PaulB

Dunno which model it was, but I was looking at an Arc'Teryx insulated jacket a few weeks ago. First time I'd seen some form of GoreTex used with a synthetic insulation. In any case, the CDN$700 pricetag ensured that my interest in it was only momentary.

Yeah, a friend of mine picked up two Giro helmets in Whistler this summer for something like 50% off.

I used to sharpen after every day out, but now I mostly just do touch ups after I've hit some rock. If I was going to climb some cold, brittle ice I'd take the time to make sure they were nicely tuned. This happened on the crux pitch of Night'N'Gale last winter, about a half inch off the tip: Luckily, I was seconding, and the ice was soft, but it was a lot of work to get the "stub" planted securely.

MEC has some cheap helmets, but they aren't the quality of Giro IMO. Depending on how you're coming into the city, it might be easiest to stop in North Vancouver on your way to Whistler, unless you really want to go downtown. Good ski shops in North Van are Northshore Ski & Board, Westside Sport & Ski, Destination Ski and The Boardroom. Northside Ski & Board and the Boardroom are the closest to the highway and easy to find on Lonsdale Ave. Bigger chain stores that would have good selection are Coast Mountain Sports & SportChek, both of which are also in North Van. I'd guess that buying a helmet in Whistler will add $20 or so to the price, but you might get a deal if someone's still got old stock from last year.

The older Silvretta 404s will do the job, and should be easy to find fairly cheap.

I have a Garmin GPS 12 (old school, but durable) and recently picked up a Garmin Geko 201 (more memory and much smaller). Both are good units if you want a simple GPS that will tell you where you are, track where you've been, and let you download/upload data from your PC. I've never looked at any of the units with built in map databases, mostly 'cause I don't think they'd be very useful. I'd rather carry a paper map.

I'm no doctor, but I believe it's simply due to blood moving back into vessels which have constricted due to the cold, or even began freezing slightly (mild frostbite).

Another vote for the Michelin LTX M/S. They're great on the highway, and do alright on typical muddy/snow covered logging and forestry roads in BC. I've got close to 100k km (5+ years) with them on my Pathfinder, and expect that they should last through to next fall.

While I'm sure that some Canadians are passing on these values to their kids, I wouldn't say that it's representative of the country as a whole. The majority of people are willing to work to earn a living, without abusing the social safety net. Barring an unexpected job loss, I'll pay far more into the system than I'll ever get out of it, but if I ever lose my job, it won't bother me a bit to line up and collect the benefits I've paid for.

Was hoping to get tickets at the door, but an accident just south of Whistler closed the highway for a couple hours and we didn't get up there until 8:30. Figured there wasn't much point going to the show at that point, so headed to the pub instead.

Discussion on Telemarktips (scroll down past share redemption and mountain bike posts) that MEC is shutting down Serratus in January. If you've got a favourite pack, or had your eye on any of their stuff, better buy it soon, or take a chance that it will be discounted in the new year as they clear out stock.

As I understand it, he slipped while traversing an icy slope (he was wearing crampons) on the way to the climb, which caused him to slide off a 10m high cliff and into trees and a boulder field. A sad reminder that deadly accidents don't just happen on climbs.

Feb. 11-13. Heard there might be clinics with Sean Isaac, but dunno if that's for sure or not.

Anyone been up around Black Tusk or anywhere else high yet this year? Thinking that this weekend will be a quest for first turns of the season.

I tried these on at the ROI sale in Vancouver on Friday. For $50, I almost bought them for a joke. They were definitely comfortable, but not all that practical unless you're a comp climber or seriously into mixed. However, if your friend needs new crampons and new boots just for ice climbing, then these might be a good option, assuming that whoever is selling them doesn't crank the price up to near their retail value (guessing C$600-700).

Aside from the concerns mentioned above, I think it would be too hot for climbing in. I ski in a Giro Nine.9 and it's the warmest thing I've ever put on my head, and that's when going downhill with the wind in my face. Unless it was really, really cold, I think you'd rapidly overheat while climbing with that type of helmet on.

Sounds like someone bought them, and is now trying to re-sell them: Scarpa Phantoms

Recreation Outfitters in Vancouver is clearing out their stock of Scarpa boots: Cumbres, Freneys, Freney Lights, Cerro Torres and many others. Prices are approximately 50% off retail. e.g. Cumbres which sell for C$475 were going for C$250. They also have two pair of the funky mixed climbing boots (size 9ish I beleive) with the bolted on crampons. They're marked for $100, but I was told they'd sell them for $50 just to get rid of them. Apparently there only five or six pairs of these in Canada, and Will Gadd probably has most of them. Last day of the sale is tomorrow, Saturday November 20. Recreation Outfitters Inc. 3058 Beta Avenue Burnaby, B.C. Canada www.roirecreation.com

Ummm... no. Despite the fact that it is only 6 months shy of being 5 years old, I'll likely continue to use it for a couple more years of 4th classing and glacier travel.

I think I'll do just that, especially since I got my MEC share redemption cheque in the mail yesterday.

Came across a show called Ultimate Survival: Everest while channel surfing last night. Despite the cheesy title, it was interesting to watch. There's also a tie in with this board's favourite Everest personality, Annabelle Bond. More episodes for the next three nights. Don't think it's playing on the American Discovery Channel.

You want to start using half ropes. You already own a 8.5mm x 60m Mammut Genesis rope that is 4 years old. It has only been used for glacier travel and a few 4th class alpine climbs, and has never caught a fall.

Just back from a quick trip to the Rockies. As Don says, it's early season and the warm weather last weekend hurt things badly. However, we did find some ice lines in Haffner Creek on Thursday, and there are several mixed routes that were being climbed: King Creek is still pretty much as described above by Bogen, although a bit thinner than in his pics. Kidd Falls was completely gone on Friday when we drove by. The best value was to be found in the Bow Falls area. Bow Falls itself was open in the middle with running water, but looked like it would go on the right side. We opted to play around on Gorby Falls, (the flows to the right of the main falls) which offered a handfull of grade 2-3 pitches which were in great condition, and made for a fun day. Strangely enough, despite there being a half dozen cars in the parking lot there were only two other people up there on Saturday. Bow Falls Area: Bow Falls: The following pic shows what I think are Pointless & Aimless Gullies on the approach to Bow Falls. There was a party at the base of the flow on the left (Pointless?) when we hiked by in the morning: There's moderate ice to be had, and it can only get better as the days go by.

It depends on the binding you are using, and what your objectives are. Silvretta used to make some bindings (models 300 & 400 I think) that were great for approaching climbs, but you wouldn't be carving any real turns in them. I don't even think they released, and I'm not sure that the heel locked down either. Silvretta 404's were a beefier (i.e heavier) binding meant for going downhill, but they only had rear release. You'll still see a lot of people skiing these beacuse they fit virtually any boot that will accept clip on crampons. Good for people who only want to buy one ski setup that they can use with both mountaineering and ski boots. The newer model 500 is very similar, but uses carbon rails to lighten things up. Bindings like the various Fritschi Diamirs & Freerides, the Silvretta 555 and the Dynafits are more geared towards cranking turns, not approaching climbs. Some (most) of them are not compatible with mountaineering boots. So, while all of the above bindings can be categorized as randonee/alpine touring/ski mountaineering, some are better for downhill skiing, and some are better for touring and/or approaches. When I want to get turns, I use my tele gear. When I want to get to a climb, I have an old pair of Atomic Tourcaps mounted with Silvretta 404s.

Based on this, I would guess Euro before Canuck.