Silentpartner

Chocolate pancakes rule. I'll never ski mank again without them. We should have downloads of all of Jim's anwering machine soundclips downloaded to mp3 players for our next Mankford outing so we will at least have something to laugh about. http://www.thesandbox.net/arm/rockford/index.html

Been outta town for a bit and not sure what the weather has been doing here. I'm hoping to go into Boston Basin in a couple of weeks. Anybody been out there recently? Current conditions? Approach, snow on road, route conditions, etc. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Spent a couple days in Boston Basin last week. The approach couloir for West Ridge on Forbidden is getting quite spicy. The bridge between the rock patches below the schrund was getting thin and sugary. Rap slings in the couloir are difficult to reach because they are now so much higher than the snow level. The moats and the schrund are hungry for unattended ropes after pulling down a rap. Otherwise, an excellent day out. The transition from the top of the couloir onto the rock is still very straightforward. The following day we watched from our camp at the lower moraine as a party of two descended and appeared to be unable to descend the aformentioned sketchy bridge. They scrambled out onto the rock patch to the East and onto the glacier from a moat. They then had to go to the far east side of the glacier to circumnavigate the big open slots and back to the low-angled slabs above the higher moraine camp. Still doable, but definitely full-on late season conditions.

Taking a few newbies in to Baker this weekend. Anybody been up the Easton lately? How's the schrund? Critters at camp? Last year I was almost carried off by the mice at 6500' in my Megamid on that route. Any info about recent trips would be greatly appreciated.

I've been using an Ibex Icefall jacket for the past eight months or so. I would have to say that most of the above pros/cons concernig shoeller fabric jackets also apply, but it is hands down the best outerwear garment I have ever owned. It is very similar to the Cloudveil, but with a nice thin wool lining. The comfortable temperature range is what surprised me most, but if it really gets nasty out there, I have to pull my lightest gore-tex on over it to stay dry. Just my 2 cents worth.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Cascades and I don't see any appropriate boards to post it on, but what the Hell. In February I will be spending a week in Mazatlan, Mexico with my girlfriend and her family. I'm not one to sit and stare at the waves for too long, unless mandated by a tequila induced haze, sooooo... anyone know if there is a place to sneak off and do a little bouldering in that part of the world? It won't be the first time I've packed shoes and a chalk bag for a destination that may have no climbing anywhere close, but better to be prepared. How about just a boulder shaped structure to climb on top of and pursue a tequila induced haze?

This is a bit off the mark geographically, but since you were inquiring about climbing in AZ I thought I'd add two cents worth. This spring I made my first trip to climb in the Tucscon area and was amazed by Cochise Stronghold. Incredible lines on great rock, very traditional style(very little fixed pro), incredible scenery and NO CROWDS! Well worth the road trip if you run into weather problems, etc. in Sedona. Might be getting a bit too hot down there, but you can chase the shade on each side of the Dragoons. Good luck in Sedona.

Has anyone been in during the last week? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

At one point I worked for MSR for awhile and I dealt with this issue frequently through incoming phone calls. Unfortunately, some of the airlines maintain a Zero Tolerance Policy when it comes to fuel containers and camps stoves of any sort. No matter how much you try to educate the airlines, they are trying to cover their butts and will interpret (and enforce) FAA regulations at their discretion. Another strike against you is the appearance of many fuel bottles: bright red and the words "Fuel Bottle" printed on the side. I try to use the silver bottles when I travel. Titanium is not cheap, but it has it's advantages. You can also go so far as to fill up your clean fuel bottles with water and write H2O on the sides with a big black marker. Dissasembling stoves as much as possible and packing the components in different bags may buy you some lee way as well. Good luck.

I had no replies prior to my trip but it went well regardless. For what it's worth, I'll post a quick trip report in case anyone else is heading that way. The road to Schreiber's Meadows trailhead was still not completely open, but only a 1/4 mile or so out. The snowmobilers were still out in full force, but the folks at Skidrow Wooley ranger station said they were going to cut off the fume-spewing noisy beasts sometime this week. Their season of polluting the fresh mountain air ends when there is about two feet or less snowpack in the meadows. Our biggest enemy was the sun. High temps. kept the snow soft Friday and Saturday. The railroad grade still has a substantial snowpack on top, making it a bit sketchy with a big pack on, especially when it is so warm and unstable. We put in camp just beyond the big hump near the upper end of the railroad grade, about 6000'. When we got up at 1:00 a.m. the sky was clear but it didn't get cold enough for the snow to really set up at that altitude. We were breaking through a very thin crust into soft snow up to about 7500'. Beyond that the conditions improved considerably. Crevasse danger is pretty minimal. I didn't expect the Easton to be in such good shape after such a dry winter but it really isn't bad. The schrund on the Roman wall hasn't grown much yet from the West end and there is still ample room for making wide switchbacks if you need to. We left camp at just past 2 a.m. and summitted by 8. Clear skies and high temps made the descent from basecamp back to the car the hardest part of the trip. We used snowshoes on most of the approach and descent. Skis would be even better. Cooler temps are moving in and the snowmobiles are going to be out, so the coming weekend should prove to be better conditions. Enjoy.

I'm heading up the Easton on Friday. Any current beta? Thank you in advance.

A good friend of mine used to work for Dave Page, but broke off and started his own cobbler shop in Ballard. His name is Sean Sharpless and he owns Seattle Boot Works. I've taken him two pairs of rock shoes now and I'm very happy with the quality of work and the price. He is at 5903 24th Ave. NW, ph. 206-789-4094, or check it out at seattlebootworks.com. I've also had good work done at Ramutas. You couldn't pay me to take my shoes to Dave Page.