Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October, 2013

Transcription

1 The Explorer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October, 2013

2 The EXPLORER is the monthly newsletter of the Explorers Club Of Pittsburgh,Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to research, adventure and education in outdoor and wilderness recreation and conservation Message from the Editor Greetings, Dear Explorers. The October Newsletter has an interesting article from Sam Taggart and Felipe Trevizan about their trip to the Tetons. As usual, regular club business is presented as well. NEW ECP MAILING ADDRESS Since the Frick Environmental Center has moved, our new mailing address is: The Explorers Club of Pittsburgh P.O. Box Pittsburgh, PA 15213:

3 The Grand Traverse An Attempt --Sam Taggart, Felipe Trevizan Felipe and I have been climbing together for several years. It started when he was my student during the mountaineering school grad trip several years ago and continued with multiple trips to Seneca and other local climbing destinations as well as several trips aid climbing to Looking Glass and Zion, several backcountry ski trips, and several alpine rock outtings in the Tetons. We also competed together for several years in the Grass Roots adventure racing series. Last year we completed the East Ridge of the Grand Teton. At the time it was the most ambitious route I had completed in the mountains and it opened my eyes to what was possible. This year I had been getting out climbing a lot and feeling very strong. I really wanted to go test myself. Felipe unfortunately had been busy lately trying to finish up his PHD thesis, so he hadn t been out climbing much but he was still running and biking regularly and was very anxious to get into the mountains again. After his PHD Felipe will be returning to Brasil, so before he left, we wanted to do one more big route together. We had both been looking at the Grand Traverse for a while. It had been on my radar ever since David Micklo had mentioned it to me a few years ago. We were both in good shape and were familiar with the Tetons (together we had climbed the CMC route on Moran, the E Ridge of the Grand, the standard route on the Middle, and Baxters Pinnacle also I had climbed Teewinot and the O-S and Upper Exum on the Grand in addition to numerous other Teton routes), so the Grand Traverse seemed like a good fit. We put together a plan to go to the Tetons for 1.5 weeks and climb the Grand Traverse (and perhaps some other routes) and then we would spend.5 week in the N. Cascades and climb the Mt. Torment Forbidden Peak Traverse, which Bruce had highly recommended. The Grand Traverse follows the ridgeline. From R to L Teewinot, Mt. Owen, The Grand, The Middle, Nez Perce. The South is hidden behind Nez Perce. Taken from the Climbers Ranch. The Grand Traverse is a true mountaineering test piece. The technical difficulty is not too severe, but the length, remoteness, route finding difficulty, and variety of terrain make it quite

4 challenging. It covers many of the major peaks of the range. The route starts at Lupine Meadows (6732 ft) and goes for 2.5 miles up and over Teewinot (12,326 ft) via the East Face route (4 th class). From there, the route traverses along a ridge up and over Peak (3 rd class, several raps) and the East Prong (3 rd class, several raps). From there the route ascends Mt. Owen (12,927 feet) via the Koven Route (5.4). Then the route descends the West Ledges to the Gunsight Notch (several raps) and climbs back up to the Grand Stand (5.7). From there the route climbs the North Ridge ( depending on which source) of the Grand Teton (13,770). From there the route takes the standard descent down the Owen-Spalding route to the Upper Saddle and then down to the Lower Saddle before heading up the North Ridge (5.6) of the Middle Teton (12,804 feet). From there it goes down the standard descent and up and over the South Teton (12,514 feet) and follows the mostly 4 th class ridge over Cloudveil Dome (12,026 feet) and Nez Perce (11,901 feet). Along the way it also summits Spaulding Tower, Gilkey Tower and the Ice Cream Cone (5.7). Felipe and I had been planning the trip for a few months. We found a website run by Rolo Garibotti who holds the speed record at 6 hours (most people take 3 full days). It had some very general directions and a few very helpful pictures. It was probably the most useful resource. We also found an Outside Magazine article that had some useful information about travel time between different points. There were a few other websites as well. In the guidebooks, most of the routes up the peaks were fairly well-described, but the ridges between the peaks were not. We determined the most difficult routefinding section would be between Teewinot and the Grand Stand, while the most difficult technical section would be the North Ridge of the Grand. The second half of the traverse from the South Teton on, from what we gathered, was supposedly a fairly straightforward ridge traverse with a few pinnacles to climb along the way. We focused most of our research unto the traverse between Teewinot and the Grandstand (Rolos pictures and descriptions were invaluable) and we got a few pictures and topos for the North Ridge. We decided to do the easier and typically less icy Italian Cracks variation (5.7) While the grand traverse has been soloed in a day, typical parties take 3 days and 2 nights. The first day they summit Teewinot and Owen and bivy on the Grand Stand. On day 2 they summit the Grand and the Middle and bivy on the saddle between South Teton and the Middle. Then on the final day they complete the ridge from the South Teton to Nez Perce and then hike out. That was our basic plan. We debated about caching gear at the Lower Saddle but in the end decided not to. Felipe took an extra moutainhouse and I took an extra oatmeal packet in case it took us an extra day. We knew there were several different spots to bivy along the way. We also knew that bailing at any point would be possible just by following the standard descent for that particular peak (each peak on traverse had a standard route which was not terribly difficult). The one exception was the Grandstand. We didn t give a whole lot of thought to bailing from the Grandstand. We assumed we could drop down to the East and end up on Teton Glacier. From there we could go down by Surprise Lake (similar to the approach for the E. Ridge, which we were familiar with). Also if we made if far enough up the N. Ridge we could bail to the Owen-Spalding. Felipe and I flew into Salt Lake on a Friday. We stopped at REI and picked up some food and fuel before heading out to Jackson. We got into the climbers ranch late. It was raining when we got there. The next day we checked in with the rangers and got our permits. We were advised we would need crampons and ice axes. Checked the weather forecast apparently it had been raining a fair amount the past few days. The next couple days however looked typical at 20% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. We ran into a guy named Bob at the climbers ranch who seems to show up there every year around Labor Day. He warned us that the N. Ridge would probably be icy. I had some experience climbing in icy conditions in the Tetons. A few years ago I had climbed the O-S in icy weather with Dave Martin. It was challenging but doable and quite fun. We decided to go for it anyway. We debated about caching food/fuel at the Lower Saddle (we got that idea from the Outside Magazine Article), however we decided to not do that. We would save our energy and just rest.

5 We got up at midnight and left the Lupine Meadows trailhead at 1:10 am on Sunday. About 5 am we found our selves partway up the East Face of Teewinot. We got suckered out onto some ledges leading to the East Ridge (there are several rock climbs up the East Ridge). We realized our mistake and managed to get back on route up near the Central Chimney. This was the first of several small routefinding errors that would cost us a fair amount of time when added together. A little after dawn we hit the summit of Teewinot. It is very small and exposed (big enough for only 1 person at a time). It has a great view. It was very exposed. Neither one of us was brave enough to stand up on it. Another party joined us up there. They were only doing Teewinot, but they said there was another party doing the traverse who were just behind them. Felipe on the summit of Teewinot with the N. Face of the Grand in the background. The N. Ridge makes up the right side of the N. Face. On the way down from the summit, we met the other party of 3 doing the traverse. They had dropped their packs at the notch between the twin summits of Teewinot, while we carried ours up to the summit unnecessarily (rookie mistake!). Anyway, from the higher North summit, we dropped down to the notch between the 2 summits and contoured around through another notch and down around a cliff band and up to the top of Peak 11,840. So far easy routefinding. From the top of 11,840 we had to rappel (or according to Rolo there was a scary traverse on frozen dirt we chose the rappel). The written directions said 2 raps down the SW corner, but the picture showed the NW corner. We went down the NW corner. Somewhere around 9 am or so (I think) we made 3 raps down the NW corner. It was straightforward until our rope got stuck on the last rap. It wrapped around a chockstone. We debated for a while about what to do. Eventually I lead back up a chossy crack and was able to retrieve the rope and downclimb. It was somewhat sketchy. Next we continued along the North side of the ridge. Due to our rope getting stuck and the party of three going down the SW side of the peak, they managed to pass us. The routefinding on the next section was very tricky. For a while we followed the group of 3, but eventually it took the 5 of us collaborating to find the correct route to the top of the East Prong. We made 2 or 3 raps and were

6 down to the top of the Koven col, which was covered in snow. Luckily we were able to cross it without breaking out the ice axes or crampons. On the other side of the col there was some running water, so we decided to stop and brew up and regroup. We watched another group behind rapping down the Prong. At this point it was around 1 pm or so. We got our first taste of the weather at this point. Up until then it had been beautiful. At that point it started raining and a little hail. It made the next section not so trivial. The next section was up a wide chimney to the lower snowfield. It was running with water. We were a little apprehensive, but we watched the group ahead of us and they managed to escape out right onto the buttress avoiding the waterfall, which seemed easy enough. At this point I was starting to get altitude sickness. I had a mild headache. We decided to push through, and I led 2 pitches up to the slabs right below the lower snowfield. At the last belay however my headache became unbearable and I began to feel nauseous. As soon as Felipe arrived and I tied him off, I announced that I was done for the day and that this was our bivy spot. It was somewhere around 4 pm or so. It was semi-flat. It was all I could do to crawl into my bivy sack and curl into the fetal position. I couldn t even bring myself to cook up a mountainhouse. Felipe was nice enough to boil some water for me and I managed to pull out my secret weapon against AMS (thanks to buttercup for turning me onto this) Theraflu. I downed a cup of Theraflu and passed out. I woke up a few times throughout the night due to the hail, and when a group passed us in the middle of the night, but in the morning I felt fine. I woke up around dawn and we decided to keep going. We had enough food (especially since I had the mountainhouse I hadn t eaten that night), We would just be a day behind schedule. We planned that if we got to the Grandstand in time we might try and climb the Grand and bivy in the Lower Saddle to make up time. We encountered some rain and marble sized hail as we rounded the lower and uppersnowfields on Mt. Owen. At this point the 2 groups behind us caught up and we all summitted around the same time. We left our packs at the base of the chimneys and soloed up to the summit. It was easy climbing but a few loose spots. I did knock down a textbook sized piece which nearly hit the group below us. They were very forgiving and even gave us some good advice on how to find the West Ledges descent to the Gunsight Notch between Owen and the GrandStand. However even with their advice we still took the wrong gully. We went several hundred feet down and cliffed out. Luckily from there we could see the gully that we needed. So we went back up the ridge and managed to find the correct gully. We did 2 raps down that and then a whole bunch of scrambling towards the notch. Eventually we ran into some cairns and followed those. At that point we ran into the group who had passed us during the night. They said they were waiting for better weather for the N. Ridge. That was around 1pm or so. We decided to keep going to the Grandstand and see what things were like when we got there. Some exposed scrambling and another rap took us to the bottom of the Gunsight Notch. From there we followed Rolo s directions. We climbed up a bit and down a ramp to the East for a 100 feet. I led up a knobby 5.7 pitch with rotten rock (according to Rolo the best pitch on the traverse. I respectfully disagree. Then again I didn t climb the whole traverse more on that later). I ended up in an alcove with a rap station. Another lead (5.5) took us around the corner unto the East Face of the GrandStand. Rolo s description said a knobby face. There was a crack on the right side and a series of knobs going up the center of the face. I decided to take the knobs up the middle. Eventually they ran out and I had to downclimb and traverse to the crack. At the top of that pitch we could see a 4 th class ramp leading down and to the left (south). It led to a ledge with a few bivy spots. We scrambled straight up from there and towards the top of the GrandStand. It was mostly 4 th class with one 10 foot corner that we belayed. Again at this point it was hailing pretty hard. They were the size of grapes and stung. The top of the GrandStand is a knife-edge ridge that runs perpendicular to the N. Ridge. At the top is a very exposed bivy just big enough for 2 with rock walls around it. It was nice to sleep without a harness on. We got there early afternoon, but decided not to continue due to the weather. We watched a group climbing in and out of the fog ahead of us. We debated about whether they were on the Italian

7 Cracks or the American Cracks. Looking back now I think they were on the Italian Cracks. We studied the ridge and figured out the first 2 pitches, which were pretty straightforward and easily visible in the fog. However it was difficult to determine exactly where the Italian Cracks started. We descended the gully between the East face of the GrandStand and the North Face of the Grand to a small snow patch to boil some water. We had seen several rocks roll down there earlier so we were a little nervous, but we needed water. Later back at the Grandstand, what started as a small rock avalanche from the upper saddle turn into a huge rock avalanche that lasted several minutes and sent down several very large chunks. We went to bed early. I tried to dry my gloves and some other articles in my bag that night but all I ended up doing was soaking my bag. I shivered all night. The next morning we didn t wake up until it was light out. We were worried about the rock being too cold to climb. We woke at 7 and by 9 we had traversed from the GrandStand to the N. Ridge and were ready to start. The first pitch angled up and left behind a detached flake (bad rope drag) and then continued up and left towards a loose gully. I somehow made it through the flake with my pack on. After that there was a manky fixed pin, which I skipped. I placed a bomber cam right above it. Trying to pull the move above that with the cam at my waist, I greased off an icy foothold. I fell about 5-10 feet and flipped upside down. A little unnerving, but I was able to right myself and get back up there. I clipped the pin for good measure this time. I tried the move again, but it didn t feel very secure so I yanked on the cam and hoisted myself past it. The rest of the pitch went fine. The next pitch went up a loose gully. No problems there. We arrived at the point where the normal N. Ridge and the Italian Cracks split. We moved a few feet left (but not around the corner apparently we should have). I looked at one of the photos we had and it seemed to match. With misplaced confidence that we were on the right route I started up. There were 2 parallel cracks in a depression with a roof about 25 feet up next to a pillar (I swear the pillar matched the picture we had). From the top of the pillar I stepped around the arête to avoid the roof. It was a rather hard and committing move, but luckily I made it and found gear up above. I went up another 30 feet and found a bail sling. Someone had slung a chockstone that was now non-existant. I tried left above and went up a ways around an arete on some balancy face climbing. I could see a flaring crack a little higher but with my last gear 15 feet below me and around the arête, I couldn t commit to the move, so I downclimbed. I saw more bail gear up and to the right past a loose flake. I tiptoed around the flake and up to 2 nuts equalized under a roof. The holds were all there for the roof but the climbing was way harder than 5.7. It felt like hard I couldn t pull the moves, so I tried to aid past them. There were a series of tiered roofs and above that it seemed like there might be a ledge to build a belay on if only I could get past that section. I got a nice cam and then a manky nut. I backcleaned the cam because I thought I d need it later. I almost had the next piece in when the piece I was on popped and I went for a 30 footer upside down onto the 2 nuts. A piece that was off to the side (off-plumb) pulled out from the sideways force and added to my fall. I was physically ok, mostly I had a nasty gash on my wrist and shit and my tailbone hurt (later found out I broke it in 3 places), but otherwise ok. However at that point mentally I had it. We were going down. As if to confirm my decision, when I tried to swing back onto the wall, the first handhold I grabbed, I pulled off a watermelon sized chunk which landed on the ledge right next to Felipe. He later said it just grazed his foot. I had Felipe lower me off the 2 nuts and I pulled all my gear on the way down. We only had 1 70m rope and we had a seen another rap anchor near where we passed behind the detached flake. We planned to rap a single strand off a fifi hook and then use some p-chord to release the fifi hook. I rapped down first. I fed the p-cord out of a stuff sack as I went. At first it wouldn t feed well and I realized it was because someone (me) had put some extra supertape and rap rings in the bag. Sweet! Unfortunately that same person did not think to attach the rap rings to anything, so I watched them tumble down the face. Unfortunately our rope stopped a few feet short of the anchor we had seen. I built an intermediate anchor out of 2 equalized nuts and Felipe came down

8 to join me. I thought about testing the fifi before he came down, but I dismissed that thought. We had done this before on a previous trip to the Tetons and it had worked fine. Once Felipe got down, we pulled the p-chord and the fifi would not release. Now we had a real problem. Our rope was stuck and there was not any slack to lead back up. After much debate I started climbing up towards the anchor using a prusick on the rope and placing gear as I went, figuring that if I fell either the rope would hold me or I would take a whipper unto the prusik chord. The route had kind of made a C shape so when we rapped straight down we rapped over some overhanging terrain. I was not able to follow the route back up. Eventually I came to a point where the only way to continue up was to actually prusik up the stuck rope and there was nowhere to place gear. I did not feel comfortable with that and as I debated what to do Felipe came on the radio and advised that I could cut the rope. I didn t have a better idea at the time (days later while rethinking it, Felipe and I realized that I could have built an anchor there and belayed him and up and then perhaps lead up again on the slack rope). So I cut the rope. Out of 70m I managed to salvage 60 feet. I cried. It was a brand new rope that I had bought from Dr. Bob and this was only the second time I d used it. After that I tied into the end I d cut and downclimbed back to where Felipe was. At that point the sky opened up and it started hailing again. We could hear thunder but couldn t see the lightning. One short rap got us to the anchor we saw previously. One rap from there got us to within scrambling distance of the top of the GrandStand. With all the lightning we quickly tried to get down as far as we could. Our original bail plan was to drop down the E. Face of the GrandStand to the Teton Glacier and Glacier Gulch. If we could get to Glacier Gulch, we knew the way out from there. We headed down the gully where we had gotten water. We dropped for quite a ways before we cliffed out. We slung a chockstone that felt solid. I went first. I went down 2-3 feet before I heard Felipe yell Stop! Apparently the chockstone moved when I weighted it, so we decided against that option. We scrambled to the left along some ledges and were able to drop down a little bit further but cliffed out again. We found a rap anchor but it would have taken all 60 feet to reach the next ledge. We also found a nice bivy spot nearby. At this point it was something like 6 pm. We were both soaked and incredibly frazzled by the experience. I was getting pretty hypothermic. We decided to stop and eat a mountainhouse. While we cooked we debated what to do. I was very close to calling for a rescue we were unsure if we could continue and with our sleeping bags soaked from the night before and running low on food, we could survive the night, but it would definitely not be pleasant. We needed to find a way down. We were unsure whether we could make it down with 60 feet of rope. We had a PLB we could activate, but it didn t feel right calling for a rescue when we might still have options. We needed to talk to the Rangers and get advice on the best way to get down. I had the number for the Jenny Lake Rangers in my phone but I didn t have it with me. Felipe had his phone but didn t have the number, so we texted Dr. Bob and he got us the number after a few minutes. If he had waited much longer, I would have turned on the PLB it was a weak moment. We called them and got the ranger on duty. He was pretty callous. I was kind of hoping there might be a climbing ranger nearby who could help us out, but his solution was that we would just have to bail and leave lots of gear and that was the price we d have to pay. He advised that heading east as we were was not the best idea. The bergshrund and the Teton glacier would be very difficult to cross (looking at it later from the road he was right. It would have been a terrible idea even with a 70m rope). He gave us 2 options we hadn t really considered. We could potentially backtrack and find the top of the 2 pitches we had led out of the Gunsight, rap those leaving lots of gear and then climb out of the Gunsight. After that we could follow the West Ledges and eventually instead of going up Owen, head down and end up in Valhalla Canyon. He also suggested going back up and over and down the West side of the GrandStand into Valhalla Canyon. He said it would involve a lot scrambling and a few very short steps of 5.4 or so. Apparently he knows people who solo it routinely. He also gave us some information on finding the trail from Valhalla Canyon into Cascade Canyon (stay West). This advice proved invaluable.

9 Felipe rapping into the Gunsight Notch with Valhalla Canyon in the background. The best option seemed to be to descend the W. Face of the Grandstand. About 6:30 we started up and over. Earlier looking at the W. Face of the Grandstand, it had looked very steep but we managed to find a spot where we would crossover and traverse a few ledges. A few hundred feet down it got less steep. Everything was wet and very loose. We did several short raps and downled a few short sections. There was a small snow gully and after some debate we tried to go down it. I had some new crampons and I had fit them to my approach shoes at home and they seemed to fit ok, but when I tried them out on snow they rattled a lot and were insecure. The snow was really hard and steep so that option was a no-go. We scrambled further. About halfway down it started to get dark. It was difficult to routefind in the dark. After some debate I was able to convince Felipe to do one more rap. That put us on the flattest ledge we had seen yet (it was at least degrees off level). At least the ledge had a nice spot to build an anchor. We settled in for the night. Felipe slept in his helmet. I took mine off. Throughout the night we were awoken by rock fall. Several times it was very near. My bivy sack got hit by a baseball sized rock at one point. The next morning in the light we were able to see where we were going and we made good progress heading down. We did one more rap where we had to extend the anchor using several chordolettes in order to make the short rope reach and it just barely did. That put us on a nice ledge. From there a bunch of downclimbing over loose rock eventually put us into the scree. After a bunch of scree surfing we arrived in the bottom of Valhalla Canyon. There were some large boulders and a little lake. It would have been a nice camping spot. As we headed towards Cascade Canyon we stayed to the left (west) of the creek as directed by the Ranger. Luckily when the vegetation got thick (think jungle), we found the overgrown climbers trail. It was very steep and treacherous, but eventually we made it down to Cascade creek. We managed to find a dry crossing. We lost the trail on the other side., but luckily it was a short bushwhack to Cascade Canyon trail. We got there sometime around noon or so. We followed that back to the Jenny Lake boat launch. Luckily Felipe had brought some cash so we took the boat back across. We then hiked back the dirt road from the boat launch to Lupine Meadows Trailhead. We saw a bear with a cub near the lake. We got back sometime early afternoon.

10 Valhalla canyon the night we began to bail The next day was a rest day. The only thing we did was go into town to replace all our bail gear. With all our bail gear plus 1 cam we got stuck we spent $511 (that was with a 10% discount). Here is our list: Black master cam (this wasn t bail gear it got stuck climbing up to the Grandstand) Nuts: BD #6, 9, 11, gold dmm offset 2 cordlettes 1 rescue cord (15ft 5mm) Rap rings x3 Super tape (12ft) 2 slings 1double sling 11biners Rope ( the one we cut was a Mammut Serneity m. We bought Mammut m) FIFi hook After that bill and getting so beatup we decided that we would cancel our trip to the Cascades. It was just too much for us. While at the guide store we picked up a local sport climbing guidebook. We wanted to do something the next day but we didn t feel like doing much hiking. So the next day we went to the Hoeback Shield and did a few pitches. Then we went to the Granite Hot springs for an hour or two. We finished the day off by heading out Rodeo Wall. We got 6 or 7 pitches in all together. Weather was beautiful. Good day. We got a little momentum back. The next day we planned on hiking in and spending the night in Garnet Canyon so that the next day we could climb the Dike Route on the Middle Teton. We woke up and went to the ranger s station to get a permit, but they were all gone. It was already 9 or 10 in the morning so the day was kind of shot. One of the guys who worked at the Ranch suggested Death Canyon and Phelps Lake as a good hike (apparently there is a nice swimming hole at the Lake). We drove back the dirt road to the trail head (definitely need a rental car to get back there!). We hiked most of the way into Death Canyon and

11 checked out a climb called the Snaz. It looked very fun. On the way in we also checked out the approach to Buck Mountain. Then we hiked down to the lake but it was late and we skipped the swimming. The swimming hole was very crowded though. Lots of people jumping off that big boulder. Weather was again beautiful. Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor. Felipe on the summit of the Middle The next day we decided to wake up early and climb the Middle in a day. We had done this before but we had done the standard SW coulouir. This time we decided to do the Dike Route. This is probably the most aesthetic route in the park. Hiking into Garnett Canyon as soon as you round the corner, you see this massive pyramid shaped peak with a big black line right up the middle. That black line is the Dike route. I remember seeing it for the first time and saying I want to climb that. Every time I ve been out to the Tetons that climb has been on my list, but its always got pushed to the bottom for some reason. I think the guidebook scares a lot of people off because it says up to 22 pitches of roped climbing. Super-easy routefinding though just follow the dike! The day turned out beautifully. We had great weather the whole time. We started in the dark, but got up to the Dike sometime well after daybreak maybe like 9 or so. We simulclimbed the first part in 2 long pitches. Overall we did 4 long pitches of simulclimbing, a bunch of 4 th class soloing and 1 belayed pitch. You definitely could have gotten 22 pitches if you wanted to, but man that would take a

12 long time! Anyway the first pitch was mostly 4 th class with a few fifth class moves. Very sparse protection. Lots of thin parallel cracks. Many too small for TCUs. Take ballnuts if you have them! After several 100 feet of simulclimbing, we ran into 2 pitons with slings on them so I made a semi-hanging belay. The next pitch was the 5.6 pitch. It had good positive holds and plenty of pro. We simulclimbed that until we reached a tree below an easy 4 th class section. We soloed up several 100 feet of exposed 4 th class until the dike disappeared below some boulders. We then boulderhopped for several 100 feet. It was long. We had definitely not recovered from our attempt on the traverse yet. We were sucking wind, but we kept moving at a decent pace. We eventually got to the top of the Dike Pinnacle. Then we did a little scrambling and one belayed (very exposed!) pitch to get to a rap station. 1 rap put us at the top of the Ellingwood Colouir. Crossing that was trivial. We brought ice axes, but they were unnecessary and it was easy enough to belay. Sam scrambling on a 4 th class section of the Dike The guidebook mentions that many parties head down the Ellingwood after the Pinnacle and do not summit. It doesn t mention why, but I know why. The next pitch is a deathtrap!. From the top of the pinnacle (and the top of the col) the route to the summit is fairly obvious. There is a big gully down the middle of the face in front of you. If you have trouble finding it, just look and listen for all the falling rocks! The book says to climb the gully or the face to the left. At least in the beginning the face to the

13 left looks rather difficult it has several roofs. I elected to go up the bowling alley. It was a very poor choice. It was degree mud with watermelon sized rocks frozen into it. It was very unstable. We simulclimbed across the slab and into the gully. Luckily we timed it just right. I exited the top of the gully right as Felipe entered. I didn t know this at the time, so everytime I knocked something down and he didn t answer right away I really thought I killed him. Anyway as soon as I saw an exit I took it and got out of there and built a belay. After one pitch simul-climbing up through the bowling alley, I was not about to head back in there so I took my chances on the face. It was actually quite enjoyable 5.5 climbing up a slab with a nice finger crack in it. After about 400 feet of simulclimbing we were on the summit. When I topped out there was a couple up there. I asked them if there was anywhere to build an anchor and they looked at me like I was a little crazy. They said they had no idea. They were still learning. Note: They had come up the tourist route the SW colouir which requires nothing more than a little third-class scrambling. Anyway we summitted about 5 and headed back down. We made good time. We hit the parking lot an hour or two after dark. All in all it was a 16 or 17 hour day. I was glad I did route and I recommend doing it once, but I wouldn t do it again. If you do stay out of that gully! The next day some other ECPers who had showed up were going to hike up Buck Mt, but we were too beat so we slept in and took a rest day. It was a great idea because it rained all day long. They made it to the base of the scramble and then turned around. The following day we went to go climb Symettry Spire. We wanted to do something big but nothing too hard. We were going to do the Direct Jensen Ridge. I had done the SE Ridge before, so the Jensen seemed like the thing to do. We parked at string Lake (new fall boat hours on Jenny Lake) and we hiked up and stayed on trail very well until we got to the short 4 th class scramble at the base of the gully. When it says scramble up and head left. head left immediately. We stayed straight a little too long. Anyway it was foggy and miserable when we left but it looked like it might burn off. By 10 am it hadn t and we were just at the base of the approach gully. Symettry is a long day and the Jensen is the longest route on it. The next day we had to get up early to head back to Salt Lake. We didn t want to get down late and be wet etc. We still needed to pack. Also we were still recovering from the Traverse. So when it was still cloudy at 10 we bailed. We checked out No Perches Necessary on the way down but the 5.8 R section did not sound appealing (and the guy working at the Ranch said it was definite no fall territory). So we just bailed. We went into town for lunch and then went back to the ranch and took a nap. We were gonna run in the afternoon, but we were so beat we just went back to bed. Before dinner we headed to string lake and threw the Frisbee and drank some beer (that has become our traditional rest day it is amazing). The rest of the day was beautiful and we questioned our decision to bail until near dark when it opened up. Likely we would have been caught in that on the way down. We made the right decision. I remember planning this trip and talking to Dr Bob and saying that if we only made ½ our objectives, the trip would be a success. All in all I d say it was successful. At the very least we came back alive and friends. There were definitely a few things we could have done better, but I don t feel like we were really in over our head. If we had found the right route on the N. ridge, I think we would have pulled off the traverse. As it was the real turning point was when the rope got stuck. We should have given it more thought and explored other options before we cut the rope. Having only 60 feet really limited our options (and forced us to leave a lot more gear -$$) Also once we decided to bail to the west we should have either waited until morning or stopped earlier and found a better bivy spot. We also could have done a better job researching bail routes off the Grandstand. Several other groups of ECPers came out and joined us for part of the trip. Matt Janick, Martha Gray and Bill Baxter came out. They tried to climb Buck Mt., but got rained off. They ended doing a nice backpacking loop. Kevin Chartier and Greg Buzulencia came out and attempted Buck as well. They eventually managed to summit Teewinot. Brian Cowan and Michelle Najera got rained off Symettry Spire and left $90 worth of gear. They also got rained off the Grand, but persevered and summitted it

14 the next day. Dave Martin and Justin Kaiser attempted Buck as well and then also got weathered off of the CMC route. It was the worst period of weather I ve ever seen out there in 5 trips. The group that passed us apparently spent the night on top of the Grand in a lightning storm. So all in all, considering we actually summitted 3 mountains and everyone else s luck, it doesn t seem so bad. On another note I would just add for anyone who plans on heading out to Jackson, we discovered some new restaurants this trip. Betty Rock had very good, cheap (for Jackson) burgers and beer. The Snake River Brewery tied with the Granary for having the best bison burger. Enjoy. --Sam Taggart

15 ECP BOG MEETING 9/19/2013 MINUTES AND DISCUSSION NOTES Meeting started at 7:49PM Attendees: Phil sidel, Bill Baxter, Derek Stuart and Kathy Prigg. OFFICER REPORTS Bill Baxter Reporting 1. John Timo has slideshow for November meeting 2. Tyler Quinn can do a slideshow for October mountaineering trip of some sort Phil Sidel Reporting - Requested (for General Meeting Minutes) clarification of Derek's report Derek responded that he had basically reported: We have lots of gear, come and get it Kathy Prigg Reporting 1. Reported on Equipment funds to Derek Equipment Fund Budget Year Date to Difference ECP Equip Fund Revenue Membership Family Membership $0.00 $4.00 $4.00 Indiv. Membership $0.00 $15.00 $15.00 Mountaineering School $ $0.00 ($250.00) Backpacking School $ $0.00 ($200.00) Rock School $ $ ($10.00) Other Equip Fund Income (rentals, etc.) $ $ $ TOTAL ECP Equip Fund Revenue $ $ ($139.00) ECP Equip Fund Expenses

16 Mountaineering School $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Backpacking School $0.00 $ $ Rock School $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Ropes $ $0.00 ($600.00) Other Equip Fund Expenses $1, $ TOTAL ECP Equip Fund Expenses $2, $ ($1, ) ($1, ) Fiscal Year Carry Over $1, TOTAL Equipment $ $1, $1, Derek Reporting: 1. pleased at the amount of gear 2. need to spend the last of the budget 3. Hopes to meet with Ron and Brian to review inventory and needs 4. charges for rental gear tents are a bit expensive because they are 4 season mountaineering tents -- We don't want rental charges to inhibit members from renting gear, So far that does not seem to have been happening. 5. Phil notes that we have changed from the old "daily/weekly/weekend" rental structure; we want to be sure the Policy Statements reflect or allow for the changes. 6. Gary McCormick - former rafting coordinator, has requested that unused ECP rafting and paddling gear be donated to Team River Runner a. Phil moves that Derek selects the set of unused paddling and water equipment and it become an ECP donation to Team River Runner b. Passed Ron Not present, Deep not present OLD BUSINESS Noted that Club Fund Contributions approved by BOG and Membership seem reasonable; We should proceed to send out the contributions.

17 NEW BUSINESS Proposed policy changes - Phil presented draft of proposed changes to Paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the posted Policy Statements: 2.1 For each school, the President shall appoint a committee of three to five club members, including a chair. Committees and chairs shall be appointed six months before the school is expected to begin and shall meet within one month of the appointment and report to the BOG regularly. 2.2 The Committees will recommend: standards and criteria for the conduct of the schools, selection of instructors, and a director for each school after soliciting applicants for that position. The BOG must approve these recommendations. Each student in the Rock Climbing School will pay $10 into the equipment fund and $10 into the MBEG fund. Each student in the Mountaineering School will pay $20 into the equipment fund and $25 into the MBEG fund. Each student in the Backpacking School will pay $5 into the equipment fund and $5 into te MBEG fund.. This money will cover normal wear on Club equipment and support important aspects of the club's purposes.. These amounts will be included with the course fee. Equipment deposits from students should be sufficient to cover loss or damage to individual items provided for their use. The School Committee, with input from the Director, will review the circumstances of loss or damage to group-use equipment. If it is determined that the loss or damage was due to the clear negligence of an individual, that individual will be required to replace the item. Otherwise, the loss or damage will be considered part of the normal wear and tear of operating the school. 1. Regarding Paragraph 2.1 a. Bill suggested the amount of people to be changed to 3 or more i. This was agreed upon b. Derek pointed out that the "six months before the school is expected to begin" was unrealistic. Various alternatives were discussed. Phil pointed out the need for setting up the school schedule and allowing time for announcements and applications before school starting. Bill proposed that "six months" be changed to "at least three months" and this was agreed upon. 2. Regarding Paragraph 2.2 a. In italics, the Backpacking School was added and per-student contributions to Equipment and MBEG funds were specified for the three current schools. b Derek observed that BOG approval of director appointments was generally superfluous and would delay preparations for the school. Even BOG approval of the committee's recommended standards and criteria could better be handled in a discussion and adjustment mode, since the Committees are to report to the BOG regularly -- It was agreed to remove the sentence "The BOG must approve these recommendations." Participation with Adventures and Scientists for Conservation 1. Ron had proposed that we make an appeal for someone to coordinate with this group Proposed to talk to Ginette (Environmental Chairperson) about being the coordinator Bill will contact her, tell her to talk with Ron 2. Phil sees 3 ways of working with them (outlined at the Sept. 12 th General Meeting) NOTE:Some of these might involve financial costs.

18 a. telling them about our trips that we are looking forward to, they can tell us what to do b. training session by someone from ASC (like the rescue group session before a meeting last year) c. Phil couldn't remember the third mode: (it was "Scheduling a specific data-gathering trip/project in collaboration with a research project suggested by ASC.) Flag Membership 1. Phil nominates Sam Taggart for Flag membership a. Phil presented a summary of Sam's qualifications His services to the club (including 4 years as President) and his adventures and explorations in a broad range of outdoor activities here and abroad. b. BOG nominates Sam Taggart c. This will be added to the October General Meeting Nominating Sam Taggart for Flag membership 2. Second Flag Membership should occur in November a. BOG discussed candidate Support for Reel Rock Tour 1. We have $325 to support 2. There is a standing request for volunteers to help 3. It was noted that Judith Scanlon has already done a superior job in promoting the event and obtaining donations of prizes for the raffle to benefit the Access Fund Establishment of Snail mail address Frick Environmental Center is moving; our mail can no longer be handled at their new address 1. It was agreed that a PO box would be our best option 2. Based on on-line review of prices which vary by location (Oakland is cheaper than Squirel Hill) and general convenience of the location to members, and probable box size needs, 3. Phil proposed that we rent the second size box in the Oakland post office a. We need to act on this quickly b. Then change the address on the website! c. set up a redirect online 4. The BOG agreed on this proposal and Phil has the authority to rent a second size up box at Oakland Post Office Budget for Treasurer needs to create a committee, Martha Gray is a candidate of choice, BOG agreed. 2. Needs to be done by October 2013 Facilitating Deposits by those who frequently collect funds Gave Derek a deposit book, Kathy will Martha to see if she has one. If not Kathy wil get her one Meeting adjourned at 8:50PM ~ Philip Sidel, Secretary, with thanks to Kathleen Prigg for excellent notes as basis for this report.

19 ECP BOG MEETING 9/19/ MINUTES (to be read for approval at October Meeting) Attendees: Phil sidel, Bill Baxter, Derek Stuart and Kathy Prigg. OFFICER REPORTS Bill Baxter Reporting 1. John Timo has slideshow for November meeting 2. Tyler Quinn can do a slideshow for October mountaineering trip of some sort Kathy Prigg Reporting 1. Reported on Equipment funds to Derek Equipment Fund Budget Year to Date Difference ECP Equip Fund Ropes $ $0.00 ($600.00) Other Equip Fund Expenses $1, $ ($1,113.51) The complete report of Equipment fund revenues and expenses is published in the October Newsletter,. Derek Reporting: 1. pleased at the amount of gear 2. need to spend the last of the budget 3. Hopes to meet with Ron and Brian to review inventory and needs 4. charges for rental gear -- We don't want rental charges to inhibit members from renting gear, So far that does not seem to have been happening. 5. Phil notes that we have changed from the old "daily/weekly/weekend" rental structure; we want to be sure the Policy Statements reflect or allow for the changes. 6. Gary McCormick - former rafting coordinator has requested that unused ECP rafting and paddling gear be donated to Team River Runner a. Moved, seconded and passed that Derek selects the set of unused paddling and water equipment and it become an ECP donation to Team River Runner OLD BUSINESS We should proceed to send out the contributions from Bogel Fund to the selected environmental organizations.

20 NEW BUSINESS Proposed policy changes - Phil presented draft of proposed changes to Paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the posted Policy Statements: Changes were made. Final recommended policy statement changes are: 2.1 For each school, the President shall appoint a committee of three or more club members, including a chair. Committees and chairs shall be appointed at least three months before the school is expected to begin and shall meet within one month of the appointment and report to the BOG regularly. 2.2 The Committees will recommend: standards and criteria for the conduct of the schools, selection of instructors, and a director for each school after soliciting applicants for that position. The BOG must approve these recommendations. Each student in the Rock Climbing School will pay $10 into the equipment fund and $10 into the MBEG fund. Each student in the Mountaineering School will pay $20 into the equipment fund and $25 into the MBEG fund. Each student in the Backpacking School will pay $5 into the equipment fund and $5 into te MBEG fund.. This money will cover normal wear on Club equipment and support important aspects of the club's purposes.. These amounts will be included with the course fee. Equipment deposits from students should be sufficient to cover loss or damage to individual items provided for their use. The School Committee, with input from the Director, will review the circumstances of loss or damage to group-use equipment. If it is determined that the loss or damage was due to the clear negligence of an individual, that individual will be required to replace the item. Otherwise, the loss or damage will be considered part of the normal wear and tear of operating the school. Participation with Adventures and Scientists for Conservation Ron had proposed that we make an appeal for someone to coordinate with this group Proposed to talk to Ginette (Environmental Chairperson) about being the coordinator Bill will contact her, tell her to talk with Ron Flag Membership 1. After presentation of Sam Tagggart's qualification for Flag Membership Award, BOG nominates Sam Taggart for Flag Membership. 2. Second Flag Membership should occur in November Support for Reel Rock Tour 1. There is a standing request for volunteers to help 2. It was noted that Judith Scanlon has already done a superior job in promoting the event and obtaining donations of prizes for the raffle to benefit the Access Fund Establishment of Snail mail address Frick Environmental Center is moving; our mail can no longer be handled at their new address 1. It was agreed that a PO box would be our best option 2. The BOG agreed on this proposal and Phil has the authority to rent a second size up box at Oakland Post Office Budget for Treasurer needs to create a committee, Martha Gray is a candidate of choice, BOG agreed. 2. Needs to be done by October 2013 Facilitating Deposits by those who frequently collect funds Gave Derek a deposit book, Kathy will Martha to see if she has one. If not Kathy wil get her one Meeting adjourned at 8:50PM

21 ECP General Meeting Agenda October 10 At The Union Project, 801 North Negley; 7:30PM OFFICER REPORTS President Rush Howe Opens Meeting and reports VP Bill Baxter Secretary -- Phil Sidel : Treasurer Kathleen Prigg See Report later in this newsletter Equipment Chairperson Derek Stuart Activities Chairperson Ron Edwards : Editor Subhodeep Moitra APPOINTEE & COMMITTEE REPORTS Membership Coordinator Martha Gray : New Membership Applicants to be voted in Brendan Redler, Chantz Wain, Taylor Schubert, Michelle Rea Webmaster Tom George Historian Phil Sidel Budget Committee Mounaineering School Rock-climbing School Backpacking School OLD BUSINESS -- Reading of BOG Minutes for review and approval by Membership -- Reel Rock Tour NEW BUSINESS Formal Policy Change Statements to be reviewed and adopted (See BOG Minutes) Nomination and Approval of Flag Membership Award New ECP Mailing address Call for coordinator to work with interfacing ECP with Adventurers & Scientists for Conservation.

22 ECP General Meeting September 12 Minutes At The Union Project, 801 North Negley; Attendance: 27 Members, 3 Applicants, and 5 guests Rush Howe opened the meeting shortly before 8pm. OFFICER REPORTS VP Bill Baxter Tonight's presentation will be Paul Toth Slide Show on climb of Mt. Rainier ealrlier this year. -- Nov Meeting presentation by John Timo -- Anticipating presentations by Nick Ross, Bruce Cox Secretary -- Phil Sidel No Report - Note that there was no August BOG meeting, so there were no BOG minutes to be read and considered for approval. Treasurer Kathleen Prigg (reported later in the meeting, but her report is shown here) - Now apportioning membership dues to General Fund and Equipment Fund as per policy revision August 8 th. - It was noted later in the meeting that we have a lot of money in Bogel fund and should be more active in spending it. Trailwork projects, Cleanups, participation with Adventurers& Sciientists for Conservation were suggested - As of August 31, 2013 Bogel Fund - $ 9, Mike Brown EG Fund - $ 4, Equipment Fund $ 1, General Fund $ 7, TOTAL $23, A More Detailed breakdown of Budget and Finances is appended for publication in the October Newsletter. Equipment Chairperson Derek Stuart reported --???? Activities Chairperson Ron Edwards Not present, No Report, but members are referred to the events calendar on the ECP website. Particularly the ECP events 10/26 Tree Planting and LitterPickup at Phipps and 10/16 to 10/20 DC to Pgh Bike Tour Other Activities were announced by Members present: 10/22 Event? Starting at Ron Edwards' House

23 10/12 Triathlon in Conemaugh River Valley area (see Barry Adams for details) Saturday Urban Climb On Church Tower in East Liberty (see John Zolko for details) Autumn Day Hiking (See Bruce Cox for details) Mountaineering School Welcome Party will be October 7 th Potential former students and instructors as well as potential new students are invited Editor 'Deep Moitra Not present, No Report APPOINTEE REPORTS Membership Coordinator Martha Gray Reported -- We have the following 20 new applicants for Membership in ECP Diane Kass, Kenneth Laliberte, Monika Holbein, Tony Reynoldo, Josh Jordan, Erica Jordan, Justine Harkness, Kate Parisi, Mark Wolfe, Benjo Cowley, Aadiya Ramdas, Marissa Ferrighetto, Annabel Li, Nicole Miller, Ammar Husain, Bethany Melvin, Brian Myler, Jacob Kamholz, Jennifer Sowers, Sean Harpst Moved, Seconded,and unanimously passed: to welcome as new members of ECP all 20 of the new applicants New members Monika Holbein and Tony Reynaldo were present and introduced themselves as did new applicant Matt Barnes. -- There has been a request for an option to purchase/pay dues for a Life Membership not to be confused with the Life Member award for outstanding service/contribution to the club and its purposes. The person inquiring about this is John Weinel who has been a strong contributor in a number of ways, though it is a long time since he participated in any club activities other than hosting the August Picnic/Metings for several years. This question has been added to the Agenda for the September BOG Meeting. OLD and NEW BUSINESS - Participation in/with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC). Phil Sidel reported that at Ron Edwards' suggestion he had opened a mail packet Addressed to Ron. It contained a cover letter and the following pamphlets/brochures: Guided Adventure Science Outings (3 copies) 2012 Highlights (seven breakthrough scientific advances by groups and individuals mixing adventure and science) Conservation Organizations: Let us Help With Your Citizen-Scientist Program Adventurers: Make a Difference While You Get After It Browsing through these materials, he sees three ways ECP could get involved - Others may see a different variety 1- Posting to ASC as far in advance as possible planned "adventures" (trips/activities) and welcoming suggestions for data gathering on the trip (including guidelines/training on how to gather the data).

24 2- Scheduling a specific data-gathering trip/project in collaboration with a research project (probably local to our region) suggested by ASC 3- A training session/program by someone from ASC - perhaps before or after a regular meeting (like the Search and Rescue Session last year) or perhaps as a separate program (like our WFA courses). NOTE:Some of these might involve financial costs. We might consider underwriting some of these costs out of our Bogel Fund. NOTE: After the meeting Phil opened an suggesting that we request a volunteer to coordinate our relationship and activities with the ASC. Anyone interested in working with this program, please contact Ron or Phil Proposed changes to the formal Statement of Policies and Procedures: Proposals for changes are invited. There is currently proposal for specific changes to at least one section (Paragraph 2.2) but others are being drafted. Action on proposed changes is on the agenda for the September Meeting Nomination of Flag Membership (and/or Life Membership) Candidates. Formal Nominations will be made at the September BOG meeting; Anyone wishing to make a nomination please attend that meeting, or at least take it up with a BOG member to be discussed or nominated at the meeting. There was a request for statement on the qualifications/requirements for Flag and Life Membership. It was pointed out that they are set forth in the Types of Membership section of the Constitution which is published on the club website. Bruce Cox gave a general outllne of the qualifications, which except for a requirement for length of membership are quite general about contributing to the club's purposes Establishment of a new mail address for ECP. The current Frick Environmental Center is moving and will no longer be at that address, and may not have an address to which our mail can be sent. There was a good bit of discussion of this. The General sense of the meeting was that we should change our published mail address to a PO Box at a centralized (Oakland, Squirrell Hill, or Downtown) PO. Final decision will be made at the BOG meeting. We should have voted approval of the allocation of funds for the PO BOX rental since time is of the essence, but hopefully we can commit the funds and get approval at the next ECP meeting. (NOTE: Rates Vary by size of Box and Location. Rates at the Oakland PO are cheaper than at Squirrel Hill)

25 Location For September BOG Meeting Kathleen Prigg has graciously offered to host the September 19 th BOG Mtg Woodview Drive, Pgh. PA Matt Janick announced a request for volunteers to assist in promoting, coordinating, and otherwise supporting the REEL ROCK TOUR to be shown at CMU's McConomy Hall Auditorium, October 14 th. Volunteers should contact Felix Duvallet or Matt Janick Disck Watson requested that anyone with information about attempts/history to re-open Woodland Wall (on Rt. 7 near Morgantown) by Access Fund or others, please contact him There have been inquiries on-line for inexpensive "wicking" fabric shirts and socks. Rush Howe brought in some examples a shirt and wool socks that he re-sold at very low prices Discussion of where to meet after the meeting and program. Settled on Purgatory? Located in the 1800 block of Morningside Avenue MEETING ADJOURNED 8:25 PM POST MEETING PROGRAM Paul Toth, assisted by Sam Taggart, presented an educational and entertaining slide show and commentary in their recent ascent of Mt. Rainier. -- Meeting some of their schedule goals and being surprised at the intransigence of the mountain and the weather blocking some other plans and goals.

26 REMENISCENCES FROM ca.1980 By Bruce Cox I just received this today from Sue Smiley. It brought back memories of a group from the ECP going to Beaver Valley Skydivers and everyone doing their first static line jump. I had about 30 or so jumps at that point and was the trip leader. We jumped from the old Beaver plane that was flown by Amel. Pat Lawton one of the Flag Members was the US Parachute Assn. local representative and jumped with us. I was trying to prepare for one of Dr. Ivan Jirak's expeditions to the upper Artic where he would jump into an unexplored area in northern Baffin Island or one further north and do first ascents. For some reason never made one of those trips but I trained for them none the less.

27 The ECP at that time had over 400 members and we met in 7500 Science Hall at CMU. CMU was friendly to the club and many, many CMU students were active members. At times over 200 people attending our monthly meeting and the Activities Director, one of the jobs I held, had to write all the trips going on on the black board and sometimes there was not enough room. The club was doing allot of caving, white water, cross country skiing, scub diving, backpacking and of course rock and ice climbing. The New River climbing area was being developed and several members and climbers who hung around the club but never paid dues not unlike today were very active in the new routes going up there. There were several Mountaineering trips going out to South America and Mexico in that time frame and trips like Skydiving, Horseback riding in the Allegheny National Forrest and a spring trip to Nags Head to rent and fly hang gliders were considered relaxing off the normal hard core climbing, caving and scuba diving many were doing and of course the Rock and Mountaineering schools.. Sue and Bob Smiley were very active in the club specially in the Scuba Diving area. The club put together big trips to the Petersburgh, Canada Ice Flow race and one time I remember two busloads of members going on the trip to race a block of ice dressed in wet suits and varied costumes down a frozen river in February. It was a great time, like today to be a ECP member and in the last 4-5 years I have seen that same level of enthusiasm, eagerness, atmosphere or adventure with a higher skill level that I have ever seen in the club, both in the clubs traditional activities along with some very exciting new activities. Also included is a song that Joe Stahovic Sr. wrote about our skydiving trip. I forgot I pulled that one together. Sue gave me permission to share this [set of photos and "Ballad of New Jumplings" with the club I will get the originals to our Historian per Sue's wishes at the next meeting. The photos are mine and from the trip. All photos were from Beaver Valley Sky Divers Best Regards ~ Bruce Cox, Life Member ECP

28 "The Ballad of New Jumplings" By J.M. Stahovic Bruce Cox said they'd teach us if we fooled 'em by surprise If we all looked real macho, hid the fear in our eyes So guy and gals got signed up and everything look'd swell But as the day approacheth we feared the Gates of He CHORUS: W-e-l-l w-e fell in the briers and we fell near the roof We fell in the fields where the corn did grow. Two blew so far that the hounds couldn't find 'em One landed at a Mall and the other, --- Texaco. We practiced our landings by doin' four foot jumps Some landed on their elbows and others on their rumps. We struggled near the airplane to practice our exit "If he ever thinks I'll let go, he's really full of CHORUS: Next they put us in a harness and hung us from the beams.. They told us it'd be easy, - then they shattered all our dreams There were things called malfunctions we didn't like that sound It was something to do with falling and the way you'd hit the ground CHORUS: The straps from the harness squeezed us nearly in between I was talking octaves higher and it hurt when I did scream He said this wouldn't bother us when we got up there The pain would simply vanish as we fell down through the air. CHORUS: The airplane started running and still we all were there They're a tough bunch of eleven who did swallow all their fear Some outsiders called us crazy and others called us dumb But we all had our reasons not a one of us did run. CHORUS: We jumpedd from the airplane and made our first great fall The leap was kind of scary, but the chute did save us all We an' time were suspended, - we fell softly not a sound The only big distraction was the ever closer ground. CHORUS: Now that it's all over, would we do it all again? Well, you don't need our answer; just tell us where and when We'll be ready in the morning We'll be ready in the night Although it has its hazards, it's really out of sight. CHORUS:

29 ECP Library News - October 2013 Three new books have been added to the clubs library for the club members to borrow. They cover skydiving, trail speed records and the night sky and how we are slowly losing it. All three are interesting and I'm sure you'll enjoy them! ; Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook, by Dan Poynter and Mike Turoff. This book is a revised, up to date book that covers every phase of skydiving, from your first tandem jump to advanced skydiving. It tells about the equipment needed, the ways you control your flight and even WHY people jump out of planes. You might not be ready to do your first jump after reading this book, but you will know what you need to do before you climb onto that plane. After reading this book, it has rekindled a desire I've had for many, many years...hmmm, who knows... Called Again, by Jennifer Pharr Davis. Jennifer had hiked the Appalachian Trail by herself after graduating from college. She wrote the book Becoming Odessa after her trek. (We have this book also in the club library!) In it she tells about the people she met, her doubts about being able to finish the hike, and the aches and pains she endured to do it. In her newest book, she returns to the trail, this time to try and set a time record for hiking the entire 2175 mile trail. With the aid of her new husband and lots of friends, she sets out to break the old record. One of the people helping her in her attempt is the man who set the record the last time, David Horton. In this book, she stresses the importance of support, friends and family and a good plan. She overcomes the miles, the mountains and the weather with the help of her support team and does a great job of telling us about it. The End of Night, by Paul Bogard. In this book, Paul takes us from the Las Vegas Luxor Beam, the brightest spot on the planet, to deep deserts where the stars are so plentiful, they look like clouds. He doesn't preach about the loss of darkness at night, he just presents us with facts. He does this in a