Jedi

I hear you Glass. My problem is that I live in alpinist heaven over here on the east side of Virginia. I think there are more snow capped 6000m peaks in VA than there are alpinist. Oh yeah, there are no snow capped peaks in VA. SOoooooo..... my chances of finding a partner are sllliiiimmmmm to none. Why not try to find an internet date? Maybe someone from the east coast that I can climb with prior to heading north. Or someone from the west coast that wants to climb the Harvard, does not have a partner, has a solid climbing background and is honest with me and themselves. We talk on the phone often about climbing ethics and style and agree on many important things. I know I can lead every pitch (conditions & weather permitting) so I guess that adds to my confidence. They would have to have some idea what they were in for and I can't see why they would logically spend the money and time training just to camp in the Tok only to put themselves in harms way on such a serious route if they are not ready. People hook up in camp in Yosemite and spend 5 days on a wall together. I'm just an optimistic guy I guess. I've always climbed with different people an i am easy to get along with ending trips on a positive note (even when people have disappointed me). I can sit home next spring, plant grass seed, ride the mower, watch the kids get older or take a chance and get out there to do what I love to do. I just live in the wrong place to do what you guys can do EVERY weekend if you like. Climbers are a dime a dozen in your neck of the world. The only guy I have met in the Ruth from the east coast is Bill Gilmore and I think he has a partner. Everyone else has been from the PNW, Canada, etc.... Who knows, i could find the partner that I go on to climb many routes, in many different places. The I Spur could be in 06. Wish me luck Glass Jedi

Next April/May (3 weeks). AK grade 5, A2, 5.9/M5, AI3. 12,400' w/4000' of vert gain. 3 days up, one down. Then climb whatever else while in the area. Looking for motivated individual with with passion for the mountains and is confident on moderated terrain. Doesn't mind an ass whipping and goes back for more. "Light is Right" mentallity, etc.... I like long walks on the beach and candlelight bivies....Whooopps.....wrong website. Anyway, think it over and send me an email. Jedi

I'm a Gatorade bottle fan also. I like 151, Crystal Lite and water. Then put mixture into a snow filled cup. I always forget the little umbrella's though.

Well, I'm hoping they fixed their problem (which looked pretty fixable). Planning on getting a couple dozen this fall. A notchless wiregate is a great design. I wish someone made a locking wiregate.

The new ones might start showing up in the US mid Oct. Jedi

Rock climbing at Moore's Wall in North Carolina.

All mine have made it to the east coast in good shape but I am anxious when I first pull it out of the mail box. Hoping it is a good shape. Nice article on Artic Rage. The topo makes my palms sweat.

You can only bike the 1st 7km (campground at Kinney Lake). If you go light as Colin you can ride a bike. most parties laden with 45-50lb packs will not chose to ride the 1st 7km cause you ass would swallow the seat and post. Some single track. Nice work Colin!

I have the ID version. Nice weight savings over a regular 6oz compression sack.

I have the Sarken. I like the less bulky assembly on the back of my boot. I do think the plastic pull lever thingy will break off eventually. Then I will have to use my axe pick to lock it. I had no problems during the short period of time I used them in AK in Apr/May. I did talk to a fella who said he knew of people that had the levers snap off. I do love the the fact they only weigh 32os with antibots. Non-replacable front points dull very quickly but climb rock well. I have my Grivel G-14's for waterfall ice. Petzl does sell replacements for the forward half of the crampons for about $75 (just what I heard). Jedi

GREAT slideshow!! "Inspirational" hits the nail on the head. Chris, who is the music by??? I love that tune! Jedi

Congratualtions to you and Michelle! Married in Little Switzerland, now that must of been pretty awesome. What was the wedding dress made out of, Epic, fleece??? Nice trip report. Nice trip! A couple more trips like that and you are going to have to go somewhere else to find new terrain. Good meeting you Joe. Cheers, Jedi p.s. see you next spring

Have fun. I spent 11 1/2 months building mine last year. It was all consuming and there was time for nothing else. It was nice to start hanging out on the board again and getting back in shape. Cheers

I like the compact & lightweight (for a liquid stove) Simmerlight. MSR should have a more packable XGK soon but it will be heavier than the Simmerlight. Jedi

I think Mark is well into his forty's. Age has a tendacy to slow you down a little. I am jealuos of Mark also, as it seems many are here. As humans, we have a tendancy to attack and try to tear down what we do not understand, fear or wish they had. I wish I could go skiing every morning before I go to work. I would like to have had to opportunity attempt and sucessfully climb some of the route he has tried. More over, have the abilities it takes to try those routes. I would not want to write a book as everyone then thinks they know you as they hang on every word you printed. The assumption that that is how you think forever even as climbing evolves continuosly. I am glad Mark wrote Extreme Alpinism. I found it helpful in answering some questions I had for the style of climbing I like. Better than Freedom of the Hills. A fan club, do they actually exist for people older than 11? Dude, I recommend you go see a professional about that.

It depends on what you want. I still get R&I & Climbing just in case they have an article or pictures about a peak that would be fun to climb. Alpinist has what the ohter 2 do not. As Ryan said, "Climbing Life". It more in depth. geared more towards the mountains instead of all the other fluff & stuff. I do feel like the other 2 are geared towards the masses. Towards beginners wanting basic info and more generic articles. I can remember the days when much of the info in both mag's was like Latin to me. It's like the AAJ except you get it more often during the year, you get big color pics & it has more personal information in the articles. Jedi Jedi

Special OP's trains for 72 hour missions were there is no sleep. Their system would not be applicable in the alpine world since weather is not predicable enough and prep takes several days. Jedi

Dryloft also makes the bag noticable more bulky when packed. The shell on the Heluim might get damp from the frost in the tent but that shell will dry fast. Dryloft might be breathable but not nearly as breathable as Pertex Quantum. So your shell gets damp. It will dry faster than the damper down in the dryloft bag. Out of 48 days in AK, I have yet to spill water on my bag. If you do, dry it. One place moisture/water builds up is between your bag and a RidgeRest. You will have little puddles of sweat that your bag is laying in. Jedi

I still have my Marmot Thunderlight one piece suit. It only weighes 34oz. Definitely not the most durable GTX but for the weight, I could never complain.

You would think of all the wealthy people that go in to try Everest, one of them would donate enough money to have all the trash cleaned up. Many humans believe "well since there is already trash laying around, my trash will not be noticeable". But if the area has been cleaned up, maybe people would be a little more reluctant to be the 1st to start making a trash pile. Or maybe I am giving people to much credit for doing the logical and morally correct thing to do.

Braille will be a short hike up. I think we were up in 2 hours. Or was it up and down in 2 hours? I forget. Go up early in the morning and conditions could be nice. We went up Dickie from the Amp to Pittcock Pass. Colby's book does not recommend this due to objective danger. We hiked up in 4 hrs. A couple places had crust & sugar thigh deep in a few places & I went chest deep in one hidden crevasse. I would call your flight service and ask them about recent conditions since they are up there on a daily basis. We were fine with one axe each but what ever you think you might be comfortable with. We were there in early June but it was not freezing at night. Everyone was leaving due to conditions. Rock climbing is probably pretty good in the Ruth by now if it is as warm in there as it was 4 weeks ago. Have fun

The DaVinci Code is definitely fiction... "historical" fiction. Dag, total brain lapse on the that. Don't WHAT I was thinking. Thanks for the correction. Jedi

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is fun non fiction. Guns Germs & Steel by Jared Jackson is good also. Jedi

That's because the average American is fat. I am surprised it is that small. Maybe a better survey would have been, "the average bicep on some none obese person is...." I think we should all adapt to overweight people so it is the norm so we can become the land of big people where everyone feels comfortable. Besides, if airlines start making the seats 4 times wider, I can actually sleep laying down on my way out west. I could order the "small happy" meal at micky D's and pay next to nothing. My wife's coworker is 5'6" and 200lbs after she had her stomach stapled. Her husband is 5'8" and 300lbs. The poor guy can eat 1 1/2 large pizzas. I bet his biceps are a beautiful sight. Maybe I am shooting my mouth off cuz I've had too many cowboy sodas tonight Jedi

Wayne: I was not making light of the route in general. I was just stating that the route has a moderate angle yet people are "taking falls" on it. I can only contemplate the cause of a fall in the two recent cases. I have backed off this route twice so I have taken it seriously. And that is flying out west from the east coast. jedi