terrible_ted

Good thinking. We went up on Wednesday - postholing all the way up to the pass, a little more snow on the route. -t

It appears that bad news travels fast, indeed. I am very sorry to hear this. Goodbye, Lee. You had a huge character that touched many people. Your boundless energy will be sorely missed. -t

Hi: I haven't posted here for quite a few years, but I just got a pretty disturbing phone call, involving a former co-worker. Does anyone know of a serious accident on Rainier, possibly involving a fatality, within the last day? I can't find any media coverage (not that that's a bad thing...) but the news came from someone very credible, although not a member of the climbing community. Thanks, -t

Hi: Levi Pulkkinen, a reporter for the Seattle PI, is doing a follow-up story on the accident on Denali. He would like to speak with people that knew Mizuki, so that her life is well-represented in the article. In particular, he was hoping to find out if there was any sort of memorial fund set up on Mizuki's behalf. Here is his contact information. You'll need to get on this immediately, as the story will go to press within the next day or so. Levi Pulkkinen reporter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 206.448.8348 levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com -t

OMG! you're rapping off a non-locking biner!! belt and suspenders, man.... belt and suspenders What, only one sling? Not only that, but look at the tiny little shrub it's looped around...

Chicken bone remedies are one thing, but if you don't want to dissolve your gear slathering DEET on it, you might look into finding a Picaridin-containing repellant. You have to go to Europe or Australia to get the more effective 20% formulations, whereas Cutter Advanced (Autan) sells a 10% product domestically. There's copious valid literature out there showing the effectiveness of DEET and Picaridin (Icaridin) against mosquitoes, black flies and even (for Picaridin) ticks. My wife has friends bring back 20% Pic. as she finds it so much more effective. -t recent article on Picaridin

Nice TR, Tom. For the record, the Mountaineers has a description of Mixup in their list of climbs, but it's very rarely led (i.e. one attempt every 3 - 4 years). I thought the "staircase" looked like one of those Mayan temples, myself... very cool! I wish more people would climb it - maybe they'd knock a bit more of the copious loose rock off the lower route... We made an earlier season approach a few years ago (2002?) and were able to climb up the moat on the right side of the notch. The notch was definitely the crux of the climb. -t

Hi Blake: I recall reading that one of the first pitons used in the North Cascades - and probably America for that matter - was by Wolf Bauer on Mt. Goode. Because it was used on rappel(?), it would be the first piece of booty gear ever left up there! I don't recall if it was the SW couloir or the Bedayn, but probably worth poking around for... I'll bet Lowell or one of the other eminent scholars that frequent this board could fill in the details. -t

If there were any decent legal chemistry jobs in P-town I'd be living there myself. Outside of the schools, she could try here: Lacamas or patrol here: Oregon biotech She'll note that most of the pharma-type chem jobs advertised in Oregon are actually in Washington. Most schools don't specify the nature of the undergraduate chemistry degrees they award - with that in mind, she might find work in the coatings, polymers or even pulp & paper business. That could expand a her search into places like Parker Paint, Precision Castparts or even Ft. James. Who knows? If she could line up a decent job and a decent place to live, maybe she could find herself a decent boyfriend... -t

Might as well orient yourself with the "historical" efforts at this: What the hell is prominence anyways? Washington highest Have fun... -t

http://www.eagleoptics.com Their "buying guide" pages probably have more than you want to know about optics. I've made very significant high-end optics purchases with them and been quite happy with the experience. Be especially wary of NY/NJ area on-line photo stores that offer great deals (B&H excepted)... I think these would suit you well: cutting edge optics -t

Hi: I spent the last week up in the Lake Louise/Banff/Canmore area, and a few days of temps down to -40 (pick your scale) drove us to the base of some CL 6 gear shops (Credit Limit 6). Armed with a handful of LostVisas, MasterCard stubbies and a cash hammer, we scaled the fearsome heights of Banff and Canmore's heavily picked-out shops, hoping for some deals. Mountain Magic in Banff had the Kayland M11's on closeout for $339 Can. I wasn't familiar w/Kayland, and in fact, I was kind of holding out for Asolo's "Cholatse" boots, which are due to be released late March (nice timing ), after trying them at Ouray this year. I find that I just cannot make my feet abide by La Sportiva's skinny-ass toe deck. I wanted new boots that were lightweight, waterproof(able), stiff enough for ice and flexible enough to wear on approach. The M11's seemed to be pretty comparable to the Cholatse in general build, and they fit pretty well, so I went for it. The Kaylands delivered. I hiked in through sometimes deep snow at -15 F using them with 2 pairs of socks and my feet stayed warm. I climbed WI4 @ -5 F using 1 pair of socks and toe warmers without a problem. I submerged them up to the ankle over a half dozen times on a sloppy, slushy stream approach and my socks stayed dry. My BD Bionics grip them well, although the front bail needs to be molded to accomodate the narrower profile of the Kayland boot. I can't say anything about the long-term durability, but the Kaylands have met my immediate needs well. I still have a little heel slip, which I'm hoping a molded insert will eliminate. I have very narrow heels and have yet to find another boot that matches my duck shaped feet (wide toe deck, narrow heels) better. My pair (US 10.5) weighs 4#, 6oz (1984g) for the pair, including the laces and the stock insert. I'm putting this up here because I haven't seen a lot of info about Kayland here in Washington. Best regards, -t

Solo ass-cam?

Yeah, I was wondering about the same sort of thing. Like most climbers, I find myself trying to reach some degree of homeostasis by modulating my layers, breathing and movement rate. I spend a lot of time hiking with my hat or gloves in my hands, putting them on or taking them off as I get warmer or colder without having to change my pace. I like zippered shirts for the same reason: adjustments on the fly. It's one thing to blow hot and cold on short days, but when you're looking at one of those 12+ hour pushes, it seems critical to keep things stable. I was amazed to see that 8 F° swing in the astronaut's core temp. over less than a minute! I wonder if he was all lathered in a sweat... maybe some armchair engineer can come up with a flux value (Jules/m2) for the rate at which heat was blowing through his skin? -t

I liked the Denali show. The implication that core temp. variation could be more predictive of performance than the actual temp. is particularly intriguing. I thought the K2 show was pretty, but weak... Was that the theme?? They failed to place the "K2 women" climbing fatality rate in the context of "K2 men." A sample size of five is pretty unreliable, unless you're taking the mystic fate approach. Obviously, one of the five women was underexperienced. How does that compare to the ratio of inexperienced men that attempt K2? How many men vs. women have turned back? How many of them are dead? The bottom line is that their thesis was boring: 10% of the successful ascents of K2 were represented by women and none of them are currently alive. BFD. The complaint about women disrupting the "party dynamic" for the men seemed pretty lame. It says more to me about the social instability of those particular men... Couldn't be the same group that ignored Beckey, eh??? -t