Beck

I've got a GiGi and think it's a great bridge to the day of traditional style plate devices, with all the limitations. I picked one up when the first came out because of the retro aspects of the thing. Not that I'm really that high class, anyway. I'm never going to be using in in Yos but glad to hear its got some utility and ease in use in some applications. Thought about using it to belay a leader so tried it out in a couple of different setups at the gym, and didn't like the catch. Although i haven't put it through any sort of serious trials out on the ice, the GiGi might be well suited for easy pulling at the typical top rope ice setups found around where I'm shoveling right now.

Lowell - absolutely fantastic. Yet again adding more incredible value to the heritage and history of Northwest ski mountaineering.

Trip: Washington Pass Telemark, July 1-2, 2011 - Blue Lake TH Date: 7/2/2011 Trip Report: Skied and camped at Washington Pass this weekend. Stellar skiing up high, pretty marginal at pass level. Still skiable from cars at the hairpin turn just below Liberty Bell. Should be good for a couple more weeks. Ski video report here at [video:youtube] Skied down right past a mountain goat and her kid on some rocks! Gear Notes: Leather boots Approach Notes: ski it from the road. Both sides of Liberty Bell.

thin at the cutthroat pass TH, so camped and skied around Liberty Bell, Blue Lake, and the other side from the hairpins up high towards Kangaroo Col. Skiing still good from the hairpins for a couple of more weeks i predict.

Heading up to Cutthroat Pass later today for a weekend of skiing. It's an easy, straightforward approach, lots of good lines both sides of the pass, a moderate backcountry trip. If anyone's headed up Cutthroat Pass this weekend, we'll see you up there.

Trip: Skiing Silver Peak June 25 and Video - standard ski ascent Date: 6/25/2011 Trip Report: Skied the Silver Peak bowls on Saturday. Able to ski right from where we parked the car on Saturday. 45 min approach to upper bowls. Been experimenting with some on the fly dual camera video to capture the skiing, I think this one came out pretty good. The video is the trip report. Kind of corny, kind of good. The video and the snow. [video:youtube] Gear Notes: tele and leather Approach Notes: ski from car, up second bowls and ascend ridge.skiing will be good into July in bowls

nice one, Kurt. love that trip. lots of skiing for miles around, great place to go with skis in the summer. Steve Barnett & I tooled up Glacier and down that route there a few years ago, still have a roll of slide film from that trip.

that sounds like a ropeup worth attending and in the best spirits of the dirtbags that kicked off the first CC.com Leavenwurst Ropeup. ....anyone remember the year the American Alpine Club bought 300 bucks worth of sausages and beer for everyone and John Harlin from the AAJ showed up to reminisce.. damn straight. you guys rock. keep the party rolling....

i'd like to find people that want to carpool from Seattle proper Saturday evening, staying for Sun/Mon skiing. I plan to drive the Subaruski.

-Leather and wool old-skooler showing up for Sunday-Monday skiing. I'll be driving over Saturday night.

Is it okay if I ski in leather boots and wear wool? will I be slowing everybody down?

There's a buzz in the air around Snoqualmie Pass right now about a possible Telemark Festival over St. Patrick's day weekend. Costumed, trad, & edgeless tele races, free clinics, feed, slideshow, t-shirts, backcountry Sunday, Ski Patrol route are all being discussed. There's definite and strong interest by one of the principals at the Pass and some of the clubs. got to keep it vague until more details get hashed out. Schuss!

those bastards at work! I am so not going to be able to make it to the basin until New Year's Eve day Sunday morning... if anyone goes up Sat, look for good camping to the North, just past the flats up in the basin...

There's a nice flat spot just past the big trees.... I'm going up over the Xmas weekend to lay in a woodyard for the bonfire but ilookeddown has the directions pretty well dialed.

Plans are set for ski camping in Commonwealth Basin over the New Year's eve weekend, with a little festivities on Sunday night to ring in the New Year. Anyone is welcome to come on up. You know the place. Party's in the head of the basin, setting up well clear of the avalanche runouts at the base of Snoqualmie, but pretty close thereabouts. Look for signs. Plans are for shredding during the day, general feats of derring do, and some nightime skiing, particularily if the stability and conditions are good. Come on out Saturday or Sunday, BYOBeacon, festivities and a bonfire on Sunday night, look for the party nestled in the big trees and the slopes near the base of Snoq in Commonwealth Basin.

it was the rippingest. i rode my bicycle up there from the park entrance with the skis for three days of skiing/bike camping over fathers day weekend as well. great late season skiing.

Seattle voters may vote the monorail down, but it won't get everyone refunds on the car tab tax- in fact, the monorail agency may very well keep on collecting the tax for two years to pay off accumulated bills. Vote down the monorail, continue to pay for nothing. This really sucks. I support the monorail, let's just get the damn thing built already. People bitched in SF when the BART system was going in fourty years ago, and now they've got over a hundred miles of transit, I think Seattle has held off long enough.

The Athenian Inn, half price pitchers with breakfast before noon. Like, three dollar pitchers of rainier, a bit more for the highbrow stuff. Cans of Schmidt's are a buck sixty (16 ouncers). You need to start early and get drunk early, last call's at six thirty.

I think in the CAG, Fred recommends a helicopter.

How do you plan to get there, schwimm?

there was a blurb in this week's Economist- Kathmandu is under blockade by the Maoist rebels....no McPizza or cokes available while aclimatizing.

Sounds like one of Amory Lovins' concubines. He has one in every big city he goes to visit whenever he's in their town.

Dravus is a good one for speed, I used to live on upper Dravus, if you get the timing down it's wicked. Another sweet hill, a little shorter, but better runout with a twist, is coming out of West Seattle near the steel mill. It's the first street to the north of the West Seattle Recreation Center. the hill is concave so you get multiple G's as you bottom out. One of my favorite hills in town.

That's the one, Scott's.

You can get to North Bend on Seattle's Metro transit. This puts you in walking distance to climb at Little Si, or a crowded fitness hike up Mount Si. From North Bend it's also much easier to hitchike than trying to start in Seattle. The Olympic Pinensula is definetly doable on public transit, taking a ferry to Bainbridge and then a series of public transit buses (see Dave Schult's list above) will bring you all over the pinensula. The transfers are well coordinated between the different systems. If you leave early enough you can be at LaPush on the coast (and positioned for some excellent beach hiking N or S) by 3 in the afternoon. Plus hitchiking out on the pinensula is usually very easy.