Buckaroo

everything starts as a dream the biggest problem to me looks like the exposure, as big as Rainier but pretty continual 40 to 50 deg. [video:youtube] The Liongrat has no traffic compared to the Hornligrat, but then again sometimes there's safety in numbers [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJIxBC05RmY&feature=related

I saw that but until you've been to a place you can't tell what the ratings mean. PD? Is that like grade II in American? The French letter system is an overall alpine difficulty, like time, exposure, technical difficulty, retreat, all combined. I always thought the American "grade" system was only the time duration, so that the grade had to be combined with a difficulty rating to be relevant, like grade V, 5.10, WI3. from the Wiki page ""PD: peu difficile (not very difficult). Routes may be longer at altitude, with snow and ice slopes up to 45 degrees. Glaciers are more complex, scrambling is harder, descent may involve rappelling. More objective hazards."" and the next level is AD which includes up to UIAA grade III, which is 5.3. So PD must be up to about 5.0 or less because it only mentions scrambling.

I've been wanting to do the Matterhorn for years and have studied it quite a bit. A guide might be okay but I think the choice of route is more important. The Hornligrat (NE ridge) is the most traveled but I think that makes it less desirable and more dangerous. You are racing crowds, waiting at choke points, and exposed to climber induced rockfall. The only discussion I've read about guides are on the Hornligrat and it's very high pressure and in a hurry. The guides will want to rigorously vet you and possibly do other climbs first. The Liongrat (SW ridge) is a lot less traveled and just as if not more aesthetic. Also the hut is at a much higher elevation and the climbing just seems more interesting. With a higher hut the summit day is shorter and safety is closer on return. I talked with a European local and he said the mountain is chossy by any route, whatever that's worth.

Wikipedia has a good page on ratings comparisons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(climbing)

Yes, I use these on my Sportiva Trango S cuz they don't have a toe bail. Work well and pretty quick. I did put a spacer on one of the rear side locators because it has a loose fit. When the boot is touching the rear locator it only contacts one of the side locators.

mainly the keylock/snagging, secondarily the larger gate opening

don't miss the caveat, KEYLOCK, Yes Helium No Oz No Moses that and I wouldn't be surprised if the Helium has a larger gate opening than any lighter biner.

Nothing comes close to the WC Helium, once you've gotten used to a keylock nose it's hard to go back. This biner is the lightest for it's large opening dimension in a keylock. Expense is the only drawback. Every time you think a simple mechanism can't be further refined the engineers step forward. WC spent over a year developing a new forging process to come up with this cutting edge biner. Also for the super light some Metolius Mini wiregates for the alpine climbs with short roped pitches. These things are kind of tricky to use and it helps to develop a technique. If you push on the edge of the wire gate instead of putting your finger right in the middle it makes them easier to use. DMM has a new keylock locker that looks to be the lightest for a keylock locker but the opening is a bit small. I haven't tried them but the New Petzl Ange S and Ange L might give the Heliums some competition in the keylock wiregate arena.

the only way I would purchase a 90L pack would be if it came with a Yak. I highly recommend Ultra Sil compression sacks, pack that puffy stuff down to size, no drama.

Look at google maps and turn on the "terrain" feature. You need to go down the road to the lakes, not Narada. If you take the Narada trail you end up dropping down in a river bottom and having to climb back out about 500'. Don't ask me how I know that. Keeps your eyes open for spirits/ghosts if you go at night. This is right where that Iraq vet that killed the ranger ended up. It's best to car camp on this climb, otherwise you run out of daylight because of the Longmire gate.

You have heard the story of Goran Kropp? You would have to ask his belayer if the gear was placed properly.

Looks like Sunrise, believe you can drive there. yeah, that's Sunrise, look at the light trails on the mountain, the left one is Disappointment Cleaver and the right one is the Emmons.

It's a trade-off, something that is not too hot down low will be too cold up high, so expect to sweat in any boot that's right for Rainier. A 4 season boot might not be overkill on Rainier, more of a safety factor. With an overboot, these might even work on Denali.

Yeah I guess probably should get a small haul bag there's also times though like steep alpine when you need a bomber clip in for the pack, like just at belays, suppose you can just use the shoulder straps.

I rope soloed Davis-Holland-Lovin-Arms last summer and did a carry over with my Golite. I hauled the pack on most pitches with rain gear, emer bivy, walk off shoes and water/food. The pack was old and I assumed it would get shredded but it didn't. also tagged the E face of Lexington, 2 chimneys, didn't really haul just hung our packs beneath us off the harness.

Don't listen to the naysayers, looks like a nice project my criteria when I buy a pack bombproof lightweight (1.5 to 2 lbs for 40L) no bells and whistles just 1 compartment in the hood necessary features, 2 ice tool loops, the bottom loop should not be removable, but the top tool attachment could be a removable strap/buckle that attaches to the pack through a sewn on strap. adjustable elastic cord in back center for crampons things I would like but have never seen 1" removable waist strap, (most packs are 1.5" and non-removable) 3/4" or 1/2" sternum strap all straps colored with a contrasting color to the main pack color. A black pack with black straps and the straps disappear, especially at night. Same with draw cords, make them a bright color that stands out. I have black packs with black draw cords with black cords locks and I've added colored string to the ends so I can find them quickly. I like the idea of a removable hood, make it where the removable waist strap will attach to the hood and turn it into a small waist pack. the attach for the removable waist strap should just be a fabric slot, no velcro or buckles. the pouch for the removable back padding should be the same urethane coated fabric as the main pack or thinner, point being it should be urethane coated like the main pack material. This is a high wear area and your sweat wears out the urethane quickly and then sweat gets everything wet. So a double layer of urethane coated material is good here. I like little tabs on the tops and sides so that straps can be added or left off, this would be 4 tabs per side, so 2 straps can be added per side. These would just be little fabric or strap slots, no buckles or velcro. I even have packs where I added these tabs on the bottom. I had a day pack that I would carry 50 lbs with. Get weights of competing packs and try to beat the weight. I have a 1st gen Go-lite Breeze and it has 3 outer mesh pockets (sides and back) that are really handy but the tops of the pockets have no positive closure. Maybe just one large mesh pocket on the back where the top opening was under the back edge of the hood. (this is an optional idea) If the pack is ever hauled on technical pitches it needs to either not have a hanging strap (the little strap between the top of the shoulder straps) or that strap needs to be absolutely bombproof. Like extra strong. I tend to not trust these straps and end up clipping the shoulder straps when hauling. So the shoulder straps need to also be the most bomber part of the pack. the critical dimensions of any pack are the depth and width. (front to rear, side to side) A wider pack is easier to load but a narrower pack is easier to climb with. Finding the best compromise dimension is key.

That is the second best ice route in WA state after Drury. The consensus is it forms every 20 years, maybe 15 or 10 if you're really lucky, so it will be 2017 minimum. I'm not sure you would want to be dry tooling on Snow Creek wall. I wouldn't mind it and would do it if it was acceptable but it's probably not. Who knows, maybe on some of the less traveled routes. I really think WA needs some more dry tool routes being the ice is so sparse. It would be a good way to train.

I always shop by evaluating each item individually. Some things like Gore Tex should be name brand for best performance, not the clothing company but the material. Some things have a superior design like Nomic ice tools. Other things like packs I go by weight. Other things like ropes it's a specific feature like edge protection, that not many manufactures offer. Lots of times it helps to go on-line and see what other people think. Typically you get what you pay for, like a Patagonia base layer costs more than the REI house brand but it lasts longer.

if I had hiked that far , would have got in a little TR action

This movie was made in Italian, does anyone know if it's been translated to English? some excellent color footage of the summit from the 1954 1st ascent (in the 4th part) [video:youtube]

"reduces risk to the rescuers and cuts trauma time for the family and friends down even if the person is dead." How does a dead person operate a spot, cell phone, or radio? Is it in the instructions?

LOLZ! They got what they deserved on Kickstarter, "project cancelled", goal $7500, they only got $3900. Luckily we wont be seeing any more of this. Im sure it was out of pocket, since the fundraising failed it will go no where.

It's just a hairline fracture, a little painful but fast healing. The Canadian healthcare is A+ Dang it, I was there 16 to 22, maybe next year we can "hook it up" Nothin zexier than a hardwoman leadin ice ;>) Did the summer scramble route on Rundle on a whim, only conceived the day before. went to Monods and read the beta in "Canadian Scrambles", it said, don't even think about this route if there's any snow. So that made it a climb, 40deg snow covered smooth slab crux in crampons and 1 X15 tool with 400' cliffs on either side. 5,000' gain. 9600' summit. Felt good to bag a Canadian alpine summit in winter. I'll do a TR when I can type with both hands again. Did u guys do the right side of WW? I'm jelly of ur Marble canyon climb it looks so cool

Congrats on a nice trip. Don't think they were eating nicotine for the nutritional content, think they were eating it to get high. What days were you guys up there? I was up there 2 weeks ago and soloed Rundle when the partner bailed. The ravens where above the summit soaring the 40mph 5 deg F wind. Ended the trip by cracking my R radius with TR icefall at Haffner. Not bad though, doc says 4 weeks and it will be healed.

hamster wheels, I warned them about not feeding them enough