Dane

"There are lots of folks who *try* to portray climbers as thrill seeking adventure junkies who put their lives at risk at the taxpayer's expense when a rescue/recovery occurs." Try?...you are kidding right? "portray climbers as thrill seeking adventure junkies who put their lives at risk" And you are going to change that fact how exactly? Me thinks several here protest too much. Heaven forbid anyone with a PHD in sports medicine think about preventing climbing injuries or getting any help from the community to figure out just how high the injury rate is. http://www.oumedicine.com/body.cfm?id=2984 Surprsied how many can mimic the Sarah Palin caricature here.

I've used Polar gear a lot on the bike, swimming, running, hiking and most important, climbing. For me the fabric chest strap becomes a pia after 20 hrs or so straight. Other than that I don't really notice it as long as you keep them clean. Polar's are very accurate. Durability is an issue all around (most models/instruments) if you use them hard/everyday. But the warrenty is good. I got into the Polar stuff for the 2nd time after trying a Mio..which didn't do what I needed but I didn't want a chest strap. The new fabric straps made all the difference with the Polar watches. I was a Polar Nat. Team member for 3 years and a user long before that and long after. If you have specific questions feel free to send me an PM.

Lots of ways to die climbing. A gear sling strangling you is one of the most unlikely. In the incident mentioned "the rescue medic reported her deceased on site, and later offered the assessment that she was likely killed instantly given the nature and severity of her injuries." So no one strangled on a gear sling. As tragic and imo a totally freak accident. Here is the extremely sad story behind it. http://www.summitpost.org/account-of-obelisk-accident/575614

David still inspires me.

I really though Will's comments were spot on. Most aren't elite and even high end atheletes can usually eat what they want or at least what they burn. "They (tour riders or pro riders in general) have it so dialed in that they eat a certain amount of a certain kind of protein, fat, etc. at a certain time of the day or exactly so many minutes before a stage." Few train as hard as those guys and yes nutrition is a big part of their lives. The real stand outs climbing in any generation put it "all" together.

I've seen gear dropped when the climber "thought" the gear was clipped, off the harness or off a gear sling. Not seen anything ever bumped off a gear sling. Seen plenty bumped off a harness. Gear gets dropped by fumble fingers as well. It was mentioned else where that if you drop the gear sling you drop the entire rack. Only time i have the entire rack on one sling unattached to a body is taking it out of the pack at the start of a climb. If you block out a lead and the 2nd ends up with the entire rack (seldom seen it happen) less the anchors I can see a problem if you aren't careful on the change over.

Yea or nay? Discuss? http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/05/lowly-gear-sling.html

This got rather long. Truth is if you can really ski, boots and skis don't matter all that much. Kinda like ice climbing, most any tool or 'pon will do if you will. So I am alwasy looking for an edge to make me "better". Some of the "new" skis have a fairly large tip and tail and a narrow waist or even a wide waist. New style stuff is generally considers a "shaped" ski. Old technology mountaineering skis aren't as "shaped" and have less side cut. Soft boots don't turn wide skis (wide under the foot) well because they are harder to get on the edge. Narrow under the foot takes less leverage, which a soft mtn boot is more capable of. Boot sole might well be wider than the ski. Most mountaineering specific skis will run 80cm or less under foot. Shaped or fat skis will go 100cm plus under foot and literally as fat as water skis at tip and tail. The trick is mating what you want to use for boots to a ski the boot is capable of turning and what you want the ski to be able to do. For me a Spantik is not the best boot to turn a 130/90/117 mm (176 cm) 6# 10oz. On the other hand my Spantik will easily turn a 88-67-76 168cm. 5# 4oz These even easier. 113-78-100 163 cm 5# 4oz Part of it is the length, part is the ski flex and part is the side cut of the ski. Put on real ski boots and you (or someone) can turn anything with a binding on it. From Colin's post here: Skis The usefulness of approach skis depends on the range you are climbing in, the nature of the terrain where you will be, and the season you will be there. On many expeditions skis would be useless, but on many others it would be completely impossible to travel without them. Snowshoes are typically much slower and less efficient than skis, but do have the advantage of being lighter. For this reason, the one situation when snowshoes are a good choice is if you expect to have to carry them on your backpack for a long ways before using them on your feet. Telemark bindings have no useful application in alpine climbing, and the randonee bindings that you choose should work well with mountaineering boots (which usually means a wire bail front). A good ski setup for alpine climbing is very different from a good ski setup for backcountry skiing. The skis should be lightweight and short, with a length from 130-160cm. Skis this short are much easier to turn when wearing mountaineering boots. Some skis are specifically designed as approach skis and come in these shorter lengths, but you can otherwise just buy an old pair of kids skis at a ski swap. Also, it is best to use skis with a waist that is relatively narrow by modern standards – mountaineering boots do not provide much lateral support compared to ski boots, so it is hard to put wide skis on edge. A trick that is very useful for skiing in mountaineering boots is to use ‘knee-cords,’ a cord that runs from the tip of your skis to a strap right below your knee. By tensioning such a cord you essentially mimic the effect of a high-backed ski boot and will stay in control much more easily in variable snow and with a heavy backpack. Drill a hole through the tip of your skis, and connect the knee-cord to the tip using 5-6mm perlon with a stopper knot on the underside of the hole in the tip. The tension on the knee-cords should be easily adjustable while you are wearing them, as should the tension in the strap around your knee." Colin's done as much on skis in the conditions I ma thinking about lately as anyone i know. Check out April for the last few years. http://colinhaley.blogspot.com/ Colin's short, narrow and skinny set up with Spantiks. Spantik is one of the most stiff dbl boots available and makes a decent old school ski boot. Intuition liners make them even stiffer. This might well be s better plan...but not convinced yet.

Hey Matt. Been skiing a bit since I got home. Crystal is suppose to be open through July. We'll see. I just bought a pair of Dynafit skis in 160cms. And hopefully will have a couple of pair of short demos to try out with Dynafit bindings. Will S. was sking 160s with his 6000s to good effect with touring bindings. I think part of taking advantage of mtn boots is make sure you get a narrow waisted mountaineering ski without huge side cut. I have a couple pair of the TLT5 boots here right now. Not sure they are going to be the answer for me on technical climbing. Awesome ski boot though..the lwt ones are the same as a pair Nepals Evos or a bit less than a Baturas. Be interested to see what you come up with.

Good feedback Kevin, thanks.

Hey, remember I did like the color!

Lashing? Geezus..suck it up and get a longer rope I can borrow next time

send it to me and let me check it out for you

Over retail...you kidding me? Why would anyone now with the new Quark and Ergo available? The new Nomic will be avilable in th fall of '11 again. But then I just got in a pair of the old style Cascade picks from Mtn Gear at $5. over retail and 2 pair of new ICE picks from BC.com at retail...that were obviously take off picks that some where in the sales chain has repackaged and resold. Both stores have more of each style in stock. It is a strange world :-)

5 minute survey..no personal info that can be easily traced required.

Distal bicep detach seems to be fairly common in the climbing community for those that have been around awhile. Rare else where I was told.

Thanks Mikey. I saw the write up and the hard ice conditions just getting on your new line. And wondered. Glad it was Kate and not me I brought a "Carver" home to make myself one. Haven't doen it yet and didn't get to talk much with Colin in Cham so the topic never came up. Let me know if you ever get to use it as intended.

Mike? Like this but with a hammer?

Looks like Bradley has the Fox hammer, Simond is still making a Fox Rock versions. SMC makes a 50cm hammer. Grivel has several offerings. I like the AT Evo hammer. BD has the Raven. Petzl has several offerings that would work... like the Aztarex. Daniel asks for, "a short hammer with a big striking surface, a straight shaft, a pinky rest, and a recurve pick would be sweet." Kurt and Layton want a Fox? Fox axe Fox Rock I like the SMC but it is heavy. A full size tool that can easily replace your axe. Petzl AZTAREX Depending on what you require anything from a Chouinard Alpine hammer or an old Terrordactyl, Chacal or Pulsar would work as well. Chacal I still use an Chouinard hammer on occasion to pound pins. I also have carried a Petzl Snow Racer (340g @ 50cm) with a pair of Nomics in the alpine to get over the shrund or on steep snow where a good straight tool shaft might allow you to continue where a radically bent tech tool's bent shaft is useless and surface conditions won't allow a pick to stick. Places where a Cobra or Quark or even an AZTAREX might make more sense than a Nomic or Ergo. Nothing wrong with a long axe. But I'd keep a hammer under 45cm. I've used really short hammers (38/40/45) with long and short traditional axes (60cm and 50cm) to climb up to WI4+ on waterfalls and in the alpine. Looking through my old tools, no less than a half dozen different short hammer/axe combos What were once considered N wall hammers or just the mate to your tool with an adze. Now I am less concerned about having a hammer..even less so about an adze but do want a straight shaft on occasion for steep snow.

Agreed. You walk through the Chamonix cemetary and so many Simonds lost in the mtns there. Then think back and remember the Simond Chacal was really the first modern tool. You don' have to imagine where the experience and design genious for that tool went. I'd love to have a pair of Paranha in decent shape. Mikey did those hammers stay in one piece?

I'm in for the $20.... I've done it the other way a few times and a cat sounds like more fun to me. Makes skiing down more fun too...since you don't have to ski or lug them up! I suspect most here leave a car on the road some where. I'd be more impressed if they walked to the mountain...and brought their tablet and the burnng bush as well

FWIW when I was Chamonix and looked into visiting the Simond factory I was told they had sold the brand name and would soon no longer be building ice tools. Going to soft goods. Currently there web site still lists the Fox in a couple of versions. I made lwt hammers from Fox Carving axes this winter for Mikey and Colin but haven't hear how they worked out. http://www.simond.com/shop/categorie/cat-2-Ice-axes/cat-13-Mountaineering/ FF has it right i think. Most anything will work for a picket. Pitons? Not so much but more options than you might think. I've used adzes to place pitons a tiem or two.

"fwiw. winter conditions can make things easier to climb or harder" Ha, ha easy to say on the internet ;-) The change in a full two moths between Feb and April conditions in the Alps? Pretty obvious difference any year. No doubt both are amazing athletes.

Great effort. But... "Spring/Summer/Fall" (April 20 in this case) and Winter (Feb 18 for Ueli's climb) climbs are generally not thought comparible. The Hinterstoisser Traverse time had little to do with 20 min I suspect. More likely the temps and the condition of the ice on the wall and how much more rock was climbable. Conditions have been pretty dry last month or so and the temps have been going up.

Much as I love my Nomics a decent axe will get you up most things. It is an acquired taste I suspect. A old Chouinard alpine hammer might well do the trick as well for the OP.