dan_e

I finally switched over to all BD ice clippers this season from using the Trango's. The biggest problem with the Trango model is that slings, leashes, and just about anything else were getting clipped in to them! I have not had this problem with the BD model. Also, Grivel screws rack nicely on the BD clippers. I have three on my Blizzard harness and I do not rack more than four screws at a time. Sure you can always use a bent gate biner, but the BD unit stays put and works even better on the Blizzard harness which has a few spots just for the clipper. I think that I finally have a near perfect system for racking gear on my harness! Dan E.

Dru, Haven't heard that story, care to elaborate? Dan E.

Nope, I was there this morning and there were no tracks up to Chair Peak Basin, I was really surprised since there were tons of tracks obove Source Lake. Dan E.

"the pine candle sounds nice, or maybe a Gramicci Cotton t-shirt...hmmmm..maybe some Chukar Cherries, or a little something from the Art Wolfe store" That's a good one Allison! I used to be so anti-REI, until I gave in. Hey you can't really blame them, they are successful and there are people who want to buy that crap. We all know the sell some decent gear and hell you can't beat that return policy! I am happy to say I used my dividend to buy a pair of 5.10 Spire rock shoes and a spacious two-man, three season Mountain Hardware tent for car camping, ect. Long live the evil corporate giants of WA (REI, MICROSOFT and of course STARBUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!) Dan E.

"the pine candle sounds nice, or maybe a Gramicci Cotton t-shirt...hmmmm..maybe some Chukar Cherries, or a little something from the Art Wolfe store" That's a good one Allison! I used to be so anti-REI, until I gave in. Hey you can't really blame them, they are successful and there are people who want to buy that crap. We all know the sell some decent gear and hell you can't beat that return policy! I am happy to say I used my dividend to buy a pair of 5.10 Spire rock shoes and a spacious two-man, three season Mountain Hardware tent for car camping, ect. Long live the evil corporate giants of WA (REI, MICROSOFT and of course STARBUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!) Dan E.

I went up to Chair Peak Basin and made it to the ridge, but my attempts of soloing the N or NE Face were thwarted by very strong winds (20 to 30 mph with higher gusts) and blowing snow, this combined with a -25 or so windchill was enough to send my non-gore tex equipped ass back to the car! Two guys I know bailed as well (equipped in a similar fashion), but two other guys from Pro Mountain Sports may have given it a go. Snow conditions on the approach were okay, but snowshoes needed for sure. Some man-made slides from glissading. Hard to tell how the North Face looked, but the NE Face looks really nice, again hard to say what the snow of the face was like. it was fun just being up there today, it was pretty cold in the am and I got some nice shots alpenglow on the surrounding peaks. Check out my post in Spray named "Unthankful Backcountry Skier" some people, you will be amazed! Dan E.

While desending from the Chair Peak basin back to Source Lake a couple of guys I know were stopped by a skier who had dropped down one of the steep chutes up and to the left of Source Lake with his dog, the problem was the dog (the smart one) did not follow him down and was several hundred feet above the base of the chute. So he asked for help and one of the guys who graciously let the guy borrow his ice tools (one being a Cobra I might add) and crampons so he could get his dog. The chute had a small section of ice in the middle and the dog was about 100' or so above this section. So the guy manages to get past the ice to the dog (apparently he was not an ice climber, since he remarked earlier "Oh, you have those technical tools?!"). We missed it, but he either tossed the dog or the dog jumped past the steep section to land into soft powder, still a good distance to fall. The dog appeared unharmed (lucky for the guy) and shook itself off and started to wag its tail. So the guy downclimbs in a bumblie manner, but makes it down to his skis unscathed. He then skied down to us, tossed the bundle of tools and crampons at our feet and then mumbled some half-hearted thank you. I asked him what the hell he was doing bringing a dog into that type of terrain and he replied "I did not know what I was getting into" We were all a bit shocked and I was pissed, but I held back my true East Coast temper, since the guy was clearly brain dead anyway. I just wanted to share this story with the board and if the skier happens to be on this board and reads this message, I would like to add that we should have taken your dog from you since you clearly don't deserve having such a cool pet and the next time someone offers you help you might try being a bit more thankful and appreciative!

Of course I could have just looked on the web! Looks like a fish scale would work fine and they are a bit more modern (digital models) now.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a cheap, fairly accurate scale for weighing gear? I would prefer something that I can hang gear on and I thought about using a fish scale, but I am not sure how accurate they are? Any advise would be much appreciated! Dan E.

I attempted Drury yesterday with J.P. yesterday. The upper falls looked good and fat from the road last week so I though it was worth a shot. Here's the brief story: My hopes of climbing Drury this season were abruptly crushed after toping out on the first pitch only to find the second pitch to be a running water waterfall! We were able to see that the upper pitches are formed, but super mushroomed (looks like much more technical climbing than last season). The finish looked nice on a steep column. I am not saying the route is unclimbable. I am not sure, but it may be possible to avoid the second pitch around to the right, up past that big tree near the rock face. We were climbing in less than ideal conditions, it was warm (38 deg.) and there was some minor icefall on nearby drips. Avi danger was minimal, but there were some small slides. The approach was difficult (deep post-holing) after caching the snowshoes and crossing the drainage. There were many open spots in the ice were water was running hard, including a spot on the bottom of the first pitch. All that being said we were still happy to have at least attempted it this season, we saw no evidence of recent river crossings and there were no tracks (human) heading up to the drainage. I think Drury will have to wait until next season, unless maybe we get another spell of cold weather. Dan E. Ice Addict at Large [ 02-18-2002: Message edited by: dan e ]

All this talk of friction is getting me jazzed to climb at Static Point again this season! I don't know about all of these suggested techniques on friction falls, but when I climb friction I have the same mind set as when I climb ice and that is DON'T FALL! My only other suggestion is stick to bomber granite when climbing friction (areas like the Apron, Squamish, Static Point, and of course Whitehorse Slabs in New Hampshire). I've climbed at Peshastin and the rock is less than ideal, I don't have any desire to go back. I've seen people do 50' full body slides back east on granite (lots of friction) and it's not pretty, yes lots of skin loss. The worst feeling on friction is what I call the "dreaded crunchies", this is when you put your foot on a small crystal of rock that literally crumbles under your foot! Dan E.

I love these biners, but I was recently surprised to see the gates sticking on some of my Hotwires! You would think this would never happen to these biners, but it did. Of course they are going on five years now, so I guess some dirt/grime has worked its way into the hole where the wire is attached. To fix the problem I used my lube of choice (silicon spray) since it cleans and will not attract dirt like some others (WD-40 for example). The gates are now smooth as silk! Dan E.

It was a bit rambly, but had some steep sections, I would say around 3+ depending on the exact line and about 170m from the first ice. Most of the ice was newly formed and was either really good or really bad and the top outs on the steep sections were a bit nasty consisting of cruddy snow and rock underneath in places. The start consisted of working around a thin ice dome with a good flow of water underneath, you had to completely avoid stepping on it and even after that it was easy WI 2 ice for a bit, but the ice was really fragile so I pretty much stayed off of it and climbed a bit on the rock (rock pro could be useful in places). After this was a short WI 3 step and then more rambly cruddy ice/snow. The last pitch is the biggest ice and is WI 3+/4 harder to the left which was not formed well enough for me, so I climbed the shorter WI 3+ ice to the right, which was still challenging due to the continued cruddy ice in places, but pro was decent. Funny thing was the garden hose we saw on the last rappel, it appeared to connect to the water source, but I could not locate the end. It's obvious someone is trying to make more climbs there, but it does not appear to be working. There is a line on the way to this climb that would be amazing if it formed, probably a 100+ free standing column, about 60' from the rock if it were to touch down! If anyone plans to head up there I can provide more details (for a price of course - j/k). Dan E.

Climbed a nice three pitch route past Goat Wall on Thursday, up from the gate creek drainage. Goat's Beard is forming and looks impressive, but it still has a way to go before it's fully formed. The Mazama area has lots of potential, too bad it's so damn far away! Dan E.

Drury and the Pencil are now forming nicely, but the upper part of Drury is still open (on the right) and still open a bit in the middle as well. The steep section of the Pencil has yet to form, but a good amount of ice above that, at least this year we have the water now we just need some more cold weather! Dan E.

Passed through on the way to Mazama hoping to climb something, but it was barely freezing and what is there is very anemic, including the devil's shooting gallery (yes the large daggers above the still open slab are formed nicely!) Dan E.

Well Matt the time we did it in late July we were lucky just to have lived getting on the route! It was us and another party, rock fall was almost continuous and there was only one place to get onto the ridge and that was steep volcanic choss! I am an experienced ice climber and I have to say you would have needed to use bollards down the entire upper face (??? # of pitches) since it was hard ice. Downclimbing this would have taken forever. We decided to try and beat the weather (a risky choice, but no regrets) you could bivy on the route, maybe at the shrund? I just wanted to make the point that retreat via the ascent route is not always the best option, but I do agree it can be an option. Dan E. PS - I agree about the carbon glacier, probably much easier in winter, we had to rap about 6-8 times into crevasses and climb the other side! We also has some fun cave like crevasses to make our way through, it was tough going for sure!

I agree with Dan, at least from what I have planned. I have wanted to do this for sometime, but my previous status as weekend warrior has made it difficult. As far as downclimbing the route, that all depends on conditions. I would have to ask Mattp, would you try the descent in late July!? I will possibly attempt this route this winter, but I want the conditions (snow and weather) to be as good as they can be. Dan E.

Yes, the climb to the right of Synchronicity, the upper part appeared formed, but we did not get a good look with binoculars.

Lillooet Conditions as of 1/16: Colder weather for sure, overall things are looking pretty thin, but climbs are now reforming. 1/14 - Climbed The Dihedral? (last climb to the left in the Icy BC area, I was not sure if it was Waite for Spring?) it was a bit thin and technical with a good amount of hooking, okay pro. Examined Icy BC, lower section fine, second and third pitches had open water and still forming. 1/15 - Did Night N' Gale, from the road it looked like the best ice to climb and it was in great shape. Ascend on large frozen ice balls (avi debris). Descent was kinda rough, river crossing nice and toasty! 1/16 - Headed back to Marble Canyon, climbed first pitch. Second pitch now closed and looking good. Upper pitch has small open section, but does not look too bad. TR'd some fun mixed stuff (Waite for Spring?). We also spent a fair amount of time exploring, and here's what we saw: Honeyman Falls - Partially formed, but still open and running at the top. Deeping Wall - Lower 4' or missing except for small icicle that has touched down. First 30' about 2-4" thick, and choppy. Shriek of the Sheep - Formed, but upper section looks a bit thin ??? Synchronicity - Or "The Syncro" as a girl from the mile-O called it! Ramp section completely missing (wet mixed climbing!) and the rest looks pretty bad. I am glad I did it last season! Carl's Berg - First pitched formed, but thin a hard 5 for sure and still open above that. Isodorth Gully - Looked pretty good, plenty of ice to climb. Nice loose, wet snow avi debris at the bottom! (now frozen of course). Phair Creek - Headed down past the B & B to to right and hit a 50' section of solid ice! Scary, not much snow on the road, but the ice was enough to make us turn back! We had a great three days, plenty to climb when there is no one else up there (amazingly we did not see any other climbers in three days, gotta love that!) Dan E. [ 01-17-2002: Message edited by: dan e ]

I went by Index last week after the big warm up and compared to a month ago it looked bare (some snow, but a lot melted). Dan E.

Well, I for one never climbed with those cords, but only because they seemed like they would get in the way. It looks like the some of the euros are using them in case they drop a leashless tools, how dumb is that?! That's what the damn leash is for, duh! I could care less who is climbing leashless, be it in Europe, Canada, or in the States. Using leashes will never be considered aid in my mind, but rather the smart thing to do. As someone else pointed out, most tools being used leashless have some sort of hand stop at the end or special handle so it's not like you are just gripping the tool. It sounds like it will become more of an option, but to suddenly say using leashes is "aiding" is just plain stupid! Dan E.

quote: Great idea, but FYI, the SpaceShot with batteries is heavier than a Zoom and a Tikka combined (both w/batteries). I have the latter setup and they both fit on my head w/o helmet. Weight was not a concern when I bought the Space Shot. I wanted maximum brightness and battery life, to use for climbing at night and or extended winter trips. This is something the Petzl Zoom can not offer. Besides I have my Tikka for when I want to go light! Dan E.

I was thinking more about this after reading the post by Dru under 'Colorado Ice Conditions' about the guy that was killed by falling ice recently. http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=28&t=000038 It's still bugs me when I hear or read statements like, "The advent of modern ice climbing gear has made ice climbing safe and fun for the masses, ect". I had a discussion with a guy today and we were talking about the gear we used to climb with (he is old school, climbed back in the 80's with wooden shaft tools, ect.) I caught the end of the 'old-school era' Rigid friends will still common and all ice tools were straight shaft, my ice rack consisted mainly of fat snargs, my first crampons were Salewa 'Messner Scissors', ect. Anyway, we were talking about how ice climbing is still dangerous (duh!) and that modern gear is safer, but that does not mean ice climbing, per se is safer. So what's my point? Well, this accident goes to show that no matter what we have for gear, ice climbing is risky, much more than most orther types of climbing (with exceptions of course). So as most of us already know, but just for fun I made a list of things that can go wrong while ice climbing (feel free to add your favorite!). I also commented on how often these things happen from what I've experienced. (?) means I've heard about it, but it's never happened to me or I have never personally seen it happen, and or I don't know for sure how often it happens. ropes freeze and get stuck (too often!) screws pull or fail (?) picks break (occasionally) crampons and even boots fall off (rare) tools get dropped (occasionally) gloves freeze (often) fingers get frostbitten (occasionally) eyes get ice chips stuck in them (?) heads get hit with ice tools and people get knocked out (Rare, but I've seen this happen!) ice breaks, fractures, and falls on you (often!) the piece of ice you are climbing on falls with you attached! (rare) ice melts and you get wet (often! especially now!) climbers drown in waterfalls (rare) legs, necks and other body parts get broken when you fall (often! So of course we don't fall!) avalanches sweep climbers off the ice (too often!) and last.... climbers get frozen into solid blocks ofice! (very rare) Yes it's true, it happened to a guy on the Eiger, although he was probably dead before he froze behind solid ice, but still! Source: Eiger Wall of Death by Arthur Roth Dan E. [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: dan e ]

Sometimes a scream signals a release. I do this occasionally on ice after the last pitch of a hard and or scary lead. I am usually so calm and focused while climbing, so when I am done and anchored in and safe it feels good to give a good shout! Dan E.