Juneau Mountain Climbing
While living in Juneau, I took a one month Mountaineering course through the University of Alaska. My friend Paul and I had lots of fun during the course. Here I am on the Mendenhall Glacier, just 5 minutes from my house, during a training session on roping techniques.
Here we are practicing crevasse rescue. Even with two people and a Z-pulley system it is VERY difficult to pull up a person from within a crevasse!
During one class climb we experienced over 60 knot winds. You could literally lean back and relax and the wind would hold you up. Needless to say, it was cold.
After graduating from Mountaineering school, Paul and I liked to explore Mendenhall Glacier. Shortly after this picture was taken a helicopter with tourists in "moon boots" landed near us and asked us how we got so far back into the ice field... duh... maybe by taxi?
Beautiful scenery, but don't leave your sunglasses off for long or you can get snow-blindness.
Look closely, I'm in that crevasse somewhere. Vertical ice climbing is very physically demanding.
Just cruising along the glacier, looking for somewhere new to explore.
Here I am again, down near the bottom of the crevasse this time...
A look back towards Mendenhall Valley from the glacier. My house was not far from the left hand side of the lake.
At the McGinnis Mountain trail-head with my friends Steve and Tom. We didn't look as rested a couple of days later...
Here we are snow shoeing through slush. We'd take two steps forward and slide back one step. This section of slush was so grueling that we thought it would never end.
Fortunately, the snow firmed up as we got higher. You can see Mendenhall Glacier in the background.
Ahh, camp and some welcomed rest. As Murphy's Law would have it none of our 3 stoves would work. I finally fixed mine by lubricating the plunger with some melted chap stick. It's amazing how improvising you become when you're hungry.
The push for the top on the next day.
Finally on top of McGinnis Mountain at 4228 feet elevation.
Where's the marketing salesman when you need him? You can see Mount Stroller White in the background.
Some of these pictures might have been lost forever, if it wasn't for my quick, albeit dim-witted, chase and capture of a runaway camera. I set the camera down and it started to slide off the mountain; I ran in my snowshoes down the mountain and caught the camera just before it (and I) went off the edge!
This was my first, and last, attempt at cross-country racing. Actually this was part of a ski-to-sea relay in which I volunteered (was suckered) into participating in the cross-country skiing leg.
On a lunch break in a high meadow in Juneau.
It doesn't get any better than this...