genepires

stop off in ouray CO before coming hear. relatively speaking, we got nothing here and that is not some elitist "keep our secrets a secret" "locals only" thing either. stay in the riverside lodge (I believe) for cheap stay. get free hot pool vouchers. climb more ice on TR in a day than we got in the entire state for a season. (slight exaggeration) Or go to banff but ouray is more beginner friendly.

you will need to go through a licensed outfit for rainier. There are very good companies that have a license for rainier. alpine ascents and IMG have very good guides but may not be amga cert. your timing is going to be hard though. Most outfits do their trips in the summer so staffing a winter trip may be difficult. Seem to remember that the AMGA had a limited number of days for certified guides not in a licensed company. Check out their website if the regular companies won't fulfill your needs. A guide needs a guiding permit to work in rainier. Without it, is illegal, does guiding a disservice and looks poorly in the eyes of the NPS. I doubt that my rant will change anyones opinions though. You sound like you are determined to do it no matter the cost. (mostly from the ASAP comment) Maybe i am wrong. hard to really read people in the internet.

3rd is fine too. That is the one I got. all the big routes are in the all the editions. but the info is much better in the 3rd and 4th. can't believe someone would buy a copy for thousands of $$$. capitalism. What the market will bear. not the cheap climbers market.

if a lightweight tent (firstlight for example) weighs the same as a synthetic overbag, then why go with a overbag? I would rather be bagless in a tent than tentless with a bag if the weather was bad.

for $2040, would never sell. but I might let you borrow a copy if you promise to return like a nice young man would.

free option = freedom of the hills from library and go to a unused portion of a ski area. (maybe early or late in day) You will need a firm surface to slide on and that can be hard to find in the winter. You need to learn to kick solid steps (duck feet and diagonal stride), plunge step, self belay and self arrest. (Self arrest being #1 skill)

thanks! will try that. (by coincidence I got some metal tape rolling around in the truck bed)

with all due respect to AAI and the other PNW prof guide services, there is no better learning opportunity for a summit of denali than climbing something in the alaska range. (assuming you have a quality guide) I taught some denali preps in the cascades and there are some limitations imposed by the terrain. I also taught some 12 day mtneering course in the AK range that were not denali prep based but I thought were many times greater in actual knowledge learned towards getting up the big hill. hey there's a thought, how about a denali prep or 12 day course in the alaska range in june? (forget about a 6 day, not enough time to get your moneys worth) If time is an issue (usually is), like I said earlier, a 3 or 4 day ascent of crosson would be superb. Just ask for a little fixed line practice to figure that out. Being told if fine, but actual doing is much better. good luck gene PS kahiltna dome would be good too. more sled pulling time and less exposure to weather.

what about those wrist gps units? the watch ones?

How about flying to AK and hire a guide to take you up mt. crosson? (june) yeah not criteria #3. Right near the airstrip and better preparation for denali than anything in PNW. Scenery can't be beat. And for a added bonus, maybe you can go out on the sultana ridge towards foraker for a day trip. (not summiting foraker as this may be to serious) Give AMS a call. (alaska mtneering school) There are prolly other fine outfits there too but I am unfamiliar with them.

wow. hardly anyone goes back there in the summer. must have been very quiet back there. awesome photos.

in no particular order -getting rope gunned up davis holland - luv arms, 2 times (thanks Rad, aka Rad and Matt) -getting rope gunned up carlsberg column (with a strained Achilles) (Thanks Chris, aka cfire) -doing a wa pass linkup (nw corner NEWS and W face NEWS) (thanks Chris) -getting up E buttres SEWS (thanks Tyson) -getting up total soul (thanks Dave Brannon, aka max) sure there is more but the memory is weak. thanks to all my partners. oh the life of a dad, the day trip schedules.

you are not alone Tyson. I also do not get it. But we are a simple lot. My low point has got to be getting in a nasty verbal argument with a climbing partner. worth all 5 of the bottom 5.

My concern with the usual bladders was chemicals leaching out in the boiling water. maybe it is unfounded. I don't know. what is know is that my kid likes cocoa and the thermos in the pack sucks when I sit against a back rest on the chair. Maybe I need to put more stuff in the pack. doesn't have to be a thermos as I could insulated it with foam or something. will look into using the camelback bladders. It looks like the chill bottles don't collapse or conform in a pack. maybe they do. thanks y'all!

Anyone know of a flexi water bottle capable of holding boiling water or a thermos that is soft? I don't think that putting boiling water in a platypus or drom bag is a good idea. Maybe I am wrong. I would like to get some kind of thermos that can go in a backpack and not be such a pain in the back while riding a ski lift. Simple google searches came up with nothing.

comfy to hang in (with all the clothes used while ice climbing) yet still lighterweight than a summer harness I like gear loops on the very back which means I am making my own gear loops around the rear haul point. But if you can find one with excessive gear loops............

got a harness with 6 clipper slots. guess how many clippers I got on? I got a hula skirt harness of plastic biners with screws hangin all over.

was glad to be present on 2 of the 5.

maybe get a 2x4 and cut it into 1ft pieces and nail them together in a way to make a higher prestep so the actual step is not so high? day 11 sounds horrible. but effective.

another nice looking line! thanks for the work and hope to get on this summer.

ask tvash about that. he has some short short skiis that might be skiboards.

couple people killed by falling trees between stevens and l'worth. Sad day. U.S. HWY 2 CLOSED FROM STEVENS PASS TO LEAVENWORTH December 23, 2012 WSDOT web cam shot of summitt of Stevens Pass. CLICK TO ENLARGE(STEVENS PASS, WA) --U.S. Highway 2 from Stevens Pass (milepost 64) at the summit to milepost 99 at the west end of Leavenworth is closed due to the potential for snow-laden trees to fall onto the roadway, according to the Washington State Dep’t of Transportation (WSDOT). The highway was closed in both directions at 6:25 p.m. Saturday due to fallen trees on the roadway from heavy rains that have loosened the soil and snow on tree limbs that pose a threat to more trees falling without warning. In fact two residents of Bothell, Washington were killed Friday afternoon in a freak accident near Stevens Pass when a tree fell on their 1999 Chevrolet Suburban. The state patrol says the accident happened about 1:20 p.m. in Chelan County, eastbound on Highway 2 some 21 miles west of Leavenworth. Killed in the accident were the driver, identified as 58-year-old Timothy Desmond and a passenger Cheryl Janine Reed, 56, both of Bothell. Four other passengers were injured and transported to a hospital in Wenatchee. They were identified as Jeremy M. Owen, 22, of Bothell, 24-year old Jamie O. Mayer of Seattle, Steven T. Mayer, 24, of Seattle and Jessica J. Owen, 27, of Bothell. A report by KOMO-TV Seattle described Tim and Cheryl Owen of Bothell as a mother and father who were killed in that accident in front of their adult children. They had all been on a family outing together. Tim was described as a Bothell soccer coach and Lynnwood businessman and his wife Cheryl as a manager at Amazon.com in Seattle. Officials say conditions on Highway 2 will be evaluated Sunday morning to determine a reopening strategy. Motorists will be able to access the Stevens Pass Ski Area from the west, but through-traffic is advised to use I-90 Snoqualmie Pass and US 97 Blewett Pass. Less than 2” of snow fell through the closure zone on Saturday. The next front is forecast to bring as much as 3” to 4” of snow late Sunday morning through the evening. The Chronicle will have updates as details become available.

if the 2nd ammendment says we need to right to bear arms for a legitimate "militia", then why not allow citizens to own guns only if they are active members of the national guard or miitary? Then for the national guard annual service requirement, they can stand guard at the schools. Win-Win.

imagine the safety if we had BOTH armed guards and the wackos did not have guns? but my idea is just too crazy to work. much better to have a good old shooting match.

mt si? not sure of the driving time to n bend and back but definately the most vert within easy drive from seattle. maybe tiger mtn if you want to trail run for a workout. maybe try a tall buildings stairwells? climb up, elevator down. 5 stories is plenty.