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Greetings from Oregon Peak Adventures,

This is the April 2002 Oregon Peak Adventures Newsletter. You are receiving this because you are a past client, you have asked about us, you are family, or friends. So have a read. If you don't wish to receive any further Newsletters, just reply with "Remove" in the Subject and we actually will take you off the list.

Spring has arrived in Oregon and we are alternating great sunny days with rain showers. It's green and lush and the Trilliums are blooming. We're been doing some hiking and our first scheduled climb of St. Helens is April 19. We still have a few spots open if you want to get a early start on climbing this year. Check out the schedule below to sign-up for a trip this summer.

ROCK CLIMBING

We have changed liability insurance carriers and are now covered for rock climbing trips and instruction. Additionally, we have a Special Use Permit for Horse Thief Butte. Horse Thief Butte is in Washington State across the Columbia River from The Dalles, OR and is about an 1 1/2 hour drive from Portland. It is the perfect place to teach beginning rock climbing on real rock and to practice intermediate and leading skills. We also have access to the Smith Rock area in central Oregon.

We're developing various offerings for rock climbing. Typical Portland based programs will typically include orientation sessions in a local indoor rock gym and at Rocky Butte, plus trips to Horse Thief Butte and Smith Rock. We will also offer a "Belay Slave" program for rock climbers who need an experienced climbing partner for a night at the rock gym or a climbing outing. Watch for program offering and schedules on the web site. And please let us know if you would be interested in participating.

SECURE SIGN-UP FORM

We now have a secure sign-up form. it can be accessed at http://www.oregonpeakadventures.com/sign-up.htm. this makes it easy and secure for you to pay using your credit card.

NEPAL

We continue to focus on our trekking and climbing trip to the Khumbu region of Nepal this October-November. We plan to gather in Kathmandu on October 19. October-November is when the best weather conditions exist for trekking in the Khumbu region.

Great News! Our friend Don Messerschmidt has agreed to accompany us on the trek. Don has lived and worked in Nepal since he first arrived there as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1963. He has a broad range of work and academic experience that is kind of hard to describe completely. He describes himself as a Himalayan specialist' who has worked in the fields of natural resource management (especially in community forestry), and in other anthropological studies (mountain shrines, for example). He has traveled extensively in the Himalayas of Nepal and Bhutan and published many things, e.g., some books and both professional and photo-journalistic articles).

Don is living in Kathmandu currently and we will follow his lead regarding what is happening regarding the Maoist activity and how it might impact our trip. Updates may be available at http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html. I will be investigating trekking offerings in Bhutan as a future trip option or as an alternative for this year if conditions in Nepal go down the tubes.

After spending a few days in Kathmandu, we will fly to Lukla and begin our trek. We will go up the Gokyo Valley, cross over the Cho La (Pass), then turn up to Kalla Pattar and the Everest Base Camp. We then head back for Lukla. The trekkers will go directly to Lukla, while Island peak climbers will take three days to climb before continuing on to Lukla. If we have four more hard-core climbers, we will climb Mera Peak and circle back to Lukla from there. More information is at http://www.oregonpeakadventures.com/nepal.htm.

Days in Estimated Nepal Price Khumbu Traverse – Return after trek to Everest Base Camp 24 $2,600

Imja Tse (Island) Peak - Return after climbing Imja Tse 27 $3,100

Imja Tse (Island) Peak and Mera Peak (Includes 1 & 2 above) 40 $4,100

The above prices are based on having ten clients. This includes all trips costs after you get off the plane in Kathmandu, including the round trip flight between Lukla and Kathmandu. This is a fully supported trip with low overhead. We will use a local trekking firm. OPA guide Gerry Itkin will be assistant leader and we're hoping Don will be able to accompany us. The trip will go regardless of how many clients sign-up, but the price may change. I hope you can go with us . This is going to be a great trip!

TANZANIA
We have rescheduled the Tanzania trip for 2-22 February 2003. This will consist of a nine-day climb of Kilimanjaro, a five day safari, and four days in Zanzibar. Fortunately, social and political conditions are stable in Tanzania and we are looking forward to another wonderful experience with our delightful friends there. As are all of our trips, everything is covered from the time we meet you at Kilimanjaro International Airport to when we board our return flight in Dar es Salaam.

The Full Trip is $3,850

Kili Climb Only: $2,500

Kili Climb + Safari: $3,250

Safari + Zanzibar: $2,700

The pricing is based on six clients. More information is at http://www.oregonpeakadventures.com/Tanzania.htm.

To reserve your spot on either trip we require a $500 deposit. Call or send me an e-mail for additional information and a sign-up form.

SUMMER 2002 SCHEDULE

The Website www.oregonpeakadventures.com is up to date so check it out for more information. Pricing for the trips includes transportation, guides(s)/instructors, group and technical gear, food and permits. We can arrange to rent you most of the things we don't provide.

CLIMBS:

St. Helens: Swift Creek Route: April 19

Monitor Ridge Route: May 10 & 24, June 7 & 28, July 10 & 30, August 13, September 5 & 20

Mt. Adams: South Side Route: July 23-24, August 1-2

Mazama Glacier Route: July 26-28, August 9-11, August 23-25

North Cleaver Route: August 21-23

BACKPACKS:

St. Helens Round-the Mountain: July 12-15, August 3-6

St. Helens Mt. Margaret Backcountry: September 9-12

Mt. Adams Round-the Mountain: July 18-22, August 15-19

Indian Heaven Wilderness: August 5-7

 

OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING

Alpine Mountaineering: June 15

Map & Compass: Class-June 19/Field-June 22

Wilderness Survival: Class-June 24 or 25/Field Overnight-June 29-30

Class-September 11/Field Overnight-September 14-15

HIKES

St. Helens Hike the Blast (Hike across the Pumice Plain to Loowit Falls at crater)-Class - Sept 3 or 4, Hike - September 7

Hikes at the Oregon Coast, Columbia River Gorge, and on St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and in the Portland area can be arranged at any time we have a guide available.

 

RAFTING

First, let's be clear. OPA is not a rafting company. But, if you or your group want to go rafting, we can arrange the trip through one of our rafting partners, provide the transportation, and make sure you get something to eat. Information on trips available is at http://www.oregonpeakadventures.com/rafting.htm.

TIPS SECTION

We will be teaching Wilderness Survival Classes in June and July, but here are some tips.

What do you think are the top six priorities, in order, to survive a wilderness emergency. Look away now and write it down.

OK.

The first three are the standard Red Cross First Aid/CPR ABCs.

AIRWAY - is it possible to get air from the nose/mouth to the lungs?

BREATHING - can the person breathe on their own or do you need to provide mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing.

CIRCULATION - is the heart beating in a normal enough rhythm to effectively circulate blood through the circulatory system, and is the system intact and not leaking badly. The ABCs need to be fixed within six minutes or irrevocable damage is going to occur. If you are not current in CPR and First Aid, well, you should be.

SHELTER- Our bodies can only function well within +/- 3 degrees F of 98.9 Degrees F. Clothing is our first level of shelter. Layering with appropriate fabrics are critical to keep from getting too cold or too hot. After clothing, houses, tents, lean-tos, windbreaks, etc. are the next shelter priorities. Shelter needs to be attended to within tens of minutes before our brain starts going wacko.

WATER - Staying hydrated is highly important for optimum physical and mental performance. However, we can survive for up to three days without water. We won't be so happy about it and our performance will steadily decrease, but we can last days.

FOOD - Eating is also important for optimum performance, but we can probably go one to two weeks without food. Typically we can use up more energy reserves looking for food than we gain and we can compromise our higher priority needs by not attending to them first.

Of course, the best and most important item of survival equipment is a calm and educated brain.

 

Well, that's more than enough for now. We hope you can do a trip with us soon. We love sharing this wonderful country with new people, and it's always great to see old friends. If you want to do something and you don't see it, or a scheduled date doesn't work for you, get in touch (877 965-5100) or email at info@Oregonpeakadventures.com and we'll see if we can work something out.

Again, if you don't want this news letter, please reply with Remove in the subject line and we'll cease and desist.

Best Regards,

Joe Whittington