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Scree for December, 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.
December, 1999 Vol. 33 No. 12
Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 12/26/99.
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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, December 14
Time: 7:30 PM
Program: Party and Slide Show
Bring your "best" potluck dish. If you need a suggestion
for what to bring, follow this guide based on the initial
letter of your last name. However, if you have a really
special dish you would like share with us that is outside
your category, by all means bring it!
A-F: Drinks
G-L: Main course
M-R: Desserts
S-Z: Snacks, Appetizers, Salads
NOTE: Names have been re-arranged for 1999 so you're
in a brand new category this year!
Location: **ATTENTION NEW LOCATON**
The potluck will be in "Cafe Ozone" in Building 40 at
SGI. The cafe is reserved for us from 7 pm to 10:30 pm.
There's a gif map to the Cafe Ozone on the Web at:
http://www.sgi.com/company_info/maps.html
(( the PDF version of the Scree, on the web, has a color map here! ))
Dress Code: Black Tie and Balaclava Optional
PCS HOLIDAY PARTY
*** Directions From Highway 101 Southbound
Take the US-101 South towards San Jose. Exit at
Shoreline Blvd. Turn LEFT at stop light onto N.
Shoreline Blvd. Drive approximately 5-6 blocks.
*** Directions From Highway 101 Northbound
Take the US-101 North towards San Francisco. Exit at
Shoreline Blvd. / Middlefield Road. Keep RIGHT at the
fork in the ramp. Turn LEFT at stop light onto N.
Shoreline Blvd. Drive approximately 5-6 blocks.
*** To get to Cafe Ozone (Building 40):
Turn left onto Amphitheatre Parkway (Stierlin Ct. stop
light). Building 40 will be on the left side (just past the
park). Enter Building 40 at the Lobby entrance and turn
left.
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Congratulations New PCS Officers
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At the November meeting of the PCS, the annual elections for
the PCS offices of Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer were held.
The nominating committee is happy to announce these results:
Chair: Rick Booth, pcs-chair@climber.org
Vice-Chair: Dee Booth, pcs-scheduler@climber.org
Treasurer: Bill Kirkpatrick, pcs-treasurer@climber.org
These people take office effective immediately. Rick, Dee and
Bill are well known to the PCS members as excellent hikers
and mountaineers. Congratulations to the new team! Please
provide them with all your cooperation and support in their
tasks for the next year.
Also continuing on from last year are appointed publicity
committee members:
Chair: Steve Eckert
Scree Editor: Bob Bynum, pcs-editor@climber.org
Webmaster: Aaron Schuman, pcs-webmaster@climber.org
Email Lists: Steve Eckert, pcs-listmaster@climber.org
Scree Mailing: Paul Vlasveld
Thank you,
-- Nancy Fitzsimmons, Bob Suzuki and Arun Mahajan
(The PCS Nominating Committee); Steve Eckert (PCS
Publicity Committee Chair)
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Wilderness First Aid
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Last spring I took the best first aid class I've ever had. It cost
over $100 but it was worth it. It was a weekend class offered
at UCSC in Santa Cruz by the Wilderness Medicine Institute
of Pitkin, Colorado.
I learned more than all the other first aid classes I have had
put together.
Besides learning how to treat various problems when no
professional help is available, I learned how to report the
injury in a medically useful way using the SOAP format. That
is Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan.
So one might report:
I have a 37 year old male patient whose chief complaint is
pain in the lower right leg. Exam found the following: patient
found lying face down near cliff, pant leg torn, etc. etc.
As a result I have added some things to my first aid kit
including a large syringe for cleaning out serious abrasions
with sterile water. Other highlights included moving patients
by "beaming them" as in beam me up Scotty, and assessing
blood loss.
We practiced with patients (our classmates) who had various
injuries or illnesses we had to diagnose and treat without
knowing what was wrong other than what we could observe or
what the patients could tell us.
I recommend such a class and I intend to take it again to
refresh my skills.
-- Debbie Bulger
Editor's Note: The schedule for the Wilderness Medicine
Institute can be found at http://www.wildernessmed.com/
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Mt. Whitney - Something Like a Race
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Eyes fixed, measured breathing, strident stride.
Ahead a blue shirt and red shorts
Behind two women wrapped in gortex
(We are not the same though here almost)
Whom I have passed but may again pass me;
They are from another country
Which also is part of the race;
And yet all around such country
That isn't part of it at all,
But then I must keep my mind on the trail
Ahead red shorts women behind and the pass
To which it all leads carrying us along.
And then we are there all at once
It seems, a knot of smiling fools
Chugging electrolytes dry fruit and air
Singing drunkenly to one another
Of trivialities - pulse, training, how few ahead
But many behind, pushing boulders uphill
And absurdities - mythiphus Sisyphus
Ourselves at all in all of this.
While opening before us and all around us
Such country
Without circumference beginning or end
Center everywhere there to then
Granite to plasma singularity to stars
And on to infinity and maybe back again
And I, as if
Having been lulled to self by too many switchbacks,
Am suddenly hurled into a Bach fugue
Snuffed out between exposition and development
Where individual voices fade into divinity;
Or am heaved like Balboa
(Though I have not committed natives to the dogs
Nor stuffed myself with gluttonous visions
Of rank and gold, I have thus used this path)
Atop a peak in Darien
Where purged palsied and hollow
He stood silent before the Pacific.
Still following my descent
(And this is the wisdom which keeps us here)
I may search for gold along the roadside,
Look occasionally in the rearview mirror,
Always the dogs are running.
-- George Van Gordon
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Birth Announcement
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Emma Carolyn Kreider was born on October 17, 1999 to
proud parents and PCS members Marilyn and Scott Kreider.
Emma weighed 7 pounds 0 ounces and measured 20 inches.
Emma is currently in training for her first ascent of Mission Peak.
Baby pictures can be found at http://members.aol.com/kreider00/emma.html
-- Scott Kreider
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Join The Ski Patrol
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I am with the National Ski Patrol, Pinecrest Nordic Ski Patrol.
We are located (our patrol area) in the back country of
Stanislaus National Forest, which is between Yosemite and
Tahoe near the Dodge Ridge Ski Resort.
We are currently recruiting Nordic / back country skiers to
volunteer to be trained and become National Ski Patrol Nordic
Patrollers.
You might also like to link to the new member portion of the
Pinecrest Nordic Ski Patrol's web site at:
http://www.pinecrestnordic.org/join.htm
-- Matt Brooks Rewmb@aol.com
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Yosemite Volunteer Work
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Excellent climbing * Great people * Free entry to Yosemite
Park * Free campsite * Make a difference
Join an AAC Volunteers in Parks (VIP) project weekend. Join
in with fellow climbers. Work together with a highly
motivated team. Then, grab your sticky rubber, your harness,
and pro and go climbing! Or, bring your backpack and walking
stick and take a stroll and see the park.
Hello AAC members and friends,
The Tuolumne Meadows Backcountry Permit Office is
finished thanks to the many AAC VIPs who contributed time
this summer. Now we go back to maintenance activities for the
winter. Projects include campground cleanups, bear box
installation, trail maintenance, and various conservation
projects.
The project for December 4 is more 1997 flood cleanup work.
We will be working at the old Yosemite Lodge, doing
deconstruction and lumber salvage. Bring your favorite nail
removing tools or use Park Service tools. This is good exercise
for building up those forearms.
We will be working on Saturday, December 4 from 9:00 am to
about 3:00 pm. The rest of the time is open for climbing,
making friends, and enjoying the park. The weather is chilly,
especially at night. Bring warm clothes. It might even rain or
snow, so pack those parkas and always carry chains at this
time of the year.
After we finish our work Saturday there's time to get in a short
hike, some bouldering, or a quick climb. All of Sunday is
totally open for climbing, hiking, or whatever you like.
Respond by email or call for free gate passes and free
campsite for Friday, December 3 through Sunday, December 5.
Need to come earlier or stay later? Let me know asap and I'll
try to arrange for the camp space. Please join our team and
have some great fun. Send me an e-mail reply and I'll send you
the information and passes by return e-mail.
George Gluck is the Crew Leader for this project. Contact me
by e-mail(george@alpineclub.org) or leave a message on my
voice-mail/pager (800)505-4960.
Please enter your reservation by Thursday, December 2.
Starting November and through March there is one VIP
weekend per month.
Future project dates:
December 3 - Yosemite Valley
January 22 - Yosemite Valley
February 19 - Yosemite Valley
March 18 - Yosemite Valley
April TBD - Yosemite Valley
May TBD - Yosemite Valley
George Gluck
VIP Volunteer
george@alpineclub.org
(408) 281 - 4453 Home Office
(800) 505 - 4960 Voice-Mail/Pager
-- Debbie Benham
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Update To Mt Whitney Permit Process
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There have been some further changes to the wilderness
permit process for the Mt. Whitney zone. Basics remain the
same...you must have your application mailed or FAXed in
during the month of February and all applications will be
pulled at random to fill the quota. Of some interest is the
following paragraph from the Inyo N. F. website:
"Permit Pick-up: Permits for the main Mt. Whitney Trail will
be mailed to applicants. All other permits must be picked up
in person at any of the Inyo National Forest Ranger Stations.
Reserved permits must be picked up anytime the day before
and no later than 10 am the day of entry. Those reserved
permits not picked up by 10 am on the entry date will be
reissued and will be free of charge. Summer hours for ranger
stations/visitor centers will be posted here by spring."
(Note that Whitney Trail permits will now be MAILED
out...this is different from the policy which had been
previously discussed on the list.)
For the full policy, please refer to:
http://www.r5.pswfs.gov/inyo/vvc/permits.htm
-- Alan Ritter, jar@storz.com
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Cobbler Recommendations
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Here is a collection of useful information about cobblers in the
San Francisco Bay Area that I got from the list readers.
1. Siefert's in Palo Alto, on a street parallel to California Ave
-- Debbie Benham
2. Armenian cobbler off of Ralston and Alameda in Belmont
-- Ron Karpel
3. Bootmaker, from Chile, in San Jose at the corner of Meridian and Hamilton
-- Christel Belrichard
4. Chinese cobbler near downtown Los Gatos
-- Rick Booth
All these cobblers did good work for the people that recommended them.
-- Arun Mahajan
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Bear Box Locations
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I've just finished a MAJOR overhaul of the "backcountry food
storage locker" (aka "bear boxes") file. It's now a database like
the Sierra Peaks List, meaning you can browse around the data
more easily and there is no chance of inconsistency between
parts of the file. Sanity checkers and proofreaders are welcome
to have a go at it. Send missing data, or correct mistakes, and
I'll add your name to the contributor list! You'll be famous!!!
The NEW bear box location file is still at
http://www.climber.org/eckert/BearBoxes.htm
This time around you can get GPS coordinates for ALL 99
BOXES, but some of them are guesses... please send me an
email saying you saw a box, and PRECISELY where it was,
whenever you can. Those which have not been verified are
displayed in color and accompanied by a warning that the
coordinates are suspect.
I've also added elevations for those who don't have Waypoint+
or TOPO! (Either of these software programs can import the
text displayed by BearBoxes.htm and transfer it to a GPS, but
there is an elevation and a text description of how to find each
box even if you don't use the coordinates provided.)
I've also added quite a few notes about places like "Twin
Lakes" (where there are ambiguities over which twins are the
right ones), and "Pinto Lake" or "Rock Creek Lake" (which
are not shown on the USGS topo maps).
Some of the boxes in this database are not listed on the ranger
sheets. I directly asked a Yosemite ranger issuing permits for a
list of boxes, and he refused. We can collect our own list, eh?
Please help us all by sending me your notes when you find
something to be unclear or when you have a better description.
I appreciate GPS coordinates (please specify NAD27 or
NAD83 when you send), and I'll email you a tiny GIF map so
you can mark the spot if you wish.
-- Steve Eckert
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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.
*** Annual Beginners Snow Camping Seminar
Dates:
Eves: Tues., Jan. 11th, Thur. Jan. 13th, Thur. Jan. 20th;
Weekend of Jan. 29/30 or Feb. 5/6.
Leaders: Chris MacIntosh, 650-325-7841
Tom Wolf, 650-961-2682,
Charles Schafer 408-354-1545
A planned winter overnight trip in the Sierra can be wonderful
or cold and miserable. A forced overnight due to storm, injury
or equipment failure presents far more hazards in winter than
in summer. For the 27th winter, PCS (and STS) leaders
present a snow camping seminar to help backpackers,
climbers, and others enjoy winter sports safely and
comfortably. Participants learn do's and don'ts of winter
planning, clothing, food etc. as well as making emergency and
non-emergency shelters in the snow, then put these skills into
practice on a weekend trip to the Sierra (traveling by skis or
snowshoes. Send $40 and a SASE to BSCS PO Box 802,
Menlo Park, CA 94026-0802 cost includes 3 books and
equipment maintenance). Limit of 40.
*** Mission Junipero Serra.
Peak: Junipero Serra Peak, 5862 ft, Class 1,
Co listed with the Day Hiking Section
and rated 3D by the DHS conventions.
Date: Sunday, January 16, 2000.
Maps: Junipero Serra 7.5'
Leaders: Arun V. Mahajan