mplutodh1

In the market for a single, dry, over 9mm rope, primarily for glacier travel. Want a rope that will hold up to a little abuse, is 60m preferably in the event crevasse rescue situations arise. Suggestions? Not looking to break the bank!

Thanks for the response! Sounds in line with my thinking. It did seem high and I realized the stakes (way more than I'd use) were in the bag still so that will add weight, and I admittedly did not have an uber accurate scale just used a bath scale with me on it with the tent and then with just me and did the math so was ball-parking things. The stuff sack idea would only be if weather was good and it was dry. The good news is from what I hear the ToddTex stuff dries pretty quick in comparison to most 3 season tents. Great idea on the silnylon sheet for the ground tarp - this one is lighter than both tarps for my 3 season backpacking tents but still could lose some weight with a different tarp. I'll take a closer look at it tonight in good day light in the yard and see how things look. Any advice on how to clean dirt off the toddtex fabric? Just mild soap and water? The door, to it's design, appears to get a bit dirty and figured I'd give it a try cleaning it off.

A couple questions for those familiar with the Bibler Ahwahnee (specifically the older Bibler Ahwahnee 2 with a single door and a window) 1) Is there any reason it would be a bad idea to use a compression stuff sack to reduce it's size? Potentially buying this tent off a guy on Craigslist and after looking at it in person this thing is a beast in it's stuff sack! Obviously would not store it in the stuff sack but thinking for keeping the gear in my pack organized and not bloated, a compression sack would be helpful 2) Anyone have tips for getting it setup quickly (in the event you're hurrying in wind/rain.) Especially hooking the vestibule up to the tent with those little hooks. 3) Looks like the ability to zip the mesh screen door is only on the new Ahwahnee, or am I missing something? All in all, considering buying it as my 3 season REI Ex-tent and Clipper tents just aren't fitting what I'm looking for in a tent for year round tent - not great for climbing trips. When I weighed it though, did end up weighing more than I had thought - pushing over 9 lbs with the vestibule and tarp.

I had seen several prototypes in photos on the First Ascent Facebook page and had hoped they would launch at the same time - the Katabatic is a bit odd to me as well. Sure, maybe for these guys who are on the FA 'guide crew' testing these things out, flying around the globe for 'work' - but at that weight, it makes little to no sense for the majority of mountaineering people. That said, I did try and get more detail to see if their single wall tent was actually going to come to market - apparently they are testing it on Everest now (or so their marketing folks claim). Today they posted another photo on FB that looked like maybe the singlewall. Unfortunately not much of an angle on it - but based on previous photos I've seen, might be an updated version of it (the tent closest to the photographer here)

A few questions on this topic, I've been in the same search for a few months now. Curious to see what happens with the new tents this year but also been watching for deals on used tents. The RAB/ID Latok Mountain looks interesting and sounds like they are making a vesti for it as well. Bit on the pricey end though. Also waiting to see what First Ascent brings on April 2, apparently they have a few coming. Not sure on their quality, durability, etc. but will see. My curiosity is with the water column ratings of the older Bibler I-Tent. Does anyone happen to know this information? I searched online a bit but can't seem to find much. Looking at a used tent possibly. Thanks

Well bummer - Pro Lite only has Blue left in the MK3. Curious if anyone knows anything about the ID MK Yukon - it says 3 Season but I'm not getting why.... So I'm torn between: BD Eldorado ID MK3 ID MK Yukon

Any updates on Alpental? I'm sure avy conditions aren't spectacular up there right now.

Thanks all - I did see the post by DPS and was debating it. I go back and forth. I've got a few 3 season tents that work OK for typical backpacking outings but are not suitable for snow camping or heavy rain. Nor are they light enough I want to haul them on summit climbs. That said - a single with gear room and enough room so I don't end up with with a wet foot box is ideal. The MK3 looked decent due to it's compact size for a larger 2 person tent but not insanely heavy for a solo. DPS - I'll probably email you and see if you're around and still have it to take a peek. Might be what I am looking for. I've seen the RAB summit bivy at Marmot in Bellevue and it's too stinkin' small for me for that price!

Anyone got an Integral Designs MK3? I'm back and forth between the MK3 and the BD Eldorado. I like the MK3 more from specs and reading but still have questions. Hoping someone has photos of it packed up - is it really 20" x 7" packed? that seems big for such a compact tent. Would love to hear thoughts on the tent, durability, ease of setup, size, etc - photos are always helpful as I've not seen one in person yet. Thanks so much!

We left Lone Fir at 4:15 and were on the trail at 5AM. We had hoped to be there sooner but had a slower start than we'd like and missed the turn off for Climbers Bivouac off 830. Conditions were damp but good through the tree line and up the boulder field under headlamps. A ways in to the boulders the snow patches started showing up, in some cases pretty slick that early in the morning. Eventually as the boulders gave way to the scree/ash it was all snow from there and small patches of scree. It was pretty windy and cold up there today - not much visibility at all at the crater rim/summit. We were at the summit in just under 4 hours, stopped to have some lunch after finding some protection from the wind. We were back to the truck fairly quickly - just over 7 hours roundtrip. We passed countless people in all cotton, jeans, t-shirts, etc - severely unprepared for the conditions. Good luck next weekend.

With the weather approaching this week and snow levels dropping, should be an interesting go. We've got permits for Sunday the 9th and will be staying at Lone Fir Saturday night, going for an alpine start to allow for any interesting weather challenges.

I've climbed Baker (with Peregrine) and Rainier(with AAI) and have years of the standard backpacking experience. I understand the Denali Prep course is targeted at Denali - however I would guess many of the skills learned there can translate to the cascades. From a goals perspective - my bucket list includes finishing the WA volcanoes, from there - more in the North Cascades (Shuksan, Eldorado, etc) as well as the Olympics. Part of why I'm looking for the winter is timing; summers are busy and with plans to climb Adams and likely another climb of Rainier already on the list for the summer I'm not sure I can swing a week or two in a school. Have to be careful where I schedule vacation.

Aside from the schools I mentioned below - are there other winter expedition style skills schools/courses in the area? I originally had planned to look into taking an AIARE Level 1 Avy course and a separate crevasse rescue class but I'm wondering if I'd enjoy a winter school more... it'd be a completely different experience and probably one that would prepare me well for a lot of what the mountains in the Northwest could throw my way weather and conditions wise. Schools I'm aware of: - RMI - Winter Expedition Skills $1930 (Includes summit attempt on Rainier) - Mountain Madness - Denali Prep $975 (no summit attempt) - IMG - Winter Ascent Seminar $1750 (Includes summit attempt on Rainier) - Alpine Ascents - Denali Prep $2000 (maybe summit attempt on Rainier) - NW Mountain School - Denali Prep $1440-2370 If anyone has experience with any of the above I'd also love to hear more about them. Thanks in advance!

cms829 - the Post Monsoon Sale is where RMI's previous season rental gear is offloaded at pretty sweet discounts. I went last year and picked up numerous items I used all summer. I'll likely be going again this year.

Over the weekend I managed to puncture a small hole in the nylon of my First Ascent Big Tahoma pack - right where the crampons strap on. Wondering what the best options are to patch/repair the hole. It's about a quarter inch in length and a clean puncture. Want to repair it to maintain the water-resistant nature of the pack and keep from causing further damage. Do the SilFix Sil-Nylon Repair Kits do OK for this? Or are there better options?

Haha don't worry - I'll climb Shuksan at some point (maybe next summer). I brew my own homebrew beer and while in college at Western chose the name Shuksan Brewing for my little 'operation' because of how much I've always appreciated what an awesome mountain Shuksan is. Only seems fitting that I stand on top!

Thanks all! After discussing this with the group (I'm obviously not the only one who has a vote) we're opting to give CD a go. We're all stoked - regardless of where we went!

Is White Salmon more technical? From what we were told they are all three about the same. The group is leaning more towards Baker because we've heard the summit pyramid on Shuksan can get quite crowded and you get stuck waiting for groups (in some cases even having to turn around). Most of the group is completely inexperienced and in most cases won't be going out again for something like this. I'm climbing Rainer with AAI in a couple weeks and just using this climb as training / prep. Think after both of the climbs (regardless of the route we pick) and some time in Avy/crevasse classes this winter I'll have some experience to go with groups of climbers with experience and not need a guide.

We had a climb planned this weekend on the Sulphide Glacier route of Shuksan but due to that route being crowded we're contemplating the following: 1) Baker via Coleman-Deming 2) Shuksan via White Salmon Given the choice - which would you go with? I'm leaning towards Baker - I don't know much about the Salmon River route on Shuksan. We're going with a guide.

Thanks Dane! Appreciate the detail. We'll be watching the weather and gearing up appropriately. Hoping for a nice getaway.

Good to know, thanks guys. Yeah, we're watching the avy conditions.

Planning an overnight at Snow Lake for next weekend, curious if anyone has been out in the area recently and what conditions are like. Debating the snowshoes, but if the Yak's will cut it - probably preferred!

should i get a dry rope just to be safe? i mean do they last longer?

Hey guys, I am lookin to buy a rope and i am curious what i should get, i climb mainly at marymoor right now, workin on skill stuff, and i am goin to start goin to VW. I am goin to get a dry rope but i was curious as to what kind i should get, i will be lead climbing and then setting the rope for my bro to top rope, so i want a 10.5 or 11mm? my next question was to climb at marymoor do i need a 60m? or will a 50 do? any ideas on a place to get them cheap? -matt

Hey, I was surfin the net today and found some comments on the Fun Forest and some routes at Snoqualmie pass, anyone know where i can get info on them? or how to get to them? i am a beginner well sorta, so any ideas on some easier routes? anyone know of good places to climb close to redmond???? that are outdoor, bouldering would be great. -Matt