genepires

been a long time since I was last on hood, but are you saying that the hogsback feature has shifted to a nmew location and now it points to another chute? Or is the pearly gates not doable anymore? Crazy!

Darin don't need to traing to send big. he just gets off the couch and climbs like a monkey. Great photos as usual.

long stretches of alpine ice is different than waterice. Strange enough that I think 40 degree ice for long periods of time is harder than a 2 pitch 80 degree ice. Due to body positioning and distance of ice from body, standard piolet traction (usual WI tool swings) is awkward. Better to rely on the low daggers use of tools but you don't get that 'self belay" feeling. For me, the calves get worked also, even with pure flat work use or 3 oclock foot work. Maybe something to do with the fact that the legs may be vertical but the torso is usually bent over to get the tools in the ice, and this causes the calve muscle to be under a stretch while being flexed as well. Point is , expect it to be work even though is it lower angle if it goes on for a long time. Keep the technique efficeint and maybe practice the piolet ramasse to keep the calves from getting stretched. Stretch your ankles in training for the route.

frostbite freddie is hilarious. way to make something cool out of a sour thing. nice job!

there is a temp rating for sleeping pads I believe is called the R rating. I believe it is stated in the description for the products. I would say to compare that get a real comparison vs using someones opinion of the warmth differences. from the cascade design website neo all season has a r rating of 4.9 and the ridgerest is a 3.5 not sure how what a rating of 1.4 difference between means as to how much warmer that is. But you could say that the neo is "warmer" than a ridgerest.

before anyone gets their panties in a wad, i suspect that the above comment is sarcasm, a joke. Pins in the LTW is a bad idea. I would say that a trip up town crier would be a good prep for the aid on lib crack but it is closed till july.

Just what I need on that traversing around and hangin for dear life, some residue wd40.

index. or even if you got plenty of midweek free time, why not just go up and aid those 4 pitches of liberty crack a couple times? you would definately have the rack dialed in by the time you decide to go for it for reals. leave the pins at home.

from chad kellog http://www.explorersweb.com/kellogg7

If you have a moldable footbed, you do not need a superfeet inside. never seen the baruntse so I don't know if the sole is moldable or just the sides and tops of the inner boot. interesting feature for a mtneering boot. I don't think the superfeet were meant for going in a oven. maybe the best idea is to heat up the inner boot without superfeet but put it in when you take it out of the oven. having a pro do the work is a smart idea too.

"My thought had been to put the liners inside the boots, followed by the liners. How do you all wear footbeds in double boots?" you have "liners" in the sentence twice. which is which? footbeds go inside of inner boot. not between outer and inner boot. Is this what you are asking about? "comments about baking the liners with the footbeds INSIDE the liners" as far as I know, there are no heat moldable superfeet. What do you mean by "baking" I sometimes use both the original footbed and a superfeet because I have a low volume foot. So some boots are have too much inner height for me and I need to fill it up of sorts with that extra footbed.

you could further add to your definition by adding good and bad stressors. good stressors are those that the body can adapt to in a positive manner. bad stressors are excessive so that the body can not adapt enough to keep up with. drug abuse is an extreme example of a bad stressor. exercise within recovery limits is a good stress. exercise beyond the ability to recover is a bad stress.

define your needs for crampons. these may be good or bad depending. If your goal is to walk on glaciers with approach shoes, then these are great. As Alan said above, not so good for water ice. maybe doable for alpine ice with good boots on. Countdown till the statement that all the hard routes back in the day were done in these style of crampons. Even the cover of the 3rd edition (maybe 2nd ed) of waterfall ice in canadian rockies had the author climbing wi4 in plastic boots, old CM tools and a pair of strap on crampons.

Curt = the ultimate friday climber

and if you don't want to buy a big pack to use for just one trip (understandable) just rent it for the trip. Most guide services rent gear like that for that reason. which company are you using?

+1 to what Alasdair said. You really do need a monster pack, especially for the shuttling loads up and the monster "do it all in one push" mad dash back to the airstrip. You don't really notice the couple xtra pounds the pack weighs empty when it is fully loaded. A light weight pack will feel much heavier than a pack built for hauling with the same weight inside. 40 to 60 pounds is common. Plus down clothes and real 4 season tents occupy space.

according to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_gun_deaths_are_in_the_US_every_year In 2011, the latest figure available from the Centers for Disease Control, Accidental discharge 851 Suicide 19,766 Homicide 11,101 Undetermined Intent 222 Total: At least 31940 people died from gun injuries in 2011. Also 258 people were killed during legal intervention, most of them due to guns. Guns were involved, but were not the primary cause of death: -in 2 fatal accidents. -in 6 homicides. Previous years: 2010 31,328 people 2009 31,177 people 2007 31,224 people 2004 29,569 people

cornices above ice climbs. sumting to think about.

the parking lot will not be plowed. you will have to sleep in your rig on the side of the hwy (may not be a plowed parking yet?) or sleep in the snow in the woods. better have a plan B if there is no parking at blue lake TH.

the chimney (1st two pitches) will be chilly, but the rest should be fine. been on it in late may and it was very good. Even had a snow storm the night before but the route was very doable after a couple hours of morning sun.

looks like stevens is extending the season for at least a couple more weekends. so my request extends to the end of the ski season as well.

looks like stevens is extending the season for at least a couple more weekends. so my request extends to the end of the ski season as well.

using contractors means that they will do things according to state regulations and that requires an inspection. Highly doubtful that this shack would pass a inspection no matter how much one covers it up with siding. (which an inspection required before cover with siding and sheetrock anyway) Drew is right. homeowner built but prolly without a still required permit. who says regulation is a bad thing?

so purdy. makes we want to get the split board thing going again. or learn to ski. nice trip

Our last day of the season @ stevens and I was hoping to get my boy to ski with some other kids for a change. (I think he is tired of my hovering) He is a pretty good intermediate run skier and can get down any blue and some black runs. I will of course be with the whole day but I just though the extra company would be nice for him and other kids. PM me if interested.