Beck

damn, Dave, thats a good idea! I think the North Face tents have been good tents, much better when they were made in the USA but the mountain tents are still pretty bomber. They've got a nice four man expedition tent right now at a good weight, good one for Denali. An older tent the North Face had completely dialed in, was the three hoop Westwind. Two person Denali worthy tent, 5# 14 ounces in a stuff sack. If people shop Ebay, this is a great tent to snag up. I've seen Fred B. with one, not that that means anything... that fly issue will probably be problematic, as a difference as little as an inch could make for a lot of flap. You could always customize a not quite well fitting fly if you were handy with a sewing machine.

I don't know, I'm going to try skiing this weekend... I don't think everyone is a season too early. You can esentially wear your skis November to May or June here in the NW. Me and some buddies skied snoqualamie pass loop Melakwa Lake to Snow Lake on the first of July a couple of years back. I'm not postholing in Nov. or going to the Icicle with a rope in March... There is one season, that season is NOW!

if you want cheap wands, go up to rainier on a weekend in the spring when the mounties and other groups are practicing... you can score HUNDREDS of wands they've used to do wierd shit with around camp... some of these groups use more wands to stake out their camp 'safe zones' and 'snowmelt snow' than you would need for the entire Ingraham Gl route in a whiteout!

I'm a bit confused by this reverse skinning technique, don't I have to have one skin on one way and one the other for good performance on either tack? David, I think we both need some ski lessons whatever you get, you can make some auxiliary "grips" out of duct tape on each pole about 6-8" below grip. Besides being a good place to store duct tape, it works great as grip for the uphill side of the traverse- instant shorter poles! who adjusts their poles on each switchback anyways? is this taught in basic or intermediate classes ? and straps should generally be dispensed with unless you are in full kick and glide mode, I want to be able to drop my poles if there's a slide... I hear Varmint Mountain Works is making some new snafflehound skins that have grip in both directions!

my take on boarder crossings- wear a funny hat, act the part of the disarming, goofy American if there are guards with guns around- particularily if you don't share a common language try to make the boarder patrol laugh if they've got you in the box and are interrogating you try not to get shot! and for the Canooks, wear a touque, tell them you're "headed to the palestra, eh?" and start humming "Oh, Canada", this will usually get you in

my Yostmark Super Noodle 215s? I went 1/2 CM pins forward of chord center for a little quicker initiation. At bachelor this spring for the tele demos, Nils Larsen had all the Karhu boards mounted way, way back of CC, almost like an old school xc ski orientation 2 to 4 cm back, and everybody was complaining until some of the reps remounted them on the fly to be in a more neutral position on the skis. I haven't had "downhill" boards since 1984, but have mounted plenty of dumpster decks with three pins over the years... K2 has always been a good dumpster ski for me. I also have some 2x4s with tennis shoes mounted 2CM forward of CC for tele festivals... 2x4s definetly benefit from forward of CC.

Ya, I've had it with the Tim Horton's 'no Refill' policy and the damn roller glides at the Beer Stores, you canooks are a couple of pelts short of a full canoe, hosers. They many not have nukes, but they got touques!

...but not his grandfather William Henry Harrison. He was a Whig. Benjamin Harrison was another Republican, defeated by popular vote (in 1888) yet elected by the electoral college. Defeated by Grover Cleveland in a rematch in 1892.

they DO maker goretex tents, and there is a new air permeable goretex developed for tent canopies and bivy sacks. You can totally zip up in one of these and not suffocate like you will in a standard bivy all zipped up. gore tex tents are for sale in europe. A buddy of mine field tested the airpermeable goretex this spring and was pretty impressed with its performance. American fire retardancy specs preclude goretex from application in tent canopies. And for all you dirtbaggers out here in search of the real cheap deal... Find cheap goretex in the forensics department of your local hospital. The gurneys have "body bags" made out of two layer fused goretex.... work great as a bivy tarp.

YA, YA, that's a good choice, especially for steep snow! go for it! You could take that tent alpine almost anywhere!

skiing by halloween, for sure! shred-aholics unite, talk about addiction to POW POW FRESHIE FACE HITS, "I had my first one, and just could't stop. First ones free, then you spend the rest of your life scraping about tree wells and bowls, looking for your next hit." a POW POW habit is bad , I've got a snow jones going on pretty bad right now. Where are Ullr and Skaadi when you need them?

recycle your stove, use white gas. mmm, svea climber 123...

Svea Climber 123...

chord center, forward or back? A question that merits a whole nother thread. but briefly, forward of Chord Center (CC ) makes a ski quicker to initiate but also more squirrely. skis mounted neutral or back of CC make a ski slower to initiate but easier to control at speed or from the back seat. I tried 1/2 cm forward of CC for my downhill boards and 2 cm CC back for some touring skis ( more kick and glide than turns) and am happy. And it is relatively easy to mount your own skis. drink the beer AFTER you have got the holes drilled. Always spin some tape onto your bit as a stopper to prevent poking thru the base. Tapscrew metal top sheet (most skis have binding reinforcement plates now, you should tap most skis) I'd recommend using elmers white school glue or wood glue for your screws. Epoxy is best left for emergency repairs in the field with some steel wool. And if you've just misdrilled your skis plug and fill those holes will wood dowel "plugs" and epoxy, you'll be fine- just be careful not to overlap your new hole pattern, move the bindings into a new position relative to CC.

i can only think of the epic bivies that were out there. the bibler winter bivy, and another epic topsheet/silcoat bottom bivy that were more winter oriented as well... those ultralight xracer tents posted about here have probably been used for a couple of seasons, as most adventure races require a freestanding shelter, a tarp won't cut it by the rules. I'm curious as well, i cannot think of one.

templates not to size will be worse than using bindings. use bindings. easy...

ultralight -skin canopies being introduced from Varmit Mountian Works.... snaffleskin is different from event which is different from epic, different from silcoat or urethane... :crosseye

sometimes the simpler the better, dryad. almost all of northwest mountain trips, weather in summer or winter, you can get away carrying a tarp or tarp type shelter and have roomy, well ventilated, inexpensive shelter that are usually a lot more comfortable than any tent. The only exception would be on one of the volcanoes mid winter on a climb. All of the lesser cascade peaks you can bag from a tarp or a trench 12 months a year. from Jim Nelson's site, subheaded "extreme climbing 101" Jim writes... "Learning to sleep out in a hostile environment with a minimum of equipment is a prerequisite for successful multi–day alpine climbing. Sport alpinists, light packers, adventure racers, and scramblers also benefit from practicing age–old techniques utilizing simple bivy sacs and tarps. Using these primitive shelters combines creativity, awareness of your environment, and the latest lightweight fabrics. The results are greater Comfort, Safety, and Enjoyment. Larger and colder mountains will usually require the use of a small, lightweight Assault Tent." Word, Jim. there are great options and ways to go out there- and sometimes incredibly inexpensive! I found a siltarp for five bucks at a rummage sale once...

Oh, ya, forgot to mention those guys. makes his tents in both single wall and double wall options, but the vestibule options are kind of wacky. Still, extremely stout, light tents. Amberbuxom, you aren't Laura from the old warmlite catalogs, are you? MMMN, Laura, what a great aspect of the seventies- Where is Laura now?

...in recorded meterological history... 3.76 Inches and counting!

there's bad rain falling global warming seen now while mother nature weeps.

I'm proud of my free beer at work, nothing to compete over. Who wants to come down for a drink? and being a drunk old ski fart is nothing to get competitive over! mmm, free beer. It's a chelebration!

I'm still laughing, gort boy. I'm not in to 'competition' on the internet. win or lose only matters in the real world, not spray on a BBS. did i tell you where to get a great $700 custom snafflehound tent made up for your custom adventuring equipment (those Gorts should be sold to REI's design team!)

good point, allison. look at black diamonds new updates of several bibler styles with silcoat floors and epic canopies, designed for three season use, at about a third less cost of the bibler tents. and lighhter weight. there are also new single wall tents and bivies being made with air permeable goretex. completely sealable and will not suffocate the occupants. Event is lighter than gore or toddtex. reason for that, maybe someone else would like to comment on that. Mountain hardware is bringing into the market new WB single wall tents made with welded seams. none of these are going to be inexpensive tents. an inexpensive single wall tent like the zues exo and several other versions like it (mountain hardware, wenzel, Marmot) have some place in the mountain environment, but not much. It depends on where Dryad wants to use it? I'd also encourage dryad to think about some non traditional single wall shelters (or trad, depending on how you look at them) there are relatively lightweight double wall tunnel tents from hilleberg and exped, and some older models still available, that are lightweight and will provide solid four season protection. also, double wall x-frame tents from several manufacturers that are light and could go to Denali or a ski trip to the Himal. My 2 cents, dryad. And i still owe you that chocolate malt. Or mexican at that cool restaurant? we can talk lightweight tents...

I don't think support was the emotion in this thread, Gort Boy. more like unbridled laughter. thanks, G.