genepires

march is a bad time of year for snow protection. I have pulled out deadmaned pickets in march but had good success with pulling tests in july through august with vertical placed pickets. It has been strong enough that 4 guys pulling hard could not pull it out. Even a dynamic pull with 4 guys. One time, I even deadmaned a 2 inch rock and could not pull it out. It is all about the snow pack and time of year. -If the snow is strong, then chances are the steps are hard to make and the need to simu is there. A fall here will get fast quick and self arrest is undoable. (classic example of this is denali pass about high camp) - If the snow is weak, the steps are big, deep and easy and the need to simu is not there. A fall here will stop with very little effort due to friction. to discount vertical placements is not look at the year round picture.

I feel a little sick reading this.

catching someone who is falling on 45 degree snow is not as hard as one might think. Between the usually thinner dynamic rope, some friction and the assumption that the falling person is trying to stop, the forces are much lower than a rock climbing situation. Two people should be able to catch one person falling. Unlikely that one person can catch two people falling. would I want to catch a fall? no way. but the forces involved are not enough to warrant a choice to solo the face.

pack your stinky rock shoes with the rack to give them a surprise when they rifle through your carry on bag. Couple of times I did what you are asking about, been searched but no problem.

might not be a great tool for crevasse rescue as it might have too much friction for that system. worth trying out on a practice session though.

LEader is belayed on two double ropes normally. Each of the other climbers is tied to one of the double ropes. Leader belays up both followers with a auto locking belay device so that the climbers can climb at their own pace. Gotta clip both ropes into traverses for preventing swings of followers.

+1 for sir donald and ingals. (My only solo ventures)

Is keeping the masses away from the wilderness a bad thing? (I am kidding of course...sort of)

No doubt you read some negative comments on the durability of the SS but there must be thousands of crampons out there performing well. Maybe you should reconsider the ditching of your sabertooths and just check them regularly for cracks if that is your concern. If it does get a crack, then BD will do you right. Now if you got lots of spare cash....... I prefer the sarken to the sabertooths. No detailed reasoning as I have never worn the sabertooths. But I did not like to do wi4 in the sarkens. I thought the front points were to long for winter waterice. So either you kick in extras hard for full penetration or you needed more calf work to keep foot level. But for alpine ice, I really like the sarkens.

way too much thread drift. Won't someone sell this guy some SS hangers!

shove a stopper down the throat, have the nut impact on the small intestine orifice and shit out the swagged cable. Shoelaces do not stand up to UV radiation like metal cable and dead squirrels.

The women are unaffected by this I hear. Welcome back anyway Mike. there is one finger unaccounted for in the photo. Maybe it isn't a punch?

I only use twiggy weeds and dead squirrels for pro. They will have perma draws on them though.

how about attaching perma fixed draws on dem lines to?

unknown. It was a bit of an experiment on my part. Maybe I just got lucky.

did that at the stuart lake TH on a busy weekend with no tickets. The sign was all of 50 yards from the TH.

I like the alpine starts because I wake up before 5am every morning. So why not meet up at such a ridiculous time? It is either get to climbing or surf cc.com for hours before a climbing day trip.

those are either tight shoes or you got small feet!

yes it is long....... but the jist is that you are not pleased with stainless crapons? Don't live up to the hype and more susceptible to failure than cromeoly?

what selkirk says +1 You do have control in the mountains. You take actions to lessen the probability and consequence of risk. With your attitude, forget the harness and rope and just solo. Why are you even looking for gear? I wouldn't even loan my gear if that is the attitude you have as I won't be getting it back any time soon. Risk can be thought of mathematically as risk = probability of event times the consequences of event If either factor is low, there is very low risk. If one is high and one is near zero, then risk is near zero. Every action we do is to make the probability or consequence of event minimal. If the probability of event is high and consequences is high, then risk is high. You are still in control because you can turn around. You are still in control if you are diligent about measuring these two factors for example: I rope up to skilled partners to minimize the consequence of falling into crevasse. I read the terrain closely to find where the hidden crevasses are so I don't fall in one. I don't put my life in the mountains good intentions cause she punishes the foolish. And you sir are sounding very foolish.

Where to start? "climbed many of the Cascade glaciers, including Adams, St. Helens, Shasta as well as Whitney" Depending on the routes done, rainier may not be the next logical step as those may have been glacier less or just snow line routes. Baker might be the next logical choice. "objective dangers inherent when climbing mountains but I am willing to risk it. Because that is what mountaineering is truly about." It is most definitely not about putting yourself at the mercy of the mountains. It is about realizing the hazards, making choices to minimize the hazards and dealing with the hazards as they show up. Risk management is a vital skill if you want to climb for a long time. " It seems like the most difficult part of the climb will be having enough energy to make and not getting altitude sickness." If everything goes well this may be true. give serious amounts of time to learning the skills that deal with the "what ifs" from people who know that they are doing or at least a good climbing manual. Things you need to have nailed down; self arrest, crevasse rescue and navigation. first aid too. good luck.

Could you explain that a bit more as that seems a bit odd...? party pooper

one can buy a harness (alpine bod is about $30 I believe) for really cheaper, cheaper than renting.

what no refill of the used fuel canister and then a "hygglig"? nice one pat!

I would go but already got plans.