Dane

Troll!

Another vote for CCW.

-sold-

Fuck me! You live in Bozeman and wonder how to get in shape for ice climbing? That makes as much sense as living Curry Village and wondering how hard it is to climb at Arch rock. Get off you ass and just go climbing

Awesome tools with a tiny bit of tuning. Great price!

Hey I didn't pull the $500 out of my ass That is what my bank told me the gas station in Radium hit my card for while I was still in the parking lot wondering WTF. Even the gas station attendant didn't realise how much it was, because I asked last time it happened and was more than a bit pissed. $50, $75 or even $100 isn't unusual here in the states for a gas transaction. $500.....not so much, like NEVER. And it isn't just debit cards but CCs as well. US resturants do something similar adding 20% for a tip and then sorting it all out in two or three days. Gas at Radium I have seen take 5 business days.

I do the same as well. The Radium gas issue...has never been resolved. The transactions there (gas station on the left as you enter the canyon and head for Banff) some how cause a fraud alert which shuts off the cards on my as well as partners US cards of any sort. Last year I was in Canada numberious times, as well as the UK, France, Italy and Switerland. I used my debit card the majority of the time (with no addional fees) and CCs once in a while. No issues what so ever. Bob is right though...debit cards don't offer the protection CC cards do for refunds. I don't do cash out of the country because debit cards and CCs offer the most up to date exchange rates. Worth noting as well, there is no cell service north of Lake Louise until just short of Jasper. That tends to limits the roaming charges for me

Typical debit or credit card holds for gas (no matter what you actually buy) at Radium or Golden can be as high as $500 US. And it takes days to clear and adjust the amount. 2 tanks of gas there can be a $1000 hit in a few days time instead of the actual cost of the purchases, say $100. I have had three CCs get flagged at Radium by my CC company and until I called in couldn't be used again including for the transaction I was attempting. Problem happens when you use the card and it gets declined and flagged (rightfully so by your CC company) in Radium so you use cash or another card that does work...then show up in Banff, Lake Louise or Canmore and your original card is now "dead" until you get hold of you CC company in the states.....via roaming charges and long distance. BTDT and it is really a PIA. Credit card and debit cards (which are Visa and Master cards anyway just with a limit) don't have the same problems in Cranbooke, Banff or Lake Louse.

Cheap? If you think hut fees are bad This stuff will kill ya. But a expensive under 10# total ski, boot and binding set up makes more sense when you are home making money than it does living on a shoe string in Cham. Once there and the gear is paid for...they'll be priceless. I skied on my new gear a bunch this spring. It opened all sorts of terrain and trips that I might have not done with heavier gear. Now I'll likely never be without a similar set up. The price? Forgotten the first trip down the Emmonds this summer...or maybe it was St Helens earlier, can't really remember ;-) The first time you pull out your tools and strap the skis on your back and not think about the weight, I suspect you'll think it is money well spent.

No disagreement there. And @ $400 retail the newest Speed is $200 cheaper than the Speed Superlight. Which is $600. http://www.dynafit.com/product/bindings/tlt-speed-radical Which I suspect is the binding "You can pick up at Pro Ski in North Bend for $399.00." Speeds I use on down hill boards. Not on my mountaineering skis where the weight and bulk really does matter if you are carrying them on a route.

CCs and Debit cards can get some bad stuff happening to them as Bob mentioned. Worse offenders seem to be gas stations in Golden and Radium. It really can turn a nice trip into a nightmare though. Make sure your and YOUR PARTNER's passport are squared away before leaving home...it has happened more than once and it isn't any easier to get in to Canada. Gas prices in BC are silly stupid. Idaho and Alberta much better. From Seattle drive to CdA make a fill up, add as required at Bonners and Drive to Lake Lousie or Banff. Save more than a few bucks on gas if you do it that way. Plan on a similar fill up schedule on the return. I've found that generally getting across the Cascades the worst driving or any road shut downs. Although the Ice Fields highway gets closed a lot through out the winter for a few days at a time which will limit your climbing options and almost guaranteed if that happens the avi conditons will be bad elsewhere in the Park. You will have to get creative or go to a movie in Banff. John Frieh's advice is good for that one. Twight always told me that Cody was the best ice in North America. Like Bob I suspect, Banff and the Icefields seem like home purely for sentimental reasons and most importantly it is close at hand. (just not close to Seattle in comparison) 'Cuz it can be terrible avi and weather conditions there (Canada) most of the winter and days are short. But the hospitality, accomadations and food are good. Weather is warmer these days and things like Cascade which is a must do isn't always up. I wouldn't suggest the Ghost on your first trip and wih out a local to take you in. For several reasons I now head for Chamonix in the winter if I have the time. Bad weather there means you ski instead of climb. Good weather is much more likely. But the climbing generally more serious and colder as well mid winter. From Seattle you can get to Geneva in virtually the same time it takes me to drive to Banff. Obviously the price of admission is higher and the elevation you will be climbing at is as well. Six days from Seattle? Banff, if you want to see the scenery and do some of North America's real classics. Cody if you want to actually just get some great milage on good ice and not worry so much about dying or stress on you gas bill. Both are at best a REALLY full day of driving from Seattle and you'll drive even more while in Canada. Typically 1000 mile round trips for me if you hit the Weeping wall or Ice Fields and Baff/Canmore. Cody 14 hours 9 mins 894.3 mi - I-90 E Lake Louise through Kamloops (several avi closed passes in the way and expensive gas the entire trip to Alberta) 11 hours 29 mins 563.9 mi - Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 E Seattle-Spokane-Lake Louise (break up the drive and climb Gibralter Wall and or Copper Creek as intros) 12hrs and 15 min 640 miles

Couple of additional thoughts. The inner for a Baruntse is a VBL. As are the Intuition liners. The factory liner for the Spantik is not. Big difference in warmth but also over kill a majority of the time and an easy way (using a VBL) to damage your feet via trench foot if you aren't careful. Nice to never worry about getting your inner boots wet though. Which the Spantik also offers to some degree. The best double boots these days generally eliminate the need for an additional over boot even on Denali summit days unless you are moving really slowly. I don't say that lightly having spent 8 seasons in the Alaska range. No question hydration/nutrition and the rest of your clothing system have a huge effect on how your feet will do in prolonged cold temps. Good video using the 6000 (another VBL inner boot) and Baruntse on Denali. And another with the Spantik and the 6000 again

Release? I am sure they are "full release" but how that relates to DIN down hill binding is another story when the toes lock down. "Couldn't have been worse than the ski over to the Ginat though, eh Dane?" In my Spantiks? Ya, must be why you decided to start walking over I am now fully prepared for round 2...should be cake in TLTs, race skis and fully locked bindings

SOME OF THE BEST BAGS IN THE WORLD! No doubt. LWT Down jackets? You'll also want to check out RAB and Narrona. Eddie Bauer offers a Guide Jacket that is good as well.

Up side is they are light. Down side is they don't have full release. But not sure after using most everything available, any of them actually do. But they do release. If I had an easy choice (read less $) I would use a 4 hole plate like the La Sportiva adjustment plate or the Plum plate for added support on the heal piece. Three screws on the heel is a little sketchy imo. But that said I skied this version after we got home last winter until Sept 4, which was my last day of skiing...on lifts and in the back country. http://www.dynafit.com/product/bindings/low-tech-race-auto I did do a forward heel release I thought might actually tear my leg off but the binding was still intact (lwt Dynafit ski) so may be I should worry less about the four screw heel and big plates. Springs are steel and not titanium which is good because the steel ones will last forever.

Too bad as the tube tent thing works as well given enough venting. BTDT The quality of the Brooks-Range is very high and the weight very low for the protection offered.

wanted to ask that myself Messner? crackers said: "If you're into the "little tent thing we can hide in", the Ortik offering is much nicer than Brooks range." The Ortik looks by the pictures and the weight to be a tube tent of sorts but I could be wrong. If not the weight alone makes it a POS, as my Firstlight is only a tiny bit heavier and a lot more room. The Brooks-Range 2 man is 20oz +/- lighter, pretty slick and well made IMO. Enough so I bought mine a a couple of seasons ago at retail. As I said previous, bothy bags (and their manufactures) are as common as trash in Europe. Nothing spectacular about them other than they are really light weight and offer resonable protection and warmth when required.

bit of a drama queen are ya, mike?

Just a little more sophisticated bothy with vents. As common as trash in the alps.

MIkey, couple of thoughts for you but please pardon me repeating what you likely already know. VBLs work best when it is cold, used alone next to your skin in a bag. A water proof bag (bivy bag of any sort) will get you wet but works well for "ventilated" protection from the elements when things are bad outside. Any unventilated sack over a down bag and the bag will be toast in a short amount of time from moisture. Full Gortex or Event bivy bags or bag covers aren't bad just fragile. These things (below) are really the sheet used in the right way, but they aren't comfortable, a tent or a great place to sleep. I don't care what the picture says And 12 1/2oz (my weigh) for a 2 man version. http://brooks-range.com/UltraLite-Alpini-Shelter-200.html I've use VBLs a lot and real bivy bags (like this) a lot. Never used both together because they defeat the purpose as each works to keep you warm. Synthetic bag, VBL line and a bivy bag will work but there are better (lighter and warmer) ways to deal with things generally. I use a custom Vireo with a water proof outer and a removable VBL liner. But if I need a VBL might as well take a warmer bag generally and or a 2.5# tent. Bivy tents are a miserable way to climb but they will keep you going with little else besides a stove required. Half bags were developed in part to keep the majority of the bag out of the sack so it would stay drier. How dry you stay in the bag and your jacket fairs depends on the amount of ventilation the bivy bag has. The more ventilation the colder the bag will be inside. But one of these, a small stove and the clothes on your back would have likely kept you warm on Fitroy. The idea was proven long ago in the alps on every major north face and likely used on the first ascent of Fitroy.

Hey I have read the Quran, nothing in there about fish tacos. But just to be clear here...supposedly I was infected in my early 20s. And I can tell you up front my taste for fish tacos took a decade or so past that to develope. So I call BS on the cause or at least the timing. My guess is there is a lot more the medical world doesn't know about all this than they do know. It's called practicing medicine for a real reason.

Al-Qaeda? I have a few incredibly beautiful suspects on my list and none of them Thai hookers. No one named Al-Qaeda or McCallboater though Unless someone wasn't telling me the truth

"Probably best not to do anything with a thai hooker." Ya think?

Thanks everyone. Round 2 of chemo is next week. Which gives a whole no definition to the term suffering, trust me on that one. Ivan?..BTDT already made all those jokes myself "I got freakin cancer from skanky WHAT ?!" Interesting factoids as I naviagate this... 40% of the girls brought in for the vacine between 10 and 12 years old already have HPV. So being sexually active isn't the entire background of this virus. No numbers on the boys yet. Most importantly according to the Federal CDC, HPV P16 driven cancers are is literally at pandemic proportions for men between 30 and 60 today. It will get much worse very quickly within that population and the age will drop. More interesting to me and likely most reading here. All of us are at risk. My family Dr. after looking twice couldn't find anything wrong with me after getting back last spring from the Alps. But I knew from my slow recoveries (noticed with a HR monitor) after a couple of our climbs that something was wrong. (there are other likely symtoms, I just didn't have any of them...none!) If I han't followed up and pushed the issue on this I'd likely have a terminal prognosis in 9 months or less instead of a likilyhood of a total cure. My cancer was stage 4 when finally found in Sept. And I knew some bad shit was happening since April! In August I was told, "no worry, we've checked and it is not cancer!" Talk about a dumb ass medical community. I just couldn't put a finger on it until the minor swelling on the side of my throat showed up. And finally thankfully it is a HPV driven throat cancer (sex jokes aside) anything else in the throat found at stage 4 and you likely have zero options outside a pine box and a 6' dirt dive. My thought is, trust no one...and follow through yourself if you suspect something. Just like in climbing be your own best advocate and pay attention to the details of your own health. No one else will! Vaccinate if you can..other wise get an education if you are at risk. Anyone, man or woman with more than one sexual partner is at a higher risk. The higher the number the higher the risk. (including the sheep obviously Sobo and Ivan are gonna die and thankfully I am not contagious Helps to know where your partners have been as well. But it is only part of the whole story and only the surface of this one. Feel free to turn this into a educational discussion on the cancer if anyone wants more info. There isn't a lot of info available but I know more than I did in August and will share.

ROCK on guys! Nice line!