Beck

well, the black diamond betamid rocks! and even more so, now that i installed two tunnel vents at each peak of the betamid. one kilogram minimum weight. I just bought a sub one pound shelter that may be a way better option than the betamid- it even comes with two tunnel vents, standard!

Dave, wish i could go, but have to work. There was great snow up at stevens pass on tuesday, have fun!

cavey, i loved your first definition of alpine- "cool as fuck, where no cars can drive to, little or no trees and other vegetation grows and sometimes above a glacier." superpoetic, cave! great picture in Alpinist #1, inside first page, the climber 'at bivouac' in the mountain hardware tent and the XGK stove on Denali. Extreme grovelling. It's pretty glossy and expensive, most mags start out as free rags, except in big bucks publishbing world, but this mag still breaks the mold, it's more like a trade magazine price, but without all the trade ads you'd expect in such a pricey periodical.

...rumor i heard was fred was just going to head down to climb oriziba with some buddies, but ON NO CONDITION was he going to pay any guides to climb, and that was it. He didn't go.

real justice would be making the bastard sell his home so he couldn't enjoy the view anymore!

please excuse the religous sound to the tele mantra above, i was just trying to be descriptive. i think the demo was at summit West, couldn't really tell due to the heavy fog bank that covered Snoqualamie pass- at least it wasn't foggy AND rainy!

Regarding telemark boots and the disadvantages of the 75mm Nordic Norm sole that has long been the standard : Paul Parker, the designer of the Scarpa T1 (now designing boots for Garmont!) has been working with the euro boot manufacturers to cooridinate a switchover to the NTN (new telemark norm) boot sometime in the next couple of years- don't hold your breath for the new system, i'm betting it is going to be a problematic one. why wait to enjoy the outdoors? The telemark turn is the way and the light, the most pure and intimate way to connect with the snow, travelling over great masses of white, surfing a sublime dance across the frozen landscape. Come out for Demo days today at Stevens Pass, tommorrow at Snoqualamie Pass and ski the latest gear.

what did the doe say when she came out of the woods? "Well, that's the LAST time I take two bucks for that!"

Telemark ski demo days tommorrow at stevens pass 9-3 and at Snoqualamie pass 3-? wendesday. Bring your own boots, try out a huge variety of telemark equipment- try out the Hammerhead binding, and new skis from k2, tua and others.

The Radium hitch is a nice one to know for crevasse rescue, or litter raise/lowers. essentially a munter hitch and a tieoff on a cordalette between anchor and pulley, to allow for controlled lowers off the anchor in rescue rigging.

rockin' finish to the tour!Glad you stayed safe!

Do you mean the K2 8611 Ascent skis? The yellow/navy graphics randonnee ski? If so, It's a not so fat, stiffer, not super light, carbon fiber sled, 102 in the shovel with a 70 waist, well suited for randonee but less for freeheeling-a serious, randonee ski suited for the rigors of steep, difficult snow and grand traverses, less appropriate for the inbounds crossover rider.. does this help?

the phone number to call (206)526-6677 , updated daily, by the most excellent NorthWest Avalanche Center. or check in at your ski patrol headquarters when you get to where you're going- Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol is generally very happy to dispense Backcountry avalanche and skiing conditions, if you just go in and ask.

...Trapping season, was one we kept on top of as youth...muskrat stew, anyone? But my tastes as an adult have matured and run more towards a little beaver...

What if the guy is wearing a set of kevlar falsies?

Wow, you guys and girls totally SCORED! all that booty, kind of gets me misty eyed....

ya, I am driving in the city, for the first time in seven years, Allison, and I won't tell you how much I dislike it. This is the first time in seven years i've been a regular car commuter, I'm so green I'm mossy- but the downside to riding a bike to the eastside, in the winter, in the dark, really gave me cause to reconsider... It's not that I'm scared of the dark, I'm scared of all the idiotic SUV driving, cell phone talking eastsiders! But on the up side,by spring I will be riding my bike out to Marmot - it takes me 1:10 minutes on bike, each way, versus :45 minutes by car... i'm just waiting for the greater safety margin leaving work during daylight will bring. As a reiteration against SUV's as a vehicle of choice, although it sounds like you WANT one, Allison, is that although a new one may be cleaner than an old subaru (but i doubt that, greg W, in terms of particulates/NO2 emmisissions vs. automobiles) it is still going to be a much greater polluter, a bigger drain on your pocketbook, and how much more ground clearance do you need? Lots of SUV's have 9-10" clearance vs. 5" in a Subaru (outbacks have 6.5") is it REALLY that important vs. a cleaner, less costly ride for 80-90 percent of the ON ROAD DRIVING you will do in your automobile? if you are having a problem with ground clearance, bring along 1)a shovel 2) a prybar 3) a saw 4)a comealong 5) a couple stout planks 6)a four foot jack or two and you will be covered for almost any road hazard.

Allison, you say you do "some" driving in the city, does that mean "I do most of my driving in the city" and "My car goes to the mountains with me when i go, but hauls my ass around town to run errands and go to work mostly"? Most SUV's, even driven by dirtbag climbers, get driven on paved roads to and from the trailheads, with less than 5% of the driving on gravel roads. I'd reccommend fuel efficency over SUVing it; plus those things are dirty, dirty polluters- get a nice little station wagon for gear AND mileage. If you were living in Provo, Utah, or Pinedale, Wyoming, i'd have a different recomendation for auto. But you live in Pugetopolis.

three homemade marbles from a friend of mine, and dim sum.

my holiday wishes to cavey and icebaby- " fleece, neve, dawg." and a happy holidays to everyone else as well. Enjoy your hounds, get the dogs out, they think every day is Christmas, i think. I'm working on deadline, no christmas tree or presents for Beck, just some chinese food later today.

hey ice girl, I'd be totally down with some drinks tonight if i wasn't under the weather , but check out the Rendevous on second ave downtown... they are open tonight. Happy holidays, icegirl!

although this post has degenerated from original query, i thought I'd toss in my two cents for worst gift ever. For my sixteenth birthday, my parents marched me down to the courthouse, and got me the gift of homeless youth... boy, was that a bitch of a present. i was cold and hungry for a while after that.

damn, james, I'd totally be down with that one, my job will not allow me the time off, however! Have agreat time, be safe.

the snowblades come with skins as standard equipment, Allison. they will be sufficient in an already existing skin track, or spring snow, as already mentioned, but will totally suck for unconsolidated/powder approaches. If you get some, have your friends with traditional skis break trail.

yes, Db , that is the intent of ana/digi transceivers like the Barryvox and the x-1. There are significant differences between the two however...