The Bonds, A HELLgate of a hike, 1/28/06

[hikerfast]

yes the SLIDE was the whole point. But isn't the slog to the right of the slide insane also?

 

[Dugan]

i hike with bob a lot..he is fast..and well prepared. definitely an adventurous spirit. i kinda wondered about him on that hike by himself doing a slide on some ice.

Agreed to all.

And let's not forget the sense of humor that probably had him grinning as he saw his life flash before him!

Seriously though, it is important to understand - and NH does - how risk factors (solo, bushwhack, winter, etc.) pile up.

Regardless, kudos for his willingness to include the incident in his trip report. I'm not sure I'd want to make myself vulnerable to the post-incident analysis that sometimes follow such reports.

 

[sierra]

I agree with alot of the input in this thread. I think regardless of anyones level of experience one thing holds true, " Intellegent Risk management", now this differs with everyone and we all must decide where our levels are and how far to push them. I consider myself very safe, although there are times when soloing a "big" route I might stick my neck out a tad, but to be honest thats whats required on "big" routes. Saying that, I also have 20 yrs+ evaluating snow, ice, avalanches and such and while I accept a certain level of both risk and uncontrolable factors in some of my big descisions, I do not second geuss myself when making them.
Many are content to keep the window of safety very predictable, thats fine, many family men and woman are out for a fun hike, thier level of risk is low, I can respect that very much. But as single climbing who devotes all my time and energy to climbing my level of risk might be, heck, is higher.
I just realized I might be hyjacking this great TR, sorry not my intent but the TR did bring up a very good topic worth discussing imo.

 

[mhrsebago]

A Tale of Two VFTTers

Boy am I glad you made it out safely!!
I am the skier who started with you at 6 Am. When I reached W. Bond at noon (via the more conventional route) and saw no trace of you, I must admit that I was concerned. Not knowing your name or even which car you arrived in I wasn't sure how to proceed (I expected to met you near Bondcliff and assumed that you were deterred by the deeper than expected snow and had aborted). It was a terrific day in all respects (more so now that I've read your TR).

 

[jessbee]

Regardless, kudos for his willingness to include the incident in his trip report. I'm not sure I'd want to make myself vulnerable to the post-incident analysis that sometimes follow such reports.

NH- You must have seen this coming. I wonder what other mishaps you may have left out to avoid more scrutinizing from this board full of critics .

Again, glad you made it out. You made it out because of a combination of luck and good judgement. We all make mistakes. No one is ever 100% prepared or makes every single decision flawlessly. Mistakes are learning opportunities and sometimes lessons come fast and hard. As long as you have some combination of knowledge, skills, reasoning and (of course at least a little) luck, then most of the time you can get through a given situation. Maybe not comfortably, or maybe not with your body or ego intact, but if you are able to maintain calm and rational then you should survive. Not all of us would have chosen to do everything the way you did and that's because we're all different people. We are not all highly trained and immensely experienced because you have to be rich and old for that (of which I am neither) That doesn't mean we can't test our limits and try new things. Like giggy said, then we'd stick to Monadnock every weekend

Thanks for sharing your report because it's not really interesting to read about the millionth time someone's hiked the Franconia Loop. You had some different experiences and pictures and I appreciate that. When I do this hike, I won't do it alone or in the winter because that's outside my comfort level but it's ok if you were confident with your abilities on this hike. FWIW, I've hiked with ya, and I know you can tackle stuff like this!

 

[RoySwkr]

I don't own any skis.

No, it's me who was confused, several pages ago you mentioned the other hiker putting on skis and somehow I thought you had too.

DC & co did a Bonds loop leaving their skis and retrieved them another day.

I believe your slide is the one Guy Waterman went up when climbing the 4k from all directions, he specifically did it in late winter and just snowshoed over all the scrub up top.

And I have been down (in Sept) the talus field from Bondcliff col, it is about as you might expect.

I like the tell-it-as-it-was style of this report, most people will just admire it and anyone who tries it knows just what they are getting into.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

NH- You must have seen this coming. I wonder what other mishaps you may have left out to avoid more scrutinizing from this board full of critics

Jess, I tell it like it is. When I was a kid the punishment for lying was twice as bad as the punishment for whatever it was I had done wrong. As a result, I grew up being very honest about everything. (sometimes too honest ) I think the long-term benefits from my honest reputation have far outweighed any benefits I might have gained from being dishonest. It's too bad so many people these days are more concerned about short-term gains than they are about their honor.
So NO, I didn't leave anything out.

Well, I did leave out one thing, but you don't want to hear about that.

I like the tell-it-as-it-was style of this report, most people will just admire it and anyone who tries it knows just what they are getting into.

When I do this hike, I won't do it alone or in the winter because that's outside my comfort level

One of the best ways to increase your comfort level/zone is to step outside of it a little once in a while. Just a little, don't trample all over it.

I expected to met you near Bondcliff

Considering you were sking/shoeing 9.2 miles up trails to Bondcliff and I had about 12 miles, a bushwhack, and 2 peaks before reaching Bondcliff, and did I mention, no snowshoes.....You had waaayyy too much faith in me.

And let's not forget the sense of humor that probably had him grinning as he saw his life flash before him!

I did wonder if I jumped up in the air just as one of those big gust came over the edge of the Bondcliff ridge, if I could fly all the way to Carrigain.