I've done some recent hiking, and thought this could be a new hobby. I'm not going to climb vertical walls of ice or anything, but maybe some higher nontechnical peaks. I was curious if anyone else has an interest in this or done any climbing.
I freeclimbed El Capitan.
I climb, but not really the sheer cliff face type of thing with ropes. Mostly trails and some rock crawling. Both on foot and 4x4.
I have been know to climb stairs--does that count?
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 07, 2011, 07:21:30 PM
I climb, but not really the sheer cliff face type of thing with ropes. Mostly trails and some rock crawling. Both on foot and 4x4.
I have no interest in sheer cliff face stuff with ropes. Have you climbed anything higher altitude?
Quote from: Ideologue on December 07, 2011, 06:50:24 PM
I freeclimbed El Capitan.
I know that isn't true because it would require you to leave South Carolina.
I've left South Carolina plenty of times.
Quote from: Ideologue on December 07, 2011, 08:14:35 PM
I've left South Carolina plenty of times.
Daytrips to Charlotte and Atlanta? :P
In the past few years, yeah. :(
Mountaineering means pushing the "add gradient" button when I am on the running machine.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 07, 2011, 08:09:56 PM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 07, 2011, 07:21:30 PM
I climb, but not really the sheer cliff face type of thing with ropes. Mostly trails and some rock crawling. Both on foot and 4x4.
I have no interest in sheer cliff face stuff with ropes. Have you climbed anything higher altitude?
Mostly in the 10,000-14,000ft range. Nothing I needed oxygen for.
I've climbed a couple of easy mountains, including Mt. Phillips in New Mexico and Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains. I did Mt. Phillips when I was a teenager and it was a piece of cake.... Clingman's Dome a few years ago and not so much... :Embarrass:
The neat thing about mountain climbing is experiencing the very rapid climate transition. With Clingman's Dome, you're on top of the mountains above the treeline in the freezing wind, and then you come down the mountain and you're in a warm subtropical rain forest.
One thing I do notice is that when I take out of town visitors with me, they tend to get winded more easily than I do. Except my cousin from Denver. I sleep every night at 5000 feet. So you can't discount the difference in the air up high. It definitely matters.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 07, 2011, 08:54:01 PM
One thing I do notice is that when I take out of town visitors with me, they tend to get winded more easily than I do. Except my cousin from Denver. I sleep every night at 5000 feet. So you can't discount the difference in the air up high. It definitely matters.
:yes:
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 07, 2011, 08:54:01 PM
One thing I do notice is that when I take out of town visitors with me, they tend to get winded more easily than I do. Except my cousin from Denver. I sleep every night at 5000 feet. So you can't discount the difference in the air up high. It definitely matters.
Pussy, I sleep at 7220 feet.
For the record, I try to climb to the top of the Snowies about 30 miles outside of town each year, about 12,000 feet. Fairly nice trail climb, once the snow is gone (by July).
I don't know what is meant by 'mountaineering'. I don't do any climbing - never have.
I have done plenty of mountain hikes. Most difficult of which was a 5 day hike of the Chilkoot Trail. The golden staircase nearly kicked my ass, but I made it. :cool:
Do you guys go by yourself?
The reason I'm asking is I am thinking about working toward climbing some nontechnical ~20k ft. mountains. I've been up to 14k ft without problems, but I didn't climb to get there, so I figure that doesn't mean much. I'd like to take a crack at a 15k ft. mountain with a guide to see how things go.
We climbed a 400ft high mountain which is within 5 minutes walking distance to our hotel in Sri Lanka. The tour was supposed to last 45 minutes, and we took about 4 hours to complete. After the trip, even the wallet was soaked. I was unable to move for the rest of the day. I also broke a walking cane into two halves during the climb.
Why not take up something safer and more enjoyable like Russian roulette or IV drugs? Better watch that movie with the handsome Portuguese-American guy (ah James Franco that's his name) cutting off his own arm to get prepared...
I do a lot of hiking in the backcountry. Mostly long day hikes of 15 km to 20 km but when I have the time I will do backcountry camping trips of 3 to 4 days at a time, hike in hike out. About five years ago I moved to Alberta from Vancouver Island and the amount of world class hiking at hand in this area is amazing (Vancouver Island is great as well though). Waterton Lakes National Park is 2.5 hours away from Calgary and that's the Northern entrance to Glacier National Park which is unbelievable. Kananaskis, Banff, Yoho, Jasper are all within driving distance. I've been able to do a tonne trips in this area, everything from easy forest trails to scramble approaches to ridge walks.
I'm not a gear head by any means but I totally advocate using walking poles. They take so much stress off your knees. For day trips i'd recommend getting a camelbak style pack for your water but make sure you get one that has some room to pack a rain jacket or other extra clothing, your lunch and some other essentials like a camera, binoculars, medical kit, etc.
Wildlife in this area can be an issue, i've had a lot of bear and moose encounters but I haven't carried any bear spray. I only take a whistle which has never been a problem but I have been thinking about bringing bear spray after doing Crypt Lake in Waterton where I was stalked by a Grizzly for a bit. It was just curious and was never threatening but the bear spray would have given me a bit more piece of mind... the problem with that shit is it only works well if you fire it when the bear is very close which usually means it's charging.
If you're going to do high mountain passes or ridge lines over 10 k then you should make sure you pack some gloves. I've been caught in some mountain snowstorms in the middle of August when you set out on a sunny day and even if the sun is out the wind up there can be brutal, be prepared for the worst.
If you ever find yourself hiking up near Glacier National Park or Waterton let me know.
Quote from: Caliga on December 07, 2011, 08:46:31 PM
I did Mt. Phillips when I was a teenager and it was a piece of cake....
Did you do Mt. Baldy and the Tooth of Time at Philmont?
Mt. Baldy is around 12,000 ft.
Hmmm................Kilimanjaro is a straightforward walk but is 19341 feet high. It might be a good starter for you, as it would enable you to find out your susceptibility to altitude sickness and whatnot before trying more remote peaks with less back up.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 07, 2011, 10:32:39 PM
Do you guys go by yourself?
That's a great idea so long as you bring a really sharp hobby knife to cut your arm off when it gets trapped.
Quote from: citizen k on December 08, 2011, 01:22:19 AM
Did you do Mt. Baldy and the Tooth of Time at Philmont?
Mt. Baldy is around 12,000 ft.
We did not do Baldy as we weren't on that trail. I think we might have done Tooth of Time, but honestly I forget. This was like 20 years ago now.
Quote from: Monoriu on December 07, 2011, 10:46:23 PM
a 400ft high mountain
:huh: That sounds more like a hill, son.
Quote from: Caliga on December 08, 2011, 06:29:02 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on December 07, 2011, 10:46:23 PM
a 400ft high mountain
:huh: That sounds more like a hill, son.
Need some batteries for your irony detector?
Mono, do you ever walk up The Peak? That's 1,811 ft.
I climbed a 4100 meter mountain (Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo) last year, doing more than 2300 height meters up and then down again within a day. That was quite exhausting, but also fun. I really should do that more, especially when considering that I live close to the Black Forest and the Alps.
The aforementioned Kilimanjaro is definitely on my list of todos.
As far as climbing goes, I did some rock climbing before. Quite fun, but my upper body is too weak and my ass is too fat. ;) Canyoning on the other hand (climbing down a mountain through some gorge) is really a lot of fun.
I'm afraid of heights.
I wandered up Mt Fuji when I was in Japan. Its more of a shitty walk up a slope than a climb though.
Quote from: Brazen on December 08, 2011, 06:57:50 AM
Need some batteries for your irony detector?
Mono is like an alien to me. :blush:
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on December 08, 2011, 02:29:37 AM
Hmmm................Kilimanjaro is a straightforward walk but is 19341 feet high. It might be a good starter for you, as it would enable you to find out your susceptibility to altitude sickness and whatnot before trying more remote peaks with less back up.
Kilimanjaro was actually the type of peak I was hoping to build up to, not a starting point. :blush:
This summer I was thinking Pikes Peak or Mont Blanc or something similar to see how I do first.
Quote from: Brazen on December 08, 2011, 05:27:17 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 07, 2011, 10:32:39 PM
Do you guys go by yourself?
That's a great idea so long as you bring a really sharp hobby knife to cut your arm off when it gets trapped.
Which is a good point. Always have a friend around that can cut your arm off for you.
But to those that climb with companions, how do you find these people? "I have an idea, lets go to Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro" isn't likely to get many positive responses.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:26:06 AM
But to those that climb with companions, how do you find these people? "I have an idea, lets go to Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro" isn't likely to get many positive responses.
In the movies it's always one yuppie who's sold out his soul and his college buddy fuckup. :)
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 08, 2011, 08:28:56 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:26:06 AM
But to those that climb with companions, how do you find these people? "I have an idea, lets go to Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro" isn't likely to get many positive responses.
In the movies it's always one yuppie who's sold out his soul and his college buddy fuckup. :)
I would be the yuppie who sold his soul, but by this time the booze and smokes have taken their toll on the college buddy fuckups. :(
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:21:22 AM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on December 08, 2011, 02:29:37 AM
Hmmm................Kilimanjaro is a straightforward walk but is 19341 feet high. It might be a good starter for you, as it would enable you to find out your susceptibility to altitude sickness and whatnot before trying more remote peaks with less back up.
Kilimanjaro was actually the type of peak I was hoping to build up to, not a starting point. :blush:
This summer I was thinking Pikes Peak or Mont Blanc or something similar to see how I do first.
I believe Mont Blanc is more difficult than Kilimanjaro if you go all the way to the top, not sure :hmm:
Certainly the Alps have a huge range of hiking trails and easy ascents that are also near comfy hotels and whatnot.
Mont Blanc requires serious climbing skills and equipment. I don't think that's for the casual mountaineer. It's also snow-topped year round.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:26:06 AM
Quote from: Brazen on December 08, 2011, 05:27:17 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 07, 2011, 10:32:39 PM
Do you guys go by yourself?
That's a great idea so long as you bring a really sharp hobby knife to cut your arm off when it gets trapped.
Which is a good point. Always have a friend around that can cut your arm off for you.
But to those that climb with companions, how do you find these people? "I have an idea, lets go to Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro" isn't likely to get many positive responses.
WHen I lived in Calgary it wasn't difficult to find people to go hiking with. :huh:
I usually go with my brother - he also likes to go hiking, and he was my companion on the Chilkoot. He keeps wanting me to go with him on some back country trails near Banff. Now that I'm back in Alberta, maybe I'll be able to do it. :hmm:
Quote from: Zanza on December 08, 2011, 09:24:55 AM
Mont Blanc requires serious climbing skills and equipment. I don't think that's for the casual mountaineer. It's also snow-topped year round.
From the little reading I've done, it requires skills that can be easily acquired with a guide with a day or two of instruction/practice before going for the climb.
Maybe that isn't a good place to start, but what really worries me is the altitude. I'd rather have a more strenuous climb for 15k to get ready for 20k.
QuoteWHen I lived in Calgary it wasn't difficult to find people to go hiking with.
But this isn't really the same thing. We are talking about a significant investment of money and vacation time, for starters.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 10:06:54 AM
Quote from: Zanza on December 08, 2011, 09:24:55 AM
Mont Blanc requires serious climbing skills and equipment. I don't think that's for the casual mountaineer. It's also snow-topped year round.
From the little reading I've done, it requires skills that can be easily acquired with a guide with a day or two of instruction/practice before going for the climb.
Maybe that isn't a good place to start, but what really worries me is the altitude. I'd rather have a more strenuous climb for 15k to get ready for 20k.
QuoteWHen I lived in Calgary it wasn't difficult to find people to go hiking with.
But this isn't really the same thing. We are talking about a significant investment of money and vacation time, for starters.
But the point still stands - you find people who like to go hiking by doing hikes in your local area. Then you plan for trips to somewhere more exotic.
Alfred, I can't recall where you live, but I'll bet you anything you could find a nice hike within a days drive.
If you're looking at something more exotic, I wholeheartedly recommend the Chilkoot Trail. It was a wonderful experience.
I climbed Mt. Batur in Bali many years ago. It was a lot more than we bargained for - in some places we were clinging by our fingers and toes to little ledges (we met a woman climbing down the other way and asked if there was an easier ascent: 'this *is* the easy ascent' she said).
The bizzare thing was that when we reached the summit, after many hair-raising experiences along the way ... there was a Balinese guy there with a little drinks stand set up, selling cans of pop and bottles of water out of an ice-filled cooler he had obviously carried up the mountain in the morning. All in a day's work for him. :lol:
Quote from: Barrister on December 08, 2011, 10:10:45 AM
But the point still stands - you find people who like to go hiking by doing hikes in your local area. Then you plan for trips to somewhere more exotic.
Alfred, I can't recall where you live, but I'll bet you anything you could find a nice hike within a days drive.
If you're looking at something more exotic, I wholeheartedly recommend the Chilkoot Trail. It was a wonderful experience.
Bah, while that is certainly sound thinking, that isn't going to happen in my case.
Jaron will hike with you in the Utah Mormon Wilds.
I do wall climbing from time to time but I haven't tried mountaineering. Might do so in the near future.
Quote from: hotshot on December 09, 2011, 10:07:37 AM
I do wall climbing from time to time but I haven't tried mountaineering. Might do so in the near future.
Hey new guy, what's your deal? Mormon? British bicyclist? Random gamer? :)
I have one no one else here has done, I climbed up the 800 feet observation hill, above McMurdo Station. ;)
Was it: cold.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:30:42 AM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 08, 2011, 08:28:56 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 08, 2011, 08:26:06 AM
But to those that climb with companions, how do you find these people? "I have an idea, lets go to Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro" isn't likely to get many positive responses.
In the movies it's always one yuppie who's sold out his soul and his college buddy fuckup. :)
I would be the yuppie who sold his soul, but by this time the booze and smokes have taken their toll on the college buddy fuckups. :(
I come in two different models of college fuckup. Choose the one that's right: for you.
Quote from: Brazen on December 08, 2011, 06:57:50 AM
Quote from: Caliga on December 08, 2011, 06:29:02 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on December 07, 2011, 10:46:23 PM
a 400ft high mountain
:huh: That sounds more like a hill, son.
Need some batteries for your irony detector?
Mono, do you ever walk up The Peak? That's 1,811 ft.
Oh I have no idea. Yeah I've done it a few times, actually. It doesn't feel difficult even for me, because there is a nice paved road from bottom to top.
This has kept me thinking, I have done mountain hiking but not mountain climbing like up a cliff. I have also gone up a cold fast moving creek in a tropical rainforest, the waterfall parts were mostly climbing, does that count?
I need to hit the trails soon.