genepires

yes, we stayed a bit aways from the true ice caves due to the possibility of a large slough or full on avalanche coming down the n face. There is nothing "potentially" hazardous about it. It is damn ass dangerous. there was very little debris at the base which is good sign AND a bad sign. There was some big debris inside the ice cave though. Much larger than I would expect for a collapse inside without showing any surface disturbance. thanks for the safety reminder. keep safe y'all.

No photos but just a heads up for any fathers wanting to get their kids out for a little winter "adventure" You can drive to the big four trailhead. there is a boot pack all the way to the ice caves. Maybe 10 people have gone up all the way so it is not super fat but doable. Just after the last bridge (new this summer?) near treeline, the trail kinda gets lost and you gotta go over downfall to get back into the summer trail. Find it on the way back or the swack back to the trail is kid epic. for a frame of reference, My boy is 3.5 years old and did ok. Should be good for sunday but who knows after the coming week.

You could use a plastic clipper biner as your leashless grip if you have big hands. I tried this on my cobras but my hands weren't big enough to really work. this takes a real man. take a plastic clipper biner like the BD ones. flat and simple is best. cut the spine near the top and the other side near the gate. should be "J" shaped. tape the hook really hard onto the shaft. this is so old school that dane, blanchard and josephson will want your autograph and buy you a beer. For those in SLC, Layton will be doing the old school leashless rig groupie following and buying of beer.

OMG, if it is not the newest fusion or the raddest newest thang out there, then people will laugh. We can't be climbing on ancient 3 year old tools. Surely death follows those whose refuse to buy new tools every other year. I have some 2004 quarks with the pinky rest added on late (had to trim away some plastic and it was real easy). Been very happy with it and not looking at getting anything new. unless there is more spray and drool over the new fusions. ooooooohhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhh. Besides buying new means going leashless. and that ain't happening

500! now we are talking. Is the etrex user friendly? even for a tech newbie like myself. Couple the altimeter watch with these gps might be useful.

I was wondering what experiences anyone had with this bushnell backtrack GPS device. Seems like a good GPS for someone who relies on paper maps and plain ole common sense but would save my ass when things go wrong. from what I can tell from the ads: pros- simple back track and setting waypoints shows altitude and temp and distance to waypoint $90 retail small (4"x2"x1") cons- only 5 waypoints no downloadable maps So my questions are for people with more expensive GPS is: do you plot more than 5 way points on a outing? Do you really need to download a map for where you go? (do you mainly use the backtrack feature?) for anyone with a bushnell, how good has the reception with satelites been? If you have any other opinions regarding this GPS, I would like to hear them also. thanks for your helpful responses and the smart ass ones too.

math and logic on cc.com A miracle!

that doesn't sound possible. are you a noodly rubber man?

they are probably fine. You may want to have new slings put on which runs about $5/cam from BD warranty dept. Just reslung mine which were a generation older than the ones you are looking at.

that has got to be rough on the right leg.

if it is just glued in, maybe some heat would loosen the hold. (campstove?) Then some dynamic forces could get it out. Maybe a funkness device clipped to the spike hole. To cover my ass, safety is a major concern with the possibility of flying sharp stuff. So have things locked down (axe in a vice) and area safed off. Maybe even wear personal protective equipment. maybe a better idea is to just buy a short axe. I broke the spike off of my long-ish ice tool a long time ago doing something foolish. Was able to cut the shaft square and re-glue the spike in.

what about a regular truck? I have never had a 4wd truck and never really needed it. (it was real nice though when buddies have it in the winter) But if you are thinking of mostly non winter climbing and ski area access (chains on worst days), a largish 2WD truck with a canopy will handle all that you want. The 2wd helps with gas mileage and a 7ft bed is the best for sleeping in. Sleep in a subbie? get real. Your first requirement is the toughest one to fullfill. How rough of a road do you want to drive on. My t-100 has better clearance than a subbie. How bad ass snow driving do you want? A subbie is better than a 2wd truck. my truck mileage = 20 mpg wifes subbie forester is 28 mpg. Nothing is easier for a road trip than a truck with a canopy. No stupid roof rack.

still on leashes and duals. Not more than 7 days on ice though in those 2 years. I did see 2 short lead falls during last trip by leashless climbers. Yours truly was quite possibly the only leashed climber in all of hyalite all thanksgiving weekend. Experts and newbies alike. maybe I should just climb on straight shaft pulsars? anybody got a pair? Would people respect my leashes if it was on a pair of old gray rambo tools?

ditto. great photos too!

there used to be a large photo of that same aspect of shuksan in a photo or a book store in lake louise. It had a stuffed bear that you could have your photo taken with. Always thought it was weird how in a land of big mountains, they used a yank mountain.

sweet! thanks for the photos and TR. Lucky you with the NR all to yourself.

it is all in the snow and forces. A boot axe in good snow holding a static force will work. But shock loading (dynamic force) puts much more forces on the snow pro. There are so many variations in snow (and therefore strength) and applied forces that an example for one person can not be a predictor for another. actually digging the t slot deep may have made it weaker. If the compressed snow is above the picket (like if the picket is dug down 2 feet, filled in one foot and then stomped the remaining foot of snow) then the stomped snow may not help at all. It could slice under the compressed snow. Best to have the compressed snow in front of the picket. Like age hardening a large square section of snow and put the picket behind. (with a sling slot going through the middle of the square) This obviously takes a fair amount of time and is really appropriate for something like crevasse rescue. compressing a 2ft by 2ft snow square is a good idea for vertical placements too. The top half of the snow holding a picket is much more important that the bottom half. If you HAD to use a vertical placement picket in soft snow, a couple of hard butt stomps in the snow (sitting down) would compress a good sized area if you got a standard american sized ass. Prolly a good idea to add some foot stomping of the snow as well. all this is rock gear and ice gear is not available.

I know canyoneers use that sometimes usually in the case of rapping into running water, but how could this be used for climbing? You have three ropes, one used to to lower if 60 m is not enough? From what I have seen about releaseable anchors, people or going shorter than 50 m but use a full rope. They also are doing single rope rappels. Seems like just knowing how to ascend the rap rope with prussiks is a better solution to using a releaseable anchor knot. (unless you are in a canyon torrent) But tools in the toolbox is a good thing.

might not be a factor but I liked the mega bug part to keep the mice from getting in and dancing around on my head. In boston basin (notorious for mice), they got in easily and got literally tangled up in Carolyn's blonds locks.

if want a floor, then the bug netting in the mega bug is a small addition of weight. If you don't need a floor, the sewing in bug netting sounds like a good option. the mega bug is good for those nights where you don't want the fly but still bug protection. looking at the stars through the netting full of bloodsuckers trying to get in.

I ordered from MEC a couple times and the customs was easy, no time or money on my part. these orders where for only a couple hundred bucks which may have been below some determined limit.

sweet! good for Dunham and all the sponsors for putting this thing on and donations.

I know him by name and legend. but I am over 40. damn he sends and doesn't slow down.

what about getting a pair of goggles with heads up display GPS, temp, speed, ect. maybe one could go online as well and stream in realtime their sickness with the helmet cam. only $400 from mtngear. for an additional $400 you can get a backpack that inflates in case of an avi.

what is the furball? is it alive?