dan_e

I just ordered the Vector Nanotech's. I will re-post after I've used them. These are probably the lightest technical crampons made and arguably the strongest. CAMP is using some pretty high tech materials for these crampons, "Sandvik Nanoflex". I saw these for the first time at the Ouray ice fest. I was amazed at how thin the metal was. A few excerpts from their website: "Sandvik Nanoflex® offers higher corrosion resistance in aqueous solutions than ordinary stainless steels, such as ASTM type 304." "Sandvik Nanoflex® has attracted a great deal of attention through its combination of hardness and toughness - normally two opposing properties in material physics. Conventional hard steels are brittle." "Cold-forming of hard and brittle materials is normally impossible. Sandvik Nanoflex® is anything but normal. Formable in the as-delivered condition; cutting, turning, grinding and bending present no problem. Once the desired shape has been attained, heat treatment is applied at low temperature, thus dramatically increasing the strength of the final product. "

(2) 16cm (blue) and (2) 13cm (yellow) All screws are sharp, rust free and no falls. Selling together only for $90 (cash only, no paypal). Must be able to pick them in person (Seattle area). Send PM if interested.

See new post, added another screw and changed the price.

(1) 16cm (blue) and (2) 13cm (yellow) All three are sharp and rust free! Not the latest generation Express. Selling together only for $80. Send PM if interested.

Brand new BD Titan pick, yours for only $25 (firm). PM if interested.

JP and I went up on Sunday to check out Colfax with gear in hand knowing the route wasn't in (fully that is). We confirmed that the second ice tier is not there, however it's starting from. The route should come in soon if there are no major warm-ups. A tad more snow would might not hurt. We bailed and ended up having another great day of climbing Seracs. We found a pretty big one higher up and it was surrounded by lots of crumbling ice (lots o' spooky cracking sounds).

Thanks other "dane", for a second I thought I had a clone! I couldn't bring myself to modify the head to make it lighter, it's a work of art. Not sure if it's investment cast, but still quality design and quality metals.

My $.02, Support your local resoler. They're the experts and who knows how much longer they will be around. It's pretty tough to resole a modern shoe unless you have the skills and the right equipment. The last pair I ever tried to resole were my 5.10 Altia's (original model). This shoe doesn't look much different than an EB! The resole was okay, but what a joke compared to my Scarpa slippers that I just had resoled at Cascade Cobbler. I have to say they look like brand new shoes, factory quality!

Okay so it's not new, just my old "spare" 40cm X-15 tool that I've converted into a winter piton beater! Specs: Length - 28 cm (top of head to bottom of spike) Weight - 1.22 lbs I am still w/o Alpine ice tools so it's another year with my beloved Nomics, still they are lacking hammers (thankfully) so I needed something for pounding in the occasional pin. Poor X-15 hammer, never even been used. As many of you may know, the old school way was to carry a spare tool in case you broke your pick on lead or dropped your tool. I've never done either (knocking hard on wood). The mod (short story)... I simply hacked off about 12 cm of the shaft, the hardest part was removing the spike. It's held to the aluminum shaft with aerospace grade adhesive and shit the stuff is tough. I had to heat it with a heat gun on high for several minutes before I could get it to budge. The only other difficult part was correctly drilling the new hole for the roll pin, not so easy without a drill press. The pick mod was simple, but again time consuming using only a hacksaw, dremel tool and file. I am looking forward to using it soon, the hammer on this tool is bomber. Sure it's a tad heavy, but I think I can manage the extra pound. Hopefully next year I will have the new Cobras. Completed "Alpine Hammer" Remnants

Never climbed in the Gunks or any where with a lot of pockets eh? Tri-cams are still very useful, but can be difficult to place and remove, however they're light and cheap!

They are Cyborgs that are made of SS, no apparent design change. I am pretty sure the front points are not stainless. I am want to try the Camp Nanotech crampons, they are superlight (794 g) vs. 1120 for the Cyborgs!

It's one of the more accessible large alpine peaks and it's a pretty serious mountain, like others have said even the easier routes have objective danger hazards, etc. I spent an unplanned night there last summer on Serpentine due to route finding difficulty and ultimately weather. We were there the day after that woman died from the rappelling accident on The Fin/Backbone. My partner and I also tried Triple Couloirs this past Spring (twice). The route was never in good shape and many (including us) bailed from different locations on the route. There was no ice and the snow was junk in many places. I took a 15' fall onto my back while trying to get around what we aptly named "The over-hanging, unconsolidated snow bulge chimney variation". This is a section not to far from where the route cuts left up on the nice ice bulge (this section was 100% ice free both times we were there).

Thanks for the replies everyone. All I can say is we need to get medieval on what remains of that trail before it's lost forever! I am hoping to get back there this fall and I will do some pruning. Do you guys think it would be better to try and blaze a trail along the river?

No of course it's not pointless to go to Static Point these days, but damn if it's not a bit more of a pain in the ass to get there and we never even made it to the cliff! I was hoping the hardest part would be having to hike in a couple of miles, but the bushwacking proved me wrong. The last time I visited Static Point was in June of 2000. My first visit was around 1996 or so, this was back when you practically drive to the base of the approach trail. I've only ever climbed Online and I was back to bring a friend to do the same route (it's an amazing friction climb on pristine granite). As many of you know the road is toast, it's not because the DNR wants to keep climbers out (some have assumed that), it's because the road was slated to be decommissioned years ago and we knew this, however it took them a while to get it done. It had been thought that they were going to log off of that road (comments in the guide books). The logging never happened, which is good right? Would we rather have the road stay open so we could dodge logging trucks and then be rewarded with massive clear-cuts? I think not, sure it's a bit more of a pain to get in there now, but all we need to do is keep the trail open (some pruning required). Here's what we learned today: 1) Sultan Basin road is closed a several miles from Rt 2 at 112 St SE. Take Kellogg Lake Rd to get past the closure. 2) You now need to park just past the registration station (Olney Pass gates). The two mile walk in to the spur road to SP is not bad, you could bring mountain bikes to save some time. 3) The spur road is just past the bridge and is marked (blocked) by a giant pile of trees and boulders (impossible to miss). It's on the right just a short distance up the road from the bridge. The good news they are repairing that bridge and it looks like it might be done before winter. 4) The old decommissioned spur road is gone and now consists of large mounds that were built to shore up the drainages that cross the road. They actually did a great job restoring the road even though it's a pain to hike and no it's not very feasible to mountain bike down the spur road. 5) The remnant of the road eventually ends at two large rocks, in the past you could drive all the way to here! The rest of the way is pretty grown over with alder. Supposedly the approach trail is marked by a culvert pipe and cairns. We saw many culvert pipes, but no cairns. It should only be a 1/4 mile from the large rocks to the approach trail which is on the left and ascends steeply through large trees to the base of the cliff. Again we never found the trail and I am pretty sure we went way too far, we turned around a tried to find the trail on the way back, but had no luck. So please, if you have any more details or photos post them. There were three parties including us on the way in and from what I know no one found the approach trail. On our way out we met another party heading in and they seem to know where it was, but they had not been there in ten years (it's been nine for me). I hope someone got to climb. This is supposedly what we were looking for: "The correct trail is by a pipe that is 1/4 full of dirt and there is a cairn marking the start." The two large rocks (old parking area) There's a person in there if you look hard The wrong culvert pipe What's left of the old spur road You reward for finding the cliff

bump for price reduction, now available for the super low price of $40.

I just got a new #4 C4 so I am selling my older #4. It's only been used a couple of times and the sling is still supple, not faded or fuzzy...I wish that I could say the same for some of my older Camalots! It's yours the the super low price of $50, PM if interested.

JP is right on about NEWS, although P3 (.9 under cling traverse) was quite fun as well (great exposure). The first pitch is the worst and goes up a rotten crack/groove that doesn't protect well until you're well off the deck. Try to avoid the lichen filled crack up and left of the dihedral on P2. The SCC vol 1, ver 2 guide points to where you want to go so avoid the written description which says to go up the dihedral. This option could be fun, but the crack needs a good scrubbing. Beckey's guide has a good description and topo as well. This was my first "official" climb at Washington Pass and I have to say I am now hooked, too bad it wasn't a bit closer!

Sold on Craigslist __----____ Still in great shape after about four years of use before my bunions got too big. They must be nine years old by now. The right end has a tiny hole, but overall the rubber is in good shape and they have a full season or more of rubber left. Scarpa shoes last a long time and of course they can be resoled. Great technical shoe for edges and pockets. They don't even stink! $25 - PM if interested. ]

SOLD

SOLD

More old gear I am trying to unload. Two sets of Wild Country nuts, sizes 1-7. Two sets of tri-cams up to 1.5, one 2.0 and one 2.5. SLings on tri-cams are still in good shape with no cuts or major fuzzed spots. Also assorted smaller nuts and ball nut (see photo). $40 takes it all. PM if interested.

I've hung on to this stuff too long, please take it off my hands. Perfect for aid climbers or beginning leaders. It's a mix of BD(offset D's and Ovals), old school Clog, MSR, Bluewater and HB Wales and the pulley is BD. $30 takes the lot! I will only sell the pulley separately. PM if interested.

They've all been sold.

*** UPDATED *** Local sale only and I am waiting until the end of the week to reply since I really want to sell them all at once. If I piece them out it will only be in pairs. Sorry for the confusion. I am selling some of my older screws, they are all in good shape and the 10cm screws were never used. Express (not the newest model, see photo) (2) 10cm $45 for both (2) 17cm $35 for both Turbo (older style) (2) 17cm $25 for both (2) 22cm $25 for both $120 for all of them. PM if interested

I first climbed at Squamish two years ago when I was still living back east. It was an amazing trip, we did it all from the classic trad routes, to a day of sport climbing and some bouldering. The only negative of the trip was the camping which really sucks. The one weekend day we stayed there was a nightmare. So loud from people blaring music and screaming until 1 am and the road construction which seem to go on all night as well. There needs to be way more camping there and camping for climbers who don't want to party until the sunrise! Now that I am living in Seattle I would plan to go during the week, the weekends are just too crowded.