Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2008 - 02:03am PT
|
There's been lots of glacial recession and thinning in Garibaldi Park over the last century or so. For the last 40 years, some have been measured regularly. I don't have good "before and after" photos, but here's some from Wedgemount Lake, about 20 km north of the Black Tusk.
June 1972
At that time the glacier went well into the lake, and the ice cliff you see is 30 m+ high.
June 2003
Taken from about the same angle, but 400 - 500 m higher up.
The glacier has retreated up to a kilometre. Hot air from political and religious threads on SuperTopo are a prime suspect.
I don't have any photos of rainbows, but here's another one.
Wedge Mountain, the highest in Garibaldi Park. More scruffy rock, but pretty from a distance.
The Coast Salish name for Garibaldi is "Ta Nch'qai'", which means "the Grimy One". Very fitting - it's quite a dusty place when not snow covered.
|
|
mastadon
Trad climber
Tahoe
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2008 - 09:48am PT
|
Anders,
You know anybody that might want some old Squamish memorabilia?? I've got a couple of wooden wedges I took out of the first or second pitch of Tantalus wall in 1972. I'm guessing they were used on the first ascent by the old guy himself.
Lemmeno,
Don...
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2008 - 04:46pm PT
|
Don, I may well be interested in those myself. I don't know of any climbing museum, or plans for a climbing museum, in B.C. or Squamish. There's not nearly as much history to keep track of as there is in Yosemite. But I did know Leif Patterson, who was on the first ascent of Tantalus Wall. I'm in touch with Leif's family, and they might be interested in seeing if not having a wedge or two.
I vaguely remember wandering around below Tantalus Wall in 1972 or 1973, and seeing some wedges scattered about. Jim Madsen is said to have done the first free ascent of Tantalus Crack in 1968 - I wonder how the wedges helped or hindered with that?
Will you be at the FaceLift? If so, a chance to talk and look.
|
|
sky pilot
Trad climber
nomadland
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2008 - 05:03pm PT
|
I read that ladybugs will gather along ridge lines and summits in order to mate. I, too, have been "attacked" by swarms of ladybugs. I guess ladybugs are romantic and like to have a nice view as they mate!!
|
|
mastadon
Trad climber
Tahoe
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2008 - 07:25pm PT
|
Anders, I may try to make The Facelift (I don't really live that far away so I have no excuse).
I found those wooden wedges just below the beautiful offwith section-they were laying on a ledge in the bottom of a crack. It was my understanding that Al Givler did the first free ascent of the offwith pitch. I remember talking to Al about this but it's pretty vague and I have CRS (can't remember s#it) pretty bad so he may have said anything.....
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2008 - 01:05am PT
|
It is more plausible that Al Givler freed Tantalus Crack, notwithstanding legend that Madsen did it. Al was around Squamish a fair amount in the late 1960s, and of course he and Mead did the first ascent of the Black Dyke in early 1970.
Steering the thread back toward topic, it turns out that there are about 5,000 species of ladybugs, with hundreds of types in North America. They are actually a kind of beetle, called Coccinellidae. "Some species (e.g., Hippodamia convergens) gather into groups and move to higher land, such as a mountain, to enter diapause." Diapause is a sort of dormancy during the winter, and it seems that the convergens species is found throughout NA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae
I don't know if "higher land" includes 2,300 m rocky peaks.
The agriculture department of just about every land grant college in the U.S. has web information on ladybugs.
|
|
MisterE
Social climber
My Inner Nut
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2008 - 01:33am PT
|
A Ladybug hijack is in order
Edited for ease of viewing
|
|
Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2008 - 08:50am PT
|
Wow, you got a lot of mileage out of that hike! Looks like the TR was almost as much fun to write as
Black Tusk was to climb. Glad you took us all along.
And IFO think there oughtta be even more TRs on the taco, whether they are routes I can climb or not.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2008 - 04:52pm PT
|
Thanks - it was a long and dusty trail, and I didn't run into many others, so I entertained myself by thinking up a TR. I like to "write in my head" while doing those sorts of things - hiking, running, swimming etc. Activities which pump some oxygen into me, but aren't so absorbing or vigorous as to require full time attention.
Erik's ladybug photo was a little bit ... creepy. In a good sort of way. You can actually buy packaged ladybugs and set them free in your greenhouse, house or garden, where assuming there are aphids to be had, they will thrive. The problem, of course, is keeping them where you want them.
I suppose political correctness would require us to call them personbugs, given that 50% must be male. Hopefully it's not one of those species where they mate, and the female eats the male to nourish the eggs.
|
|
Hardly Visible
climber
Port Angeles
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2008 - 05:59pm PT
|
Nice trip report Anders,
Back in the days when I was a hiker I did some strolls in yer neighborhood.
Here’s a few pictures outa my photobucket
Snowcap Lakes Garibaldi Park
A little further north
Manatee Range
And finally the Mt. Meager volcano you mentioned on the right
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 20, 2008 - 12:46am PT
|
Those are nice photos, Kevin! And any of the destinations involve much more than hiking. Few get to Snowcap Lakes, although it's within 50 or 60 km of greater Vancouver, and a glacier feeds into it. I haven't been to Snowcap, but have been in the Manatee Range in summer and winter, and nearby at the Overseer area.
I had a flashback, and realized that my SuperTopo moniker may have been bestowed on me on a hike with boy scouts to Garibaldi Lake, around 1970. Because I very much wasn't.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2008 - 01:36pm PT
|
I made some enquiries amongst mountaineering friends, and one came up trumps. My friend Vince saw swarms of ladybugs at the summit of a mountain called Needle Peak in May 2007. Needle Peak is about 150 km east of Vancouver (southeast of the Black Tusk), and about 2,100 m high. Somewhat different biogeoclimatic zone, and different season. Here's a picture of some of the ladybugs they found on the summit:
Is that cool, or what? Vince is an environmental scientist, and hypothesized that the bugs swarm in spring and lay eggs, or perhaps go high to avoid predators.
Paging any entomologists...
|
|
Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
|
|
|
Aug 21, 2008 - 03:55pm PT
|
Say, Mighty Hiker, how did I miss your very COOL Thread ? Loved it immensley and now I know who to look for at the Lift!
Is Alice Lake anywhere near you ? We camped there years ago when my hub climbed Squamish. Unbeknownst to me the kids decided to swim across Alice.
Just found out recently they almost didn't make it......kids!
Smiles, Lynne
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2008 - 10:52pm PT
|
(Bumped, as Lynne may have missed the answer, in all the downages over the last day.)
Alice Lake is about 15 km north of Squamish, just off the highway to Whistler. Ok camping. They have a triathlon there every summer.
I talked with a lady entomologist at the University of B.C. She was quite interested to hear of encounters with ladybugs high in the local mountains. She says that many types of ladybug swarm in the autumn, and then try to find somewhere warm and dry and safe for the winter, when they're inactive. Sometimes they invade people's houses, garages, or stables. She'd never heard of ladybugs in places like the top of Black Tusk, or Needle Peak. In the case of the Tusk, she thought it might have had to do with updrafts carrying them higher than normal. Also, the dark, south-facing rock might offer warm, protected crevices for wintering, but it's rather early for that, and a cold, windy place in winter. For Needle Peak, clearly they'd wintered there, which surprised her. Safety from predators - birds, bears, rodents, etc - might be the reason.
Ladybugs live for about a year, but those in a swarm return to the same places each autumn. Perhaps there's some overlap - some born in the spring and some in the autumn.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Aug 22, 2008 - 11:07pm PT
|
hey there mighty hiker and all... great share--great pics, too, naturallyyyy...
say, i just say some notes about ladybugs... sorry, didn't see that til i hit reply... think i will mosey on back and read that too....
edit: say there mighty hiker and all... say, we have ladybug swarms here, too.... think it was to have been in june, july or aug???? hmmm, cant remember, as i have not seen them in this house... but i DID see them just recently at my co-workers... just cannot remember the month.... many folks around here though, near the woods, really have a hard time of it----they actually cover the ceilings, at times...
ps----oh LYNNE----- those are some awful hard stories, learning that the kids near took an "unreturnable" turn.... say, the wonder of it all, is that the good lord up-held them and they are hear to tell about their "old football---well, you get my drift---old childhood-trail injuries".... whewwwwwwwwww, lynne, very glad the kids lived to tell about it....
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Aug 22, 2008 - 11:17pm PT
|
hey there... i really like this garibaldi park.. have never heard of it... will check it out on some searches... nice stuff, all....
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Aug 22, 2008 - 11:36pm PT
|
hey there mighty hiker... oh, my... sometimes i have to wait for downloads on these trip reports...etc...
so now, that i have been through the whole thing... i must say, mighty hiker... this was very sweet stuff.... much more than the usually great trails, etc...
i really enjoyed the "chapter highlighters" and the light-hearted happy joy... i liked how you stated that you and and your dad had your first visit there together (if i didnt read that too fast to soak it in right)....
really, you did more than a great job...
say, there, your're a mighty creative writer, too, to add to your hiking skills...
once again, thanks so very much... still got to check out some more of this great stuff.... god bless.... (encoure) (encore, somewhere, anywhere... will read)... :)
|
|
Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
|
|
|
Aug 23, 2008 - 12:44am PT
|
Would have responded earlier, but it seems our Super Taco has a major illness and needs IV antibiotics STAT or the paramedics will need to be called in.
IOW could not post for hours and hours today....
ANYWAY, do you think the lady bugs spots are like fingerprints and/or snowflakes and all individual ?
I will limit my spiritual comments (don't do political) if you really think they are contributing to global hot pads. Smiles and a Super Taco Friday Nite. Linners.
|
|
Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
|
|
|
Aug 23, 2008 - 09:43am PT
|
pretty funny :)
thanks Anders.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 24, 2008 - 04:02am PT
|
The SuperTopo quest for the elusive alliterative alpine ladybug, and entomological immortality, continued apace over the weekend. Teams of intrepid SuperTopians fanned out across the globe, equipped with butterfly nets, deerstalkers, and other paraphernalia and impedimenta. Reports were trickling in, and expected to turn into a flood after the weekend.
Chiloe ranged farthest afield, to Nuuk in Kalaalit Nunaat. It seemed unlikely he would find any of the lovely creatures, but if he did, they'd be well preserved in ice.
Happiegrrrl set out to the Shawangunks, accompanied by her trusty four legged friend Teddy. The area is not exactly alpine, but she felt that a two legged + four legged team would impress six legged bugs. rgold hoped to provide some help - "Eight legs are better than six" seemed to be their slogan.
Skipt claimed that he'd catch "14 million" of them, for which he'd surely receive a merit badge.
locker was having problems with his enter/return key - some hippie lettuce was caught in it. Once he solved this, he hoped to have a look around, if he could remember he was supposed to.
Dwain was sadly preoccupied, but hoped to keep locker on the straight and narrow.
Largo hoped to impress the ladies through use of colourful clothing and a unicycle - all the ladies love a clown.
maldaly hoped to lure the creatures with single malt scotch, a novel strategy.
Mitey Hiker, aphids in hand, smirked "I've already got mine."
Warbler wasn't too optimistic - his species is known for dining on bugs.
Chris Mac planned to intercept the migrating swarms in a wingsuit. He seemed likely to catch some on his goggles, anyway, given that he'd be going down at 100 kph, while the bugs were going up.
Anastasia had unusual ideas involving protective Greek male relatives and Turkish delight.
John Moosie simply said "The Moose is loose."
tarbuster planned lengthy rambles on ridges in the rubblicious rockies, which seemed a likely habitat. "They might be fleet of wing", he observed, "but no way they can outrun Lisa." We were sure of a fascinating report, anyway. He hoped to enlist fellow Nederlander Pewf in the chase - "Can't have too many gals when you're trying to catch a lady."
jtcrip grumbled about OUTDOOR CHOSS™, but was seen buying a net at WalMart. Claims that it was for catching "desert trout" were scoffed at.
coz guessed that ladybug swarms could be found on the south face of Half Dome. He set out with an extraordinary variety of equipment. The ropes and harnesses seemed plausible - bound to be some deep warm protected cracks up there. The hammers and chisels seemed overkill - they're only little bugs, after all.
ihateplastic planned to send classic postcards of ladybugs in Yosemite in the 1930s to the winners.
healyje wanted to use his extensive experience with peregrine observations to locate the bugs, and develop a working relationship with land managers so they'd let him visit their habitat in season. All this while slacklining better than most of those poseurs in Camp 4.
bachar planned "boldly to go" (or "to go boldly", or "to boldly go") "where no man has gone before", and see what he could find.
Karl Baba was at an ashram in India, or a commune in Beijing, or something along those lines, but hoped to provide observations of ladybugs in those places. His initial report? "Crunchy!"
Crimpergirl was bug eyed, saying "I love everything that flies." She thought she might give Dave a wingsuit for his birthday.
FatTrad said "Well, at least the clash is starting with aerial action, even if it's not quite what I thought it would be." His 'friends' thought that the ladybugs probably had WMDs, and that a pre-emptive strike was advisable.
Radical stated "Them bugs are gomers.", which seemed a trifle aggressive for a mostly harmless Canuck.
PTPP planned a long sojourn in a likely migratory route, and was expected to report in twenty days or so.
Hollyclimber thought it might help the ladybugs with their migration if she taught them about wall climbing.
nature simply said "I'm too busy, and you can't make sushi with them anyway. At least, I won't."
dirtineye smirked "I have a way with the ladies".
Heaven knows what yo was up to, but he was bound to post a funny TR about it involving amazing feats, even if no ladybugs were seen.
Ouch! had peculiar plans involving Werner, #46, and an innocent ladybug which he hoped to lure with Twinkies.
neebee was, as usual, the bee's knees. This identity with the world of insects seemed likely to give her an advantage, despite the challenge of being located in Texas.
Jesse M noted that ladybugs seemed unlikely to get into trouble for slacklining or bandit camping, but did say that there had been reports of swarms near Degnan's, and that the NPS planned 24 hour surveillance.
Roger Brown was annoyed that he was being made to laugh - there's nothing worse with busted ribs, even if you've got some good painkillers.
Raydog figured he had the situation sewn up.
Russ W was annoyed that there was yet another thread about anything but El Capitan and wide cracks. However, creative genius that he is, he soon evolved the excellent, if confusingly named, Fish Bug Bag™. Orders are being taken for the 2010 season, and they will be available in lovely lilac, rosy red, and sheeny sapphire.
Ed Hartouni was using a supercomputer to develop a ladybug algorithm. The Morals & Ethics Committee™ suggested he work on falling ropes first - as they said "If you can't catch a rope, how are you going to catch a ladybug?"
T*R planned to chase the ladybugs from a train, which seemed a rather relaxing method.
Doug Quixote was unintelligible, but it seemed unlikely that any ladybugs live in the vicinity of Fairbanks anyway. It was undoubtedly the fault of the AAC, the NPS, and the usual co-conspirators.
DR thought he might help coz.
Lynne L said she'd never chased ladybugs before, but had heard about it, and was willing to give it a try. She wondered if a three-person cot might be of use in the quest, but was advised that Vorpal Swords™ were all the rage. However, her pillow cases would undoubtedly be useful.
Chicken Skinner thought that the ladybugs would add a nice colourful element to the FaceLift, plus they could help clean inaccessible crevices.
graham planned to design functional, stylish ladybug collecting clothing for the team.
jstan was worried that the sky might fall, but said he'd come to the FaceLift and see how he could help.
Werner said "Silly climbers. Wise ladybugs."
Matt was too busy trading insults with Republicans to have any time for a big bad bug hunt.
Captain...or Skully figured his name would keep them confused long enough to get them in the bag.
the kid said "Well, we may have seem some in the Meadows in '86, migrating toward the pass. Then again, it might have been butterflies, or what we had for breakfast."
Steve Grossman planned to team up with Clint Cummins and Roger Brown, and work on a ladybug replacement initiative.
LEB said "At last there's something I can do to help all my SuperTopo friends, in addition to all the wisdom, advice and insights I give them. I've got lots and lots of bugs, and they're always eating my apple trees. I wish they'd eat the deer.. Now which bugs were they again? Are they the black ones? I've got some black skwirrrrls, you know. Where do you think they might have come from?..."
L (or "K" as she's known to friends) had something up her paw involving a slinky feline costume and unbelievable vertical leaps.
oli and jgill were far too wise to get involved.
LongAgo had often seen ladybugs in the mountains, given his interest in natural history, and wondered what all the fuss was about.
EKat set out with Skadi, searching the drumlin in the north woods. The Morals & Ethics Committee™ was considering whether it was acceptable to use magic or music to catch ladybugs.
Jody had world-class photos of ladybugs, all 5,138 species, to help the gallant searchers.
PitonRon had learned some handy bug-catching tricks as a youth in New York, which he hoped to try out in Utah. "It may be the honeybee state", he said, "But there's bound to be some other bugs around here somewhere."
PaganMonkeyBoy was busy being shaved, but thought he'd be free to help in a week or so. It was pointed out that his pelt might be good for trapping ladybugs.
MisterE planned to hold up a picture of himself playing in the dirt of Camp 4, aged two, which was so adorable that any lady would be helpless.
khanom set off on a 30 day expedition along the Sierra Nevada crestline, and if ladybugs really do migrate to high places and winter there, he was bound to see them.
todd-gordon was very busy riding herd on three pre-school boys, and getting ready for school, but had a good look through all the crannies in his house for any swarms that might have snuck in.
jaybro thought Natalie would be good at ladybug catching - they might land on her tongue if she stuck it out. They would be so astounded by such unlikely unladylike behaviour that they'd be stunned, and have to land.
SammyLee2 said that the TSA took unauthorized air travel ("migration") very seriously, and suspected terrorist involvement. A mention of swarming caused him to call an unlisted number.
lookingsketchythere had a look around the hills of San Diego, and a few skyscrapers.
ghost said "I'm already far enough from where I started that I don't need to be chasing any bugs. But I will happily edit the bug hunting journal."
Tami naturally offered to illustrate the journal, saying "Portray the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible? I can do that!"
Susan P and Nora went for a walk, and found a swarm had survived the flood in the first tree on the right, down the hill.
[All fabricated and fictional. Apologies to those included, or omitted.]
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!