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Scree for January, 2000
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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.
January, 2000 Vol. 34 No. 1
Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 1/23/2000.
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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, January 11
Time: 8:00 PM
Program: Dorks on the Dome, by Jim Curl
Come and see as Rick and Jim flail their way up the
Northwest Face of Half Dome. Watch as they learn
the basics on shorter routes. See Jim crash his car on
the way into the park. And shiver along with them on
Big Sandy Ledge as they discover that their bivy
sacks need replacing. Included will be shots of a near
winter ascent of El Capitan as well as other
miscellanous slides that were lurking near the back of
my sock drawer.
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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Roster Update
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It's that time of year again! We need to update the roster so you
and your fellow climbers can contact one another. If you didn't
have a chance to update your information in the roster at the
holiday party last month, please do so as soon as possible. Send
your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address to Bill
Kirkpatrick.
-- Bob Bynum, Scree Editor
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2000 PCS Member Application
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The 2000 PCS Roster will be published in an upcoming Scree
and on the PCS website, with only the information PCS members
wish to release. You are not automatically a member (and thus in
the PCS Roster) unless you are receiving the hardcopy Scree -
email and web readers MUST contact the PCS Treasurer (Bill
Kirkpatrick) to become a member (online membership is FREE):
Bill Kirkpatrick / pcs-treasurer@climber.org
435 N. Second St. #217, San Jose CA 95112
Whether or not you are on the email broadcast, you can list your
email in the roster. Please provide all information in the form
below so that we can update old information and maintain the
best possible roster. For the safety of our members, your street
address will not be printed when the roster is published in the
Scree/EScree, and you can choose whether to release your
telephone number(s) at the bottom of the form. You must contact
the Treasurer if you wish to have your email/phone info listed
(just subscribing to the email list is not enough). Remember we
publish the roster so that other PCS members can reach you when
coordinating trips, or to return gear that you left in their cars, so
the more information the better!
Name: ___________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Home Phone (with area code): ______________________
Work Phone (or enter "none"): ______________________
Email: _____________________________________________
Sierra Club Membership Number: _____________________
Include phone number in the roster? Y/N_____________
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Old Scree Online
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Alan Ritter has begun the project of scanning and running OCR
on old issues of Scree, so we can have both PDF and searchable
text on the web. Please help defray the cost of postage and
CDROM storage by sending donations to him directly! Contact
Alan for gratitude or reimbursement: jar@storz.com
-- Steve Eckert
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Wilderness First Aid
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To help trip leaders and would-be leaders get the required First
Aid certificate, the Chapter sponsors a First Aid class each
quarter, based on a nationally recognized first aid text, but with
added material and emphasis on wilderness situations with no
phone to dial 911. The next First Aid classes will be Saturday,
February 26 and Sunday, February 27 at the Peninsula
Conservation Center in Palo Alto (from Bayshore/Hwy. 101 at
San Antonio, turn toward the Bay; turn left at 1st stoplight, then
right at Corporation Way to park behind PCC). Class is 8:30 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. (1 hour for your bag lunch) and is limited to 12
people. To sign up, send choice of day, and a check for $40 with a
stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope to: Health
Education Services, 200 Waverly, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Cancellations get partial refund if a substitute attends (you get to
keep the Wilderness First Aid book). For info, call 650-321-6500.
-- Marg Ottenberg
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Word Searches At Climber.Org
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Hey, pass the word! You can now search through the trip reports
and other resources at Climber.Org looking for specific words
instead of browsing or trying to remember a peak name! Ever
forget that great peak you climbed with Jorge whats-his-name?
Search for his name, and follow the link to the trip report or the
issue of Scree that announced the trip. You can also search the
famous PCS binder, with operating rules and bylaws, if you're
into that stuff.
With the kind assistance of Charlie Knapke, we have added the
ability to search the SPS and DPS websites also - these reports
are on their own server, but you can use the search page at
Climber.Org to search any one or all three at once!
Have a look at
http://www.climber.org/scripts/swishSearch.cgi
for a nifty navigation page combined with the search form. If
you're getting too many "hits", un-check some of the category
boxes to limit your search. There is a help link on the page - use
that for some important tips.
Please let me know if you have problems or suggestions. This is
all new, so cut us some slack and help us debug, especially if you
have suggestions about making it easier to use or to understand.
-- Steve Eckert
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Scree Help Needed
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Your Scree publishing staff needs help! We need someone to
handle the print shop, folding, stapling, and stamping. The PCS
has an electric stapler, but our stapler operator has stepped down
after years of reliable service. Contact me if you seek fame but
not fortune as the PCS StamperStickerMailerPerson.
-- Steve Eckert
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Trailhead Thefts
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There was an article in the San Jose Mercury last week about a
string of credit card thefts from cars left at trailheads near Lake
Tahoe. The thieves break into cars and steal only credit cards.
Then they immediately max out the cards for cash advances. The
thieves don't steal other items, and in some cases the owners
hadn't noticed the cards were missing until they got a call from
the bank.
-- Butch Suits
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High Altitude Physiology
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My name is Harm Jan Bogaard, I'm a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of California, San Diego. At the School of Medicine,
(Division of Physiology), we are studying the effects of altitude
adaptation on cardiac function during exercise. We are planning a
new study and I want to ask your help in recruiting volunteers.
Please allow me to explain the study. It's well known that after a
prolonged stay (more than two weeks) at an altitude of 10,000
feet and above, the maximal cardiac output (amount of blood the
heart pumps each minute) during exercise is lower than the
maximal cardiac output at sea level. As a matter of fact, it is also
lower than during exercise at sea level breathing a gas mixture
with a low oxygen concentration (equal to that on altitude). The
mechanism that causes this decrease in maximal cardiac output
after altitude acclimatization is unknown. In our next study, we
want to test the hypothesis that adaptations in the nervous system
are responsible.
We are looking for 20 healthy volunteers, male or female,
between 19 and 45 years of age. All subjects will be required to
complete several tests of their maximal oxygen uptake on an
exercise bicycle, while blood samples are taken and study
medication is given. A portion of this study will be conducted at
the White Mountain Research Study, Bishop, CA, in the Bancroft
Laboratory at 12,500 feet altitude. The entire study will take
about 22 hours of their time in all, about 3 hours per study day
over 7 study days. However, these 7 days will be spaced out over
about a month, with a 3 week residence period at the Barcroft
Laboratory an essential requirement separating the first 4 study
days in San Diego from the last 3 which will be conducted at
Barcroft. Subjects completing the entire study will be paid
$200.00 plus expenses.
My question to you is, are there any means in which I can recruit
volunteers via your organization? Your members might be
interested in a study like this. During their stay at the Barcroft
Laboratory they are free to hike or to do whatever they like,
provided they stay at an altitude of 10,000 feet and above.
Perhaps I can email your members (or you could forward my
email to them in order to protect their privacy), or attend one of
your meetings.
You can see the facilities at the White Mountain Research Station
at http://www.wmrs.edu/ or visit our division website at
http://orpheus-1.ucsd.edu/phys/divphys.html
-- Harm Jan Bogaard, Ph.D., M.D.
Department of Medicine - 0623A,
Division of Physiology
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0623A
(858) 534-4767 (phone) (858) 534-4812 (fax)
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Private Trips
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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.
*** Huffing Up Hoffman
Peak: Mt. Hoffman 10,850 Ft.
Class: 2
Date: Feb. 19-21
Contact: Kai Wiedman (650)347-5234
Co-contact: Cecil Anison cecilann@earthlink.net
Let's test our winter mountaineering skills on this beautiful beacon
of northern Yosemite. Our expedition starts in Yosemite Valley,
works its way to the rim with stunning views, and finally, climbs
into the high Sierra. A winter ascent of a Sierra peak is a
rewarding experience. Skiers and snowshoers are welcome.
*** President Whitney
Peak: Mt. Whitney
Dates: Feb. 19-22 21st is President's Day
Contact: George Van Gorden 408 779 2320
We will be climbing by the standard route although in the winter it
is far from standard. This is a strenuous climb and good physical
condition is required as well as winter camping experience and
experience in the use of crampons and ice axe. I am allowing two
days to reach our high camp, although if the road to the portal is
passable we will probably get there in one and possibly try for the
summit on Sunday rather than Monday.
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Mont Blanc - November 20,, 1999
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I had a business trip to Geneva, Switzerland, last week, and had a
free day on Saturday. When I checked with the tour desk at the
hotel (Movenpick, by the airport...nice but $$$), they had an all-
day bus trip down to Chamonix, with a cable-car ride up to the
top of L'Aguille du Midi, on the slopes of the Mont Blanc massif.
The weather was great...the first clear day all week. (Low
ceiling, light snow every day in Geneva.) The cable car ride up
the steep valley wall was spectacular. Two sections, change cars
about 2/3 of the way up. Then walk across a bridge, and an
elevator to the top of L'Aguille du Midi. The summit platform is
at 3842 meters, call it 12,700', and overlooks the snowfields and
glaciers leading up to Mont Blanc.
Temperature at the summit platform was a brisk -20C, or about -
4F. (I was glad I had the good sense to have packed my Polartec
jacket and Gore-Tex parka...could have used another pair of
socks!!)
The view is magnificent...the very top of Mont Blanc was still
cloud-shrouded, but the whole expanse of the massif and most of
the surrounding mountains were free of clouds. First time I had a
chance to visit the Alps, and it was worth the trip down from
Geneva even without the time to climb or ski! Now I'll have to
find a reason to go back and actually climb there...
-- Alan Ritter, jar@storz.com
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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