Last week our friends Seth, Shail, Shauna and Steve climbed to the south summit of Luna Peak.

Cool photo by Seth P

Laurie, Beth, and their friend Karen are now Picketeers! The three climbed West MacMillan Spire. Says Laurie,

We spent about an hour at the top looking around at the north cascade jewels then back to camp.

Must have been a great trip.

It was fantastic. The trail is steep but we took our time and still made good time.

Good job!

Kevin and Mario have signed up for a Mountain Madness lead rock course, September 9 and 10 in Leavenworth. Kevin reports that there are open spaces in the course.

Kevin says,

It would be great to fill the course with Bushwhackers. Let me know who’s in.

Our friends Sandy and Steve M and friends completed the Ptarmigan Traverse last week. Steve said they had a great time.

A couple photos by Steve M:

Here are results from our work to make sense of the survey. Thanks to Cynthia and Megan for helping!

From my list of Initiatives
* Leadership Course - 14
* Cragging Course - 10
* Crevasse Rescue Clinic - 10
* Guide Tricks for Climbers - 4
* Conservation - 12
* Avalanche Awareness - 13
* Scrambling/Cross Country - 4
* Alaska Mountaineering Outing - 10
* Intermediate Glacier Climbing Course - 15

Stuff Not on My List
There were 2 people that advocated backcountry ski stuff. Also, 2 people asked for wilderness oriented first aid, but asked that it be more accessible than our effort this year.

Initiative ideas that were brought up by one person: conditioning, weather, more refresher clinics, gear swap, family outings

Rona and Jeff climbed Saber at Castle Rock the other day. Says she,

While there were lots of easy parts, I still think there are some moves that were harder than 5.4/5.5!

I agree!

This is just the latest. Having perused Rona's blog, I see she has been getting out. She and Jeff climbed Ruth Mountain, and the week before that Alta and Kaleetan with fellow Bushwhackers Yumi, Elaine, Laurie and Robyn. Whew! Next up for her? Jeff and Rona are off to Mount Thompson, then the Gunks in a couple of weeks!

Rona and Jeff on Ruth Mountain

Bushwhacker Michael F climbed Mount Rainier this past weekend with his friends. They climbed the Disappointment Cleaver route. Michael says,

It was a great trip. Nice to finally check Rainier off my list... I just grin like an idiot everytime I look at it now.

Michaels photos can be found at Michael's Kodak Gallery. Congratulations Michael!

Our friends Carla, Laurie, Mario and Doug climbed Spickard and Redoubt. Well, apparently they left the very tip top of Redoubt for another time. Sounds like they had a great time. I scammed a couple of Carla's photos.

Laurie near the summit of Spickard

Climbing on the Redoubt Glacier

We had a good time at the monthly Club Night. Last night was a potluck at Frederic and Esther's house in Bellevue. We had the grill going, Fred brought a cobbler that Annie had made, there was beer and talk of mountains. I never counted but there were probably 12 or more people there. Thanks Frederic and Esther!

The nwhikers.net community is mourning the loss of one of their own. Our condolences to them for the sad loss of Ed at nwhikers, after an accident on Formidable.

Yeah! Christopher H and Kevin climbed the classic North Ridge of Mount Baker!

Chris said,

We pulled out of camp at 1:50 am, hit the crux just after daybreak, and moved up the route under the best weather conditions anyone could have wanted. The route was quite complex and challenging.

I'm certain they had a great time! Chris said,

Kevin was his usual form singing most of the way including "I Shot the Sheriff" as we hit the 9600 ft., 70 degree crux.

Congratulations on a great climb!

Camp on Coleman Glacier. North Ridge is left skyline.

Leading the first ice pitch

Looking down the route

-----Original Message-----
From: David May [mailto:dmay@marmotmountain.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 2:14 PM
To: Doxey Kemp
Subject: Re: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Hi Doxey -

I will attempt to give you some quick comments off the top of my head to your proposals.

* Leadership Course
I took a similar course at B.C.C, then helped teach it after that. This can be a fun course, but requires a lot of coordination and execution by the instructors. The instructors need to be HIGHLY motivated to pull this one off....otherwise, it can be kind of be a dud.

* Cragging Course
Would probably either need to be a small group of students, or require a large amount of instructors. I am a big believer in one-on-one instruction for rock climbing skills. Otherwise, the students don't really get enough out of it other than a general overview.

* Crevasse Rescue Clinic
A refresher crevasse rescue clinic is a good thing to do every season. I lot of folks seem to want to get more comfortable with 2 person rope travel.....this might be a good thing to focus on. It is easy to try to cover too much at one time for people to remember if you cover too many techniques at once.

* Guide Tricks for Climbers
I am not a big fan of guiding, so I don't know exactly what you mean by this one. I am a believer that everyone in a party should know what they are doing and be able to take control in different difficult scenarios that might arise. I am sensing that some folks may be inclined to go on a trip that they may not be ready for with the hopes of relying on the other person to deal with any problems that might come up.....and, they might not even really know if the other person really knows what they are doing.....people tend to assume that just because someone has successfully climbed a number or routes or is a good sport crag or gym climber that they are a competent alpine mountaineering type of climber.....not always the case.

If folks want to do alpine rock climbing type trips, then they should learn the appropriate techniques for self-rescue....this might be something to focus on (escaping a belay, ascending a rope, doing an assisted rappel, passing a knot on rappel, etc.) rather than so-called "guide tricks".

* Conservation
You probably just have to poll the club on this one to see what the interest level is.

* Avalanche Awareness
This type of course is usually worthwhile......Might be best when paired with some type of winter travel skills class involving field outing in the mountains.

* Scrambling/Cross Country
Seems to be a fair amount of interest in this type of activity out there. Might be a good way to draw more folks into the club if that is what you are interesting in doing. Maybe just a basic backpacking course as well.

*Alaska Mountaineering Outing
Seems like you have never had any trouble getting folks interested in this type of trip!

*Intermediate Glacier Climbing Course
See above comments about crevasse rescue clinic. Maybe a little ice cragging on the Nisqually or the Coleman.

Hope you find this useful. Looking forward to seeing you and the family sometime soon!
- David

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Smith [mailto:sillyartist@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 8:46 PM
To: Doxey Kemp
Subject: Re: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Hey Dox,

Any takers for the Tele classes, (both beginner and intermediate).. and how about ski touring in the back country?.. (maybe ski touring happens in the intermediate class, and maybe intermediate students also take the avy class as a pre-req.) I'd be stoked to take on responsibilities with either of those.

Also feel free to invite me to assist or teach with any number of the other classes. I get busy from time to time, but I usually always make time for the mountains!

-Philip

Keith and Mario went and reconned the NE Ridge of Goode this past weekend. They decided not to do it due to time constraints. Next time, eh?

-----Original Message-----
From: Beth Reite [mailto:b_reite@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 4:14 PM
To: Doxey Kemp
Subject: Re: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Hey Doxey,

First, let me let you know a little of the interests I have in the courses
below:
1. guide tricks for climbers
2. cragging
3. alaska
4. intermediate glacier class
All of them sound good, but we do need to keep a bit of a focus. I'm hoping to join in on the west mcmillan trip later in august and otherwise open to possibilities!

cheers,
beth

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Hagedorn [mailto:alpinexplorer@msn.com]
Sent: Wed 8/2/2006 9:02 AM
To: Doxey Kemp
Cc:
Subject: RE: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Hey Dox,

Yes, unquestionably, parenthood is an enormous life changing event. For me, it has been the biggest life changing event that I have experienced in my lifetime. Life changes in ways that you simply would never have imagined,
some amazingly awesome, and some should we say not so much.

Initiatives, initiatives....I'm glad you recent this. Your original message went out 4 days before my wedding, and while I had some great ideas I never got them down. Likely, my thoughts are similar to many others, but here they
are none the less. I have focused on strategic ideas that would serve to strengthen the club from its foundation. Gosh, all of the ideas are great, and some of the more fun ones are really needed as well, but we are a young
club and can only take on so much right?

1) Leadership Course - I believe this is by far the most important course we need to add. Considering our numbers, we have relatively few folks that have a leadership mindset, and no way to train all of the newcomers. I believe
this course is important for all new climbers even if they have no intention of ever leading. Not only is it an important offering for those that wish to lead, it is also important for others so they can appreciate what leading is all about. It would also serve to help team members understand the thought process and reasoning behind difficult leader decisions.

2) Wilderness First Aid - We made a big step in the right direction this year, but much work is still needed. I believe we should require some type of training for our Basic Climbing graduates as this skill is fundamental to everything we do in the outdoors. Its easy to disregard the significance of this skill due to the hope that nothing tragic will ever happen. If this was a requirement for all new members, we would be much stronger overall as an organization. Although difficult and problematic, it would still be a nice goal to teach this ourselves as a class. It would also be helpful to have a first aid team representative to lead this up, and to help with the assembly of medical kits. If we are going to offer club climbs up major objectives like Rainier, I think it is paramount for the club leadership to ensure that
all leaders have the proper medical supplies.

3) Avalanche Clinic - Not much to say here. It's a fundamental safety skill. We don't have it and we need it.

4) Crevasse Rescue Clinic - Again not much to say here. We have an increased knowledge base of climbers with advanced techniques that could be taught to the entire club. Regardless of whether we condone advanced pulley
techniques, we have more and more climbers that are putting themselves in situations were they are needed. We also have climbers that are putting themselves in these situations naively without truly understanding how to perform these advanced concepts in the field. Fundamental...you betcha!

5) Conservation - A truly excellent way to build our community by getting out and volunteering and setting a good example. What better way to spread the word about our organization, and to bring new climbers into our ranks.

Obviously these five potential course s can't be accomplished at once, but I think they are indeed a great priority for our club. As I mentioned we also need some new fun courses to keep us alive and full of vigor. In that regard
I would suggest:

1) Cragging Course - Everyone loves to crag right?

2) Intermediate Glacier Climbing Course - This would expand on our basic offering and could include advanced skills learned by several of our recent Alpine Ice Course graduates. It could potentially wrap up with an Alaska Mountaineering Climb which would likely create a lot of enthusiasm. If we don't get this immediately, we should consider handling it the way we did WAFA this year. Send out a message encouraging folks to take a specific advanced class through AAI or Mountain Madness. Both organizations are presently offering the Bushwhackers a discount due to discussions held with the owners this year and last.

Finally, I would strongly encourage the club to consider utilizing the knowledge and experience of our great mentor David Spring. Without David, there likely would not be a Bushwhacker Climbing Club, and we would not be talking about adding new classes like we are today. Virtually every one of our original members was a graduate of the BCC class, and we owe much of what we know to David's years of hard work and dedication to the sport that
we love. We have built our club on the foundation and example of the climbing philosophy that was David Spring. He graciously allowed us to use and copy his BCC Glacier Course Handbook of which we don't even acknowledge
him for. Does he have some issues which have troubled some of our club members in the past? Sure, as all humans do. I think the greater problem is with people that hold these types of grudges and can't move on in a healthy and productive manner. David could be a great asset to our organization if we offered him the opportunity to teach one of our courses like an avalanche clinic, leadership class or something similar. I have spoken with several
previous students that support this idea fully, and believe it would be a great contribution to our community, and would provide recognition to someone that changed many of our lives in an amazing way and will always be
our steadfast mentor.

Best Regards, ... Christopher Hagedorn

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Redmon [mailto:fgriii@msn.com]
Sent: Tue 8/1/2006 10:11 PM
To: Doxey Kemp
Cc:
Subject: RE: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Hi Dox,
Again, congrats to you, Cynthia and Elliott.

I think your list looks pretty good. I would add for consideration a MOFA course and a Back Country Skiing course with either AT or tele gear.

Anne and I went and visited Peter in Glacier National Park, where he is working on a trail crew. He says hello. He is working four 10 hour days and the remaining time is spent on various climbs and outings. He has been
having some great adventures.

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: Kristin [mailto:kristinhalberg@comcast.net]
Sent: Tue 8/1/2006 5:23 PM
To: Doxey Kemp
Cc:
Subject: RE: [BUSHWHACKERS] Initiatives for 2007

Doxey - Here are the courses I'm most excited about. Elliot is adorable. Love the Giuseppe blog!!
Hope to see y'all soon.

Leadership Course - a set of lectures and field trips challenging the aspiring trip leader

Crevasse Rescue Clinic - learn or refresh basic techniques then mix them in difficult situations

Avalanche Awareness - an avy course concentrating on avoidance rather than rescue

Alaska Mountaineering Outing - two weeks of glacier travel and peak-bagging in the Alaska Range

Intermediate Glacier Climbing Course - beyond the basics; leading, steep terrain, crevasse puzzles

Kristin

Next time you see Katie, congratulate her for earning her Wilderness First Responder. Katie attended WFR last week at Rescue Specialists. I asked Katie what her favorite part was, and she said:

-manning the radio as the "big cheese," or lead rescuer, of a full scale simulation, where I had to keep track of all of the patients and rescuers and make decisions about the priority and means of transporting the patients to the "helicopter"

- learning how to recognize and methodically treat, where possible, the most critical and severe injuries first, and to not get distracted only by gory superficial injuries

- Watching everybody learn so much in just 8 days and become proficient at first aid!

- Going for a hike up and over Icicle Ridge on our day off!

- Giving epinephrine shots to a grapefruit!

Man, there were so many good things!

Cool! Way to go Katie!