genepires

+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.

gotta be high enough to keep out the riff raff. What gun shooting, cheap beer swilling and home appliance dumping guy is gonna spend $150? (unless it is for bullets, beer or home appliances)

well the ladderball is Recreation and it is Equipment and they are Incorporated, so it is fitting I suppose. MEC does not get off so easy.

great photos! the easton is pretty damn nice when the parking lot is snowed in. where the snowmobiles still running around? hopefully you went past their allowed time frame.

you are by chance taking any anti-biotics or meds of some kind? I forget the type, but I have seen anti-biotics make people more sensitive to light. One guy couldn't use sunglasses at all. we had to make him a cardboard slit glasses over reg glasses to be on the glacier. Obviously you are not as bad as him, but maybe other meds have a effect as well. have you tried the old school glacier glasses, more aviator style with generous leather side shields. might prevent leakage better.

pm sent on biner and cam

did a quick early hike up pilchuck this morning. there were LOTS of ski mountianeers coming up on my way down. might be a good place to learn or at least visit sometime in your ski free time. at least in the springtime.

a true pro can make something ugly look so nice. never has a industrial complex looked so good.

nice one Matt. going to colchuck glacier looks like a nice way to get down.

I got a message from access fund that the closure was on BLM land and that most of the climbing was on rec land or something. All the negative info may have been misinformed. or not. the best bet is to call the ranger station there. back when I got the falcon guide, it was way better than the 2nd ed bingham guidebook which I had been using for years before. hopefully the 7th ed of the binham got the weakness out of it. I have never had any issues with info from the falcon guide so I don't know where the "piece of shit" part comes from. but it is all a moot point since the falcon book is $900 used on amazon. really?

there is some online pretty comprehensive page for castle rocks. lots and lots of photos. unfortunately I don't know the link but it should still be out there.

I think the falcon guide (calderone?) is better than the Bingham one. Ditto on getting some info on castle rocks area too.

central area of burger and fries if you can stand the crowds. and the broken beer bottles. there is a good place in murrin park too. I am not near a guidebook right now but it is right below some power lines. walk up directly from the parking lot a short distance. Very good beginner cracks. maybe 5 routes in the same area.

[quote=Kaskadskyj If only you libturds could use prose like the Onion does, you'd be not only funny but likable. ;-) is there a right leaning equivalent to The Onion? Fox news is ridiculous but not funny. And creativity in news is not a good thing.

third what Dan and Rick said above. I have been climbing in the cascades for over 24 years now and always used a down bag and never had a situation where my bag got wet. (even in a 5 day Baker august monsoon sufferfest) Not sure where the concept that one needed to have a synthetic bag for around here but it sure is pervassive across the country. Maybe marketing hype? now if the person would be on some bigwall, slot canyon or deep caving..............

gots local videos too.

too funny and worthwhile the time to watch [video:vimeo]66479330

bull fighting, car racing and climbing are sport. the rest are games.

what no photos! lame.

I have gone up the easton and over to the deming glacier a couple of times due to difficulties with the easton. that part is fairly reasonable. I have also approached the n ridge from fairly high on the coleman before traversing under the coleman headwall. that was also fairly reasonable and done to avoid nasty crevasses. Seems reasonable to combine the two in this case. In no case was there difficulty with "seeing" crevasses.

just a thought, how about coming in from the easton glacier side, hike up to the pummice ridge and camp. early start, descend and traverse around to the n ridge. The descent takes you right back to your camp for the hike out. You get a nice little traverse out of the whole trip. Maybe less extra traveling than the hike up a closed glacier creek forest road. You don't get to preinspect the glacier travel with this version but the glacier is easier if you hug the roman nose and coleman headwall. (give both of those monsters wide berth though)