www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic Evolution^SM

Climbing and
Mountaineering

Vedauwoo's Reynold's Hill

Maybe true. Maybe not true. Better you believe.    - Old Sherpa Saying

"Alpinism is the art of suffering"                 - Voytek Kurtyka

"Mountaineering is a complex and unique way of life, interweaving elements of sport, art and mysticism. Success or failure depends on the ebb and flow of immense inspiration. Detecting a single rule governing this energy is difficult - it arises and vanishes like the urge to dance and remains as mysterious as the phenomenon of life itself."

Click Here for more climbing photos...

Click Here for some info on 14ers...

"Mountaineering is more than climbing, panoramic views, and wilderness experience. It is also challenge, risk, and hardship. And it is not for everyone. Those drawn to mountains can find them exhilarating and irresistible, as well as frustrating and sometimes even deadly. There are qualities to mountaineering that bring inspiration and joy in a pursuit that is more than a pastime, more than a sport - a passion, certainly, and sometimes a compulsion." - Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills
6th Edition, Chapter 1 "First Steps" p. 15

"I was resolved to attempt the impossible and never let slip an opportunity to risk my life." - Prof. Guido Lammer 1862 - 1945 (from a Neptune Mountaineering T-shirt, circa 1990) "This new book by Messner is a biography of Guido Lammer who was the greatest German speaking climber of the 19th century. He was particularly drawn to dangerous rock and ice, where he had success with important new routes, many of them solo. The essence of his many faceted interests and development was to search out extreme danger and survive." (from Chessler Books, 2005)

Click on any of this page's "thumbnail" images for a larger view...

Click Here for our YouTube video slogging up Mt. Baker!

Mt. Baker (Komo Kulshan)
10,778 ft/3285 m - Washington State

On June 29, 2008 six friends summitted Mt. Baker (Komo Kulshan) an hour before noon. Led by Jeff Bowman and Amy Hastings, Georgia Briscoe, Tom and Linda Jagger, and I all made way up steep glaciers and volcanic vents for over 7,000 feet of elevation gain. Using two rope teams with ice axes, crampons, pulleys and prussics, it was quite the adventure and I'm grateful have been invited along for all the fun! - Roger J. Wendell, Independence Day '08

Trailhead still snowed-in!	Georgia and Linda	Amy	Me, Linda, Georgia and Tom	Me opening a water bottle...
Tom tests a crevasse	Small crevasse	Volcanic steam vent	Georgia	Jeff and Tom
Amy	A skier rests with us	Amy and Jeff	Jeff, me and Tom	Sunrise on Mt. Baker

A Mini Epoch:

It took us about six hours to descend from the summit back to our cars - stopping half way down to dismantle our camp. While taking down our tents another rope team stopped to ask if we had any cell phone or radio communications off the mountain - one of their companions, a young woman, had been hypothermic and immobile all morning - wrapped up inside of two sleeping bags trying to get warm. I gave it a try and was able to reach the Vancouver, British Columbia 911 dispatcher by cell phone. With a lot of yelling up and down the mountainside, via roped teams, it was finally determined that the woman would be okay and could get out on her own. Apparently that part of the message never made it to the Skagit County Sheriff's Department as a Navy Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched to search for the climber. Although we were unaware, and never saw the helicopter, the Sheriff's Department made many attempts to reach me by cell phone after my first call. Back in town, when I was within range again, I was able to assure the Sheriff's Department that the woman had recovered and didn't need assistance. The Sheriff's Deputy was good natured but advised me they had pulled my name, driving record, and even pictures from my website in preparing for the search!

Click Here for our YouTube video on the summit of Mt. Baker!

Click Here for our YouTube video of Mt. Baker's volcanic steam vent...

Solid Rock

Roger & Roger at Eldo

"At its purest, rock climbing involves finding a weakness in an expanse of rock and exploiting that weakness to get to the top. There are many variations on this primary objective. If the rock face or cliff is long, then you need to puzzle it out in rope lengths, or pitches. When the climber puts several such sections together, the result is a multi-pitch climb. To keep oneself safe while climbing, one uses a complex array of gear, called protection, and a nylon rope tested and rated to withstand forces far greater than what a long plummet might generate." "The rock feature one climbs is most often a crack or fissure, ranging from pinky width to wider than your head. Cracks provide both a place to cram hands and feet to make upward progress and a place to put the protective gear that will keep you safe should you fall. All our team knew before coming to Ethiopia was that we might be climbing multi-pitch routes on sandstone towers and cliffs via cracks. We came to establish new climbs - our routes - and thus did not know where we would find them, what they would look or feel like, and if they would even 'go.' We came, in short, to do first ascents."

An opinion:

Technical climbing, and the occasional "free solo" (even across the First Flatiron sans clothing!), has always been one of my Colorado passions. There's nothing like the feel of a solid fist-jam while leading a climb up a hand crack 1,000 feet over some river or sandstone landscape. Although I never reached the 5.12 realm, I enjoyed many of the classic climbs Colorado is famous for (Lumpy Ridge, Bastille Crack, all of the Flatirons, etc.). Unfortunately I don't have a lot of photographs to share as carrying cameras (especially back in the 35 mm film days) was a bit difficult due to weight, expense, and the ever present crushing-falling-smashing hazard - Even on Aconcagua I saw a guy's camera fall over 400 feet as it "zinged" by all of our heads below. Okay, enough excuses - I didn't take many pictures over the years!

Anyway, like all of my other web pages, I like to provide some cautionary notes as things can get dangerous out there. Back in the late 60s (when I was 14 and 15 years old) I had no money and actually used clothes-line and other dangerous/useless pieces of rope to anchor me and my fellows in as we scrambled over rock faces and cracks in the San Gabriel mountains of Southern California. Those days are long-gone and that kind of foolishness needs to be avoided at all costs! For proper, safe climbing you need the appropriate gear and training. Period!

Ethics:

Oh, and for a little note on climbing ethics: Always stop to help other climbers in need. In the early 2000s, at about the time I was putting this page together, there were way too many newspapers stories about climbers stepping over the bodies of others who were injured or freezing to death without offering a lick of assistance. We can all do better than this - the summit doesn't mean that much! Another climbing ethic, in the technical world, is to avoid any direct aid from your equipment or that of others. That means when you're on a roped 5th class climb you should never use the rope to pull yourself up nor should you ever step on a spring-loaded or piton (most pitons out there are decades old and shouldn't be trusted anyway) to gain additional purchase or security. Technical climbing, in effect, is "free-soloing" (climbing the rock without any gear) but with the added benefit of a rope, spring-"loadeds," stoppers, and tri-cams catching you should you fall. The idea of "free-soloing" is what sours me, to a great extent, on the practice of Via ferrata that I describe further, below.

Never say never!

When I say don't use your climbing gear for direct aid that doesn't mean to be stupid, either! If you and your climbing buddies are in trouble don't hesitate to use your gear in any way, shape or fashion to save your lives or prevent injury!! It's just that I've been on a few climbs where I've seen somebody receive a "high-five" for completing a five pitch route but know they stepped on that #3 Camalot to get them over the crux - which means they didn't really "free" the route - just my opinion (and that of a few hundred other climbers I've met over the years...)...

- Roger J. Wendell

Knots for Climbers: You need to know these!

There are six basic knots you really need to know for climbing; Figue-8 Follow-Through, Clove Hitch, Figure-8-on-a-Bight, Double Fisherman's Knot, Prusik Loop, and the Münter Hitch. In addition these half dozen I also find the Water Knot, Alpine Butterfly, and girth hitch really handy as well. Anyway, the six basic knots, that I first mentioned, are really essential to safe climbing - both technical and mountaineering. The rule-of-thumb for knots is that they should be easy to remember, easy to tie, and easy to check visually. I also try to keep my knots properly "dressed" (nice, neat and with parallel runs when applicable) so that they're a little easier to take apart should I happen to load them my taking a hard fall, etc.

All knots reduce the breaking strength of rope. Another unscientific rule-of-thumb that I go by is that you can figure a knot reduces rope strength by about 50 percent. Of course this is a gross approximation as I've received emails from climbers suggesting certain knots can be within 85 or more percent the strength of a rope. Right. But, the main thing is to remember that knots weaken a rope which goes without saying how important it is to properly care for the rope itself - don't step on it, don't expose it to solvents or corrosives, "retire" it after it's taken a hard fall or it's been in use too long, etc. Another unscientific rule is that a properly "dressed" knot, like mentioned above, is probably slightly stronger than a messy one but I don't have any proof of that at the moment - just keep your knots neat and tidy so they're not only easy to undue but it's easier to see if they're being tied and used properly.

Anyway, back to those six basic knots: You need to know 'em "cold" - that is, be able to tie them flawlessly without hesitation. Many climbers (including me) practice tying knots in a cold shower in the dark. Yep, that's right - when you take your next shower turn out the lights, turn off the heat, and drag a rope in there with you! Many times, when either mountaineering or even technical climbing, you'll encounter difficult, wet, cold and dangerous conditions that won't allow for much fumbling around with a knot to save yourself. By practicing your knot tying in the cold, harsh conditions of your home shower you'll be better prepared to handle the rope under difficult conditions out in the real world - not to mention that these knots should be very well committed to memory after a number of shower exercises!

There are many books and websites that'll show you how to properly tie each of these knots - I've placed these pix here for general reference and hope that you'll study the subject even further so as to become an expert with the knots you need for climbing!

Double Fisherman's Knot	Double Fisherman's Knot	Prusik Loop	Water Knot	Alpine Butterfly
Figure 8 Follow-Through	Figure 8 on a Bight	Münter Hitch	Girth Hitch	Clove Hitch

What they're used for:

• Prusiks - Always carry along a prusik loop (or two) as they will enable you to climb back up a rope, set a pulley system or belay yourself while rappelling. Use two to three turns depending on conditions (rope size, wet, etc.). The prusik must be a smaller diameter than the rope you're attaching it to.
• Figure Eight (Follow-Through) - used to attach you, your harness and belay loop to the rope you're climnbing on.
• Clove Hitch - used for quickly securing line to a fixed anchor.
• Water Knot - usually used to join two pieces of webbing but can be used to join two ropes.
• Münter Hitch - to improvise a safe belay.
• Double Fisherman's Knot - to tie two ropes together, usually for rappeling longer distances (be sure to pull the rope down from the side with the knot as it won't pull through the other way!)
• Alpine Butterfly - allows you to clip a person, or gear, into the middle of a rope that's already in use. Kind of fun to tie it, once you know how, as the technique is to loop the rope around one had a couple times and then pull it throug itself to creat the "Butterfly."

North Table Mountain
Golden, Colorado

Before returning to his job in Japan, Roger came home for a few days with a quick stop for some climbing immediately after leaving the airport!

Setting up the rack	Quickdraw	Smile!	Testing the rappel	On the stupid end...	"Welcome Center"
Leading	Gear everywhere...	Spring loadeds	Roger and Roger	Climbers' Toilet	Rappel

Yes, you're right - the rack we used is way too huge for such short routes! But, we carried all the extra pieces to experiment with various anchors and directionals - practice I'd recommend anyone at season's start! You may have noticed the photo of the "Welcome center" - a very different feature than in the "old" days when we had to sneak around Golden neighborhoods to park cars and make our way through various properties to climb...

Click Here for our YouTube video of the North Table Mountain "Welcome Center..."

Via ferrata
(Italian for "iron road")
[Plural vie ferrate. In German, klettersteig]

Vie ferrate are climbing routes with fixed cables and an occasional ladder or bridge. At the time of my visit to the Dolomites of northern Italy (September '07) there were already well over 1,000 vie ferrate throughout Europe. The first vie ferrate were built in northern Italy throughout the Dolomites. These vie ferrate, when combined with tunnels and rock structures (see below), aided the movement of mountain infantry throughout the first war.

Although vie ferrate can be a lot of fun they can also be strenuous as they easily span a few thousand vertical feet of climbing route. Apparently they're becoming popular because of their relative safety (even though the fall factor places more stress on the human body because there's no long length of rope to absorb the shock...) and limited gear requirements. That being said, I hope the idea doesn't catch on too much more in the U.S. as the real appeal to climbing and mountaineering is both an environmental and climbing ethic. We certainly don't want to pound any more bolts into Nature, than necessary, and we certainly don't want to be clinging to anything artificial to make our way up the rock... Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun on the Dolomite's vie ferrate and am glad to have experienced this alternative to traditional climbing!

Seven on top (of me...)	Dolomites	Dolomites	Dolomites	Specialty carabiners for via ferrata
Jill	Tracey	All 8 of us!	Signage	Jill and Robert
Valley	Dolomites	Tracey, Jill & Robert	World War I fortification	World War I fortification
World War I	Marianne	Marianne, Robert & Jill	Me	Rifugio Cavazza al Pisciadù Hütte
Harald, Marianne & Markus	Route 666	Dianne, Marianne & Robert	Jill, Tracey & Markus	Jill, Markus & Tracey

The word "Dolomites" is derived from the name of a famous French mineralogist, Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu. Dolomieu was the first to describe the rock, dolomite, as a type of carbonate rock which is responsible for the characteristic shapes and color of these mountains.

Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone dolomite, composed of calcite (CaCO₃) and the mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO₃)₂) respectively. Chalk and tufa are also minor sedimentary carbonates. It's believed that the presence of carbonates in rock is strong evidence for the past presence of liquid water.

Eldorado Springs Canyon State Park, Colorado 08-17-2001 Amber, Rog, Emma and Me (Photos by Tami): Emma's arms are free! Me bouncing on rappel (a stupid thing to do) (46k) Amby (55k) Tami, Rogy and Emma on the belay ledge (67k) Emma and Rogy (67k) Emma and Rogy up high (72k) Rogy on rappel (58k)

Castlewood Canyon State Park, Colorado 04-29-2001
Amber, Jennifer, and Me (Photos by Tami):

We made it to the top!

Welcome to Castlewood Canyon State park (The welcome photo was taken exactly two weeks earlier) (55k) Amber on her way up (87k) Jennifer nears the top (71k) Jennifer adjusts gear (83k) Amber jams (73k)

I always loved climbing at Vedauwoo, located in south central Wyoming, and found Layne Kopischka's guide to be a great help. Of course I've used countless other guides for climbing areas all over the region but took delight in Kopischka's "Local Climb Rater" (an insect), "Agony of 'De Feet" (climbers usually wear shoe so tight they're feet hurt and turn colors...) and other drawings. I have Kopischka's autograph, and that of Royal Robbins and Tom Frost on my Autograph page if you're interested. By the way, Vedauwoo is a native American term for "Earth Born Spirit..."

Eldorado Springs Canyon State Park, Colorado 08-28-2005
Me and KC on the West Overhang (5.7 crux):

KC in the crack...

More to go!

KC near the top.

KC on rappel.

Roger still alive at 49...

Me on top Mt. Rainier - July 2nd, 2000

Photos and information on our 2003 CMC trip to Kilimanjaro are posted Here.

Other Related Links:

13ers 14ers Aconcagua Africa (Kilimanjaro and Point Lenana) Alpine Resuce Team - Evergreen, Colorado Amazonia Bear Safety BRCS - the CMC's Begginer Rock Climbing Seminar Camping Brian's climbing page CMC Colorado Mountain Club Colorado Avalanche Information Center (Your contributions help keep this vital service alive!) CORSAR - Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue Card Ecuador Gear - Stuff for the Backcountry... Grand Canyon High Altitude Medicine Guide Hiking Knots for climbing (animated by Grog) Leave No Trace - Center for Outdoor Ethics Lightning Safety More climbing photos Mountain Project Pikes Peak and Barr Camp Skiing (Backcountry) Snow Caves Survival in the backcountry Sweet Syringe a climbing story in the CMC's "Tech Section News" Ten Essentials and then some! Travel Travel Two Waypoints, Grid Squares and Navigation

Spring Loaded Camming Devices                 From Wild Country Friends & Technical Friends ownership instructions FO89/QA/1/Feb.1998: "Climbing and mountaineering are hazardous. Even correct selection, maintenance and use of correct equipment cannot eliminate the potential for danger, serious injury or death."

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