fleblebleb

No no no, he's much better this way. Just think how awful things would get if too many people happened to agree on something

Pshah. Digital point-and-shoot cameras are absolutely great. Each image is free, so you can return from a trip with literally hundreds of images. Then you can throw them on the web to share with your buddies. I never use my manual SLR film camera anymore except when I shoot slides. They're just different tools, good for different things. Plus, an SLR has that clunky form factor and weighs a ton. Small digital cameras like the Nikon 775 or the Canon Elph are light, fit in a pocket and quite weather resistant. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Yay! I'm so happy! I've finally figured out why everyone always dumps on Dan Larson, heeheehee Way to go Dan, you're full of entertainment.

Hey Erik, no points for good intentions? I always mean to go... Cross your fingers, this time I'll make it...

Hey does that heinous klingon guy work at the insurance company too?

Oy! What's with the lagging interest? No posts? Where is everyone? Out getting rained on?

Oh crap, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE, what the hell did Dan Larson do that everyone always dumps on him? Oh, and I'm a Mountaineers member, too. I've never been on a climb with them, because they won't let you climb without either doing a class or an equivalency review. The former seems to be a waste of time and money since I mostly know the stuff (well, anyone want to take me aiding? don't know much about that) and the latter are few and far between. I tried to attend one of those reviews, it was held in Camp Long in West Seattle so I jumped on my bike in the wee hours and rode down there, with a packful of climbing gear too. Except I only got as far as the lower West Seattle bridge, some arsehole had left it open so there was basically no way to cross the Duwamish short of swimming. The best part was when I saw those four old harbor workers sitting in a pickup truck sipping coffee and waiting for their workday to start. I think I made their day, they laughed so hard when I asked them how to cross the @#$% river. One of them told me to jump in and swim it, that made the other three smirk even harder. I could barely keep from laughing myself, it was one of those Kodak moments I tell you. Anyway. So far the mounties climbing program seems like a bit of a racket to me. Fuck liability, now that's a motto for you. Liability is single most important reason for why climbing is sometimes all fucked up. Oh, and I went to a mounties avalanche beacon class thingy at Camp Long another time. Want to know how to figure out which white paper bag in the middle of the grassy field is the one with the beacon? It's the one with thirty people sitting on top. But now I can go on ski trips, and I actually think I might try that. I don't think there is anything wrong with ski touring or winter volcano climbs with like two rope teams of three each. Hmm, I guess all my funny "stupid mountaineers" stories are about me, how great is that? Check it out, they're "stupid cascade climbers" stories at the same time Wait, here's a thought! If random 10 mounties that don't know each other sign up for a trip and then run into you, how many of them have to suck to give you a bad impression? Probably one or two. The rest could even be people that you might be perfectly happy to climb with, albeit hopefully in a smaller group. Whatever. I mean, I don't know, I've never been on those trips, but I just can't imagine how a big group of Mounties somehow must be worse than a big group of something else? Worst big group I ever ran into was going down the DC, 2 guides with something like 19 clients. One of those kids they were walking up and down the mountain lost his balance at the point where you turn around to get off the cleaver, and fell flat on his face. Next thing I hear is him asking the guide how to stand up. What the hell? I remember thinking something like, get me out of here before this becomes a real storm. Final piece of mounties trivia, did you guys know Beckey started climbing with the Mountaineers? Fresh out of the boy scouts, according to his book at least. You probably all did know that, sorry. There is like a ton of guys like that that have climbed with the mounties. I can't really bring myself to dump on the club as a whole...

Search and rescue really worked for me when I was starting out. Met lots of cool people, both similar age with similar interests and similar (no) experience, and older hands that showed us lotsa things. It's free, you just have to put in your time, and the best part is that because search and rescue gets to pick up the pieces after climbing accidents, there is this whole emphasis on how to do things safely and not mess up. I don't know a lot about SAR in the Seattle area (I was with Reykjavik SAR, http://www.hssr.is/, not very relevant but take a look at http://www.kcesar.org/. I know they take new recruits in fall, which doesn't help you much for next summer's rock season.

What's with those aluminum heads on the Charlet Moser tools? I'd think there is no way they can take a beating. The BD tools have steel heads, much more durable right? I have a picket and a shovel that died violent deaths on a snow climb, pretty wicked. Steel crampons cut through the aluminum like nothing. Not that I want to stomp on my tools, but still... It's good business though - make a very nice tool, people buy it, go through them much faster than steel tools, buy new ones, repeat... Not that I know anything though, I never had a tool with an aluminum head. Here, how's that for a disclaimer?

Hey, are you guys familiar with those alpine trekkers? They lock into your alpine bindings... see http://www.bcaccess.com/ftrek.html Voile has two variations on the same theme to go with their split boards, see http://www.voile-usa.com/snowboards/tele_plate_binding.html and http://www.voile-usa.com/snowboards/mountain_plate_binding.html What I want to know is, why isn't there something like this that will let me strap my tele skis to my mountaineering boots? I know the sole of the boot is fully rigid and all that, but I'm not asking for the greatest ski setup ever, I just want to be able to access winter climbs. I mean, if you could only attach the boot to the ski then who gives a damn if you lose some of the control you'd otherwise have over the back ski? You could still do the tele turn even if there would be a weird hinge there or something.

Yeah, I'm up for Si!

Check out http://www.avalanche.org/~lsafc/TUTORIAL/EQUIP.HTM - do you have avalanche balls?

I hiked, er, snow-shoe-swam, to Snow Lake yesterday (Sunday). Excellent exercise, all that hip-deep post-holing with the snow shoes on. The weather was nice during that brief high-pressure period in the morning, and we got some cool views, but then it started dumping again. We saw some icicles but nothing climbable. I took some photos from the saddle above (south of) the Lake, here's one of the Chair. [ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: fleblebleb ]

The best gloves I have ever used are the Ortovox Berchtesgaden. They are at their best when you're dripping wet, freezing cold and still need excellent dexterity. The wool keeps so warm even when wet through, you have to try it to believe it. The Kitzbuehel look even better since they do away with the need for a rap glove but I don't have a pair. Check out http://www.ortovox.com/eng/produkte/produkte.phtml?kat=13&prod=133 - don't be fooled into thinking your aunt might knit an equivalent pair for you, the tight weave is the trick. Has anyone tried the Glacier Glove they sell at Feathered Friends? How is the durability? The dexterity seems hard to beat - I wanted to get a pair of BD Dry Tool gloves, but I didn't like the somewhat bulky seams on the fingers and the Glacier Gloves don't have those. Plus, they're also cheaper at $40. Anyone?

Aw man, that's pretty harsh? It's cool to have slideshows posted on the board, but noone will do it if we always bite their heads off. Plus I think it's pretty amazing that guy did climb Everest, siege or not. And you're going in the wrong direction with the missing body parts, the really interesting question is how many prosthetics are you *allowed* to have on a cool Everest climb. Or bioengineering, even better, say, if Cpt. has a brain transplant with a yeti and moves to the summit of Everest, is it cool or is he just a loser who had a brain transplant with a yeti and lives on the top of the world? Oops, just realized I've never really posted to one of those threads-on-fire. Bet I just set myself up for a good flaming. Bring on those napalm hoses! BTW where do you go to get a cheap bolt kit these days? Cheers/stebbi

Hey Bronco, YOU RULE! And I don't work at no insurance company I have been on my way to fork over $250 to Feathered Friends for that serendipity jacket for, like, a month or something, but I couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a jacket even if I had already decided to get one. And I was dead sure I'd never find those things on sale - but, they still had three left in small, color I wanted, at the Sierra Trading Post! So, Bronco, YOU RULE, because you personally saved me $90. Whee. Your beer's on me if we run into each other at the pub or something. Ecstatic/stebbi

I heard you guys had some kind of home-made rock shoe crampon in the works for your Patagonia trip? Is it true or am I just gullible?

I was up there two weeks ago, it's sweet - very different than it is earlier in the season but just as nice a climb. The trail up Shannon Ridge is in good condition, it was easy to lose in the shrubs in June but not any more. Or maybe we just lost it because we were going up kinda early. The worst part of the hike is from the Ridge up to the Sulphide, it has some dusty trail, some boulder fields and some (very low) angle slabs. The Sulphide itself isn't at all cut up. Once you're up to high camp, just keep left until you're past the steep slope, then turn east and go for the summit pyramid. The summit pyramid itself has no snow on it whatsoever. It's nice to have a rope to rap down if you don't like downclimbing, but other than that it is pretty much a scramble.

Ah, what a dilemma, paying the Forest Service or paying Terrible Ted.

Now, if Cascade climbers were a religious organization, then we'd hike, run, scramble and climb but we wouldn't really be recreating would we? What does it take to form a religious organization around here?

Actually the only reason I want straps is that I want to be able to use them with lighter boots too, ones without grooves. The crampons I mentioned are also available with step-in bindings. I've heard over and over again that the BD Sabretooths are among the best crampons you can get for alpine stuff. Haven't tried them myself though, but the design looks nice. Those would be what I would get if I were buying a new pair for all-around use in WA.

I met Stim Bullitt sport climbing at Little Si today. Way cool guy. Wonder if I'll be able to climb like that when I'm his age, like a 100 years from now.

I have a pair of Salomons, Super Mountain 9 Guide I think (blue w/ orange). I've been on rock through 5.8 in them, all the WA volcanos and a number of peaks in the North Cascades and Olympics, and a few frozen waterfalls. I really like them, even for those long approach slogs... I'm not quite sure what the difference between the 8/9 is but the 8 probably aren't quite as stiff. That would mean they're not as good for technical ice and rigid crampons. They'll work great on snow climbs and lower-angle ice climbs unless you're planning on multi-day winter climbs - a plastic double would work better for that because you'd have an easier time keeping your feet warm and dry with the removable liner in the sleeping bag every night... I use a pair of Grivel Rambos, which work great for technical ice but are way overkill for French technique on low-angle snow - like on the volcanos and the Cascade climbs I have been on. I got them for waterfalls and wound up having to add anti-bots, which are the most hateful, screwiest piece of gear I know about. One of these days I'll get a nice pair of horizontal-oriented strap-on aluminum crampons, like those Stubais, or so I keep telling myself.

So what small, local shops are we talking about? Most of the shops I regularly go to around Seattle have some kind of niche and may not really be that threatened by mail-order. The Marmot store and Feathered Friends both sport their own brands of very high quality gear, if their prices can be beat by mail-order from Europe then they basically deserve to lose business. Both also do a lot of rentals. Second Ascent does a lot of second-hand, which is a see-before-you-buy kind of thing. And Jim, well, if you catch him in a good mood he knows everything about climbing around here and what gear to take, which means great service - plus his prices are way low. I bought a summer sleeping bag in Vancouver about a month ago, Integral Designs which is Canadian, and paid about the same price I'd have paid Jim if he'd had the right size in stock. Maybe a little more even. What other stores are we talking about? Some of the gyms sell stuff, but that's obviously not what keeps them going. Oh, and finally, sometimes you just need that piece of gear right now and then the local guy beats mail-order hands down. I wouldn't do mail order except if I had a fairly big order to make, in the hundreds of dollars, and I very rarely have that kind of money to spend on gear. It tends to be $10-50 every now and then, one more cam, one more hex, right before that trip when I just really, really need whatever size...

Oops, forgot one thing - there should be a decent optical viewfinder, and you should be able to turn off the LCD panel. You won't see anything on the panel in bright sunshine anyway, and they burn batteries like hell. Save those rechargeables for actually snapping pictures, get a big memory card, then look all you want at home...