genepires

check out the tatoosh range. specific names elude me now but I remember a very cool little snow climb. best in spring. sauk mountain in spring would be good too. snow climb. while it is a "hike", mt dickerman on mtn loop highway is very good this time of year. has a summer trail under the snowpack. mt vesper has a mellow side (south side?) which is approached via another buried summer trail. there are climbs for you but my brain is dome for the night. gene

there are still ice routes in canadian rockies. don't blow off there yet. N face of fay and athabasca should be good. If you want, I could email you some info for them. I heard (rumor!) that humble horse wasn't in very well due to climatic conditions. If I was going in there, I would talk to a local (will gadd has been very generous with advice) about the condition of the route. while up there you could do some alpine rock routes also for a grand 10 day adventure.

Did skyladder in august years ago and I would NOT reccomend going down that route during that time of the year. We had lots of rock fall from a bit of exposed (melted away snow) terrain above the ice face. You would be dodging those rocks especially inthe afternoon. The "selected book of lies" descent is crap. epic in the making. We did a long glacier descent to the north (I think) and then came back on the main glacier with all the tourist bus. Way long but managable. Haven't done it but it seemed like v thread rapping down the north face/bowl ice route would be a quick, reasonably safe way to get to the base of skyladder or any other route on andromeda. If skyladder is all snow covered, then that would be a good one too. Last time I looked at the route in question was many years ago but it seemed to have melted out alot from the guide photos. Would expect it to be less ice this summer than the photos.

the straps are long so that you can stuff things underneath. The largest thing I can think of under the compression straps are foam pads and maybe ski boots. So, put those under the straps and see if there is extra strapping. If so, then you could cut the straps down to a reasonable level. Leave 6 inches of extra webbing beyond the buckle. those extra straps will fly around in the wind and they will hit you in the face many many times. and it hurts. lots. To tame the extra, you could roll them up and tape the roll so it won't unravel.

from monroe today, it looked like it was raining hard in the foothills. I would guess index is soaked.

ask for $20 off due to the rust. make some BS about it needing to be changed out or some other crap -ola.

Didn't look for a kitten as we have two cats already. Also, I wouldn't want to make the glove unhappy so I will leave it "lost".

are we to assume the best way to get it is to order it on line in the 26 serving bottle? If you have a better way, educate us please.

tard? retard?

check Pm's

If you are asking about snowshoes, I would agree that they are not needed due to the fact there should be some traffic before you. Doesn't take too long for a decent trail to be made. But if there has been fresh snowfall, they might be very helpfull. Might be a good idea to take them in the car and make the call at paradise. If your question is about boots, plastic or leather, well I would say plastic for that month. crampons? always. enjoy up there!

When the knots become an issue, it is time to use those rescue coils and drop another line down to prussik or haul with. This new line should be on a mega prepared lip. No overhang or rope cutting in. padding too.

Just finished a book (post cards from the trailerpark) written by Cam Burns. Good stuff and worthy of a read. Very funny. Less about hard core climbing and more about making fun of himself and meeting cool people. Lots of off beat articles like spray painting gear and such. If you are a sno-isle library card holder (snohomish and some island counties), you can get the book with that library system. On a side note, I requested the library get this book and they did. This library system works! If you feel your library system lacks good climbing books, request a few. (for example, Monroe library has a AK climbing guide and a sky valley rock guidebook)

I found a rei left mitten. don't know the name but it is the warmest one they make. with somekind of primaloft insulation, size large. If you need one, let me know.

Koflach arctis has been a good boot for me on denali. (with super gaiters below 14K and overboots above 14k) Like most warm liners, they can only take a limited number of expeditions. So using them for general beating around in warmer times is not recomended, as well as too warm. Arctis don't have the thermoform/intuition type liners, last I looked. But you mention higher peaks than denali. For something higher, you should really look at boots like millet (everest or something like that). Scarpa and la sportiva have similar models. They are pricey they are much wamer and ends up only costing $80/toe. Plus in the grand scheme of cost for these peaks, it is trivial.

mammut is a good beacon as are most modern beacons. But the best piece of gear for avi protection is to not get caught in one. I know this obvious, but looking at getting caught in an avalanche on any mountain that contains rock cliffs, crevasses, ice cliffs and such will probably result in death due to trauma. So don't let the knowledge of a beacon on your person give you a sense of security, because it shouldn't. Just my little speel, 2 cents. ect.

Good job sticking to it Justin! Sucks that you had to go through all that crap. Maybe you should send this post as a message to corporate rei as a comment on the mangement at that store. (bellingham right?) Hopefully that kind of bad management doesn't exist in all stores. Glad to see you are back.

there will be snow on the ridge. it will be deep. snow will fall off the willis wall. you will need to cross snow covered glaciers. it may snow on you. and honestly, it should be like normal conditions which is pretty good in may. Wouldn' bet on it in june though.

wind rivers would probably be too cold in october but would be doable in early (very early) september. Might still get snow even then too. Bugaboos in september, be ready for snow. It probably will snow on ya. The longer you wait into the fall, the more important it is to travel south and west. So for a cheaper trip, I would reccomend that you just travel straight to where the conditions would be good like start here in the cascades and then go to the sierras or just stay down there. so many options. lovers leap near tahoe and joshua tree would be great if it seems too cold in the alpine. (which is likely in mid october)

congrats Mike and Marcus! Brought your boots this time? Great job!

wild things windshirt

Bucking the common thought, I like lightweight fleece pullovers, like 100 weight stuff. LIght enough to breathe somewhat but still has insulation qualities when under a windshirt or jacket. usually damn cheap and takes a beating too. (like thrashing in the prickly branches in red rocks) Versatile and cheap is good.

I got a cassin lightweight axe something like 7 years ago and I really like it. It had a metal head. Forgot the name but i got it at marmot in bellevue. Can't speak for current models. What was wrong with the BD models? And the grivel models had some rust? That doesn't mean it is a bad tool as it doesn't affect the strength or life of the tool. Only superficial. I got the pamir which is a very cool tool which did very well in alpine ice terrain. Also, check out some charlet tools.

replace. surpised it didn't break when you bent it back.

I met a guy who made the fangs work on his cobras. He took a small rat tail file (or something similar) and filled away the inside parts of the fang. There are places on the fang that get caught up on the cobra spike. You need to file away those spots. If you study the fang close enough, it is apparent. With that, I haven't done it so I may be full of whatever. It looked pretty strong. I woudl suggest you buy one fang then try it out.