Dane

Roberts is extremely good and knows what we do.

Petzl gave you the wholesale/dealer price on the replacement Visor kit. As good or better than what most companies normally do. If the visor is installed and attached properly (not all that easy imo) they don't fall off unless you break them. I've been packing one (visor on my Meteor) around most of the winter but inside my pack and inside a (bigger) helmet bag. I expected to break the visor (and maybe the Meteor) every trip. This time of year I don't use the visor and won't again till late Nov. I'm not generally that anal about taking care of my gear but the Petzl visor obviously isn't the most durable piece of gear by design or required funtion. Loose one and I'd call it operator error, no warrenty would apply. Just my 2 cents.

New review and comparison for those interested. Sweet boot btw http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/04/scarpa-phantom-guide-vs-la-sportiva.html

Ferratas rock! Climbing looks so/so but Liz looks hot! Unsure on the hat for the moment Retro '80s may be?

Better to ask Colin Haley he seems to have some depth of experience with that kind of nonsense We used to saw some pretty big ones with gold line while one of us was on top and one below which seemed reasonable...well sorta reasonable anyway. We also use to pack around 30 or 40# of dynamite while on skiis and blow shit up in the dark while it was snowing so hard you couldn't see even if it was light...so reasonable is always relative to the moment. Right now sitting here all of it seems pretty stupid for $7. an hour! Way fun though

We did sawing a lot to save caps on Patrol. But sawing doesn't work all that great from below

BTW guys, nice work on Outer Space. Fine effort on a true classic!

More than fair. Leavenworth puritanical...not likely...ever. Simply because the climbing population has been too transient until just recently. Germany, old eastern bloc, but not Leavenworth.

My apologies to the OP for the complete hijack. PP, how is turning an old aid line into a free line...not traditional? Serious question not trying to be pissy. Gotta remember 5.12 was pretty hard anywhere in the mid '80s. Runout 5.11 still is if the B-Y is any example. Been 25 years or more now and I still don't see those face lines on the upper left of the Shield getting done a lot. Seemed pretty heady stuff at the time compared to pushing new trad cracks @ .11+ and easy 12.

Agreed on the quality of the shield section of Iconoclast. Haven't done anything but OS above LL. But my understanding from some old conversations is the bolts were placed at different times and by differing parties while trying to make a free climb out of an old hook and aid line. The usual local Leavenworth suspects in the mid '80s. Wasn't something that interested me so my memory could well be wrong.

No, on the easy aid. If you think a 5.5 chimney blows, 5.10d is going to be rude. Better to get on Easter Overhang and Carnival crack and see what you think. Both are easier to get off of if you want to bail.

I'm no cornice expert. Thoughts? Cornices aren't safe. So you go to the smallest over hanging section to tunnel through. A caution, at the bottom of cornice where the slope and cornice meet can be some really weird and unstable snow. I took a long ride off the bottom of a cornice once when the area just under the cornice collasped as I started to tunnel. Axes work, small, stout shovels are better. Makes the tunnel longer but I like a little less angle for more purchase once inside the tunnel. So I don't dig vertically. Try to get inside the hypothetical fracture line quickly. Just pray it doesn't decide to come off as you are digging.

Psychopath is the obvious pitch to do while you're there as it looks pretty good. I love finger cracks and found it less than spectacular in the grand scheme of finger cracks. Good pro on a less than vertical slab, crux at the end for me. Add RPM in as well. Iconoclast is really just the approach pitches to Hyperspace. The exit on to the Shield and the Iconoclast "connect" to OS is easily to identify when you are there. I thought Hyperspace a good climb and especially liked the stellar hand cracks high up in the corner. Although the thorny under growth was annoying at times. Those hand cracks made the effort worthwhile. The Pressure Chamber? Not so enjoyable but nice line.

Baturas are -sold-

Have and use both dbls but lack an opinion What ever you do shop around. Going price for either is $500. on line. The other two boots I have been impressed by lately is the newest Scarpa Phantom Guide (single boot with built in gaiter) available now and the newest Phantom 6000 double boot which should be available mid summer or so.

New Nepal Evo is warmer and fit better anyway. Going to cost you $100 plus at best to fix your boots. I'd suck it for at $380 on sale at: https://www.alpenglowgear.com/gear/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=570gear/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=570&gclid=COPm1PSeoaECFR16gwod51TAxA

Couple of observations...Looks like your boots got really hot somewhere, which is why the rands are cracking and the sole delam I would suspect. The rands need to be replaced as well. I would wonder about the condition of the leather at that point. Best answer I have seen to fix them is from Dave Page in Seattle. He did the Spantiks below and suspect he can do your Nepals as well since he is the authorised La Sportiva repair guy. Good luck! "Dave Paige did the resole. La Sportiva does not import the Spantik sole, hence the Nepal sole on my Spantik boot...

Walking or climbing down is always a smart option under stressful terrain. Think an axe in your hand is bad? Try a broken ski pole and how many ways it can add another hole in your body. The big boys (that stay alive) use a real axe or Whippets as required. Colin again: "He unexpectedly hit a big patch of blue ice, obscured by just a few inches of powder, and started sliding. Almost in disbelief, Nils and I watched as Magnus several times almost gained control on small bits of snow, but then hit more ice and kept sliding, eventually hitting a rock band and tumbling over it. After the rock band Magnus immediately starting tumbling down the 45 to 50 degree face, and in well less than a minute fell 700 vertical meters, to past the bergshrund." Self arresting on blue ice is just about impossible to do no matter what you are using or your skill level. Better pray for a good run out if it happens. Soloing technical ice is fun and secure done with the right gear. Skiing similar terrain or anything that would require a rope for protection in a fall...not so much.

Hey Dan, I noticed this post on self arrest with ski poles in "Colin distilled" some time back. "A link showing how to self arrest with ski poles, basically you put the pole inside of your armpit and put all your weight into it. Will not work on ice, actually works pretty well on somewhat steep snow." On even black diamond runs at a ski area a ski pole self arrest is of minimal use imo. I just didn't want to get into on that thread. While obviously some extreme skiing by Colin and his partners few rely on ski poles in the BC for self arrest. Black Diamond Whippet Colin, "I scrambled to press myself as far against the left side of the gully as possible, and dug my whippets into the slope. The avalanche pulled hard on my backpack and the tails of my skis, and I was only just barely able to keep from being swept off the cliffs to my death. "

Good price. FWIW the DAS large is somewhere just the other side (as in big) of everyone else's normal XL. more here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/937529/Belay_jacket_review_part_1#Post937529 http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/02/belay-jacketsthe-heavy-weights.html

The other guy sez: "I'm not sure that, as a newbie climber, I wouldn't have had the inclination to post something similar had I thought that I'd managed an FA. Just tone it down a few notches dude" Bunch of us here in the same boat...easy to get excited about climbing and want our accomplishments known and acknowledged. We just didn't have the ability to reach such a BIG (and informed) audience or be vunerable to anonymous attacks for doing so bitd. Any TR report is cool. Claiming FAs without some serious research or common sense is not....all in my opinion of course. Think not? Take a look here? http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=867796 I consider myself a serious student of mountaineering history with legit FAs on all types of terrain. A couple of years later now and I still have questions on reports and FA info after talking with many who have climbed the several lines I was discussing in that thread. Does it matter? No. All are good climbs and it is obvious I didn't do any of them first But I did do them..that is what is important to me. Colin, you're getting flayed, not for the TR or the FA claim..but for your entire persona on cc.com. You might want to think about that as Kayfire and many others have suggested. The "spray" in this thread deserves to be here I think. TRs and FAs are VALUABLE history to the climbing community and should be taken seriously. We as climbers need to take it seriously both in posting good info and ridiculing bad. You aren't the only one to take some heat over what others perceive as misteps. Blake H. has as well...deserved or not. Anyone that stands out will be a lightening rod for someone's angst. Buy a helmet (do your homework), be prepared to get fried (held responsible for what you say), but figure in that way you are in good company! It was just a matter of time before this kind of response happened on a TR. Too bad someone obviously fired up and and may be a little naive about climbing had to take the blunt of it. But....it is not the worse thing that can happen in climbing

Couple of thoughts. Gene, as always offeres good advice up front, "if it rains, go home. really.. So first is don't go out/stay out in the rain if you are climbing. It is slippery and rockfall and avalanche hazard increases by leaps and bounds. Wool is a good base layer used in the right thickness. It will keep you much warmer than any synthetic when you need to dry out. Yes it dries slower. Which is a good thing when required. Synthetics have their place but not always next to the skin and not always the only available insulation. As you'll read later I am careful about wool as a base layer on my lower body. It aint old school. It is common sense if you have used both types of insulation. My answer to the rainy NW is dress extremely light. I don't try to stay dry, just warm. When I stop I change to dry clothes other wise I "work" in the wet. That generally means a shell that is not totally water proof but is extremely breathable. Or maybe even a lwt merino wool sweater as the outer "shell". No pit zip, nothing fancy just a wind layer with some water resistance. I'll happily sacrifice having a lwt breathable upper and lower system totally soaked through and change to dry gear at the end of the day (or end of the approach) ...or just get in my synthetic bag with wet gear and dry it (some or totally) over night with body heat. Hard shells don't go in your bag to dry..only your insulation or very breathable lwt shells. Been soaked to the skin many times and walked myself dry again. Not a big possibility of accomplishing that in Goretex if your inner layers are soaked through. If you are going from cold wet conditions to freezing conditions and don't have all this squared away you are asking for a real disaster. The same places SAR will end up. Same reasons weather reports are REALLY important and why people die every year. If I really want to stay dry. Like in SE Alaska for example where rain and 30 temps can be the norm day in and day out I use a totally water proof bib pant (commercial fishing gear) with a mesh liner and a good hooded Gortex jacket that over laps the pants. Knee high rubber boots go with that outfit as does a good hat of your choice. That system will keep you dry in any amount of rain. But you also have to manage the level of physical activity and not soak everything with your own sweat. Same idea when winter climbing in colder temps. Body temp management is no different in the rain than in the cold...what you'll pay for not doing it correctly is the differenece. Camping...synthetic bags will dry some of your lwt gear with body heat...but it can't do miracles. But you will sleep warm. If it is raining you won't need a very thick synthetic bag. Speaking of synthetics. Primaloft 1 really is the most effective synthetic available currenty and a big advancement in insulation. It makes a big difference in this application and in winter as well. Tents? Want to stay dry? Think BIG and with a rain fly, as in dbl layer. Forget the single layer tends no matter the matterial. Bring a sponge to mop up the tent floor. Screw the open bottom tents in serious rain....water goes to the low point of what ever surface you are on. Tent floors keep some water out...sealed tent floors, tent foot prints set up with drainage in mind and an active sponge brigade will keep the rest to a managable level. Boots? Nothing will keep you dry in real rain. Rubber boots get wet from the inside and your own sweat. Gortex, leather, plastic? All get wet eventually if you are out long enough and it is coming down hard enough. Either from the inside or the outside. Or over the top....and down inside the boot. So? Fit your boots with light enough soxes that you can dry out your spares over night or during the day inside your layers. Dry soxes will prevent immersion foot even with wet boots for a while...but not forever. Wash in or spray on conditioners? They are not the answer. Clothing and body temp mangament skills are. Refresh your gear as required but don't look to the wash in/spray on additons as miracle workers either. Little story for you. We once started a long alpine climb (Canadin Rockies not the Cascades) in good weather that 4 hrs later was a light rain. By day's end it was a steady rain and we were stuck in a water fall trying to finish the last 300' of the climb...now 1000m off the ground. We were wearing mostly wool but had synthetic bags. We went to bed totally soaked but protected from the elements for the most part by an over hanging rock wall above us. Dry in the morning we finished the water fall pitch and totally soaked again, started the descent and 16 mile walk out to the road. By that day's end we had been soaked for 16 hrs and it started to rain hard again....still a good 10 miles form the road but this time with no shelter but our bivy bags and damp sleeping bags. I woke up during the night with a soaking wet sleeping bag and a puddle at my head 1/2" deep inside my bag....it was really raining hard. I moved out of the comfortable depression I was in for an uncomfortable knoll that drained water, and more than tired, went back to sleep. We got up as the rain stopped and walked our now only damp clothing, dry again, the next day. The one thing I wish...would have been different? The Harris tweed knickers rubbed my inner thighs so raw they were bleeding long before we hit the road on day 3. My leather boots were wet for a week after getting home but finally dried out stuffed with news paper. While wet the entire three days for the most part I was never really cold the entire trip. I was scared though...knowing what could happen if the temps dropped or we couldn't continue to keep moving. I had dreams of a hot, dry towel fresh out of the dryer for years after that trip. The one addition that would have made life something like 1000x better on that trip? A light weight pair of synthetic long johns under those wool knickers. With 1000s of $ of the most modern gear in my closet at the moment I would be hard pressed to be that comfortable in those conditions today. My answer if I were to do the same climb now? Pay more attention to what your first layer is, head to toe, dress lighter, climb faster...and the most important?? Don't climb in the freakin RAIN

re: FA on Haystack? "Get Fuzzy" in 4/25 Sunday Comics sez: "aw, fer the love of....your bar is so low it's impossible to humiliate you!"

Phantom Guide weights in at 2 lb 7.5oz in my size 45. Or .5oz more than the Batura in a size 45 which is 2 lb 7 oz. for comparison. So not the 1/2 lb lighter per foot we speculated over the Batura but actually a .5 oz heavier. Scarpas will take one less notch on the crampons though while being a 1/4 size or more longer inside the boot. It is a low profile single boot.

all sold-thanks! Batura New unworn, insulated Trango with built in gaiter $250. size 45 Lightly used Trango Extreme GTX.....4 months old $275. size 45