Did you know?
"Breast cancer is a leading cancer among Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women. Native Hawaiian and Samoan women are more likely to die from breast cancer than many other groups of U.S. women. We do not know why rates vary between different groups of women. A study that looked at breast cancer in the 5 major ethnic groups in Hawaii found that the tumors of Native Hawaiian women often are found at a later, more advanced stage, and at a younger age." --U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
"The residents of the state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) consume the most Spam per capita in the United States." --Wikipedia
Connect the dots. Spam spam spam, glorious spam. Perhaps not so good for you?
(yes, I know I'm oversimplifying)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Mischievous Marmots of Lake Lovely Water
Sep 3-6, 2010
Warning: this is a long report
We spent 3 nights in the Tantalus Hut, survived an error filled adventure on Saturday, ate cheesecake, put up with noisy messy neighbours, and completely enjoyed ourselves!
Day 1 - Getting to the hut
We arrived punctually at 9am at the Watershed Grill to rendezvous with Jay for our ride. After a short while, we called him and discovered he had written down Saturday for our pick up. Oops. He suggested we meet at the boat launch in Squamish to save time, so we hopped in the cars again and made our way to the dock.
The ride was awesome! He is currently charging $45 round trip per person, which is considerably cheaper than the price listed on his website.
The trail starts from the sandy riverbank and is clearly marked with bright orange flagging. It is a well established path, but there are some sections where the mud and encroaching bushes conspire to make your pant legs very wet. We only had one casualty along the way.
Arrival! The Tantalus Hut is great. It has all kinds of amenities, including a wood burning stove, barbecue, dishes, cutlery, a sink for dirty water, comfortable foam mattresses, and propane stoves (and some friendly mice). Well worth the $25 non-member fee (to the ACC).
We checked out the lake, settled in, made dinner, then surprised Kerry with a True Confections cheesecake (it mostly survived the trip). Happy birthday!
We had the hut to ourselves the first night, but Kerry still wanted the peace and quiet of staying in a tent. There are several nice tent pads nearby. I imagine they fill up on busy weekends.
Day 2 - Alpha Mountain
This turned out to be a 10 hour epic day. I'll list the mistakes we made at the end. As the saying goes, "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions."
The trail begins at the north end of the log beach. It is well marked and easy to follow all the way to the Russian Army Camp. There is one scrambly bit, but a fixed rope is there if you need it. The trail becomes very faint at Lambda Lake - if you lose the path, work your way to the steep area on the south east edge of the basin to regain the trail.
The Russian Army Camp is a worthwhile destination on its own. Only 1.5 to 2 hours from the hut, the large basin is resplendent with wild flowers and surrounded by imposing glaciers and craggy peaks.
We crossed over to the scree slope on the north side of the basin, working our way up to a grassy bench on the right. There's a cool rock that looks like a face which identifies the right route. We had a snack on some huge boulders before continuing on.
The slope opened up before us, talus everywhere. Above and to the left, we could see rocky west ridge of Alpha.
"Hmm, snow field, gully, that looks like the route folks!" (it wasn't)
This is where the trouble started. The gully looked quite nasty. But, that was no surprise as our Scrambles guidebook said it would be difficult. A few attempts at finding a decent way up only helped us determine that there was a lot of loose rock here. Maria and Kerry, both good climbers, made it past what I thought was the crux. Meanwhile, we took turns hiding around the corner to avoid the falling debris.
So, here we were: the girls above, not really excited about downclimbing the wet crumbly mess, and the guys below, not confident about even being able to downclimb that section.
We figured we wouldn't encounter any more snow on the rock, so we had removed the ice axes and crampons from our packs to save weight (some foreshadowing here...). After some discussion, Maria and Kerry decided to climb to the top, while we men would go searching for an alternate way up (perhaps the ridge via Serratus-Alpha col).
Once we thought the girls were clear, we came out from our hiding place and began repacking the axes and crampons into our packs. Rockfall!!! We had no time to escape. I managed to turtle with my pack over my head. Ward got hit in the wrist by a rock, but Trevor and I escaped without injury. "Let's get the @&*# out of here!"
"Um, where's Kerry's axe? I was just looking at it a second ago."
We searched all around but couldn't see it. Then, when we'd almost given up, Ward spotted it above and over the 8 foot snow wall. It had been hit by a rock and bounced over the lip. Scary.
I went to retrieve it, slipped, did a self arrest, then worked my way back to solid ground using both axes.
Ward's wrist was bruised, so he decided to return to the nice flat area below. Trevor and I went exploring. We tried a couple of other routes. None panned out. Eventually we got to the Serratus-Alpha col. The Alpha west ridge, despite what Bivouac says, appears to be more than Class 3 scrambling (well, from what we could tell - maybe there's an easier way that we didn't find. Plus, we were still pretty shaken up by all the falling rock).
We began our descent, and then we heard a whistle.
"Trev, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, I did!"
"Crap."
We had pretty much worked our way down to the bench below the talus slope, and had reunited with Ward. I said I would hike back up to the gully and check on the ladies. We were all quite concerned, hoping that nothing had happened to them.
More whistles. I reach the gully, try calling out, whistling back. Then I wait. The whistles only come in single bursts. I get suspicious. I whistle twice, then try three bursts. Nothing. I wait some more. Are those marmots, or are they really hurt and don't have the energy to communicate? By now I'm a bag of nerves. Did I mention Maria is pregnant with my love child? I really hope nothing happened.
Then, the guys start yelling. I can't really make out the details, but it seems they've spotted them.
Meanwhile...
Kerry and Maria continued up the gully. It didn't get better. They estimate that it was probably a 5.8 climb. It's probably hard to tell when you're wearing hiking boots, packs, and didn't bring rope.
They found the standard easier route on their way to the summit, and later told us, "You could totally have done this! It was waaaayyy easier than what we did!" <grumble grumble>
"Hey Kerry, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, it sounded like a whistle!"
"I hope nothing happened to the guys!"
"Hey, wait a second....did you see that marmot?"
The girls descended the correct gully, and then came across a problem. The snow field. Guess who has their crampons and ice axes? Me. So they had to climb again. They told us that this was the scariest part of the trip. Smooth rock with few holds. A fall means slipping under and between the snow and rock on steep terrain.
We were finally reunited and all of us cursed the mischievous marmots and their children, and children's children! Bloody hell, but their whistling calls sure were deceiving when they echo off the rocks.
For reference, the correct route to the easier gully requires about a 45 minute traverse below the talus slopes. Follow the bench around the false summit, and you will see the right route present itself.
Back to the hut we went, with visions of hot tea spurring us on. The best part was that we still had cheesecake left over from the night before!
Short rant interlude
The new group had arrived at the hut. Lots and lots of alcohol. No big deal. Have fun. They stayed up late, we were tired. They were very noisy, and not particulary considerate. Ward got pissed off. He enacted noisy revenge early the next morning.
I suppose when you live at home, you might be used to leaving food out after a party, thinking you'll clean up in the morning. It turns out the people were nice enough, but completely oblivious to the fact that they were feeding the mice. Yes, they're cute, but chocolate and human food isn't good for them.
Day 3 - Iota Mountain
The gals and I made lunches and prepared for more hiking, while the other guys chose to stay behind and go for a paddle to the glaciers on the other end of the lake.
We followed the path past the sandspit camp, up the left side of the creek, to the Niobe basin.
The route to Iota-Pelops-Niobe goes up alongside the creeks on the right side of the basin. A faint trail appears on the small ridge, then fades away as you get higher.
We crossed the lower part of the glacier, scrambled up the rocks, rejoined the glacier again, and made our way to the Iota-Omega col. Then, followed the ridge and scrambled up Iota. In the fog, Iota looked imposing, but the route wasn't very difficult. Only one scary section for me - there is a short exposed section on an easy walking part of the path. It's just me, I don't like exposure.
Pelops was completed socked in.
We were tired and felt the additional 200m of down and up, then down and up some more wouldn't really add to the experience. So, we made our way down, had a blast glissading down the snow on the glacier, and headed back to the hut.
On the way back, we came across a helicopter picking up a group of campers for their return flight home. Definitely the easy way to do it!
Day 4 - The return
Fog, rain, a boat ride, and yummy food at the Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Co.
Lessons learned on Alpha
The good
1. we had enough warm clothing/food/water to spend a night if necessary
2. we had first aid kits
3. the guys chose not to attempt a climb beyond their abilities
The bad
1. routefinding error
2. splitting up
3. leaving crampons/ice axes behind
4. climbing up what you can't (don't want to) climb down (ahem, ladies...)
5. poor contingency plan (when we split up)
6. not clearing out of danger zone (we tarried when we should have grabbed and packed gear elsewhere)
7. we didn't bring rope and helmets (the helmets were a bad oversight - we all have them)
8. mistaking marmot whistles for actual people whistles (sounds funny, but it caused unnecessary grief)
Warning: this is a long report
We spent 3 nights in the Tantalus Hut, survived an error filled adventure on Saturday, ate cheesecake, put up with noisy messy neighbours, and completely enjoyed ourselves!
Day 1 - Getting to the hut
We arrived punctually at 9am at the Watershed Grill to rendezvous with Jay for our ride. After a short while, we called him and discovered he had written down Saturday for our pick up. Oops. He suggested we meet at the boat launch in Squamish to save time, so we hopped in the cars again and made our way to the dock.
The ride was awesome! He is currently charging $45 round trip per person, which is considerably cheaper than the price listed on his website.
The trail starts from the sandy riverbank and is clearly marked with bright orange flagging. It is a well established path, but there are some sections where the mud and encroaching bushes conspire to make your pant legs very wet. We only had one casualty along the way.
Arrival! The Tantalus Hut is great. It has all kinds of amenities, including a wood burning stove, barbecue, dishes, cutlery, a sink for dirty water, comfortable foam mattresses, and propane stoves (and some friendly mice). Well worth the $25 non-member fee (to the ACC).
We checked out the lake, settled in, made dinner, then surprised Kerry with a True Confections cheesecake (it mostly survived the trip). Happy birthday!
We had the hut to ourselves the first night, but Kerry still wanted the peace and quiet of staying in a tent. There are several nice tent pads nearby. I imagine they fill up on busy weekends.
Day 2 - Alpha Mountain
This turned out to be a 10 hour epic day. I'll list the mistakes we made at the end. As the saying goes, "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions."
The trail begins at the north end of the log beach. It is well marked and easy to follow all the way to the Russian Army Camp. There is one scrambly bit, but a fixed rope is there if you need it. The trail becomes very faint at Lambda Lake - if you lose the path, work your way to the steep area on the south east edge of the basin to regain the trail.
The Russian Army Camp is a worthwhile destination on its own. Only 1.5 to 2 hours from the hut, the large basin is resplendent with wild flowers and surrounded by imposing glaciers and craggy peaks.
We crossed over to the scree slope on the north side of the basin, working our way up to a grassy bench on the right. There's a cool rock that looks like a face which identifies the right route. We had a snack on some huge boulders before continuing on.
The slope opened up before us, talus everywhere. Above and to the left, we could see rocky west ridge of Alpha.
"Hmm, snow field, gully, that looks like the route folks!" (it wasn't)
This is where the trouble started. The gully looked quite nasty. But, that was no surprise as our Scrambles guidebook said it would be difficult. A few attempts at finding a decent way up only helped us determine that there was a lot of loose rock here. Maria and Kerry, both good climbers, made it past what I thought was the crux. Meanwhile, we took turns hiding around the corner to avoid the falling debris.
So, here we were: the girls above, not really excited about downclimbing the wet crumbly mess, and the guys below, not confident about even being able to downclimb that section.
We figured we wouldn't encounter any more snow on the rock, so we had removed the ice axes and crampons from our packs to save weight (some foreshadowing here...). After some discussion, Maria and Kerry decided to climb to the top, while we men would go searching for an alternate way up (perhaps the ridge via Serratus-Alpha col).
Once we thought the girls were clear, we came out from our hiding place and began repacking the axes and crampons into our packs. Rockfall!!! We had no time to escape. I managed to turtle with my pack over my head. Ward got hit in the wrist by a rock, but Trevor and I escaped without injury. "Let's get the @&*# out of here!"
"Um, where's Kerry's axe? I was just looking at it a second ago."
We searched all around but couldn't see it. Then, when we'd almost given up, Ward spotted it above and over the 8 foot snow wall. It had been hit by a rock and bounced over the lip. Scary.
I went to retrieve it, slipped, did a self arrest, then worked my way back to solid ground using both axes.
Ward's wrist was bruised, so he decided to return to the nice flat area below. Trevor and I went exploring. We tried a couple of other routes. None panned out. Eventually we got to the Serratus-Alpha col. The Alpha west ridge, despite what Bivouac says, appears to be more than Class 3 scrambling (well, from what we could tell - maybe there's an easier way that we didn't find. Plus, we were still pretty shaken up by all the falling rock).
We began our descent, and then we heard a whistle.
"Trev, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, I did!"
"Crap."
We had pretty much worked our way down to the bench below the talus slope, and had reunited with Ward. I said I would hike back up to the gully and check on the ladies. We were all quite concerned, hoping that nothing had happened to them.
More whistles. I reach the gully, try calling out, whistling back. Then I wait. The whistles only come in single bursts. I get suspicious. I whistle twice, then try three bursts. Nothing. I wait some more. Are those marmots, or are they really hurt and don't have the energy to communicate? By now I'm a bag of nerves. Did I mention Maria is pregnant with my love child? I really hope nothing happened.
Then, the guys start yelling. I can't really make out the details, but it seems they've spotted them.
Meanwhile...
Kerry and Maria continued up the gully. It didn't get better. They estimate that it was probably a 5.8 climb. It's probably hard to tell when you're wearing hiking boots, packs, and didn't bring rope.
They found the standard easier route on their way to the summit, and later told us, "You could totally have done this! It was waaaayyy easier than what we did!" <grumble grumble>
"Hey Kerry, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, it sounded like a whistle!"
"I hope nothing happened to the guys!"
"Hey, wait a second....did you see that marmot?"
The girls descended the correct gully, and then came across a problem. The snow field. Guess who has their crampons and ice axes? Me. So they had to climb again. They told us that this was the scariest part of the trip. Smooth rock with few holds. A fall means slipping under and between the snow and rock on steep terrain.
We were finally reunited and all of us cursed the mischievous marmots and their children, and children's children! Bloody hell, but their whistling calls sure were deceiving when they echo off the rocks.
For reference, the correct route to the easier gully requires about a 45 minute traverse below the talus slopes. Follow the bench around the false summit, and you will see the right route present itself.
Back to the hut we went, with visions of hot tea spurring us on. The best part was that we still had cheesecake left over from the night before!
Short rant interlude
The new group had arrived at the hut. Lots and lots of alcohol. No big deal. Have fun. They stayed up late, we were tired. They were very noisy, and not particulary considerate. Ward got pissed off. He enacted noisy revenge early the next morning.
I suppose when you live at home, you might be used to leaving food out after a party, thinking you'll clean up in the morning. It turns out the people were nice enough, but completely oblivious to the fact that they were feeding the mice. Yes, they're cute, but chocolate and human food isn't good for them.
Day 3 - Iota Mountain
The gals and I made lunches and prepared for more hiking, while the other guys chose to stay behind and go for a paddle to the glaciers on the other end of the lake.
We followed the path past the sandspit camp, up the left side of the creek, to the Niobe basin.
The route to Iota-Pelops-Niobe goes up alongside the creeks on the right side of the basin. A faint trail appears on the small ridge, then fades away as you get higher.
We crossed the lower part of the glacier, scrambled up the rocks, rejoined the glacier again, and made our way to the Iota-Omega col. Then, followed the ridge and scrambled up Iota. In the fog, Iota looked imposing, but the route wasn't very difficult. Only one scary section for me - there is a short exposed section on an easy walking part of the path. It's just me, I don't like exposure.
Pelops was completed socked in.
We were tired and felt the additional 200m of down and up, then down and up some more wouldn't really add to the experience. So, we made our way down, had a blast glissading down the snow on the glacier, and headed back to the hut.
On the way back, we came across a helicopter picking up a group of campers for their return flight home. Definitely the easy way to do it!
Day 4 - The return
Fog, rain, a boat ride, and yummy food at the Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Co.
Lessons learned on Alpha
The good
1. we had enough warm clothing/food/water to spend a night if necessary
2. we had first aid kits
3. the guys chose not to attempt a climb beyond their abilities
The bad
1. routefinding error
2. splitting up
3. leaving crampons/ice axes behind
4. climbing up what you can't (don't want to) climb down (ahem, ladies...)
5. poor contingency plan (when we split up)
6. not clearing out of danger zone (we tarried when we should have grabbed and packed gear elsewhere)
7. we didn't bring rope and helmets (the helmets were a bad oversight - we all have them)
8. mistaking marmot whistles for actual people whistles (sounds funny, but it caused unnecessary grief)
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