Dane

Cool answer! Quark hammer modified and bolted on? Looks like a clean solution. Any more info on how it was done? By choking up on the Nomic into the taped grip the hand position it would be OK as a hammer. About the same angle as the Quark except the hammer doesn't stick out as far as the Quark for better clearence. I agree though a dedicated hammer which you could weld pins in with would be better. Just not lighter.

email sent

I've bought a few things from them recently. Most obvious was two on-line price matches which they honored on the phone and went one better which ended up me saving another $100 total beyond the price match. (Nomic @$189 ea) Still not sure how that happened. Big ticket items are usually easy enough to get a discount on by 10 to 20% from my little experience. My only bitch is the web site is slow, as is their shipping. But from your experiences I have been warned. Going to look into another price match on Monday since shipping has been free to this point.

My spare pair of Quark tools, hammer and adze. Almost new condition. Picks were lightly sharpened once. Add on finger ledges, no wrist loops. $300 and you pay shipping. Pay Pal prefered.

The great photo from Raphael Slawinski's web site of the Grand Central Couloir was a joke on Robert's "cragging" comment. I had no idea what tools the four climbers used on their ascent. I should have pasted in the Kitchener picture above, "Just a couple of the climbs the Nomics has been on." to make it more clear. My apologies. "what purpose would an adze serve?" The point I was trying to make from the first post, is, things change. Everyone use to take an adze and a alpine hammer on hard alpine. Then a hammer, adze and an alpine hammer. Now we find getting clipped by a adze on road side mixed is generally a bigger mess than a hammer so many climb with two hammers and few have seen an alpine hammer. That set up gets taken back to the mountains. Some still debate a curved shaft for the mountains but most everyone (everyone?) doing hard alpine stuff is using them. The pics and links I posted here opened my eyes (and imagination) to what others are doing. Never found a adze in the way soloing anywhere and sometimes useful to cut a quick step to rest on. Which a pick will do as well just not as quickly. But then not having a hammer or an adze would not be that big of deal either in the right terrain, on the right route. Not something I would have thought up on my own.

Anything new on this line?

Spring came early this year The face looked cold and dry last week. Gotta give it to Raphael Slawinski and crew. Most are staisfied with one trip up Temple. Two winter trips in 2004 was impressive. Adding the third rock route must be the cream. Good on 'um!

Robert the photo of Sea of Vapors is Jon Walsh's from March of '06. The pic on Shooting Gallery is his as well. Myths I once believed: you have to be stronger to climb leashless you'll climb harder with a leash you can't plunge a Quark (any tool) with a rest bolted on you need a spike on the end of that tool you don't need a third tool umbilicals are for inexperienced nobs Last week I was mentally counting up the number of different tools sets I have used on hard ice. There have been a few. I've willing adopted new tools that make climbing easier. When a bought Quarks several years ago I thought they were extreme waterfall tools. Having been on this face, the pic below actually shocked me. As did the pic on Shooting Gallery above. What no adze!? Both pics opened my mind to other possibilities.

The list of hard mixed routes in the Rockies that the Nomic has been used on is too long to list. But easily more grade 6 ice and hard mixed that you and I have done I suspect. Some still argue for wrist loops. Old myths die hard. They still make and sell alpine hammers. Just a couple of the climbs the Nomics has been on. Some pretty good cragging here http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/riptide http://canadianalpinist.blogspot.com/

Been on Quarks for awhile. Still my standby tool used leashless. But my new favorite is the Nomics which I use now when they are right for the route. (after seeing them on a moderate alpine route "right" gets pushed every trip) Reasons? Nice hand protection with the rests on the Quark. Easy to use leashless, tough as nails...amazingly so for the Nomics on mixed. All the picks are hard to over drive and stick even when gripped and beginning to freak. Balance is good on the Quark, even better on the Nomics.

Many ways to define it...and more than one way to achieve it. This being the simpliest I have found. But feel free to pick you own training methods. Just to be clear..I endorse training hard enough to puke, not the Cross Fit program. And I like the image of Pukie the Clown.

We've had a number of rescue dogs over the years and have two currently. We've loved them all which has included a Chesapeake Retriever, German Shorthair, Doberman, Rottweiler and a Labor Doddle. But I would caution you about any rescue dog when you have kids and other pets. They are in a rescue because the dog was someone else's problem. Any dog that is protective/agressive enough to help with personal/home security will likely be a problem in other ways. Good protection and family dogs are a full time job. You'll want to prepare yourself for that. Big difference between males and females in every breed. Each breed has different shedding charateristics. Short haired dogs are the easiest to clean up after. But they all add to the fuss and mess in the house. Something to think about. Get the youngest dog you can past 12 weeks. They learn more about you and you them and they'll bond to the kids better. Our current "kids" were both 7 months old when we adopted them, thankfully 6 months a apart and for the most part house trained. Generally dogs (any dog) will not mature till they are 2 years old. They go through all the changes that kids do in 30 years in just 2 years. And are lifetime (generally 10 to 15 years) committments. I have some huge personal preferences for dogs, having lived with two protection trained dogs as an adult and our family dogs as a kid. But I would suggest making several trips to the local Human Society Shelter and look at lots and lots of dogs. Take a few minutes to play with them one on one and don't let your heart be swept away with the first good looking one The best dogs we have had have all been rescues. One of the most difficult dogs we have had was also a rescue and worth the effort until his death. But I couldn't have him around kids. I've spent time with some great Akita, Doberman, German Shepards and Rots. Of our past dogs the one I enjoyed the most was a big male Dobie that was a rescue. He was a handfull 24/7. As good of a dog as he was it would not be an experience I'd want to repeat. It was just too much work and too much worry. But if I had kids the only protective breed I would look at would be a female Rottweiler. I'd want her as a puppy that had been left with the mother till she was 12 to 16 weeks old for socialization. It will help with her training and life with your kids. Then be prepared for a lot of work 9 (and more fun than you can stand) for a year or so. After that it just gets better every day My family has had 4 outstanding female Rots over the years and all have been exceptional dogs. Good luck!

Jeff Ormiston at Iss/Samamish PT...Issaquah. Jeff use to rock climb a lot and now is into Adventue racing and Tris. Jeff and crew did a great job for me. Their # 425 392 4025

Your first rule is a guide, not a rule and imo not worth mentioning when you consider twin ropes have to be clipped into every piece. Twins are generally a bit smaller in dia. (my twins are 7.8mm) than dbls and have no documented failures of being cut by the second rope. Tips? Be patient when dealing with dbl or twins. They offer some real advantages if you take your time and flake them and stack them cleanly. Fastest way to have a birds nest is get pissed and try to violently shake out a tangle. One of the few good reasons to use a dbl rope system is the ability to do longer rappels. If I were going to suggest 30m ( who sets anchors at 100 feet these days? ) rappels I'd go to single 70m or 100m rope. Not that impressed with a single 70 because it is too short for anything but a 35m rappel. You'll end up using the 50M rope stances on anything fixed and come up short. 70m ropes are not a bunch better than a 50M rope on lead but they are heavier. Few climbs out there that don't have a natural stance inside 50m or 60m. Part of the problem I see is we still have many, many anchors set up for dbl 50 meter (or even 150ft) ropes. Now we have a lot of 70m ropes being used and even more 60m ropes out there. Both old and new anchors are not matching up well. How can they? I use twin 60s to get as much distance on each lead as possible compared to the weight I have to carry for a full length rappel. A super light single and a tag line might be a lighter system but there is no redundancy available with a tag line. Plus when you tie in all the ropes come out of the pack..which I also like weight wise.

Dave the swivel on Fender's rig is rated to 260# so the mini biners at 250# are actually right were they need to be and maybe a bit more You'd be hard pressed to get a 250# load on one of these if the sizing is correct, short of a full body weight fall directly on to just one tool. Fender I really do want 2 of your rigs and think they are a bargain for the labor involved @$40. But for those that think $40 a bit steep. I use 1/2" webbing with a bungie "linked" to my harness by an overhand knot through the tool end and a 880# "chain link" to my harness. The chain link takes both tools. For short sections of piolet canne I just deal with it hooked up. If I need to do a lot of piolet cane before or after a route I unhook one tool from my harness and either simply drag the umbilical or pull it through the carabiner hole on the tool head. Either way works fine. A treking pole might well be a better answer. Being tied in all the time works well for technical climbing where I don't anticipate hooking and unhooking my umbilicals to use the tool for plunging (like at the base of a cornice) or piolet cane. But you can do either easily enough while still tied in. Plunging being the more difficult of the two. Marmot in Bellevue was the only shop locally I could find 1/2 tube. REI has the 1/8" elastic. Lowe's has the links in the hardware department for a buck or so each. My tie in link is rated at 880#. The smaller link shown is rated at 660#. The smaller link also makes a good tool attachment point. This is what I use ... cost less than $10 for the set, part of an old wire coat hanger to thread the elastic and 15 minutes of your time. And a comparison with other biners including the Nano... Other ways to attach to the tool depending on what you need. FWIW..I have been using umbilicals on technical tools for a long time. My original use was as a traveling backup belay and to avoid tool loss. IMO they really don't come onto their own until they are on a system that was designed to be leashless. The pic below shows Marko Prezelj on N. Twin during the 2nd ascent of the Lowe/Jones with Steve House. Having a tool dangling off the umbilical might well be an slight tactical error, but more likely from my limited experience this winter with leashless tools, it might just be the position of choice. Some times you just want the damn thing out of the way...and can clip it in later. And my original intended uses are not negated. Leashless is all about freedom of movement. Adding umbilicals, surprizingly to me, can actually add to that freedom.

I'd like two as loaners for my partners if you are making some up. Always fun to see a umbilical in use

On a mountaineering axe I geneally have a wrist loop tied to the head of the axe. Never to the harness. But you are then forced to change hands on the leash depending on the uphill side. Not a big deal but you need to get used to it. The leash is there to support the wrist on any short bits of technical climbing. And if required support a self arrest. Leash works well on a short axe for that purpose. Just to confuse the answer. If there is anything over a just a tiny bit of technical climbing I'll also generally have a technical tool which will be leashless. Depending on the situation/length of the technical climb I'll also generally add umbilicals which are a mobil self belay as well as keeping the tools attached to me if dropped. They are clipped to the harness. With a mountaineering axe if you fall and are unable to get stopped by a self arrest at least the axe is less likely to put other holes in you if tied to your wrist (which is more likely to be lost) than tied to your harness which will go the distance. Trust me if you loose your axe in a fall and it is bouncing around tied to your body the axe will be the least of your worries. Add crampons to that mix and things can get really messy. Do what makes you comfortable and don't worry what the next guy thinks. I've seen axes lost by some really good climbers in some really henious situations and some really stupid situations. I'm not so proud as to think I can't drop an axe at a really inappropriate moment. My rule is if the climb is over 100 meters high I generally have something physically attaching the axe to me, my pack or my harness, be it a wrist loop, leash or and umbilical. The set up is defined by the terrain.

what do ya need for all 6 "screws" mailed to Issaqauh?

I had a complete distal rupture of the right bicep a few months ago. Pain was intense but short lived. Typical bent arm shock load was the cause. Also injuried the left at the same time just not as severe but am rehabing it instead of surgery. Although I would have prefered surgery on it too at this point. Right arm was not an option and is now better than my left although it is not yet 100%. And may never be I am told. Fuck'um, what do they know? Bicep sucked up into my upper shoulder and was obviously disfigured with a loss of strength around 50%. Was able to claw my way up Davis/Holland on a top rope a day before surgery though....a stupid stunt I wouldn't recommend. I did not have a complete tear from the 1st incident but enough pain and weird looking arm to know I was screwed. Xrays won't tell you a thing. An MRI will if you can sit thorugh the pain and torment of the position they will put you in. I couldn't. My ortho guy called it the moment he saw it and ordered up space for surgery the next morning. The longer you wait on a tear the worse the rehab and putting you back together is. I was 5 days from the intial tear, road Hurricane ridge the day after with no issues, then Davis Hollad, each day out allowing the tendon the shrink up. I should have insisted on seeing my doc sooner and get cut asap. Doc said the tendon was a bitch to pull back down..."looked like it had been up there for weeks". Luckily they did not have to use cadaver tendon to hook me back up. But I did get a few extra cuts to get hold of the tendon and pull it back down. 6 months later I feel pretty good, not where i want to be but better than the alternative Got the Darts yesterday thanks. Talked to John Gill about his bicep injury as well. If you have specific questions send me a email or give me a call. Pretty much got this injury dialed.

Make a fashion statement..

Then sack up and solo. Fuck'un bolters think they are saving the world. In reality they are trashing it for future generations. Old and still soloing, thanks.

Yep, what he said. Scott has PMIs on sale for $100 normally $200 in the yard sale. For lots of TR I want them thick and fat.

New Grivel Helix, black handle knob, 17cm.

Trip: CND Ice - The typical trade routes Date: 1/25/2008 Trip Report: I was lucky enough to get a couple of trips in to Banff/Lake Lousie area this winter. Nothing earth shattereing climbed, just a couple of the local trade routes. Avi conditions have been terrible for the most part and kept us off some routes we wanted to do on boith trips. But isn't that part of ice? First trip up was with my long term (like almost 30 years now!) climbing partner. While he has kept up I haven't. This is the second time he has dragged me off the couch and back into the fray. The first time was years ago, to do the second ascent of some heinious, offwidth, 4 pitch 5.11. Fun, but another story. This time for such fun things as the pillar on Louise and Weeping Wall center. Never mind that I haven't been ice climbing in years and tore my right bicep off last spring. I owe you a big "thanks" Dave...I think The first week was defined by the typical -30C temps we had every day. Pleasant really and a nice "welcome back to Canada". Below the big boys and gun for the pillar on the 2nd pitch of Weeeping Wall. On my lead of course I bail to the left...and get a dirty look from Dave. A fun trip with some good climbing every day. We finishing with Gilbralter on the way home. Nice climb this time because it was cold enough to actually finish on top of the wall where the spring originates. No pics but a must do climb if you are in the area. (Canal Flats) Between the two trips I got in some local ice with Jeff from CClimbers. Interesting stuff, screws were useless but tied off brush seemed reasonable. At least as hard as anything we did in Canada this winter. Cold, wet fun right up till we got back to the truck and found the windows and gear missing. Coldest I have been all winter was driving home with no glass on the driver's side. Who is worse your insurance agent of the theives? BASTARDS! Jeff after the first steep section. and a second smaller step before the upper section... The second trip north I did with Eiji from CClimbers. If you saw his last trip report he had mentioned the fact that they didn't get as much mileage as they would have liked. We tried to remedy that on this trip. We figured about 1500m of climbing in 3 and 1/2 days so we did OK this trip. 60F in Calagary when we landed. 50F in Banfff and raining. Just barely freezing at Lake Lousie made conditions a bit trying. So we started doing what we could as the sun went down and temps dropped. Made it interesting and fun. Eiji on the sharp end right out of the car. And again 2 minutes later Starting late on Snivelling in what would be a good day....Sniveling and Weeping Wall. In the dark at the top of the wall, 120m of trail breaking in chest deep snow on steep terrain was a pain and a little scary until we got back into the trees. A mental crux... well done. A little time out to crank some mixed at Haffner And then back @ night climbing to finish up the trip. Gear Notes: I first did these climbs back in the '70s. They are all over rated today with modern gear Two links that give a more detailed commentary: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/774814?PHPSESSID=27626ac9b3ebf4ff477393992585c03d#Post774814 http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/775592?PHPSESSID=27626ac9b3ebf4ff477393992585c03d#Post775592 Approach Notes: You kidding me? I climb in Canada just so I don't have to walk.

Thanks guys. Two 13cm turbos left.