cmonster

I'm getting rid of some of my sleeping bags. I've got a Nunatak Alpinist, Nunatak Dual Alpinist (two person) and a Feathered Friends Snowbunting for auction on Ebay. All three are NICE bags. For full details visit my auctions on Ebay (url may wrap and get cut off. make sure you have the full url when visiting the link): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36116&item=2716556407&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36116&item=2716553116&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36116&item=2716557934&rd=1

For sale: Savage Gear Jackpot pack. Super light weight. Quick release ice tool holds. For full description, visit http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36111&item=2713205897&rd=1

I just put a pack up on for auction on ebay. It's a great Lowe Alpine Rondoy 50 and has a starting bid of $30. You can see the details and pics at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2706820623&category=36111

$70. No haggling. Worn 3 days. It's a good pack, but doesn't fit me correctly. Email me directly. christopherkilmer@hotmail.com

Gear sale: Nunatak Alpinist sleeping bag Long Endurance Shell 5 degrees Cut a little wider than the standard $200 http://www.nunatakgear.com Wild Things Andinista pack - Medium/Red Super condition $120 Lowe Alpine Rondoy 50 pack Only worn 3 days $70 Grivel Rambo Comp Mono Point Crampons Brand New/Never Used $100 Black Diamond Switchblade Crampons Dual Point Brand New/Never Used $70 Boreal Zen Climbing Shoes Worn 3 times in gym Superb condition $75 Scarpa T3 Ski Boots (Size 10 USA) 1997 Model $50 Tua Razor Skis/Rotefella 412 Bindings 192 cm Rust edges. A bit banged up, but still ski great $50 christopherkilmer@hotmail.com

Anyone know what the conditions on Hood's Sandy Headwall might be right now? Seems kind of late in the season, but you never know.

Like all the other folks on this reply, I was there in late August/early September. Great climbing. One thing we underestimated was the acclimation. We hiked in from car to the cirque (take the climbers trail fo' sho') one day. Climbed the south buttress on Pingora next (funa and short. good intro to the cirque). The next day we were resting and walked around to scope out Pingora N/Buttress and East Face Cracks. I bonked on the way back. We had come from sea level to 10,000 so quickly, I forgot to take care of myself. Once acclimated, we had a blast. Everything we did was way cool. Though, if you do Pingora/E Face Cracks, bring something to clean the grass out of the cracks and, IMO, double up on #3, #3 1/2 and #4 for the upper sections unless you like wide, long runnouts. By far, the coolest climb I've ever done is Wolf's Head/East Ridge. Crazy traversing with wicked exposure. I was constantly telling myself "protect the belay. protect the second". One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet was the fact that the cirque is CROWDED. I'm not sure we ever had a pitch to ourselves in 8 days. I don't know if that's due to the climbing article that came out last year or if it's the norm. Still, the rock was impecable. Next time, I'm hoping for 15-20 days instead of 8 so we can get more climbing in and still have some rest days. Super, super place. Can't wait to get back.

no tone intended. not only do the dmm cams have doubled slings, but the sling is color coded, the cams are color coded, they come with a color coded biner AND they are light. mmmmmm... oh, and they will hold a fall. :-)

See a pattern here? "I use <insert brand name you are familiar with>, and they work great". Go with what you are comfortable with and can afford. I use BD but wish I had a set from DMM (weight). If you place em' right, they are all gonna hold.

I usually try not to get into these pissing matches, but I wanted to say something about the Mounties. I've been through all of their climbing course and I can say I've learned alot. I've met Mountaineer members who can climb gnarly 5.12 offwidths and members who have only climbed The Tooth and Mt. Rainier (12 times each). You guys bitching may have had a bad experience, but don't judge the whole club based on 1 or 2 incidents. Graduates of Mounties courses are required to have had MOFA training. How many others out in the Mountains have had some kind of formal first aid? One summer a few years ago, we pulled a non-Mounties fella off Sloan peak when his party couldn't get him out of a moat. He eventually died from complications (wasn't wearing a helmet). Two weeks later, a guide from a local big name service took a bad fall while taking clients up Glacier Peak. We gave him first aid, called for a chopper and then took his clients down Frostbite Ridge after he was whisked away. Turns out that he probably would have died if we hadn't been there. A few weeks later, we had to help a woman down from Lundin after she slid over 500 ft down a snow slope into a tree. Granted, the Mountaineers have had their share of accidents, but they represent a large number of climbers in the Pacific Northwest. Of course you'll see their name a lot. It's in the percentages. As for the crowds, the Mountaineers (as a club) limit climbs to 12. Individual leaders generally limit their climbs to less. You know who get's all the Boston Basin permits? it's not Mountaineers, it's the guide services. You know who has all the folks on Rainier? It's RMI, whose clients are generally much less qualified to be there than a typical mounties group. I'm not dissin' the guide services, it's just that they carry many folks into the mountains as well. If you want to get away from the crowds, stay away from The Tooth, Rainier, Baker, etc... Hello? Fucking popular climbs with everyone, not just the Mounties. As for me, I don't climb much with the club anymore even though I'm on their leader's list. I prefer a team of just 2 or 3 which is not always looked upon favorably by the club. I'm okay with that. I'm still affiliated with the club. I'm proud of what they taught me. They provide invaluable services to the Pacific Northwest community. My guess is that those bitching don't really know much about the club.

All my partners bailed. BUMMER!! Conditions were almost ideal.

DL, What dates you gonna be up there? If weather/avy conditions are good on 12-13, we'll be up there.

Alpine K, Damn, you suck! We're you that guy smoking a phatty at Muir and crow barring the bolts on Dan's Dreadful Muir Hut route? Probably, considering you've never placed a wand while eating gummie bears, strokin a GPS and droppin' the Willis Wall in winter... at night... without a headlamp... one ski... naked... Damn, you suck!

I'm looking for partners who would be interested in attempting Rainier Dec 27-28. Yeah, it's short notice. The forecast is not optimal, so here is the plan. Thursday morning. Ski up to Muir. Hopefully can sleep in the hut. Wait and see what the weather does. If things look good in the early morning, head for the summit. Otherwise, sleep in and ski some freshies Friday morning. If interested, email me at kilmer@isomedia.com .WEDNESDAY...INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS..WEDNESDAY NIGHT...CLOUDY..THURSDAY...CLOUDY. CHANCE OF SNOW OR RAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON..OUTLOOK FOR FRIDAY...RAIN OR SNOW ENDING EARLY OTHERWISE MOSTLYCLOUDY. LOCATION (ELEVATION) TEMPERATURE (F) WIND DIR SPEED (MPH)SUMMIT (14410) 5 W 5CAMP MUIR (10000) 17 SE 20PARADISE (5500) 33 SE 15 FREEZING LEVEL 5500 FEET WEDNESDAY RISING TO 7000 FEET TONIGHT ANDTHURSDAY.

Actually, I saw a Petzel duo at the Banff film festival that had a halogen/LED mix. It's the exact same headlamp with a different bulb. They'll be marketing it the first of the year. You'll even be able to just buy the LED bulb (actually a cluster of 4-5 LED bulbs) and replace the regular bulb in your duo. Wait a few months and save some dough.

For Sale:Red Chili Dos Equis rock shoesBrand newUK - 8US - 9EUR - 42$80 - Firm kilmer@isomedia.com

Anyone know if the seracs down on the snout of the coleman are still in good enough condition for some seracing?

Any suggestions for alpine climbing this weekend? Shuksan/N Face? Buckner/N Face? Baker/Roman Headwall? How about rock routes?

I am constantly amazed at the folks who are out there climbing without a helmet. To wear a helmet is, of course, your own choice, but the only place I climb without a helmet is in the climbing gym. Regardless of rockfall/icefall potential, you just never know when you might get flipped by the rope or unintentionally whip into a corner and smack your noggin. I don't know too many people who don't use helmets. I won't climb in iffy areas with someone who isn't wearing a helmet. Catching one in the brain bucket two thirds up Goode puts not only the climber, but anyone else around in danger. I've always thought it very uncool to go without. What really irks me is how few helmets you see in the climbing mags. One image in particular was of Topher Donahue climbing somewhere in the Bugaboos. The picture was taken from above with him helmetless. I looked closer and damned if his helmet was clipped to his harness. I don't know if he took it off to mug for the camera or what, but "WHAT THE FUCK!". I know there are some pretty experienced folks out there who don't wear helemts. I seem to remember Jim Nelson saying he didn't like wearing one and he's all over the Cascades. A couple years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Donini in Ouray. When I started talking to him I noticed his hair was red. I thought it was colored like Twight's but he said he had caught it from some ice in the ice park. I asked him why he wasn't wearing a helmet and he said he didn't like them. He had just gotten back from Patagonia. While on the descent from one of the peaks, he had forgotten to buckle his helmet, looked down and watched his helmet sail into oblivion. He didn't seem like he was in any rush to get another one once he was back in the states even after having his skull split by an ice chunk. I saw him later in the week climbing in the ice park helmetless. Go figure. Anyway, I personally always wear a helmet, even while toproping. People skoff at the thought, but how many times have you seen the belayer at your local crags get pulled off the ground or smacked into the wall when the leader took a fall? I've seen it plenty. If the belayer loses control, your SOL. A helmet might not keep you from major injury, but then again, it just might. I'll stack the odds in my favor. I want to be climbing for a long time.

Was wondering if anyone out there has climbed the Southwest Face of Whitechuck. I was out there today scoping it out. I had Becky's pictures and descriptions as well the description from the Mountaineers Intermediate Climbing Guide. I gotta say, that the picture and descriptions don't match up. Which gulley is the correct one to get to the start? We looked at the first prominent coulior(leftward trending)that you see when you enter the basin (just left of Becky's indicator for the sw face route). We were not sure that it was the start, as I wouldn't really consider it a scramble. Certainly low 5th. We then moved right (east) to the pond. From the pond, you can see two major couliors. One is wide with a redish dike of really loose rock in it's center. I scrambled up the thing to a big ledge with trees and heather which ended at a pinacle along the ridge. Supposedly, you are supposed to start on the left side here. I wasn't sure if this was the route either. Are you supposed to climb the pinnacle to gain the face? It seemed like this was much to far east, I wouldn't even consider it the SW Face. Anyway, to the left of the coulior with the dike was another coulior that might also be a possibility. The face looks really cool. It would be nice if I could get the really shiz nizzy on the 5.6 route. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I was just in the Tetons and there is zero snow. Lot's of scree, talus, boulders, but no snow. I heard the ice stuff was out as well. I'm gonna head back in spring/early summer when all the crap is covered with snow.

Anyone been up on the NE Ridge of Triumph recently? Is the glacier still in condition for the approach?

Squamish - Smoke Bluffs At Octopus' Garden: Octopus' Garden In The Shade (5.8) Edible Panties (5.7 - difficult boulder start) Pipe Dream (5.8) At Neat and Cool: Cat Crack (5.6) You can set up a top rope and lap all these climbs. Great way to hone the techniqe. BTW: In my opinion, Leavenworth's Classic Crack is a 5.9

Has anyone tried the 5.10 Dragaons? What did ya think? Cracks? Edges? How about working on slabby stuff? Can ya smear em'?

How much rope do you need to tie in a steer with a bowline on a coil?