Thursday, April 15, 2010

How many points in an anchor?

Perhaps the best way to introduce these three is in a photo. Look closely.
Upon first glance, they appear to be, quite simply, three young, able-bodied men, well-prepared for the mountaineering task at hand. And this they were.

But they were so much more. As work buddies from the US Coast Guard, they were also a team of compassionate sh*t-givers, travel companions, and relentless older brothers.

Take, for example, the rainbow hat Robby is wearing. John and Ryan, on the right, declared it "the best $6 I ever spent." They found the hat at a gas station while on the road, and slyly replaced Robby's normal warm hat with this one, hiding the normal one such that Robby was forced to wear it when his ears finally got cold. Classic older brother maneuver.

I kept wondering why, on the first 3 days of our rock portion, John and Ryan kept asking Robby if his ears were cold, eliciting a defensively irritated (but notably amused) response. "No. No, they're not."

Climbing and hiking while at altitude are one thing, but has anyone studied the effects of excessive laughter in the upper elevations? Before embarking on a serious high-altitude objective with these three, you may want to consider your own laugh-fitness. I'm pretty sure I could have climbed Everest after this trip.

John, Ryan and Robby signed up for our 7-day Alpine Climbing course. In February, they had 2 days of ice climbing with Jed, another one of our guides, and finished up with 5 days of rock and snow skills with me this April.

With heinous weather rolling in, we spent 3 days working on rock skills in the Owens River Gorge. The first day was simply a climbing day, just to get some movement skills down. We introduced some basic crack climbing skills, which allowed us to get on a slightly more difficult crack climb the next day. Crack climbing is a crucial skill for alpine climbing, as much of the rock in the high mountains of the world is made of granitic rock, which fractures into spectacular blocks of all sizes, weather-worn and otherwise minimally featured.

The second day was half climbing and half skills, getting into gear placement, anchoring, and some mock multi-pitch climbing. As if a testament to the value of keeping things fun and light, these three absorbed all of the information instantly, enthusiastically putting it to immediate use, asking great questions, and practicing again and again until they really understood. Every instructor's dream student... except, perhaps, for that crusty old math teacher who forgot how to smile 30 years ago.

Crusty, old, and math teacher I am not. So we smiled, laughed, and learned at light speed for 5 days straight.

With weather moving in, we spent another day in the Gorge, under the protection of the El Dorado Roof, beginning our work on crevasse rescue and haul systems. This would allow us to apply our skills quickly and easily to the snow in our now-shortened timeframe.

For the last two days, we hiked up the Horse Creek drainage toward Matterhorn Peak, worked on our last new subjects, snow travel and snow anchors, and applied our rescue and haul systems to the new terrain.

***

I just finished a rather long stint of work, ending with this year's guide training for my upcoming season with Shasta Mountain Guides. We had some very interesting discussions with the guides, both new and old. I was struck at how many of us aligned on our responses when asked why we like guiding. Both a sign of the nature of our venue (Mt. Shasta is not a high profile peak, so people who come to climb with us are often most interested in learning and enjoying the experience) and the quality of the owners' direction, SMG attracts a type of guide who is proficient, open-minded, and respectful. Our resounding response: we simply enjoy facilitating a challenging and exciting experience for our climbers, helping them to attain something they may never have thought possible. California Alpine Guides has worked closely with SMG for many years, largely a reflection of shared ethics and similar priorities -- just different venues.

And in reality, as Dave (CAG owner) has often said, we learn far more from our clients than they learn from us. Most come to us with some knowledge of backcountry travel techniques. Prior to this April, I knew next to nothing about our Coast Guard or the people in it.

It was fascinating to hear about the systems they use for rescues (which is probably why these three picked everything up so quickly!), as well as what all it is they do out there.

But alas, after five days, these three still thought that a single-point, hoovering anchor, used in conjunction with a steel braided rope, is an acceptable setup for a 2:1 hauling system. Guys, come on. Where is the equalized master point? And what kind of prusik are you going to use on a steel rope? (See photo below, courtesy of Ryan Hawn). ;-)

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