crazy_t

Cheers on the good news! Buy that dog a steak...

Goodness

Prices on international air took a big jump last year, due to cost of operating (expensive security stuff included) and gas prices. I have noticed that prices for travel to Russia (a place I go frequently) in off season times have not settled back down (vs. the now-lower gas prices), and are pretty costly. Discouraging. I have looked at prices farther out too. Sometimes, a good travel agent (what's that?) can be helpful for scoring deals these days.

Right On

Nice! I was looking at that from the top a week+ ago (w/o skis), thinking about how it would go. It looked great from the top. I had climbed down it in summer, but not up or down in winter. Last week I had a rare "window of opportunity" (i.e. a few hours worth of a hall pass) but no partner and didn't want to not have a friend with a shovel just in case. Looks like it was good, thanks for the TR and pics!

Did a short tour this morning into Commonwealth Basin. From Alpental road (roughly 3000') climbed through the woods and then only went up a couple hundred feet into actual open part of the basin (to roughly 4300') due to time; I wish I had had a bit more time or started earlier. Above 4100' or so, southerly aspects, especially those open to sunlight (and not shaded by trees, terrain features etc) were creating really great corn conditions. Things like Red Mountain, or the couloir above the head of the basin (off of the ridge viewer's left of Red Mountain) would have been really great. We started skiing down at 11 am today (in a pretty much due S aspect); with today's temps and intermittent sun, maybe that would help some of you time some nice corn turns in the next couple of days. A 12 o'clock descent from up high might have been good; but had it been sunnier or warmer, maybe sooner. The descent from 4100' or so to the road was of "mixed/mixed-" quality; a little scratchy or punchy, alternatively. I was interested in checking out what, if any, precip from the last week was like and how is was bonding/reacting with the thick "crust". On my limited tour, lower down I found up to a couple of inches of precip from the last week; without taking a close look it felt like the initial bit had been wetter and bonded ok to the previous snowpack, then was soft in the middle, then crusty/rain affected on top. As I got higher (which was also more S. and sun-affected in general) the whole upper snowpack was more consistent. So still waiting for a storm cycle starting off warmer then cooling and adding some light skiable stuff on top. The "crust" layer should support softer turns nicely in the future, just hope the bond will be good. In places where that thin "sandwich" layers of crust are currently, I'm guessing there is some metamorphism going on in the softer stuff, which may turn into a weak layer/combination of layers later when heavier snow is on top. But who knows, a lot of extrapolation here from a very small sample. But get some of that corn!

Gaia. He broke his leg. I think his belayer had spiked track shoes on in case he needed to run to take in slack. That movie rules (Hard Grit)!

Crunch rules, just let it soak a little longer. It's been years since I had some of that goodness!

Wow, sounds like fun! "Road trip" is almost a foreign term to me, a distant memory. Live it up!!

nice deals, they're even in good sizes!

The rechargeable batteries hold their charge at a consistent level, until they take a sharp dive as they lose their charge. It's not recommended to use them in beacons for that reason; both Bruce from BCA and Marcus from Ortovox have told me that in regard to their beacons. I've appreciated my dealings w/ Ortovox, and feel good about their product. I had an issue with some of the earlier Trackers 8 or so years ago (normally functioning, new beacons with new batteries several times showing really weak ranges, like 10-15' at pre-tour tests in open air), and asked Bruce about it. He got defensive, denied that I had seen what I had seen, and I got into it with him until he allowed that occasionally their antennae, which would normally dampen some signals (random electrical waves or frequencies to, filtered to keep it from clouding the beacon signal it was meant to pick up) would "over-dampen" due to excessive signals in the immediate area, causing the very short range. He said this interference could be generated by electricity in the air from imminent or potential weather, for example. So, rather than telling me that right away, I had to spend an hour getting to the bottom of it, being accused of lying, slandering etc. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and haven't used them since, although I'm sure they've sorted out the issue and I'm happy to ski with partners who use them (as long as they test fine pre-tour).

Wow, that's pretty amazing. What a journey. Must have been pretty heavy, both for you and that nice guy, and also very relieving. Kind of a destiny thing. Peace to you.., and thanks for sharing too.

FF bags=great. Good plan, then later get the -10. I have a -10 w/epic shell, had extra down put in around the feet, it has served me really well and held up great. I use it mainly in colder/higher places. Their ratings are maybe a bit conservative; the bags are pretty toasty.

I use an: -OR "Lobster Mitt" Outer Shell -the OR Expedition liners that go with them -a lighterweight glove- OR windstopper or Patagonia Activist 3 pieces, pretty much covers everything. Like mattP says, you get 3-4 options out of this setup for changing conditions/temps over a long day. Most of the time, I am in the liner gloves. If it gets colder/windier, on go the shells. If it gets a lot colder, trade the liners for the expedition liners. If one of the inner liners gets wet, trade with the other and put the wet ones in my jacket to dry. Issues: -who makes the lobster-style gloves these days? I like them best because they are a great combination of dexterity and warmth. The thinner liner gloves fit in great. Having 2 sets of liners is key, in case you or a partner was to ever lose a glove up high, you have a backup. If you are tending towards lower altitude/more technical climbing, I'd probably go w/ OR gloves/shells. -the liner gloves I like tend to wear out quickly, i.e. roughly 10 8-10 hour days and holes can start to appear. But I like those ones best, so I keep getting them. I use this for ski touring, ski area, basic alpine climbing (I really don't climb much ice), and moderate altitude climbs (up to 7000m). For lower alt/warmer days I just bring the lightweight liners and the shells. For the coldest days, I bring a couple of hand warmers too. $100 budget might be tight- gloves are pretty key, don't skimp if it comes to it, or you might end up with another "not quite good enough" glove system. Anyone know who is making/selling lobster claw type gloves??

Weekend_Climberz, as a West Seattle/juction denizen, have you made it to the Beveridge yet?

West Seattle and I missed it! Sounds like it was fun, though. More warning next time please!

Bezumniye Russkiye!

Maori name?

RIPeace. This was a person, a husband, a climber.

Climbed that S side of Guye today (intersected with your tracks and maybe someone else's in bits, taanstafl). It was mellow but fun, a nice workout on a nice day. Like many say, snow was pretty firm, esp on S facing aspects. It has seen a lot of melt thaw + metamorphism too. Good now, and should stay good or improve on these aspects for as long as this weather trend continues. Firm crust/thick layer on top either supports steps or sometimes was frontpointing on steeper "snice". Nice cruising with a couple of steeper sections with options; pro from trees, not much protectable ice or usable ice right now. For beginning snow climbers, in this condition it is in this would be a nice day trip. Avy hazard very low (now, 1-29). Very easy and solid trail to base coming up from road by rope tow, snow is solid and you could belay 2 ropelengths or more (or less), and pick a way that was mellow to steeper with steep/ mellow mixed thrown in. Descent N off of summit(s) is easy to follow (tracks), takes you to Alpental parking lot. This tr/ description was pretty accurate: http://www.summitpost.org/route/260526/south-gulley-direct.html N facing snow was a different story. Thin firm/crust layer on top of variable depth lighter and drier. Layers and pack varied greatly depending on aspect at same elevations, and even small variances in elevation produces very different snow. It was fine coming down on foot, generally. Skiers, S facing open slopes (like off of Red, Snoqualmie, those faces in Commonwealth) seem to be doing a corn thing and might be nice if the weather/sun cooperated. N facing, see above. Otherwise, not the best downhill skiing (firm to breakable crust), and you'd definitely want harscheisen for tours. (This was Monday, with 20-30s temps and midday sun). It's going to be ugly when the next fresh snow lands on this firm snow/ crust. I even saw some majorly facetted surface hoar in some places. And thanks to everyone for the snow and route reports. Not being able to get out often these days, it is appreciated!

Nice turns, thanks for the pics!

Thinking about climbing SW rib in the next couple of days. Anyone up there, or Chair, Tooth etc. in the last few days with a conditions report? I appreciate it.

what some people will do for a for a discount...

That's quality )

Agreed. This troll thread has devolved pretty far.