Cool! Thanks Matt! I've had this route on the back of my mind for a while to add to SP but never really wanted to write the description up. Took a while squeezing my memory and pouring over old pictures to reacquaint myself with this ridge.
Kinda glad I took the time to do this now that I see it.
Appreciate the comment!
And yes, I saw your pic and had to use it! ;o)
I do not often read route pages when I've never heard of the mountain or route, but the photo on the front page made me curious, and this is a fine page!
When I read it, and even more when I looked at the photos, I was wondering if a rope could not be useful after all, especially with a somewhat larger group. Not to belay, but if someone trips and takes a tumble, the others may react in time and quickly throw the rope around something and hold it taut. And if the whole group falls, the rope will probably snag somewhere. Better that the group falls a short distance, than one member all the way down.
I've experienced that sort of accident. In total we were five of us on the rope. The second person fell, went down head first and stopped a few meters down the ridge, because the others were quick to respond. Thanks to the helmet, the result was only a mild concussion, but that's better than having to write an obituary.
Of course, from the description and photos I can't fully judge if this ridge is suitable for this. Perhaps the terrain is such that when the group would fall, the likelihood of the rope catching something is too small to be of any real use. In that case a rope would actually be bad, because then, instead of one casualty, the whole group goes down.
Wanted to say thanks rgg. I appreciate the fine comments. As regarding using a rope, I hear what ya mean about safety and saving your partners in the advent of a fall. I guess it's not so much as the actual fall that I would be worried about as would the sheer amount of loose crap/talus you'd pull down on yourself, a mini avalanche of rock. Plus, the sedimentary rock in the Maroon Creek Valley is almost all fractured and "dinner-plate like." I'd worry about the thousand little, micro cuts the rope would endure. THAT alone would be enough to make me not want to carry one.
By the way, during your fretful experience, where were you? What mountain? Thanks that only one member of your grp experienced injuries.
Perhaps you were under the impression that we were on the same route, but that wasn't the case. I just mentioned the accident to illustrate the advantage of being on a rope, even if there is not much to belay from.
Getting ready for it
We were high on Schwerteck, a mountain in the Glockner group in Austria. It's not a particularly long ridge, but very exposed, especially on the left side, and you have to be focused, as every rock might come loose. Not even the big ones are necessarily solid.
Google Satelite view gives a pretty good impression (even if the Terrain view does not):
Sarah! Thanks for looking! I think route pages can be a bit more difficult to write because difficulty is harder to objectify outside of a common, larger agreeance (is that a word?).
Nice write-up Kiefer. Not that it means anything but Bill Geist and I completed this traverse the first, and only, time we attempted it, only August 10, 2007. We had an absolutely stunning day in the mountains that day with no threat of weather and plenty of adventure. I have photos of the outing at https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/PyramidPeakToThunderPyramidToLightningPyramidTraverse2007810
Matt Lemke - Mar 11, 2013 1:04 am - Voted 10/10
Well done!I was wondering when this would pop up! Thanks for using my pic...too bad I climbed them all separatly lol
Kiefer - Mar 11, 2013 1:21 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Well done!Cool! Thanks Matt! I've had this route on the back of my mind for a while to add to SP but never really wanted to write the description up. Took a while squeezing my memory and pouring over old pictures to reacquaint myself with this ridge.
Kinda glad I took the time to do this now that I see it.
Appreciate the comment!
And yes, I saw your pic and had to use it! ;o)
RoryKuykendall - Mar 13, 2013 11:03 pm - Voted 10/10
Way RadLooks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
rgg - Mar 15, 2013 7:44 am - Voted 10/10
A fine page!I do not often read route pages when I've never heard of the mountain or route, but the photo on the front page made me curious, and this is a fine page!
When I read it, and even more when I looked at the photos, I was wondering if a rope could not be useful after all, especially with a somewhat larger group. Not to belay, but if someone trips and takes a tumble, the others may react in time and quickly throw the rope around something and hold it taut. And if the whole group falls, the rope will probably snag somewhere. Better that the group falls a short distance, than one member all the way down.
I've experienced that sort of accident. In total we were five of us on the rope. The second person fell, went down head first and stopped a few meters down the ridge, because the others were quick to respond. Thanks to the helmet, the result was only a mild concussion, but that's better than having to write an obituary.
Of course, from the description and photos I can't fully judge if this ridge is suitable for this. Perhaps the terrain is such that when the group would fall, the likelihood of the rope catching something is too small to be of any real use. In that case a rope would actually be bad, because then, instead of one casualty, the whole group goes down.
Kiefer - Mar 20, 2013 2:02 am - Hasn't voted
Re: A fine page!Wanted to say thanks rgg. I appreciate the fine comments. As regarding using a rope, I hear what ya mean about safety and saving your partners in the advent of a fall. I guess it's not so much as the actual fall that I would be worried about as would the sheer amount of loose crap/talus you'd pull down on yourself, a mini avalanche of rock. Plus, the sedimentary rock in the Maroon Creek Valley is almost all fractured and "dinner-plate like." I'd worry about the thousand little, micro cuts the rope would endure. THAT alone would be enough to make me not want to carry one.
By the way, during your fretful experience, where were you? What mountain? Thanks that only one member of your grp experienced injuries.
rgg - Mar 20, 2013 2:42 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: A fine page!Perhaps you were under the impression that we were on the same route, but that wasn't the case. I just mentioned the accident to illustrate the advantage of being on a rope, even if there is not much to belay from.
Getting ready for it
Google Satelite view gives a pretty good impression (even if the Terrain view does not):
Satellite view of the Schwerteck SW summit ridge
Sarah Simon - Mar 17, 2013 2:46 pm - Voted 10/10
Super pageKT,
Way to - again - set the bar, this time with route pages. Great write-up!
Sarah
Kiefer - Mar 20, 2013 2:04 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Super pageSarah! Thanks for looking! I think route pages can be a bit more difficult to write because difficulty is harder to objectify outside of a common, larger agreeance (is that a word?).
Anyway, I do appreciate it!! ;o)
Jason Halladay - Aug 26, 2013 3:44 pm - Hasn't voted
FWIWNice write-up Kiefer. Not that it means anything but Bill Geist and I completed this traverse the first, and only, time we attempted it, only August 10, 2007. We had an absolutely stunning day in the mountains that day with no threat of weather and plenty of adventure. I have photos of the outing at https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/PyramidPeakToThunderPyramidToLightningPyramidTraverse2007810
Kiefer - Aug 28, 2013 5:50 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: FWIW...Not really sure where I heard that from. It's been too long for me to recall. But I fixed it!
Thanks for taking a peek!