Escape from Death Canyon

Okay, so the titles a pun on Witch mountain.....

Saturday 29th Woke up at 5, but went dozed till 5.30 (start of astronomical twilight). Orion rising, dominantly visible. Sorting stuff out from the previous night was a big help in a relatively fast getaway. I was on the trail by 6am. Me some other guy who was doing Buck. He was stunned at how much gear I was carrying, esp. the 5+ liters of water. I was also carrying a pump as I wasnt sure of the water conditions, but really had reservations about using it (not knowing how effective such things are). He soon took off as he was traveling much lighter and faster than me. The trail was fast, well maintained and graded. I was just entering Death Canyon at sunrise, and a beautiful sunrise it was too, reflecting off Phelps lake. Then began the long ascent of the steep side of death canyon. I stopped frequently, and found that my mixture, which was ~25 % vodka diluted with fizzy water, was an excellent stamina maintainer when combined with the trail mix. Its a bizarre thing that when you are doing huge workloads, alcohol has (apparently) almost none of the effect that it does for recreational drinking, that is to say, when the metabolism is going into the red.. any alcohol that shows up in the blood stream is seen as just a ready source of energy, not unlike sugar. Made good time going up and everything seemed to be holding up well. There was also some could cover, which didnt have the appearance of lots of building to it. The trail was very quiet, and for the whole day I probably only saw 10 people. First and only folk to pass me going up, did so about an hour before getting to the summit. The spine of the Tetons is spectacular, and its always funky to see Jackson airport, a mile beneath you. You can watch the planes taxi on the runway, then watch them roll to the end of the runway and almost take off before you hear the roar of the pilot putting the engines on full throttle. Its just really weird seeing this thing from a mile up! Got to the summit about 12.30. There were two parties on the summit, and I figured I would bide my time to fly the plane. However as things go on the summits, conversations kicked off, and before long I was showing them the plane I had carried up from the valley. The wind conditions were fine. Landing was obviously going to be hard on the plane (no smooth open areas) but the scenery was FUCKIN A! After one of the parties left, it was just me on the summit, and I decided to go for it. I wired the whole thing up but just a black screen. Checked it all, still a black screen!? Then I went into fault finding mode, and it too me full second to find the torn black wire. AG! NOOO! On inspection I decided I could still get it all to work. Then I found the torn red wire, for which I had zero chance of mending. Bollocks! I did briefly consider just pulling off all the video gear, and just flying the plane with the aiptek. Gave it some though and even tried moving the stuff around, but eventually I did the cost benefit analysis. Even IF I could get it all working, that would entail a mainden flight in fairly windy condition, and if I lost the plane it would also mean the loss of an almost new, 200 bux aiptek recorder. I decided that I just couldnt justify the risk. The place was still fantastic and a great place to visit, plus I had done the recon should I ever want to return. There are some interesting flight potentials here! Especially if you are willing to go fully FPV!

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• tetons
• climbing
• hiking
• hike
• lake
• ice
• field
• snow
• national
• park
• scenery
• rc
• plane
• easy
• star
• flight
• fail
• static
• peak
• summit
• road
• trip
• wyoming

[warthog212]

Stop Making Videos I Am Always Late To Work Now.

[TheGreatDolanmite]

One does not simply walk into death canyon! It's black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly! DOWNT DOO EEET THUNDAIRFEWT!!!

[Robbi159]

@alchemistapf Whats the fun in that?

[figgskzoo]

Is that a Liverpool accent I detect?

[alchemistapf]

Am I the only one who thinks that he could have launched the plane from the bottom of the mountain and saved the hike?

[HectorL360]

wow, videos like this make me remember that there is No God

[CantStopWontStop818]

A nice 40 oz and a blunt would be perfect for this trail

[gobblox38]

sucks about the busted cam, might also be a good idea to have a basic repair kit with you for unexpected equipment failures

[ILikeMeProductions]

Bicking down or up this trail would be sick, the trail seams about the right size.

So bueatyfull shots you got tho.

[blindedbyblood]

Its a good energysource if you count in absorption (i think it is 99% or something), and kcal value. However, if you solely depend on it as source of energy, you will dehydrate, cause consumption of alcohol makes the body use alot of water. In large amounts i doubt its healthy for your liver also (i guess you knew that about the liver=)).

[CiviC894G]

this is thuderfoot what a joke u troll

[mobiltec]

Nice little hike. Way sorry the cam was busted. Yep... Check your stuff first.