crazy_t

I remember that stretch of rain well. It was my first year out here from Colorado. Regardless of nitpicking about specifics, it blew. I moved back to CO in the summer. This winter is reminiscent of that vibe. Pretty bleak, a grey, soggy city. Coffee can only help so much. Need to get up and ski.

Am considering going up to Snoqualmie pass or somewhere similar tomorrow morning. Would love to hear current 1st hand reports on the snow and driving conditions. Cheers!

Rando- here's a link to the guides' page of a local company that Reno (Cesar Roman) works for- http://www.companiadeguias.com.ec/quienes_somos.php?osCsid=195d1f7794830d11e3e09910e68f876d

Another thing- driving may be a big part of your cost. For a lot of these roads guides/drivers need high clearance or 4wd, and it will be a significant part of your budget, likely. There may be alternative ways to break up the cost- buses, sharing a ride or guide for specific mountains, etc. Let the guides know what you are thinking in your communications with them beforehand and see what they or Reno recommend. Maybe your friend will have a car?

Ecuador is a great place. A few notes: Cotopaxi is a beautiful climb, really interesting yet still pretty moderate. Spend at least 1 night in Tambopaxi, an amazing lodge in the paramo beneath the mountain. Trout dinners, featherbeds, wine. The owner Reno is a pretty famous Ecuadorian guide, well respected and involved with their MGA, and would be a good resource for finding a safe guide or services for any of your plans- http://www.tambopaxi.com/ He and his wife also own a B+B in Quito, very nice, pretty low key. Cayambe is nice too, good serac-ing below, and a bit of rock climbing above the hut. People can get shut down on the last bit to the summit plateau in unstable conditions. Otovalo is great. Pappalacta hot springs are awesome, at 11,000', great lodging, cheap massages, very clean, and 30+ pools of good natural water, in a cloudforest (flowers, hummingbirds). It's a bit out of the way though, maybe 3 hours from Quito. The Magic Bean is a cool place. Would be a good place to start your trip, in a fun part of town (though can be pretty dangerous after dark in "Gringolandia") and would be a good resource too- http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/magic/ . I have worked with Ossy down there, and met another cool guide named Edison who has an American girlfriend- both speak english very well, but unfortunately I don't have current contact info. Banos is pretty cool too, a bit artsy-hippie-ish, fun place, but sometimes the hot springs are closed due to fluctuations in temps caused by the local volcano. There's mountain biking there and a cool spot to stay a bit down the road called el Otro Lado, on the "other side" of the river, which you get to by a ride on a metal basket on a cable 200' or so above the river. Otro Lado is low key, very small, but beautiful, with organic meals and massages. Hope this helps, have a blast!

Good luck with all this snow. Hope it works out!

What is nice for a climb like that is something like the patagonia puffball pants. light, compactible, pretty warm and full zips for easy on-off. a lot of potential cold down-days when they would be tasty. And they might come in handy part of summit day, and could be zipped off, put in the pack and you're moving again in 2 minutes.

"In an era of homogenity I find regional variations of grammar and syntax very interesting and noteworthy - and that feeble minded academic pedants are among the few who care about lapses." I agree- often "incorrect" usage is more expressive, concise and poetic, if you're not prejudiced towards it as a form. Consider many of Bob Dylan's lyrics- "incorrect", but true, and cutting to the bone..

Having had a good bit of experience in cold, moderately high places I would just say that footwear is one, if not the one, key piece of gear for a climb like that and warmth is a big reason. Why chance it? They aren't that expensive compared to the time and $ you will be committing to the climb. Enjoy the toasty warmth of new liners and then you won't spend any extra energy worrying over it either. Davai! Udachi! I pomni, i vodka biz pivo, kak dengi na veter...

Hey folks, I'm flying into Eagle tomorrow and will be at Bachelor Gulch/Beaver Creek for 4 nights. Any suggestions for touring out of the area? Or a local shop that might be a good source for beta? Thanks in advance...

Kruto, sto protzentov. Davaitje!

for future consideration, in the West Side, the Beveridge Place Pub. 30+ Belgian beers, 14+ taps rotating, mostly small NW brewers, voted best pub in Washington. It's a classic.

Thanks, Griz. Just off of the summit ridge of Mt. Vinson. Mt. Shinn, Tyree + in the background.

I can't seem to figure out posting an image in the post... any help? For pics already in the gallery. Thanks!

Hi Choss C. Some words, hopefully helpful. With your initial posting, the situation is too hazy and ambiguous; there are not enough facts; especially not for people responding to a post on a website to sort things out for you. "Facts" can be misleading too. What is clearly missing is experience assessing terrain, and snowpack. You "dug a pit and deemed the slope safe to ride (hard pack about 3 feet down under the softer stuff). " That's pretty loose; your language and lack of critical info maybe belies a pretty elementary understanding of snow science. It kind of seems like the other party rattled you and in hindsight you wouldn't mind support proving them wrong, or right. If I were you, I'd take this experience as a lesson to get training and the info you need to be able to make reliable assessments for yourself. Get the book Snow Sense if you don't have it already, and work with it until you understand it (you can save the snow metamorphism section for later; it might be a bit much now, not helpful yet, I'm not sure). Take an avalanche awareness class This winter. Gary Brill's are great, especially for the NW skier. You could likely run by your initial scenario with him to get more insight. But taking a level 1 course gives you the information you need to be able to gain experience, and be a more reliable member of a backcountry team (not a leader). Get out with people more experienced than you, who are safe. Watching their process and protocols in the backcountry while safely expanding your experience is critical. Go with people with whom you have mutual respect, know are safe, and can have a good time. Taking a level 1 course 1st will make you a more eligible partner. With time you will begin to know where your experience lies, and select appropriate objectives and conditions on your own. I don't mean to have a teacher vibe (although I've taught avy classes), but think that picking up random bits of advice extrapolated from a limited presentation of your experience might be misleading or dangerous. Red flags I saw were your language; a somewhat ambiguous description of the slope, and the fact that others swayed you after you had made your initial assessment. That area above Paradise is subject to wind (generally from the S and W, which may load E facing slopes); has local terrain traps (gullies and rocks, and some of the slopes are connected to much bigger ones), and is exposed in general to weather and sun. A few feet of powder on a hard crust may be OK in one spot, but subject to sliding 10' away. Learn about terrain, snowpack and weather, and how it affects stability throughout avalanche terrain; travel using safe techniques uphill and downhill, and err always on the conservative side, at least until you have more experience. Backcountry is where it's at; part of the satisfaction comes from safely and successfully combining your experience with your goals, aesthetic and objective.

nice shot of Steamboat ) dank pow

"Vail is big", that's what we used to say. Otherwise pretty bland, even though I've enjoyed a couple of 30"+ light pow days there with a local friend who kept us on steep enough terrain much of the time (dumping snow tends to keep the gapers at bay). Crested Butte, A-Basin, yes Copper, and the Aspen mountains (Snowmass and Highlands, and all of the lift-accessed backcountry there) are my favorites. And all the backcountry, especially around CB. Endless backcountry, no rain!! The bummer in Colorado is that the backcountry can be pretty unstable until spring. Of course then it's epic! Good food, and nightlife and music scene rounded things out nicely. Ski all day, cocktails, jacuzzi, eat at a great place, then see the Meters or someone at night. Repeat. Those years were hard to beat. Now I'm getting sentimental, sorry! I enjoy skiing wherever it is. Just had to jump in on the Vail bashing for fun....

I've been there recently, we stopped by a gym that looked ok near Old Town http://www.solidrockgym.com/maps_directions.html and got directions from them for climbing in the Mission Gorge area, which had nice trail running and a lot of 1 pitch sport and trad granite climbing only 20 minutes or so from Old Town. It was a nice deal, a kind of foothills/mountain vibe very close to town. Here's a link to a free download and other SD climbing spots: http://www.giantsoftware.com/sdcc/climbing_areas/mission_gorge.html

It's done. Cheers, John!

Hey guys, I have a stack of 60 or so magazines, mostly Climbing but some R+I from '94-2003 that I'd like to offer to a good home. Buy me a beer at my local spot in West Seattle (the Beveridge Place Pub, legendary) at the handoff and we're good. The beer isn't necessary, but it inspires a happy vision. Email me at tmmilne@yahoo.com to respond.

antarctica

One of the main problems/challenges with gloves being waterproof is the amount of stitching needed for fingers, etc. That combined with the pressure you put on the seams and stitching when you are using them forces water through the membrane of standard gore-tex type fabrics and through the stitching. Hard to get by those issues.

And great turns were made yesterday. On tele )

wow, it's good to know that one way or the other everything's going to be alright. I was getting pretty worked up, now I can go back to just enjoying skiing.

hey, thanks for clearing that up for me.