Originally Posted by Anton
you are an accident waiting to happen.
Originally Posted by Anton
you have no clue what alpine technical climbing is about.
Those are the statements of someone who is trying to look smart by making others look stupid. It diminishes the impact of the things you said that WERE worth reading.

climby_climber has been posting for a while. He’s asking sensible questions, sharing his experiences, and admitting to his mistakes. We all started out knowing absolutely nothing. If you can’t remember several dumbass things you did that could have gotten you killed, you probably just weren’t smart enough to recognize it. Either that, or you never stepped off the trail.

Now for some comments on the discussion above, in no particular order:

I was aware of the technique, but I had never heard the term “fireman’s belay” until I read this thread. It makes no sense to use it climbing. If someone is incapacitated and can’t rappel, lower them. If they don’t know how to rappel, they have no business trying to rappel. (BTW, in this sexist world, it took no time to find one video and two photos of men saving women who apparently didn’t know how to rappel. How predictable!)

When I started climbing, I was just scrambling up and down whatever I had the nerve to try. I always told myself, “Whatever goes up must come down.” If I couldn’t downclimb it, I didn’t go up. You can do a lot of moderate climbing without a rope or a partner.

As Anton said, learn how to use all your gear before you go. Mt. Humphreys is not the place to learn about setting up anchors, putting on your harness, and rappelling. Don’t assume that you will find rappel stations, complete with fresh (not sun-rotted) webbing wherever you might need one.

Humphreys is a real prize. My first guidebook said, “No organized youth groups writing inane comments in this register, that’s for sure.” I was there a few weeks ago for the first time in 12 years. My partner and I did it using rock shoes, but no gear. It was a little more exciting than I remembered. We met three other guys, and they all turned back. Now there is talk of doing it again next year. Climby, if we go, I’ll send you a PM.