Dane

I lived in Leavenworth for a summer. Never been a place climbing access was so easy and never climbed so little. Summer was way too hot for me to think about rock climbing in the valley.

With absolutely no medical background to make these claims... ADHD is likely more common in our sport than some others if you look around. My theory is the focus has to be so intense while climbing that you get good fast. Again my theory is, ADHD allows for a more intense mental focus in a stressful, adrenaline soaked environment. Quick success generates more interest and off we go. Good thing or bad thing for ADHD peoples?...my jury is still out on my theory ....not sure it helps long term might even make it worse. Awesome short term therapy though

I'm a big fan of CCW and own a few of them. Be helpful is you'd measure from the bottom seam of the hip belt to the first seam down on shoulder strap horizontal seam.(where shoulder strap and pack part) Looks to be a 16" (small size) or so at best to me from the picture and how the straps are set up for your 19" torso. With that hip belt the pack is more akin to the Chernobyl not the Ozone. The Chernobyl is a medium-sized pack ideal for one to two day alpine climbs or dayclimbs in the winter." retail is $175. CCW web site info. Chernobyl back panel and hip belt: Stock CCW Ozone only comes in one size which is suppose to fit 16/19" back. CCW Chernobyl sizes are listed as: Small 14 to 16" back Reg 16 to 21" back These are pictures of a true 21" back panel on three custom sized Ozones. Very basic suspension system on the Ozone. Retail $95 Awesome packs, hopes someone finds a need for yours. Sorry for butting in but thought you had a better chance at selling with more info. I would have bought it if the size was right. Oh and PS...your pack already has ice axe loops sewn on

Think I posted this before. Last season I picked up 7 tools...5 of them Nomics....all dropped. Some lost to the original owners forever. And I saw two good whippers. (30+ feet) All things a pair of umbilicals would have prevented. This I forgot to add. The BD Spinner should be available at any BD dealer soon enough and on line now. http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/climb/technical-ice-tools/spinner-leash?gclid=CMXy8f2OoJ4CFSReagod9mcUmQ The current version from Grivel is in stock and available now from Mtn Tools in Carmel CA. "Order up ANY Grivel items - as we (Mtn Tools) are the factories mail order agents in North America. http://www.mtntools.com/index.html

Both boots are warm enough. The Koflachs are likely over kill. But it really depends how much time out you are planning to be out. Couple of days and the Nepals should be fine. Any more than that in cold weather and I prefer a dbl boot simple because you can dry (or at least try) them out every night. Evo is an exceptional cold weather/ moderate winter boot though and doesn't absorb much water in my experience. You might find they work well for your intended needs past a couple of days.

With the invention and popularity of leashless climbing a once condemmed and decades old climbing tool has come back. While they are not mandatory, they are in vogue. It has been over 35 years since I saw the first pair of umbilicals in use. Umbilicals being used on Polar Circus in the winter of 1979. Back in the late '70s and into the early '80s umbilicals were looked upon as a weak man's crutch. Mostly thought of as something the Canadians used (but never really did much) to aid sections of rotten, cold and really steep ice. We can blame all that on Bugs McKeith inventing the idea of ice aid while putting up some of today's modern classics, like Nemisis and Polar Circus. Just two among his many, many difficult ice climbs. Most visiting American climbers thought they were way ahead of the game by not using umbilicals while running up the first "free" ascents of the Canadian test pieces. Few outside Canada really made the "first free" ascents many claimed. Canadians had already been there on most of them and didn't fight back the cat calls. No Internet back in the day so info was often sketchy and incomplete or just a fubar rumor. It was hard to keep track. Of course not every one used umbilicals even back then. But a few did. 1st and 2nd ascents of Slipstream did. Jim Elzinga photo on the 1st ascent of Slipstream They were not used for aid or for hanging to place screws. Although when required you could do either. The real use was to save your ass if you happen to fall. Hopefully an umbilical would keep you on the ice. BITD leads were long and run out. Ice screws could be hard, difficult or just plain impossible to get in, depending on the ice and out side temps. Weighting your umbilicals are a way to save the 2nd's strength while pulling screws if you can deal with that idea ethically. No one sane thought the idea of falling with tools and crampons OK. Falling on the old gear generally required a hospital stay or worse. Once I switched from Chouinard curved tools to a set of Terrodactyls for technical ice I seldom climbed without at least one umbilical attached to my harness or swami. As the tools changed the old umbilicals generally went straight on the new tools. Big jumps from Terros, Clog, Chacal, Pulsar. Pretty simple change as mine were just a set of tied 9/16" nylon tube webbing. The first manufactured umbilicals I saw..years later... where done up by Grivel. The "Grivel, Double Sping Leash" with a mini wire gate "biner" specifically designed for the task. While leashless tools really hadn't caught up with the possibilities yet, Grivel umbilicals were seen on some pretty amazing climbs often used by climbers sponsored by competing tool companies. The umbilical had finally "arrived". But no one outside a tiny circle of hardcore alpine climbers really knew it yet. South America I worry more about dropping a leashless tool, than I do falling off. But when you can protect yourself from both mistakes it makes sense to ante up and use that protection. More than one really good climber has poked fun at me because of my support of umbilicals. More climbs and climbers I admire used umbilicals and have been suggesting you do as well. http://www.psychovertical.com/?doublespringleash http://cascadeclimbers.com/alpine/colin-haley-alpinism-hardware-part-two Alaska Chamonix Alaska Canadian Rockies Alaska Alaska Candian Rockies Alaska Nepal Thanks to all for unknowingly donating their photos for this post. Easiest way to get yourself a pair of umbilicals is by reading Dave's web site and making your own. Good stuff!! http://www.alpinedave.com/leashless_rig.htm The second way is buy a pair of the commercially made ones. Grivel offers several versions and Black Diamond offers their "Spinner" unit. For what it costs to make a "good" pair of umbilicals both Black Diamond and Grivel offer real value imo. Here is some detail on what I use and my observations. Grivel was my first commercial set. I was lucky enough to get the original Grivel 3KN mini biner version with a girth hitch atatchment. Not a big fan of the mini locking version out now. Or a biner attachment to the harness. Good elastic and webbing that attaches to the harness by a girth hitch (small loop is passed through harness belay loop and tails are feed back through and out the small loop cinching tight on the belay loop) Very simple. Length is shorter than some seem to like but if I sit down on the leashes (6'1 and normal ape index) at full extention for both tools the Grivel leash will allow my tools to be out of reach. Just barely so, but still out of reach. It is durable. Black Diamond had dozens of Spinner Leash prototypes out the last couple of years for real world testing and feedback. Again I was lucky enough to get a pair of those and used them a lot. Better yet for good feedback, I let all my partners use them. Only thing I can see that has changed in the Spinner leash is the over all length has been shortened on the current version. I've seen current reviews commenting that the BD Spinner leash set up is now too short. Trust me? The Spinner IS NOT too short for anyone under 6'8" and a huge ape index that I know! The "too short" comment doesn't make sense unless the reviewer is mistakenly writing about a short early prototype? If you happen to fall on the Spinner you'll have some work cut out for you getting back to your tools. The Grivel set up is managable but only just. The Spinner will make you work for a living it you weight it unprepared. But if you are using the most modern ice climbing techniques you should be stacking your tools on top of each other which should help. You'll need the extra reach to accomplish that and still have only a short fall for your Spinner to catch. It is a tough balancing act to get the right umbilical length and still get it to do everything required of it. If you need to weight your tools intentionally, you had better stack them or you'll not be able to reach a tool using either brand name. While I like simple and wasn't impressed with the swivel of the Spinner originally, everyone else that used mine was. I've come to accept its advantages over time. And no question having a leash set up that avoids all the tangles and twists that will come with umbilicals is an advantage. Grivel no longer offers their 3KN wire gate mini biner version. On the other hand BD took notes and then used them on all the details. BD uses a proprietary hydrophobic webbing, a over built mini swivel and mini wire gate biner that will fit most tools head and spikes. It is a good piece of kit. And would cost a small fortune to duplicate in the same quality. I try to climb smart and if a technical ice tool goes in my pack so does a umbilical system. See ya out there!

I'll try this again. Take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwHcS-XoYbc It aint about a job offer or trading your labor for gear. Not about being a mentor. All worthy goals and ideas. Not about giving anything for free or getting something for free. This idea isn't that or those ideas and it isn't really about climbing. BUT the idea can be a really good thing for climbing, short term and long term. It isn't about another hype induced, ego, media sponsored climbing hero. It is about why many of us climb in the first place.

Some missed the point...this wasn't ever supposed to be a trade or a job offer. That is not the concept of "pay it forward". FWIW...I have had two ask for gear and only two sponsored requests. Total! Funny enough when you think about the level of karma involved, both climbers who were "sponsored" didn't want any thing for themselves but only asked if we could get their long time partners some much needed gear. And they didn't ask for much even then.

Layton and Feck make sense. A few of the forum topic titles don't really. Northern Idaho has little to do and is 300/500 miles away from the stuff down south. And that is a little "mistake". BC-Canada? BC coast range? Interior? Canadian Rockies which run between BC and Alberta? The Parkway-Icefields? How about one for Chamonix(specific) or Alps (more general) instead of a blanket "Foriegn" which is way too inclusive when it encompasses the entire rest of the world . Easy enough to make new topics but much harder to take the time and sort through what has been posted and organise it into any new forums. Sure it is "cascade" climbers but also a lot of folks here traveling out of the area. Also make finding the info posted here easier and make adding TRs more specific to an area.

Darts are gone..thanks Kathy!

Thanks and have fun!

how much snow on the ground at the falls?

Have to ask yourself..."want to climb with this guy?" Weird how he is talking to a guy directly infront of him in the picture and can't bring his eyes down. Is that "down" syndrome? Or just from too much belaying? Hey Craig how is the walk in...any idea how much snow at Colchuck lake?

I am obviously not very good at this. For those that have not seen it, rent the movie, "Pay it Forward" and you'll get where i am coming from. I saw it once 8 or 9 years ago and the idea stuck with me. Or just take a moment and watch the youtube trailer. Then imagine what we (as climbers) could really do if we tried. Doesn't need to be three...one would do. Doesn't need to be today. Just something we keep in the back of our minds for the right person on the right day when we are able. Might be tomorrow might be 30 years from now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwHcS-XoYbc http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/

My version makes the hammer slightly smaller than Ralph's original drawings. Some change in swing weight but not huge. I was working on a drawing last night with the intention of going even smaller. The new Fusion has may be 2/3 that surface area or less of th Quark hammer head! Hammer is noticable on swing weight/balance. Less so on mixed obviously. More so on pure ice. But I use the weights on pure ice with the Cascade pick. Hammer on one tool with mixed pick on mixed climbs. So the comparison is again obvious. First it is 1/2 the thickness of pick and hammer that is removed to mate them together. Where did you get the idea of 2/3s? Same system used on the Quark since that tools inception. No problems with them over a 8 year history of use and abuse. This mod, Nomic hammer, with a milled center is going on its THIRD season and no complaints to date. And ZERO internal wear on hammer heads or picks I have seen and used. The Nomic hammer or Quark for that matter is NOT a Yosemite big wall hammer. Never intended to be. You want to drill and pound out a big wall get a rock hammer. Need to place an occasional pin the Nomic hammer will work fine. Just as the Quark does off the shelf. Also you can pull the hammer off the Nomic and put a spacer in and use the tool just as it came from the factory. Seem at least a dozen Quarks being used in Europe and Canada by hard core climbers with NO back half, hammer or adze, no spacer and no ill effects after some obviously serious abuse to the tools. I use this stuff myself and if there was a problem we would either fix it or go on to something else. I am not into trashing good tools or making my life any scarier than it needs to be by using risky gear.

Another version of the Nuark

bttt

Don't let any of us fool you. Cams do have their place. Some crack climbs (although few in comparison) wouldn't be protectable without them. Drew's and my point was you can climb a lot and climb hard...with less financial outlay with nuts and hexs. But cams are mandatory at some point and can offer solid protection where almost nothing else will.

For me...11.5 feet, C width up front and a A heel with the ankles of a 7 year old *skinny* girl, the boots fit great. That is saying a lot. Much bigger toe box. I was able to go full size smaller than the Spantik for example because the toe box is bigger where required for my foot. I could feel the difference...or in this case... not feel... the pressure of the the box in a 45 Baruntse. I've climbed some 5.10 rock in dbls before with and without 'pons. These are the first BIG dbl boots I felt I might actually manage that again. For me a more technical boot than the Spantik easier to manage and with little loss of wamrth as a trade. "BIG"...dbl boots? The Spantiks and Baruntse are big, really big volume boots. Which makes them warm. But a big step up in overall size to the old Koflach for example. So they can be a challenge to climb technical terrain in. Doesn't seem to bother the new generation though if you see where the Spantik has been. My impression is the Baruntse is easier to use on that kind of terrain for me. Thought so the moment I first laced them up. photo credit to: http://colinhaley.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

Stephen Koch/Cloudveil photo The "Nuark"? A quark head on a Nomic handle. It isn't the only one around or the only version. I'd bet Koch's was one of the first. FYI www.COLDTHISTLE.com (site up soon) will have the Nomic hammer mod (and other highly selective ice/alpine climbing offerings) available commercially on your parts or new parts next week. PM me *NOW* if you are interested in some of the first batch. Delivery can be as early as Dec 1. On your parts, $50, for one hammer and one pick set, including shipping back to you. Spare/extra picks can be cut to mate up with the system for $25 per pick at any time. A few new sets (1 hammer and 1 Astro pick @ 150. per set ) will also be available around Dec 1. Ascent Design/Ralph Burns photo http://www.ascent-design.com/index.html

I had thought Koch was sponsored by Petzl at one time. Maybe not. The "Nuark" isn't the only one around or the only version. I'd bet it was one of the first. FYI www.COLDTHISTLE.com (site up soon) will have the Nomic hammer mod (and other trick ice/alpine climbing offerings) available commercially on your parts or new parts next week. PM me *NOW* if you are interested in some of the first batch. Delivery can be as early as Dec 1. On your parts, $50 including shipping back to you. A few new sets (hammer and Astro pick) will also be available before Dec 1. Ascent Design/Ralph Burns photo http://www.ascent-design.com/index.html

Really good advice is sometimes hard to swallow if you don't like what you hear. Drew just offered you some really good advice, take head. FYI I own several full racks of cams. After a serious injury and lots of rehab guess what I started leading again with 1st time out? That is right, hexs and stoppers. And I really enjoyed it btw, lighter rack and you have to think more as you climb. No clip and go like the gym. And you can generally buy them cheap on Ebay.

bttt...make a reasonable offer ?

bttt, make me a reasonable offer

size?