Stefan

Many of you do not know. Access to the south side of Twin Sisters range will now be closed at the Hamilton gate. Previously one would be able to sign in at the guard shack and go past the gate for several more miles. No more. The guard shack will be removed. In addition people have been able to get access to several other roads along Highway 20 getting the gate keys from that guard shack. With the guard shack gone, you will no longer be able to access those other roads. This is all due to the liquidation of Crown Pacific. http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/01/05/business/business01.txt

It looks like almost 7 hours of road walking???? Ouch!

Do you know if there are any gates or barricades they put up?

Sorry I aint no 5.10 climber for the north peak. The pitch I am talking about is the pitch to the Main Peak from the summit ridge notch. Simple class 5. It was just fun being there not having to think too much in a great setting.

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Bigelow or Star ooops...these are not 14 miles in....

lame guess: Three Pinnacles

Gunsight. Next to last pitch. I liked the scenery and the feeling of remoteness as I was doing it. Solid stuff too.

I have never been to the north end of Ross Lake in winter. Is this usually open in the winter? Do they barricade it off? What about this year? Do you think it would normally be driveable?

The short term answer to the original question: Go one day earlier for your planned itinerary and park at the overnight section at Paradise.

You know there has been some talk that Viagra would help out blood circulation. I wonder if it would help these types of conditions out too? As well as high altitude climbing.

I am fond of Old Amersterdam...but Camembert is still good.

Put shaving creme on the mirror. Wipe it off. Next time when you take a shower you will be amazed that the mirror area you put shaving creme on will not get fogged up. In case you wanted to know this little trick.

Its called government. Happens all the time. Even in the the U.S. Forest Service offices. The road is "open" during those periods so it is a consistent policy. They have pulled many a vehicle off of that road in the winter and they don't want to spend the time for imbeciles who don't know how to drive under winter conditions during darkness.

Renton granite.

Its political with the wife and too long to discuss.

I knew two people who worked for RMI. One worked for three summers. One worked for 8 years doing miscelleneous guiding for other operations too. Here is what I heard from them. Remember, this is what they told me. I never worked for RMI. RMI likes college students. They are fit, have summers off, usually without any personal family commitments--it just fits well into their business model. They will hire teachers and other sorts of people including EMTs and other people who are not college students too. RMI is a lot more political than what they thought it was going to be. Do not expect at all to make it to be a head/lead guide. The higher ups are there to stay and so there is no room for additional leadership. Be clean cut and shaven. A lot of the clients are professionals. If you are going to a tryout for RMI be knowledgeable about prussiks, ropes, knots, spacing on ropes, weather, glacial movement, crampons...etc. AND know how to explain all that stuff to people. If you are knowledgeable, but do not know how to teach newbies, then you will not get a job. In the teaching arena, remember, you have to do it over and over and over again. Be in shape. In very good shape.

For a man like me who does not have the wife's approval of spending money on this magazine (don't ask, too long of a story), where would one have the opportunity to read these Alpinist magazines?

Do you even a girlfriend? Hold it. Let's back up. Do you even go out on dates?

Snow is consistent around the 2400-2800 foot level to probably 4000 feet with very little snow (under 1 foot probably). I would expect hard icy conditions from people making icy footprints.

It has happened to me....when I have run out of slings.

One little problem. Brush is horrendous in those areas. Access to those peaks with skis is troublesome. You have to want it to ski those places in the winter. Long runnouts not usual except on Whitehorse....but remember the brush??? Can use roads, but they are usually quite a distance back where you can park your car. Get a snowmobile.

This applies to Erden. Where he is starting in Seattle, riding his bike to Miami, rowing his boat to South America, then riding his bike to the base of Aconcagua, then climbing the mountain....only to reverse the whole thing.

Okay, let's say you were climbing Dome Peak in July. Now let's say the same thing happened to the weather as it did in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". Now would you call that a winter ascent or would you still call it a summer ascent?

I did exactly what you said. Elevation is 4884 meters. I guess that means they measured it from sea level and not plate tectonic level. If it is sea level, then I guess everything underneath sea level doesn't count.