genepires

looks like a good time. what is the deal with the 6th photo?

I think this post in regards to informing and collection info on what areas are open and closed due to bird closures needs to be started over. this is turning away from the original rationale.

to be honest, questions of soloing glacier should never be on a newbie forum because newbies should never solo a glacier. In fact, if one has to ask questions about how to solo glaciers, they should not be soloing on a glacier. Once one has spent enough time on a glacier, they will know the answers. And before you give Tvash grief about the undies comment, he brings up a very good point in comedy that you missed entirely. What will you use to aid up with? Just carrying 2 screws is going to be completely useless without some minimal equipment to actually aid with. Heed the advice given by all the people who posted on this thread. I have never met you but your words sound kinda cocky.

side question. I got some skinny mammut slings that are 5 years old. No use other than 3 days cragging in wet WA. What is the retired life of these skinny slings? (I fully expect someone to say that I should toss them and that said someone will volunteer to dispose of them properly if I mail them to him...probably in portland)

Not meaning to speak for Kurt, but I think 6mm if plenty fine for alpine anchor making material. The high strength for anchor material is needed for the dreaded fall factor two onto the anchor. It is near impossible to attain a fall factor 2 in the alpine. (unless it is some uber hardman route that is 5.12 or something) The fall factors are based on the leader taking a free fall onto the piece of protection. In most of the alpine routes, there will be lots of bouncing off small and large ledges that will reduce the forces put onto the protection or onto the anchor if there is no protection yet. If there is no pro, the leader will most likely crash into the big ledge that the anchor is built from and possibly roll off which would yield a fall factor 1 at most. Fine for the anchor but sucks balls for the leader.

it doesn't get truly buried but snow does stick to the almost vertical parts. Sometimes the snow sticks and a new layer of ice will grow over that making for really bad ice screw placements. When avi conditions are bad in the BC, they can be bad above and below the falls too even though it is in the ski area. I can personally attest to the real avi probability on the slopes near the pan done falls.

what is so wrong with fortune cookies in linsanity fz yogurt? I suppose that soy sauce ice cream would be insulting too? I can see the comment "chink in the armor of ...." article last week as the term chink is derogatory. But fortune cookies?

All very good info y'all! thanks

It really comes down to wether or not the sun is gonna be enough to heat up the screw and melt out the ice. If it is warm and sunny and in the ice long enough (summer ice TR comes to mind) then you need to angle it back a bit to that even it it melts out, it will not "pop" out. If it is inside a crevasse that is cold, dark and only used for a brief period of time like for protection, then I usually drill in perpendicular to the ice.

I have heard that webbing is less likely to cut over edges, like the edges that may be present around horns or pinched blocks common to alpine rappel stations.

so I am looking into replacing my old slings and was wondering what people's opinions where about the different kinds of sling materials. Maybe between nylon, dynex (BD), dynema (mammut ones), titan/spectra. pros for nylon- lasts longer and more resistant to cutting? dynex and dyneema are obviously skinnier and lighter. titan/spectra seems like a average of the previous two. what about the cons for the different materials? What is the suggested life span of the dyneema stuff? I have heard some scary stuff about the short life span of these slings.

looks good. any chance of a seattle showing? (keeping all the goods in portland?)

PM sent for biners

agreed with the great article. Not sure if I like the recommendation about just rotating the used rappel cords some to spread out the rope burning damage. (instead of using rappel rings) I mean it makes sense but to recommend something like this (vs. just stating that one needs to place new every time) leaves me a bit nervous about liability. (both legally and morally)

that is probably because the second guy fell onto the first killing him or like on baker years ago, the first guy was "lowered down" due to the second guy trying to self arrest but still fell into the crevasse and dying in the fall. Either scenerio does not apply to a soloist. I have looked into many crevasses and not seen many that had ledge to land on and climb out. 99% of them squeeze down gradually or I couldn't see the bottom due to crazy depths. These are bad odds for anyone to fall into. You are posting this question in the newbie section which implies that you are new to this climbing game. Heed the words of advice when someone tells you that you are doing something unsafe. Now it is not a bad idea to carry one ice screw even for a roped climber. I knew a very experienced mtn guide who had to place a ice screw to take the weight off the surface members who was unable to build a anchor where they self arrested. If you really want to be able to aid out a crevasse, you will need some slings to be able to stand in (probabaly 4 shoulder length) about 4 carabiners, and some gear to get through the snowy parts. For that you will need a couple pickets to aid on and a small shovel to dig through the snow with. Really much easier to find a partner.

Good folks are trying to help and you get snarky. You'll fit right in with the spray folks. You are also asking a question in the newbie section. This implies you are new to the climbing (and long distance hiking) game. Expect advice that does not fit your original question if there are obvious ways for improvement. Really, these guys are way more experienced than you. Listen to what they are saying. If you are not a newbie, then this should be posted in the gear forum.

there is no amount a self delusion can convince oneself about being "right" or "important" (maybe "cool") while hucking a tv off a cliff. Throwing tires, appliances and paint cans is just plain littering and illegal. Pure chemically altered dumbasses.

if metolious, send to metolious and they will do a very good overhaul/cleaning/inspection in addition to resling for a reasonable price. If BD, send it to them but do it as a large lot. they charged $5 for return shipping regardless of amount of cams. Plus they do it the fancy way when it is new, not just a loop. those are the only ones I have used. I know yates does reslings of any cam that is newer than 10 years or so.

I have usually operated under the 3 strikes rule which is that when I have 3 (or sometimes less) reasons to not be in a situation, I bail. Reading this article shows that the greatest frequency for avi occur when 3 obvious indicators where present. Something to think about.

I saw a video that had the survivor using the same kind of airbag system. It was theorized that another benefit of this system is that the victim tends to stay in one orientation while going downhill (head up) vs the usual tumbling which causes trauma. Seems like this airbag would work better in thick cascade concrete than lighter fluffy powder. Won't it be more buoyant in thick snow?

condolences to friends and family just saw a video on another avi event that turned out ok but shows the hazard to even experienced folks. http://espn.go.com/action/snowboarding/story/_/id/7554605/part-two-further-unplugged-jeremy-jones-xavier-de-le-rue-jimmy-chin

Having been in construction now for about 6 years, I have met many different guys doing stuff like the fire sprinkler you are hanging from. I wouldn't give that much trust to anything any construction monkey does. Phffft a half inch bolt can be crappy.

second the opinion that doing pullups off a fire sprinkler is a very very bad idea. Not only would you break the pipe causing a flooding situation on the floor but it would automatically initiate a call to the fire department and set off the fire alarm which would make your floormates unhappy. no clue on your injury though. Hope it gets better soon.

Like most of america, you have a incorrect view and understanding of probability probably because it is a really hard thing to understand. I used to understand parts of it and still struggle with the most basic today. Been thinking of the probability of event of a 1%/day taken out for 500 days as a binomial probability. I think it is 34% or so. That means that if one thinks they will experience a 1% chance of having a serious accident on a given climbing day, then take it out for 500 days, the chance that there will be at least one serious accident is 34% for that 500 day period. The probability per day stays the same at 1%.

I had two events within 3 months that fit your "climbing unroped and exceeding abilities". Shame it took two lessons but those two did change how I did things in the mountains.