Fromage

Z-Man...Aaron Zabriskie? How about some more information to back up your statement. Like: - Were you on scene? - Did you actually observe these claimed behaviors? - Did you do anything to help? If you can't substantiate what you're saying, it's a good idea to refrain from speculation and propagating rumor. Reconstructing a climbing accident is complicated enough without misinformation from anonymous voices in the peanut gallery.

If by SummitClimb you mean Dan Mazur, I can recommend them. I know Dan personally and he has impeccable high altitude guiding credentials. His trips tend to be good value and well suited to clients who do not require white glove levels of service. I have not been on his trips but if I had the time and money I would choose his company for several Asian climbing objectives.

I usually use any perceived damage to my gear, imaginary or otherwise, as justification to upgrade. 1-inch long tear in the fabric of my pack during a Pickets shwack? NEW PACK! A little fuzz on my Dyneema alpine slings? NEW SLINGS! Bottomed out an ice screw against rock ? Damn you, Cascade conditions! NEW SCREW! Then again, there are some pieces of gear to which I am so strongly attached that I wouldn't replace them if they got run over by a coal train.

What is a "Fast N Lite" pack? Is that some kind of pack that you carry to the drive-through of In-N-Out Burger and then fill with Miller Lite?

This thread is asking the right question but is taking a beeline to Angry Nerdville. If you want to talk about gear that slows you down we should be identifying the true culprits instead of arguing over real-world applications of high school level kinematic equations. Here is a cursory list of gear that slows you down: 1. Gaiters. Why, in the year 2012, do people still insist on wearing gargantuan Gore-Tex monstrosities on their ankles? Just think of how much extra work you have to do with every footstep when you wear huge honking gaiters. That slows you down. 2. 6,000 cubic inch backpacks on day hikes, der Toof, etc. You know who you are. You are the ones gasping for breath and staggering along the trail as the smart people blow past you wearing appropriately-sized packs that only contain what they need. That slows you down. 3. Plastic boots. Unless you are climbing Rainier in winter, these things are unnecessary in the Cascades. In a market where choices of lightweight, leather or synthetic, insulated mountaineering boots abound, plastics only do one thing: slow you down. 4. Expedition tents. These can be luxuriously spacious and instill a false sense of security, but they also weigh 9+ pounds, take a while to set up, are damned hot in the summer, and guess what? They slow you down. 5. 2" thick ground pads. You don't need a pad with an R-value of 12 to have a comfortable night's sleep. Unless you are carrying it 20 feet from the car to the campsite, they slow you down. 6. 10.5mm+ ropes. Does anyone climb in the mountains with fatty singles anymore? If so, they missed the memo that they slow you down. 7. Not having a map and appropriate navigational tools. You think carrying superfluous gear slows you down? Try getting lost. When you miss the obvious gully that Beckey describes you could spend hours bumbling around trying to get back on the approach route. That slows you down. 8. I could go on, but you get the idea.

The Google translation leaves much to be desired. If work was slow enough I'd translate the letter myself for the benefit of non francophones.

It will feel a little weird at first but you'll adjust. I climbed the NF of Gannett Peak in WY (800 feet of alpine ice) using a Grivel Air Tech Racing 58cm axe in one hand and a Grivel Rambo 2 technical ice tool (50cm) in the other. One was light and a little longer, and I had to give it a swift swing to get a good stick, the other was a trusty, stout technical ice tool. If I had to do it over again I'd take a pair of matching Aztarex or something comparable, but at the time it was fine. The combo worked okay, and since the steepest part of the face was only 60 degrees I felt comfortable with the setup. I don't think I'd use this combo for anything more technical than that (NW couloir of Eldorado, for example). Your combo, however, sounds more appropriate for moderate alpine ice routes with those reverse curve picks. Why don't you take a quick lap up Observation Rock in Mt Rainier NP this weekend with those tools? You'll get a nice taste of moderate alpine ice, conditions will be good, and you can find outwhat the different lengths feel like for realz.

Well he probably wasn't wearing a fake shearling-lined Russian tank driver hat, was he? And I bet he didn't have TWO pillows. These dudes clearly know how to send the big walls in comfort and style.

Got this in the mail yesterday. Pretty cool. On the back was a coupon for 20% off anything in the store, so I know what I'm using that for. Twine rope looks pretty solid. This is most likely in the "Beyond" section of the store.

If your slings were even grazed by the Silver Bullet you are in big trouble. Now your gear, like the beer, won't slow you down, which is exactly what cams are supposed to do, isn't it?

There's only one crag in the lower peninsula. It's about 30-35 feet tall. Sandstone. Toprope only. Bring your own carpets to protect the edge of the cliff. It's borderline choss, but it's all there is.

I've used a Spot for years, have an older version. I like its simplicity. Reliability has never been an issue for me, but as with many gear experiences, your mileage may vary. I became a fan of the "everything in one place" headlamp design after ditching my Petzl Zoom way back in the day. The extra strap, remote power pack, etc. wasn't worth the hassle to me. I find the light projection of the Spot to be powerful enough for my needs. Unless you are caving or working search & rescue I think the main LED can handle most climbing situations. If it's so freaking cold that my headlamp isn't working then I'm either at home drinking beer or hunkered down in a giant sleeping bag. Is 4oz going to be THE determining weight factor? No. The way I look at it, though, is if you can save 4oz in 4 places then you have saved a pound. The more places you can save weight the greater the cumulative effect. A headlamp is a relatively inexpensive place to save weight, compared to a sleeping bag for instance. But then again, if you're sweating it over 4 ounces then maybe you need to train harder. Everyone here can stand to lose 4oz off their bodies. I know I could benefit from losing a bit more than that.

Gene speaks da troof. If you need to get to your homie in the crevasse, a 30m rope doesn't give you a lot of spare length to work with. The 30m rope is ideally suited to skilled climbers experienced in self-rescue who probably won't fall into a crevasse and won't get hurt if they do. Feathered Friends sells 8.4mm dynamic Sterling rope by the foot. Or at least they used to. You could walk in there and say "Cut me 39m off that there spool" and you could have your own custom glacier line. Edit: Gene, remember- you're not a victim until you're dead. If you're hurt you're a patient.

If you descend 9,000' on Rainier in those boots your toes will be mashed. I wear Scarpas that are a hair too small for my feet and I have lost count of the number of toenails they have claimed. It's in the double digits. You will appreciate the performance fit on ice, however. One option would be to rent a pair of plastics for your Rainier trip for your feet to flop around in and then save your sweet new Scarpas for Frankenstein, Dracula, and Pegasus back east.

Word. My first rope was a Blue Water 11mm. I climbed for 2 years on it and then gave it to a friend. It looked like the day I bought it. That said, my Beal 8.1mm ice lines have taken a right thrashing on Lillooet ice adventure climbs, Cascade alpine routes, and getting dragged around on glaciers. They have held up remarkably well.

North side of Silver Peak, just east of Snoqualmie Pass. I was just up there skiing last week. Lots of snow. It's not super steep, but there are no crevasses (it's not glaciated) and the slopes are wide open with no trees or large debris to hit if you go for Mister Toad's Wild Ride. Bonus: you can drive up dirt roads past the PCT and hike in easily. From car to steep snow is about one hour. Plus you can scramble the ridge to the summit while you're up there. It's good to practice travel on snow to build confidence and it's even better to have an experienced friend teach you some skills on footwork. Walking efficiently in the snow is not as easy as it sounds, and the steeper it gets the more important technique becomes. Have fun wherever you go!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/world/europe/deadly-avalanche-surprises-french-alpine-town-of-chamonix.html?_r=1&hp Yikes. I remember looking at Maudit from the summits of Mont Blanc and Mont Blanc du Tacul and thinking an enchainement of these three peaks would be a great climb. It's an impressive mountain but this slide sounds freakish. 9 climbers taken out. Bizarre conditions for this time of year. PARIS — At least nine European climbers were swept to their deaths early Thursday by an avalanche that left at least 11 injured and four climbers unaccounted for in France’s Mont Blanc mountain range, authorities said. World Twitter Logo. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors Officials believe the avalanche, at about 13,000 feet, started when a 16-inch thick sheath of ice broke off and slid down the northern face of Mont Maudit, which abuts Mont Blanc. The slide gathered mass, transforming into a 50-yard onslaught of snow, according to the gendarme service in the alpine city of Chamonix. A large climbing party of 28, roped into two groups, as well as about 10 other climbers were on the mountain when the avalanche struck, sweeping up some in its path. Eric Fournier, the mayor of Chamonix, told reporters that no weather bulletin had been issued warning of an avalanche, and that shifting ice sheets could have caused the disaster. There was some speculation that a recent spell of warm weather might have weakened the ice. Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, said he would arrive in Chamonix on Thursday and expressed his deep sadness, saying that the authorities would investigate. The accident adds to this year’s alpine death toll. On July 3, five German climbers fell to their deaths in the Swiss Alps, plunging several hundred yards while descending the 13,155-foot Lagginghorn. Investigators are looking at what role ice beneath the snow might have played. At 14,648 feet, Mont Maudit offers routes that are among the most challenging and treacherous in the world. About 30 people a year die in the Swiss Alps, while Mont Maudit alone claims dozens a year, though not usually in such large groups. Rescuers said they were first alerted to the accident at 5:25 a.m. by a climber who managed to escape. Officers from the gendarmerie in the Haute-Savoie region joined sniffer dogs, helicopters and rescue workers combing the mountainside for survivors. By early afternoon, two climbers had been rescued and emergency crews were searching for the missing. Mr. Valls said in a statement that the death count — initially estimated at six — was preliminary, while police said four people remained unaccounted for. Bertrand François, the head of the Haute-Savoie rescue squad, said the dead included two Spaniards, three Germans and one Swiss and three people whose nationalities were not yet known. British news reports said three of the victims were British. The group was also believed to have included climbers from Denmark, France and Serbia, some of whom, for reasons as yet unknown, turned back before the avalanche fell. The 11 injured were hospitalized at the nearby town of Sallanches, officials said. Mr. François offered some hope for the missing climbers, saying it was possible that they had been ahead of the rest of the group or had taken a different route and had not been swept away. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they are under the avalanche,” he told reporters. Jean-Louis Verdier, a senior official in Chamonix said that the avalanche had come as a shock. “We had no more reason than usual to be alarmed,” Mr. Verdier told Reuters TV. “It’s a steep mountain face. There are big plates of snow we know of where an avalanche can easily occur. But this morning we had no reason to expect an avalanche of this size and such a tragedy.”

Top 3 pieces, rock: #1 Camalot #7 Stopper Yellow Alien Top 3 passive pieces, rock: #7 Stopper #5 DMM Wallnut Pink Tricam Top 3 passive pieces, alpine: 24" Yates picket Knifeblade double-length spectra runner

Climb Mount Baker via the Easton Glacier. Stick your head over the crater rim before you hop onto the Roman Wall and take a whiff. Should smell about the same. Part and parcel of volcano climbing. To paraphrase Apocalypse Now... "I love the smell of hydrogen sulfide in the morning!"

Have you considered doubles? Look at Beal's Ice Line. I'm on my second set of those and love them. Climbing alpine with doubles has many advantages over a single that outweigh (pun intended) the weight penalty, at least in my book. Mammut also makes some excellent skinny doubles that are quite light.

I second the recommendations for Chris Simmons and Mark Allen. I have personally worked with Mark and can vouch for his quality as a guide. I have personally drunk beers with Chris and can vouch for his personality.

My experience is that the Tri-Cam is a specialized piece of gear that works very well in a narrow range of situations. I agree that to an extent their utility is dependent on the type of rock and local conditions. I don't use my Tri-Cams much in the Cascades, but when I climbed in North Carolina I relied heavily on the three smallest sizes. They fit great into features where other pro would not. Same in Red River Gorge, Kentucky (sandstone).

A good route plan for this weekend would be to drive east on Highway 2, turn right on Icicle Creek Canyon Rd, enjoy some cragging in the sun and do a repeat ascent of the bar stools in Gustav's. Having been on Rainier a bunch of times in lousy conditions I don't feel a need to seek that out anymore, but that may just be me. Old, cantankerous, and selective. Ten years ago I thought it was fun to suffer on volcanoes in crummy weather. That's also part of the luxury of living here, it doesn't matter if the weather sucks this weekend because you can always go next weekend if it's better. Not so much when you are visiting from out of state.

I have used the Black Diamond Lighthouse tent (similar to Firstlight, but larger) on both Baker and Rainier. Even when guyed out with rocks at Camp Schurman that tent did not hold up in the wind as well as my Bibler Eldorado does. It was tolerable, but not exactly confidence inspiring. That said, I would do it again because carrying a 3+ pound tent to high camp on Rainier or Baker (instead of a 5+ pound single wall or 9+ pound expedition tent) is worth the wind stability tradeoff. Check the forecast before you go. I have also spent a lot of time in the older Mountain Hardwear Kiva and Dana Designs Nuktuk, which are single-pole, pyramid type tents. I've used those at 13,000' in winter conditions in Wyoming and found that a really high wind will flatten them, even if guyed. If you have a calm forecast for your volcano trips then I think you will be comfortable in your tent. Depending on your campsite on Rainier you can sometimes find wind walls constructed by previous climbers, i.e. Ingraham Flats. The sturdiest tent on the mountain, however, is the public hut at Muir, and since that is already there you don't have to carry it. Just bring earplugs. If you're climbing the Easton side of Baker the high camp area at ~6,500' is sheltered.

Correct. And this will affect the length of the bag. A tuck-stitched Vireo will be slightly shorter than a top-stitched Vireo. And more expensive, since it will involve custom production. Off the shelf I think the Vireo is fine as-is. FF offers their bags and jackets in combinations of fabric and construction features that they think maximizes the usefulness of the design. Individuals are always welcome to change things up a bit, but that's a premium you pay for.