genepires

for just good plain getting out fun along the mtn loop: hike up pilchuck - not hard but still fun and get some exercise hike up dickerman - same as above but much longer vesper - not the n face but the scramble up the other side which is the descent line. and for stuff I haven't done: what about going up sloan but not thte corkscrew way to avoid glaciers? white chuck - not sure of the road situation but there is a good solo line on the west face. whitehorse? for others: if you are going to solo 5th class routes, I hope you choose well traveled lines to minimize loose rock. I think that the s face of ingals is a nice easy 5th class solo. das toof?

there are two non glacier moraine base camps. I assume you are asking about these. If you base out of the glacier, you will have isolation while camping out. But then you wouldn't be near the toilets which is nice. taking a dump and looking at the twin sisters! The guide outfits do most of their classes midweek. there may be a 3 day summit trip there but those are not as common. If there are other people, it will be regular climbing citizens. The lower moraine camp (not in trees) can hold lots of people and this is where the circus would be. the upper camp can something like 6 tents unless you want to chop a level platform in the snow. There are a couple tent spots before you get to the moraine but they are to close to the parking area to be a decent base camp. Another option is to go beyond the moraine camps and climb up the glacier for a couple hours and camp out on some level ground. Makes your summit day shorter, relatively isolated and a cool experience overall.

been up das toof 4 times, all times it was empty. (relative, one other group on route) 1X summer on a bad forecast but dry day 3X winter but sunny day in a 4 day sunny streak If you want relative isolation, don't go on good weather summer days. the winter time is very nice for das toof. Or do some other line on the peak.

"Pakistani Taliban claimed it carried out the attack at Nanga Parbat to avenge the death of their deputy leader in a U.S. drone strike last month." Not that an attach such as this is warranted in any way, but thier logic is messed up even from a war point of view. USA kills their leader and they shoot up a bunch of non americans? (no way did they know that the Hong Luchin guy was american) Dumb-ass.

in other climbing news, canmore and other alberta towns/cities just went through a brutal flooding situation. Guides asking people to stay out of the area till things are repaired. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/22/alberta-flooding-2013-pictures_n_3483989.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-alberta

Dan is back in the saddle! sorry bud, but I gotta work all week.

just because swimming pool chemicals had the same result as what happened to his harness doesn't prove that it was the pool maintenance chemicals that did the damage. they tested only a small fraction if the chemicals available. There could easily be something else with the same affect.

I gotta get my climbing gear out of the laundry room.

that looks real nice and uncrowded like the other classics in the area. how would you rate it compared to sir donald?

better that than people getting hurt or dead.

I know there are lots of people skinning up the boundry rd/trail at baker. As long as you are considerate to the paying public, the patrol didn't bother us.

besides letting people pass is a good excuse for coming down via hedlamps. you can blame it on "niceness".

good question. My mountaineering boots are just rock hard material under the footbeds. But maybe the lighter weight boots have cushions built in like running shoes. Do you think it would pack out in one season? seems like a short life span. good luck and glad to see that you are getting over that horrible foot accident.

wouldn't new footbeds negate the packed footbeds and therefore not be an issue with the resole?

awesome photos as usual.

If you don't get a good enough answer here, try calling the ranger station in marblemount. climbers regulary leave condition reports on their way out for routes in boston basin.

if you don't get your back, I think that there was one for sale on the yard sale forum. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1105268/Closet_Cleaning_Sale#Post1105268 good luck Kurt! thanks for the bolting work too.

I run at 1.5 to 2 MPH. oh wait......that is walking speed.

you scared people off with the "darrington". You also scared them off with trad climbing. Good luck Matt.

local hardman and photohead gets his photo of moses in online magazine. http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/tnb-mystery-solved?page=2 nice job Darin!

+1 to what Dan said above. You also have to plan for some swelling of feet with general abuse and altitude. You may start out with a liner sock/thick sock combo down low and summit with just the thick sock. On the need for oly mons boots, from my one trip up the w butt, about 90% of folks had the usual plastic boot/overboot combo that DPS describes. It may be overkill but if you got the money, it is only $80 per toe. So you may not need the extreme insulation but it is always a good idea to plan for the worst case conditions. So if you can afford it, do it. You can always sell the boots when you get back. I never really used the liner sock in my boots. Just didn't work right for me and I never got blisters with just one of those smartwool type socks. I think that a small fold in the liners even gave me blisters. Newer socks have a fairly soft inside that slides well on my ski. I just bring a couple different thicknesses of sock for those cold/warm days or foot swelling days. You are gonna have to just try out different sock combinations on your training days. (which doesn't help you with a boot purchase, just get one sized for liner/thick sock) end of rambling

I seem to remember Alan Kearney talking about this descent that you may be talking about. Seem to remember it was all fixed direct rappels back to the stuart glacier. obviously never been on it but maybe you should try to call/email him.

really glad to hear that you are thinking and/or able to get outside again Dan.

maybe you should call FF before writing them off. Maybe they have a hourly rate for "repairs and alterations" and not just warranty work. By chance, maybe you could enlighten us on the changes you are making to the bag?

WOW! that was a very productive trip. Did you guys summit on Dickey, Johnson, huntington and hunter? That is pretty bad ass for one month.