genepires

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.

the wife lets you have a man cave? Damn you are da man.

damn, another route to put on the "to-do list". Good looking line.

mr eric murphy? that food looks good, the tire does not.

used lightweight crampons on way up (9am) and did use them on way down but could have gone up at noon without poons. Not sure if it is typical for time of year as I have usually gone there in the spring or fall. Comparing the starts to the dragontail routes, it seems the snow is softer.

wait, you need a permit for the blue lake trailhead? Which permit is needed?

another way to rationalize the 50m length is to have the ability to be able to rappel to your partner if he/she is unconscious or requires other medical assistence. Assuming that you want the span between climbers to be large enough to be able to span the largest expected crevasse (I usually give about 40 feet), this means that there are 3 lengths of rope, one of 40 and two of 60 feet on each climbers shoulders. This amounts to 160ft not including the rope used for knots. Without a 50 m rope, you do not have enough rope to be able to rappel to your partner. Unless you tie in 20ft apart, but this is entirely to close for our typical glaciers. Now if you had 2 rope teams on 30m ropes, it could work out.

I have always appreciated the "free"ness of the NCNP. Especially when they decided not to care about the parking pass at cascade pass. It always seemed like the park was more about enjoying the wilderness than trying to make a profit from the public. I also never had a hard time with the rangers at the permit office. And my one run in with a field ranger that dealt with camping permit issue (summit of buckner needs a camping permit) was resolved in a respectful manner.

thanks for taking the time to give that detailed descent info. That is something that is really lacking in the Dougherty "selected canadian book of lies" sandbag guidebook. To bad there isn't a kiosk at the base of that mountain that someone could post this info on.

wrong time of year for a down jacket sale. Suggest that you wait till november and your earlier price. just saying.....

I used to work for that company and I seriously doubt that they are staying in a hotel. My guess would be that they are camping in one of the many campgrounds in the icicle canyon.

I have heard many negative things about the descent the way you guys went. Could you eleborate more on how it goes? I heard about rap anchors of just rotten piles of rock, technical downclimbing on loose rock, and navigation issues. When Alex and I went up, after hearing about the AA col way, we decided to go the opposite way and head up towards the columbia glacier, eventually coming out the way the busses go up. It was long and times the crevasses were "interesting" but we got down 7 hours earlier than another team who took the AA col way that same day. You obviously made pretty good time coming down the AA col way. Just by looking at the photos from the guidebook and recollection of being there, it seems like a good way down is to rap via v threads down the n face bowl. From your photos, it seems there is a cornice hanging over that right now but I think that is unusual. Without the cornice, what is your opinion on this descent? Nice job avoiding an epic in the rockies!

I have used the same dromedary for over ten years. Sun faded but still works like a champ. A couple crampon holes patched with small dab a seam grip still leakless too. I took off the little flip top spout thing and put on a regular cap though. Always felt that something would open the flip top during walking motions. never really got into drinking hoses though.

CeCe's nickname is E=MC squared ( the M in mortenson and two C in Cece) due to her over abundance of energy. She is a great gal and a guide. Well worth the course.

All this negativity and energy expended about one bolt. Endless arguments about really trivial matters is pathetic. Sounds like a married couple in a heated argument. We all like climbing, wether it is bolted or not. Why can't we all just get along? No wonder why certain people got into mixed, big wall and bouldering. To get away from this nonsense bickering.

and they got 2 hybrids too.

wildlife ruins my wilderness experience.