JoshK

My guess is there will probably be some ice, some snow, and a glacier.

I was up a month ago, so that wouldn't much help. Anything in particular you are wondering?

My 5 favs (in no particular order) this year, and brief notes: *Dragontail Peak, Serpintine Arete - great October weather made this an climb *Mount Shuksan, Sulfide Glacier Ski Tour - Perfect snow for skiing, perfect neve on summit pyramid *Mount Stuart, North Ridge - my required suffer-fest for the year (zero sleep bivy w/o bag and death march back to car) *Eldorado Peak, NE face & North ridge - worth it for the pictures alone *Prusik Peak, West Ridge, 1 day - lots of walking for little climbing, but I got to see a mom & kid mountain goat, which was very cool My Biggest Disappointments: *Mount Shuksan, Price Glacier - Blowing the chance to climb an awesome route in perfect conditions by losing a crampon is about the lamest thing ever *Mount Rainer, Kautz Glacier - Blowing the chance to climb another great route in perfect conditions by getting terrible food poisoning is about the second lamest thing ever Biggest Lesson: *Clarke Mountain Attempt - Right after making the painful decision to turn around due to avy conditions (and despite a "low" avy forecast), we watched a huge slide come down and stop about 3 feet from where I had walked 5 minutes prior. This made the decision much easier to bear.

quote: Get over it hoser. I dont really care. YOu are just the tool of the day. It's ok you and Joshk can stop rubbing your peckerheads in front of us on the internet now Damnit, you really are a dick, aren't you? I'm still lost trying to figure out what either one of us did to you. You're the one who started the whole pissing match by making fun of somebody over the internet , like all the real men do. I kept it clean. If taking shots at me on this message board is how you get your kicks, whatever, have fun.

we need mass transit badly in this city. I fear the monorail plan, however, isn't going to do shit to help traffic.

It's similar to wanting to stick to climbing partners who DONT kick down rocks on you

Yup, analog gives you better range, or so they say, so you start out in that mode to cover the most distance. When you are within "digital mode" you can switch to digital and locate the victim with the digital flux line search, also known as follow the arrows.

Yeah snoboy, you are definitely right. In fact, I've taken friends in the backcountry and made them rent a tracker and just basically gave them the 5 minute course, explaining that the arrows point to where I'll be buried. I wouldn't do this again; I realize it's just as good as taking no beacon at all. I think you'll be happy with the mammut. I also find the strap system the best I've used. It's super simple and the way the beacon comes out of it's "holster" is nice.

I agree with tlg. I Think the newer analog/digital beacons are very good technology. I have the mammut one, whatever it's called, and it's like the x1, working in analog and then digital as you get closer. It's also a little smaller than the typical beacons, and I find that nice.

Yes, and being cascadeclimbers.com, the topic **never** deviates from the original topic, huh?

Hehehe...Obivously the subtle things never come across in text. In any event, I think it was just as easy to think you were just shit-talking as it was to confused skisport's posts as holier-than-thou. For what it's worth, I've climbed and skied with the guy a lot besides this trip to Rainer. Neither one of us were trying to cop a holier-than-thou attitude. I think the point he was making, which I really noticed in people too, is that everyone assumes that if you go to paradise to ski, the only thing to do is the muir snowfield. Now granted, for a lot of people up there who just want to ski and aren't climbers/mountaineers/what-have-you, the benifit of following an established "trail" may be reason enough.

I got involved because I was there too. You're the one who started talking shit for no reason. I'm just not so sure why somebody's decision to ski someplace other than the muir snowfield was so hurtful to you.

caveman, considering a lot of people were doing it and 9 out of 10 people I talked to coming down said it sucked, I would say my time was better spent elsewhere. I dont think anybody is dissing the muir snowfield, but I think just because that is where everybody goes from paradise means you can get less crowded turns elsewhere on the mountain.

Yeah, and he was referring to better places on rainer. We skied out of the paradise parking lot like all the other muir-bound folks but we ended up skiing awesome runs in the trees while everybody complained about the crappy visibility and wind on the snowfield. Just because you go to paradise doesn't mean you need to go to muir.

Yeah, I've seen the sirrus shell. It's pretty cool for only 11oz, but, as typical for rip'teryx is nearly $300 for basically a beefy marmot precip jacket. It lacks your typical hand pockets, but I can't decide if I'd miss those pockets or not.

I've been looking for a new W/B hard shell. My requirements are lightweight (< 22oz), somewhat durable and not a pain to use with a harness. I found a arteryx minuteman LT shell on sale for a pretty decent price. Here islink to it on nelson's site for your viewing pleasure. If anybody has used this shell, can you comment on it's overall usability and performance? I'm also open to other suggestions.

LOL...I'm bored, so, for some reason, I skimmed through this thread. I have no desire to argue one way or another, but I would like to point out a completly wrong assumption that some people are trying to make: People who are wealthier (earn more) got this way through hard work all the time and, thus, contribute more to society. That's the biggest line of bullshit I've ever read. The guy who works at my local deli and my garbage man both make less, but contribute significantly more, than most of the middle management at a ton of companies.

"It was the centerpiece in "Vertical Limit," perhaps the worst mountaineering movie ever made." LOL

LOL...the porsche "SUV". I can't wait until I see the first poser driving one of these thigns around. If Dr. Ferdinand Porsche must be rolling in his grave knowing that his legacy is being tarnished by this thing.

freeclimb, the WRX rocks, don't get me wrong. It's an awesome rally car, as subaru has put forth the effort to dominate the circuit recently, much as audi did with the ur quattro 10 to 20 years ago. However, if we are talking about driving snowy roads over the passes and not railing down rally courses, audi's quattro is better than subaru's AWD. I've owned 2 subarus and 2 audis and have driven them back-to-back in the same conditions. Audi's use 2 torsen diffs, center and rear, where as subarus use open diffs, EDL and a center viscous coupled diff. The torsens cost a lot more, thus leading to quattro's relatively high cost, but they simply aren't beat when it comes to transfering power where you want it. Now, granted, is a small difference in snow performance worth having a more expensive car that you would less likely to trash on? For most people, probably not.

To second what minx said, the best car you can get for driving snowy roads is an audi w/ quattro, bar-none. Audi's AWD system is significantly better technology than anything else out there. Comebine that with snow tires and they are unbeatable ski rigs. Anybody who argues this hasn't driven one or can't drive in the snow.

Here are the priorities I look for in my climbing/skiing vehicle. 1.) decent amount of cargo space (can add a roof box for more cargo) 2.)decent ground clearance...anybody who thinks you need a jacked up SUV to travel forest roads is dumb 3.)reliability 4.)AWD for driving typical snowy roads over the passes, etc. 5.)Can sleep in the back. I think the best reasonably priced car I've found that meets all these is a subaru outback wagon. They have enough space to get all my gear to a climb and back, the clearance is enough for anything you'll realistically want to drive over and it's an AWD car so it handles snowy roads better than an SUV/truck. my 2 cents.

Am I the only one that enjoys climbing and being outdoors more than making a website about it?

mountainguy, how far from hannegan camp to the car? I'm trying to figure out my next early season tour with a good walking to skiing ratio.

Hey Dave, I hear rumor has it that Stevens Canyon road is closed too now??