genepires

go to 2 oclock falls in the david thompson hwy in alberta. Moderate angle. minimal avi hazard. close to road. easy for you to work on skills. Super fun and scenic. Take a couple days off and head up to banff for a long weekend. You will get more done in a 4 day weekend there than an entire season down here.

My car was broken into twice in squamish. Never a trialhead in canada. I have seen lots of broken glass in american TH's. My guess is that your odds of damage are greater in the states, especially that we have been in the iraq thing for so long. (Which was the start of the uncanadian behavior towards vehicles) I think everyone (except the families of folks over there) has forgotten about that place.

I think the attachment grooves haven't changed for any of the bd tools since the earliest blue carbon fiber models. (well older than the black prophet)

2 o clock falls in the david thompson hwy. Ok, it is in alberta, but it fits everything else you asked for. Take a week off and go to banff for some winter ice climbing fun. 45 degree slope will be snow covered here.

don't leave valuables in the car. The times I got broken into, they professionally got it (no damage) discretely rifled through everything, took a portable cd player and then locked the car back up. (polite canadian thieves concerned for my gear) In bellingham, they smashed the window for a couple of cd's. real lame! I have heard of cars getting torched in canadian TH's. very uncanadian like!

maybe the heli can bring wine and cheese!

Not trying to get in arguements either. Just that lots of new people read this site to figure things out (why here?) and I am just providing more info for their personal choices. but what they heck, less people are climbing anyways.

Were you thinking of bolt anchors? If the rap anchors could be made with nuts, pins and the mtn standard slung horns and pinched blocks, then it wouldn't be bad as it would be removable. Would the anchors be damaged by winter avi's? I would use fixed anchors if they were there.

Your arguement doesn't fly that well. I use thin gloves with leashes. I don't grip the shaft hard so circulation is very good. Screws go in as fine as leashless with androids. I am out of the tool in less than half second. The only thing to help with my getting the screws placements is to buy new screws. I can rest on the leash with no grip on the tool and release the other other hand easily to shake it out. Whereas you must hang on to a tool to shake out the other. It is all about the leash that lets you get out quick. Maybe in your absence, you missed out on some great leashes. You got me with the matching on tools, switching hands (and all the other fancy tool shenanegans) but I am talking about thick ice and those techniques are not needed. There is no doubt about mixed game as to what is a better system. You defiantely will get physically stronger with leashless because you have to. I not saying this as some old staunchy wool clad climber, afraid of change, but someone who tried both and didn't like the leashless tools.

most people descend the south arete. But they do your route in the spring when the arete is snow free. Or descend the gulley when it is packed with snow. I snowboarded the thing once a long time ago in the spring. nice job! Hard to imagine the hwy is still open. Did you come up from the hairpin turn or the reg blue lake trailhead?

if you are using more energy with leashes on, then maybe your leashes are either not set up right or you need some good leashes or you need to learn how to use them right. ANdroids are easy to get in and out of. (the button part must be set right so that it is not accidentally released while grabbing the head) I find it completely baffeling how people can say that leashes use more energy on thick ice climbing.

given normal summer conditions, a pataguichi micro puff is definately warm enough for rainier. I can't say I have ever worn a puffy in the cascades in the summer, but I run rather warm.

there is a good video on the mtn athelete site with some exum guide talking about his layering system. His puffy system was two thin puffies instead of one big one. That way he had diversity in temp use. Interesting idea and worth thinking about if you don't already have a regular big puffy. I have both the micro puff and das and haven't used the das yet, even with lots of trips to banff and such. Seems like if it is that cold (for the das) maybe I don't want to be out.

very very nice!

with the belay device and your connection to the powerpoint, you can have the two ropes (or rope and sling) rubbing together. This can be annoying as it is your connection to the anchor that is getting heated and possibly weakened. Having the belay device even a couple inches higher reduces this rubbing. It is also easier to pull rope through the device (main reason)like dru said.

I think there is a aluminum shaft under the carbon fiber which will do the holding of force. the carbon fiber is for dampening feel. I could be wrong though. You had better give it me for proper disposal.

If you clip the shelf or the power point, the anchor is still redundant and equalized. Doesn't matter. The only time it wouldn't work out well is if you use a webolette to do the anchor and then the shelf is not so good as every piece doesn't have a "loop" of webbing. (unless you clip both ends to a piece) The "shelf" is the loops of webbing that go from the cordolette know to the pieces of pro of the anchor. A bigger question is why not just get a human partner? I would really not like the idea of having my life be hanging on a 6 ounce metal thing out of sight. (plus you got to pull down the belay strand) A better idea is to climb up a fixed line with a device on your harness to catch your fall. A device like an ascender but without teeth. There was a long thread a while ago and maybe someone could search it up. Dru?

don't football players sometimes wear a mesh shirt that you could cut the sleeves off? construction workers use a high visability mesh vest in summer. Work and more in everett sells stuff like that.

My wife has a couple hoody fleece jackets. How come it is so hard to find a mens hoody jacket? (talking thin fleece kind) How come only patagonia makes a version? Do men not need their head warm? Are men smart enough to always bring a balaclava? (no!) I found an rei one on sale but the hood is lame, too loose. WIll have to check out the melanza stuff.

basing your avi assessment on angle of slope is crazy. There are tons of more variables than simply angle, especially in the PNW. I have seen snow stick to pan dome falls and that ice climb is 80 degrees. Slabs can build on 45 degree slopes. Thin slabs can build on 60 degree slopes due to the water content of the snow. A thin slab fracturing will take you for a ride and the consequences of a avalanche often depend on where the avi stops. (think cliff band, crevasses, or ditch or ravine or crevasse that will fill in ontop) the only thing going for roman wall (as far as avi probability) is that it is usually the windward side and therefore usually lacks the heavy wind loading. But if the winds comes from the north?

BTW, the riverside inn is not really within walking distance from the ice park, if you are taking a shuttle to ouray.

riverside inn has bungalos that technically you can't cook in but everyone has a small stove going. They also have rooms with kitchenetes but you gotta pay a little more. Flying to grand junction can be expensive so you should buy tickets real soon. We actually flew to denver and drove to ouray. The flight from denver to grand junction would soak up a couple hours so that flight would save only 4 or 5 hours total. Not worth the extra cost. But if you gots tons of extra cash, go for it.

banff! not even a whole days drive. You could get 5 solid days and a half day on the last before driving home. Xmas can be cold sometimes and the days are short but how much time do you need to get up 3 or 4 pitches anyway?

the key element for wands is that you place them every rope length. If you go down in a white out, the idea is that the last person never goes past a wand without the first climber being at another wand. If the first is not at a wand (and the last person is) then the rope team swivels till the wand is found and you continue onwards. If the wands are farther than a rope length, then you can easily miss the way. It is slow and you need lots of wands, but this practice has worked well for me many times. The only time this didn't work well was when it snowed 4 feet and the wands were buried. Simple compass work, help from the last person (see below) and a dash of luck got us back. If you had some specially marked wands (maybe different tape) that marked change in direction, then a recorded bearing or simply knowing the is a change would be very helpful. some people will record a basic plan for the ascent before the ascent to include rough bearings and altitudes at major features. That way they hove something to climb with or follow back if the weather turns at some point. I would much rather follow a wand track than follow bearings or a gps or a record of bearing and altitudes. Much faster. I have never used a gps unit as I am too old school. So I can't really compare the ancient techniques vs modern tools. Heck, I got a altimeter watch around 6 years ago after a lot of back talk about it. And I really like it now and that has saved me a couple times too. For navigating backwards with compass, it is very hard to follow a bearing conistently for the person up front. Small errors compound for significant error. It is best if both the front and back person use the compass. The back person can use the visual of the straight rope team along with the compass bearing to keep the rope team going the right way. It is annoying for the first person to be told many times to move left or right but it is very important. This has also helped me out a couple times.

mt ass-shot in the butt crack range?