stinkyclimber

The Department of Homeland Security's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will require all US, Canadian and Mexican citizens to show a passport to enter or re-enter the US by: - January 23, 2007 at all air and sea border crossings (that is at airports, and for entry by ferry or cruise liner like the Port Angeles-Victoria ferry) - June 1, 2009 at all land border crossings (it could be earlier, but June 1, 2009 is the last deadline). Go to the DHS website if you want it straight from the horses mouth, but this is the kind of shit I (unfortunately) work on. Getting into Canada without a visa requires proof that you are a citizen of a visa-exempt country (of which, the US is one). That means proof of citizenship, which generally includes a birth certificate or passport. However, most border guards are OK accepting a valid drivers license or range of other ID. But they don't have too...if they want to be hard-ass about it, or if they suspect you are from a non-visa-exempt country or if they woke up with hemorrhoids that day and are all pissy, then they can ask to see not just a drivers license, but also some sort of proof of citizenship. But generally, a birth certificate will do it...it doesn't have to be a passport. But, border guards on both sides have very wide discretion, so they can hold out for a passport if they really want to, and there ain't a lot you can do about it. But, WHTI will take away a lot of the discretion that US border guards currently have to allow US and Canadian citizens into the US with only limited ID. But no worries, at land borders anyway, for a few years (and hopefully never, if us lobbyists get our way!).

Man, between this thread and the "Let's all take a minute to go f&ck ourselves" thread, you are on fire today, Layton. Nice job.

Note that "Canada's pro rescue service" is limited to Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Rockies, and even there, I believe everyone on the SAR teams also do regular park warden jobs in between call outs. Far from universal. Those parks are unusual for the density of backcountry and high-angle recreation activities all in one spot under federal jurisdiction that makes a pro service feasible.

I will second all of this. Thank god for the "Another Mt. Hood stupid comment" thread. It is an antidote to the weird shit going on in the voyeursim thread.

See the Dec. 4 posting on Will Gadd's blog for a debunking of a number of half-rope myths and general discussion on when and why to use halfies. http://gravsports.blogspot.com/

Lambone, I think most of the PLB discussion/argument was here - Another Mt. Hood link

Perhaps that would work with Osama too. After 5 years on the run in caves and shit, one would think he has built up a powerful thirst for a cold one...

Good point, otherwise the front page the next day would be: "4000 burned in bizarre flame-thrower incident on summit of Hood; search for lost climbers continue"

No good. They are all busy looking for and failing to find Osama in Afganistan. Perhaps the flame thrower trick will work over there? Why don't you call NATO and suggest...

Yah, but only if you are Bubba, with a Park Service radio.

Come on man, I mean, like, they are prepping for EVEREST, dude.

DaveH's story points to the disadvantage of a PLB vs. a sat phone...once you push the button, they assume it is a life or limb kind of thing which means a full out response. A sat phone lets you describe your situation, your location, etc. A lot more contextual. Sat phones can receive calls, which is also helpful in the final stages of the rescue - they can call you with their plan. Of course, the advantage of a PLB is that your rescue call gets to exactly the right place right away - all PLB signals go to national SAR coordinating stations. Unless you have the right tel. #, your sat phone call may get bounced around a lot till it gets to the right agency. I am not sure about signal strength and penetration abilities of PLBs vs. sat phones. Sat phone batteries start losing their charge even if unused after 3 weeks or so, which is a problem on longer trips without solar cells (likely the same with a PLB).

I was just in Tahoe for work (on the weekend), and the "much needed snow" turned out to be less than a foot. Very boney. Not worth strapping them on, imho.

Or check out this thread at LTV - looks like someone is putting in an order: http://live-the-vision.com/cms/index.php...644&catid=6

My partner and I climbed through the rock bands to the left of the gully (for reasons I don't remember anymore) when we did the route a few years back in early August . I don't remember any difficulties, altho the rock was similar to your experience: loose and unprotectable. Not a bad option if the standard gully exit is congested or in poor condition.

You can check for latest closures at Climbers Access Society of BC . Looks like it is still closed, but maybe a local has more up to date info...

Jaap, if you are going to be hucking yourself off of BC backcountry walls, you might as well save yourself some of the added pain and suffering on the approach by paying the $20 fee to join the Bivouac Mountaineering Directory. You probably burned twice that in gas this weekend!! Bivouac contains a great and mostly up to date database of SW BC logging roads and access to peaks, including both peaks that you failed to reach in this TR. Bruce's book is great for peak info, but it is 25 years out of date for access in an area where access beta changes by the month. Happy BASEing. Stay safe. It'd sure be cool to see you fly by while on a wall...

Skied into Balfour Hut last Saturday under "variable" conditions. The weather turned from "sun and clouds" to mostly clouds by the time we got there. Had to return (after waiting till noon for the weather to clear) the same way the next day in a total whiteout and moderate snow-fall. Bow Lake was still frozen, and unless it has gotten sunny again since then, should still be crossable for a few weeks. Only at the far end was the ice starting to melt back from the shoreline, and even then only half a meter (whichy only makes it more sporty). Patchy snow to the first canyon, although it was possible to leave skis on all the way from the car on upwards, with the exception of 100m. The main canyon was skiable, but it is getting tricky in spots. Another while yet before it melts out although there are 2-3 sections where you have to walk and even wade. The summer route above the canyon is snow free for the first half already, unfortunately. The glaciers seemed well covered. Snowpack quite consolidated from last week's freeze-thaw cycle, although there was breakable crust above 8700ft. New snow accumulation when we left was less than 10cm and heavily wind effected. The route up to the High Col looked in very good shape. The hut was, as usual, great. Not many parties do this trip after early May so get on it and avoid the earlier crowds. Stinkyclimber Mountain Wanker PS - Thanks to Joe for posting all these MCR reports. They are a great service! Just trying to give back a little... _______________________________________________ These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. I am not a guide, just a wanker. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. My advice could kill you, your friends, your pets, even your plants.

Just a note that the subject line of this thread may be jumping to conclusions...the photo of Dru does not actually show him climbing - he is just standing there with climbing gear on, perhaps posing in the parking lot of the peeler joint in the Highlands.

The "Canadian approach" is actually much less systematic than it appears: - Most of the huts on the coast in Canada are built by volunteer groups (ACC, VOC, etc.) on Crown land (i.e. public land, not parks), or are illegal. The coastal huts tend to be use-by-donation and first-come, first-served. Half are outside park boundaries, and the ones in Garibaldi (a provincial, not national park) were mostly built by volunteers and are mostly still maintained by vollies too (the exception being the two huts on Diamond Dread, and the picnic shelters on Garibaldi Lake). - The huts in the Rockies (i.e. on the Wapta) were also, in the main, built by the ACC and are maintained by Parks Canada or the ACC depending on what year you are talking about (they are always changing who does what out there). The parks out there are national parks which are much more bureaucractic than provincial parks. These huts are by-reservation only. - The huts in the Columbia's tend to be private, run by commercial backcountry operators. If there is a common thread running thru these, it is that huts in Canada are: - built and maintained by volunteers and donations - built on public land, mostly outside of Parks or they were built before the parks became the bureaucratic monstrosities that they are now - simple shelters with limited amenities The challenge, it seems to me, in the WA Cascades is that most of the prime alpine terrain is in national parks and/or is very close to road where a hut isn't really such a good idea (just go to Cerise Creek hut). I don't know WA that well, so I may be way off here...

Here are Dan Savage's thoughts on the issue (the use of the term "gay", not Off White, or climbers or any of the other drivel in this thread) from his February 22 column:

There are only two huts along the Duffy - the one in Cerise that you have been too, and the one in Marriott Basin, which is across the Cayoosh valley (the main valley) and a little west. It is maintained by the Whistler ACC. They have a website which has directions to that hut. It will be almost as overcroweded as the Haberl hut was. There is also an "illegal" hut at the base of Snowspider Mt. which is over the Vantage col from Cerise - I think Bivouac has a TR or two on that. Altho not on the Duffey Lake Rd. , there is a hut in Phelix Creek, in the Birkenhead area north of Pemberton which is great, but the access is a little longer. Try the UBC Varsity Outdoors Club website. There is loads of touring in the other side valleys along this road without huts - just bring a tent and enjoy the solitude. Don's suggestion for a guidebook is a good one, or else just look at a map, check out Bivouac, and go exploring. John's guidebook is increasingly out of date, particularly on access. Bivouac is probably worth the subscription to complement the guidebook and for new beta.

Nope. He WANTS to. Once he finds out what kind of psychos make up of most of the CBP, he is going to change his mind. Actually, most of the border guards on the land-crossings in the summer are university students. Imagine the average VOCer carrying a Glock. Don't think it is going to happen.

They wear that to protect themselves from gun-toting US border guards and citizens. The Canadian Border Patrol does not carry fire-arms, so they rely on mind-boggingly complicated forms (in triplicate), harsh language and kevlar for protection of the northern homeland (our Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibits them from relying on the protection of God). Having said all that, I don't remember the break-in problem being that serious in either Vancouver or Squish. Use common sense, and don't expect that a glass-enclosed box is the same as a safe in your basement. My car has never been broken into in either place.

Canadians love to get riled up about this and wring hands endlessly about how unjust and one-sided NAFTA is. Of course, the first step would be to stop subsidizing our lumber producers. It wouldn't change anything (the US lumber lobby is brilliant, and protectionism is a time honoured vote-winning pasttime in rural areas), but at least the hand wringing would be more honest. However, govt subsidies of the BC forest sector keep Dru spraying all year long, so... Eliminate those unfair tariffs and SAVE DRU'S SPRAY. There's a cause to rally around...