As climbers we continually learn from our experience and the experience of others. Too often we learn what not to do, and that is important, especially if it keeps us from getting hurt. It is of course more fun to learn from our successes and the successes of others. I wanted to share something I learned this summer from three other parties about fast and light climbing.

First I met Larry Ingalls, a climb leader from Everett, and his climbing partner moving fast up the NE Buttress of Mt. Goode. They had climbed most of the route with running belays and were near the summit at 4 pm as we were descending after our ascent via the easier south side.

Next I read a trip report from Ken Dungan, who led a one-day climb of the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. They used running belays to move efficiently over the easier rock. And they were in great shape.

Finally, Steve Firebaugh, our favorite overachiever, amazed me with a one-day traverse from Liberty Bell to South Early Winter Spire with Nathan Hamsik (that means climbing the north faces of Concord Tower, Lexington Tower, North Early Winter Spire, and South Early Winter Spire). Then a month later Steve and Shirley Rogers hiked into and climbed the south face of Prusik Peak (III, 5.9+ with 20 miles round trip and 6,000 foot gain) in a day.

This kind of climbing is not for everyone. And I am certainly not challenging anyone to top these efforts. But they illustrate how strong climbing parties, who plan intelligently and climb efficiently, can climb in great style and cover a lot of ground. What I learned is that we should all match our ambitions to our ability. All of these climbers train hard and have exceptional mountain skills. They study the routes and plan how they can most efficiently and safely cover the terrain. They pack light. And they go when the conditions are right. We can apply these lessons to our own outings whether we are trying scrambles or tackling challenging climbs.

Opportunistic Winter Climbs

Winter climbs are fun, but they require more planning than summer outings. The issue is snow stability: there are days when you simply shouldnÍt be climbing due to avalanche hazards.

Here is a mental exercise to help you decide whether you should climb or not when snow conditions are not ideal. Make a list of things you like to do or need to do in the winter. Your list might include: downhill ski, read by the fireplace, snowshoe with friends, climb, ski in groomed areas, watch movies, and clean the basement. Now rank your list by risk of avalanche hazard. Your ranked list would look like this: Climb, downhill ski, snowshoe, ski in groomed areas; and read, watch movies, and clean the basement.

Use this list to aid your decision-making. If the day you want to climb has a high avalanche hazard, move down your list to choose safer activities. Recognize that there will be days when the hazard is so high that you should stay home and clean the basement. But look on the bright side, you can climb opportunistically and guilt-free on those perfect days knowing that the bad days will come too. The basement can wait. Just remember that an avalanche won't.