Dane

Cool technology. I have a set if you want to try them Bill. I'm still working ice for a few months yet hopefully.

Will Finley's page has Feezy Nut info and much more. http://www.peakaweek.com/index.cfm

Mark you should be beat'in to a bloody pulp I'll buy the beer next time we meet and you can share the story.

No worries on the tools, the wait was getting the parts from Mtn Tools. Thanks for the business! Yes I did get to look at the "trigrest" and yes it should be available as a add-on once available. They have a part number for it in the new catalog. It should work fine on your Aztars. But seriously, not every tool makes a good tool to match and climb leashless on. Your Aztars while better than most are at the bottom end of that scale. I'd suggest making a point of trying some other tools, Fusion and Nomic come to mind, before trying the add ons when they become available in the fall.

A short follow up on the Baruntse. With some snow slogging, a bit of grade 3 water ice and a few harder things, best case scenario is I can say is I never noticed the boot. That says a lot. Warm! Warmer than most will ever require and I think equally as warm as the Spantik but for me at least a much more technical boot, better fit, and much easier for me to tie with an easier to heat mold the inner boot. Comfy as well!

All the picks are T rated now as well. Ergo head with the new spacer. Nomic and Ergos new "spike" end and the place you can get a tiny tie off through for umbilicals. And the Grivel tools...may be the Ergo isn't so radical after all.

Last issue of R&I has a good write up by DR on the new Scarpa single boot, Phantom Guide. They look and feel even better in person. The newest Phantom 6000 dbl isn't on the web page last I checked. So thought some might want to see it as well. The two boots in the new Phantom series so far are REALLY low profile and lwt boots. Hopefully I'll be using a pair of the dbls shortly and can give more feedback and a detailed review and comparison to my Sportiva Baruntse (incredible boot btw) and the Spantik. My take from playing with them @ the OR show is they will be as big a jump in mtn boots technology as the Sportiva Batura and Spantik were a couple of years ago. Crampon fit might be a bit of an issue though with the extremely low profile toe and soles. But the same will make them climb really well I suspect. We'll have to wait and see. The boots should be out to retailers in a month or so. Check Amazon and Backcountry on delivery dates if you are interested. Plenty of time I am hoping for the spring Alaska season. Amazing just how good the gear is getting! The last generation Scarpa Phantom Lt had already won the enviable reputation of being a more durable boot than the Batura on the long Chamonix mixed routes. I am hoping they continue to live up to their reputation with the newest boots. Phantom Guide, single boot with attached super gaiter. New Phantom 6000, looks to be one of the lowest profile and lowest volume dbl boots on the market. I suspect it will be a big hit for some of us.. For my own use I have thought what was really needed was a bit less volume than the newest huge dbls and all the current technology to come up with a boot that was warm enough for most winter stuff and would still climb very well. I suspect the 6000 has answered some of that request.

Good comments......the "50 ice" especially so...it aint generally like any other 50 degree ice you'll ever climb. Think what it might be like to climb 50 degree concrete

So who is going to put in the boot tracks? I was up at Source Lake this afternoon. Lots of fat lines and they are building. I suspect the lines on Snoqulamie (Pineapple and NY) will be good as well. Used lwt 'pons to walk the ski track a few hundred yards past the lake this afternoon

First thing you'll want to do is get a pair of tools designed to stack and match on BTW yours shipped back yesterday. Next place to get a quick eduction is the alpine climb videos on tvmountain.com. A couple of really good one there that taught me a lot about stacking tools and using leashless tools in general. http://www.tvmountain.com/index.php/tvm/alpinisme?start=200

Shit...now that I think about it ...yes, they are hollow and pure carbon... but it isn't anything as thin as a bike frame. And I do remember seeing a sectioned Cobra shaft some where so my mistake, they are indeed hollow. I got inundated with BD info/history of tools/shafts and picks this week and can't be trusted unless i have a picture of it. I know it isn't the old technology of carbon wrapped over aluminum which could be a problem and don't survive the curb test for long. Cobra I am told goes till the guy's arms wear out. (edited to correct my stupidity)

Not like I dream this shit up. I asked those involved and repeated the info here. Why am I not surprised someone would get offended.

I'd like to clarify if I may? The newest Petzl tools will be available early Fall. Tools shown at OR were close but not production (there were no production tools being shown) and the newest tools haven't been around long...according to Peter Popall of Petzl and the guys out with Ueli Steck last week.

No worries...nothing compared to the curb test. Seriously I saw some of the curb test Cobras this week at the BD factory and You are good to go. It is only cosmetic and nothing to repair. I'll post a picture of one of their "test" tools when I get time later in the week. I ride Cervello and S works frames and the major differenece is you have a solid handled tool. It is not hollow. Bike frames would be toast if they looked like that.

Nice photo, W!

You may already know this but others might wonder. Alaska routes even short ones like mmf are way more than just the technical grade. If you aren't climbing WI5 at the home crags MMF might be a fairly big bite to chew at WI4. As John said...alpine routes change...season to season...or week to week depending on conditions.

My point was only that even if I can't imagine using armor I can imagine the need and the resulting possibilities.

yep...pain is generally natures way of telling you get better or slow down I like the old idea of "rack, sack and shirt on you back." Armor I like to save for frags and incoming rounds. But I'd never intentionally step on imagination and armor is certainly looking at another step to the edge.

He was indeed French and a true gentleman. Besides being a hard ass alpine climber with an obvious way with the women So yes, he did live up to the French sterotype. But then the French have enough fashion sense not to wear their 'pons on the wrong feet. Disposable? Yes, they are disposable...which is why they sell replacement parts... Some companies sell front points....Petzl sells you half a crampon. I love the design but have to question the rational.

Good info. I have a fairly intensive belay/bivy jacket review (nine Denali weight jackets reviewed) coming soon that might help enlighten you on choices these days. My conclusions/results may surprize you. But at least you'll see many of what I consider the better choices and their detailing. DAS and two Feathered Friends jackets are reviewed and two of my first choices originally. And all three nice jackets. But none of the three get high marks in the side by side comparison of my review. Which came as quite a surprise to me.

Talked with the actual designer of the Dartwin this weekend. When asked his thoughts on the shorter inside front point and his design work, he looked at me like I was completely ignorant (he was close obviously )and said "it is for your splayed feet of course" and never missed a beat as he continued telling about new tools.

Their wire gate is slick...single wire gate with a ball head lock up. I'll post those as well. $10+ each @ retail! Check out the newest pictures at the alpineexposures web site.

i'll have a bunch of detail photos to post once I get home mid week. Maybe someone else can or will sooner? That was Friday nite Mike not last night Come on, ya gotta keep up!

So few have climbed on the Ergo yet Rafeal. Even Ueli Steck didn't get his till last week and I was told everything out is still prototypes and even showed why. Really only cosmetic changes but all the tools at the show are marked "sample not for sale". Couple of Petzl guys were able to got out on them last night but I didn't get to talk with them. But from the guys like us using Nomics my take is they might well have some advantages on mixed. And still be good on moderate ice in dagger and a high grip swing, even though the tools was designed for the overhanging world cup type stuff. So is the high end Grivel tool (radical bend) that is very close to the Ergo in clearenece and House/Anderson used that tool 2 years ago on Alberta.

Other Scarpa is more Nepal Evo like. Looks like a good boot. The umbilical attachment is new and hidden on the Nomic and Ero. I have detail pictures I'll post next week when I get home. Can't remember if they used the same system as well as the spike hole on the new Quark but I'll look.