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Western wyoming slots?wasDas boot story. …was Subway in the News

thanks ram/that’s good reading/ western wyoming got slammed by a major snow storm last night/i’ve got 14″+ of windblown snow on a quarter mile of driveway/high- centered my truck backing the first twenty feet out of the garage/lots of high revving just to get it back indoors/i’m going to have to wait for mr. plow/ QUESTION IS;does anyone know of sandstone slots in western wyoming?/i’m thinking maybe the flaming gorge area/and isn’t there some sandstone in the dubois or lander area?/

— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “adkramoo” wrote:
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “davewyo1” wrote:

is there a place in the archives where i can read the story of the
naming of das boot?/
here ya go Dave. Enjoy
Das Boot – The Story My friend Ram and I were descending Mystery one > October day and we come upon two ropes still set up at Mystery > spring. After dropping them, we proceeded to the drop into the Virgin > and find a 3-ply 18mm rope leading to the drop. So now we carry out > 600 feet of wet rope and inquire at the ranger station if any one > reported stuck ropes. Nope. Later that week we get a call from L, a > podiatrist, who says “hey I heard you found my ropes, can you send > one back to Vegas?” Certainly, but how did they get there? Well, L > and the boys decided to do Mystery at night, rapping with hand held > flash lights, held in their teeth. OK. Our kind of people. Since I > was going there in a few weeks for a trade show, I said I’d leave > them at the hotel desk. One thing led to another and L and I made > plans to descend the upper middle of Left creek and then finish with > the Subway. Now we are heading in in mid November at 6000+ feet and L > does not want to rent a wet suit. Very bad idea. Most are convinced > that he will die if he does not suit and eventually he is persuaded > to get a suit and all appears well. Appears, that is. So we meet and > head up after getting the requisite permit and we start hiking in a > foot of snow to the start. Now I was happy to just find the start as > I had only been there once with Ram and was not paying particular > attention. So I’m suiting up, including the taco wrap and eating all > I can find and L. is waiting for me in his hiking clothes. Let’s get > ready I say and he tells me he is hot and won’t be putting on his wet > suit. A little bit of arguing and I point out that shiny stuff in the > water is ICE and get your suit on! Finally he relents (partly) and > puts the top of his farmer john on and this whole trip is going down > hill, fast. So I’m tired of this and get ready to go and realize he > has no neo socks on. L states that he has done many canyons before > and knows what he is doing. Timing? Well, June and July, mostly. You > are in for a treat, I say. So in we plunge and 20 minutes later I > hear “duh, duh dddave, I’m cold”. No shit, and this is ice swirling > around you. How cold? I can’t feel my legs. About what one should > expect, your body is working fine, let’s go. No, he has to put on his > bottoms. So this takes 20 minutes and despite my aerobic exercises I > go from cool to cold. Now my panties are in a wad. L is slow and > stumbling a little (we know what this means) and to keep him moving I > keep slipping around corners ahead of him just letting him catch a > glance of me. Finally we come to a place with that white winter sun > and L comes up and falls face first into the stream and does not get > up. I notice that he has one boot on and a sock on the other foot. I > pick his head out of the water and ask him where his other boot > is. “I duh, duh, don’t know” he says slowly. So we still have more of > this canyon segment and then 8 miles of the subway including the hike > out and L has one boot. Unacceptable I state. If you hike with me, > you hike with two boots. Go get it. I don’t know where it is he > stutters. So how long have you not had a boot? “I dunno. I can’t feel > my feet” Neo socks rule, I guess. So I go back and poke around in the > last pool and find no boot. Probably not tied on well when he > changed. Damn. What am I going to do with a hypothermic bimbo and > miles to go? Does death become him? Nah. Hike. And shortly we come to > the final rap of the narrows and I try to puzzle out the best way > with hypo L. Me first? Him first? Just toss his sorry ass into the > pool? So I put him on rappel and then I go down and get ready to > fireman him in case of mistake. But of course he has to rap down the > snow covered slope in his sock. So it’s pretty obvious that this > canyon is over if we can get out. I go through his pack and make a > boot out a stuff sack and my two socks and figure that if we can exit > the Russell Gulch entrance then maybe this will end, mercifully. So > up we go and L begins to warm and come out of his stupor. Sun is > shining, snow is melting and all is well. We get back to the car and > I give L my card and he begins to weep as the import of the day > becomes clear – and the card is titled “Let’s Adventure”. So how the > name Das Boot? A podiatrist losing his boot in the narrows. Lessons > are obvious. Pitney >

Message Details

Authordavewyo1
DateDecember 2, 2005
Discussion4 replies
View original ↗
  • davewyo1

    that’s strange…if i ever go out to a bar i usually drop by the calico and bump into an acquaintence(dick)and he is my source for caving info/as you say,the conversation is often vague as to location/to say “in the gros ventres”is like saying”near lake powell”/can’t help but wonder if it’s the same person/i’ll ask him his last name next time i see him/i can almost guess which barstool he’ll be sitting in…/

    — In Yahoo Canyons Group, steve mestdagh wrote:

    — davewyo1 wrote:

    > them gros ventres(sounds like”gro vants”)is BIG!could you be more

    specific?

    Unfortunately not. Haven’t explored the Gros Ventres myself. I bumped > into an old friend (Dick DuMais) in Jackson a few years back. Turns out > he’s not climbing much anymore, just caving. You know how cavers are > … Vague > -s

    __________________________________ > Start your day with – Make it your home page! > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

  • steve mestdagh

    — davewyo1 davewyo@hotmail.com> wrote:

    > them gros ventres(sounds like”gro vants”)is BIG!could you be more > specific?

    Unfortunately not. Haven’t explored the Gros Ventres myself. I bumped into an old friend (Dick DuMais) in Jackson a few years back. Turns out he’s not climbing much anymore, just caving. You know how cavers are … Vague -s

    __________________________________ Start your day with – Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

  • davewyo1

    them gros ventres(sounds like”gro vants”)is BIG!could you be more specific?/hoback and granite canyons have some small pockets and such/and the canyons around snow king have a few small caves,but i’ve never gone up the gros ventre river searching for caves/there’s some sandstone up there but it hasn’t paid out in slots/mostly towers with very steep sand in between/

    there’s a lot of exploration of the limestone around the lander area for high-end climbing/sinks canyon is cool/there’s a bit of caving going on in the limestone(some secret ones)on the idaho side of the tetons/and there’s probably some activity in the cody area(by what i can see by just driving up the highway)/

    — In Yahoo Canyons Group, steve mestdagh wrote:

    Don’t forget the Wyoming limestone. I don’t think the limestone layer > around Lander is thick enough for decent slots but there’s a lot of > cave exploration going on in the Gros Ventre range. > -s

    — davewyo1 wrote:

    > thanks ram/that’s good reading/

    western wyoming got slammed by a major snow storm last night/i’ve

    got 14″+ of windblown snow on a quarter mile of driveway/high-

    centered my truck backing the first twenty feet out of the

    garage/lots of high revving just to get it back indoors/i’m going to

    have to wait for mr. plow/

    QUESTION IS;does anyone know of sandstone slots in western

    wyoming?/i’m thinking maybe the flaming gorge area/and isn’t there

    some sandstone in the dubois or lander area?/

    — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “adkramoo” wrote:

    — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “davewyo1” wrote:

    is there a place in the archives where i can read the story of

    the

    naming of das boot?/

    here ya go Dave. Enjoy

    Das Boot – The Story My friend Ram and I were descending Mystery

    one

    > October day and we come upon two ropes still set up at Mystery

    > spring. After dropping them, we proceeded to the drop into the

    Virgin

    > and find a 3-ply 18mm rope leading to the drop. So now we carry

    out

    > 600 feet of wet rope and inquire at the ranger station if any one

    > reported stuck ropes. Nope. Later that week we get a call from L,

    a

    > podiatrist, who says “hey I heard you found my ropes, can you send

    > one back to Vegas?” Certainly, but how did they get there? Well, L

    > and the boys decided to do Mystery at night, rapping with hand

    held

    > flash lights, held in their teeth. OK. Our kind of people. Since I

    > was going there in a few weeks for a trade show, I said I’d leave

    > them at the hotel desk. One thing led to another and L and I made

    > plans to descend the upper middle of Left creek and then finish

    with

    > the Subway. Now we are heading in in mid November at 6000+ feet

    and L

    > does not want to rent a wet suit. Very bad idea. Most are

    convinced

    > that he will die if he does not suit and eventually he is

    persuaded

    > to get a suit and all appears well. Appears, that is. So we meet

    and

    > head up after getting the requisite permit and we start hiking in

    a

    > foot of snow to the start. Now I was happy to just find the start

    as

    > I had only been there once with Ram and was not paying particular

    > attention. So I’m suiting up, including the taco wrap and eating

    all

    > I can find and L. is waiting for me in his hiking clothes. Let’s

    get

    > ready I say and he tells me he is hot and won’t be putting on his

    wet

    > suit. A little bit of arguing and I point out that shiny stuff in

    the

    > water is ICE and get your suit on! Finally he relents (partly) and

    > puts the top of his farmer john on and this whole trip is going

    down

    > hill, fast. So I’m tired of this and get ready to go and realize

    he

    > has no neo socks on. L states that he has done many canyons before

    > and knows what he is doing. Timing? Well, June and July, mostly.

    You

    > are in for a treat, I say. So in we plunge and 20 minutes later I

    > hear “duh, duh dddave, I’m cold”. No shit, and this is ice

    swirling

    > around you. How cold? I can’t feel my legs. About what one should

    > expect, your body is working fine, let’s go. No, he has to put on

    his

    > bottoms. So this takes 20 minutes and despite my aerobic exercises

    I

    > go from cool to cold. Now my panties are in a wad. L is slow and

    > stumbling a little (we know what this means) and to keep him

    moving I

    > keep slipping around corners ahead of him just letting him catch a

    > glance of me. Finally we come to a place with that white winter

    sun

    > and L comes up and falls face first into the stream and does not

    get

    > up. I notice that he has one boot on and a sock on the other foot.

    I

    > pick his head out of the water and ask him where his other boot

    > is. “I duh, duh, don’t know” he says slowly. So we still have more

    of

    > this canyon segment and then 8 miles of the subway including the

    hike

    > out and L has one boot. Unacceptable I state. If you hike with me,

    > you hike with two boots. Go get it. I don’t know where it is he

    > stutters. So how long have you not had a boot? “I dunno. I can’t

    feel

    > my feet” Neo socks rule, I guess. So I go back and poke around in

    the

    > last pool and find no boot. Probably not tied on well when he

    > changed. Damn. What am I going to do with a hypothermic bimbo and

    > miles to go? Does death become him? Nah. Hike. And shortly we come

    to

    > the final rap of the narrows and I try to puzzle out the best way

    > with hypo L. Me first? Him first? Just toss his sorry ass into the

    > pool? So I put him on rappel and then I go down and get ready to

    > fireman him in case of mistake. But of course he has to rap down

    the

    > snow covered slope in his sock. So it’s pretty obvious that this

    > canyon is over if we can get out. I go through his pack and make a

    > boot out a stuff sack and my two socks and figure that if we can

    exit

    > the Russell Gulch entrance then maybe this will end, mercifully.

    So

    > up we go and L begins to warm and come out of his stupor. Sun is

    > shining, snow is melting and all is well. We get back to the car

    and

    > I give L my card and he begins to weep as the import of the day

    > becomes clear – and the card is titled “Let’s Adventure”. So how

    the

    > name Das Boot? A podiatrist losing his boot in the narrows.

    Lessons

    > are obvious. Pitney

    __________________________________ > Start your day with – Make it your home page! > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

  • steve mestdagh

    Don’t forget the Wyoming limestone. I don’t think the limestone layer around Lander is thick enough for decent slots but there’s a lot of cave exploration going on in the Gros Ventre range. -s

    — davewyo1 davewyo@hotmail.com> wrote:

    > thanks ram/that’s good reading/ > western wyoming got slammed by a major snow storm last night/i’ve > got 14″+ of windblown snow on a quarter mile of driveway/high- > centered my truck backing the first twenty feet out of the > garage/lots of high revving just to get it back indoors/i’m going to > have to wait for mr. plow/ > QUESTION IS;does anyone know of sandstone slots in western > wyoming?/i’m thinking maybe the flaming gorge area/and isn’t there > some sandstone in the dubois or lander area?/

    > — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “adkramoo” wrote:

    — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “davewyo1” wrote:

    is there a place in the archives where i can read the story of > the

    > naming of das boot?/

    here ya go Dave. Enjoy

    Das Boot – The Story My friend Ram and I were descending Mystery > one

    October day and we come upon two ropes still set up at Mystery

    spring. After dropping them, we proceeded to the drop into the > Virgin

    and find a 3-ply 18mm rope leading to the drop. So now we carry > out

    600 feet of wet rope and inquire at the ranger station if any one

    reported stuck ropes. Nope. Later that week we get a call from L, > a

    podiatrist, who says “hey I heard you found my ropes, can you send

    one back to Vegas?” Certainly, but how did they get there? Well, L

    and the boys decided to do Mystery at night, rapping with hand > held

    flash lights, held in their teeth. OK. Our kind of people. Since I

    was going there in a few weeks for a trade show, I said I’d leave

    them at the hotel desk. One thing led to another and L and I made

    plans to descend the upper middle of Left creek and then finish > with

    the Subway. Now we are heading in in mid November at 6000+ feet > and L

    does not want to rent a wet suit. Very bad idea. Most are > convinced

    that he will die if he does not suit and eventually he is > persuaded

    to get a suit and all appears well. Appears, that is. So we meet > and

    head up after getting the requisite permit and we start hiking in > a

    foot of snow to the start. Now I was happy to just find the start > as

    I had only been there once with Ram and was not paying particular

    attention. So I’m suiting up, including the taco wrap and eating > all

    I can find and L. is waiting for me in his hiking clothes. Let’s > get

    ready I say and he tells me he is hot and won’t be putting on his > wet

    suit. A little bit of arguing and I point out that shiny stuff in > the

    water is ICE and get your suit on! Finally he relents (partly) and

    puts the top of his farmer john on and this whole trip is going > down

    hill, fast. So I’m tired of this and get ready to go and realize > he

    has no neo socks on. L states that he has done many canyons before

    and knows what he is doing. Timing? Well, June and July, mostly. > You

    are in for a treat, I say. So in we plunge and 20 minutes later I

    hear “duh, duh dddave, I’m cold”. No shit, and this is ice > swirling

    around you. How cold? I can’t feel my legs. About what one should

    expect, your body is working fine, let’s go. No, he has to put on > his

    bottoms. So this takes 20 minutes and despite my aerobic exercises > I

    go from cool to cold. Now my panties are in a wad. L is slow and

    stumbling a little (we know what this means) and to keep him > moving I

    keep slipping around corners ahead of him just letting him catch a

    glance of me. Finally we come to a place with that white winter > sun

    and L comes up and falls face first into the stream and does not > get

    up. I notice that he has one boot on and a sock on the other foot. > I

    pick his head out of the water and ask him where his other boot

    is. “I duh, duh, don’t know” he says slowly. So we still have more > of

    this canyon segment and then 8 miles of the subway including the > hike

    out and L has one boot. Unacceptable I state. If you hike with me,

    you hike with two boots. Go get it. I don’t know where it is he

    stutters. So how long have you not had a boot? “I dunno. I can’t > feel

    my feet” Neo socks rule, I guess. So I go back and poke around in > the

    last pool and find no boot. Probably not tied on well when he

    changed. Damn. What am I going to do with a hypothermic bimbo and

    miles to go? Does death become him? Nah. Hike. And shortly we come > to

    the final rap of the narrows and I try to puzzle out the best way

    with hypo L. Me first? Him first? Just toss his sorry ass into the

    pool? So I put him on rappel and then I go down and get ready to

    fireman him in case of mistake. But of course he has to rap down > the

    snow covered slope in his sock. So it’s pretty obvious that this

    canyon is over if we can get out. I go through his pack and make a

    boot out a stuff sack and my two socks and figure that if we can > exit

    the Russell Gulch entrance then maybe this will end, mercifully. > So

    up we go and L begins to warm and come out of his stupor. Sun is

    shining, snow is melting and all is well. We get back to the car > and

    I give L my card and he begins to weep as the import of the day

    becomes clear – and the card is titled “Let’s Adventure”. So how > the

    name Das Boot? A podiatrist losing his boot in the narrows. > Lessons

    are obvious. Pitney

    >

    __________________________________ Start your day with – Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs