thelawgoddess

i don't really cherish the thought of carrying (and dealing with) two 70m ropes. my single 70m that i use for rock is work enough, but i can see the advantage of having of a 70m just in case. one guy's "argument" FOR had to do with cutting your rope (after an axe-hit or crampon whoops) and not having it become uselessly short. i guess it also depends where i'm planning to climb and the how the routes are set up there. but anyway, the ice here is great. i've only climbed in ouray so far - in the ice park and up camp bird mine road. i heard ames (near telluride) is done for the season, but people are definitely hitting up longer routes in silverton right now. i hated leaving ouray last night. i plan to get out and do some longer bc routes in a couple of weeks.

the southwest is where it's at.

geez, g-kiss.

thinking about getting half ropes for ice climbing ... been talking to some people visiting the area who think the trend is toward 70m ropes nowadays. i noticed that some of them are being sold in 75m lengths. any comments?

i was in ouray tuesday and wednesday. it was already getting busy, but you could still find plenty to climb. if you want to climb this weekend get up way early or leave the park. i'll be out on saturday to watch some of the competition and meet up with a few friends. god that place is great! and there's lots of good bc stuff nearby too.

thanks everybody! whoa, gary; those are great shots! it's nice to be able to see a bunch of pictures from the s400. i was considering the s50 and g2 as well ... until i did more research and read a bunch of reviews. i just think the a80 or the s400 would better suit my needs. they are both 4mp with 3x optical zoom, which i think i plenty on both counts. i believe that of the two the s400 has the faster "boot up" speed - under 3s. not sure about how fast it takes the picture, but like gary said you just get it ready by pressing halfway and it's likely fast enough. cj, i think gary is referring to that with the higher zooms you need to use the slowest shutter speeds for the best results ... and hence the tripod. or something like that?

just wondering if any of you that have either of these can give me some opinions on them. how you like them for outdoor shots and whatnot ... i'm looking to get a digital camera but i'm having a hard time choosing!

murray, i like crud, too! my guide at silverton thought i was crazy when we had to ski some crud and i came down exclaiming that was the best snow we'd had all day! i think i'm going to try shorter poles tomorrow. i've had other people tell me that, too.

some at bindings are better than others for certain things. are you really looking to save on weight to a fault or do you want something super beefy and strong? i've only demo'ed the naxo and the fritschi freeride. they're both beefy enough for hard inbounds skiing but some people think they're too heavy for serious touring. the naxo has an incredibly smooth glide; whereas the fritschi felt more robotic.

well, seems i'm not the only one having trouble making tele turns in 10" (or more or less) of pow! i just started making tele turns about 3 weeks ago. single diamond groomers are no problem for me, but i have a fairly difficult time when it comes to powder and deeper crud and big bumps - ugh. in the pow i tend to keep my weight pretty far back on my rear leg and that seems to help a lot. that and not being afraid to go a little faster than i might really like. trying step or jump turns also helps me feel more comfortable sometimes. i actually find myself doing what mattp said he used to do. i seek out "safe" patches of ungroomed snow where i can attempt to rip turns without getting totally overwhelmed. it seems to be paying off ... however slowly. and allen and mike's book is great! keep on nord'ing.

it's so sad that deaths like this occur. i think it's super-important to listen to your guide on trips like this. not in terms of being a herded sheep, but in terms of him probably knowing that particular terrain and snowpack better than a visitor. not that an avy wouldn't have happened anyway, but it's food for thought. guides aren't usually trying to be assholes. i just bring this up because of some of what i saw at silverton, where one person purposefully disregarded what his guide told him and ended up boarding down a sketchy gully where he couldn't escape having to ride over an exposed rockband. ouch ... and he might not be so lucky next time.

or the penny between your ass cheeks. welcome to the floppy-heeled world!

okay, maybe wi4-5 isn't "sick" to most of you ... but it was my first time on anything of that grade so i was pretty happy. i'll try to get on something *more sick* next week. hey, i met angela at vertical world two summers ago (?) - when she still worked there. she had the coolest earrings. don't know if i'll catch her in ouray but i'll keep my eyes open. and i agree - she's a VERY cool chick!

climbed some sick wi4-5 over the past two days. we toproped one in the park (ice arete? or else something right near there; hard to tell since i didn't have the guidemap with me at the time) ... and then went up the road and climbed chopo's chimney in one pitch. really fun stuff! if anybody's going to be out there next week (or EVER for that matter) and wants to climb let me know. i'm only an hour away ...

seattlepi dude's lucky.

ahh, in oregon. i heard on the weather channel that you guys have been getting lots of snow.

machines are sweet. why would you want to ditch those for cobras?

to "push" around? here, we get to "float" in it. j/k; sounds like you had fun. but where the hell's SKIBOWL?

anything to help a fellow human experience the wonder of a great thing like skiing. plus, bachy is a GREAT place to ski regardless of your level.

sounds like you've got a great view on life, murray! i hope i get to spend some time in your part of the continent again this year!

oh, yeah ... those cuties deserved that! i just bought my cat some catnip and he was cool. LOL. hey, i got a coupon for 2 days for the price of 1 at bachy (from warren miller) if you want it. (just pm me your address.)

i hear ya, muffy. i just want you know that if it's all snow it's all good. how's the set-up coming? you going to be make tele turns soon???

ames is closed. but i'd be happy to go climb it despite that if you want to come give me a belay. you're likely to not make it here if you have to drive over red pass, though - it's closed due to extreme winter driving conditions. woohoo! and anyway, i'm pretty tired from skiing the 15+" of NEW powder we have inbounds here today.

new year's day was my worst ski day this season ... cause i didn't even get to ski!

more ice. more aid. and lots more trad. i want to be way more aggressive with my leads. and i plan to get some medical training. oh, yeah; and more backcountry everything. i need to get back into the mountains some in the summer!