Domain: peakware.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to peakware.com.
Comments · 6
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For deep crater action Liamuiga is the place.
I'm not sure what's going on in the article, it seems more of an artsy-fartsy place than really rugged volcano-ey belly of the beast thingy. If you are looking to trek up, over and down into a hopefully-extinct volcano will take your breath away, that is accessible and is not overrun by tourists and access roads, here's the place:
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=17.369741&lon=-62.80873&z=14.2&r=0&src=yh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Liamuiga
http://www.peakware.com/peaks.html?pk=2174
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147374-d147557-r157740414-Mount_Liamuiga-St_Kitts_St_Kitts_and_Nevis.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/travel/climbing-a-st-kitts-volcano.htmlHere's my suggestion: plan a night in the crater. Everyone should be in decent shape. The hike up the mountain is not too demanding and even pleasant if you make a 4-5 hour trek of it. Take at least 1-1/2 gallon drinking water per person, compact food for a couple good meals, mosquito repellent and light tents for shelter from bugs and rain. There is a lake in the crater that you might find drinkable. I did, it was the most delicious water I have ever tasted. Make sure everything is carried on your backs or can dangle comfortably, you will need both hands and feet for the final ~400' climb down into and out of the crater. It will be a careful scramble using both hands to cling to tree roots as you face the hillside and lower yourself, there are short lengths of rope left by previous climbers. Bring 50-100' of rope to use if existing ropes are in bad condition and to leave for future adventurers. It is rigorous but I do not recall that any part of the decent as terrifyingly vertical or overhanging.
Once you're down in the crater set up camp. There are a few active fumaroles along the rim, in places you can see faint steam rising and there is a faint odor of sulfur but the crater has good air circulation within it. As a common sense precaution site your camp on high ground within the crater, and if you are particularly nerdy you can bring a gas detector to check for H2S but it's probably not a big deal.
Regardless of the weather you will be in a place like no other and will consider yourself grateful to be alive. Framed by the circular crater rim's cliffs above you a sharp celestial bowl of stars might roll above you, untainted by light pollution. Or perhaps a light rain punctuated by echoing thunder and circle of lightning along the sharp peaks of the rim.
If you camp overnight have at least one good hands-free head mounted flashlight in the group in case of emergency, for someone would need to climb up to the crater's rim to call for help. Volcanic craters tend to have bad cellphone reception.
It is a little known fact that compatible and like-minded individuals are implicitly married as they descend into the crater of hopefully-extinct volcanoes so there is no need for pomp or ceremony. Just get on with it.
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Re:What's this all about
Or even more likely, this
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picture of Mt. Sopris
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Dome A is not the highest point in Antarctica
A slight correction to the original post: Dome A is not the highest point on the Antarctic continent. The highest point is Vinson Massif at 4,897 meters. Vinson Massif has already been climbed by humans.
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Re:Doomed to failBah. The reason why a bunch of religious morons haven't been able to climb it is just that, they are morons. Mt. Ararat is a fairly straightforward climb.
Quoting Gregory Bogle from the Peakware summitt log for Ararat:
Our amateur Turkish-American-German group proved that most anyone in reasonably good physical shape and having willpower and team spirit can safely and successfully reach the summit of Mt. Ararat.
In fact, even religious morons are able to do it, and the 'anomaly' has been examined, but I think scientists remain unimpressed.
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Re:Personal Locators
Word Up, Dude!
I hear ya!
Last time I was climbing K2 there were these freakin' Black Helicopters following me! I'm positive they were tracking me via my avalanche beacon!
No matter how high I climbed, they were right there behind me! So on the down climb I took a risk and tossed the beacon off a cliff. The dumbasses followed it as it fell down the 1000m cliff! I think they think I'm dead. So now I can have a fresh start. I've changed my name, changed my Slashdot nick and everything's cool.
I wouldn't touch one of these ultra-tracking beacons with an avalache probe, let alone actually wear one!