Rafael_H

TIn 2003 he trail was similar to the Snow Lake trail at Snoq pass, it is I recall ~5mi. Also, I recall that tere was a camp spot about 30 mins before the turn towards Access Creek.

Wow, this is how the steel is forged, in fire! Josh, what you did not do is fixable and is behind now. What made you go is yours to keep alive and bright. You'll be there before you know it. Keep pushing and the very best of luck to you!

Hey, Leaf, car-to-car? I am available on Sunday. PM sent.

Cool, thanks, man! Really missed Squamish though Good w-end to everyone. -R

Thanks, D. Is that a norm nowadays? I recall, years ago, Squamish proper weather was better than f-cast.

Hey, Canadian friends, should I come to Squamish for Angel's Crest/Rock On/Ultimate on Sat anf Grand Wall stuff on Sun, or better stay in WA. I am afraid north side of the Chief is wet. What about Apron? Thank you!!!

PM sent.

Hey, John, is C2C car-to-car here? Thanks!

Hi all. I decided to keep the tent and endure its weight and year-round use Thanks all for interest! Rafael

Wow, great endeavor. And a superb TR, love the overlays, maps and laconism!!! The way to go.

Am I correct that Miles Smart did it in 20 mins? Nice solo either way

Oh, also, did you haul the pack? Or it's simply a dbl-rope on one of the pics? One night, right? Thanks again!

Great thread! Cool climbing and excellent beta for dull 9to5-ers. Thank you "lunger", Kevin and John!!! Will you please tell me which routes at Index came to your mind when you said 11-? I have no qualms about fuzzy definition for an onsight and am generally happy when see more sunlight than seeps through the distant office window, so I would really appreciate the effort. Rafael

Thanks!!!

Hi all. Haven't been to Squamish for a few years and forgot what's dry and what's wet. I am assuming the west face is all climbable, falcon nesting considered. what about the gullies and Apron area? Thank you.

Thanks!!!

"If you are plunging curved tools in snow for support always face the tool picks up hill" Is this plinging the handle or the head? Also, I have a (never used) 70cm ice axe and am curious if there is any reason to keep it if I already have ice tools, and for what.

I have been using Montbell Balance Light 40 and am very happy with it. 2lb 5oz from the factory w/o stripping, fully functional and unobtrusive, and $69. I used to fall into the "more expensive ought to be better by some magic" trap. Then recently needed a lightweight pack and went to ProMountain to get the BD 40. Jim mentioned Montbell and after 2 weeks of comparing BD, Cilo and Montbell the latter won hands down. I did all the research and found not a single property that would be worth extra $200 - $600 - $900. Well, except for the white colour of course

Oh, one more thing, I have been using a cord through the large hole in the handle this entire season and have not experienced any discomfort, even when the loop swings over the pommel piece.

Ha, engineering mind speaking! Yes, 100% correct according to my experience. I have pounded KB/bugaboos with both regular Quark and Nomic with Cold Thistle (CT) hammer while actually climbing. Offsetting hammering surface away from the shaft would definitely improve the action, and the reverse angle (where the top of the hammer stands farther from the shaft than the bottom) might improve it a tiny bit more. But, interestingly, to me the overall balance of various considerations is quite complex: - weight distribution and tool balance - total weight - cost - skill and physical conditioning - actual location of the action (standing on 2 facing the pin vs. hanging and nailing sideways, etc.) - etc. After having actually done the action with one arm while hanging on with the other, I ultimately prefer CT design/mod. The biggest problem for me was missing and hitting the pin with the shaft, which I did. Now I am quite certain the new Nomic, heck, any hi-perf ice tool, would not be noticeably more effective in a tight corner while using a single arm. In fact, what would actually be most effective is a short handled, heavy headed hammer which no ice tool will ever be. The predominant majority of requirements for pounding a pin with a curved tool fall into skill-strength and situation categories. So, after evaluating new Nomic release info I will [much rather] stay with what I have. This will give me a better weight/swing balance, and my old bones the advantage of lighter weight, and allow for further fine-tuning of my setup according to my personal usage and liking. And protecting the shaft? I just made an extra wrap of grip tape at the top of the shaft, done deal! The "rather" also comes from the fact that I actually have not experienced any disadvantage to the old hand/pommel/end piece, heck, even advantage - he-he, see Petzl go into glove business soon I am actually going to claim that Nomic (or Fusion) and a shaft spike are mutually exclusive. What I do want is the T-rated pick, so I guess, and really-really hope that CT better get ready for more mod work. Now that I started venturing into alpine more I can just see how limited a life of a pick is and am going to even stock up on a few modified ones. Again, thank you so much, Dane for picking up the slack, truly appreciate it! As much as I might like Petzl and others, their bottom-line goals are just the opposite of those of mine

Aha, great, thank you very much Mike! Gene, funny that you'd mention it but I did sleep on ropes just once, not of my choosing by any means. And where the heck are you anyway?

Mike, how do you like the Gossamer pad? I ordered 2 1/8-s, got them but they look and feel just like a blue pad. Now, I never touched a yellow pad, but my understanding of Evasote is that it is quite stiff, denser than the blue and the surface is not bubbly and hence smother to touch, kinda velvety. Will you please let me know if your grey is just like the yellow? Thank you in advance! Rafael

Cannot compare, only used Ramuta's - since 1998. Work is generous and of very high quality.

Hi. Finally decided to part with the tent - just am not using it. This is a 2 person, single-wall tent with 2 doors, vestibule and a ground cloth. No defects on the tent whatsoever so am not posting photos, cannot really as it is hard to pitch in our condo. Two doors are very useful, one for say cooking (or gear, etc) and the other for in'n'out. All else is just like here: at REI I used the tent exactly 3 times, vestibule just once, the ground cloth is never used. The vestibule has a small tear on it. $380, plus shipping.

Nice pictures indeed!!! We climbed NE Buttress of Chair too on Sun but I have been forgetting to take pictures all my climbing career, usually carrying the camera for nothing... We also took the left-hand start with a short ice column, then took the rocky rib seen on the right on your "Looking up from below the step" photo immediately after the first step all the way up to the final short traverse to rappel gully, so had to use pitons and nuts extensively, and some cams. My partner did a great job actually extracting nuts I thought I welded in Hmm, pretty spicy climb with thin delaminating hard snice and crumbly rock - I pulled one "solid" piece right at the belay, thanks V for catching me - and one later on while standing on it - thank you Nomics for holding! I dropped an ice screw yesterday while rappeling. On descends I hang my tools from now infamous plastic Petzl biners. So misstepped, leaned right and the tool broke the biner. I picked up one screw but the 22cm got away - I didn't remember if my partner had it so didn't look around carefully. The screw is an older one, with an after-market add-on "coffe-grinder" thingy. There is a certain paint color which I can tell you in private - all my gear has it. The KB is mine as well, I placed it in a horizontal crack slightly too big so it might appear unused. There is marking on it which I can also tell you in private, all my pitons have it. So glad did not place the expensive titanium one! I would really appreciate if you returned the gear. Rafael