jaee

quote: Originally posted by jon: http://www.alpinist.com They have a preview available online that is pretty cool, just hope you have a big enough screen to see the pdf. Um, jon, that's what the little zoomy thing is for.

I imagine this works in the same way alcohol dilates capilaries. This would probably provide some short term benefits. However, the benefits of vasodilation need to be weighed against the danger of hypothermia. If you dump a bunch of heat thru your hands and feet you will obviously cool your core more quickly. Plus, after you take your first leak, I doubt you'd be worried about the way your hands are feeling. Take a 1/2 pint of hooch instead and do your crotch a favor.

quote: Originally posted by allison: But you can recycle any of these canisters in curbside recycling, if you bleed them. We've been over that here before! Yes, but do the go back to the distributor so they can be reused? I believe that's what happens with SnowPeak canisters in PDX. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will point it out. I suppose I should have said "re-use" and that would have been more clear. Otherwise, not much point in making the trip to the gear shop, unless it's a marketing ploy. Obviously anyone would know you can recycle metal, even without searching the back articles. I have to admit, I don't usually search for back articles when answering a question. That responsibility usually goes to the asker of the question.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: ... Drive in there real early because last time I was there the road was pretty holed up and 4WD could be useful, and the damn drive was longer than the climb from North Bend anyways. Not anymore. Your tax $$$ at work. Freakin' thing is like a freeway. The first 10 miles are more rutted than the last 5. I also recommend doin' it in a day. Much more fun than slogging in w/ a big 'ol pack. [ 09-06-2002, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: jaee ]

Not much can go wrong with these things. I still tend to go with the XGK when I need to melt snow and the SnowPeak when there's running water. I've had REI folks tell me that if you don't use the SnowPeak fuel with the stoves you can have a problem with the canisters leaking. I have had one primus canister that leaked but I think it was a bad canister. The amount of energy you get out of the fuel is pretty equivalent. The main drawback is the canister weight and volume for butane stoves. There are significant differences in canisters. Primus seems to have a very thin wall compared to others, an has ligher empties. Plus, you can get the big'uns that hold a pound of fuel. However, since SnowPeak is imported locally to PDX, we can recycle those canisters at the MountainShop or Climb Max. I have melted the piezo igniter on my SnowPeak by using one of the tall folding windscreens. I had a small pot on the stove and basically surrounded the stove. That's definitely not recommended practice and now I use a windscreen just around the pot. But, that's also why I bought it from REI.... The word on the street is that Maybe Some Rec. equipment company will be coming out with a butane stove that uses a generating loop (runs the fuel thru the flame) so it can use liquid fuel. Then no need to worry about the temp of the fuel canister. It will have the canister on a hose or tube like the white gas stoves, so could be more stable. And hey, let's be careful out there

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Fill it up with Muir Hut smoke before your climb. Maybe they will call the next model the HotBox. Or nitrous oxide

quote: Originally posted by iain: That's good to hear. Did he say what he's up to next? He just got done teaching FBI agents on Rainier. He seems to be doing a lot of consulting work with the special forces. It sounds like he is trying to have a kid, and so wants to be around a bit more. He did a 3 hour deal w/ some of us (horrors!) Mazamas at Climb Max on Sunday and was pretty mellow compared to the slideshow where he was definitely in stage mode. He is trying to spread the light-is-right gospel to the military and law enforcement agencies. Good luck. Hopefully they comprehend his results.

quote: Originally posted by iain: speaking of twight-fests on Colonial, how was the show on Monday? I was at smith so missed out! Pretty cool. He works hard on his slide shows and music. There was 30 minutes of his earlier stuff on Hunter, Chamonix in early-mid 90's. Then he read his story about climbing the W. Butt w/ the other Mark (story in climbing). Then 14 minutes of the Czech Direct, just music and pictures, no narration. 60 hrs on the go. Quite amazing. Good for people to see the possibilites. The venue (Madison Auditorium) was a bit small, with standing room only and not enough tickets to go around. Granted, it was a show about him and his accomplishments, but still very entertaining and inspirational.

So Dru's about to hit 6000 posts. We should come up with a new title for him. Tim or Jon, could you create a title that only belonged to the person with the most posts? That could stir things up. Trask is only short about 2600. As for a new status, how about: Emperor HC Darth Spray King Snaffle Spray'teryx Tao of What else? [ 08-27-2002, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: jaee ]

Originally posted by jkrueger: quote: Chronic Gumby Moment »»» Attempting to find useful Leavenworth beta in the Smoot guidebook. The words Leavenworth beta are unnecessary. Regardless of whether the area is covered in the Smoot guides, the quality of information is identical. Do we really need to invent YARS (yet another rating system) for Cascade volcanoes?

Great for Denali. Perhaps could be useful on long trips in the winter to keep your feet warm & boots dry.

1. BD: World Headquarters Phone: (801) 278-5552 Fax: (800) 775-7625 e-mail: climb@bdel.com (for USA) -OR- Black Diamond Mail Order 801) 278-5533, Fax: (800) 775-7625 from the website. Perhaps start w/ mail order or HQ and ask for customer service. *POLITELY* explain your position and accurately represent your investment in BD equipment. Maybe start with an email. 2. Explain the problem and the time frame, basically immediately after purchase (and one extended 3-day 3-way that req'd a helo, but conveniently skip that detail). 3. Find out what they'll do. I bet it's favorable. Regarding Bibler/BD Tent Repair: They will do warranty repair. If it's not warranty repair, their preferred vendor is Rainy Pass. I have had Rainy Pass do *BEAUTIFUL*, *INEXPENSIVE* work. That was in '98, tho, so YMMV. In fact the Rainy Pass work made the BD repairs look like a joke. The key with Rainy Pass is getting an accurate quote and requiring them to use original material (unless you upgrade to a real zipper). When I got back from Denali I had 2 good holes from a crazed shoveler, a hole in the top from a picket, and some of the pole straps had blown off the walls from a huge snow load. Bibler replaced all of the pole straps they could get removed. They shipped it to Rainy pass when they were done. I believe 3-4 small patches to cover the rips were about $25, with no charge for return shipping. All materials were original, perfectly matched, immaculately seam taped. Here's my experience w/ Bibler, BD: 1. Fitzroy, all beat up after 30-40 days training and Denali expedition: Fixed blown out pole straps for free. 2. Snapped a carbon fiber back country pole. Replaced for free. 3. Megamid pole snapped under "moderate" snow load on St. Helens winter trip. Replaced for free. Oh yeah, they're out to screw you, obviously.

Call BD. Get a return authorization #. Ship it back, insured. They will fix it and return it, typically paying the shipping back. I've got a lot of time (got to be 70+ days) on a Bibler Fitzroy. Zippers are YKK and in fine shape, but I've had a few repairs made over the years, mostly caused by folks w/ shovels or pickets (yes, flying pickets) getting careless. I wouldn't hesitate to whine about this happening on a tent the second time you used it. Either the store you bought it from or BD should make it right. I also have a ground sheet. The bottom layer in my Bibler seems super tough, but I'm religious about taking my boots off and trying to be careful inside it, just for that reason.

Mark Twight: Alpine Climbing and the Czech Direct Mark Twight is one of American’s leading alpinists. He was the first and fastest to solo the “Czech Route” on Peak Communism (10,000 feet up and down in 26 hours). He made the first ascent of “Deprivation” on Alaska’s Mount Hunter (72 hours round trip), climbed five extreme difficult new routes in the French Alps, and made a non-stop 60 hour ascent of Mount McKinley’s “Czech Direct”. This show is sponsored in part by Climb Max and the Mazamas . Please support your local climbing shop! Climb Max . This show is a fundraiser for Portland Mountain Rescue . When: Monday, August 26, 2002, 7:30 PM (doors open 7 PM) Where: Madison’s Auditorium, 1109 SE Madison, PDX, OR (cross street is 12th) Price: advance tickets $5.00, at door $7.00

quote: Originally posted by Jarred Jackman: Hey this is for the three that went in to do the North Ridge car to car on friday, I passed you on the approach and was heading for the West Ridge. Just wondering how the trip went and how long it took you. take care They summitted at 2:30 and were out by 8:30 pm.

Great job Jarred. We were the group of 3 leaving the parking lot behind you. It took us 18+ hrs, but we did belay the upper pitches. That was a sweet pack you had. What was it, < 10 pounds? Definitely looked more comfortable than our loads w/ rope and gear. When you come off of Cascadian, turn right when you hit the trail. After a few hundred yards there's a sign for Long's Pass to the left and a good creek crossing. There are a couple of trails that end up at the pass from that point. We did the variation that starts on the W. Ridge above Goat Pass. It climbs a 3rd class gully and traverses right to join w/ the standard gully. I'd recommend this route, as it really seems to shorten all of the scrambling down low on the route. We were below LJT by 8:00 am. We ended up soloing some 5th class stuff under Long John's Tower. I assume the proper route goes up the "broken ledges" on the left of the gully? We also found the tunnel mentioned in some earlier posts. This seems to be the optimal way to get the "rising traverse". From LJT there's a small gully w/ a cairn close by on the right. We went up that a bit and followed the obvious ramp right. It appeared to dead end, but a handy cairn pointed out a tunnel that dropped thru to the rising traverse. Again, there are many ways that go. If it's brutal, back up and try again. Overall, a fine route. We did the same cracks to the top. At the top of the second is a 5.6-5.7 crack w/ a fixed nut. This can be avoided by easier climbing to the left. This is above the first lieback crack at the end of the traverse. Both cracks are nice. Easy scrambling above leads to the summit block. We downclimbed the rocks to climbers right at the snow gully below the false summit and ended up rapping down to the rocks when we got sick of downclimbing. After that it was just a few hours of suffering to get down and up and out. Another character builder. There were also 3 guys that left the parking lot at 2:00 am for the N. Ridge. They topped out with us about 2:30 pm. They reported easy access to the ridge with very moderate climbing in the gully to access the upper N. Ridge. < This looks more like a squirrel/racoon hybrid than a snaffle, eh? >

quote: Originally posted by fishstick: it's a no-brainer on ice or alpine terrain. GB Sounds perfect for the Caveman. Where's the problem? [ 05-23-2002, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: jaee ]

Depends on where you camp. If you camp at 9'500 at at nice notch, descend A. Gulch to Lake Helen. Take a right. You'll end up right near camp, but you need to pick a way thru the ridge. Same if you camp higher. The highest campsites are a bit over 10k, maybe 10,300. So, you need to start your traverse a bit above Lake Helen. Then pick out a notch to clamber back onto the west side of the ridge thru and traverse back to camp. I'd stay at the 9'500 notch, as it's protected from the wind better and is easier to hit on the way down. Plus you can drop straight off the camp down to the cowpath to Bunny Flats without tromping down the ridge. Yeah, YOU had better take the gps.

It's been $25 the last few years. They call it a yearly (or annual) pass because it lasts a year from the date you purchase it.

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: quote:Originally posted by willstrickland: Earplugs...how the hell do your hear your alarm? They don't screen out all noise, nor do they screen all frequencies equally. I hear the alarm on my wristwatch, no problem. I know a guy that duct taped his watch to his head when he wore ear plugs. Now there's a system!

Get a copy of Oregon High. Those route descriptions are right on. Forget that Smoot book as his vague descriptions, inaccurate topos, and random rating scale are useless. The most frequently traveled route up Reid Glacier Headwall seems to traverse slightly downward below Castle Crags after leaving the saddle. There are a few nasty steps if you try to stay too high and you'll tree yourself on those. Drop down until you can see the 'schrund, then aim for the weaknesses there. Once over that, follow the path of least resistance, which is usually a route that leads slightly left, towards the Queen's chair. If you hit a spectacular snow arete leading into a narrow chute, you're right on target. Up thru these chutes are sometimes a few ice bands, but they're probably covered this year. Once in the chutes head straight up and catch the ridge or traverse left and hit the Queen's chair.

We did it in January and left one at the top, backing up a bollard. The second rappel was off of a better bollard. We backed that up for the first guy, then I pulled the screw and rapped off of just the bollard. As for whether as a stake or deadman, it depends on the conditions. If it takes some effort to drive, you're done. If you can plonk it in by hand, start digging a slot for the deadman, preferably after work hardening a couple of feet around the area. We chose to rap due to incoming weather and a 50+ breeze blowing up our skirts.

I did Devils Kitchen Headwall (variation 5d, in Oregon High) in Early January. As I finished leading the 2nd pitch and made it to the rim it started blowing hard. By the time my partner made it to the rim it was howling. The only good spot we found for a bollard had about 12 inches wide by 6 inches thick ice, with a crack in front of it. We also left a picket there to backup that bollard. Lower down the ice was a bit more consistent and the second rappel was off a bomber bollard. I confess, I left one of those.