GRAPEVINE/PALMER	NOV. 5-6	MANCHESTER GRASSO
Fifteen climbers met at 7:00 A.M. in Beatty, Nevada. We took a seemingly endless car caravan to the Phinney Mine. Elliott Snyder drove the group to the saddle in his 4 wheel drive. The climb of Palmer was uneventful except that the rear leader's return to the saddle was delayed by an exploration of the canyon west of the saddle. Everyone returned to camp. We had a respectable camp fire which should probably be given a P G rating. A cold front seemed to be moving in but the sky was crystal clear when we all turned in. Then at about midnight when we woke up, everything was covered with about a quarter inch of snow. One party fired up the car, and took off for the low lands. Another group begged permission to leave and it was granted. The ranks were dwindling fast. Anyway the wind began to blow and blew away the storm. It continued to snow. It blew the remainder of the party to the summit of Grapevine. It blew the party back - some of them sooner than others. Everyone got off the mountain safely and went home.
SPECTRE/PINTO	DEC. 10/11, 1977	HUBBARD - MANTLE GRASSO-MANCHESTER
Quite a few climbers met somewhere on, the highway between 29 Palms and Rice. That "somewhere" was the traditional meeting place for the climb of Spectre. Down the road, back toward 29 Palms about 50 yards, is a dirt road that takes off to the left. There are several little 5purs, but once you find the main track it is easy to follow. The major problem this year is that it was very soft and sandy. So Elliott Snyder ferried the climbers, van full by van full, to the end of the road. We had lunch on the summit of Spectre and then went over and climbed Dyadic, a nice little class 3 ditty. E1iott then ferried us, van full by van full, back to the cars. We decided to camp there for the night. The events of the rest of the evening are worthy of exposition. As it was close to Christmas, we sat around drinking Wassail and singing Christmas Carols. Then there was dancing around the campfire. Finally when the main body of the group moved out to their bags for a long winter's sleep, one lonely body lay motionless face down on the ground. His bag was opened and he was turned over and into the bag. A Cherubic expression on the innocent's face told us he had likely been drinking when he should have been singing.

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