PaulB

All of Whistler is bear country! Most summers, there's usually 50 or so living around the village and on the two mountains.

I've only got a few days in on my Cumbres, mostly on snow/ice, so they haven't taken much abuse yet. Hopefully I won't have the same problem as you. On the other hand, my Salomon Super Mountain 9's are still going strong after 7 years and plenty of abuse. Salomon did a resole on 'em a couple of years back for something like $30, which should keep 'em going for another few years.

Elaho also publishes a Waddington Map to go along with Don's guidebook.

The Whistler web cams will give you an idea of how much snow is around. I suspect that you'd be doing more hiking than gliding down from the pass.

Similar inquiry & replies here.

Not really. There's Valhalla Pure, but I wouldn't call them "core". The shops in Squamish or Whistler are the best bet if you want to patronize someplace other than the MEC.

Here's how it went down a couple of weeks ago for a group in which one guy was on skis and the other was on foot/snowshoes.

As far as the road goes, it really depends on what the snowpack is like this year. You might want to keep an eye on the Live-the-Vision message board, and the ACMG Mountain Conditions Reports (usually posted here by jmckay). If you haven't already, get this book for "typical" climbing season info:

The general consensus these days seems to be that for pros (ski patrol, guides) who practice regularly with their beacons, any of them (analogue or digital) are fine. For recreational users who probably don't practice as much as they should (if ever), the digital technology helps to simplify the search process and speed things up. Check out this thread from a couple of months ago. Searching for "beacon" or any of the various beacon models on the TelemarkTips and TGR forums will also turn up lots of info/opinions.

Actually, he's playing them tomorrow night at the casino in Richmond. Does Chuck have a musical talent???

On the topic of stretching, does anyone have experience with La Sportiva Barracudas?

Give the guy a break, after all he's 60, not to mention that he had surgery to fix a brain aneurysm about a year ago.

Instead of following the summer trail, if you head into the woods behind the outhouse, you can follow the Grouse Creek drainage to the upper part of the ridge. Much more direct, and a better ski when you're coming down.

These informal test results show that loss of strength due to UV exposure varies, and that nylon does not always fare worse than Dyneema. Granted, it's a small sample size. As a Honeywell employee, my corporate programming compels me to point out that Spectra was originally licensed to AlliedSignal, which bought Honeywell in 1999.

Garmont is the US distributor for Rottefella, so you might try contacting them. An inquiry on the Telemarktips forum will likely generate some leads for you.

None of the underwriting questionnaires I've seen have asked about WW paddling. Climbing, SCUBA diving, flying, auto racing, hang/para gliding and sky diving seem to be the things that worry them. I too often feel more at risk when I'm paddling a river than when I'm climbing, but that's probably because I'm a better climber than I am a paddler.

To further emphasize that you'll want skis, here's a recent picture of the Elfin hut: For comparison, here's how it typically looks in early winter, or late spring: I wonder how much extra money they get every year from people who put in a fiver 'cause they don't have the exact change for the $3 fee?

I pulled out my policy for a look-see, and it's got the same clause, which I think is pretty standard.

I've also heard of this strategy. I've also been told that if you have a policy with no exclusions, and if you don't die within two years of getting the policy, you're pretty much covered for any cause of death. Of course that assumes you didn't lie on the application, or that the underwriter can't prove that you did.

Easter is usually prime time for the Spearhead traverse, but I doubt too many groups went for it this weekend. If you're going for a couple of nights, it doesn't make much difference if you start from Whistler or Blackcomb. If the weather doesn't co-operate for this weekend, definitely consider starting from Whistler another time. You should be able to ski out to Blackcomb's upper parking area (or darn close) for a few more weeks.

I have a policy which excludes death due to mountaineering. I've recently had an insurance broker do some research, and they found that it is possible to get policies which include mountaineering, but that they cost an extra $2.50 - $5.00 per $1,000 of coverage, on top of the base cost of the policy.

If you were to compare the user fees collected to the yearly expenses, I'm sure that all of the huts in the Coast Range would be in the red. They "get by" because the groups involved (BC Parks, ACC, VOC, Flavelle family, etc.) budget/contribute funds above and beyond whatever user fees are collected.

For anyone who's bought one during this sale, did it come with the 2.8 update?

Why didn't we do that coming out from Pebble Creek???? Sounds like a good trip, despite the weather!

For whatever it's worth, it's the #1 pick at BeaconReviews.com.