Ditching people

Submitted by jberwald on Sun, 12/18/2005 - 18:54
Maybe I'm all confused about the ice climbing ethic--only been at it for 5 years. And maybe it works different here in MT. But on Friday evening I picked up two guys at the trailhead whose ride had dtiched them because they were "late". I feel that if you tell someone that you will give them a ride, then you owe them a ride, even moreso when the temperatures are dipping well below 0 at night. They were lucky my partner and I got our rope stuck on the rappel. My vehicle was the last in the lot. And it's a long 14 miles back to any warmth. The driver who so selfishly left his 'buddies' should be ashamed. I won't spray his name or their's. I'll leave it to the guys I picked up to decide whether to let the ice climbing community know the name of the pathetic individual who ditched them. cheers, -J ps--maybe this belongs in the Spray section.

The recent events in Hyalite promted me to say a few things about timelines and communication. As we all know, climbing often takes place on a time-line that is very different from the one that dictates, for instance, what time one should arrive at real job. Too many confounding variables prevent climbing from following these rigid time-lines of our society. It's not uncommon to be 2-3 hours, or more, "LATE" returning from a climb. As climbers, we do everything within our powers to plan ahead by not underestimating the approach/route/descent and not overestimating our, or our partners, abilities. However, even the most meticulous planning cannot prevent those confounding variables from getting in the way of a pre-arranged meeting time. This scenario plays itself out daily at the Hyalite Canyon trailhead and at every other climbing venue. Communication is most important. When you arrive at the trailhead, don't let Attention Deficit Disorder get in the way of creating a plan. Often, a carpool is arranged with teams of climbers attempting different objectives. Discuss how long each team plans to spend on their respective objectives. Realize that these are only guesstimates and, depending on the climb, could take many hours longer. Last of all, discuss what should happen in the event that one team doesn't return. Hyalite seems like a main thoroughfare on the weekends. However, the trailheads become very remote places when you arrive at them after dark when no one is waiting for you. DON'T LEAVE CLIMBING PARTNERS STRANDED AT REMOTE TRAILHEADS. Especially when it's minus 20+. These things seem like a given to most of us, but I'm saying them anyways. WAIT for hours. Try to put yourself in their shoes. Hike back up the trail to meet them. Chances are you'll see their headlamps rapping the route. Don't assume they got a ride with someone else. You, who came up the canyon with them, are their best resource. Do the climbing community and your partners a favor and get medical training! Know the area. Spot the approach/route/descent ahead of time. This way, if the second party doesn't show one can return to that vantage point with binocs to spot them. Only go for SAR when there is good reason based on facts, not assumptions. When this is the case, either leave someone at the trailhead with extra clothing/sleeping bags/food/water, or if it's one person, leave a note as well as the aforementioned gear and go to the Window Rock cabin first to rally folks. If no one is there, head down until you get in contact with someone (hopefully not the whole way to town) and return immediately!!!! With that said, we can all prevent any more road closures due to "ditching" climbers.[/u]
Spray