ABOUT LEADING

Here in the 21st century, leading a peak climbing trip is easier by far. Technological wonders to assist in positioning, as well as detailed climbing descriptions are now affordable and available. But there are catches to what marvels sportings goods stores or electronic warehouses may try to sell you on.

• GPS-- While these are good for locating exactly where you are, they do not operate well in all locations. Satellite signals may not penetrate into mountain canyons, you may still need a good topo, and batteries can go out. From what I've seen from people using these, the data gained may change by the millisecond due to lack of the requisite three or four satellites being in reception, and the data transmitted has still to be interpreted. They do take some time to lock in on your location. Few hikers will carry a long straightedge to precisely mark the longitude and latitude on their maps. Although, now, some devices may display maps and your exact position on their monitors. But, if you drop or dunk one, they, like many electronics, may no longer work!
• Cell Phone and PLB--The same problem of reception makes the use of cell phones also dubious. It's said that you can make a call from the top of Mt. Whitney, but not generally enroute to the top! The trail runs at the bottom of a canyon, and a line-of-sight signal is needed for these. I had once surmised having one of these would assist in getting yourself help should you injure yourself while traveling solo. Don't count on it! Many areas do not have coverage. And, as for personal locator beacons, there've been problems convincing help to go and get you. They know some of those signals sent out to rescue someone are false, and they can be switched on accidentally!
• CD topos--One of the great efforts at dissemination of information, commercially bought CDs offer the fullest map coverage in the country. Websites now offer free maps for printing. You have only tech-disenabled excuses, now, not to have printed or saved map copies of the area you plan to hike in. Would you believe when I started doing this, in earnest, during the late 1970's, some areas still did not have modern USGS topos!
• Guidebooks--Yes, there is work ongoing to perfect descriptions, and the older books not only gave out wrong directions, they did not always have any directions at all! Technical ratings have improved, as the routes are done over and over by more and more experienced mountaineers. Recording pictures of the mountain has been made cheaper and easier with better and better cameras, and with the Internet and e-mail, many will be pleased to exhibit the view of a peak or route. I had planned to have a picture guide to the peaks at one time, with drawn-in arrows pointing where to head, and, upon your getting there, to look to another picture with an arrow! I certainly have a lot of photos to do this, but not the will, or reader interest, currently. And terrain looks different under distinct lighting conditions (weather, morning to evening).
• Liability concerns--Yes, the Sierra Club terminated climbing sections, or greatly curtailed activities, but now, they use mandatory waivers and your personal medical history and condition on forms to avoid lawsuits. While the section I started never had any serious injuries or problems, others did have them, and the petty hate politics of the local chapter was the largest factor in the dissolution of the best opportunity, ever, for local interest to climb, hike, and ski in the backcountry. Some training requirements have attempted to make leaders more proficient and skilled in their activities, rather than being simply well-intentioned volunteers. More the problem was incompetent or disinterested, even malicious, overview, who, in the case of the local chapter, "got rid" of the experienced leaders and sought to replace them with beginners who knew little or nothing of what they were supposed to undertake. At least one dead hiker was a result, to say nothing of government expense looking for lost people!
• Internet--There are loads of people willing to help you climb a mountain. You can read, for free, accounts by many, and now, there are photo sites and You Tube videos. While you'd have to know some as better-than-average climbers to get some good realization on their times, beginners can extrapolate, adding on whatever percentage of hours to the time given out by a briskly moving group that knows the way! I used to dwell on message boards and other hiking and climbing websites. Nowdays, you can do a search on a peak name, and come up with plenty of relevant hits. By the nature of the Net, you do have to worry about misleading and bad information, as the tech disenabled, pranksters, and ill-informed people abound. I find some videos and photos helpful, and many have posted movies of some climbing routes online, which seem to be genuine.
• Regulations--A talk in July, 2011, with a government officer informed me that special use permits are required for organized trips, as far as one popular, local peak. Guide services do pay for them, and you can be considered a "rogue guide" if you do not comply with this rule. I used to deem it an activity among friends when I led trips, with no fees charged, therefore then outside the purview of these regulations. In the past, they told me "commercial use" only for requiring permit fees. Now, they say, "organized trips," and that includes climbs by groups formed by an "ad," looking for partners, on even the Internet. While I suppose this will be further clarified, I wish to inform people of what I was told, so I am no longer accepting partners outside of people that I already know, at least as far as this one particular peak. Budgets are in crisis, and the agencies need money. It's a good idea to have insurance if you do guide anyone, and to make people aware of the dangers and risks. How this all affects hiking clubs remains to be seen...

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