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pindude

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Everything posted by pindude

  1. Great trip, Marlin. Thanks for the excellent TR and photos. Happy for you and Joe. -Steve R.
  2. Great work and excellent TR Joe! Very proud of you and Marlin! --Steve
  3. Wow, great site, Splattski. Gotta love your avatar name, too.
  4. Drederek: PM McCall Boater. He'll know the best places for sure, including for what is near Slick Rock. He's fairly active here on CC, and likely hasn't seen your OP yet.
  5. Very well written, Wes. Great photos, too, especially of your son. Appreciate your sharing, and your expression of the sentiments of our community that you embody as well. May your partner heal quickly and fully. --Steve
  6. pindude

    Sobo's Updates...

    You go FNG! Don't stay that way for long. And I'll say it too: be safe!
  7. 1. Alpine touriing and randonee are the same thing. Yes. Above all, don't start off telemarking, unless you're a masochist. And this is coming from a telemarker of about 35 years, well, one who's been trying that long anyway. 2. Develop your ski skills first. Until then you'll be a liability to your partners, or yourself, in the backcountry. Yes, lessons are an excellent start, but developing your skills will be more a function of TIME ON THE SNOW. Wherever you go, get a season pass, and use it, not just both weekend days but during the week (night skiing) too. Get a pass at the hill that will benefit you the most, whether it be where buddies go, there's night skiing, or terrain that will not just allow, but force you, to improve. 3. For BC touring, the lightest Dynafit setup possible. But for inbounds, you may want a regular alpine set-up that's appropriate--depends on your financial situation of course. I know many others here are better versed than I on AT, and downhill, equipment. If you're fairly athletic, get in many days during your first season (30-50?), you could conceivably be ready in the spring for backcountry, harvestable corn snow such as we have now. Skiing powder is a whole different story, and typically takes longer to learn--you'll want to develop your powder skills by skiing the off-piste inbounds first, and I wouldn't expect you to be able to ski BC powder until at least your second year, even with many days on the snow up to then. Lastly, and most important, you need to develop your own knowledge for the BC, where it's all about avoiding avalanches. Head into the BC with knowledgeable partners, who know where to go, and how to avoid avalanche danger, or, if God forbids it ever happens to you, know what to do if you do get in an avalanche. You can get only so much by reading. By learning from others and actually experiencing it at the same time will you learn the most. So, for that matter, you'll at least want to take a Level I course early on. No hating, there's plenty of love to go around in the BC. Have fun and good luck.
  8. pindude

    Sobo's Updates...

    Damn Sobo! I should read cc more often. I missed this thread until now, *and* I just read for the first time your columnar basalt cowboy riding. Jealous that you got to ski Dubai. Best of everything to you on your adventures in Afghan land, and stay safe. In the 1990s I worked for a contractor providing outdoor equipment, in particular industrial-type shelters, to clients including the DOD. We eventually lost out on contracts to KBR and others. Curious to know what type of shelters are over there now, and who makes them. I'm buying when you get back, and I'd even meet up with you in Yakivegas.
  9. Sound assessment, Joseph. Thanks.
  10. HOR, thanks much for your frankness, and non judgmental account. I've much to learn from you. May you heal fast and fully. Looking forward to having you out of the hospital, and helping to do whatever is needed to get you back on you feet.
  11. Right on! I love hearing griz stories, and glad to know there's at least one productive sow in there. I like coming in from the Pack River side, but the vast majority of my trips I access via the Priest Lake side of the crest, which of course is more traveled by folks thus less bears and wildlife seen overall. If we ever meet in person, I'll share my Montana and Canada griz stories with you. Cheers!
  12. Sorry Toast. Though I never knew him, it's obvious he influenced many and lived a big, full life. Just reading his obit is inspiration. Lewy Body Dementia is a new one for me--it must have taken much courage to deal with that.
  13. Cool! Where exactly? When? Big, or young? Most of what I've seen of griz around there has been digging (most obvious), and possible scat which could easily have been from regular black bears. While griz is around, it's rare to see them.
  14. Ditto what pu says, going back almost 40 years of trips to the Selkirk crest, 95% of the time on or near Chimney Rock and Harrison Peak--which is more to the south from where I understand the herd frequents closer to the Am-Can border. Would love to see caribou in the Selkirks, as well as other animals I know exist there but I haven't yet seen in north Idaho: griz, cougar, and wolverine.
  15. Good on ya for holding off until you're sure it's ok... d Indeed, Alasdair, thanks very much for your respect. I'm surprised you weren't out on Sunday enjoying all the new PNW snow with the only somewhat buried, wonderful, breakable crust!
  16. It would seem pictures of the gear that broke would be helpful to see and wouldn't be an issue with the victim or family as opposed to pictures of the victim himself. Maybe you could elaborate a bit on the sensitivity issue you think is involved relative to the gear? I'd like to see them (here or on some other thread) to better understand this incident. I know the climber involved, and know he will give details when he can--right now he's got other, more important worries. Rather than speculate further about what you might see or don't see in photos, etc., I can tell you right now photos will not tell the whole story. I ask you please to show patience and respect, and wait until the climber can tell the story: it will be a matter of days if not a week or more until he's able to easily and fully communicate. Thank you.
  17. Climber who fell is a very good friend. He's a pretty tough guy, and says he'll be OK. I wasn't present, and don't want to speculate about accident details: Facts and an analysis will come out in due time. Meanwhile, he's got some work ahead of him, and a good network of family and friends to help him out. Wish him well, as he's got a bit of a road to travel.
  18. Absolutely beautiful, Dane. Great to see you back at it and on top of it. Cheers!
  19. Right on Sprocket. Schweitzer is excellent, as is Red. If you do spend a weekend to go up to Red Mtn and Rossland, while you're over the border it would be very worth your while to also hit up Whitewater out of Nelson. WH20 is smaller, has the great vibe of the Nelson area locals, and gets more powder as Ymir Mountain wrings more moisture out of the prevailing westerly systems than what Red receives. And if the powder gets skied out at WH20 or Red, there's countless BC opportunity elsewhere in the West Kootenay backcountry including at Salmo-Creston Pass just south of Nelson and WH2O.
  20. Time for a new book. The only book written for Inland NW and greater area backcountry skiing is the long out-of-print "Ski Trails of the Inland Empire" from 1983. Many of the tours have changed but it's still a good resource for not only what is still popular for locals, but also some forgotten classics. Website is brand new, thus the dearth of TR's. You're welcome to add any in the future! Several issues, but main stuff going on now are (1) establishment of the Stevens Peak Non-Motorized Winter Recreation Area (presented to and discussed with the USFS since before 2003), (2) saving the west side of Mt. Spokane from unecessary lift-assisted ski concession expansion into a natural area and old growth, and (3) input for the proposed Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forest Plan. Hit me up: will be glad to show you what we have.
  21. I love fresh powder and BC skiing, but I'm on the conservative side, too. I've spent 75% of my time on the XC trails this season with all the variable layers, although I plan to head out this weekend at least to poke around away from the XC trails and chairs. I feel badly for those that died, but am glad that Elyse Saugstad had an ABS and the presence to deploy it, saving her life. Still, she was incredibly lucky. She was originally in what she thought was a safe spot, "in the trees"--I'm glad she didn't get pummeled by the trees, or anything else, once she was swept up by the avalanche. I don't believe airbag systems yield a 90%-plus survival rate, which is what I'm reading presently from several news sources. Too many folks in avalanches die from trauma. An airbag system certainly didn't save poor Nate Soules in the Telluride sidecountry last week: Mixed reaction to airbags article
  22. Ah, sobo, I know that with you as an engineer it's not much of a stretch that you *could* be a rocket scientist, and you certainly do know shit!
  23. Sorry, sobo, I just edited my post upwind there. edited to add: Also, Feck with his wink was obviously questioning Curt. Too bad, I think Curt might have had one of our grayer winters up there. I should also mention that most of the mountain at 49 is north-facing, so in the middle of winter the low sun is not very visible as it would be on other aspects. A new chair, the Chair 5 quad, was installed in the East Basin about 5 years ago--especially in the mornings now, most people flock to that side of the mountain.
  24. kevino, welcome to Spokane. We don't have all the great stuff that exists in the Cascades, but best areas include the Stevens Peak backcountry area near Lookout Pass (in particular the Boulder Creek, Lone Lake, and Copper Lake basins, as well as Tiger Peak), Sherman Pass, Kootenay Pass just north of the border toward Whitewater and Nelson, and the north Idaho Selkirks. The first 3 can be done as day trips (a longer day for Canada). The latter, in the Selkirks, has longer access, typically up to 10 miles or more from main roads to get up near the crest, so snomo access or overnights there are the norm. Season runs at least through April, and not uncommonly into June and even July. As BC skiers, we're just getting organized over here, but here's our new web page: http://ibackcountry.org/
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