Stephen_Ramsey

Another for the CCW Chernobyl. I haven't carried more than 30 pounds in it (maybe others have, and can comment), but it is a great pack. Randy (the guy who answers emails at CCW) will also customize your pack, if you want. CCW makes a larger pack too, but I can't remember the name.

There is a decent boot pack to where the Stuart Lake trail splits from the Colchuck Lake trail. Snowshoes or skis would be useful for getting to Colchuck Lake.

For what it's worth, it is also possible to walk off the east ridge, and back down to the Silver-Abiel saddle. Nice trip report!

Hi Matthew, Sure, I remember you. You were serving in the Navy, right? Thanks, curtveld. Cheers, Steve

Hi Wazzumountaineer, OK, I'll send you the pics (should I send by email?) after I get home from the Steve House slideshow tonight. Cheers, Steve

Hi Wazzumountaineer, Here are some pics: http://homepage.mac.com/stephen.ramsey/climbing/triplog/200603-dragontail We also have a bunch of pictures of Dragontail's NF that I'd be happy to send if there is interest.

From Saturday March 11th: Icicle Creek Road is drivable to the turn-off for Bridge Creek Campground. The Eightmile Road (the one that goes up to the Stuart Lake Trailhead) is gated at the bridge. The road is well-packed from snowmobile tracks. Some skiers had set a nice track to about 500m beyond the first bridge over Mountaineer Creek. Beyond that, we had to break trail to the south side of Colchuck Lake, which might be covered by now. Floatation was essential (for us), to be able to get to Colchuck Lake. I didn't see any tracks down the Stuart Lake trail after the split from the Colchuck Lake trail. Snow conditions on north-facing aspects above treeline (e.g., the snow slope up to Aasgard Pass) were 6-12" of powder snow on top of hard crust. Crampons were very useful for sections where the powder snow had blown off the crust. Hope that helps.

Oops, the two broken images have been fixed. Casualty of moving the web site.

Hi Josh, For what it's worth, I've spent two nights in the Firstlight with moderate winds (maybe gusting to 40 knots) and a lot of wind-driven rain. I'd say the tent functions about as well as one could reasonably expect. I mean, looking at the tent, it's clear that it is a compromise between weight and weatherproofness. We had a lot of condensation build up on the inside walls of the tent, and a little bit of leaking from above the vents. Wind gusts would then splatter all the condensation onto us, since the sides of the tent do not have guye points (only the four corners). Also, the wind buffeting the sides of the tent means it is hard to keep your down bag from touching the sides of the tent. This repeated about once every couple of minutes, all night. Overall I would say it was a sucky camping experience. On the other hand, we will keep using the Firstlight tent because it is about 1.5 pounds lighter than the I-Tent. I figure it still has to be better than a bivy sack or a plastic tarp. YMMV. Cheers, Steve

I lost a pair of BD Ice Gloves (size Medium) in the upper parking lot at Alpental 1/22/06. If found, please PM me. Thanks.

Gary, Why the hate, bro? Seems to me a lot of EMTs are smart hardworking folks. Probably many of our city's Medic One paramedics (who are highly trained professionals) started out as EMTs.

Hi Alex, I'm sorry, but from a physics standpoint, I don't see how this statement is necesssarily true in all situations. A normal Yates screamer will activate at 2 kN. That leaves a big range of forces between the activation force of a screamer and the ideal 10 kN limit of a screw. Why is it not conceivable that a screamer could be useful even if your impact force without a screamer would be in the range 2 kN < X < 10 kN, for example, low fall factor, non-vertical terrain, and a nice dynamic belay? Cheers, Steve

Check out the ice-screams: http://www.yatesgear.com/climbing/screamer/index.htm

Hey Z-man, My gumby $0.02: If the ice is hollow, what about punching two holes separated by 12" or so, and threading webbing through them in a U shape? If one hole is above the other, hopefully the tail of the webbing will drop straight down and be reachable with your V-threader from the lower hole. I guess this presumes you can get a screw in to at least hang from, while you are monkeying around with cord and a V-threader. Never really tried this on steep terrain, where the anchor had really better work. Maybe someone else has tried this? Barring that, I'd go for option #1 with a tie-off and a screamer. Option 2 seems like the worst possible idea, from the standpoint of shock-loading and also allowing more up-down play in the screw.

I was referring to the second day. As in, if you come back late, the gate could be closed. But as I said, it is probably only an issue at the tail end of the skiing season, when the ski area is only operating on weekends. Best bet would just be to check with the ski area. A reference to said gate: http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/04/041_Nooksack.html

In the past for overnight trips to Shuksan, I have parked at the pullout *outside* the gate for the Mount Baker ski area, which I read in some guidebook (maybe Nelson v1?) was ok. The one time I parked at the ski area for an overnight trip, I almost found out the hard way that the ski area locks the gate in the evening after the lifts close. Got my car out just as they were locking the gate. [This was in April when the MB ski area was only operational during weekends; they were presumably locking up for the work-week. ] As for Shuksan Arm, I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Several routes on Mount Shuksan cross over, or parallel parts of Shuksan Arm. I have also heard that there is a route that folks have skied all the way along Shuksan Arm, but I never tried it. Hope that helps.

Hey Alpinfox, So sorry to hear about the accident. I'm sending my best wishes to your partner. -Steve Ramsey

Thanks Squid. Hope to see you all in the hills.

Thanks everyone, just got the Extremes on closeout. Can't wait to try them out this season.

Hi Dustin, Thanks for your reply. Just to be sure-- You're talking about the Trango Extremes, not the Trango S, right? Cheers, Steve

Hi, Does anyone know the difference between the Trango Extreme vs the Trango Extreme EVO GTX? Does the gore-tex make a difference, or is it just more acronyms for marketing purposes? I'm looking for a boot for winter in the Cascades. Would appreciate hearing from folks who have and use the Trango Extreme.

It is Sean Nork

JM, Thanks, that makes sense. The Trango Mountain harness is looking like a good bet-- 9 ounces, and it has a belay loop. Cheers, Steve Ramsey

Yates cable picket: 15 oz MSR coyote picket: 13 oz Yates expedition picket: 10 oz

Alex, Have you tried emailing BD customer support, to see what they suggest?