Buckaroo

Yes, I was thinking Dragontail this year, it's over 8000 ft. Either the Serpenting Arete or Backbone Ridge.

I just went to the col cuz I had to be back at work today. Her and Brad went up the East face but I don't think they summited.

Mitocondria, Brad, and I did the CJ couloir yesterday. The snow was perfect. A lot more firm than what it looks like in your pics, no postholing.

and a bar and a restaurant

the Stuart zone is the only zone in the enchantments that has a few open reservable spots other than the lottery

Here's the BEST way to go, also the quickest

there was this thread just a couple months back http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1073228/Re_Slesse_NEB_avoiding_pocket_#Post1073228

I should write a post about car camping. My first requirement when purchasing a car is can you sleep in the back of it. Only been hassled 3 times in Canada, and it was avoidable all 3 times. The first time was in January during an arctic cold front. It was 40F below and I got cold in the truck and tried to sleep in the heated bathroom and some motor-homer ratted me out to the ranger the 2nd time was sleeping at the Mt Colin trailhead (Jasper) without a park pass. They just gave me a warning and let me continue camping there on my promise to get a pass asap. the 3rd time was on the side of the dirt road a couple miles above the Nordic center in Canmore. I slept about 3 hours past sunrise. Probably would have been okay if it was a trailhead or rest stop. Ranger just gave me a warning.

Caveat, YMMV The Canmore Vermillion and Norquay are recent info (this past winter), the mountain trailheads are going back from like 2008 to 1998 low profile, in the dark, and a park pass. Officially some of this may be bending the rules.

Mt Norquay ski area has a huge lot with a trailhead. Just say you are going hiking in the morning if anyone asks. The road takes off North from the hiway 1 opposite to the Western Banff exit. Go up about 2 miles, first parking lot on the right. (no johns) Nice views of Banff at night from the road. Vermillion Lakes, about a 2 mile dead end road, parallels hiway 1 on the south side, going west from the western Banff exit. There's a couple pull outs with porta-johns. Hidden from the hiway, vehicles on the hiway can't see you and it's lower than the freeway so not much noise. Gap Lake (?) on 1A (Bow Valley Trail) going East out of Canmore. About 3 or 4 miles from town on the right. Close to the road but hidden by trees. Right on the lake with bathrooms. I've never had any problem car camping at any of the trailheads. The key is to come in after dark and don't sleep late in the morning. The only trouble I ever had was sleeping till about 8 am one morning and the ranger just said, you have to find a campground. I also got hassled one time because I didn't have a park pass, but they just gave me a warning and I bought one the next day. There's a couple of rest stops also along 1A, one above Vermillion lakes and one midways between Banff and Canmore, it's a little more off the hiway below Mt Rundle. You can always car camp at rest stops. There's also a large rest stop trailhead midways between Lake Louise and Banff on hiway 1. On the South side of the hiway I've car camped at all these trailheads. Castle Mt., Mt Alberta, Mt Louis, Mt Colin, Mt Edith Cavell, Mt Assiniboine, Sir Donald... probably some others I can't remember.

Washington Pass, no glaciers nearby but way better weather and a shorter approach

Toes hitting in boots is not good in any circumstances except technical climbing, and not even then sometimes. from your description it sounds like you need the 37.5. Don't compromise just because they didn't have your size in stock. If you want a tighter fit in the 37.5 put a thicker insert or thicker socks. Something where you can adjust it to not hit your toes on the downhill.

I swear by the multi-loop Metoleus, rack the draws on the harness, and the shoulder length slings opposite shoulder from the rack.

I doubt a carry would break a collarbone further. It was probably already fully broken and it just became displaced. Please tell this individual to keep and eye on that collarbone. If they become too displaced it can cause problems because it will heal in the displaced position and some doctors don't think it matters. Climbers typically have muscles that are out of balance (stronger pull than push) which causes problems that some doctors don't see. I now have a Titanium plate with 8 screws because mine was displaced by 2cm.

Looks like good weather clear days in the forecast. Don't forget the sunglasses and sunscreen. The big guided parties take the DC. Not sure what days they go but you might want to try to get a jump on them if they are there at Muir. They can clog up the route but are not impossible to pass. Sometimes when it's clear you will get periodic wind gusts up high. It will be calm for 15 minutes at a stretch then these 40-60mph 15sec gusts will come out of nowhere. One year we had to fall to the arrest position to not be blown over. Partner lost a mit because he set it down when it was calm, gust came and it was gone. Make sure your points are sharp, you may want to take a small file, climbing the cleaver can dull points. There was a recent accident on the Emmons where slick (hard frozen) conditions may have been involved.

looks like there's still plenty of snow for melt water on the big bivy ledge

ROTFLMFAO!!!

Hopefully not. quite frequently

BD Camalots are the most popular cams on the market, you would think they might be doing something right. Yes people clip the short sling directly, usually when the rope is running straight before and after the piece. Try it yourself and watch and see what the cam is doing after you climb above the piece. If a placement is marginal or the cam has easy opportunity to walk you probably want more sling, but if it's bomber and/or in a pocket or feature where it can't walk then the short sling is okay. Remember also a shorter sling means a shorter fall and less weight. It's also a bit of a weight compromise to always be carrying a longer sling even when you may only need the short sling. What if you are climbing straight up splitters with all bomber placements? Now you are carrying all long slings when you don't need them. So with the BD you can either take or leave the extra length. Of course then the BD compromises having to use an extra beaner with longer slingage. If you think about it the DMM in the short clip configuration (doubled sling) is made to be able to use that way and it's about the same length as the BD. Different length slings are for straightening the rope's run in different situations. The larger/sharper corner that the route turns the longer of a sling you need. When the route goes straight you only need a short sling. This also applies to a roof or ledge. If you have a piece in the back corner of a roof/ledge you need a long sling so the rope doesn't make sharp turns and run over the lip of the roof/ledge. Also the doubled sling on the DMM may be problematic. Skinny slings lose strength when tied in a knot or twisted too much. If the doubled loop gets twisted where it runs through the eyelets is may loose strength, something you don't have to watch out for on the BD.

What difficulty rating? what time of day?

Some climbs will have one pitch with a section that only protects with your big piece. On other pitches on the climb if you don't leave it with the follower you try to place it early, choosing the big pieces over the small early to get rid of the weight.

read it again, I edited and added more info

Sailors are pansies who don't keep their gumbies in line. Climbers don't put up with gumbies, they give them the beat down until they learn not to ask stupid gumby questions. (JK!) The title of your post might lead someone to believe you are trolling anyway so maybe people are not really dissing you, they are just trolling you back. IF there really was a cam up your a** you would be at the hospital having it removed, not trolling on the internet with stupid gumby questions. I'll answer the question though because I like newbies, I used to be one, I take them climbing and answer their questions no matter what. Small cams in front cuz they're easier to see there. Small cams get crowded together and are easier to separate and grab in front. The big cams are easy to grab regardless so put them in back where it's harder to get to. Also because when climbing steep ground you want to hug the wall to keep your weight over your feet. If there's a number 4 Camalot on the front of your chest it pushes you back and onto your arms which get pumped out and fail, then you fall and can get maimed or killed. Which would really suck because then you wouldn't be able to climb anymore and you wouldn't post on CC where you could get trolled by more experienced climbers, much to their enjoyment. If you have problems with the rack getting in the way, take if off and clip it out of the way on the anchor. I do that all the time just for the comfort even when there's plenty of room. It can also be considered poor form to lead to a belay ledge and have any large pieces left. If you can't place the #3 or #4 (or larger) Camalot on the pitch you should have left it with the follower to carry. Some climbs have just a couple pitches where you need big stuff, on the other pitches there's no reason for the leader to carry that weight. Of course this doesn't apply if you can't see the entire pitch and/or don't know the climb that well.

there was a thread on this a while back I wear Air Optics Night & Day (America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses) they are supposed to be used for a month straight without removal and then thrown away I use them like daily wears and take them out at night, or every other night. They last up to a year if you take them out at night and are a lot cheaper than daily wears. But when I'm climbing I leave them in overnight for up to a couple weeks with no problem. But different people react differently so try this at home before you do it on a climb. I carry extras when climbing but just for if one falls out. The only time I've ever lost a contact was on Half Dome and a dry wind deflected off my sunglasses and dried them out so quick one fell out and blew away. they were nice when my arm was in a cast and I couldn't get my hand up to my eye to deal with them I got lucky a couple of exams ago and both eyes are the same so I don't have to worry about right and left. Since then I told the doc just split the difference if my eyes are a little different and give me the same script for each eye.