genepires

I assume you checked out the supertopo alaska climbing book with fairly detailed advice. as per book: double carry up crosson w 2 weeks supplies if acclimitizing on route. if already acclimitized, then you need 5 days. manage risk: 60 to 100 wands! for along the ridge due to tricky route finding through crevasses. there is a photo of the ridge and damn if there isn't a ton of cracks. check it out if you hadn't already. tons of things to do there in the kahiltna if you get shut down from foraker. It looks like a small single wall tent is a good idea due to narrow ridge camping is expected. Also, it looks advisable to go as a larger rather than a smaller team. (shared trail breaking, load carrying, crevasse rescuing, ect) If you are a team of two or three, maybe look at mating up with another team while you got time to plan on it. I haven't been on the route but have spent a fair bit of time in the range on other routes. Just my 2 cents. Ask Westman for a experienced answer to your questions. Maybe try some alaskan equivelant to cascadeclimbers?

I have used the grivel ultra light thing and it has worked very well for volcano sloggin and such. Been too scared to try to front point.

Generally, if asolos fit your feet, then I would stick with that brand but find a model that fits the trip. They tend to use the same last (foot shape) for different models so there is a greater chance that it will work for you. Sometimes this doesn't work as they may use a different last for different boots. People. What model of boot were you thinking about? Enter the ongoing discussions of what to wear on rainier. Plastic vs leather debate. Oh I just read your post again and it looks like you are asking what asolo model is best for rainier. Am I right? (I don't know squat about asolo) Rainier in july is a fine time. enjoy!

My question was based on Mike's comment that the body breaks all protein down to base components then creates whatever it needs. So you can get whey concentrate and isolate or soy or egg or milk casein or on and on. But does the content really matter? I got that costco bag with a mix of whey iso, soy iso and something else and it tastes pretty good. At only about $35/ big 5lb bag, it is a bargain too. But i have been trying to steer clear of soy due to it's possible estrogenetic effects. Is they extra $10 for a high quality bag of protien worth it?

3 day trip = 4000 cubic inch 1 day trip = 2500 cubic inch I am sure someone will argue that a 3999 cubic inch is better for a 3 day. The best pack is the one that fits you best and can hold all the stuff you really NEED. Not the stuff you "want" to bring. Need is less than want. Except that as we get older and more tired, we all want less on our back than we need and maybe left unprepared. Whatever. How about get all your gear together including food and water and try your packs out to see what holds it all in. Then go for a couple mile walk and see if it sucks or not. I would suggest a very lightweight summit pack like the MEC genie when they used to make them. while it is extra weight, it might be worth it on summit day. enjoy rainier!

Hey Mike, what about all the different kinds of protein supplements? With what you said above, should we just use the cheapest kind available? What should one look for as far as protein supplements go? thanks Mike, gene

holy broken sea wall! you do have to work in new orleans. maybe you should stay in s africa. or maybe some other international gig like spain?

how about a new line of work? what could your work possibly be that you can only find it in new orleans? fancy bead maker?

It partly depends on how the rope ran in relation to the carabiner. If in a fall, the rope pushed onto the gate, it could easily come unclipped. I think most people know that little trick with having the gate face away from the direction of travel and having the rope come up through biner instead of going down. If the rope ran in the bad direction and the biner was facing the wrong way, then it would be unsafe. A flexible sling mitigates that risk a bit but a single biner would be locked in place and subject to that problem. There is also a stronger chance of cross loading the biner if it flips over 90 degrees during the climb or as you fly past. As most people know, a cross loaded biner will fail in a lead fall. (ex. Goran in vantage had a biner failure which may have been a cross loaded problem) Once again a good draw will help prevent a cross loading from occuring as the sling may bend and keep the biner loading properly. Is it unsafe? Probably not, I would think is not a good idea.

sweet!

one exception to the rule doesn't negate the rule. Maybe there is one real swavay smooth guide out there but most (including myself) just dumb highschool geeks. (said with smiles and love for guides)

way to get after it. definately a good call you made.

The guide may try to steal the girlfriend but guides have no women skills. They look good on the outside but the inside is a different story. The girlfriend is safe......from guides.

I thought it was something about the new company that was old dana.

so what does BMW stand for? All I found on the site was cocoon brand. I must be out of the loop. I still think it is for british motor works.

I think that beating personal limitations is more rewarding than going after records for the sake of fame. Fame is fleeting and will leave quickly. Not that one is right or wrong, just better from a personal standpoint. If ones dream passionately to summit everest, then by all means take the risk. But what is the point to do something inherently risky for the sake of bragging rights? I am just saying that before anyone puts themselves into serious harms way, there needs to be a well thought out inner dialogue about the reason why. If the reasons are inner then the risk may be warranted. If the reasons are solely external (example - the approval or respect of others, also known as fame), then the risk is never warranted. Bad experience with climbing will sort that out real quick. BTW, I am not in any way saying what Braydons motives are. I don't know him at all. This is just something that came to mind when I read about the chasing records thing. p.s. Bravo for thinking BIG!

I am down with the OR (outdoor research), MB (montbell), MH (mountain hardware) and the MEC. But what is BMW? They are diversifing away from high quality cars? (bridger mountain works?)

if there is doubt, trash it as it is only $10 for another. maybe save it for aiding?

why try to beat some record? Why not just go out and climb for the personal experience? Climbing for fame (definately not fortune) is one of the stupidist things going. While I don't know Jess at all, I bet that he wasn't racing for the record but getting on everest because he wanted to. He probably wasn't focusing on getting on the record books but got it as a nice after thought. Maybe I am wrong. Record get beat frequently and makes the dangerous activity seem stupid. Do you want to be the guy who gets hurt trying to achieve fame or the guy living for personal fulfillment? Dane is spot on with the experience needed. If your goal is the big mountains, then work your way up to them. Take our local hard man (once hard boy) Colin Haley. He spent the time getting after it locally, now taking it internationaly. Not saying you should follow his particular path but the progression is what is important. Seek mastery, not records (which will follow when you have mastery). Last time I was in talkeetna, I went to the climbers memorial and nearly lost it when I saw that 2 teenagers (19 yo) died in the ruth gorge in the late 90's. It is one thing when some 50yo bites it but when a young-un dies doing this, well, it does hurt those who care a bit more. I hope you get after it, smartly of course.

the volant is cut small which I mean that it is not meant to be layered heavily under. So for denali a larger than normal volant may be needed. Of course you would need the optional hood. the volant would be great for new england climbing.

they stretched lengthwise?

weather permitting, a long ski tour through the snoqualmie pass, enchantments or cascade pass area would fit your request. south side of mt baker ascent (ski) DC route on rainier (ski) The last two have obvious crevasse issues but should be minimal that time if year. enjoy!

I am on the fence with sizing for these. I heard they stretch a lot so I would want them to be real tight at first. But I need to know if these shoes stretch much lengthwise as my toes are curled up on size 9 but not on 9.5. If they stretch along the length (which I doubt) then I would need a 9. For those of you who use the mythos, how do they stretch and any advice on sizing? thanks gene

I have a pair of the iceflow from cloudveil and they are so nice. I baby those things and only use them for leading, never ever rapping. Should get another before they catch on how good they are and discontinue them.

that is some cushy living at 14K! 3 people per 8 person tent. You could have dropped the one 8 person tent and brought a LOT more scotch. The scotch wouldn't weight anything other than the empty bottles for the way down. And a plus, with that much scotch you wouldn't have made the summit due to too much hangovers.