Pro Mountain Sports

Colin's method seems so simple and elegant. Maybe we should try it out sometime. I'll provide the tech cord.

yea, great TR and trip and pics. your phlox may be moss campion. beautiful!

great job guys, great insights and suggestions from Colin.

We also have a few of these cute little guys. BD OZ, 28, grams, gate open 7kN. 8 grams lighter than the Nutrino and very close to Nutrino in size. We also have a few of the DMM Phantom’s. Another little cutie at 26 grams w/gate open 9kN. Sendz me

Although not as light as the Western Mountaineering bags, the Macpac, Epic 150, at 19oz. $300 has a waterproof/breathable shell fabric and all exterior seams are taped. An ultralight waterproof/breathable down bag/bivy combo. We have these in stock now. This fabric is very similar to the Gore-tex and Dry Tec fabrics used on the Montbell UL Sleeping Bag Covers. Please note, this is not the Epic fabric offered on FF bags, BD superlight tents, etc

WM SummerLite is a tad narrow, but if you don't mind the 59" or 60" shoulder girth it is toasty for its rating and also made in the USA. For luxury cut you might also look at WM MegaLite and Caribou.

Good reasoning can be made both ways for down or synthetic. For down, one worth considering is the Mont Bell U.L. Down Inner Jacket. Similar to their U.L. Thermawrap but 2 ounces lighter, and like Blake mentioned even more packable.

Pro Mountain Sports does not necessarily recommend aluminum over steel. Depending on your budget and use steel could be a better choice. Unless several ounces are important to you, steel would be an easy choice. As you can read here on cc.com, aluminum can also be a reasonable choice. The Stubai Light Universal has been shown to be fairly sturdy. Some of the light steel models (often 10 point) are getting closer in weight to the heaviest aluminum models. Most of the light steel crampons are now available with universal bindings (as well as more familiar binding styles). When pms first started selling the “Light Universal” crampon, one of the things we especially liked was the universal binding. We love the universal binding, and ani-snow-balling plates too. Side note: when pms first started selling the “Light Universal”, customers for many years commented that they had been advised by other Seattle mountaineering shops including rei that “you can not use aluminum crampons”. We still hear it today. Meanwhile climbers were sucessfully using this new equipment. In fact the first pair of Light Universal crampons pms sold was to a Seattle Mountaineer and dedicated summit chaser. Wasn’t long before his partners were playfully calling him a “cheat” for using aluminum crampons.

I’m still liking the most simple windpants. They are my hardshell although actually they are softshell because they’re not “waterproof”. My new ones (montbell) weigh 2.2 oz. and only come out when the conditions are really crummy or and/or windy.

yes, pretty much until everything is gone except for maybe a very few special items. We will also have a Thanksgiving Sale Nov. 22, 24, & 25 (Wed, Fri, & Sat.)

We need to make room for new stuff. So we are having a Giant 50% off Sale Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Nov. 16-19 at Pro Mountain Sports. Here is a list of sale items as of today. Shoes/Boots LaSportiva Trango Guide - 50% off Acopa Rock Shoes - 75% off = $25 Lasportiva Women's Pingora GTX (sizes 7-8.5) $39 = 70% off Technica Dunagiri GTX (7.5, 8, 13) - 80% off = $50 Technica Ascend TCY (8, 8.5, 9) 80% off = $47 Technica Women's Voyager (6 & 7.5) - 80% off = $34 Technica Shasta (men's 9) - 80% off = $25 Lowa Eiger (women's 8.5) - 80% off = $55 Climbing Trango MaxCam - 50% off BD Raven 75cm - 50% off BD Tracer Helmets - 50% off Grivel Alp Wing - 50% off Petzl Ecrin Roc Helmet - 50% off Petzl Snowscopic Axe - 50% off Wild Country Matrix Lite Harnesses - 50% off Wild Country Matrix SupaLite Harnesses - 50% off Metolious Gear Slings - 50% off Faders SUM Belay for 9.1mm-10.5mm ropes. Excels on small diameter ropes. - 50% off DMM Revolution 22cm Ice Screws - 50% off Packs Granite Gear Virga - 50% off Granite Gear Alpine Vapor - 50% off Granite Gear Precipice - 50% off MacPac Pursuit 40 and 50 - 50% off MacPac Weka 30 - 60% off Black Diamond Shadow 45 and 55 - 50% off Black Diamond Predator 50 - 50% off Wild Things Ice Sac - 50% off Granite Gear Side Pocket - 50% off Tents Go-Lite Lair 2 Nest - 50% off Go-Lite Hex Floor - 60% off Montbell Hex Tent - 50% off Hilleberg Rajd - 50% off Clothing Patagonia Specter PO Ultralight Hard Shells - 50% off Patagonia Rain Pants - 50% off Patagonia Women's Houdini Full Zip - 50% off Patagonia French Roast Pants, (30 waist) - 50% off Montbell Wind Jackets - 50% off Selected Icebreaker - 50% off Sleeping Bags Integral Designs Promaloft Sleeping Bags - 50% off Montbell Exceloft Sleeping Bags #4 & #5 - 50% off Camping 3 models Titanium cookware - 50% off Skis We still have a couple pair of Atomic Tacora and TM22 - 50% off Limited to stock on hand. Sales on sale items are final. No returns/refunds/exchanges

The wool type will surprise you. Anyone here besides me like'em?

what about the Omega Link Cams?

C, I like Grivel Air Tech Evo. Real nice axe, maybe the nicest all around. What do folks who have it think? More of a classic all around style, while the other two are a little more technical with the steeper pick angle. I was impressed with the picks on the Aztarex on water ice which are the same as Aztar.

Crash, I was pleased with the Azrarex on Stuart. I used a pair of them along with the Irvis crampon. Not sure it’s the right tool for everyone but I tend to like the lighter tools for alpine. I liked it so much, which has me thinking I’d like the Cosmitec also, but would I miss the pinky thing? Aztar and Cosmitec have steel spikes.

a lighter B rated tool from Petzl. Nice looking fixed drooped pick, and trad spike. Two lengths 55cm and 62cm(for dps).

Not sure what I think about the Aztarex. I share Dan’s concerns about the light weight for water fall climbing, but was surprised when I was surprised with several pitches of water ice on Stuart this past March. I’m curious what others think and have demos to loan. Has anyone used the Comitec?

Good information, especially from Jason and Thinker. Hopefully this important information will get passed onto the students in all of the various club courses. Makes me think about the value of learning this important information from a trained guide. I think it would be cool if a club invested some money to have some key instructors trained by trained guides.

Pax, like you I would be really careful choosing aluminum crampons for alpine climbing. On Eldorado I expected there would be hard snow for the most part with only short sections of water ice. I also knew my two partners would do the leading and it would be an opportunity to test the idea out a little bit with a bit of a safety net. I also had good stiff boots. One lightweight crampon that might be a Mckinley candidate is the Petzl/Charlet Irvis. The Irvis is a steel crampon with a smaller front section than the Sarken, but same heel piece. I was able to try them recently on water ice on Stuart and was impressed with the front pointing. Probably not the best choice for some one with big feet, but otherwise not bad. On the West Butt. The weight savings might not be worth the trouble, especially with the sled transport method. I’ve also seen a few freaks mate an aluminum heel piece with a steel front to save ounces.

While not necesarily recommending the figure 8 or munter for descending, I do know how to use them without having them twist the rope. One thing nice about using the figure 8, especially for the first person over the edge, is the ease of locking off. One good thing about having the last person down using a slot type device, is it will keep the two ropes seperated so they can't wrap around each other. Brian feel free to stop by the store some time for a demonstration and we can talk about that slide show. It's fairly easy to learn and practice. Try changing the angle of the brake end of the rope as it feeds into the Friction device.

We have been selling the wire toe and lever heel (code name WireLever) binding on the Sarken crampon at pms. Colin insisted. Some nice binding choices on a nice crampon (Sarken).

There will be some of the pretty red, black, & silver boots from LaSportiva.

Stephen, I would be interested to talk with you some time about your experiences with the BD Epic tents. Maybe Ananda has the right idea with sealing the seams? I must admit I am a skeptic, but much less so after today. We have a First Light (seams not sealed) set up outside in the rain if anyone wants to crawl inside and check it out.

Blue, We can set you up with the Stubai Long Bars (fits 16+). Cheers

At $40, 14 ounces, and 28 liters the Grivel Air Tech 28 is worth a look for packs that are similar to the Genie, and Lowe Alpine. Only one axe loop, but large enough to hold two axes and very cute.