Los Alamos Mountaineers
Monthly Program:
Mud Duck and Tabone "Ski" the Disappointment Cleaver Route on Mt. Rainier
In late May of 2024 Greg Huey (Mud Duck) and Tadz Kostrubala (Tabone) successfully summitted and “skied” the Disappointment Cleaver (DC) Route on Rainier. Join us for this presentation as they discuss the DC route, which is the standard ascent for Rainier and the not-so-standard ski descent attempt. The DC route is the most popular route to the summit of Washington State's highest mountain, which peaks out at 14,411 feet. The route climbs 9,000 feet on snowfields and glaciers. They will share our adventures, trials and tribulations, the DC route history, and considerations for anyone who might attempt the route.
Greg "Mud Duck" Huey was born and raised in Oklahoma and educated in New Mexico where he stumbled upon his uncanny ability and desire to suffer in the mountains. He has summitted Denali twice and Mt. Rainer five times now. When not recovering from a hip replacement he enjoys traveling the world for his job, playing rugby and making no sense during campfire sessions that last late into the night.
Tadz "Tabone" Kostrubala fell in love with the mountains while partially growing up in Mammoth, California. After migrating throughout several western states he landed up 20 years ago in New Mexico and has been enchanted ever since. Generally washed up, he likes to reflect back on his time as an Outward Bound instructor, desert climbing rat, and other exploits. When not bossing people around as an engineering manager at LANL he can be found on the ski hill at 6 AM most Tuesdays and Thursdays hiking or skinning.
We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting, on the regular fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. The presentation will be streamed at Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required to Zoom and recommended for in-person – we would love to see your smiling face. Registration details will be posted once they are available.
Heading towards the summit of Mount Rainier
Ongoing Events
Monthly Public Meeting and Presentation:
Normally held in the planetarium of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC)
on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Now offering hybrid meetings with in-person and zoom options! Sign up for each talk at the Monthly Program page.
Social at 6:45. Reports of recent and upcoming trips at 7:05pm. Program to follow.
Visitors are always welcome! Free refreshments!Past presentations, and occasionally future, can be viewed here
Future Club Speakers: In addition to frequent presentations by nationally known adventurers, we love to hear from our own members....not that some of you aren't in that group. A presentation gets you a free club membership and dinner at the restaurant of your choice in Los Alamos.
LAM Member Presentations Wanted! The LAM Board would like to encourage our members to provide more of our monthly presentations. We understand well that club members are an active lot, with a wealth of activities in their repertoire that can and have been inspiring to new and old members alike. We have often focused our monthly presentations on the elite of the outdoor adventure world, and perhaps created the undesired effect of squelching the voices of our own members who participate in frequent beautiful and exciting adventures of their own. Although our own activities are not always "world class", they are representative of what we "weekend" athletes can and do accomplish. We want many of our programs to inspire the "I can do that" attitude in our members, not merely entertain. Shock and awe may have their rightful place, but inspiration to participate and shine is our true goal.
Trip Leaders: Post your trip by logging in and then going here. If you do not have an account, contact the webmaster. For overnight trips, please ensure that membership waivers for participants are current and recorded by the club Membership Chairperson prior to your trip. Non-members may participate in day trips. All club sponsored trips require the trip waiver. After the trip, please scan and email a PDF of the waiver to the Trip Coordinator.
Trip Leader Awards: The club will recognize trip leaders as described here.
Borrow Equipment: We have a limited amount of mountaineering equipment for loan (e.g., avalanche transceivers). Contact our Equipment Manager listed on this page.
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