crazy_t

He'd be great to talk to re: your plans, getting things organized, and route beta.

http://www.chilcabamba.com/index.html Reno's new place

I would recommend a night or two in or around Quito, then maybe 2 nights here: http://www.tambopaxi.com/ with acclimatization hikes before moving up to the hut. Tambopaxi is a great place in the Altiplano at the base of the mountain, with featherbeds, great food, and views. They can give you recent beta too. I just heard that the guy who built Tambopaxi, Reno (was/is head of the Ecuadorian guiding association) made a new place in the same area that may be nicer too. Don't have details for you, and I'm not sure if he still owns Tambopaxi so they might not be the best source. That route is nice, not too technical but interesting, with lots of interesting but pretty stable crevasse travel. Summit days start early, beacuse when the sun comes out in Ecuador things warm up pretty quickly. Rope, axe (just 1), crampons, picket + a couple of screws, which you may not need but there are a few exposed spots. Look at guiding companies' itineraries to get a good idea of a suitable acclimatization schedule.

That looks awesome. Did Dreamer a long time ago, but haven't been back since. Thanks for the tr!

The Man, here in Seattle.. He has a big heart, and the best fish I've ever had! I had a good friend from out of town come here a few weeks ago for the Washington Wine tasting event. He's been in the restaraunt business all his life, and was the "hired palate" for a couple of east coast restaraunt owners/investors in search of unique, higher-end wines to add to their lists. These guys eat well all around the world, as part of their job. When they asked where they should eat in Seattle, I gave them one answer, Shiro's. We got seats in front of the man and he went all-out (usually he's a bit more reserved, especially when they are busy). Those guys have been raving to me about that experience ever since, "one of the best meals I have ever had", "mind-blowing food". When we got the sea cucumber florets (true purple color) in a "bath" of a fine seaweed with three different minced "condiments" floating in there, my buddy said "I feel like this is a meal we would be eating in outer space". Truly world class quality, and highlighting the Northwest's amazing seafood. Long live Shiro!! Yes, sushi is good.

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=3&Number=669362&Searchpage=1&Main=50241&Words=shiro%27s&topic=0&Search=true#Post669362 I don't know what I'd do w/o Shiro. But that recent Nat Geo article about the world's oceans is rough.

Yeah, I've learned that these days I can operate at a fairly high level with very little sleep for up to 2-3 days, but there has to be an end in sight after that.

In my own experience, I tend to be more conservative with regards to risk at that stage (sleep deprivation) in the hills. I usually am pretty good at noting that I'm on the edge, and take appropriate action to curb my or my partner's more risky impulses (if there are any). This, though, is in a good part due to experience. I.e. all of the late-night epics where I pushed it and paid: descents w/o headlamp, right clothing, unplanned bivies, freaking out people on the home front when I don't show up. Fun when you are younger, more free and are still newer to climbing, but as I became older and more experienced it's a sign that I didn't plan well or make good decisions along the way. At that point I take note of my errors and do the right thing. Which, usually at that stage in a climb (higher up, with you and your partners near-spent) will still be a good bit of work. If I'm off route (or don't know if I'm on route) I definitely don't push ahead (i.e "unkown gully") until I get oriented again. Rookie mistake that can cost big. The other part is tuning into your instinct/gut. If it doesn't feel right, I know it and don't mess with disrespecting that information, wherever it comes from. You may pull a "victory" out of your butt, but it usually doesn't feel right.

Looking for general beta. Thinking about doing that or a neighboring route towards the end of the month. I'd appreciate any advice!

Mt. Daniel

No beer, no eye candy. In short, an epic.

a buddy of mine got a screaming deal on one (Eurovan) this spring, $16,500 for one not as old, with 30k miles and in great shape. I would keep looking, but agreed, they are sweet rigs.

http://www.cowgirlsespresso.com/CGE%20Main.htm

That looks cool. 3rd Flatiron-y, with more vegetation. Nice!

I've had it a bunch of times, either in Russia or with some brought back from travels. Customs is big on this in the last few years, so I haven't brought any back since. I have had Russian ("Absent" brand, dark green with cool art-deco labeling, was $40+ for a 1/5th) and the Czech stuff (bright green, or red). It does taste similar to Ouzo. I have done it with the sugar, etc. or straight shots. To be honest, it never really lived up to expectations. Sure, you get a buzz, but really nothing much "extra", at least in my experience. I do have a friend who owns a restaraunt who tried some of the real old stuff. This guy bought a collection of wine and spirits from the turn of the century that was found bricked into a wall in Philadelphia. Included was some Absinthe. After drinking 2 small glasses, he reported a major mind/body buzz, with some gentle hallucinations. He felt like the older stuff (at least the kind he sampled) likely contained added opiates.

"clueless twit" maybe, or heartless twit? sorry to sound harsh. but your timing and "joke" aren't so great in the context of the recent event.

anyone else have any 1st hand reports/info?

I used to live in Eldorado Canyon. Though it was ugly for the community to wrestle with the issue until they came up with the "bolting application- committee" thing that is now in place, I think it is very effective. New routes are put up, but not rampantly and in a style that essentially preserves the character of the area. Old pins/anchor bolts being replaced are also subject to review, and then are sorted out. People generally came to agree that Eldo is a special place, and some type of system had to be created where these issues could be sorted out before they affected the rock. There are still bolting war issues all around Boulder, but Eldo seems to be working. I don't pretend to know any of the elements of the issues at Index, but know it is a beautiful spot, with amazing quality rock and lines. I'm sure that people on both sides of the issue are acting in the interest of the Index that they believe in; but the result of the squabbling sounds like it's affecting the rock. Maybe a meeting in some "neutral ground" to start to figure out how to preserve this epic area while respecting all of the community that developed it and uses it? Again, maybe this has all happened before, I am still pretty new to the Washington climbing scene and have spent a lot less time on rock here than I did in CO, so my 2c is likely uninformed and likely useless without the history/context. But I've climbed there, it's an amazing area, and think it deserves to be treated that way.

looks "unique" for sure, "interesting"! Must have been an epic climb. Thanks for the pic. A couple of my friends did the ridge a # of years ago in summer and reported rapping off of piles of stones, etc. But descending the "regular route" terrain looks spicy to me too. I'm ok with loose rock and runouts, less ok with rockfall. I'm thinking about going in July roughly.

Hey, any feedback on this route/s? Seven years ago when I first moved here this was on my list, had a perfect week of weather and 3 partners bail in a row (one while I was literally walking out the door bags packed, calling saying he had the flu). For some reason I'm thinking about it again this summer. Anyone climbed it (especially in recent years) who has anything to say about it (general beta, "it's awesome" or "it sucks ass", also which line you took/ might recommend)? I appreciate it.

Looks horrible, especially those March turns. Good stuff!

Major loss. Peace to you, and yours.

A friend of mine suffers from similar issues; she is on the upswing after it got very bad (i.e. avoiding a lot of public places, very limited scope of travel from home). But it is slow progress, and hard for her. It still sounds like you are pretty functional; I'd try to hold your ground or better. If you want me to send her your contact info, pm me; she's cool and if she wanted to talk about it with you it might be helpful.

alpine rock can be a useful descriptor

- Want a beer? - You gonna call room service? -We got beer. -If you hauled beer up this rock, you're insane. -I may be insane, but I'm not stupid. I didn't carry it, you did it. It's in your pack. That whole movie is an epic quote, pretty racy language (non-pc) too. I had the pleasure of pulling the beer in the pack move on a fellow Eiger sanction fan, complete with the above quotes, a couple of years ago. I had to sneak the beers into his pack a couple of pitches before the top to pull it off though.