PaulB

If I had to carry three weeks of supplies from the Kain Hut to a camp in the Vowells in two days I would probably need a week to recover. Depending on the style in which you want to do the trip and the size of your group, consider flying in from the end of the Vowell Creek FSR. There is a recent TR on Bivouac.com from the Kootenay Mountaineering Club's trip to the Vowells this summer.

The catch here is that while the G3 skis mays have been made in the same molds as the Movement skis, the internal construction and materials are likely different. They may look the same, but they may ski very differently.

I've had a pair of the older style Ferratas (bellows thigh pocket and elasticized cuffs) for four or five years and they've been great for all my non-winter alpine adventures. I'm not too keen on the new styling, but as far as the fabric itself goes, they're just starting to get some pilling in high wear areas, and should be good for at least a couple more years.

There was recently a report in the Vancouver Sun that the Indo-Canadian population in the Lower Mainland has a signifcantly higher percentage of diabetics than the rest of the population. The cause is thought to be high levels of butter and sugar in their diets.

Having made two trips to Tricouni (E. Ridge & N. Ridge) in the last month, I would highly recommend this as an objective. The approach from the end of the Chance Creek road is about as casual as it gets. Recent reports are that a gate at 4.5 km on the Black Tusk microwave road is currently open, but new BC Parks signage indicates that only authorized motor vehicles may proceed past that point. Other much less convenient access options are via Cheakamus Lake or the Garibaldi Lake trail.

I've had a pair of Salomon Super Mountain 9s (predecessor to the Pro Ice) for about six years, and have been very happy with them. I've used them ice climbing, glacier slogging and alpine climbing, and they've performed well in all situations. Salomon even resoled them for $30 a couple years ago, which was way cheaper than I could find anyone to do it in Vancouver. It took about a month, but they came back with a factory sole. My concern about buying Salomon these days is that the SM9's were made in Italy, but I think all their boots are now made in China. I may be mistaken on that though. I'd choose leather over plastic for just about anything that didn't involve many continuous days in sub zero weather.

I telemark, so I have no first hand experience with AT gear, but among my regular ski partners that do, the consensus seems to be that the Dynafit system rocks for purely backcountry use. Two have switched from Fritschi Diamirs to Dynafits in the last couple of years, and both wish they had done it sooner. On the other hand, if you plan to use your AT setup in bounds on a semi-regular basis, and are an aggressive skier, most agree that Fritschis, Naxos, etc. are a better choice. Look for an old "binding issue" of Couloir magazine (they do one every year) which will compare all the offerings and detail the pros/cons of each.

I've got 404s mounted on an old pair of 160cm Atomics (Tourcaps or Tourlights or some such name) that I bought used for $50 including skins. They've been fine for slogging up and cruising down snow covered logging roads, but I wouldn't try to do anything more advanced than a snowplow turn with them while wearing climbing boots.

I tried out a Tikka XP this weekend, and while it is a neat design, I decided that for around camp and in the tent, it wasn't really much better than my old Tikka. At mid distances it's defintely better than the Tikka, but I figure for an extra $7 I might as well get a BD Vectra for when I really want to see what's up ahead.

Get a copy of "Extreme Alpinism" by Mark Twight. Lots of good training info in there. "Ice and Mixed Climbing" by Will Gadd also has some good tips. Note that both authors are genetic mutants and training fiends. You'll probably get more responses by asking in the Body Results Fitness Forum.

These would be best accessed with a sled, but could be easily reached on skis if the snowline wasn't too low and/or you were willing to make a weekend of it.

If you just want to get to and from the base of climbs in the winter, get a short (160-170cm) pair of skis, a set of Silvretta 404 or 500 bindings (which are compatible with virtually all welted climbing boots) and a pair of climbing skins. Buy the skis used and as cheap as you can find. You won't be cranking any real turns while wearing climbing boots, so the skis don't need to have much "life" left in them. It may be worthwhile to pay more if you can get something that is lighter than the average alpine ski.

I don't think many peeps under 40 are going to get that one E on the traverse. Very cool.

There's lots of pictures here that should make you feel better about flying.

There's a reason some folks call it the Tower of Gravel. Be careful.... a girl on TelemarkTips was helping people post pictures, and she ended up getting engaged!

From Live The Vision's message board: Full details here.

The lower tier of Marble Canyon near Lillooet is usually the location of choice for TRing ice. Unfortunately, on most weekends every ice climber from SWBC and the PNW who wants to get an ice fix without having to lead anything will be there along with the occaisonal guided group. Get yourself a copy of Don's guide for more info.

Probably true for a well built anchor, but in the case of a single cam, I'd say it's possible. I seem to recall reading that Jean-Christophe Lafaille watched his partner fall to his death on the South Face of Annapurna when their single cam rappel anchor failed.

Hi Gary -- Could you elaborate on what point you're trying to make here? Gary may be thinking of something else, but I believe that the biggest danger when rappelling from cams is that if you unweight the anchor (briefly pausing on a ledge, for example) and then continue rapelling, cams may walk into a less secure position.

The Mayor of London appears to have given it here.

The Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park is good entertainment for kids. Major attractions are the belugas, a massive sea lion, seals, a dolphin, sea otters, sharks, an octopus and all kinds of smaller fish. Grouse Mountain has great views of Vancouver, some hiking and a couple of grizzly bears to watch. They used to have wolves too, but one tried to steal some food from the bears and got itself killed while tourists watched. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a bit of a tourist trap (you can go to Lynn Valley and get on a higher, but shorter, suspension bridge for free), but with the new elevated walkway through the forest, it's better than it used to be. These are the big three summer attractions in Vancouver. The Aquarium is the best dollar value, especially if you can spend at least half the day there to see the different shows and demonstrations that go on. If you're thinking about the Horne Lake that has sport climbing nearby, it's on Vancouver Island. If you did make the trip over you could check out the caves.

This story has been out for almost a week, but I haven't seen it mentioned here and thought some folks might be interested. Some info here and more here.

I have Cumbres, which I've found to be warm and comfortable. I haven't done any major slogs in them yet, just a few days of ice and alpine climbing, for which I found them to be great. The major reasons for buying them were that they fit me well, and I was able to get them for about half of the regular retail price when a distributor here in Vancouver decided to drop Scarpa and cleared out their inventory.

I bought into the hype once. Custom orthotics and insoles made my feet hurt like crazy. I have Superfeet for my ski & climbing boots (~$30). They work magnificently at providing comfort. Go with whatever works for you.

I was also thinking of doing this traverse while in the Bugs this summer (we're hiking in on the 31st). I've climbed Brenta from a camp below Northpost, near the toe of the Vowell glacier. Others in the group did the traverse, which was quite convenient from our camp, as opposed to coming from Applebee or the Kain Hut. Some details here.