genepires

it looks like that upper grip is just a plastic plastic biner held on with grip tape and a hose clamp. should be easy to take off and put back on. +1 to what Dru said. Never been there myself but seen photos. Maybe someone who has been there can chime in. good luck down there. that looks like a amazing place. Keep the duct tape off the feet.

just my mediocre opinion, but I would get rid of the index finger trigger. seems like the hose clamp would tear up the hand. if it doesn't bother, then I would leave it. you could drill a small 1/4" diameter hole through the plastic bottom trigger but you won't be able to make that loop go through the metal hole. not that you are suggested to do, but anchoring with your tethers since would be on plastic and bolts. Just curious, what kind of ice climbing are you gonna do in S America? maybe a more alpine (no triggers) may be a better option. are we talking winter ice climbing or alpine ice climbing? and why S America? why not in USA or Canada in our winter? seems like a long way for cragging. maybe none of my business.

maybe you could drill a small hole through the plastic of the bottom grip to allow you to thread some perlon through and make a loop for your teathers. My quarks have only the bottom grip which I like. No upper grip so no educated opinion on those. But I would think that you would want the upper part of the upper grip and maybe could get rid of the index finger trigger. maybe you should try it out with your climbing gloves and see how it feels before chopping it off. It might be the best thing ever.

if you wear boots like this, you don't have to even hold the rope. the boots will do the belaying as well as the climbing. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1124953/FS_Sportiva_Batura_38_5_These_#Post1124953

You could donate them to the Redmond vertical world kids climbing team. seems like your shoes may fit them or they could sell them to pay for some costs.

you don't need a cat machine if you had these: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1124957/Re_FS_Sportiva_Batura_38_5_The#Post1124957

this is the best "for sale" ad ever. If I had teeny tiny girly feet like you and a smartphone, I would buy it and wear it around a local starbucks, commenting on "see this post on my smartphone and how rad I could be if I wasn't so weak". I like how you bust on 'merican women a little and expect there to be a 'merican male to fit these puppies.

and face the ridicule from folks in squish? I get crap for wearing tape mitts. I got crap from folks in bellingham for wearing the original crack mitts way back when. stranger's opinions matter to my weak personal ego.

sabre and midway on castle rock are good beginner places as well. assuming that he is not doing a TR mock lead practice.

fuck...not again...........

best to call the rangers station. maybe the climbing rangers have been in the area recently.

there was a box of used kids climbing shoes cheap at the Redmond vertical world. might still be there. try calling to see if they still have some and sizes they have. it is to raise money possibly for the kids climbing team. the sizes they had were too big for my 6yo.

http://eveningsends.com/climbing/climbing-gyms-arent-problem-assholes/

wire bail - needs complete rigid sole on your boot. better for vertical climbing but you really gotta check to make sure it fits the groove in the boot. toe strap - better for alpine with boots with a little flex.

not enough verbal recognition and rewards from partners? I would say that you either get internal rewards (preferred) or get new partners, most likely those who climb worse than you. they are easy to impress. You can find them at the mountaineers lodge in large groups. Not sure if I really understand the issue. "crushing" as I thought of it was how one felt internally after doing a climb. How smoothly and confident it went, not the accolades received afterwards.

DIY ice tools. would have never thought of that. awesome.

a friend, Curt, showed me a sweet weather prediction tool. It is a feature of the NOAA pinpoint forecast. On the bottom right of the page is a click for Weather Table Interface. It breaks down the forecast into daily quarters with pretty relevant indicators. One such nice info is the predicted amount of rainfall for that 6 hr period. In the winter, predicted snowfall would be nice. Maybe even expected temps on certain aspects of mountains could predict wet slides. So today, the general forecast looked crappy. But the tabular forecast would have shown that 5/100" of rain would fall, which is actually pretty nice for certain activities. oh well. here is the tabular forecast for index crag. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/wxtables/index.php?lat=47.82422&lon=-121.54999 check it out and see if it works for you.

he is trying to get you all crazy, Bob. please don't feed the animals. yeah, it is poor technique. Hoping it is for belaying a TR and not a leader. that unanchored belayer is pretty far from the base of the rock.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1124119/FS_Dynafit_cilogear_40_below_c#Post1124119 this guy has a first light for sale.

cool TR. right on for getting in there and trying. keep it up!

why is this in spray? you might have better responses in the climbing forum. or the newb forum.

something about personal maintenance, which is even more critical in the winter as everything is difficult 1. body fuel. gotta keep the furnace stoked with proper food. no place for a diet. eat something hourly. 2. hydration. dry air and hard exertion can dehydrate one quick. sip water often. (or munch on clean snow if temps are moderate 3. core temp. alter the clothing to keep the core temp in that narrow range of "just right". below sweating and above shivers. 4. exertion levels. works along with core temp but being able to keep the work capacity up for the expected time frame. don't burn out too early. Keep some juice in the tank so that you can hustle when you need to, such as minimize exposure to hazards. 5. solar protection. not that big an issue in winter as there is not that much skin exposed but whatever is needs a dab of sunscreen. 6. keeping aware of what is going on around. not really a personal maintenance thing, but keep aware of changing weather conditions, changing snow conditions, changing avalanche conditions, ect. things change quick and if you blindly go along, you can easily step into a dangerous situation. take the time to look around. be critical of things you see. while I like to think of myself as a "glass half full" guy, be that "glass half empty" guy. Posthole tracks can fill in quick with wind blown snow, if that is your only marker to return trip back. Don't let a group mentality keep you from being critical of what you see or think. 7. start out with short distance trips and work longer with more fitness and experience. luckily you don't have to go far before things get pretty awesome.

those sound like reasonable expectations for risks involved. curious what our local fire fighters & police have in case of severe accidents / fatalities.

so snarky-ness aside, you are saying that Sherpa support should be paid the same US dollars as the western guides? Does that same belief apply to workers who make everything else that is outsourced?

Usually the employers are richer than the employee. client hire guide service and service hires employees. person upstream is richer. and the problem is.........? what is the strike over? if it is wages, then it is an issue with the guide service. If it is over working conditions, then it an issue with the mountain. If it is over getting rich people up the mountain, then they are in the wrong business. Now I am confused. Are you suggesting that rich people not be allowed to travel to poor countries? If the guide services are paying their employees well, are you suggesting that the clients give much better tips, enough for each Sherpa to retire at a early age after one season? You went from the problem being a few media sources not highlighting the labor issues (and choosing to tell about the clients grief's) and going to economic inequality. What exactly is your point and possible solution?