genepires

in the not so distant future, skiis will be as wide as a splitboard going uphill. then the track will fit us nicely. I have splitboard behind skiers and it is like breaking trail all day long. But the exception of berdinka, I have always ripped harder downhill. Kolfach used to make a really nice looking back country boot that looked like a nepal top but higher. Sadly they discontinued before I had the brains to buy one. I have snowboarded in leather mtn boots like the nepal top but the leather did not cover the entire length of the high back. This caused some pinched pain in the calf. I resorted to wrapping the calf with a piece of foam pad. This seemed like a good idea on paper but lacked something in reality. maybe you can refine the idea. Maybe a shorter highback for bindings that is lower than the leather boot? Old school-there was a binding that was used for racing and was similar to a crampon binding. If you can find one of those and mount it on the splitboard binding plate. Then use plastic boots or AT boots. Not sure if this would work for leather mtn boots.

I have a down bag liner that has only a sleeve for a pad on the bottom. it has worked very well for summer and sometimes in winter when weight is key. (add a bivy and down jacket for winter) Not sure if this quilt thing is a just a sleeping bag without down on the bottom or a down blanket.

what first sounded as a sprain, becomes real when it is a avi plus 2 broken joints. Sounds like the friend at the scene and the friends from seattle did a good job. (as well as the SAR) That is a bunch of buddies that I want when things go wrong.

drove by index at 4pm. LTW looked real nice from hwy 2 at 60 mph.

I by no means was trying to disparage anyone involved. sorry if it seemed I did. I will delete my previous post.

.....

watson is going to tell us to all fuck off soon.

very nice gentlemen. proud.

I thought the flu vaccine was basically a shot of the dead viruses. The body senses them and prepares for them even though the virus can not do anything about it. But this must be wrong because there would be nothing negative about that kind of treatment. Without looking back over the train wreck of 11 pages, what part supposedly causes autism? Mercury or other preservative?

If you are bivying on a ledge, then you are on some technical ground. I would not want to carry the bivy, 30 deg down, synth overbag and a belay coat. (in addition to all the other stuff one needs) especially if it is on 5.8's and such. My bivy kit would be a ultra light bivy (epic material no zipper) really LW down bag liner (40 degree) 3/4 foam pad and a light puffy coat. sleep in all climbing clothes and it will be OK. have done it with only the epic sack and a flaked rope. (too tired to care) a good headlamp is lighter than all that gear. Like what Drew was saying, just keep going till 3am, pass out on some flat boulder, shudder for a couple hours, and keep going. That is how I got married. If you really want to learn about lightweight bivy gear, give promountain sports website a look. Jim Nelson can talk your ears off about LW gear. Maybe pose your question to him personally.

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.

monkey must have got a new setup from santa?

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!