain and hike in to a high
camp on Saturday, make the climb on Sunday and hike out,
staying overnight in the Aspen area. We would return to the
Denver airport on Monday for return home. Roped climbing
experience required. Contact leader for coordination of travel
plans.
*** Needsaw, Hamtooth
Peaks: Needham (12467), Sawtooth (12343) class 2
Dates: Sep 18-19 (Sat-Sun)
Contact: Steve Eckert
Depending on who signs up, we'll do the standard grunt to
Needham over the top of Sawtooth, or we'll skip Monarch Lake
and go directly to Needham (which might involve a bit of class 3
scrambling on an unscouted route). This area is great in the fall,
when the bugs are dead and the marmots have their fill of salt
bush (so your car doesn't look like a buffet). Needham could be
done as a ver
*** Annual Tuolomne Group Camp
Peaks: (Need volunteer to lead day trips)
Dates: September 18-19
Leader: Cecil Ann (408) 395-4525 cecilann@earthlink.net
Join us Friday night through Sunday for the annual PCS group
camping trip. Historically, we've had fabulous dayclimbs/dayhikes
and this year will be no exception. Camping will be at a group site
in Tuolumne campground. Children, seniors, non-climbers, etc.
are welcome.
*** Mt. Clark & Starr King
Date: Sept. 24-26
Peaks: Mt. Clark and Starr King
Contact: George Sinclair 650-941-2160; geosinc@aol.com
Description: Join the leader as he returns to the peak he first
climbed 25 years ago when he first began leading Sierra Club
trips. One peak, and perhaps both will require the use of rope.
Interested people should have some experience doing class 3 and
know how to rappel.
*** Cherry Creek Canyon
Peak: None - Cherry Creek Canyon
Date: October 9-10
Leader: Kai Wiedman (650) 347-5234
Don't miss this adventure backpack into one of the most beautiful
granite canyons near Yosemite. Witness Cherry Creek charge
forcefully through narrow slots. Gaze at granite domes in the
distance. The scenery of this 25-mile loop backpack will dazzle
you as you experience one of the Sierras' best kept secrets.
*** Nepal October 1999
Peak: Chulu West, 20,500Ft
Date: October 1999
Contact: Warren Storkman Phone 650-493-8959 dstorkman@AOL.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Middle Palisade - July 3-5, 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the July 4 weekend, several of us had a great time climbing
Middle Palisade. With three days to do the climb and get home,
we were not rushed. We marveled at the beautiful flowers (wild
rose, lupine, columbine, shooting star, cactus, Indian paintbrush,
buttercup, penstimen, etc.) as we hiked in, but our attention soon
turned to a rushing S. Fork of Big Pine Creek that we had to
cross.
It wasn't very wide, but it was thigh deep, and it delayed us
several minutes. It would no doubt pose little trouble later in the
season. We then battled mosquitoes as we passed near Willow
Lake, causing us to rush up the trail to Brainerd Lake without a
rest. Fortunately good tent sites outnumbered mosquitoes at
beautiful Finger Lake, so that's where we dropped our packs for
the night.
I had a permit for 5, but we ended up with 10 at our camp. Chris
and John Kerr had gotten their own permit and joined us, and
some of their friends had a permit that they were using to climb
Norman Clyde Pk. It was a great group and they made my job as
leader an easy one.
Sunday morning dawned windy but otherwise beautiful. 7:00
saw us heading for the peak. As if on an expedition climb,
almost everyone had crampons and helmet as well as an ice axe.
The crampons were nice to have early in the morning but were
not essential for the more experienced. We donned the helmets
when we stepped off the glacier, as we had heard of loose rocks
in the gullies. It proved to be a good idea for a group our size.
As with many previous parties, our group spent some time
wondering what gully was what as we struggled to match the
guide book descriptions with what we were encountering. Only
after we were done with the climb and I did a little more scouting
did we come to a real understanding of the route(s). After an
incorrect start on some terribly loose rock (one person turned
back), we ended up climbing the same gully that Peter Maxwell's
group did almost 6 years ago. His description is right on - it's an
enjoyable climb, but rather stimulating at times as there were a
couple of class 4 moves. While we were all able to climb it, none
of us wanted to down climb it. A stimulating but short traverse
of the ridge took us to the summit, which itself is non-trivial.
After lunch and a rest and some fantastic views on the summit,
we descended the "correct" chute which directly intersects the
summit.
Again echoing Peter, this was an easier but less exciting chute,
with a bit more loose rock. With 7 people, we went slowly to
minimize knocking down loose rock, which was impossible to
avoid. We all got off safely and enjoyed glissading and boot
skiing back to camp.
That evening the mosquitoes arrived with warmer temperatures.
We tried to linger and socialize after dinner but these pests drove
us to our tents, where we soon fell asleep. The hike out Monday
morning was a bit over 3 hours. While some of us rushed home,
others stopped for a relaxing swim in Hot Creek.
The participants were Jeff Fischer, Wendy Wason, Landa
Robillard, Dave Erskine, John and Chris Kerr, Mark Wallace and
Kelly Maas (scribe and organizer).
So what's the secret of the Northeast face route on Middle
Palisade? I don't normally engage in protracted route
descriptions, but this time I can't resist - probably because we
goofed - but with good results.
Our mistake was that we didn't start at the correct place. As
David Harris says in his report, the key is to find the ledge, which
is above the moraine. We got off the glacier and onto the buttress
too low, on some rotten red rock. We should have known better
since there was no ledge, and we were below the top of the
moraine. I later found the ledge and it is much better.
All of my guidebooks (Secor (1992), Roper and Moynier/Fiddler)
correctly say to follow the ledge into a chute. Note where you
enter this chute so that you can find it on your way down - it's the
only way off. At the top of the chute, Secor and Roper both say to
"traverse right" at a particular colored rock, but this is confusing.
Topping out of this gully (by a small pinnacle) is obvious - you
get a much improved view of the face of the mountain.
A large couloir comes up from the right and splits at a point
about 100 feet lower down. (From a distance, this is the wide
chute immediately to the right of what I call the "lower buttress"
of the face.)
The left fork is the "correct" gully, and during our early July
climb it had a patch of snow in it. (The snow was easy to avoid
and will probably be gone by the end of July, but it made a great
landmark since it was the largest snow patch on the face.) To
take this easier way up the mountain, just climb straight up and
into this chute. Higher up, take the left fork when it branches.
This takes you directly to the summit.
The right fork is the "wrong" gully, which our group climbed. If
you wish to take this route (a good route, but not for novices),
traverse across the left fork to get to the right fork. This will also
require about 100 feet of descent. As with the other route, take
the left fork when it branches higher up. A traverse left along the
summit ridge takes you to the summit.
-- Kelly Maas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BACK PAGE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scree is the monthly journal of the Peak Climbing Section
of the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter. Visit our website at
http://www.climber.org/pcs/
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Elected Officials
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Chair:
George Van Gorden / pcs-chair@climber.org
408-779-2320 home
830 Alkire Ave, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Vice Chair and Trip Scheduler:
Ron Karpel / pcs-scheduler@climber.org
650 594-0211 home
903 Avon Street, Belmont, CA 94002
Treasurer and Membership Roster (address changes):
Dee Booth / pcs-treasurer@climber.org
408-354-7291 home
237 San Mateo Avenue, Los Gatos, CA 95030
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Publicity Committee Positions
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Scree Editor:
Bob Bynum / pcs-editor@climber.org
510-659-1413 home
761 Towhee Court, Fremont CA 94539-7421
PCS World Wide Web Publisher:
Aaron Schuman / pcs-webmaster@climber.org
650-943-7532 home
223 Horizon Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043-4718
Publicity Chair:
Steve Eckert / pcs-listmaster@climber.org
650-508-0500 home
1814 Oak Knoll Drive, Belmont, CA 94002-1753
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Subscriptions and Email List Info
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Hard copy subscriptions are $10. Subscription applications and
checks payable to "PCS" should be mailed to the Treasurer so they
arrive before the last Tuesday of the expiration month. If you are
on one of the PCS email lists (either the sierra-nevada@climber.org
discussion list or the california-news@climber.org read-only list,
you have a free EScree subscription. For online info, send Email to
info@climber.org. EScree subscribers should send a subscription form
to the Treasurer to become voting PCS members at no charge. All
subscribers are requested to send a donation of $2/year to cover
operating expenses other than printing the Scree. The Scree is on
the PCS web site (as both plain text and Adobe Acrobat/PDF at
http://www.climber.org/pcs/Scree/index.html
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Rock Climbing Classifications
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The following trip classifications are to assist you in choosing trips
for which you are qualified. No simple rating system can anticipate
all possible conditions.
Class 1: Walking on a trail.
Class 2: Walking cross-country, using hands for balance.
Class 3: Requires use of hands for climbing, rope may be used.
Class 4: Requires rope belays.
Class 5: Technical rock climbing.
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Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 8/29/99.
Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month.
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"Vy can't ve chust climb?" - John Salathe
First Class EMail - Dated Material as soon as it's published!