genepires

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.

so the snow should be melted off it by then. With a high of 52 on thursday, it should be good on south facing areas. Anyone interested in getting out there? Looking at 8's and 9's and some easy 10's.

Back when alpine ascents had fewer rainier trips a year (I think it was around 6 trips per year on the emmons) those trips would sell out in less than a couple hours. The limiting factor was how fast could the office workers could write names and previous expereinces down. Even with the expanded user days they now have, it is not unexpected that they would be all booked up after a month of offerings. (I think they used to accept bookings on a set date in february) It might be a good thing that they are all booked up so early. It gives the climbers a chance to get prepared for it. I would be more concerned (as a guide or client) about the climbers that signed up a week before the scheduled summit trip. too bad about your friend not getting on this year. If they are interested in doing it next year, they should inquire about the time the companies start taking names for 2010. Maybe do baker in 2009? Maybe you should take them up rainier with $50 for being their friend?

For the money, the skills learned on baker along with a summit of baker will be superior to hood. I don't know the costs but I do know those mountains and there is no comparison. Baker is a real mountain with much better glacier climbing. (plus the hood zoo factor makes it one I wouldn't want to go back to) Like Dan stated, you are spending good money to get here. Spend the extra whatever hundred dollars and have a great time instead of a good time. Learn and summit on baker (mid to late july) from pros then go do hood on your own, maybe even solo. enjoy our mountains on your trip!

where did polish bob ever say that hanging on tools is different than hanging on protection? I don't think he said anything to that point. From what I read, all that he is saying is that people got up hard stuff a long time ago before people had fancy names for it. That people today stand on the shoulder of the people before them and can't really "invent" anything. We all learn things and techniques and styles from others so how can anyone be a sole creator of a style? Well, maybe Gill could be such a man inventing "bouldering" as he was way out there, all alone. Maybe I am wrong as I am not a climbing historian.

ve25 is a sweet tent, probably the best things NF ever made. Surprising they didn't fuck it up. You might want to try some test runs with the andinista with all your denali gear. It might not carry so well. I knew a guy who did it with an andista and he suffered. And he is a "hardman" too. I am sorry if I suggested that you didn't have respect for the mountain. I didn't mean to imply you so much as others who haven't before. It is easy to dismiss a trip up the w butt but people die there every year. ( I don't know which route you are doing) Enjoy the route! it is a real good time and something to remember.