TR: A fall into King Ravine (Mount Adams, NH)

[Jonathan S.]

fail. the boots are not in the skis.

True, but at least once we reached the top of the couloir (not visible in this picture):






... T.C. (in the foreground) removed his ski & boot combo from his pack and asked, "so do I put my boots on right now without removing them first from the bindings?

A whippet is plenty for old school wolf slaughters - extra ammo weight slow down the overall vert?

Me: "Whoah, this thing is HEAVY!"
He: "That's why I didn't hike it over to the top of Great Gulf."

However, I did take a partial lap in Great Gulf with our daughter's stethoscope (barely visible around my neck) and BP cuff (on my left arm):

[NoPostholio]

^^^you saved weight for ammo by cutting foot off back of skis?

[axebiker]

Whew! Glad nobody died in the inevitable attack!

[Jonathan S.]

Meanwhile, that very same day, on that very same mountain, but in a different glacial cirque:

Impulse trip to Tuckerman Ravine to close off a very successful season of skiing. [...] Return to the snow and the end of the best alpine season to date.

[pfluffenmeister]

Best alpine season to date?


Does that mean more pow days or more facial scars?

[NoPostholio]

Bode miller came home?

[spook]

all this time i thought the bp cuff was for when you happened to find a victim but now i realize it's for when the searchers find you so that even though you're blue and your eye sockets are full of snow they can check your bp.

[TBS]

Best alpine season to date?


Does that mean more pow days or more facial scars?

Prolly a PR for most innertubz posts about skiing

[pfluffenmeister]

^^^ #stonecoldwolfkillablogstaskierguy

[lynchdogger]

^^^ damn, .... you stole my hash tag!?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[TBS]

#9mmgun8mmweiner

[PNWbrit]

#SystolicDiastolicWhoGivesAFuck?

[SgtSkidmark]

#scabbyfaceusedtorace

[Jonathan S.]

While getting ready right now to fly out to the "real" Mount Adams this coming weekend, I started wondering how the fake/unreal/surreal Mount Adams was doing these days.

Turns out it's as dangerous as ever (or at least it was on June 2):







Even Tuckerman Ravine isn't safe (as of yesterday):

[east or bust]

I hope he's packin hollow points, don't want any close calls with teh wolves.

[NoPostholio]

hanging out in the prezzies cause they can't go to Chipotle anymore.

[ex-powderbroker]

Is that a level 4 holster?

[Brianskis]

Luckily over the course of roughly 24 hours on the real Mt. Adams, no wolves or bloodied faces were encountered. Pretty sure I heard a Sasquatch though. Probably safest to pack heat just in case.

[baron]

I hope he's packin hollow points, don't want any close calls with teh wolves.

you wanna wound a few ...so they tell the other wolves l8r;also reduces the wolfpack manpower,since it takes 3 , to care for 1 injured

[bsavery]

Is the vest (and the blood type patch) in case the wolves shoot back?

[Jonathan S.]

Luckily over the course of roughly 24 hours on the real Mt. Adams, no wolves or bloodied faces were encountered. Pretty sure I heard a Sasquatch though. Probably safest to pack heat just in case.

Thanks for the warning and advice!

As you can see from this summit picture Monday afternoon, I was properly prepared.
Mount Adams, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, 9mm Beretta Px4 Storm – but only one of these four is “real”!






(And no, that clunky ice axe is of course not mine, but the horribly embarrassing Petzl Scirocco helmet is.)

Although I was blissfully unaware when the prior picture was taken, little did I know that lurking nearby, so close as to even appear in the picture frame when the orientation was changed to landscape, was a dreaded predatory gray wolf, no doubt having stalked me all the way from my late-April [unreal/surreal/fake] Mount Adams trip:






That uninterested sucker pose didn’t fool me – BACK THE F&*^ OFF MOTHERF*&#ER:






But wait, what’s this?
Yes, another gray wolf, having snuck into a backpack!
Why, you could be as alert as possible to their danger, only to be skiing down and have the beast emerge from your very own pack and bite off your head.
Fortunately, I was there to serve and protect as a member of the Mount Adams Gray Wolf Patrol:






Level 0 holster, i.e., tucked into the waist strap of my Dynafit Broad Peak pack (since my Dynafit Movement tights don’t have a waist belt):






Fleeing from the gray wolves down the SW Chutes:










Yes, I did ski all the way down the SW Chutes on the “real” Mount Adams with my [daughter’s] stethoscope around my neck and bp cuff on my arm.
Yet unlike someone else on some other Mount Adams, my holster fulfilled its retention duties (until my Beretta got too crumply and joined all the empty Gu packets in a trash bag):






Had I zoomed in enough, perhaps I would have been able to make out some of the larger wolf packs:

[Jonathan S.]

After the prior day’s perfect weather, the forecast was for a 40% chance of less than perfection.
(Still a 0% gray wolf chance for the NH Adams.)
But the descent from the Piker’s Peak false summit down the South Climb would allow for a quick exit if necessary (whether from weather or wolves).

First though, we attended to some neglected regulatory obligations from the prior day.
Most importantly, while driving from Trout Lake, I took a mandatory picture of the mountain:






Then to pick up our permits, but . . . wait, what if a predatory gray wolf follows us inside, while we’re entirely disarmed and helpless:






Fortunately the self-serve kiosk was open outside, so we could stay properly protected.

And another required picture from the road:






My partner above the menacing cloud deck on the “winter” route (with only three very short portages, so still the most efficient skintrack):






A bit above Piker’s Peak, tempting to continue on for the summit:






. . . but didn’t want to take any chances with all this in the distance:






I worry that this is sacrilege, but as great as the SW Chutes skied the prior day, the South Climb was almost as good:

[PNWbrit]

Well played....

[dark_star]

BACK THE F&*^ OFF MOTHERF*&#ER

Best. Shefftz. Quote. Ever.

Awesome TR, and I'm glad to see you're prepared in the mountains. Personally, I try to lighten up my BC kit by leaving the Beretta behind. One option is to tote the Ruger LCR (it's the Scarpa Alien 1.0 of handguns, featuring a composite handle. You could probably mod it Hoji-style for carbon fiber). I also use hollowpoint rounds to save weight on long tours. If I'm really going fast and light, I simply use my stethoscope as a garrote wire after I wrestle the grey wolves to the ground with my bare hands. It's a little more in keeping with my leave-no-trace philosophy.

Seriously though, I'm jealous that you're still getting out there. Way to keep it going!

[plugboots]

Great stuff.