Dane

Two volume set by Francois Damilano, "Snow Ice and Mixed" The guide to the Mont-Blanc Range. Available in English, French and Italian I believe. Publisher is JMEditions Great books!

Apoc is a great jacket. Neoshell is very good but so are the other new stretchy hard shells.

"I kinda figure they were a "sport climbing thing" as I generally walk to the rocks with a funky ruck, my sheet everywhere, impossible to find in 2 minutes and the rope gets immediately thrown in the dirt. That system has been tried and true for years. And it worked." http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/10/monkey-on-my-back.html

Graham try to keep up The video/climb is from Jan 10 2010. It is in the opening credits. Nothing to do with the date it was put online. 18 months ago now. No reason to doubt John's comments.

"All of this said there's no correct answer but I will say that the new (2011 and 2012) fabrics are a paradigm shift." I agree with that observation. But having samples of something like 90% of the newest fabrics here right now I don't see anything that I can't replace and do as well with from last year. But Polartec has some amazing new fabric technology spread across all the lines. I am still trying to figure out what fabric/fabrics work best for my own use.

Good info on the Monster, thanks. How are they to rap on? Also like the fact they are rated as a twin and a dbl, which I also did not know.

Neither hard or soft but the best I have seen to date and I have seen just about all of them... Atom Lt Hoody. The newest Patagonia Knifeblade is a decent soft shell if you can deal with a pull over. *Polartec Power Shield Pro* rocks which is what the Knifeblade is cut from. If I were to buy a soft shell no question it is the material I would want. Acto is an option as well. But having one in hand myself now it is not as "new" as this blog post would have you think. I'll correct that implication asap. http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-arcteryx-soft-shell.html

I am likely the only one still rocking the old school Darts around here. Me and the guy climbing in John's second hand pair now. And no G22s in my future. House...? 2011 maybe http://video.patagonia.com/video/Repentance-Remission-2 2010? Looks like he was rockin the Rambo to good effect. Jim had these at 40% off recently. Another awesome 'pon. Not like the actual crampons have ever placed much of a limit on any of us.

I like my G22s so hard to argue that. But the Dartwins fit all my boots better.

FWIW I use and love the Beal Ice twins all winter. I'm on my third set. I figure two maybe three winters. If you climb much 3 is likely pushing them. Love 'um except when it comes to steep raps like off the Pencil or the Midi bridge...there or places like that they are a little sketchy. New Petzl Reverso helps some though. But the flip side to that is the they are a pleasure to carry in the alpine.

If Pro Mtn Sports burns down in the really near future...I just want you to know I am going to claim senility, and blame it on the young Dr. in SLC Mix and matching heels and fronts can be done..easy enough but I refuse to do it. Front and rear bails are bad enough. New boots or new crampons would seem in order.

Funny you should ask. I sent an email a few days ago that wasn't answered fast enough for me. No big surprise of course as I get a little anzy not having tools. So I called the front desk today. They in turn hooked me up with Matt in warrenty and returns. Two minutes later (and they don't know me from John Frieh) I had an RA# and a UPS label in my email. 20 minutes later I hooked up with the UPS truck.

I sent my tools from last year in today. I was told that the new tools are ready and would be shipped within a day of mine arriving in SLC/Clearfield. Hard for anyone to do any better.

Good book, crazy guys. Nice to hear they are still climbing.

Better to have what you need and not need it than not have what you need and REALLY need it

What a great thread! I've always wanted o do a day of "old style" ice climbing, with wool, leatehr and wood involved. May be we should do a day of trad shoes, hexes and swami belts in Leavenworth before the snow flies. I should be safe enough if Sobo comes along Josh and I did laps on Givlers a few years ago with only a small rack of hexs. It was way fun.

I know Paul ...but if you thought the Whillians was a nut crusher the 2" flat stuff would cut and bruise your gut badly in a fall. On the other hand a 2" tube swami was pretty comfortable in a fall and never got close to your family jewells Not cuts and little bruising. No question almost everyone climbs circles around me. But here is what I find interesting. How Burgner and Stanley did Prusik before the Culchuck/Stauart trail head. Or Easter Overhang with pins. Robbins by himslef on Cavel for the 2nd ascent. Lowe and Jones on Twin in 1974! Different points of interest but all amazing adventures I suspect. But no more or less than Gorilla's in the Mist. The big alpine faces haven't changed but how we appraoch them has. What were truly amazing and painful winter ascents in the Alps in the '70s we do as day climbs now. That I find amazing. The fact that gear has made such a big difference (and climate change) in what is possible. The Eiger is still hard....the climbers may be hard today. But the Eiger in wool, leather and hemp rope...that is the definition of HARD. I like seeing the changes and being in it long enough to experience the changes. Respect is due to those that came befor us and the ones ripping it up now. I like being a part of that community no matter how often anyone of us wants to puff up his own chest and crow a bit For no particular reason other than I am still standing, my turn!

Matt you are correct. Good catch, more likely a bowline on a coil. We used the bowline, then 1" tube and then 2" tube. 2" was a big jump up in comfort. I used that (later with leg loops when required but didn't like them) through the '80s and lots of good rock climbing. We bypassed the 2" seat belt stuff as too painful and had the Whillians inbetween (and all the alpine stuff) a bowline and 2" tube. Funny memory along those lines. I once took a clean 70' fall on lead with a 2" double wrapped swami and about that much rope out. Easy catch and no ill effects. My partner a 150' on a Whillians and hip belay. Easy on the belayer a little rough on the leader as he hit some things on the way down. I distinctly remember climbing with Ron Burgner in the early '70s and him using a bowline on a coil. I remember it because it was rare that anyone still used that system intentionally on difficult rock. But Burgner and Thom Nephew used a 2" swami belt more often than not from my limited memories. Likely the first I saw of that system as well.

Well done Mark, congrads! You make it sound easy And great write up. I remember the angle well. And happy to have it for that mantle even with my fingers greasing off it and I tried to shut down my lizard brain telling me I was about to die and start climbing again. Still amazes me they freed that crack and placed pins while doing so back in 1967. No calk, no sticky rubber, not even in Eb's yet and in a swami belt all the while. How cool was that?

Mark asked and answered a few questions here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1035647#Post1035647

Now I am curious. Anyone been up there recently? Is there still a pin at the crux?

Easily could have been. Where was the pin and what pro did you get "nearby"? Right side in it is easy to describe where the pin was originally.

This is the outside profile of the Lynx. The second set is angled back. The earlier pictuce angle is deceptive. The small third point on the inside, shown in the picture previous, isn't adding much, but nice to have.

MH2's photo from the Taco I've always thought the crack on Easter Overhang was straight forward and the chimney as well. The transition between crack and squeeze chimney not so much. Bloody awkward. The fixed pin was a god send for me on every ascent. The chimney on the last pitch on Reeds Direct seemed similar enough and a bit harder to me. But the grade creep seems typical these days and I suspect happens to many climb that are awkward and not easily duplicated in a gym and/or the pro marginal. I did a old school 5.8 from the '70s a few weeks ago. It was bumped to a 5.9- back in the mid '80s in the local guide but the route description was lacking enough that you have to wonder if the author ever climbed the route. The most recent guide book simply copied the previous. Still wouldn't give the climb a 5.9 rating. But we thought Damnation was 5.8 back then as well. And the climbs do have a lot in common. My partner who lead the same climb on sight last week with minimal beta. He thought it some where between .10a and .10b. And he is no kid, but a gym rat by necessity most of the year. Nothing changed on that route either in the last 30 years. Nothing but the sticky shoes and more expensive pro. Passive pro actually did a better job on this one bitd. No surprize that Ron Burgner was involved in both FFAs. 1967 on the FFA of Easter Overhang with Jim Madsen, the 1968 Burgner/Stanley on Prusik and a very early free ascent of the climb below with Thom Nephew. For the locals Ron also did a FFA of Arachnid Arch, 5.11d, back in the '60s as well. Arachnid Arch was originally rated 5.10.

one, Salewa Hinged, size 2, 324g one, Dartwin, 460g