[imike]

"... I topped out the ice and began walking up windblown snow, while Scotty removed the last piece of protection between us, a stubby ice screw placed in a thin slab of verglass. All of a sudden I was pulled down and started sliding sideways back towards the ice, tugged down by the rope, down, down, down…instinct took over. I drove my tools deep into the snow, straightened my body and frantically kicked my toes into the ground. I stopped moving inches before I was dragged back onto the ice slabs. I slung a small shrub, connected it to my tools which were buried deep in the snow attached to my harness via weight bearing tethers, and I put Scotty on belay. I had stopped Scotty’s fall and our subsequent death by self-arresting. I should have placed more protection, but this was one “should have” that didn‘t kill us in the mountains. It was not our time to tumble down the west gully, it was our time to send.

Its early 2005 and I am frantically driving my jeep from Washington..."

Excerpt from : http://pullharder.org/2010/03/23/1244/ interesting link and reading for the more adventurous hikers/climbers... makes me just want to stay away from the frozen wastes...

Index at: http://pullharder.org/idx/

[joe bartels]

Arizona... best place on earth!

[BobP]

That was a good read...thanks for posting it

[rdavisiii]

There is nothing quite like sinking your front points and axes into nice water fall ice, just sayin.

[BobP]

In response to rdavisiii:
I was thinking about your story of ice climbing with the author guy(name escapes me) when I read that.

[Jim_H]

That falling to your death kind of thing is what makes me question how far I will go in climbing or mountaineering. It's not like I'm an expert; I'm really just a novice beyond 4th class scrambling, and that requires no real skill. It looks and sounds like lots of fun, but things do happen and unlike a car accident you can't just get rushed to the hospital if you break a leg climbing. Cellphones changed the world, but they aren't good everywhere. Then again, one of the biggest things about climbing is the expense of the gear and the cost of the trips to interesting places, so maybe falling isn't the deciding factor. There actually is climbable ice in Arizona. I understand there is some around Mt Elden in Flagstaff. We have the climate to make ice here, maybe the town should develop a climbing park like Ouray, Co?

[big_load]

I like having two feet on the ground and not needing hands for progress or stability. I find the need to scramble now and then, and it doesn't bother me much, but I draw the line at protection. That's just not for me.

[rdavisiii]

Hmmm, Mount Elden? My buddies would laugh their a$$ off back east if I was able to climb a line in AZ. They still struggle with trees and snow in AZ. A park like Ouray would be very cool. They have fat ice in there so early because of the plumbing they installed. I brought my cold weather gear back with me this year, snow shoeing on the list for next year.

[BobP]

snow shoeing on the list for next year

there's still a little time this year

[azbackpackr]

Plenty of snow up here, why wait? It is still 3 to 5 feet deep most places above 8500.

[rdavisiii]

No go for this year, all booked up til May, you all still have snow by then I am in.

[azbackpackr]

Baldy will still have a bunch by then, but probably so packed you wouldn't need snowshoes. The snow does pack down a lot in the spring.

[kevinweitzel75]

Started to get into climbing in 2000, but only made it as far as Phx Rock Gym. Pretty cool place. Is it still around?

[azbackpackr]

Yup, they have a website, too.

[berkforbes]

@azbackpackr
lol