JoshK

Such a great climb. Those gloves you had are probably the prefect choice for that mixed assortment of terrain.

I remember taking a little bivy nap on the north side of Adams years ago and the smell was so strong it almost made it hard to sleep. Just part of the volcano experience: shitty rock, shitty smell.

Very sad news, indeed. R.I.P. Nick Hall.

Great watermarking on the photos. Tiny, subtle and not the least bit distracting from the actual photo. Strangely, I find myself suddenly drawn to becoming a long-haul trucker so I can make frequent use of a CB radio.

Sweet jeebus!

As others have mentioned, it all depends on the weather. If it isn't horribly windy, a lightweight shelter will work fine and save you a lot of weight. If it is horribly windy, you'll either want a burlier shelter, or just decide to go down.

Great photos and history, thanks! I definitely want to complete this traverse after skiing out towards Coleman Pinnacle a couple of times this winter. What amazing terrain to cover on skis.

Great TR and photos of a great climb. Ignore the spray from tools; there is nothing ridiculous about carrying a good supply of ice screws. Now glissading in crampons or claiming a FA on Mount Si, on the other hand...that shit is ridiculous.

Dan, Glad to see you kicked that cold and got back in there for another shot. That stuff looks nuts...awe-inspiring as always!

I like the shot his dog staring up at him thrown in. Those cruxes look ridiculous. Was 'I Think I Can Fly' the one about the local youngin'? If so, I agree, it was awesome.

Do you have a way to recharge it, e.g. a solar USB charger? Lithium Ion cells to suffer lifetime degredation in very cold temperatures, but if you have unlimited recharging ability this may not be much of a problem. Your other concern will be the screen. If it's the Kindle Fire, those capacitive touch LCDs work pretty well in the cold in my experience. If it's one of the eInk screens, I'm not familiar with their performance in low temperatures but you can probably find tech specs for it online. I'd imagine you would be able to work around most any temperature issues by warming it against your body anyway.

I was out a couple weekends ago on Ruby mountain during that similar (but less significant) warmup. The snowpack was very reactive as soon as the sun came out on even low angle slopes. We don't have a very set up Spring snowpack yet, so if people choose to ski during the upcoming sunny weather, please pick objectives accordingly and stay safe! With that said, it's still plenty easy to enjoy some sunny turns this weekend, but often hard to temper ambition with gorgeous weather, lots of snow, and looong days.

I've been very happy with the lightweight WM bags. I now have a Caribou. I had the 16oz bag of theirs before (highite, i think?) that but it was a little too narrow for my shoulders.

+ 1 million. In addition to driving back and forth to seattle for work every day, there is the additional downside that when you get back home at night you FUCKING LIVE IN INDEX. Yeah, I can't imagine living in that little slice of Methopotamia. I'd say go east of the crest (l-worth, for example) or Seattle. As much as the traffic and passive aggressive people of the city piss me off sometimes, Seattle is a really, *really* nice place to live. Centrally located, surrounded by water and mountains and all the big metro area amenities are the payback for dealing with the rain. I can't imagine dealing with the wet-side weather and also living in a total shithole like Index.

Booze, cigs or other recreational substances can also likely be used as currency if you have extra.

Yeah I haven't seen the common crossing point move for years either, and have never had a problem crossing for Eldorado. Catch it on a warm day during high melt and it will likely be more exciting.

Climb elsewhere, then grab some binoculars or a telephoto lens, burn one down, chill out and go bird watching for a bit. Win win.

Well, I don't know you, I was simply reacting to the attitude you took in your reply, which seemed to be quite whiny and that you would rather rant and prove a point, without regard for the birds or other people. The "rules" aren't silly; of course it's just a bird doing its thing, but they have only limited nesting areas and I think giving them space to do their thing is important. There are many other areas to climb and people can go back when the birds no longer need that cliff.

Ahh, the ever predictable "I moved somewhere else, and it's cooler than where I was before" guy. Major originality points. If I could pick anywhere in WA to be instantly transported, complete with job, house, etc. I'd say L-Worth or Wenatchee. Decent weather, and centrally located to top-notch rock climbing, alpine climbing, backcountry & lift skiing, river-sports, and more. Even ice climbing in a better year. You have breweries and vineyards all around. For spectator sports, you can watch the tourists graze on hot-dogs and saltwater taffy in little Bavaria. I lived in Boulder, CO and I would pick Leavenworth in a heartbeat over Boulder aside from the social scene, which is astronomically better in Boulder, needless to say. I loved Colorado, but if alpine climbing is your thing, the Colorado rockies are child's play compared to the Cascades.

Wow. IMO a voluntary closure seems like a reasonable approach to take. Rather than bitch about do-gooders and the man ruining your fun, you could take a take a bit less narrow-minded view of the situation. I would assume as a climber you have at least some appreciation for the natural world. Those Falcons are pretty remarkable creatures. Here, go ahead and enlighten yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Falcon It can't nest just anywhere. It chose a protected spot on a cliff that happens to be above one of MANY crags in the area. In the interest of the birds being able to hatch their young, they have asked climbers to show some restraint and climb elsewhere for a few months. Big fucking deal. With all the places in our area where one could climb, you really feel like being a whiny bitch and interfering with big bird's ability to nest to prove you're "not a do-gooder and don't really feel like doing what they want [you] to?" Yup, screw with some birds and possibly risk future access problems for other people, sounds like a winning strategery you have there. I'm guessing "How to win friends and influence people" isn't on your Amazon.com top picks list, eh hoss?

I have a pair of those Boulder X's as well. I find they work pretty well for rock scrambles, approaches and the like, but I've also had issues with chunks of the sole falling off. I only paid half price for them, and would probablh buy another pair at that reduced price.

I have a pair of those Boulder X's as well. I find they work pretty well for rock scrambles, approaches and the like, but I've also had issues with chunks of the sole falling off. I only paid half price for them, and would probablh buy another pair at that reduced price.

With this title, I was thinking this would be related to burning something inside the hut...

What makes the S95/S100 and LX5 stand out are their larger than normal sensors (compared to a typical P&S) and relatively fast lenses (low F stop). The Olympus ZX1 also falls in this category. This makes them perform very well in low light, but carries a cost premium and a slight weight penalty. If the fast lens and large sensor aren't important to you, a cheaper P&S will probably fit the bill nicely. I am very happy with the Lumix GX1 for a larger rangefinder style camera. The Micro 4/3 system has lots of lenses available for it now, so you can get the flexibility of a D-SLR in a much smaller and ligther system. As another poster mentioned, I find carrying both a P&S and the M4/3 to be a good solution if I'm ok with carrying a bit of extra weight for the added flexibility.