Fromage

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.

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.

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.

Would those be the fancy new load-limiting screamer leashes that blow their stitching if you hang on them?

Climbing? Why climb in Cape Town? There are many things worth doing there, but few so worthwhile as the numerous fashion models. The social scene in CT is pretty lively. Between The Piano Bar, the Jet Lounge, the Purple Turtle, the Victoria Waterfront, and, my personal favorite, The Fez, you can subsist entirely on alcohol, fish 'n' chips, stunningly beautiful women, and thumping club techno. Leave your Sportivas behind and take your dancing shoes.

Jon, I picked up some new Quarks this season with the detachable leashes and had similar experiences. I found the leashes were considerably more comfy than my older Charlet leashes on the Quasars, and with a little practice it was no big deal getting the clips back on the posts. My tools actually came asymmetrically drilled, so I have a shorter leash on my right (dominant) tool than I do on my left, and the orange clip dangles perfectly into my fingertips. My problem was losing the leashes at the end of the day. I would remove them from my tools for the hike out and later would storm around the motel room cursing because I couldn't find one. It always ended up buried in the bottom of my pack or in a pocket or somewhere else where I thought it wouldn't be. Maybe I just need to work out a better system: when my leashes aren't on my tools, they are ALWAYS in chest pocket/pack lid/etc. I miss ice climbing season.

Having followed the tragic drama of Peter and Scott on Rainier to its unfortunate conclusion, I feel like I want to show my support somehow in a form more tangible than lamenting the climbers' fates in cyberspace. From what I have read in the thread discussing the rescue as it unfolded, I got the sense that there were people on this board who also felt the immediacy of what happened, and were disturbed by the idea that the fallen climber on the mountain could have been them. Lots of us have been on Rainier, some have spent a considerable amount of time up there, and many have thought about the dangers the mountain poses. The circumstances of the accident make it more difficult to deal with, and some have even expressed their doubts about choosing to climb when they have important people depending on them. I don't intend to speak for anyone other than myself, but I would like to express my sadness to Peter's family personally, so if anyone knows an address where I could send a card, I would appreciate it if you would share the info. Since Peter is leaving behind a family, it might be a kind gesture from the PNW climbing community if we could organize some sort of collective donation. I wouldn't presume to know how to organize that, but there is a diversity of talent among the members of this board, and if there was enough popular support for the idea we could make it happen. Perhaps it would be in poor taste, perhaps discussion would get mired in the details, I just don't know what the response will be, but if I had just lost a family member to a climbing accident it would mean something to me to see how total strangers who shared a common bond with the deceased band together and make a collective statement of support. Even if a few of us get together at a bar and sign a card it would show that we cared. Unfortunately there are enough climbing accidents in the Cascades to keep a committee busy sending out cards, but hey, whether it is an out-of-state tourist or a homegrown hardman, they all deserve support in some form. Any other thoughts on this?

NOLSe is right on with the WFR comment. My first aid kit is contained primarily inside my brain. I have dealt with more than my fair share of serious backcountry trauma, and experience has taught me that if something bad happens, you have to get your patient out quickly before things get worse. The most indispensable item in my kit is athletic tape, followed by gauzy things and topical antibiotic. A mask is good to have, too. If something bad enough happens to warrant a first aid kit, you need to stabilize your patient and bail, you won't be performing any elaborate medical procedures in the backcountry. Even NOLS, the World Leaders in Pack Weight, takes pretty minimalist first aid kits into the field on month-long trips, supplemented by lots of good drugs. But the most important component is the knowledge of how to perform first aid well. The stronger you are in that area, the better prepared you are to work with less.

Thanks, folks, that was some interesting, informative, and entertaining feedback.