fishstick

Dru, Dumb question: what is the divide between the Lillooet and Pacific ranges? GB

The Cairngorms in Scotland. Despite having visited the range for only 3 days, it's simply the best winter climbing I've ever seen. Ben Nevis is rumoured to be even better. GB

Great article and pics. Maybe the route was a sort of reward for your Patagonian vacation. GB

a,f,f,c,b,b,a,d Cheers and good luck, GB

"Super Rescue Man" is Canadian. All Canadians are relaxed on ice. Just look at our women's hockey team. GB

I'm unsure of the Mosquito lake road, or which access that actually is. I wrote the following for a friend. Note that directions are based upon travelling from Vancouver. North Twin Sister Here's the verbal version of the directions beginning in Sumas Wash. Watch your speed limit (25 MPH on main street). TURN left at the South end of town as for Baker (speed limit now 30 MPH) (radar on these two streets 98% of the time). No more radar beyond this point. Drive to Kendall (perhaps 15-20 k). Kendall is the place with the large NEW school on the right, fire station on the left. Impossible to miss the school. TURN right at Kendall beyond the school and drive towards Bellingham. Drive for perhaps 10k. You'll pass the "North Fork" aka "The Beer Shrine" on your right after about 6 k or so (recommended beer. Pizza OK but expensive). While driving up a slight hill with a long gradual right turn, you can see the Twin Sisters to the left for a short period if the weather is very clear. A couple of K's after the hill, you'll see a small store on the left (might be called "the welcome store") with a white community hall or church beyond (next) to it. TURN left on to the paved road between the two. Drive the paved road for maybe 10 minutes (might be a bit less). After crossing what seems like a small bridge, (several K's beyond the farms with the 90 degree right then 90 degree left turns) a gravel road branches to the left at a 45 degree angle. TURN left here onto the gavel road. If you miss this turn and come to a big bridge across a river, turn around and find your road 1/4 mile or so back up the road. Follow the main logging road following instinct! The only doubtful turn is when driving along a side hill where the road forks, offering a lower downhill option to the right TURN right onto the lower (and more traveled option). You'll cross a curved concrete bridge and 5 minutes later come to a yellow metal bridge that is probably gated. PARK here. Ride up the road following the most obvious forks. The main option is a fork after only 5 minutes or so (gated), stay left on the main road. After 35minutes of walking (maybe 26-28 minutes on a bike) you'll cross a creek that has visibly yellow coloured water. 10 minutes above that you'll see a side road branching to the right. Next to the side road on its left side is a pile of gravel (another spur 5 minutes earlier also has a pile of gravel but is not in driveable condition-the initial spur is wrong). TURN right onto the side road. After 5-8 minutes you'll come to an area where the road is blocked by large boulders (shortly after a great campsite on the right). No boulders = wrong road! Follow the road beyond the boulders. Eventually cross a creek and continue to follow the main road (stay left at any options). North Twin will be clearly visible as you ride through the clear cuts. When almost directly below North Twin, the road in the clearcut hits a high point and begin to drop. 100 meters beyond the high point a rather bushy skid road (with cairn) branches to the left. Rather hard to notice. TURN left up the skid road and follow main road. If memory serves correct you'll switch back to the left, then eventually to the right. Several minutes above the second (right) switchback a rather unexpected switchback/fork appears to the left. TURN left and follow this branch, eventually doing a switchback to the right and going into a logging landing (open level spot) several hundred meters later. The trail to the West Ridge begins here on the ridge crest. Walking times are generally 2-2 1/2 hours to this point from the car, so around 10K. Enjoy! GB P.S. Note that the snow level on the road will probably be about 100 meters below the described "yellow coloured creek" at this time of year, or after 35 minutes of walking. [ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: fishstick ]

Interesting findings from a Canadian group a couple of weeks ago. The BD Space Shot headlamp would seem to interfere with avalanche beacons. "When the headlamp is on, the battery pack voltage regulator causes significant interference to analogue and digital beacons. Please note this is the only Black Diamond headlamp that contains a voltage regulator, but I am aware there are other manufacturers who have them. For the analogue beacon the interference resulted in loud feedback overriding any signal being tracked. For the digital beacon the lcd screen went blank and a high pitched whine was emitted. The situation was improved when the transceiver was held more than 2 feet away". It might be worth testing it at home. [ 02-06-2002: Message edited by: fishstick ]

Wizard's Lair: From what I gather, it's a very funky two pitch grade 5 on the highway connecting the Sandpoint or Cordelane area, and Libby Montana. Closer to the former two towns. Although I'm raised in SE BC, I've never actually driven that stretch of road. GB

I haven't been up there this year, but to my knowledge it's always in between Christmas and mid to late Feb. If all else fails you can always climb the right hand side for the first two pitches then traverse the big ledge to climb the left hand side. The route gets too much sun to survive long in March. If you're travelling in that direction, you might try Copper Creek (you might know about it?) 500m south of the Kingsgate border crossing, take the road to the East on the North side of Copper creek to a picnic area (one or two K's). Follow a trail or generally the drainage for 15 minutes or so (it's been a long time since I was there) until you stumble upon a very nice grade 3 pitch spilling out of a narrow canyon. Have you done Wizard's Lair? GB

Yup, Talked to a friend yesterday who met a machine that had dropped in over the Vantage col. The owner had no idea that it wasn't cool to be in that drainage and couldn't understand why people might be upset. GB

Will, Your points are noted on the gap-jumping thing. Where I actually had the problem was jumping between seracs while bouldering; I do that a lot. Down climbing ice was encountered on similar terrain as well as on bigger slopes. Ankle flexibility to a degree is a good thing, but when you're headed down an ice slope while very fatigued, more support than Trango E's is appreciated. Same while carrying a big pack on wet, lichen covered rock. As far as your comments on rock are concerned, I disagree. From my own perspective (biased) I prefer a boot to flex slightly on rock. A quick layback up a vertical corner illustrates why; I want more than 1mm of contact. I've tried a pile of boots in the mountains over the last four or five years and find my own Trangos to be among my least favorite. The old K3 in my mind was superior in almost every way. Granted however, that there are others who climb rock vastly better than myself prefer super stiff boots. GB

Eliminate the Trango Extreme from your list. I find that although they allow great ankle flexibility, they lack support for in some situations such as down-climbing ice facing outwards or jumping shrunds. The latter gives that "ankles away" feeling. The Extremes are also so stiff that they are a compromise on rock. Finally, if using them in the alpine, replace the sole. They have very little tread and a small heel block. Hope that helps. GB

Cavey, Funny you should mention the skating thing. A friend and I once spent an enjoyable week pulling on tools in the Rockies, but the real focus of the trip was to find a copy of the Katarina Witt issue of of Penthouse. She provided us with more laughs than all the climbing and road epics combined. Could she give a slide show? GB

Cavey, Normally when I walk into a room filled with 50 friends, and another potential 150 like minded souls, I don't turn on the TV or wish someone would instruct others to shut up so they can show slides. If you want that sort of entertainment, turn on the discovery channel, or better yet, survivor. Why travel to the middle of BF nowhere to watch slides like you can at home? GB

Unsure if slide shows are the way to go on such occasions, especially those with "famous" people. It's the locals (those that frequent the place) that have made the climbing what it is. The last time they brought in someone famous, he bolted a route (for teaching purposes) that locals had been probing pretty hard, ground-up, sans drill. Slide shows also suffer the same problem as movies do on a first date; nobody talks and you really don't get a chance to meet one another. GB

Will, It looks as though you're right, unless there's a way of using only the rear holes, which would be a huge stress riser. Erik, Noted and understand on the high stepping thing. Unusual genetics and a poor childhood diet have provided me with a set of limbs that can bend and twist in some funky positions, hence my own lack of passion when it comes to off-set points. For really high steps on well featured waterfalls, I find you can use the inside, forward-most down points for an intermediate edging position, while getting a more conventional placement with the other foot. All ice is good. GB

Will, The two diagrams provided on the site are different. Do you have two holes near the end of the points as in the lower diagram, or two holes in the center as per the upper? GB

I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my tired brain around the problem, but I think if you shorten the crampons by one hole, that should solve the problem, assuming of course such a compromise will still work heel and rear bail-wise. Why the off-set dual configuration? Apart from a bit more dexterity on the odd mixed move, I see off-set duals as lacking the stable platform or penetration of conventional duals and the versatility of monos (by off-set I'm assuming off-set length as opposed to centering). GB

Try the Charlet Moser Argentero. They only have 10 points, but they seem like a reasonable choice. Charlet claims they adjust down to size 29, compared to size 36 for their S-12's. Argentero's are available in strap on, rapid fix and bail models. Unsure where you can find them in the PNW or Canada, but perhaps try the web. Best of luck. Wish I could have started at that age! GB Actually, I just checked and the Charlet Ecrin will adjust down to a men's 5. If nothing else they have a very short forward structure that should prove to be a key element in finding something that fits super small feet. Perhaps they've replaced the Argentero? $100.00 CDN at MEC. [ 12-17-2001: Message edited by: fishstick ]

Worst gear owned: Black Diamond Mixed Master pack- webbing slipped through buckles, shoulder straps and hip belt delaminated, seams blew apart. A perfect example of why Serratus and Arc'teryx works. Dromedary water bladder- drip, drip, drip… Black Diamond VBL socks- big seams, a toggle that needed to be cut off, and they delaminated after 11 days. Glad kitchen catchers last for 7, cost about 1% as much and proved to be more comfortable. GB

Best gear: Simond Piranhas, they always work, everywhere.Wild Country Rockcentrics, simple, light, effective and poundable into icy cracks. They are to big hexes what rocks are to small ones.Pink and red tricams, I don't leave home without them.

I'm not saying one should be "removed" from a climb, but rather, a degree of courtesy may be in order. For example we went to ICBC last year and a party of four had a rope hanging on the first pitch. No one was climbing, but when I went to lead the pitch, two quickly scurried to the foot of the climb and tied in. After we walked away (and after the climber ascended perhaps 15 feet), they lowered off and rejoined their friends for a break. We returned after 10 minutes of inactivity on the pitch, and once again they tied in… It seems like a rather selfish way to spend a day "in the hills". GB

Why is it that people think it's OK to set up tope ropes on the initial pitch of a (popular) multi-pitch ice climb, when they'd never, ever do the same on a popular multi-pitch rock route? Two cases in point are The Plum and ICBC. Loose Lady has a similar problem, although it's often people struggling to lead the initial grade two pitches while seemingly oblivious to the fact that the climb ahead is grade four (a friend insists that someone fired in 10 or 12 screws on one of the intro pitches last year). I can understand the desire to find easy terrain to learn on, but it seems very discourteous not to let others lead through to the acreage above. Just a thought. GB

Perhaps try La Sportiva Nepal Extremes or Technicas. If my memory serves me correctly they seemed they seemed to fit my narrow heels OK. Also note that Koflach has discontinued the ladies Viva soft. They aren't as warm as their more modern boots, but I think they should be fine for day trips. You might be able to find them on a close out. What size do you take? MEC may have some. Finally, and this is a long shot: Boreal makes a leather double boot called the G-1. I have narrow heels but a wider and thicker forefoot. They pretty much glue my heels in place on steep ice. My gut impression is that they're about as warm as my Scarpa plastics. I haven't a clue where to buy them or how much they'd cost. Actually, the more I think about it, try Nepal Extremes. Expensive but they're very warm for leather singles and I know a number of women who swear by the fit. GB [ 12-12-2001: Message edited by: fishstick ]

Re: Ice climbing and pull-ups. I think pull-up strength might be a bit over-rated here. Most of your weight is still on your feet on sub 80 degree ice, and it's not until 85 degrees that your arms get truly weighted. Given that you actually lift much of your weight with your legs, you can lead grade 5 or easy 6 and still be unable to do more than 10 pull-ups. GB