mwills

in very cold temps that insulator won't work. instead, after each drink, clear the hose of water. ie. blow water out of the tube and back into the bladder.

sketchfest - that's a lot to ask for from a single shoe.... but reasonable, i suppose. i have the la sportiva superfly (bought on a whim). very light, sticky rubber, but too sensitive (you feel the rocks through the sole). easily modified with a better insole and another thin layer of plastic. these are great for running and climb decently (although no edging). for what you are looking for the Exum would work well. Stiffer (and beefier) midsole, but not as light. for something that climbs extremely well (but not as pleasant to run with), check out the Kayland Spider line. you can leave the "free shoes" at home. Complete with sticky rubber, rand, etc. The have a 3/4 version for more support.

duct tape - be sure to get duck brand. duct tape is not something to skimp on .

here you go

as far as rigid or semirigid - that depends on what type of climbing you plan on doing. semi-rigids are much easier to walk in. however, on steep ice they don't offer your calfs as much relief. i have the rambocomps and love them. be sure to get the dual-point version, then go to the hardware store and make your own mono point kit. this will save you $$$. also, i have the g14's and would highly reccomend them. no complaints at all. the are light (even lighter when paired with the backs of the g10 aluminums), can be monos or duals out of the box, and walk well. with no vertical rails, anti-bots are almost not necessary (almost, that is). i used these all last week in Canada on ice up to WI4+ and had no problems. i'm not sure how much use the rambocomps will see in the future .

the old BD leashes are much better than the new. well, not really but it sucks they got rid of the french-tapered webbing in favor cheaper design using tape webbing and padding. i like the androids for ice cragging. however, i have modified them a bit: i adjusted the length to be at about thumb-reach and sewed a piece of plastic to the webbing. this makes clipping back to the tool much easier. also, i added some velcro to keep the pull-tab from wrapping around screws. this is especially annoying with grivel 360 screws. for alpine i use the EMS twist leashes. great for moderate ice, easy to transition from ice to rock, and they are cheap .

i have the charlet moser version - same design i think. good leashes, but a couple complaints: first, they aren't handed. the "meat" of the padding is on the inside of one hand and the outside of the other hand . second, the padding could wrap around the hand a little further. other than that, they are simple and fairly easy to get out of. still possible to use on steep, but for moderate stuff i'll stick with EMS twist leashes .

we don't have mountains here in iowa, but we do have WI5 pillars that are ALWAYS in :

dr doom and his clan use the fancy yellow pads . i believe they are the ones from MEC (evazote).

snoboy - grips on tennis rackets differ in size by circumference. length too in some cases - but you can only specify the circumference, not the length. so i assume he is also talking about the circumference of the grip on the ice tools - not the length.

i don't think you would be doing any plunging with those ergos , so building the grip up shouldn't be a problem.

a friend of mine here at iowa state climbed it in the summer of '01. he's not a cc.comer but i'm sure he would be more than willing to give you some info. send me an email ( mwills@iastate.edu )and i'll give you his e-mail address.

i'd be interested in the ecrin roc. lost my helmet in RMNP a couple weeks ago - don't think it will be found until spring . anyways send me an e-mail mwills@iastate.edu .

i would suggest checking this site once a day or so: techbargains for example, here was a deal posted on Dec 5: Back! Hot! BestBuy.com has the Toshiba Satellite Notebook Celeron 1.5GHz 256MB/20GB DVD 14.1" Screen Ethernet, 56k modem, XP Home $1049 - $350 rebates (Only 1 Toshiba $200 rebate needs original UPC) = $699 shipped free. (Thanks Steve) so, if you are willing to deal with rebates and wait a while for these deals to come up (there are at least a couple each week) you could get a nicely loaded laptop (with warranty) for under $700.

lets see, here are the flatlander's highlights for this year : -NF of Shuksan car-to-car -NR of Stuart (with gendarme) -NW corner of NEWS -Direct Petzoldt and Upper Exum on Grand Teton (along with some other Teton classics: Baxter's Pinnacle, Irene's Arete, Guide's Wall) -Kiener's Route on Long's Peak (in winter) Biggets dissappointments: -getting caught in a bad storm in the Tetons while on the Cathedral traverse in the Tetons (take a look at the latest Climbing - same storm Mike Gauthier epiced in). -back in Iowa for school

freeclimb - you are right. i meant the bionics ~43 oz. as for the sabertooths, i'd still take the 5 oz and vertical front points any day. fishstick is right - get the antibotte plates. bought the crampons from europe for ~100, now i'm looking at $30 for the antibotte here in the US . as for climbing vertical ice - no problem. oh, and you can walk in these .

have the step-in version with the rear's of the g10L's - very light ~30oz (thats almost a pound light than sabertooths ). i didn't get the newmatic version as i've always used grivel's step-ins on my newmatic boots (trango plus and trango s). i used them last week in RMNP - i think the rambocomps might stay in the closet this season .

i have both wild things wind shirts - go with the epic! . i have it and love it. as for the nylon windshirt - not as windproof, or water resistant, or durable. it really is a waste of money. barely lasted me a summer. by the way, if you are looking at getting any wild things stuff they are having a sale. take a advantage - it doesn't happen very often.

for a rain shell - just go with the cheapest "breathable" jacket you can find. you will hardly ever wear it and when you do you don't want to give it special treatment since you paid $300 . i have the precip and while it may not be a GREAT jacket, it does its job. as far as the jackets wetting out - be sure to use some sort of DWR on them regularly (at least a couple times a year). they bead water nicely when you buy them, but slowly turn into a sponge. techtron works well, some like the wash-in nickwax stuff. epic is great stuff, but won't keep you dry heavy rain - in that case you should just go home anyways .

good topic bone - i'd first check out the fang for the viper and see if there is anyway you could modify it for your cobras. it will take some creativity since the points of the two tools are quite different . for those wondering what a rope thimble looks like:

gendarme on the n ridge of stuart - especially the 2nd crack

wild things belay parka - only way to go. check their website, they are having a special on last year's model. the jacket has a great cut (much better than the marmot belay parka) and an epic shell. i'd also try to stick with primaloft as it is more compressible than polarguard (not sure how it compares to the new polarguard 3d though). anyways, check out the wild things belay parka and their bouldering pants......

anywhere but IOWA

yep, as with any waterproof/breatable fabric you need to have some sort of "driving force" to get the moisture out. this "driving force" usually comes in the form of a gradient in temperature and/or humidity.

i've been very impressed with MEC stuff - good quality, but most of all it fits! no akward cuts, clean designs, etc. i look at it like patagonia on pro-deal .