Beck

i decked from thirty feet once- luckily a bramble patch broke my fall, mostly scratched up and sore ankles. I didn't really notice the scratches at the time as i was in a mad scramble downhill immediately after hitting the deck to escape the hornets that i'd climbed up onto (some wierd kind of ground wasp or something) that caused me to lose my grip in the first place. it was a two-fer kind of accident. I don't think i could have done anything different even if it happens again.

I wasn't aware of much titanium being owned by your average citizen in Irkutsk or Petrograd in the eighties, more like cheap pressboard, pot metal and coarse recycled wool- did the soviet means of production really use titanium in pre collapse, 5- year plan, consumer goods? Was there titanium in sufficient quanitites in the soviet union to support a non military use of the raw materials? I wasnt aware of that. And i was pretty involved with soviet culture during the 1980's. were dudes lighting paprosi with titanium zippo knockoffs? my opinion on the pot size is based on 25 years of out there time and weighted towards lots of snow travel (cause if you're melting for drinking you want a biggass boiler), plus one of my general maxim happens to be: more pot!

The Yates rocker is similar to the ushba and feeds very smoothly, better than the petzl shunt or what ever it is their TRS device is called. It was recently rated tops in one of the british climbing mags. It does feed smoother, seems to have the minimal rope drag.- it works by bending the rope, no teeth. the silent partner is the only device specifically designed for solo lead climbing; all other self belay devices are for TRS only, although this won't prevent a climber from jury rigging a system acceptable to their level of risk.

I'd agree about the cheap russian ti being decommisioned russian military hardware. I wouldn't eat out of them, I imagine beryllium, cobalt or other isotopes or just nasty stuff is in them. Just so you know, MSR Titan 2 liter pot- 8 ounces 69.00 MRS Blacklite cookset, two pots plus frypan- 45.00 take the two liter pot from the blacklite 9 ounces anyone who cooks in a sub 1- liter pot in the backcountry hasn't done much backcountry living- two liters is a great size for one person or two. you can drink tea and stuff, and have washing water, and stoves work more efficiently on a larger pot anyways. one ounce more than the ti pot.

whoa, man, if i must say so myself, nice nuts! where'd you score those funkies?

well, for lightweight, just leave the damn thing behind. If the weathers' foul, you're going to be miserable anyway. Or get a twenty dollar adventure medical kits thermolite bivy sack. waterproof, with a nexus type brushed interior. Takes multiple days of abuse. Mine's been out on the Bailey Range and came back none the worst for wear. Also withstood two patient packagings in litter evacs off Rainier and still in use. Carry it in every daypack, always, now. weighs 7 ounces. twenty bucks. a backpack with a suitably long extension sleeve works as bivy, also a cagoule. (work great togther!) Or you can cover yourself with brush, then snow. don't forget to give yourself room to breathe. A piece of cheap plastic, or better yet, tyvek? No, wait, just dive into a snowbank, wearing lots of wool! or find a nice, dense thicket of scrub pine, or cedar, and go to ground. These all work. Just fine.You're going to have to get up and climb in a couple hours anyway, so... There's two styles of bivy, one i like to call the American style bivy. about the size and shape of a sleeping bag. Sleeps one (except a couple examples), coocoony or coffiny. Then there's a Euro style, or North Wall style bivy, produced by Integral Designs, Ortovox and a couple others, that are designed to be hung and huddled in. some have top vents to pass the rope thru, or full strength tie-ins AND ceiling vents. I've got one from integral designs. 13 ounces, five feet high, nine feet long, two and a half feet wide, two peak vents. Sets up well on ledge, or hung atop skis on tour. 5 minutes of digging, and you've got a standup shelter for three, with peak vents! (let's have some tea in this whiteout, shall we?) or sleeps two side by side, with standup room. Or, if its flat tarp time, 5x9 flat tarp. Or,just roll up in that bastard if you're too tired to think straight. Now, THAT'S a bivy sack.

Actually, Erik, the roots of Pub Club reach back further, to the very first called gathering of the Cascade Climbers "we're drinking now" Pub Club, on Poverty Rock back in the summer of 2001. And it hasn't been back since. Tuesday, I've got a gear clinic till 8:30ish, I might get a wild hair to drive south, but my newspaper goes to the printer weds AM, so maybe not.

I use the latest versions from Mead paper; they come in different colors, cost about a buck, never freeze up, never need batteries. Auto scroll, linear phone list. needs user interface to interact with computer. updateable as often as user wants, virtually unlimited memory (keep main cache near home information system.) the intrusion of techie, chip controlled technology seems a bit much to me sometimes. just say no to expensive toys (unless you can use them out in the mountains)

If the weather is nice, I'm going to find some cool slope to yoyo and catch some rays on a nice snow sofa. Eat lunch, repeat till sun is low, then go grill and drink some brewskis. It's a ski PARTY, right? I'll pack a case of beer to some sweet glades or sumpin.

,Well, personally, I like to cover myself with pine boughs and a piece of tyvek and call it good. In the winter, add snow to insulate. or just dive in if the snow is soft; elbow out a air pocket, with a good vent to the outside... a nice, wool, soft shell, double cruiser mackinaw works well for this. But the reality of high fill power down is, Marmot has got it. An independant lab tests every 16 pound shipment of uncompressed HQ down as well as in house tests: the independant lab shows 900 fill, every time. i've seen the test sheets from the lab. crackbolter is right about the rest of the manufacturers, not Marmot. my earlier reference to horizantal baffles refered to the main baffles that run around the body of the sleeper, not the sideblock baffle to stop down from running top to bottom. crack, your refernced post about the way down is measured is right. a cylinder, down, and a weight. the standard accepted test measure has a scale that tops at 900. all that earlier stuff was B.S. Let's see, need anything else, boys and girls?

always carrying a small bundle of prussiks is a good idea, you could use 4 mil which has more than acceptable strength and very small bulk. Purcell prussik is a nice way to have adjustable prussiks, act like adjustable aiders when used correctly. they let you clear bulges by offering great flexibility into each prussik/foot stirrup. but don't forget about the foot lock on the rope as an effective way to ascend the rope. Used to get taught more than nowadays. you need to get up to some initial slack, but then it's easy. Bring one foot behond the other kneecap, toes facing forward. Hook the rope with this foot, and bring the rope under the other foot, pulling the hooking foot tight into the foot with the rope under the heel. this forms forms a bend you can stand on. fashion a set of prussiks out of whatever, even a single bachman for your waist, and you are in business. You dont need to stand in anything other than the rope you are climbing.

crackbolter, you are flat out wrong in most of your "rebuttal" points, but that's okay. nice addition of origion info. Not many people understand the down sourcing issue.

Oh, I know differential cut is a feature. Is it a desirable feature? how many ounces are you going to save? Your average fill weight in a fifteen degree bag is around twenty ounces. How much down can you shave off a pound and a quarter and still get 15 degrees of warmth? In my opinion I don't want it in my bags and it's not a real "worthy" feature.

Beck is already helping shape snoslog 2003- and a heads up, The AAC is looking to host a slideshow/drinking fest in May, talked to Scott Backies today about it. Will keep everyone posted. Also, the third annual Cascade Climbers Ropeup is on track for this fall in Leavenworth.

Hey, all, Marmot is not "full of it" as these "industry mucmymucks" are saying. (who, a competitor?) Marmot is the largest down buyer in the climbing apparel industry. The buyers are able to purchace the vast majority of highest quality down from Eastern european farmers. Reasons Marmot has the best down in the industry? 1: Marmot independantly tests every 16 pound shipment they receive, They test it in house, then also send it to an independant testing house. I've seen the test results from this; EVERY shipment tests out at 900 fill standards. Even Marmots 800 fill down tests out at 900 in the lab. NO OTHER manufacturer teste EVERY 16 pound shipment. One of the high end manufacturers recently went 18 months without independantly testing theirs. The down used by Marmot is NEVER compressed until the customer or store stuffs that bag into its stuff sack. The down is shipped to marmot, worked with, and shipped to stores NEVER having been stuffed. I don't believe any other manufacturer can claim this. The baffles in a marmot bag are filled with computer controlled fill equipment. This is NOT a bag stuffed by a seamstress with a yardstick and a dictate to "fill them full"; Marmot bags are so precisely filled that when comparing bag weights, your marmot bags differ very little in total weights. Marmot bags offer continous baffle stitching; some High end manufacturers (no names) have semicontinous stitching of horizontal baffles. Saves cost, but This can allow down to shift in the bag, woah! marmot mountaineer bags all come standard with a reinforced footbox. standard. Marmot bags in side profile, maintain their inches of loft down the length of the bag. Some high end manufacturers have differential fill, more loft up top, skimping on inches towards the footbox. Cheaper, but it's like having two different temperature bags. Also, Marmot down is guaranteed to have no "couchet" i.e. reused down. Marmot is the only manufacturer to be able to make this claim. And for tech correctness, Down higher than 900 fill will not loft up even a flimsy fabric? Incorrect. Down is measured in a tube, with a weight placed in the top- of the cylinder. This weight is considerably heavier than 30d ripstop. The reason there is no 1000 fill down is the current industry testing standard maxes out at 900. So, thus are the FACTS about Marmot down. Best down program in the industry.

the black diamond O2 is a "NO2" this season. a G3 binding will mount in the same holes, not having to redrill the skis. BD said it was a "resin cure" issue, but having taken a good look at the integrated risers of both the O2, the replacement O2's they sent our shop prior to the total recall, and the O3 look to have similar points of pressure from the cable on thin ribs of plastic. a potential weakness.

Leather is a fine choice for learning, they WERE free, and he wants to try something different- why not? You CAN ski leather in the steeps, in the deeps, they work just fine. Mega bangs or TMex you will be doing a lot of ankle work. many of you people who are anti leather probably have NEVER skied leather, or just gave up too soon and jumped into plastics. There are conditions i would want plastic boots, high speed lift serviced skiing, absolutely. A long alaska trip, or a big traverse here, yes. a rolling terrain, messing around ski- tele in leather would be first choice. I ski leather almost all the time. i wear plastics for high cycle lift serviced skiing. Powder days, leather. I've been telemarking since 1984 and can ski double black diamond runs, bumps, 50 degree slot couloirs, the Muir snowfield, you name it, in leather boots. Doesn't seem the boot is a limiting factor. There is a certain feel from a leather boot that you cannot get in even the lightest plastic boot- sensitivity. You feel the ski better, you nuance the ski better, in leather. I skied waist deep powder in leather boots, 200 cm old school straight boards, and a three pins only (no cable) binding this year, and probably had the most fun in the soft stuff ever! with this light, light setup- People on plastics are missing the boat when it comes to what a tele setup is all about.

why not just carry one of the new sub-one pound silicone coated shelter jobbies that can serve as much more than just a bivy sack? Some have zippers to make a much more adequate than the BD winter bivy emergency bivy that can sleep two, and also set up as a standing room tent in winter with a little bit of digging? Having the lightest "bivy sack" isn't neccessarily the "best option" versatility wise. and there's an ever growing selection of options available to you if you "think outside the box" in shelter selections.

About a month ago a million Mounties intermediate course takers were coming into the shop, Demanding a specific type of tech cord for cordalettes. They bought out the entire town, we called to check at REI and FF and they had experienced the same rush of mounties demanding said cordalette material. seems they had been given a handout stating this tech cord was the ONLY appropriate material for a cordalette. And that using one inch tubular was unacceptable. I feel sorry for all these people. Getting misinformed by the group they joined. Now, for the rest of their climbing career they will be using a less than perfect material for cordalettes, that needs to be retired more quickly, and also doesn't take knots well, and stiff to work with. The mounties have all sorts of this misinformation floating around in their various courses. The problem is it's taken as dogma. One instructor (not with the mounties) has his people coming in all the time, spouting off about "the only way to do things" and trying to get us to mount their ski bindings wrong, because the teacher said so.

The Zoo is a great idea, just the right kind of place, the Buckaroo's a bit smallish, and more smokey.

going to go up and ski sunday in the morning, if you ride Hyak on telemark gear,a lift ticket costs 10 bucks- if they're still open. Leaving 8:00ish from seatttle, if anyone is interested... good BC but pretty mellow.

properly pitched hoop tents do just fine in extreme weather conditions- its' a tried and true alpine design, and definetly lighter weight than simalarly designed four pole mountain tents. They don't pitch as well you have don't a good staking medium like snow or dirt. these are two different types of tents though. a hilleberg is a much more versatile tent. the I-tent XL is a sub three pounder and is pretty damn impressive in that regard.

take a real good look at dogsled runners- they are strips of lucite or some other high durometer plastic- you can but it by the foot from a musher supply house. Attach them to like sized pieces on the inside of the hull. aluminum runners are ice grabbers. I had a sled with aluminium runners and these wera a down side to them. If you are dead set on metal runners, these were 1/4" square aluminum stock, NOT I-beam, and reinforced on the inside with 1"strip aluminum of maybe a 5 mil thickness. If you want to take the extra time to make a sled you can have around for years, take TWO identical sleds and fuse the two togther with minimal amounts of strategic glue attachments and reinforce the sled's outside lip (where the handles would be) underneath with some more dogsled runner or bamboo (cheaper and just as suitable) punch slots in the upper sled rails to run rope or webbing up through, for 2-5lash points for the sledbag, and knot this all togther in the best way you can figure. add a lash loop at the back of the sled as well. This double sled construction also allows you to reinforce the trace attachments to the sled in whatever way you see fit, and still have a clean leading edge. you can also have lash points in the bottom of the inside sled, knotted in loops underneath to let you make a kid seat or funky gear attachment system. I've used rope and attachment points punched into the forward part of the inside sled for the traces. a good setup is a set of lash downs just aft of the start of the flat bottom of the sled. a second set is put in at the top of the angled lip of the sled, or at the forward corners. a good system for each individual lash for the traces would be a four hole square pattern. this allows you to create a square lashing (like you would learn in boy scouts) and REALLY draw the trace in tightly into the sled. the best material for sled traces is either aluminum or bamboo, even a better choice perhaps. It's much easier to get suitable bamboo than the right kind of metal pipe cut to length. I've used some types of garden pipe with less success. Long traces are nice if you want full kick and glide, but make the sled less manuverable. your ski length is usually right. Designing the sled with crossed traces kind of lets you steer the sled better. I made my first sledge two decades ago, have made a few, and wanted to chime in with some tried and true.

wow, now mountain hardware will have an excuse for making crappy gear.

skied in the rain thursday,work Fri-Sat, timekeeping in the start shack at the World Cup Telemark race at Crystal Sunday.... Hup,hup,hup,hup,hup,hup,hup!