Fromage

Mountain Hardwear Ethereal Ice Parka Gore Tex XCR 3-layer Size XL Cobalt blue weighs about 22oz Mint condition retails for $465 Features include watertight zippers all over the place 2 chest pockets reinforced shoulders and arms stretchy gussets (the black fabric) like this one but blue Reason for sale: having been swept away in the Softshell Revolution I never use this thing anymore. send a PM if you are interested.

Arcteryx packs are available at Feathered Friends. They don't stock the Nozone, but can order it. They carry the Needle 65 and 45. They are comfy.

Dave- the Inspiration was somewhat broken up, but everything was well exposed. From our vantage point on the E Ridge we thought we could shoot a fairly direct line across it, but of course once we were halfway across we got boxed in and had to take some detours. There was a boot track that avoided the whole mess by staying high on the western edge and shot straight across the compression zone. That was less direct but would have been faster. Those triangular chunks of rock, if I remember from my armchair geology degree (B.A.G., class of 1998), are pegmatite intrusions. I saw them the first time I climbed Eldo and remembered them- they make for a fun little sequence on the approach. Another thing that contributed to our slowness in the couloir was my need to be constantly eating.

Thanks Dave, but I missed the hummingbird reference. The only Hummingbird on the trip was my sleeping bag, and that isn't very old. No Camp axes... Big props to Mark for keeping his poop in a group when his feet got tangled up. That was certainly a tense moment. Thankfully that snow above the mixed section provided for some very secure sticks. A couple more weeks and that route will be in primo form.

The Euros will be plaguing us with their latest ice axe tomfoolery soon, although at this stage I'm not sure you can call this thing an ice axe. Honeys and fellas, take a look at The Monster There is a pdf poster you have to download, the actual pics are on page two of this. Not only is this axe unrated, but it bristles with points on the pick and comes in Star Spangled Banner finish for all you patriotic mixed climbers. Makes all other leashless tools look like Fisher Price toys. This from the same company that still sells a wooden alpenstock: If I can use my secret powers to get my hands on some I'll write a review.

One barely used REI Ultralight jacket, size XL, color yellow, for sale. http://www.rei.com/product/47592211.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_MENS_CLOTHING_TOC Average weight 13oz. I bought this as a shell to keep in my pack for marginal weather days at the crag, and in my pack it has mostly stayed. This jacket retails for $125, but I will part with it for a measly $50. Drop me a pm if you want to check it out

I have always been leery of factory seam sealed tents. The tent fabric, adhesive, and tape all expand/contract at slightly different rates across the temperature spectrum, which may lead to eventual deterioration of the seal. Case in point: I spent three days in a TNF single wall tent waiting out a storm in the Tetons and one of the floor-wall seams leaked continuously. This is not the first time I have had factory sealed seams leak on me, but all other times it was in TNF tents, too. Stebbi, no matter what SW tent you buy, a mandatory accessory is a piece of Packtowl or a sponge or some other type of water absorber with which you can mop the floor of your tent. Works great for spilled tea and soup, too.

I stumbled across these boots in 2nd Ascent today while waiting for the girlie to try on some purple pants. They look like they might be a decent lightweight Cascade mountain boot. 2A actually had a pair that fit the size 15 flippers, and they felt reasonably good. The lacing system is nice, you can lock down the ankle pretty well, but the forefoot is kind of roomy. Sole has a little flex and the heel has a semi-auto crampon welt. Given that none of the really saucy lightweight climbing boots (Trango S, Raichle All Degree, Montrail Lotus, Freney, etc) are made in my size, this boot seems like a possible winner. So, the question is: has anyone used them? What are your impressions? If you have any experience with them (or comparable Salomons) I would appreciate hearing about it. Durability? How do they climb and hike? Quality issues? If you don't have any experience with them, I would appreciate not hearing about it. For $150 and 830g, they might be worth it even though they are billed as a "technical trekking boot," whatever that means. http://www.salomonoutdoor.com/us/product.asp?sex=0&seg=1&act=7&gam=0&pro=872410&sel=0_0

Send me a PM to identify and I will try to ensure a speedy return. I think they belong to one of two women who passed me on their hike out, but that is just a guess.

A lighter backup would be a Pocket Rocket or some other sort of mini cartridge stove. They don't work nearly as well as an XGK, but damn if it isn't light. If you already have an XGK and you take good care of it, chances are you won't need a backup, so you can save weight and space by taking a lighter second stove. Plus it is easier to cook in a tent with a small cartridge stove. A buddy of mine once ignited a fireball inside a tent with me with his XGK.

Gary, I have had a couple pairs of SW socks and wasn't pleased with them. After two months of climbing they were threadbare in the toes and heel. As for the sizing goes, I'm not the one to ask since I am a few standard deviations above the mean. Since I wear out socks so quickly I have switched to the REI merino wool socks. For about $8-10/pair (and quantity discount) that saves me some money for duty free shopping.

There was a group of 4 folks at WW1, 2 of which were climbing, one of whom was named Paul, I think. We found your harness. PM me to identify and a swift return will be arranged.

Leave the axe behind. You might find a surgical tubing slingshot more useful, or an industrial sized canister of goat spray deterrent. I think you can buy that at REI.

Close, Gary, that would be 15. My alpine cramps are Charlet S-12s, and when I bought them I picked up the extended spreader bar. When I put them on my plastics the strap wasn't long enough to reach around my boots, so I had this crazy old cobbler guy in Chamonix re-work the whole strap system. Then they fit great, and now I have about twelve feet of Charlet rap webbing on my crampons if I need it. Grivels also fit my boots, and they tend to be a bit lighter than Charlets. The trick I found is to size your crampons to the biggest footwear you will be using them on, then they are certain to work with everything else you'll wear. Nothing says speed in the mountains like soggy size 15 leathers, giant steel crampons, and gobs of wet snow balled up on them. It's the best.

Incorrect. The color would be "Benjamin Franklin Green."

In this country we use drybags. They are cheap, versatile, and easy to rig. And they hurt less when you get thrown into them in the middle of a class 5 rapid. The best are from Jack's Plastic Welding, look 'em up.

Why are you selling this stuff? I understand you are quite the master baiter.

The Wn's Mistral and One pants are cut way better than the Mns, just like the jackets, for some reason. Interesting. My climbing partner today was wearing the women's mistrals and hated them. Besides the obvious disintegration of the construction, her chief complaint was that the pocket zippers are perfectly located to grind into her hips when wearing a pack belt or harness. Sounds like another winner from Lowest Common Denominator. Were these pants actually designed specifically not to be worn climbing? Kinda makes you wonder...

Props to Beyond Fleece. I have a Cold Fusion jacket of theirs and it is the best money I have spent on outerwear, except perhaps for my Seattle Sombrero. There is nothing that beats a custom fit, and the quality of their materials and construction is mighty fine. This won't be the cheapest option for pants (their Schoeller Extreme fabric pants are pricier than comparable MEC pants), but damn if it isn't worth it for a sweet fit.

But at what level of significance, Mr. Smarty Social Science Pants? Alpha = .05? Are you willing to accept that one time out of twenty you might see an observation more than two standard deviations from the mean? Consider THAT carefully when buying your next jacket.

Steve Goryl, the NOLS instructor with the most weeks of field time (400+?) was the expedition leader of an Everest clean up climb a few years ago. I talked to him about the experience and he said it was a pretty useful undertaking and they managed to haul off a few thousand pounds of trash. He told me that these days the Nepalese government is paying a cash refund for every empty oxygen tank that sherpas bring down. Steve did his own bit of trash cleanup on his world record 2-week stay at the South Col, digging around in the snow to hunt down buried cans of food left by other expeditions. If that is not bad ass, I don't know what is.

It seems you are the one who missed the dry humor that is often described as "tongue in cheek."

ummm... those are DMMs, dude. British. Lighter and cheaper than BDs. Pretty sweet gear.

David, thanks for sharing the contact info. For everyone interested in expressing their feelings to the family, I thought we could include more CC.commers in the group card by doing this: If you want to say something, send your message to me by PM before Thursday May 27. At that point I will print everyone's messages, compile them into a little booklet, and send them to the family along with a card. Does this sound reasonable? If folks want to make a collective Donation from CC.com, make checks out to the fund as described in David's post, mail them to me at the address below BEFORE the end of next week, and on June 2 I will send everything along to the fund with a separate card. 34 West Dravus St Seattle WA 98119

The applicable statistical analysis to perform to answer Dru's question is described as follows: First you need to standardize the measurement of accident frequency. It is inaccurate to directly compare the 3 accidents on Mount Obscure with the many accidents on Rainier. The most accurate way to do this would be to normalize the raw accident data in terms of climbing frequency and time. Thus you have a measurement of Accidents Per Climber Day, and you can compare values of this measurement across all peaks in the world to get a fair idea of accident intensity. Secondly you need reliable data on each route you want to compare for the following: - # climber days - # accidents And for each accident it would be nice to know - what time it occurred (month, weekend or weekday, etc.) - index of accident severity (no injury, injury but climbers continued, injury requiring self evac, non-incapacitating injury requiring assisted evac, incapacitating injury requiring assisted evac, fatality) There are a bunch of other variables I would like to have measurements for, because with some additional information I could model the probability of injury severity in an accident. These include things like amount of climbing experience, has anyone in the party been on this mountain before, presence/absence of certain types of equipment, cause of accident (objective = rockfall, collapsed snow bridge, etc, subjective = climber fell, wrong knot, etc.), weather conditions, time of day, altitude, and so on. But that goes beyond Dru's question... To test whether accident frequencies differ among various routes, you perform a chi-square test on the routes in question for which you have data. A significant p-value means there are (very probably) considerable differences in accident rates on different routes. If someone would give me the data I could do the analysis in the time it takes to . The index of accident severity would be useful because then you can compare different routes in terms of how lethal they are. If most of your accidents on the DC result in self evac, then you might conclude that the route is safer than the Abruzzi Ridge of K2 where most accidents result in death. Most folks probably don't need a stats geek to tell them that, though. But most importantly, you must remember what Winston Churchill famously said: There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. And if you want to argue with me on this I will throw my thesis at you which will probably result in an incapacitating injury requiring assisted evacuation.