Mountain Climbing/Hiking

[NejinOniwa]

Time to boot up the sportiest, hardiest, VIKING-est thread in the whole history of /osc/!!!

...well, kinda. -w-;

As a collective of nerddom, I realize the scope on this might be a bit thin. Nevertheless, I know some of you at least to be a tad outdoorsy, so I'm opening this up to make some questioneering, discussioneering, PR-ing, and - I suppose - for some bragging rights.

At this moment in time, I must admit, I am somewhat in low when it comes to this topic, due to my little sister having accomplished the feat of climbing Kebnekaise, the highest mountain in Sweden, in a most grueling hike last summer. I intend to do that myself someday, but we'll see when that comes to; in any case, my own hiking tales aren't too few in between, either.

First off, I'll share a bit on the undoubtedly coolest pair of hikes I've done ever - up the sheer walls of ice of the Kittelfjäll mountains, twice in two days.
A bit of data: This was done in winter, with a quite cold temperature of -13 or so, and I was in full skiing gear - my skis alone weigh 10 kilograms, and for those of you unaware of just how exhausting it is to walk in skiing boots, let me tell you, it is VERY much so - skis and poles included, loaded haphazardly on my back. The climbs, as I did them from and to different points, were of 100 and 140 meters of height respectively; their lengths, 1 and 4 kilometers. And in that sort of gear, either of those is a very, very long hike.

The first hike (the short one) was done straight from the west lift (A) ending point. The Kittelfjäll resort has has four lifts - two short ones for beginners in the west base camp, one long one in the west, one long one in the east - as seen here below:

The climb was, simply, from the lift's top to the bottom of the ridge right above it, and then horizontally to the nearest dropable glacier edge. The explanation for the tenfold increase in length is of course the fact that the slope is steep as fuck - one has to zigzag along upward, and at certain points press your face against the wall in order to avoid gusts of hurricane-level winds - the haunt of the mouth between the west peak and the central ridge - blowing you down to a very, very long and painful fall.
The climb took roughly 1½ hour - down, well, not quite as much. -w-
After I got back to the cabin and told my parents about my brave journey, there was some, hm, disagreements to my idea of cheerful pastimes. My father insisted that if I do it again, I should at least bring him with me (It's dangerous to go alone, take this!) so said and done, the next day, as the time was nearing closing hour for the lifts, we took the eastern lift (D) up top, and toward the next climb.

The eastern climb was tougher, longer and in general a lot more to deal with. Not the same constant steepness, true, and not quite as windy, but still it had both, and more of it. Most of all, it was long. Much longer than we'd thought it'd be.
The initial route we took was pretty much along the blue line eastward from D top, albeit a bit higher up. As we closed to around the point where line 22 starts, we came upon the start of the climbing track. My father, having broken his arm in a skiing accident two years back, was very cautious about the steepness; after a bit of debating, he abandoned the climb altogether, and went downhill, leaving me to climb the mountain - again - on my own.

Cue music in my ears, and zigzagging upwards again. The climb was from line 22 start to the lowest point of the ridge above it, and then all the way to the central peak.
The first part of the climb - getting up on the ridge - was, as wall climbs always are, hard, long and very exhausting. Winds weren't as hard as on the west side, but the path curved around boulder-strewn patches and cliffs; while skiing boots may be ridiculously heavy, they are the most optimal gear for climbing up a wall - just jam the boot in, and your footing is as secure as it gets - as long as there's snow under your feet. I actually got close to falling a couple of times, and dropped a pole once - retrieving it was quite a hassle - eventually however, I was finally given way and stepped up on the plateau at the bottom of the ridge.

At this point I hadn't actually decided which peak to climb - the eastern peak, as you might see, is a bit higher - but in the end I settled for the center peak, due to me being exhausted enough already, and not quite needing that extra mile of walking on the road back to the village. I did a bit of photoshooting and filming on this climb, but I haven't got anything on my drive - I'll check the rest of the family's holdings for that later. The climb that followed, toward the peak, wasn't quite as steep as the wall climb, but very exhausting nonetheless due to a quite extreme depth of loose snow. Winds were very hard on the ridge - understandably - but at least it thick enough for there not to be any danger of being blown down the side, should one loose their footing.
Soon enough, I reached the peak; following that, I dumped my equipment and spent a minute or two finding the biggest rock on the peak, making the highest point marked on my checklist. After some "King of the world" moments, I went back, got my gear on, and did a 3-meter drop down the edge of the hanging snow tongue, straight on to the slope. If nothing else, the sheer levels of adrenaline rewarded made the entire thing very, very much worth it. -w-

I've actually done a proper dramatized prose version of this, but I haven't translated it to English - maybe someday when I get the urge (and ain't sick to under my balls) to take care of it, I will.

Next up on my list here is the climb of Sylarna, back in '06 or so - but first off, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS?
_W_

[Dr. Kraus]

Well, Pittsburgh is supper hilly and my community is known as "The walking community" so I've done my fare share of hiking around Pittsburgh and the South Hills, I like to do alot of mountain biking around in the woods as well!

Here is the biking map:
http://map.bike-pgh.org/#c=trail

[Chocofreak13]

my only claims to fame in that department is that at every larp i've gone to all i've done is wander around the woods.

i know my girl scout troop went to the old man in the mountain when i was young (and it hadn't fallen), but i can't remember much about it other than there were alot of tourists there and this one girl was hogging all the chips.

there's a small trail near my house, that leads to a small lake. we used to go there once in awhile when the weather's nice. the trail leads to a cliff overlooking the lake; it's a popular picnic/"relations" spot.

[Bella]

I've done a lot of hiking, but they've all been day trips - I think the most arduous one I've ever been on was a climb to the summit of Picacho Peak on a trip to Arizona, when I was like ten. : |

[Chocofreak13]

there's a chance i've visited the flume when i was like, 5, but since i have no memory of it i could just be paraphrasing something from my mom or sister. :\

[Chocofreak13]

:\
sometimes you don't need a trail or any special occasion to hike. if there's woods or a field nearby, just go for a walk. :3

[Bella]

As for mountain climbing, pretty damn hard to do here and I don't have the opportunities to travel as of yet.

I lol'd.

You come to the White Mountains, I take you hiking! Though you'd probably want to pass on mountain climbing with me since i have no experience with it. >__>

[Chocofreak13]

bells, if you're going to hike, come to larp with me. there's woods and trails everywhere.

[NejinOniwa]

If you want a mountaineering guide, I'm yours all of July... -w-
Speaking of which:
MOUNTAINTOP+4TH of July+SHITLOADS OF FIREWORKS anyone?
Plus, if we pick a peak close to some sizeable town, the view should be pretty damn spectacular. -w-

Anyway. I've done quite a bit of mountaineering/hiking in my later time, mostly in the swedish midwest (yes, the geographical center of sweden is halfway through Norrland. Silly swedes.) but also some in norwegian Jotunheimen, where I've climbed to the highest point in Scandinavia at the glaciered peak of Glittertinn. Not highest peak, since the glacier is what makes it higher than Galdhöpiggen, but still. -w- We slept in 1-man tents for 4 nights, which was pretty...odd. Still, it was nice.

I'll probably draw another full story soon, so if you have any prefs between Climbing, Hiking and A Little of Both, you tell me -w-

[Chocofreak13]

if you're here for the 4th, you're coming to a cookout on a lake. and sorry, i don't live near any mountians. however, the lake has an island. :3

[Pitkin]

I've got so far absolutely no experience in mountain climbing or hiking in the mountains: my only hiking experience was walking long walks in the forests back in 2004 when I liked to wear green all days of the week. However, Fedora-Tan's from mountainous area in France originally and his parents live there still: he's done a lot of hiking in the mountains and we have planned to try that together (possibly) already this summer. I'm enthusiastic about the prospect, but knowing how much my physical condition worsened during my hospital stay alone, I'm at the same time worried if I'm able to go through such a physical effort this summer yet.

[NejinOniwa]

As long as you get yourself reasonably fit quick enough, you'll be able to get back up, no worry there. Mountain hiking isn't actually all that exhausting, as long as you've got the spirit for it left inside. After all, the genes of a human being has crafted it to do two things - Think, and Wander.

[Chocofreak13]

@pitkin: as long as you take it slow, stay hydrated, take occasional breaks and eat carbs, you'll be fine. just pace yourself and pack a bento. ^^

[stewartsage]

I forgot to report on my last hiking experience.  It rained, I was in full gear, and while the trip up was on a gentle sloping/switchbacking overgrown forest road the way down was straight down the face.  Still raining.  While planting young Red Spruce trees.  Maybe a 1 1/2 miles total?

[Chocofreak13]

sounds like an overall unpleasant experience.
the only time i can remember hiking in the rain is a larp 2 summers ago, where suddenly it just POURED.

that was a good weekend; got to cuddle with my man and go to the hospital. -w- i became a hardcore larper and learned the ER has a dresscode. xD