[pct-l] Mountain Deaths explored

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

In a message dated 6/1/02 7:37:02 AM, Montedodge@aol.com writes:

<< Flesh ,sun soften snow ( 
as in 11:00a.m. on a nice day) offered no help for crampons or ice axes. Your 
crampons become " Balled Up" with snow and quickly tun into skis and getting 
a good arrest in flesh soft snow is a chore at best!!! Plus, the always big 
crowd near Hood's summit is a Time Bomb as usual.  >>

I would very much like to know why whoever fell could not self arrest because 
many others seem to have negotiated that section successfully that day. If 
the snow was indeed very soft, why would anyone be wearing crampons? Did they 
even use ice axes? Many people not familiar with mountaineering climb it as a 
lark, just like Shasta and Whitney and 98% of the time they get away with it, 
thereby ensuring more to follow them. The crowded single file fall line route 
above the shrund guaranteed that this accident would happen someday, whether 
the snow was avalanche soft or glazed ice hard