Hiker Rescued in Huntington Ravine

[peakbagger-paul]

This happened on Saturday. I thought I'd post it since no one else has yet. Luckily, according to the article, it looks that he's going to be OK. Does anyone know him and/or is he someone who logs onto Views from the Top? Huntington Ravine is not a good place to descend, especially when wet.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110611/NEWS07/110619988

 

[Breeze]

Best wishes to Mr. Walsh, he found himself in great hands ( a lot of great hands, 35 + people and over 8 hours in the litter being passed from hands to hands).

He made the best decision to turn around, but even the best decision doesn't guarantee the best result. I can't think of many places where bare rock is forgiving when wet, going up or down. I was working at MWAR when the rescue-in-progress notice came in and the summit temp for MW had dropped from 38 F at 7:30 AM to 33 F at noon.

Breeze

 

[TDawg]

Good decision to turn around? Absolutely.

But, questionable trail choice given the days 100% chance rain, temps in the 30s/40s with wind forecast? Absolutely.

And ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Lucky he "only" broke a leg, here's to a full recovery.

I was on Sandwich Dome on Saturday after scraping grander plans, and was very glad for the shelter of the forest.

On a side note, Jose Rodruigez from the UL comment board seems like a real well informed individual.

 

[peakbagger-paul]

I don't know how far they were above the Fan, but if they were close to the top, the Auto Road is just a short distance beyond. Of course, I wasn't there (or even in the mountains that day), and don't know how bad the weather was getting.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I've hiked in the rain a few times. You just have to be more careful.

Whatever that gentleman said, it appears to have been erased. UL comments really are priceless sometimes!

 

[DougPaul]

I've hiked in the rain a few times. You just have to be more careful.

I've also rock climbed in the rain... The amount of friction depends on the kind of rock and the vegetation (often lichens). Bare granite can be pretty good.

Doug

 

[Tom Rankin]

I've also rock climbed in the rain... The amount of friction depends on the kind of rock and the vegetation (often lichens). Bare granite can be pretty good.

Doug

My rating of average rock 'grippiness' is

1) ADKs
2) Whites
3) Catskills

 

[DougPaul]

My rating of average rock 'grippiness' is

1) ADKs
2) Whites
3) Catskills

Of course, the only rock that really counts is the few square inches under your feet...

BTW, on the right side of the slab section there is an inside corner with a crack that allows a very easy and secure layback...

Doug

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

BTW, on the right side of the slab section there is an inside corner with a crack that allows a very easy and secure layback...

But, I do not think that typical hikers find laybacking intuitive or secure, despite commonly being easier and safer than slabs.

 

[DougPaul]

But, I do not think that typical hikers find laybacking intuitive or secure, despite commonly being easier and safer than slabs.

Agreed--but worth learning. I was looking for a good online ref to post.

The following search brings up a bunch of refs, but most are aimed at steep or vertical rock. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...ck+climbing&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=layback+rock+ IIRC, the slabs on HRT are less than 45 deg so it is pretty easy.

As Dr. D notes, laybacking may feel insecure at first, but in reality can be very secure. I have shown it to non-climbing hikers who have found it to be very helpful. Sometimes it can be used to make short work of just one or two otherwise difficult steps.

For the non-climbers:
Laybacking (or liebacking) is a technique where you lean back on good hand holds to push your feet onto the rock. The increased pressure underfoot increases the friction so that you can use your leg to walk up (or down). In the situation on HRT slabs, you just hook your fingers into the crack, lean back, and walk up or down.

Doug

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Good stuff, Doug.

Stemming with the feet is also a useful time-saving technique for hikers to use in getting over some obstacles on steeper terrain (sort of like chimneying your way upwards between two walls).

 

[DougPaul]

Stemming with the feet is also a useful time-saving technique for hikers to use in getting over some obstacles on steeper terrain (sort of like chimneying your way upwards between two walls).

Particularly as one hikes on harder trails, there are often spots where a rock move or two can very useful.

Doug

 

[TCD]

Indeed. There are numerous such spots in the Adirondacks.

I think there are a lot of helpful features on the Huntington trail if one seeks them out and uses them. I've only been down the trail once, to climb the Pinnacle in summer about 20 years ago. We were lazy, and drove up the auto road, then walked down the trail and climbed back out. But we walked down the trail with heavy climbing packs, in drizzle and pea soup fog, and I don't recall it being at all difficult. (In fact, I wondered what all the fuss was about.) I think we just used the features, and a few climbing techniques here and there by second nature, and never really noticed.

So I agree; a little easy climbing a few times a year helps the hiker a great deal.

 

[TEO]

My rating of average rock 'grippiness' is

1) ADKs
2) Whites
3) Catskills

...
99) Greens

* * *

Doug, I know exactly the crack that you're referring to and even though I'm not a climber, I found laybacking very useful there. The other time I remember using it (and probably some stemming, too) was going down the slide on North Tri.

 

[jrbren]

...
99) Greens

* * *

Doug, I know exactly the crack that you're referring to and even though I'm not a climber, I found laybacking very useful there. The other time I remember using it (and probably some stemming, too) was going down the slide on North Tri.

+1E+99

One of the worst trails anywhere is Mansfield's "Bad Weather Bypass Trail", which I found out the hard way the name means "you should bypass this trail when the weather is wet". But yes I find Green Mountain rock especially slippery when wet.