Alpinfox

Nope, I have not climbed NF of Hood. My one attempt at it (with Fern) years ago was aborted due to bad weather. That said, I've climbed other gully-type snow and/or ice climbs with three folks with good results. There are definitely times where side-by-side climbing of the seconds is impossible and the lower climber needs to duck into an alcove to avoid icefall, but overall I think it works pretty well. I like having the third climber for social as well as safety reasons. Climbing as a group of two IS faster, I'm not arguing against that, but to say that climbing as a group of three was an important factor in the difference between tragedy and victory in this case seems a bit of an exaggeration to me. In fact, I think discussing it distracts from the much more important errors made by this group.

I do not agree. I often climb as a group of three and I think that, performed by experienced partners, it isn't much slower than climbing as a group of two. Autoblocking belay devices are awesome. Being in a group of three allows for some efficiencies, extra manpower, extra brain, division of labor, etc that can make it a good choice. For example, in a group of three, if one climber gets injured, it is really nice to have two healthy folks to deal with the situation. Climbing as a group of three was not anywhere near this group's most serious mistake in my opinion.

Obviously there is no way in hell I would ski that, but it looks like a good climb! Did ya'll ever rope up or place any pro? Beautiful peak.

60m is fine

Wow that looks like a fantastic trip!

For 165g, you can get a Petzl Mini Traxion which makes crevasse rescue and other light hauling systems a breeze.

In the case of a crevasse rescue scenario, I don't think the pulleys should be seeing very high forces. Maybe 2kN max? There are folks on here who know the physics of these systems much better than I, so maybe they will chime in. However, ropes get bent over single biners (small diameter) in much higher force situations (lead falls) without catastrophic consequences, so my gut inclination is the revolver isn't unusually "high stress".

It's like watching a preschool class.

If you've read several books about anchor-building, you should have all the didactic knowledge you need. Now go get some practical experience. Build some anchors 5' off the ground (with soft, safe landing beneath) and hang your body weight from them. If possible, go with someone who knows what they are doing to critique your efforts.

I've tried to use those things before and I was not impressed. I pretty much agree 100% with this review I saw on the REI website: The Petzl Oscillante Pulley weighs 55g and costs $15. Works well, though it is still not a "prusik-minding" pulley. Not sure how you do your crevasse rescue, so maybe that isn't an issue. I've been wanting to try one of those DMM revolvers, but never have. They make a locker version now, but its really expensive.

This time of year, I would expect that route to be pretty snowy and slow and not rock-shoe friendly.

Scheduled to be available in June. "lightest full-functioning biner in the world" * Weight: 0.7 ounces (20 grams) * Type: straight * Gate closed strength: 22 kN * Gate open strength: 8 kN * Minor axis strength: to be determined

When I climbed it last year in mid-April, it was snow-free and dry. The walk-off descent had some spots of wetness and some little scraps of snow hiding in some alcoves. My TR

That's a finely crafted TR. Very nice.

Have you climbed Mt. Rainier?

Oh? Is it? Have you ever done that? Added an additional biner to a belay device while belaying (not rappelling)? Or are you just speaking hypothetically? Did you read the first post? Fascinating. Did you read any other post in this thread besides GenePires?

That Euro-porn soundtrack is pretty sweet eh?

You are gonna love my nuts.

Which Ani song you got goin' on?

Is this kevbone? [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k437pkDxriA

STFU, nOOb! thats the spirit!!!! YEAH! WHEEE! We are really sprayin' now!

Hey Joseph, BillCoe started a thread about the Kong Ghost HERE but he didn't have much to say about it. Could you tell us why it's your favorite belay device?

I'm just trying to fit in here...but I agree with all that has been said so far!

[video:youtube]

Hi, I'm here for the free samples?