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robert

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Everything posted by robert

  1. Thanks for the link. It is good to hear the other side to the legend of Harry Truman.
  2. I agree Dru. I hear all the time that people who climb are addicted to the thrill of cheating death. I tell anyone who will listen that for me, and the people with whom I climb, it is about challenging yourself mentally and physically.
  3. Doubt is what keeps me alive. If I was sure I could make that sketchy move or that the serac was stable I might not be here today. When I stop worrying about making it is when will stop climbing.
  4. Well said Hikerwa. This is exactly what I have always thought. If I didn't climb I wouldn't be the same person. The more I think about climbing the more I remember the reasons that I climb and that just makes me what to get out and climb. I can't wait for the weekend.
  5. Since about 10 pm last night when my relief at the success of the Cooley rescue turned to sadness with the news of his death I have been thinking about climbing, my family, death, the whole deal. I imagine that there are others who lost sleep last night thinking about what if that had been them in the litter being plucked off of Rainier. I believe that it is my new daughter and the fact the Peter left behind three children that has caused this tragedy to hit me harder than any of the others over the years. I have been thinking about the consequences of climbing beyond my own enjoyment. While I am still planning my next trip to Rainier in July, and plenty of other climbs, I wonder what I will be thinking when I walk under an ice fall or climb an ice step. Fear and success in the face of fear have always been a part of climbing and always will be. How have others cleared their minds so that they could focus on the climbing at hand? I remember a thread a while back by a guy who was climbing without health insurance. Someone pointed out that he had better not be thinking about his lack of coverage while he was making a difficult move or he would be more likely to need that coverage. This seems to be the same concept on a much grander scale. Hopefully, when I get into the hills it will all just go away and climbing will be climbing. I hope that that is the case for everyone who is headed out this weekend, especially anyone headed up Liberty Ridge.
  6. They have it right on the clip, but they missed it on the link.
  7. You can't ski all the way to the parking lot, but you can certainly ski most of it. I was there two weekends ago and people skied to within about a five minute walk of the car. That is certainly longer now, but I would expect that you could ski well below treeline. After the 15th permits are limited to 100 people per day. You can get in the lottery at Jack's
  8. Just to follow up on this thread. We bought a Life Fitness SX30 and have been using it regularly for about a month and a half. We both like it. I wish I could work my quads a bit more, but other than that it is great. Having it at home makes it easier to both get a workout in each night, but the pull of the couch is harder to resist than I expected. We set it up so that we can watch TV while working out and that makes a big difference. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and comments. Robert
  9. Thanks for the suggestions on stride length and feel. We have tried out about 6 machines that we don't have at our gym and they all really feel different. Of course the machines that feel the best cost the most, but there are some good feeling Life Fitness models that are not too expensive. We heard that the adjustable ramps are going to be phased out as they are stressing the achieles tendon too much. Do you know anything about problems in that area?
  10. Thanks for the comments on the use of the 750's. Our problem with the gym is that we can get to it as often as we would like. Before our baby was born we were each there 3 or 4 days per week. Now since one of us has to watch the baby (the day care there is not an option) we are getting only 1 or 2 trips per week. The cost of the trainers were are looking at is about 2 years gym membership, so we figure that we would be able to work out as much as we used too and not break the bank. We just have to stay motivated. I think that a monthly payment should help. I hope so anyway.
  11. I have used elliptical trainers many times at my gym. I would love to get out to hike and climb every day, but that is just not possible. I can keep myself in good shape for when I do get out by spending time on the trainer everyday after work.
  12. My wife and I are considering canceling our fitness club membership and getting some free weights and an elliptical trainer for home use. Does anyone have any good recommendations on elliptical trainers? We are considering the Smooth ME and the Proform 750, but we are just starting our search. I appreciate your help. Robert
  13. I know that it limits the times that you can come and go, but you can take the shuttle from any Summit parking lot to Alpental. The drivers don't care if you don't have skis. I have had them ask me what mountain I was going to climb when my partner and I boarded the bus with packs loaded with climbing gear. That being said this still sucks. If they aren't going to tow my car I am very likely to just park there anyway, but the alternative exists.
  14. Barrabes. That is exactly what I was looking for. The prices are about 20% less currently. That is enough to make it worth the effort. I will also look into custom boots while I am there. Thanks for all of the help. Robert
  15. Actually, I found a link on the Zamberlan website that lists their distributers. For Italy it said to contact them for store locations. I am waiting to hear back. The La Sportiva Italian site lists dealers, but the dealers don't seem to have sites. It is a bit difficult as I can't read exactly what they are saying, but the google translate this page helps. I was hoping that someone would be able to say "yeah way cheaper" or "cheaper but not worth the effort". Of course the weak dollar against the strong Euro could negate any savings.
  16. Mailing them home is certainly an option. I expect to mail some clothes home mid-way through the trip. I am just uncertain whether it is worth it to wait. I can't find any Italian Mountaineering Stores online to check prices versus what I could find here at home.
  17. We have a Siberian Husky who loves to go snowshoeing in any snow conditions. If the snow is deep and soft he follows the leader, but if he can manage to wallow through he practicaly drags us around. I am sure it is breed specific, but we take him anywhere non-technical, and in any weather. He has done Mt. St. Helens in Februry and he loves it. The only weather that he doesn't really like is strong wind, but you can tell he would rather be in snow and strong wind than at home. He never wears anything on his paws per our breeder's recommendation. You should keep the hair trimmed really short. I have seen other dogs that had long hair and big snowballs hurting their paws. One advantage of deep snow is that he can be off leash and not run off. When the snow is firm he has to be on leash. The only problem with him in following us is that he has always stepping on the tails of the leader's snowshoes.
  18. I read here a while back that if you can get Italian made boots in Italy it can save a few bucks. Of course it should. My questions is, is it enough money to wait until I am over there in April, and make it worth packing around a pair of mountaineering boots when I am on a non-climbing vacation? If you have any experience with Italian gear shops I would appreciate hearing it. Our last stop is in Venice, so if you know of any good shops there that would be expecially helpful. Thanks, Robert
  19. The forecast is for some snow between now and Saturday, with cold weather through the weekend. We will, as always, watch the screws, but I think it will be less of a problem for us than it was for you. The weather looks great in your shot. I was disappointed to hear that your site is going away. It was a good site. Thanks for the time you put in on it.
  20. I am not worried about getting sued. I wouldn’t even get blamed if one of them fell and go hurt. It would be my partner who would be/feel responsible. The beginers are his fiance and her friend. For that reason I won’t be calling the shots when it comes to their safety. I was posting about the AMGA to add another view to the conversation. I would be fine if we went out unroped. Similarly, I would understand if we walked roped and setup quickie sitting or hip belays as they needed the help. If we need to set a screw or two and make something formal, so be it. It will really depend on what we find out on the glacier. It could be an easy walk to a good spot, or it could require some slightly more difficult moves. The glacier changes so much that you just never know. I do know that if we choose to rope up it will be to keep everyone safe and we would do it in a manner that will allow everyone to be safe. We will probably have two pairs and will be able to manage a short rope to even over very broken terrain. It would be much more difficult, if not impossible, if there were four on one rope. I have always enjoyed reading the debates that questions like this can start. Happy climbing.
  21. Thanks for sharing your views. The Coleman is such a good place for this type of practice precisely because it is so varied. It has some great flat and gently sloping areas for getting the hang of crampons and a feel for the ice, and it has plenty of steep to vertical to overhanging for some great fun climbing. Our group will most likely use a combination of unroped walking, and roped travel both with and without running pro. Of course there will be some fixed top ropes for the actual climbing. I see that the general consensus is that unroped is the way to go. I thought that I would recount what I saw on a trip last year. There was a group of five climbers getting ready to head out onto the glacier. There were four climbers roped and one unroped. The roped team had three “clients” and one “guide”. The “clients” were spaced about 10 feet apart, with the “guide” about 30 feet from the last “client”. After they headed out on to the glacier the unroped guy told us that it was an exam for the American Moutian Guides Association. He said that they guide was actually being examined by the clients. While we seraced we watched the four spend at least three hours walking and climbing all over the Coleman. The guide managed the team over some steep terrain leading when they climbed and giving a loose standing belay as they downclimbed. As we were heading down the trail a great cheer rose from the spot where they had just stepped off the glacier. I believe that the guide passed the test. It would seem that the AMGA at least believes in unprotected roped travel. It was interesting to watch.
  22. This weekend I am taking a small group up to the Coleman Glacier for some ice cragging. I was up a couple times last year and noticed that of the other groups I saw, some were roped while walking on the glacier and some were not. I am talking about while traveling the seracs to find a suitable spot for climbing, not while actually climbing. Is there any consensus on whether is it best to be roped while walking on bare glacier? This seems to me to be a different situation than would be roping up for climbing over exposed glacier ice. Since the likelihood of self-arrest on steep or even moderately steep ice is very small, unprotected roped climbing puts the group at greater risk. But in the seracs that consequence of a fall is not likely to be pulling the rope team down the mountain, though it could be pulling someone else into a crevasse. But the advantage of being roped is that if someone did fall into a hole they could be extracted more easily, or depending on the situation, their fall could be held by the other members of the rope team. I also think that climbing ability and experience have a big part to play in the decision. Certainly if everyone has lots of experience in similar situations a rope is not needed. Similarly if some of the members have little or no experience traveling on broken and uneven ice a rope is very important. I know what I am going to be doing this weekend, but I was wondering what others did or thought.
  23. My wife and I lead a group of kids through Camp Fire. They are all girls and they are a great bunch. We can't do any roped climbing other than at rock gyms due to liability concerns, but we have fun doing all sorts of outdoor stuff. We took a 12 year old girl up Mt. St. Helens two years ago. We started the group at the request of a Camp Fire staff member who wanted to have something that would keep the older kids interested. We have been doing it for three years. I see that you are not sure about a long term commitment, but you might contact your local Camp Fire office and see if they need any help. I can email you a link to our website if you would like. I can't post it here as it has some identifying information about the girls. I will say that introducing people, especially kids to the wilderness is a lot of fun.
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