PaulB

Gripped is starting to slip as well.... the clothing/fashion article in the latest issue was lame.

If you ever plan to work in Canada or Europe, you're pretty much SOL without UIAGM certification.

I did the Neve Traverse on May 1. We had to hike for about 20 minutes (it's probably further now) from the Diamond Head parking lot to reach consistent snow on the road. Once we got on the snow, there was plenty of it all the way across the Neve.

Isn't there a short wall up at Cal-Chek (I forget the name, but I think you walk by it on the way to Penalty Box) that has some short & easy sport routes?

No, they do not. I had a pair of Intuition liners fitted for Alphas, but found they were too bulky around the ankle, which I didn't like. I returned the Alphas, and used the liners in my ski boots. I also found that "sizing down" didn't apply to Alphas, because they are already a very low volume boot compared to something like the Inverno.

I didn't say it saves time, I said it prevents elevation loss. I totally agree that going low is faster, especially if you cross Pattison to the north as well. I've had good conditions going over Decker in both directions, but I can imagine that if things were bad, that it could be nasty.

How long do you think they'll last? I'm planning to head down there at the end of the month, and was hoping I'd be able to ski up the same way you did.

A friend of mine got the Arc'Teryx bird tatooed on his ankle. He sent them a picture of it, and they sent him a free harness. Probably not the best way to get free swag.

I wish the Altimax alarm was louder. I usually have to set all three alarms (one minute apart) to make sure I hear the damn thing. Otherwise, its a great watch for skiing and climbing.

Sadly, this is no longer true. Crossing Garibaldi Lake yesterday was perhaps the most miserable 2 hours I've ever experienced with skis on my feet. Here's what we had to deal with, and this was a shallow spot: Otherwise, the Neve is still in great shape!

The Blowhole to Black's race was this week, except that it was actually done in reverse since Blackcomb is closed. I'm told that the winning time from Whistler Peak to Black's Pub was 5 hours, 9 minutes, and that it would have been faster if not for all the hiking to get down the lower part of Blackcomb.

Technically, the route you took is the shortest, but you lose a lot of elevation between Decker and Pattison. Going high over Decker and traversing below Trorey is longer, but sets you up nicely to cross south of Pattison with minimal elevation loss. What was the critical part, and what was your proposed fix? Just curious, 'cause I use Riva Z's on my touring setup. I think we left plenty plab for you guys! Sounds like you had a good adventure. A fine example of self sufficiency in the backcountry, with a little help from like minded souls.

Climbed a route on the Apron yesterday that isn't in the guidebook. It's about half way between Deidre and Bannana Peel, crosses over Sparrow. Fully bolted, pretty much a straight shot to Broadway... goes at 10 something. Nice route, although I didn't lead any of the pitches so I can't comment on the bolt placements. Anyone know the name and grade?

You must have been the group crossing below Decker when we were on the East Col. We only went as far as Decker where we spent the day doing laps. We did see a lone woman (Fern?) turn around and head towards Blackcomb. I was suprised there weren't more people out there. Did you run into a guy skinning uphill while wearing a huge yellow down jacket? He was one of the last two guys we saw heading off into the murk at the top of Decker. We couldn't understand how he wasn't just melting into the snow.

You should see my big toenail after our heinous ski-out... not pretty. I'm afraid to put my rock shoes on. But, back to the topic... I did the Spearhead Traverse a couple of weeks ago in twelve hours. For one of the guys with us, it was only his second day of backcountry skiing. He was fit, and an intermediate skier, but spent a lot of time screwing around with skins, bindings, etc. Even with that overhead, we still made good time, and were able to easily move at twice the speed of groups hauling overnight gear. To paraphrase Jim Bridwell (I think): If you bring overnight gear, you'll probably use it. If you don't, you're motivation to push through is pretty high.

Who needs lifts? If you're one of those rando racer types you can do 30k in a day of touring like that guy from Revelstoke

I'd like to ski up Mt. Baker in a day at the end of May. Obviously it will be snow condition dependent, but which route would be the best choice? - Coleman-Deming via the standard Heliotrope Ridge trail - Coleman-Deming via the Grouse Creek drainage - Easton Glacier I'm assuming that by the end of May the road will be open to the Heliotrope Ridge parking area and that the road on the Easton side will also be fully open.

This is funny, because the Glidelite skins were one of the products BD aquired when they bought Skye from Ted Ayliffe. As far as I know, the ClipFix system was BD's own in-house design. I'd buy BD's story if you were talking about the original O2 tele binding, but not for the ClipFix skins.

The aforementioned powder. Note two tiny people on uptrack in middle of unskied slope: "Good times"

Has anyone else who saw Simon's show at the VIMFF seen the film yet? After seeing the movie last night, I didn't really understand his comments about it being "economical" with his side of the story, and that he "just disappeared" half way through. I thought his part in the whole thing was well presented. He certainly wasn't made out to be a rope slashing bad guy. Maybe he just felt he should have got more screen time.

My rack is made up of 9 Smiley screws and 1 BD stubby. I have the "grinder" on two of the Smileys. I've used them in all kinds of ice up to grade 5 without any problems. I bought most of them just after BD sold their factory to Smiley, so perhaps as Dru says, the quality has gone downhill. To the best of my knowledge, the original Smiley (formerly BD) factory did not use prison labour to make screws.

I use an ATC, and for multi-pitch also carry a plaquette (Kong Gi-Gi). I find this to be a versatile combination. Yes, I have to carry two devices, and an extra locker to use the plaquette, but it works for me.

Here's what Black Diamond says about mounting Havoc's, which are twin tips: If the Havoc is going to be used traditionally, in a "uni-directional" sense as a regular AT or tele ski, mount as follows: 183 cm length mid-chord is 91.50 from tail and tip; taking the mid mark between those two measurements - add one cm to mid-chord mark. Use same procedure for 173 cm and 163 cm lengths and add one cm forward of mid- chord. For an AT set-up, mount per the mid-boot mark on the ski.

I'd say our line up the right side was an easy 4. The longer and more vertical pillars to the left were very wet & chandeliered, and would be 4+ for sure.

Fixed... getting this TR into the system was almost more of an ordeal than the climb.