genepires

Some kind of asolo goretex, high top, gnarly backpack boot (model unknown except it was $190 normally) for $49 cause someone thought the shoe cut the laces too easily. I wonder if people return things then go back to buy it at the reduced price to save the bucks. also a small butane stove that didn't work for $5, returned to distributor for a new one. Too easy.

olive oil gets sun but starts to lose it around 10am, then the shadow crawls up the route. Don't get there too late ot it will be shady and cool. Don't get there too early or you will have to wait for the sun. In between these two times you will be waiting behind the hordes that know about the route. (well known winter route) So get there in that perfect two minute window. January is cold so plan your routes according to sunshine. left side of canyons (as looking from road) have no sun (includes frogland). Look to the right side of canyons unless it is cloudy then you are hosed. I would also stay away from climbs that involve lots of elevation gain to get to cause it will be cold even in the sun. that wall with the Tunnel route has sun for about 3 hours in the morning. solar slab, olive oil, brass wall, cat in hat, maybe Y2K, and most of the pullouts should be good places to go to.

I would have said Serratus but alas they are gone. I would look into the MEC packs as I think they have incorporated the line into thiers. They were good and fairly inexpensive. Maybe some local canucks can speak up about the MEC pack line.

Would have to agree with John on this helmet. Last week my tool popped and smacked me hard in the forhead, right underneath the helmet. Some good blood was pouring and a nice scar I bet. I have been thinking of the consequences of a shot to the nose or teeth and the damages, to me and the wallet. This week I have been looking into hockey masks! Jason (friday the 13th style) on ice. thanks for showing the mask John. gene

Judging by the NWS forcast (whichis generally right) there is a lots of new snow falling, especially in the higher elevations which is were the only ice could be found. Not a good place to be looking for ice, which is generally in drainages. But you should be pulling out your skiis, boards, snowshoes, kiddie sleds, inner tubes, or plastic trash bags and slide down hills. Our ice game is over for the meantime.

Alex is fond of the Akai in canmore. fairly cheap, clean and has a kitchenette. something like $55/night. I don't think you will have any problem finding rooms or beds in hostel now the holidays are over. Rampart hostel is good but pricy (around $27/night/person) but close to lots of great terrain. some nice 3's and 4's around rampart and fairly avi free: shades of beauty (4) tangle falls (3, craggin style) panther falls (4) sniveling gulley (3) weeping (4) you could do the lower pitches and then bail at the steep part elliot left hand (4) such a cool route without lots of people 2 oclock falls (2 but still cool) nothing but the breast (4 but lower bits were melted out as of last week) balfour wall (various like cragging) lots of good routes there with a "wilderness" feel. (if you can forget about the convienent highway right there) Such a cool place! enjoy! gene

Alpine ascents and american alpine inst. probably won't have rainier trips in your time frame. RMI will. My view is biased so I will not give my opinion on good and bad guide services. But ask others about their experiences with guide services when choosing one. Alpine ascents, amer alpine, mountain madness and cascade alpine all have varied programs to fit your needs and time frame. Will probably be in other mountains than rainier though. I doubt that you will find trips on adams too. We don't know your alpine experience yet, so you may need to take a skills course before going on a bigger trip. Depends on the company. Feel free to PM me with more questions. (I work for alpine ascents) gene

Oh boy, dougherty guidebook......book of sandbags and lies. This is the best guidebook only by being the only guidebook. Beware of sandbags and misinformation. Every route should be researched by asking for personal info and using your common sense. Some descents are nightmares. some ascents are underrated. Be ready for routes that are twice as hard as described. This book is one of the reasons such great hardman come out of canada. I can supply you some info on routes that I have done.

For those interested on going out that way during xmas break or whatever, the DOT will be closing the hwy to install culverts or something. So don't bother trying to get past which is around 13 miles from where the road is closed for winter anyway. Looks like this work is east of cascade pass though. gene All SR 20 Lanes Closed Next Week in Whatcom County Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 Contact: Dustin Terpening, Public Information Officer, (360) 757-5997 (Burlington) Dave Crisman, Project Engineer, (360) 428-1593 (Mount Vernon) Mark Hammer, Asst. Project Engineer, (360) 428-1593 (Mount Vernon) BURLINGTON - WSDOT and its contractor Wilder Construction will close all lanes of State Route 20 east of Newhalem in Whatcom County next week to install two new five-foot diameter concrete culverts under the highway. The new culverts will help funnel water from Falls Creek under SR 20 and into the Skagit River. Closures · Tuesday, Dec. 27 - Thursday, Dec. 29: crews will close all lanes of SR 20 at Falls Creek (milepost 121.5) from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. daily. · Crews will maintain access for emergency vehicles during the closures. There are no detours. Drivers should plan accordingly. Currently, SR 20 is closed for the winter at milepost 134, 13 miles east of our construction zone. WSDOT closes the North Cascades Pass every year for the winter due to snow and avalanche danger. Installing the new culverts now is crucial to completing other phases of the project and finishing construction before the North Cascades Pass opens in spring 2006. Once the culverts are in place, crews will finish building a rock wall between the ditch and the road. The rock wall will further help protect the road and drivers from falling rocks. This work is part of a larger $13 million project to protect drivers passing through this rockslide prone area. We are currently building a large rock-catching ditch and a 21-foot high berm to protect drivers from future rockslides. For more details about the project and to see pictures of the ditch, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr20/rockslideditch.

while I wouldn't call it a light shoe, my well used and fairly flexible multitraction and grivel newmatic stayed connected on lots of 45 degree terrain. Based on that expereience, I would think that most shoes with a 3/4 shank would work. Most light shoes don't have a 3/4 shank though. You might be stuck with a boot like garmont tower or lasport trango. I have used my flexi crampons on tennies on low angle ground with good success. (not technical terrain, too much shoe rolling inside straps)

I found it pretty challenging to fit BD crampons to koflach boots. That bail is very strong and it took a LONG time of bashing with a hammer to make it yield and conform. Even after lots of bashing, it never had a satisfying fit. (This summer on the south side of baker) We ended up taking the bail off the campon and wailing away some more. Make it submit to your will. Or sell it on ebay and get a better european model.

yeah it is closed but the road is usually well packed down, relatively short and typicaly for roads, pretty flat. So a winter day trip is reasonable.

I agree with what Alex said above. I would recomment that you try some "small" peaks in the winter to find out much the winter can add to the overall experience. Small peaks become pretty challenging. So here are a few peaks to try before getting on bigger things. day trips Sauk mtn on hwy 20 near concrete. good drving access. mazama dome and mt herman near the Baker ski area. church peak off the mt baker hwy one of the tatoosh range peaks (in MRNP) snoq. peak via a walk up the "descent" route of chair peak pilchuck overnight probably twin sisters (w ridge of north twin rocks) colchuck glacier route got to be some good stuff of the mtn loop hwy. (1 and 2 day) whitechuck peak and on and on. just look at the beckey guide for anything that seems tiny and you will guaranteed a good time. Dallas Kloke made a winter alpine guidebook years ago that included all the "smaller" peaks around that wouldn't be considered in summer but are challenging in the winter. Maybe one could convince him to print out a few more copies. I have a copy of kloke guide so feel free to PM me if you have any questions. gene

Anyone know of a way to buy Manning park ski area tickets for cheaper than at the area? I know whistler has some deals that they offer retailers and was hoping that manning does something like that. (yeah Manning is only $38 a day but I am a cheap bas-tard) thanks

I lived there for about 9 months back in 85. Agree on the skiing at targee. I was a very low key place way back but it may be mainstream now. Probably much like baker. Never did any backcountry at the pass but I remember seeing tracks around. Wasn't sure what it was about then. City of rocks (one of my fave crags) is very close as everything is quick to drive to in ID. Couple hours at 85mph. I don't remember the mormons as being that obnoxious. There are bars and people kicking it up. It is a hick town. Much like a overgrown version of monroe. Since he has a family already, it will probably be a good time for them. The most functional family unit I ever met was a mormon. They were very good people and if I had to raise a family in a neighborhood (shudder the thought), mormon-ville wouldn't be such a bad idea. There is very little chance of converting when you see how wacko they can be. But hopefully the good traits can rub off.

go back to high school on monday, rat. Your posts smacks of "school pride". Yes, you will become light so please go back before you become a slug like the rest of us. While you are in cali, get your GED.

I did not have to or suggest that I "help" him rewarm his hands. I can't even imagine what "help" could mean. Maybe I don't want to know.

He had wooden stubs for both hands and feet for half of the trip. But he paid it little attention and beat some nice steps to get to the sunshine. Had to drag him off the summit cause it was the warmest place around.

Thanks Jopa for showing me how to post photos! I may be a clueless goober, but I follow directions well. gene

north buttress colchuck with smattering of snow another view of colchuck triple couliour area. missing ice pitch but maybe a portland drytool crowd can have a party there.

how the heck does one post pictures? I got photos in the gallery. I am a computer newb and/or idiot.

John- of course I got photo of stuart, just for you. I also got someof that couliour on colchuck I was telling you about. When I figure out how to shrink photo down and post I will do it. Hopefully tonight. The snow is shallow at the lake. And maybe a foot above the ice up higher. Lots of rocks sticking out on the moraine. summit is mostly snow free. Saddle area is mostly snow. gotta run to work. ug gene

Climb: Colchuck peak-colchuck glacier route Date of Climb: 11/20/2005 Trip Report: Our first great weather weekend in seemingly months and the temp inversion is extreme. 12K freezing levels? Can't let this weather window slip away so we plan a nontechnical summit in the cascades. The enchantments have always provided good winter endevours. In contrast to the usual "car to car" trips that usually get reported in tis area, we drag along overnight gear so that we can enjoy the scenery. Craig, Bill and I spent saturday driving in and above the fog. (which strangely enough was much thicker on the east side) We were able to drive all the way to the trailhead. (barely in Bill's little ford) Excellant bootpacks all the way to the far side of the lake. We set up our camp on the frozen shore. The lake is not thickly frozen yet, only a little glazing over. Ate lots of food and went to bed at a ridiculous hour of 7PM. After a hard to start morning, we started up the snow slopes to the "glacier" Started out with snowshoes but found that the going was easy without. The glacier was in the shade and therefore quite cold but made for good snow conditions. At the saddle, the sun was a very welcome sight. We kept wondering what happened to this inversion. At the summit, it was apparent that the inversion was in full affect as it was toasty. I bet the west ridge of prussik would be real fun right now. The descent was nice (but bumpy ride) and quick. Was a very nice day in the mountians and there was no one else out there. Was rather surprised by the solitude. The north facing sides are staying cold even with this crazy inversion. Minimal avi hazard. Get after it before the next snow comes in. I got pictures but will try downloading it tommorow. Gear Notes: cold weather gear. maybe snowshoes but could do without. Approach Notes: great bootpack to lake firm snow to summit

.....oh yeah!

He's russian? I would like to adjust my opinion. Wool pants, sweater and a blankey are fine. No worse than a typical russian winter.