Jedi

VW: Go for it! Like Joe said, if one route does not work out, you have more options all around you. I wish I was going up this coming season. 07 is too far off, boo hoo for me! Jedi

SD Hibernator zero degree bag. The sleeping bag is black and a size large. Dryloft shell. The bag has only been used a few times and has been stored under a bed to maintain it's loft. Here is the description from Sierra Designs. "This unique 4-season sleeping bag lets your sleep in your natural position without creating cold spots. Extremely durable Polarguard® 3D insulation has a high warmth-to-weight ratio and continues to insulate even if wet. Patented flex construction allows the bag to flex and stretch, accommodating various size sleepers and movement from one sleep position to another. Night Cap hood accommodates sleeping on your back, side or stomach comfortably without losing warmth--even with your arms up by your head. "Pad Locks", loops at the shoulders and hips, provide an attachment point to keep your bag and sleeping pad together no matter how much you roll over. Full-length draft tube and neck draft collar add warmth and finish out the details." MSRP $249. Yours for $125 and I'll split the shipping with you. I need a synthetic bag in a medium for my next trip. Comes with a stuff sack and storage bag. Storage bag has some writting on it. Let me know if you have any questions. Jedi

May sound silly but you could take 2 tents (I-Tent type of tents). You would have room for gear in the other tent or you could sleep in your own tents. Then just take one up on a ridge. Two of these tents roughly weigh what a nice roomy "West Buttress tent" weighes.

I've climbed the bottom half 3 times and been to the summit. The route description is in Colby's book is not very good or accurate. I also have a picture of Peak 11,300 from the summit on Mt Huntington. Email me if you want more info and/or more pic's. Also check out my route description on North American Classic Climbs.com There are a couple ways to start the ridge. The route finding is part of the fun on this route and can be a little challenging. Joe Puryear has a couple great pictures while climbing the SW Ridge & descending. Check his website. A link can be found in his TR on the Kichatna's. If you know Mark Westman, he has climbed it also. It's a fantastic route with lots of rock steps. What time in May are you thinking of trying it? The past 4 or 5 years have had pretty WARM temp's by mid to late May making southern facing routes challenging with unfortunate snow conditions. Flying in by the middle of April has worked pretty good for me. Jedi

I love mine! Great pant

about $269 a tool (from what I was quoted).

Anyone else have a pair of used Ergo's, Vipers or 05 Quarks, let me know. Jedi

I was lined up for a pair but the lack of a hammer has been leaning towards a used pair of Ergo's and a pair of Vipers or Quarks. Anyone have any for sale?? The Nomics are sexy without a doubt. Jedi

The exterior fabric of a down jacket is important. I have stood around camp, in my DAS (syn fill)), in below freezing temps, while it is snowing all day. The heat from my body warms the jacket enough that the snow constantly melted on my shoulders. The wrong shell on a down jacket would have left the jacket damp for days.

I have not used the XGK with a flexible line. I have used other MSR stoves with a flexible line. I think the idea is to make the XGK more "packable". It's nice when your stove fits in your pot which is not usually the case with the older XGK. The downside might be the stove being less stable on some terrain (if you don't have the stove stand). Jedi

Does anyone have a picture of the Nomic? I hear they are shipping a limited number to the US (100 sets). I was told it was basically a new and improved Ergo. NOLSe: What makes it more of a "mixed" tool than the Ergo? I was thinking of trying leashless waterfall ice this winter and thought about getting a set of Nomics. The 1st available mail order (on the east coast) are due in around the 1st of Nov. Jedi

I like my G-14's (mono) for waterfall and my Sarkens on alpine routes.

The picture in Rock & Ice (issue 145) does not show the same leash attachment on the Rebel. It is a soild eyelet instead of a "built in" wiregate. How are the DMM picks? Do hey stick and clean as well as the picks on the Quarks??

Squid: Aren't we all porn stars in one way or another? No, I'm not really a Jedi, it's just a nickanme. I'm glad that's finally all cleared up.

WOW, nice work Joe! It's gotta be an odd feeling, standing in knee deep snow, in rock shoes. Beautiful route!

AlpineDave: We flew last year in mid-April. That area locks in cloud cover like no other spot in the Ruth. We could not land so we opted for the SW Ridge of 11,300 (2003). While we were climbing the SW Ridge of 11,300, Jack Roberts climbed the Harvard. They were the only people that got up it. This year we flew into the Tok within 3 hours of arriving in Talkeetna (Apr 16th). Then it snowed for 6 days straight. Then the weather was clear for 7. The 1st couple days were pretty cold at base camp (minus 15 the 1st couple mornings) but like last year and the couple years before that, it really warms up. Almost too warm. Westman and Puryear have spent A LOT of time in that area. I think Joe recommends giving it a shot in mid April through May. I would imagine rock fall would increase as it gets warmer. The belay at the top of the Dihedral pitch is not the same as when Mark was there a couple years ago. It fell off making for an uncomfortable stance. I attached a picture to my 1st post (I think Seth snapped the photo). That is the view from that belay. I will add an attatch a photo above that shows the dihedral pitch. Coley lead this pitch and I consider it the hardest pitch on the route. Anyway....I'll never forget aiding my way up the Nose pitch and seeing the van sized boulder floating out away from the West Face and the explosion when it made contact. The glacier below was peppered with granite. I would go earlier in the season.

http://www.mtnguide.com/huntington_tripreport.asp Last year, I mentioned that I met some great people from the PNW, while in the Ruth. This spring was no exception. Climbing with Coley and Seth was a joy and would climb with them again if the opportunity presented itself. Of course, the odds of it happening again, as it did this year, seems slim. Coley did a great job with pictures and the TR. Don't forget the slideshow. A spectacular route indeed! Jedi

Appearently this was freak accident. The biners were opposed and opposite and your rope jumped into the gate as you approached the anchor. The guy set the biners up correctly. It sounds like he is a pretty low key guy as this incident did not frighten him. What kind of reaction would have made you feel better? Are you thinking he set the anchor incorrectly, on purpose, maybe to kill you? Sounds like some kinda freak accident. Jedi

<Some fill more than one: thrill and adventure seeking; experience seeking (non-conformity or impulsiveness, for example); disinhibition seeking (such as multiple sex partners, drugs or drinking); and boredom susceptibility> Before I started climbing at age 25, this was my freak'n resume (sans the drugs). I wish Zuckerman could have been with me the times I stood in front of a judge. The more I poured into climbing, the less havoc I wreaked of society. Jedi

Still waiting on mine. I wonder how much heavier the new and improve plates will be??

Cleaning off the bookshelf. The South's Steepest (sport climbing) VHS 1993 $6 Mount Rainier and the Wonderland Trail VHS 1995 $5 Books: On Top of Africa: The Climbing of Kilimanjaro & Mt Kenya by Shulman 95 $4 Aconcagua: A Climbing Guide by RJ Secor $5 Sport Crags of the East by Steve Cater 1995 $4 I think I have an older guide to Seneca $4 Shipping paid by buyer. If you have any questions, want picture of the book or video cover, just pm me. Cheers

Scott, How were the conditions on the Cassin?

Thanks Jon, so, if whisper realllllly quietly, will they still find out about my "shipment" that is being flown in on the 18th of July. Good thing they don't know about the green, 86 chevy custom van that we are using to pick up the "payload". Damn, I'm glad we rented a forklift. "stuff" in that kind of quantity can be a back breaker. I have become more cunning and will not be hiding it at my house like I use to, no sir E bob. They have storage units for that and no one would ever think to look there, especially the big ones. So if anyone needs ANYTHING, just beep me as usual. psssttt! and keep this quiet. I'm sure Johnny Law can't decipher my lingo so everything is cool.

I was just on Climbing's website. http://climbing.com/news/ I was just wondering what the offical rules are for a new route? What percentage of terrain makes the difference between a variation to a route verses a new route? How far below to the summit are you allowed to stop before it is not considered a route? Should you complete at least half the distance to the summit or at least intersect an exsisting route to make it a variation or new route? Should the summit be considered important on a new route or variation? Seems less and lees so. What if you intersect an existing route more than once? Variation or new route? Is clarification important? FA: First Ascent FANS: First Ascent No Summit subcatagory:FANSDTW, First Ascent No Summit Due To Weather FANSDTLOF First Ascent No Summit Due To Lack OF Food. FANSDTPWHTCAPTSTYP First Ascent No Summit Due To Partner Who Had To See The Yankees Play and the reasons go on.............. Have you climbed the Moose's Tooth (summit included) or have you just climbed Ham & Eggs? Is the summit not important? If not, should First ascentionist just stop when the climbing eases "the summit was just an easy 10 minute stroll," and still get credit for an FA? Just because they did a high percentage of the route or the hard part. Or "because the summit (last 50') was too difficult?" To difficult for them maybe. When someone else repeats it and does climb the short difficult section to the actual summit, do they get the FA?? Can they rename it? FATTAT:First Ascent To The Actual Top Yeah, I know this has been going on for a while but I think it is important to remind people that there is a difference in summiting and just climbing a route that stops somewhere on a peak. If not, the future alpinist might come to disregard the summit in the pursuit to get their name in the guidebook. I am talking about alpinism and not sport climbing. The grey area seems to be growing and spreading. On a final note. I am not trying to take away from anyone's great climbing feat. I am questioning the actions of much better climbers than I. I would just like some answers. Maybe I want to climb a new pitch next to Deprivation, then climb the rest of Deprivation until the angle eases, then rappel and call it a new route. Yeah! being sarcastic now. Jedi

Thanks for the link Chriznitch. I had meant to mail one in but had forgotten about it. That Lotus Flower video is pretty good too.