PaulB

Strangely enough, a friend of mine recently got a copy from the bookstore (don't know the name, but others might) a few doors down from Lagan's Bakery in Lake Louise.

For anyone who has bought a G3 Probe lately, you might want to check this out. G3 Probe Recall

Yeah, we did go down to the Coleman Glacier on an ACC trip. I was also part of the group that you were going to meet in Lillooet when you rolled your truck. I believe that was the same weekend that Don & Henry had their adventure on Oregon Jack.

Is this the same as the rolled Explorer from a year or so ago? Thanks for the road info.

Does anyone know if the road up to Welch is driveable all the way to the parking area?

My regular ski partner uses an AT setup, and when he wants more control for in bounds skiing, he just wears regular downhill boots instead of his Lasers. His bindings are Diamir Titanal 2's and his skis are Atomic 10EX's, hardly a lightweight setup.

Check these out from Pika: Sastrugi Binding Very simple, and a lot cheaper than new Silvrettas.

I saw Jim Whittaker's presentation at the VIMFF this weekend, and he had several slides of himself with the Kennedys. He guided Robert up Mt. Kennedy in the Yukon in 1965. Politics being what they are, its not hard to believe that a guiding concession on Rainier could be arranged by the powers that be. As an aside, I was a bit dissapointed in Jim's slide show.... too much political commentary. It was pretty obvious that he's a Democrat with no love for George W., but I didn't think a mountain film festival was the right venue for his message.

Easy enough to do if you're sponsored! If you have to shell out $40 each to replace picks two or three times a season, it gets expensive. Bashing away at the rock is probably more common on alpine routes. On established mixed climbs (such as in Haffner Creek) you'll find that "quiet", precise pick placements are the norm.

So how was it? Were the routes in Phair Creek in good shape?

Went for an exploratory drive up the Phair Creek road yesterday. We were able to get to within 1km of the gate marked at 2.5 km from the bridge on Lyle's map. The main Enterprise Creek road was snow free to about 800m, and appears to be getting traffic from logging further up the valley. So, barring any major snowfalls in the near future, you should be able to drive to within a reasonable walking distance of A Phairly Fast Tick, Just Walkin' The Dog, Airy Phairy, etc. If they clean up the road for the ice fest, you'll probably be able to drive right up to the gate. Note that there is some rockfall on the road before and after the bridge which could cut up your tires if you are unlucky. We didn't actually go in to look at any routes, so I can't give any updates on their conditions.

Suprisingly uncrowded at Marble Canyon on Saturday, only about 10 people, with four or five top ropes in action. All of the routes on the bottom tier are climbable, but pretty hacked up. The first pitch of Icy BC was wet, but solid. The second pitch had a wet, slushy hole at the very top, and is very chandeliered. The third pitch looks good, but is also chandeliered in spots. Fender Bender is also in good shape. Note that if you are rapping off of (or leading up) Fender Bender, there is a nasty bush at the top to deal with.

Yesterday, this section on Rambles Left was much thinner than shown in the photo below. Climbable, but more like verglass. Rambles Right was in much better shape, and a lot more fun.

Whistler Alpine Guides have an ice course on their schedule for this weekend too. Not sure where they usually go, but the choices seem pretty limited.

Guinness Gully - easy access - moderate climbing - fun glisssade descent

Has anyone been skiing around the Duffey Lake Road lately?

Most Canadians have never heard of the Arrow either. As for regrets, many people view the whole affair as an example of the US government exerting influence on Canada to protect their own industrial interests. As depicted in the movie, in return for shutting down the Arrow program, the US offered to supply Canada with BOMARC missiles (nuclear tipped no less) to provide air defence in the North. Whether or not this is exactly true is a matter of debate, but it's a fact that shortly after the Arrows were chopped up, BOMARC missiles were stationed at CFB North Bay in Ontario (Canada's equivalent to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado).

There is a thread about this on the Telemarktips.com discussion board: Telemarktips.com

Thanks, I thought there was a web site, but I couldn't remember what it was. The dates are Feb 14 - 17. This overlaps with the start of the Vancouver Mountain Film Festival. Choices, choices, choices......

Has anyone heard dates for the Ice Festival this year?

They're not online (or free) but you can get Canadian topo maps on CD. Check out http://www.mapconnection.com/e5125.html

At long last, nearly two years after the 2001 Ice Fest, Lyle Knight's map showing where all the ice is around Lillooet has appeared in my mailbox. Kudos to Lyle for remembering us all!

It's not really a movie, but I think the Nova "Death Zone" show was pretty good. It was entertaining to see Ed Viesturs and David Brashears get the giggles as they do cognitive skills testing. Made it pretty clear what climbing without O's can do to your body & mind.

I've been working in the Czech Republic this week, and while browsing the breakfast buffet at my hotel, I noticed the logo on one of the meat spreads that seem to be popular here. This guy has got to be the ultimate poster boy for HC. Find out more at: http://www.buffy.cz/en/index.phtml I can hardly believe that anyone would use this as a trademark. Paul.

I was on the lower section of the glacier on Sunday, and conditions were great. There is hardly any new snow, so crevasses and slots are still pretty obvious. I also saw two huge seracs collapse out in the middle of the icefall with zero warning, so its always a good idea to be aware of what's above you.