genepires

hey Raph, you are pretty tall but a 70cm axe would be a bit long for you. IMO my thinking for standard mtn axe is that is most useful for slopes of 20 to 35 or so degrees. (as far as using it in the vertical position, piolet canne) So the axe should touch the uphill side with the arm at comfortable level, usually horizontal or lower but no higher than horizontal. For my height and arm length, a 60 or 65cm axe works. For you, I would bet that 65 would be good. That extra 5cm of axe length, while seeming small enough, will build up in the course of the day in unfavorable arm position and make things seem harder. (especially when plunging the shaft in on 45 degree and steeper slopes) Plus that height will be manageable if you have the occasional steep ice bit. But I have seen you ice climb and I bet you could climb wi3 with a single 70 cm alpen stock no problem. I think Steve was talking about plunging the shaft into the snow. I have no idea why to orient the shaft in that way is better than having the widest portion of the shaft face downhill. Maybe it gets into the snowpack deeper due to the curve of the tool. Pick downhill would travel partially horizontal?

your plan sounds pretty good. the mtneering in the banff area can be pretty amazing so give a thought to staying there for at least part of the summer. bugaboos and the alpine ice of banff park is amazing and unlike anywhere else.

I use 1 locker and 3 non lockers for my TR's. but no mtn boots or knickers.

Damn, 80 feet is long way. Steve is human. Hope for a speedy recovery like his speedy climbing.

the road may have snow now. It seems like the snow line has dropped down a bit lately. Maybe still drivable though. We were able to drive up for most of the winter. I haven't been since february so this is speculation. Let us know how it goes if you head up there. The lookout is boarded up but easy to get into. No real locks. Undo a couple of latches, move the board up and sneak in. It is dark inside which was a good thing for the high school kids in there smoking pot last time I was there.

Hey Matt, I think your situation described is a specific example and not really relevant to a "general rule" like the opposite and opposed is supposed to address. It would be a good idea in your example though. The opposite and opposed is meant to replace a locking biner, something that should never be weakened by having a gate accidentally opened. By having the gates facing either way, you are ensuring that at least one gate is not accidentally being opened and therefore strong. If the gates were facing the same way, then having them pressed onto a knob or branch or whatever "could possibly" open both gates, reducing the strength of your connection to the anchor by a significant amount. Now realistically, even with a gate open, the biners should be able to handle way more than body weight. (something like around 7KN which is roughly 7KN*250 lb per KN or 1750 pounds) It may fail on a fall factor 1. (I forget the specific forces for fall factors) So if two biners had opened gates, they would be able to hold ALOT. But climbing is serious and it is always best to put everything in your favor so doing things text book is usually a good idea. Matt Perkins way of doing the both gates in one way for corners is a good idea and an example of doing risk assessment and adjusting techniques accordingly. better yet, just use a locker. much lighter too. oh yeah, thanks for the hard and dangerous work over there in iraq. I can't imagine what it is like.

You misses another one, dream BIG!

what is the story of the photo? looks nice. is it local?

rule 16 blows major ass. (not the being strong part) If you the ice is good, quickly place screws at regular intervals. You might climb slower but you will climber longer in life. Ice climbing is a serious game and must be treated accordingly. Soloing with a belay is a bad way top go. It creates a very false sense of security. I have personally seen two instances where a fall would have ended up on the ground or ledge but only pure luck saved him and myself. I was falling when some cauliflowers broke and managed to get the pick in a old pick hole and hang on. My gear was far away and of no use if I didn't stick it midflight. Luck goes so far.

the camping below the chief, while a pay area, is very nice. Several moderates on the apron are good. diedre, banana peel, and snake would be a real good day to link all together. around 18 pitches of moderate slabby goodness. tons of stuff in the bluffs of course but mostly single pitch.

7 months ago, my boy learned how to climb into his crib. damn proud for a 2 year old.

is el sol a real place or Sol's house? Hows it compare to gustavs. I usually prefer the standard heidelburger for a quick eat and then drive home while at l'worth.

anybody know what the scene is like there now that the olympics are over? Was it a mess there last year and now it is all good? damn, to be back in the squish would be a great thing. too long.

Hey Rad, I just saw a german film called "to the limit" with the hubar brothers speed climbing on the nose. Was done really well with more than the usual climbing crap. gets into the why's and mentality of the climbing. and good brotherly arguements too. really good 1.5 hours.

Oh, you need a non smart ass answer. I think it was a modified viper fang that was cut to fit the cobra spike. I seem to remember it was easy with a dremel tool and just looking at the cobra spike to visualize where to trim the viper fang. but that means you need a dremel tool which costs money. SOL. A real cheap ass answer is to cut off the bottom end of a plastic ice clipper and tape it on the bottom of the cobra REALLY tight.

if you get a job, you won't need the tools as you will work through the times when the ice is in and sunny days too. Problem solved!

buy new tools?

I wish I could say that was me. but I can not.

I've been on it in october when there was no snow left covering the crevasses. They are few and very small. And the cracks were no where near the normal natural path up. You would have to go out of your way to get into the cracks zone. With all the snow, a rope is not really needed and I am a glacier scaredy cat. I doubt that you will need crampons either. But if you want to be safe, you could get by easily with the lightweight Aluminum types. enjoy and show us some photos! that place is real nice and my fave in the cascades.

dudes gets out! how many winter summits has it been this winter? nice job.

Rafael, I thought you were a ultra hardman who would have slept on flaked out climbing rope. Isn't that what the usual old eastern block thing way?

It was mentioned above that the road is still gated. So no it is not passable with either a truck or a civic. In the summer, the civic will be fine.

Even with the temps that are a bit warm, it may still be cold over there on the n face. When we went up there a while ago, I thought it was warm in the lot but it was butt ass cold on the face itself. Plus it seems like people are still getting on ice routes when the weather is good. While not a sure thing, I think the probability of the route being there is good enough to warrant the hauling of gear over there. If the route is not there, you have the option of the NE buttress or the standard route up. let us know what you find if you go.

try doing intervals on the bike. (BTW, I have never done this, only heard about it so more research should be done) Go hard (real hard..as hard as you can do for the length of time) for some fixed length of time, like 20 seconds. then go easy spinning for another fixed length of time, like 10 seconds. This is one interval. do this for 5 minutes and add another interval for each workout. Ori Hoffmekler had a workout involving bikes that was intervals but with holding dumbells overhead and such. CFT or something like that. with a bum knee, I wonder if it is less damaging to hit it hard for short periods of time or mellow for longer? Incorporating various dumbell routines into the bike session would increase the workload allowing you to workout for less time and therefore less harm to the knee. good question. maybe Layton will chime in on this.

you may need a special licence to use a ham radio. Where you thinking of the handheld ham radios? I heard that many mtn guides are now bringing them along to be able to have real communications if there is an emergency, something that the locator doesn't allow. (BTW, I think that they are carrying both so they both have their merits) I don't own either and have no real knowledge of this stuff. Fire Jason Martin a PM. I think he has better knowledge of these things.