Buckaroo

NICE! NICE! So what kind of grade do you give the pitches?

"thats mark with the beard." dohhh! I knew Colin had an HB at one time, those are kind of rare. and he's usually the one mugging for the camera...

Are those Petzl axes and crampons? Plastic boots? Bivy sack? puff jackets? puff pants? Foam pad? Or did you guys just go ultra lite? GU, cytomax, stove? Day packs or something heavier? Can't recognize Colin with the beard. To get that kind of time do you run on the trail?

Hey Colin, nice climb! Bet the full moon assisted the descent, sweet. That's a double bonus for Index, to get conditions and a clear full moon. Do us a big favor. Give us a gear list sort of like the gear vids House did on the Rupal face. Doesn't have to be a vid, just a written list, just like what you took and maybe why you picked what you did. That would be way cool. Next linkup on the Index peaks would be the EDM and then finish with the traverse. Or hey, what about the Southern Pickets traverse in winter? I guess the Northern ones would be first, a little easier? Sometimes maybe a winter climb is easier if the conditions are right, but just in some ways. Like Alberta, the line they took is very direct unlike in the summer when it's very circuitous.

I thought one of the local network TV channels had weather history on their website?

Looks like a really good time on some really phat ice!! Nice exposure too. Guess we missed that, it was dark when we went by there towards snowcreek wall and dark on the return.

""Nice work finding their report! Thanks."" Home sick from work with the cold/flu just swimming in the web sea. Started in some thread in the ice climb forum and after about 5 clicks came to this thread, the link I posted was about 4 clicks later. ""That guy probably works in the nylon industry"" It's the Mammut factory. ""Sabotage?"" Sherman said his dog was hanging around at the top, maybe someone came during the night. Or maybe he just had a worn sharp piece of gear and it brushed up against.

The sorry warm rain they like to call "weather" up here is back. (I call it something else.) The NWAC "Tumwater Canyon" weather monitoring station is on Tumwater mountain which is just across the valley from Drury at about the same elevation. If your really serious about tagging Drury this link needs to be in your bookmarks, that and an inflatable raft. Temps on the hour with a 10 day history DRURY TEMPS Drury is a high flow falls it takes about 2 weeks of temps in the low 20's at least to form. Anybody that goes up there when it's above the mid to high 20's has a death wish. Maybe it's not PC to say this but it seems a lot of people lately have been trying to get on stuff when it's too warm. See pics of someone on the approach pitches climbing next to big patches of bare rock and I just cringe. Wasn't someone killed near Crystal some years back being at the base of something when it was too warm?

Mammut's final word on the matter. Apparently they are saying yes girth hitch drops strength up to 50% but in this case the sling was cut by a sharp object and not because of the knot. LINKY

EmKay and I did this on Feb 1, Awe inspiring route in perfect conditions. Did it in 4 pitches and soloed the snow in the upper bowl to top out. 1st pitch 40m to a pin rap anchor, 3-4 R with thin sparse screws. 2nd pitch 4 R, 55m to 80deg even thinner sparser screws and some rotten ice, the crux pitch, belay was questionable, might have been better to simul up to better ice another 25'. 3rd pitch 3-4, 55m, went past the cave another 40', some thin ice at first but then got fat, went to an alcove with a red camalot crack. 4th pitch 3-4, 60m, bomber fat ice. Soloed steep snow bowl at the top, 45-50 deg, about 70m. I went up and right and finished with an interesting dry tool rock/snow gully/chimney (5.5) to get to the upper ridge, pick cams and stemming. Emkay soloed to the left in a snow gully to top out just above the O.S. finish. I traversed the ridge from where I went right, nice alpine ambiance. Didn't see any rap anchors after the first pitch so we walked off the regular O.S. descent. Very fun, some interesting drytool down climbing and perfect styrofoam crust in an avy gully. Found the traverse around to the east side even though neither of us had been there in over 5 years. A little more tooling and perfect snow on the steep slabs back to the base. Would have been scary abakalovs, much better and funner to walk off. Ice pretty thin on first 2-1/2 pitches, totally rocked my tools. Left the car at 5:30A, full moon on the trail, didn't even need headlamps, cross creek at dawn, back to packs at base by 3:30P. Boot pack trail to the creek crossing, snow steps to the base. Clear day, about 1-1/2 hrs of sun on the route but at an angle so the dihedrals and features were in the shade. The sun didn't affect the ice adversely. Totally classic, EmKay says he thinks it forms about once every 20 years. Twin 60's, (thought we might rap) in retrospect a single 60 would be better. 12 or so express screws, 4 of them stubbies. 2 yates screamers but should have had at least 5 6 assorted pins, never used 6 nuts, never used 6 cams, used 2 better TR when EmKay brings the camera over for download. All you CC klimber dawgs, git up off the couch and H-O-O-K I-T U-P!!!!!!!!

It's definitely cold enough, was over there today but didn't go through tumwater canyon. There's definitely ice in the icycle. Cold enough to freeze contacts saline.

""In case we're missing your point, what type of problems were you having with down?"" Before I had much experience, had a -30 down bag on Shuksan in winter. Got temporarily "lost" in a storm on descent and ended up sleeping down low. Got rained on and the bivy sack seams weren't well sealed, bag got soaked. Had to go back up to get to the car and spent another night or so in a snow cave shivering. That bag had just a plain nylon shell. My issue now is that the puff jacket is part of the sleeping system and it's inside a GoreTex bivy sack. So think moisture from condensation might be an issue, also other stuff is going to be wet cuz digging snow caves at camps. The planned routes aren't really technical so no waiting at belays. Thinking the down might be too warm to wear while climbing except maybe on the summit day. So might just take two synth jackets to layer with.

Rainier in winter, maybe Denali at some point. Can't find a really puff synthetic jacket. Everyone has down, but bad experiences with that in the past. Who makes a hi loft synth jacket with an insulated hood? Know they've made them in the past because the regular partner has one.

""the Paul Peak/Mowich Lake area are open to non-motorized use"" Does anyone know how far up you can drive on this road? In the past you were usually able to get to the Paul Peak trailhead.

""which also features a force above and beyond comprehension and influence of the masses"" maybe some peoples comprehension ehh? Others may see Christianity as just another scam by wealthy elites. After all there were about 60 gospels, they only picked the ones beholden to their power/money cause. And the Koran says Jesus was not divine, just a prophet who was not even crucified. Do some reading, the DaVinci Code barely scrapes the surface.

""I'm all about using clothes you're going to wear anyway to augment the bag"" Agree, why carry that stuff if it's not used? ""Peanut butter is..."" Depending on your metabolism/genetics it can be very suck. Slows circulation. Best to try it on a training hike. Just like salt 20 percent of the population are adversely affected. ""apart from something like pure oil (yuck!)"" Olive oil is the best. In soup or on bread or just straight. Chouinard used to use it. When you're depleted and your body starts to use it's fat, it slows down. A dose of olive oil fakes it out so you can keep going high pace. Lately I've turned to GU and Citomax, when the pace is high body doesn't want anything else until dinner. Digestion takes energy and these require very little. ""Mostly though, ultralight is about being rich."" sometimes but not always. The GoLite packs are less than the average. And you can make a half bag from a used gear store bag and a sewing machine.

""You could shave weight on the axe..."" Unless, you're going on a 1,500' boiler ice headwall. ""...and loose the puffy jacket from this list."" Or Rainier in winter.

Modern wars are just a racket. The politicians, both dem and repug are p-owned by the military industrial complex, the oil companies and AIPAC. Ever since the Ruskies folded the M.I.C. has been looking for another boogie man. Enter "terror". It's perfect, not a state but a race, a religion, a mindset. Because there are no states that come close to competing with us. Our military expense is greater than the next 6 countries combined. So bring down a couple buildings that were way outdated anyway, add a p-owned media, stir. Get your war on. Now that the sheeple are afraid of "terror". It's fun to observe how it all ties in, the tangled web and connections of the global elite. The Neocons, the Israelis, the Bush crime family, the oil companies, Halliburton, the Saudis. Notice how the dems really haven't done anything to turn it around, just so much lip service. They're p-owned I tell ya. Before the invasion they ran war-games. One general was doing so well running the simulated Iraq forces in full on guerilla mode they made him stop. They knew it was no good going in but it's what they wanted. Not to "win" but just to spend money, make money, control the oil flow and ruin a progressive Arab country. A low level protracted war is more profitable. Anyone notice it's gone on longer than WW2? The Iraqis weren't even fighting until the release of the Abu Graibe pics? Coincedence? And their lining up to attack Iran. Labled the "crazies", neocons, cheney rummy(gone now) during the bush 1 years. They were at a lower level then. Now their at the helm, look out. We'll be lucky if the dems get enough power and spine to do anything about it. And when/if they manage to convict, it'll be pardons all round. Just like poppy (his drug lord nickname) when he pardoned everyone to keep himself from being implicated in Iran Contra. Many of them while they were still in trial. And word up Red Nose. The blue red conflict is a false dichotomy. Just a few years back there was very little red blue conflict. It's a recent creation of the wealthy elite of this country, fabricated by the media which they have consolidated the control of. Divide and conquer. The real conflict is not between you and me but between us, the working class, and the wealthy elite who are everyday working to make things even more disparate than they already are. It's class warfare plain and simple and it's being waged on us. ""I am not a big fan of Bill Clinton. Or his wife."" No doubt. P-owned, sold us out to "free trade", de-reg'd the media. Ever notice when they started advertising pharmacuticals on the boob tube? And she's now meeting with Murdoch and on the board of WalMart.

""I have a 17 year old pair of koflack vario extrem's. any chance of fitting the intuition liners in these antiques?"" No problem. $150-$160. Pro Mountain Sports, Feathered Friends, or Marmot in Bellevue. (my bad if starting to sound like a salesperson, I'm not affiliated)

""Don't believe the published weights!"" Never. A gear shop isn't a climbing shop unless they have a scale. With many of these boots the weight difference is in the liner. The Intuition custom fit liner is very light. You can shave about 1-1/2# off a pair of boots. I weighed size 9 boots also, but replacing the stock liner with Intuitions on all the boots I weighed. So basically this is a shell weight comparison. weight per boot (size 9) with Intuition liner. Scarpa Omega 1#14oz. Koflach Arctis Expi 2#2oz. Koflach Degre 2#2oz. Lowa Civetta 2#7oz. So the Intuition liner shaves the Koflach's from 5#10oz. to 4#4oz. And in this scenario the Civetta is heavier by 10oz. for the pair. In addition the Intuition liner is warmer and fits way better for less chafing on approach and better feel on technical stuff. The Degre and Expi come out of the same mold. After reading here, went back and felt the shells to feel if the Expi was stiffer, it seems it is a slight amount. Would be nice to know exactly where the Degre shell is weaker. May just wait till they restock my size at REI so I can return them if they blow out. Since the Intuitions are $150 it would be nice to hold the cost down a little.

nICE pics everyone. Gots to get out to Banks lake again, been a while. Arctic front.... come on down!

"In Egypt, rescue workers found a 37-year-old man alive in earthquake rubble. He survived almost 82 hours by drinking his own urine. His wife, daughter and mother would not and they died." "Four Sri Lankan commandos who drifted in a boat more than 1,000 miles to Thailand after they had been ambushed and given up for dead were given a rapturous welcome when they returned home. 'They managed to survive on the boat by catching turtles and drinking urine,' a military officer said." "A male cook was pulled out of the rubble of the Hyatt Hotel early Monday morning, 14 days after a powerful earthquake devastated the northern Philippines, officials said. Dry, with only minor bruises on his body, he told reporters he survived by drinking his own urine." Something to think about next time your stranded in a snow cave and out of fuel. Wasn't there some climbers on Baker that dropped a pack and stranded in a storm drank their urine? But then the rescue came right away and it turned out they didn't need to. I knew miners were trained to do this but I thought the second time around it was more toxic? "if you need to place more than 8 screws on a pitch," depends on your fear factor, might be about right on a 60m pitch. If you have the strength to stop and place that many screws you must be strong enough.

Weighed the Degree and the Expi shell, identical. The flexibility of the shell material seems the same and other than the colors, these two shells seem identical except for the interior sole. The Expi has a heel recess that fits a raised heel on the liner. The liners are totally different but that's immaterial if going with Intuitions. So yes the degree may work. Now need to figure how much room you need in the shell. The 8.5 and the 9 have the same size shell. The 7.5 and the 8 also have the same size shell. Size 9 is my street shoe. With just a sock on the 8.5-9 shell has about 1-1/2" room at the heel with the toe just touching. The 7.5-8 shell has about 1". Need to talk to the boot fitter at Marmot.

""I have never weighed my pack, but given your description it seems like 20-25lbs on climb is a lot?"" you may be right, maybe that was with a rope/rack

If you've got the bucks go for the guide 10's with stealth rubber. Lots of the running/hiking shoes have too much plastic in the sole, bad on wet rock. [ up to 5.10 if you tighten them up. Nelson uses a piece of ensolite in the heel.