jhamaker

RR I've got: Urioste, Joanne "The Red Rocks of Southern Nevada" I reccomend either of the new guidebooks published in the last two years. One is a beautiful coffe table picture book with w/ very good beta, annother is more up to date, and hopefully less error prone than Swain's. AZ: Tucson- Cochise Stronghold, Mt. Charleson, Seneca. Sedona- anywhere

You are going to *walk*?!

Temps permitting, I could go for Red Rocks and then AZ. Let me get a hold of a "Wk-end Rk" for AZ. If we were to head down to RR I would mostly be interested in the Grade III's and IV's 5.8 to 5.10. 5.10+ if you lead the scary parts. Windy Mtn and Solar Slabs have good sun. Black Velvet and Icebox Canyons don't.

How about a ski traverse/mountaineering trip?

Looking to fill my minivan. Room for 3 to 6. We are leaving Thanksgiving day 7pm from Tacoma, staying untill Monday. 18mpg Yes, we could climb as a team of three. Aid climbing/skiing if it rains.

1. Lv Thur (Nov. 27) 4p.m. 2. to Smith Rocks 3. from Tacoma 4. number in party = 2 5. Minivan holds 5 total at about 18mpg Return Monday evening.

I'll have to try an inverted canister stove someday. This is why I don't use them in the cold:

I saw an add-on (hardware) for Smart Phones w/ a specific i/o port at Fry's in Renton for $40.

Hmm. I could be rested up enough for annother road trip in Dec/Jan. I would lean towards warm weather as I expect, Urr willing, to be skiing the back-country through June 1. BTW I'm thinking of sneeking out w/ my rk skiis tomorrow.

The Mountaineers Press has recently published a Wk-end Rk book for Southern AZ. SW Airlines has some good deals on flights now and then. I was just down there for less than $200 R-T.

Tuscon looks great. Mt. Lemon at 9K ft gets snow but everything down here looks great. Lots of limestone - and don't forget the granite at Cochise Stronghold. I just went though Sedona. Wierd town, great climbing, I don't know about winter temps.

I've been considering options. SPOT - though its not even close to world wide, or even all of AK Satelite Phone - seems to be the best sure thing. Coverage spotty at the poles. $30/mo/30free min? Cell - (Verizon) but now w/ analogue going away, chances of reaching a tower will be even more remote. Ham radio - probably the best best w/ lowest cost. No monthly fees. Outward Bound uses cell phones in the San Juans, NOLS uses the emergency aircraft frequency. Amature radio is highly regulated, but in an emergency anything goes. You can use any repteter you can hit. The NPS, FS, and BLM have plenty in areas where they count.

aac @ uaf or aac @ fbx

Ah, the central Alaska outfit. Warm, plastic boots mounted on Randone bindings on light double-cambered skiis. Works great. Look for a ski w/ a good strong (Aluminum)top-plate/mounting plate. If you are doing more that just 10mi of rd/glacier skiing I'd reccomend the new NTN boot/binding combination (when they get the bugs worked out). This, in theory, will allow you a real kick and glide, cut down on blisters. It should also allow thousands of feet of front-pointing w/o undue fatigue from a large duck-bill hanging off the front of your tele boot. I find that a lot of Cascades stuff is just skin up, ski down, in wich case a traditional randone setup works great. Annother option for flat approaches is light (skating) gear - and carry the heavy (plastic) boots for the climb.

I ski w/ one Leki. I wore out the strap. They sent me new ones for free! Yes, two hands. Lower Upper International is a good place to test your technique. The self arrest grip has saved me from many a ski area garage sale. In the BC, I ski mostly powder, so the arrest grip does not get much use arresting, but does a good job of gripping on those nasty traverses to get over to good snow.

Smart not to descend the NW butress. Descending 2000 ft of loose choss is not my idea of fun!

Is this the 5.9? First ascent pty ran out of daylight. Bush belays, loose rock?

Correction: Tacoma Mtneers 13 students, *not 20th and 21st* but 27th and 28th. Come share our ropes!

I'm trying to set *something* up. I'd love to climb Queets and scramble other stuff. I'm free Now to Sept 18th, but would be happier w/ the 7th to the 18th - or mabey cut a trip down to a wk. James 2o6 (cell) 8i9- 556l

I can leave Seattle Sat afternoon. James: 206 (cell) 8i9 556l

I'm game for grade IV's but only lead to 5.10- at this point. I'll follow high 10's. I'm mostly free now, very free beggining Sept 7. best to call if interested: James at 206 (Seattle) 8i9-556l

As of two wks ago: Smokey of and on. Hot in the valley. Tuolome would be a good bet. High in the E Sierras was fun too.

I trust the bond below 5000 feet for the last two storms, but above that? I've seen the results of climax slides all over the N Cascades last wk. 2ft staunch walls. I don't understand the mechanism so I'm warry. "Climbing to higher elevations . . . over the next few days is not recommended." The NWAC released a new report Tue: BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE STATEMENT FOR THE OLYMPICS WASHINGTON CASCADES AND MT HOOD AREA NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON 1215 PM PDT TUE JUN 10 2008 . . . This statement applies to back country avalanche terrain below 7000 feet and does not apply to highways or operating ski areas. WAZ513-518-519-019-042-501-502-ORZ011-112100- && ...SPECIAL AVALACHE STATEMENT FOR TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... The unusually cool and wet spring in the Pacific Northwest has continued over the past several days. Snow levels lowered to below 3000 feet in the central Washington Cascades early Tuesday with 8 inches of new snow accumulating at Snoqualmie Pass! New snow amounts as of Tuesday morning are ranging from about 4 to 14 inches with the most new snow recorded at Paradise on Mt Rainier. Over the past week, Paradise has received about 30 inches of new snow! While most other areas above about 5000 feet near or west of the Cascade crest and in the Olympics likely received 1 to 2 feet of snow. This new snow has been accompanied by very strong winds as well. This has likely created new cornices along ridges and developed local unstable wind slabs on lee mostly northeast to southeast facing slopes, especially higher terrain near ridges. The unusual June weather has lead to some winter-like avalanche conditions above about 5000 feet in the Cascades and Olympics. Back country travelers should be extra cautious and expect unstable snow conditions, especially in areas that have received the greatest new snow amounts and on steep slopes that have received wind transported snow. The weather should begin improving Wednesday with mostly cloudy conditions early with increasing sun breaks expected later Wednesday and rising freezing levels. Sunshine and further rising freezing levels are expected Thursday with freezing levels reaching 9 to 11,000 feet in the north and south respectively by Thursday afternoon. This expected weather should cause an increase in the avalanche danger, especially late Wednesday and again Thursday as the recent snow quickly becomes wet and unstable due to the affects of the sunshine and warming. Wet loose and possibly wet slab avalanches should become likely later Wednesday and again Thursday, with some slides entraining significant snow as they descend. Back country travelers should avoid steep slopes over the next few days and remain aware of the terrain both above and below intended travel routes as those caught in avalanches can be carried into terrain traps such as trees, gullies or crevasses. Many avalanche fatalities have occurred in the spring in the Northwest from wet snow avalanches, especially on the volcanic peaks. Climbing to higher elevations on the volcanoes over the next few days is not recommended. This statement will be updated as warranted. Please have a safe and enjoyable spring! && Backcountry travelers should be aware that elevation and geographic distinctions are approximate and that a transition zone between dangers exists. Remember there are avalanche safe areas in the mountains during all levels of avalanche danger. Contact local authorities in your area of interest for further information. NWAC weather data and forecasts are also available by calling 206-526-6677 for Washington, 503-808-2400 for the Mt Hood area, or by visiting our Web site at www.nwac.us. Also note that field snowpack information is often available on the FOAC website at www.avalanchenw.org, and weather and avalanche glossaries for commonly used terms in the forecasts can be found on the NWAC education page. Kramer/Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center $$

p.m. me. I'm busy climbing this wk but will be free to climb next wk. There is still a lot of snow, so I'll be getting arround on skis. N Cascades and Enchantments fit the bill realy well. If it is wet in the mountains, then Frenchman's Coulee or Smith, mabey City of Rocks would be fun.

I'm up for most anything, prefer overnight somewhere. I'll check my p.m.'s Monday night at the latest.