| Steve Dougherty ~ Apr 11, 2006 |
| Thirty-one students completed the annual Chemeketan Climb School. Students participated in two evening classroom sessions (March 22 and April 5) and a weekend field session (April 8-9). Classroom lectures included: Club Membership/E.Siebert, Peaks Slide Show/P. McClellan, Conditioning/S. Dougherty, Equipment/J. Croft, Nutrition/J. Truax, Logistics/S. Dougherty. Mike Rudy and Herb Fecker organized the "Early Bird" crew that pre-positioned ropes and accomplished the early Saturday rope setup. Gear trucks were provided by J. Howell and C. McCarthy. Student van drivers were V. Dunn and S. Phillips. Students and leaders arrived at Horsethief Butte early Saturday under gray skies and a steady rain. The Early Bird setup crew of M. Rudy, J. Rudy and H. Fecker returned to the highway warning of dangerous climbing conditions due to the wet rock. The climb leaders convened to review their options. It was decided to proceed with extreme caution and hope conditions would improve. The rain stopped once the decision was made and the conditions steadily improved during the day. The morning sessions were abbreviated 10 minutes and we were back on schedule by lunch. Afternoon sessions went smoothly and all groups were through the chimney and exposure traverse stations ahead of schedule. We camped at Columbia Hills State Park and had our traditional pasta/pizza buffet at Spookys in The Dalles. Paul McClellan was recognized with a plaque for his long time service to the club. Ellen Gradison was awarded the coveted 18 Peak Award. On Sunday morning we stopped for breakfast at the McDonald's in Hood River before continuing on to Timberline Lodge. Drivers were relieved to find the Timberline road in excellent condition. Climb leaders were assigned a "pod" of students and spent the day teaching and practicing snow skills. Everyone gathered in the WyEast Day Lodge cafeteria for the awarding of climb school certificates before heading home and arriving in Salem on schedule at 6 p.m. Coordinator: S.Dougherty. Climb Leaders: J.Petrie, K.Kraschel, M.Rudy, H.Kutuk, B.Saur, V.Dunn, H.Fecker, M.VanCampen, P.Otley, J.Avery, J.Rudy, K.Garlinghouse, K.Richardson, E.Gradison. Assistant Leaders: S.Phillips, G.Petrie, R.Good, R.Smith, T.Smith, K.Hill, R.Barry, M.Niemeyer, S.Clark, J.Croft, B.Tedrow, P.McClellan, J.Tschanz, S.Kelley, J.Truax. Helpers: C.Alt, J.Ellis, K.Prowse, J.Howell, L.Bedard, C.McCarthy, K.Wattenbarger. Students: Alix Chamberlain, Mike Pangburn, Cody Haven, Susie Trantham, Betty Eng, Sharon Gwyn, Melody Fincher, Gary Greenwood, Jane Diefenbach, Leigh Salmon, Kristin Flickinger, Tom Jolly, Ron Ramsey, Natalie Michael, Mike Miller, Steve Stone, Gregory Phillips, Ryan Nisly, Spencer Rockwell, Tommy Golden, Melissa Heuberger, Blake Robinson, James Collins, Geoffrey Carden, Jess Palacios, Amy Palacios, Judi McCubbins, Eric Jensen, Hans Thygeson, Broderick Franklin, Liisa Clark. |
| Sharon Gwyn ~ Apr 11, 2006 |
| I had a blast and was impressed with the organization of the whole weekend. There was alot to learn and retain, all the leaders & helpers were great on explaining any questions I and others in my pod had. Great experience and I highly recommend this school to those interested in pursing mountaineering/climbing as a hobby. I am looking forward to the Ice school in September. Thank you to all that helped get things set up and those that helped with hands on.
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| Gregory Phillips ~ Apr 11, 2006 |
| The climb school was a great adventure. The two classroom sessions ahead of time were really informative and helped to prepare me for what was to follow at the outdoor sessions. Great attitudes were present in the leaders and all of the pod leaders and their helpers. I would encourage anyone interested in climbing to participate in this program. Many thanks to everyone involved and responsible for a fantastic school. |
| Melody Fincher ~ Apr 11, 2006 |
| Climb school was very fun and the field sessions were a great experience and all of the Leaders and assistants were very knowledgeable. It was a great experience and look forward to all of the fun I will be able to have with the skills that I have learned. |
| Ryan Nisly ~ Apr 13, 2006 |
| Thanks to everyone involved with making climb school such a success. I had a great time and learned a lot. I really appreciated everyone's positive attitudes, patience, and willingness to share their knowledge and experience. The whole weekend was very well organized and a great introduction to climbing and mountaineering. Nice job on the snow cave Mike Rudy. |
| Melissa Nisly ~ Apr 14, 2006 |
| Great weekend, learned a lot, felt safe. Thanks to everyone who helped. |
| Broderick Franklin ~ Apr 19, 2006 |
| This was a great class. I really appreciated how spread out the class was. I felt like I had plenty of time to review and understand everything instead of being in a constant state of information overload. Also, I thought the leaders and helps did a great job providing information for people of every experience level. There are two things that I learned in the field sessions that I think would be good additions to the classroom time. One is some time devoted to teaching and using the Munter Hitch in addition to the belay/rappel devices and hip belay. Also, I would like it if the leaders and helpers were given some time to talk about their different preferences for tying to harnesses. I felt like I learned alot about the design of the harnesses and ideas about safety from hearing their perspectives. The field sessions were awesome. The knowledge and enthusiasm of the leaders was contagious and made me feel much more at ease. Also, the attention to safety made it very easy to relax and learn. |