JoshK

All of this sounds good.

Jeezus, no shit. Run out of lotion to jerk off at work with today, Dru?

I can't imagine wanting to invest in a ski area that may not have any real use for skiing in 10 or 20 years.

I was looking at these two commonly skied peaks just north of stevens pass. All the WA skiing "guidebooks" note both of them having "high avalanche danger" From the maps it looks like this would be true in the bowls on their various aspects but it seems like a forested and ridge route can be used to climb both peaks safely in more sketchy conditions. Has anybody done this? Do the ridges and forests offer poor skiing to make it not worthwhile? thanks, -josh

Well, technically, a resort may have an "exclusive use" clause with the forest service allowing them to only allow those riding the lifts during operating hours. I have had the ski patrol stop me and say this once before. I basically didn't care. It's our land and if they want to profit it from it - fine - but it's still ours to use. Of course that is how I see it, not the law. In other words, use your own discrescion but I would imagine quiet and unobstructive use wouldn't be enough to upset many ski patrollers.

you're kidding, right?

I have some other pics of slipstream from my trip up there. It was definitely looking fat from what I could see but I have littler perspective on how it normally looks. I can honestly say I can't imagine a scarier climb to do. If you are interested in getting killed by thousands of tons of falling ice within view of the highway, it is the climb for you!!

I do agree that going for the "just take these pills" approach is just as bad...though I did require anti-inflamitory drugs for a while to settle down the damage that had already been done.

The fact that a political party that claims to hate welfare (Republicans) throws so much support behind a company that costs us all tax $$s to support their underpaid and underinsured employees is hypocracy at its finest. WalMart is one of the worst things to happen to America.

One seriously fucking boring day.

Are you fucking kidding me!?!?!? Going to a chiropractor is a horrible fucking idea - no offense to those in that profession. Get it checked out by an ACTUAL DOCTOR in case it is something more. I screwed up my back a few months back and they had to order an MRI. Turns out I actually had some disc damage that was causing nerve problems. I went to one of the best sports medicine guys in Colorado and got electronic nerve testing to actually isolate the real problem and determine the best course of action. Chiropractors are a short term "solution" to what could be a real problem. If you have an actual issue that requires medical attention, a chiropractor can compound the problem and make it worse. I know a lot of people here seem to think that doctors are just looking to get you in and out of their office ASAP but if you take the time to get yourself to a good specialist you will stand a much better chance of addressing the actual problem rather that risking hurting yourself more. AVOID THE CRACKTOPRACTOR!!!!

Has anybody here done any ski touring in the Bitterroot range near Missoula, MT? If so, do you have any recommendations for specific peaks to hit, lines to ski, etc?

That looks very much like the fang at vail(?)...very cool.

I like those neoprene glacier gloves that everybody seems to not like. They are very hard to dry but I just wear them all day. I like the nonbreathable nature because they keep my hands warm which I have always had a problem doing.

What a bunch of fucking morons. Darwinism just missed...

Yeah, I'm not sure why you'd think Hyalite sucks. Some great climbs in there and it is a very pretty canyon. I want to get back there and hike (climb?) Hyalite Peak some winter.

Yes, obviously ice quality makes the whole difference. Leading on fat 4 is way less scary than leading on shitty, delaminating sketchy 3.

Agreed. I'm sorry I started it...acutally, nah, it's been amusing.

OK, well, great, hopefully everybody will realize lillooet has vastly more climbs and stays away from the rockies. How did lilooet come into this anyway? I thought WA was the topic...

One side of my family is of Polish descent. My father is a mathmatician (Princeton and Berkeley trained), so I'm thinking we can count pretty well, so shut the fuck up with that shit Dru. Domacles+Seven Pillars, Slipstream, etc. etc. etc. Funny that Mr. Canadian Pride is trying to downplay the fact that the cdn rockies are a pretty awesome ice climbing destination. I think the fact that you meet people from across the entire globe there who have come simply to climb ice speaks pretty strongly to this point. You don't find this anywhere in the PNW or even the US rockies areas that have ice either.

ha! chestbeat? hardly. i am a shit ice climber, not to mention I have not climbed on the frozen stuff (save alpine ice) for over 2 years. we did a bunch of moderate stuff - lady wilson's, midnight rambler, cascade (too much rolly WI2, but fun upper pitches), bridal viel, piss gully, polar circus (up until the pencil then retreated, but really really worth it for those pitches anyway), and i think some more I cannot remember. only a couple of pics of boringness since my poor camera took a several hundred foot fall, bouncing off ice and rock the entire time and exploding into worthless metal and plastic, but that is another sad sob story...

Are you trying to take the Christ out of Christmas or something? I am staging a protest and refuse to read any of your posts until you make your greeting specifically geared towards Christians and exclude others.

Yup yup! I climbed Sahale in what might as well have been winter (winter snowpack, weather, etc.) and it was a very fun time. The summit was gained via some steep snow climbing around an exposed snow corner. It could be intimidating depending on experience level. The ski down to the arm and down to the pass and then the car is great. If you can traverse high from the Quien Sabe glacier back onto the main part of the arm you avoid (almost?) any uphill.

Wow, yes, i'd imagine there would be some really sweet lines in there! Maybe even as good as the Alpental Valley??

In any event, All those mountains would be fantastic winter clims. Even Sahale, the easiest, would be a great objective. As you say, however, the rain will certainly limit the pleasent-ness of a trip up there...