How many bivouac's have you done?

I  received a text from an old climbing buddy, who is in Chamonix at the moment.  WE were reminiscing about old climbs, and the people we shared a bivouac with.  The majority of my bivouac's took place close to 50 years ago, but I did endure a cold one, just 5 years ago, in Yosemite.  I don't plan on experiencing anymore! 

 I have a few friends who have experienced hundreds, but they don't post here. My total came to 29 open bivouac's, ( no porta-ledge).   Many of these bivouac's were with climbers who became notable in the sport including: Yvon Chouinard, John Bouchard, Jim Donini, Rick Sylvester, and the legendary Polish alpinist Voytek Kurtyka, and Jerzy Kukuczka. John Bouchard and I shared a bivy on the summit of the Grandes Jorasses with these young Poles, after we all climbed the final pitches of the Walker Spur together in a violent storm. I often wish that I had taken the time to snap some photo's of these bivouac's, but I only have one.

I have done about a dozen unplanned bivys. Like you most of mine where 40 years ago with good friends.  Unlike you mine partners are  not famous.  

Never bivied while on a route ever, this topic suddenly makes all my climbing efforts feel light dangit..

I have never counted, but many. Here is a story of one. The day started clear and sunny but by the time we finished the route it was dark and pissing snow sideways. On the summit ridge we found a small niche for shelter. We had bivy sacs to crawl into. As I was getting mine out, I noticed my partner pulled out a stuff sac and without thinking set it by his feet. I yelled at him. Too late as the wind took it and it rolled down the face into the void. Gone were his down pants and bivy sac. No way two people could fit in one bivy sac so I took the outside corner so give him shelter from the wind. It was not a lying down bivy but a seated one. The wind ripped through out the night. I slept some, my partner did not. He said the worst part was I would flop over like dead body in a bag on to him. He would push me over and it would happened again. Kind of freaked him out. The morning, the storm had abated some so we descended.

Hella bivouacs. Shivering on even the most temperate of evenings. Chris Charmin, Beth Groden, Tammy Coldwall, Ryan Robins, Alecs Magnos, Flynn Hill, Aidan Honda…that’s just a partial list.

Three that I remember at this point.

The one I remember most was on the north side of Trona Blanco and it snowed several inches that night. Unfortunately, the photo in the morning with Grillo warming his hands covered in snow has been lost.

Another in Baja but this time in the Guadalupe canyon, on a lumpy ledge.

I bivouacked on the descent from East Quarter Dome after a fall that injured my leg. Straddled a manzanita on a slab for a few hours.

And luckily I persuaded my partner to keep walking to avoid a frozen bivi north of Mt. Snowdon (CO) in January that he seemed pretty enthusiastic about.

Colonel Mustard wrote:

Hella bivouacs. Shivering on even the most temperate of evenings. Chris Charmin, Beth Groden, Tammy Coldwall, Ryan Robins, Alecs Magnos, Flynn Hill, Aidan Honda…that’s just a partial list.

I suppose it hasn't occurred to you, likely because of your age, that when an older person starts talking about memorable and notable things they've experienced it's not for the same purpose as a young and ambitious person.

When John Fischer & I did the first Full Palisades Traverse in the Sierra Nevada in 1979 ,in one bivouac  there was no place to lie down and we had to tie-in sitting on a narrow ledge . I slipped off the ledge while sleeping and woke-up dangling in the air ! I was able to scramble back up and tie in .

I open air bivied nearly 20% of last year. They were all planned though so quite nice. 

Steve McGee wrote:

I suppose it hasn't occurred to you, likely because of your age, that when an older person starts talking about memorable and notable things they've experienced it's not for the same purpose as a young and ambitious person.

I suppose it depends on the old person in question. There are definitely old people who love the spotlight and being seen as important. In this case I don’t think that was the intent, but generalizing old people as a singular category of likeminded people is a bit off base. Likewise, there are plenty of young and ambitious people who are not chasing the spotlight when talking about their own experiences

tristan tristan wrote:

I suppose it depends on the old person in question. There are definitely old people who love the spotlight and being seen as important. In this case I don’t think that was the intent, but generalizing old people as a singular category of likeminded people is a bit off base. Likewise, there are plenty of young and ambitious people who are not chasing the spotlight when talking about their own experiences

It definitely depends on any person but in Steve's case he is one of the most humble, generous people you'll bump in to for sure.

My favorite bivy picture is this one of my friend Mike. He was laughing in his sleep we were so delirious.

DGoguen wrote:

It definitely depends on any person but in Steve's case he is one of the most humble, generous people you'll bump in to for sure.

You obviously don't know me because I am not generous.