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Dane

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Everything posted by Dane

  1. Started an ice climb this winter with 8 new Grivel Helix screws. First belay I though....hummmm, must have brought 7 and not 8 screws. My new partner said he had never dropped anything, anywhere. Good enough for me. Top of the 2nd pitch (crux) I had 5 screws, besides the monatary loss I was a bit pissed since I was doing all the leading and we had another 3 pitches to go. 5 screws is getting a bit thin in my mind on hard ice. Pitches started getting really short at that point with tools for the top rope belay. Went back in the morning and picked up one of the dropped screws we spotted rapping off. Basically wasted a day dicking around because of it. We ended up splitting the cost of the other two dropped screws. If it had been me dropping the gear, I'd simply apologized and paid (in full) to replace the gear I'd dropped. Lost, dropped, trashed and found a lot of gear over the years. Generally no one cares either way. If it is a long time partner we just make it up with dinner, beers or gas what ever is easy.
  2. Just personal bias but I wouldn't buy the Forrest hammer when they were new and had the chance. It is heavy and the hatchet handle funky. I do have an original Forrest wall hammer which I still use. More durable than the Chouinard wall hammer imo. At least three versions of the Chouinard Alpine hammer were made. They still come up here and on Ebay from time to time. I like the third version, longer handle (hickory as in all the versions) with a full set of teeth and a lightened head. Works great with hammerless ice tools for placing gear and cleaning cracks. A few emails to Black Diamond might get the Alpine hammer reintroduced. $80 to $100 is the going price for the Chouinard apline hammer in good shape on Ebay these days.
  3. Nice idea Sobo but the '06 takes up to a 220gr and it aint a HP. You'd need a 180gr HP and something a little better than a Bushnell POS Last time some guys started hanging out at Exit 38 with a couple of M4s, 10x binos, digital cameras and a cell phone this shit stopped for awhile. Funny how quickly the word gets out.
  4. I wear a 45 Nepal Evo, a 45 Batura ( these fit bigger than the Evos) both with a liner and a med smart wool. Had the same Extreme you have now in a 46 and it was too big. Spantiks generally fit 1/2 or a full size bigger than a Trango in any version. I ended up in a 46 Spantik. 45.5 was obviously too small, 46.5 too big. I ended up ditching the Sportiva liner and had a local guy fit me with a pair of Intuition foam liners. They are lighter, WAY warmer (which is saying a lot with a Spantik) and fit much, much better, with no heel lift. Street shoe and running shoes are 11.5. Typical mtn boot is a 12. This might not help but I ended up using two pairs of really light liners in my Spantiks and would buy the smallest size boot I could wear without bumping a toe on swollen feet. Sounds like you are spot on with the 43 but only way to really tell is try on a 42.5. My guess is you'll bump your toe and need the 43. With narrow feet check for heel lift in the bigger size. Good luck!
  5. Hey Pope, it isn't worth the time. The comparison he made says it all...no clue. My take was the guy was more jealous of what others could do and his rational was "of course, repeat it a gazillion times and anyone could do it." Your point about the comparison of a mistake is well taken. Starting over can be a little tough after grounding out. Not so much when you miss a note. Never found that the "repeats mentality" all that easy myself. I could my own solos into, anytime solos, some time solos, seldom solos and one time solos. Then there is my biggest list, "never to be soloed by me". How many times I have climbed the route has little or nothing to do with it.
  6. When Mark started describing a climb to me that we'd both done, and got to the part he wasn't climbing the ice but had actually become part of the mtn....part of the ice... I took another swig of beer and just smiled. I think there are times even he actually believes some of that Me? I'd like to see the pictures. Mark has done some rediculiously hard Alpine solos, more than any American I can think of. He has more than paid his share of dues. I got to reread "Confessions of a Serial Climber" while laid out in bed over the last month enjoyed it even more the second time through. So I guess my "antics" comment comes from being inspired by any of the three over the years but not quite awestruck. They have all done some amazing climbs but there are things I draw a line at....drinking my own piss....is one of them
  7. Hey, I put some thought into this today and came up with a very clean and low profile solution for the Nomic. It does take a sewing machine and a tiny bit of sewing skill to make work though. I'm going to sew small loops to girth hitch into the Nomic handle and a slightly bigger loop (to fit the tool through when intitially hooking up) to then girth hitch either straight to your belay loop or girth hitch or sew to a swivel. Swivel has a sewn loop that girth hitches to your belay loop. Tack the amount of flat elastic or cord elastic into the webbing when you do the girth hitch tacks and you have a lean umbilical system that will be as strong as your sewing....which should be esy enough to match the 1/2" tape strength. I only have my set taped together at the moment but pics to follow when i get mine sew up.
  8. Joseph, that is a hilarious! Reminds me of other good times. Dating a really fun and dangerious young lady years ago. She tells me she and a girl friend were going to be on a route and I should come over, meet them and of course climb. Next morning I catch up to them on a nice ledge 500' up the route. Her partner takes off and is out of sight on the next long pitch and is taking her time. One thing leads to another on the ledge and we decide that it is close enough for us to join the mile high club. As I mentioned, she was dangerious but fun. I was a true hero that morning. That was only because all I could think about was the morning paper's headline "Friends whitness soloist die in fall"......pants found around ankles. Took a bit to get my head back into soloing the rest of the climb.
  9. Thanks John, but still looking for something cleaner yet. The BD has a full weight swivel, girth hitches and two "mini biners". My Grivel has mini biners and girth hitches. My home made ones can have any or none of the above. I like simple and clean. The Nomic is no plunging tool so why not just sew up a clean rig with swivel and elastic and no mess or bulk at the grip? Petzel should have added a full weight mini BD spike (would have been so easy with their handle design) that you could easily clip or tie into and still have the umbilical be out of the way. But the Quark is not much better so what was I thinking
  10. Not a fact at all. And I suspect from doing and knowing others that also make a habit of soloing not anywhere close to being true. And I agree with a previous poster you miss the point.
  11. Anyone come up with a clean way to attach an umbilical to a Nomic that you really like? I have a couple of home made sets, plus the Grivel and the BDs. Not really pleased with any of them on the Nomic. Best I have done is add a loop to the hole in the shaft and then use that loop to tie in the umbilical (no mini biners) to keep the liter to a minimum. I keep seeing "tape jobs" in the magazine photos of similar setups and all seem way more complicated/messy than they need to be. What are you using that you like?
  12. This is a fun and though provoking thread with some great responses. "Dirty little secret"? I used to live in an area where I heard a similar chorus from a small group of guys who climbed really hard but never soloed anything. Being one of the guys who did in fact head point stuff and then later solo it, (after a gazillion repeats) and onsighted stuff as well, I never figured out what the "secret" was. I've wired stuff that was really easy and wired stuff that I could just barely lead and soloed both. One climb was so hard for me that while I could do the moves, placing the pro could easily blow me out if I didn't get the pro sequence perfect and fire the stuff in. After leading the climb for the second time, no hang, no falls, with a major effort, I had this thought..."shit, bet I could flash this thing without a rope" and I did. Didn't get pumped because I didn't have to hang out and put in tricky pro. No secret there. That was only a single 100 foot pitch. Also done climbs that were multiple pitches long that I had climbed several times before. And I worked every rest on every pitch to stay calm and focused. Made the climbing much easier. I rested places I typically wouldn't when I lead the same climb. Knowing the rests were there and how to work them made a big difference in the level of power and control on that climb. Something really fun about going from one good hold to another and knowing what is in store for you. At least for me it allowed me to solo closer to what I was physically capable of, in control and safely. No way I would try to onsight, solo, something at that grade. I don't know of many hard climbs that get soloed on sight. Astroman, the Rostrum, the Cookie Wall, Half Dome, El Cap? Most of the solos that get done including many of Bachar's, Croft's and Potter's were done after a few (or many, many) repeats of the route. Astroman is certainly well under Croft's and Potter's technical abilities. Were the climbs any less impressive because of that? Not to me on either count. Potter's ascent of Fitzroy's Super Coulior more or less impressive? The dude drank his own piss to finish Fitzroy. Solo the changing corner's pitch on Astroman or drink your own piss to survive? Interesting choice depending on which is harder for you? No less impressive climbing or control imo. Alpine stuff is a different story and hard to rehearse. Steck's recent sub 3hrs on the Eiger was a good example of a climb that was pretty wired and rehearsed with his 10 previous ascents of that climb, and all but one, in a day or less! Gotta say I was still impressed. Hard climbing and a lot to get wired, even in 10 trips But hard solos in the alpine and on rock do get done. Generally the practioner has done his "home work" on a rope elsewhere at a higher grade and on more demanding routes. But I don't think there is any "secret" to it. No one is hiding anything that I know of. You may assume something and think it is "dirty" but soloing seems pretty transparent to me..it all boils down to, "feet, hands and heart", no matter how many times you have done the route. Generally when I run into a soloist I assume (incorrectly or not) it is his home turf and they are looking for mileage to get into or stay in shape. Only because that is how I generally use this part of the sport. I don't make judgements on why they are there or question their motives. They're soloing. How much simplier can a climber really be? Maybe "simple monkey concentration" is what we all really aspire to anyway. Maybe it is just the desire to have simple, safe movement in the vertical world. Sounds a lot like sport climbing and clipping those bolts doesn't it I don't think soloing is for everyone. Shit, I was roped up and fell off a 5.6 and damn near died a few weeks ago. I know I am mortal! But soloing is and has always been a part of the sport. To put it off as a "death wish" or irresponsible isn't any better than a troll coming here and saying the same about climbing as a whole.
  13. A quick tally shows there are : retired soloists soloist who try not to solo solo back packers age dependant soloists soloists who don't climb above 5.7 soloist who climb best when depressed old soloists middle aged soloists young soloists soloists that actually enjoy it I like soloing simply because I've found no simplier way to enjoy climbing. Yes, you have to concentrate more as there is generally no "overs". But how fast you can cover technical ground can be amazing. The satisfaction is it's own reward. An out of control solo doesn't leave any sense of accomplishment past living. Not much of an accomplishment to intentionally risk your life and live. I started soloing to speed up my alpine climbing as well. But it didn't take long for soloing to become it's own venue for me. Rock, ice and alpine all shared in the results. Nothing really "hard" by today's standards but fun none the less. FWIW I actually plan my solos, just like I would do a climb with a partner. I check and sort gear very carefully, scope the route, get any beta I can find and do whatever current tests are required to see if my head is screwed on straight. I don't solo at my limit (no matter what that may be at the moment) but generally, at the very least, one full grade down at where I can comfortably lead with pro. More if I haven't been out for awhile by myself. I see in this thread and from a few searches that there are some here that do continue to solo. It would be interesting to hear from some of them and the kinds of climbs they are doing. Numbers aren't important..but cracks, slabs, ice, big walls, alpine..what ever you are into. I've done solos that are pure headpoints after mutiple pervious laps. Done solos that were on sight and big walls that I initially had a hard time getting my mind around. All have been good experiences. And although I spend much more time on a rope than off I am excited about the next time out on my own!
  14. Close enough, I was poking fun at the "solo" backpacker lean on this thread.
  15. It is only a guess on my part but I'd suspect being an out-of-shape, chickenshit is all that stops most from soloing Got nothing to do with their age or their responsiblities at home. If you climb I bet I can find someone close to you that calls you irresponsible and inconsiderate to your face or behind your back. If you post on CC.com I already know you're obnoxious.
  16. From the guys who I know that have made a practice of hard soloing over the years not something I'd agree with. Same here on the ice. Much less risky entertainment and you can slide through on fitness compared to hard rock. Pup's thread was more of what I had in mind when i think of soloing.
  17. And Debbie still isn't mobile. I suspect she got the worst of that day's tough luck. Just wanted to say thanks for all the well wishes from everyone here. To Sobo, Debbie, Tracy and all the guys (fellow climbers, ambulance, and fire crew) that made the phone calls and helped get me down the trail I really apprecaited the effort, thank you.
  18. Same thing here. I am seldom at a loss for words. But the first time someone starts asking me about soloing I was at a loss for words. Never really talked about it other than with guys doing similar stuff. Not usually a topic of conversation for those that don't choose to partake. Shooting herion isn't a typical party topic over a glass of Merlot Then I realised "those guys" were a short list in my world. FWIW none of the guys I know who have a history of soloing difficult routes stop soloing if they still climb. The climbs and difficulty may change over time but the mind set doesn't. With all due respect to Petzoldt, I'd bet he was well past 60 when he made that statement, besides the fact that it was a good number of generations ago in the climbing world. Some things change...some don't.
  19. I had this question posed to me today, "Is there a healthy soloist's community in Seattle?" ( try to avoid the obvious poke at that one That kind of stopped me for a moment and I had to think of the areas I have lived over the years and of the "soloists" I've known. It is a short list. Even shorter of those that have and still do. Just for fun lets get a head count. How many here intentionally solo routes (unroped) on technical terrain? Not just the occasional 4th class but the kind of things that most rope up on. Think more John Bachar, Peter Croft or Mark Twight sort of antics than a high ball like Classic crack with a bunch of people wandering about.
  20. Agreed OT, but I'll bit. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a egotistical, elistist prick when it comes to climbing. Had a bright yellow JB helmet on when I was on the Hinterstoisser Traverse. Not a big fan of helmets out side of ice and hard alpine. Didn't wear a bike helmet much till I broke my first one. Now I seldom ride without one. But given the right place I'll still ride lidless on occasion Doubt I will ever wear a helmet cragging on rock. Not the environment I want to climb in. But it is a decision I have thought about and make from vanity not rational decision making. If I had a kid starting to climb today he'd being wearing a helmet. I did notice one of the Huber brothers wearing a helmet in a recent pic while freeing a line on El Cap. Might be a better role model than a dinosaur like myself. And that too is an image that can change. Helmets I am using now and like are the Grivel Salamander and the BD Tracer. Either would hardly be noticable for climbing on pure rock.
  21. Now there is a pretty picture. Me laying on top of Sobo, moaning, while he feels me up at the base of Castle Rock.....and on our first date! And I thought the fall was embarrassing He must have had warm hands...is it no wonder I was in my "happy place"!
  22. Took me a while to decide to write about this. Still uncomfortable with the format I have chosen but hopefully some will find the comments enlightening. But it is written for me as much as it is for the forum. I have been climbing awhile and taken many, many falls while leading on trad routes and later on sport routes. The longest a full 70’ onto a 2” swami with no leg loops. Very few falls (actually only a couple) came as a surprise on lead. The 70’ was one of them. But no harm, no foul and no serious injuries. The surprises and really pushing hard I generally saved for top ropes. From the early ‘80s to the mid ‘90s I was fortunate enough to do a number of 1st ascents of trad routes in the .11s to easy .12 range and was able to solo a lot. Solos included multi pitch 5.10 and 5.11 routes. In all that mileage over the years the few injuries I did sustain in falls have been minor, blistered finger tips on a slab, a tweaked ankle I could walk on after dropping onto a sloping ledge, a grounder that I could at least hobble away from. None of them a surprise. Sore and bruised maybe but never broken. Only one kept me off the rock again that particular day. So when I have read about rock climbing accidents over the years I have always put them off to bad luck, inexperience or just plain stupidity on the climbers part. Then I fell off. How hard was it? 5.6. How high? Maybe 20 feet? Most will know the route, The Fault on Lower Castle Rock. It is a simple chimney pitch, easily climbed inside the chimney until you can get some protection and squirm out of the crack just past the tree. Or you can face climb the chimney wall if you choose till you get to that first piece of pro in. I have soloed the complete Fault/Catapult line to Logger’s Ledge and finished by climbing one route or another on upper Castle Rock many times. I can tell you in detail how the fall happened. I remember a good left foot and a great left hand. Right hand was just in casual opposition on the edge of the chimney. It was all I needed to make the right step up. As I stepped up to a small ledge for my right foot I was thinking about how my Carhart pants were just a bit too tight for the high step I was taking. And that I had one more move before my first piece of pro would go in. No worries, casual. Then my left bicep tore completely off my forearm (old injury my Doc said to rehab, which I did and then ice climbed on all winter) There is more to that story but not really relevant to my point of this post. As I said I’ve taken enough falls to have a pretty good idea of what is now happening. Wall is just off vertical here. I remember thinking it was bad that I wasn’t falling straight down. In retrospect I suspect that saved me from even more serious injuries. ( like shattered ankles and broken legs) I felt the toe of my right foot hooking on the rock as I went down. Kinda like a crampon would do on ice. That is never a good thing. THANG! goes the right ankle. That ain’t going to be pretty is my last conscious thought. Next thing I am almost horizontal and figure I smacked the shallow scoop on the right wall. I’m out cold and bouncing down the wall now so who knows. Bouncing is another good thing in retrospect. From the tally of my injuries later I suspect my partner Paul (SOBO here at CC.com) probably saved my life. Paul actually stood his ground and used his body to break my fall. I suspect I knocked him ass over tea-kettle. (some of this may or may not have ACTUALLY happened, Paul can add any details I have wrong) When I came to I can remember being annoyed that someone was yelling and shaking me to wake me up. I was in a happy place and just wanted to be left alone to enjoy my sleep. Then I realized I was sucking in dirt through my mouth and nose and was lying horizontal on my side facing the wall. And that I’d fallen off. Didn’t have the wind knocked out of me….although I suspect that all happened while I was unconscious. From just my little “reality check” I figured I was pretty fucked up. I rolled over, sat up and changed my shoes and soxs and took off my harness. At some point I remember saying “Sorry but I am done for today”. Then I tried to stand. That wasn’t going to happen. "Shit, can’t even hobble back to the car…this is embarrassing.” A couple of other climbers came up the trail and didn’t notice anything special. Paul explained to them what had happened and asked them to use a phone to get an ambulance on the way. One of the guys split to get phone reception farther down the canyon near Leavenworth. I suspect less than 30 minutes later the emergency crews showed up, taped me to a back board and down the hill and off to Wenatchee Valley Hospital I went. I was out of the hospital 6 or 7 hrs later, had my wife and a friend pick up my car and checked us into a hotel in Leavenworth. It was a rough drive getting home the next day. For the next 4 weeks I lived with pee bottles, muscle relaxants and pain killers. Surgery on my torn bicep could not be done until the headaches eased from the concussion. (A helmet? Come on it is cragging in Leavenworth for chrimney sake) You have a 14 day window for the surgery before your bicep starts to really atorphy and then shrink into you upper shoulder. 14 days later the surgery would be a mute point. I went 10 days. My head still felt like someone wanted to get in using a can opener. I wanted a working arm and decided the pain wasn’t that bad…at least not enough to mention again. 4 weeks on serious pain killers will plug up an healthy elephant. At some point I decided taking a shit was more important that being in happy land with no pain. I think it was the night I had to pull a turd out of my own ass and keep from passing out while doing so. Ya it was that grim. The second one wasn’t any better. Fuck, it hurt. It was bad and had to change. I decided shitting was more important than lack of pain and advil would have to do from that day forward. Although there were times I broke down and thankfully got another 4 hr fix so I could sleep. It is now a full 6weeks later. I started spending most of the day out of bed @ 4 weeks. Simply because I couldn’t sleep without the pain killers. I still couldn’t walk. I could move my ankle so started rehab at home. I was actually able to run 2 miles yesterday. The first at 13 minutes and after a couple of minute break the second at 11 min. Up from sub 7s six weeks ago. I have a ways to go but I can walk and run again. There were times in the drug induced haze that I wondered. Today I did a 10 mile bike ride. Took me 46 minutes on a course I can generally do in mid 30s. But I am mobile again. Things will go faster now. My head still hurts on a daily basis. I have some memory loss. Rehab always hurts but that will diminish in time as well. When they put me into the ambulance I figured I was pretty messed up. I hurt from my big toe (the nail is totally black now) to my eyebrow (my only cut) on my right side. A torn bicep only hurts when you actually tear it off, them the pain is gone. So the left side was good. I refused any pain meds in the ambulance so I could accurately describe what I though my injuries were to the ER Dr. After a lifetime of injuries I thought I had a pretty good idea on what I had broken…..again. Right ankle broken (last shattered in ’93) Broken hip…new one for me Internal injuries on my right side… again new Broken right little finger (’05) Broken shoulder ( ’75) Broken back ( ’73) Broken neck …another new one Left bicep detached (right bicep ’07) Thankfully I was way off on my own diagnosis. But trust me, every one of those areas still hurts 6 weeks later. Enough so that it is distracting. The ankle was just a severe sprain. Early rehab and 4 weeks of bed rest made for a quick recovery once I could take body weight on it. Nothing else broken besides the finger which was dislocated in the fall. It finally was realigned correctly this week when I shook hands with a buddy. Brought tears to my eyes but the finger works better now, just one sore nasty bitch at the moment. Something not quite right with my guts. On the ride today everything between my hips and my armpit felt like they were unglued internally. Pushing hard on the bike just made me puke. I still can’t sleep on my right side. I’m counting on that just “going away”. Gotta make me think again on how lucky I was to have Paul break the fall and not just auger in to the dirt. My right shoulder feels pretty much like it did after being dislocated. Loss in range of motion and it makes some funny sounds now. Professional rehab, lots of hard work and time for that one. My neck now makes all sorts of funny noises when I move and gets really sore if I move it wrong or quickly. Head aches come and go. A 2” strip from the back of my neck to the top of my scalp still feels “weird” and itches. Again…if I had hit without Paul breaking the fall…...I suspect I’d now be dead or much more seriously injured. The bicep surgery went fine. I am well on the way back to full strength on the left arm. Only down side is the top of my left hand and wrist are now numb from nerve damage during surgery…not uncommon.. Won’t be climbing any cracks till I get full feeling back there. So what did an off day on the rock really cost besides a few extra aches and pains? To date, 6 weeks out of work and counting. I am just now starting to get a few hours a day in the shop. I work for myself so I can set my own schedule. Down side is if I don’t work there is no cash flow coming in and at the moment lots of it going out. I suspect it will be another 6 weeks before I can physically put in a full 40 hr week. I have a decent insurance plan but will still pay between 2 to $3000 out of pocket by the time I am done. Not everything is in yet for billing and the rehab is a conservative estimate from what I have paid on other injuries in the past couple of years. You need to learn to be your own health’s advocate. Remember that our health professionals are still “practicing medicine”. You might as well start now, doing the same. No one knows your body better than you. Ask questions, learn to say no and most importantly listen to your body. And finally, don’t deck out Considering a trip to the emergency room and only one “real” injury (torn bicep) was treated things add up fast. The actual bills I have seen so far look something like this: $1005.00 Ambulance from Castle to Wenatchee 6392.00 Emergency room Wenatchee 456.00 Wenatchee hostpital 2200.00 Orthopedic surgeon 3625.00 Ortho practice/ surgery room 1372.48 Anesthesia 3500.00 Rehab 1600.00 Radiologist CT and MRI You might want to check out an insurance plan if you don’t already have one. Dropping $20K cash and another two months of wages on one day of climbing in Leavenworth is not my idea of a climbing vacation. FWIW.. when I fell my right hand was on the white knob across from the horizontal crack in the shadow line of this picture. And yes it is just as easy as it looks. And Paul, "thanks bro" not many guys can hold their mud What isn't mentioned until now is the many pee bottles my wife emptied, the breakfast and lunches she left at my night stand and the stress she went through watching all this unfold at home or waiting in a hospital room. You had better pic a tough partner.
  23. Hey Jud, I can relate to your confusion on the "best" set of tools. Use to be a standard set of ice climbing tools might well be a 70cm Chouinard axe and an alpine hammer. Or maybe even just two axes. Bridalveil Falls in Colorado was first done free with a pair of 70cm bamboo axes and is still rated WI6. The current generation of bent shaft tools genenerally leave something to be deisred when you want an "alpine mountaineering tool". Additional length on the the shaft being on of them. No question that the newest tools climb better on technical terrain. But if you are plunging a tool in endless hard snow I'd rather have a longer axe with a straight shaft than 50cm tool with a curved shaft. House and Anderson used one of the newer Grivel mountainering tools with a slight bend in the upper shaft to compliment their more technical Grivel tools on Nanga Parbat. http://www.grivelnorthamerica.com/products.php?gid=1&id=7 Looks to be one of the same Grivel axes used with a curved handle hammer of some type in this pic on Gibraltar Ledges of one of the Climbing Rangers. http://bp1.blogger.com/_Fgo0YDV4zro/SBYgYQvo5GI/AAAAAAAAAKc/rgv5QhQC13Y/s1600/Tom%2BGib%2BChute.jpg That is some pretty steep snow The tools are older Charlet Mosers that can be had fairly cheep (2nd Ascent in Seattle) and are good tools although a bit heavy by today's standards. And won't be all that useful for self arrest. Bottom line? A good mountaineering axe (60 to 70cm) will get you up any ice you find and can a still be long enough to use on steep snow in piolet canne and with the right pick design, self arrest with ease. Matched it with a shorter technical tool (45 to 50cm) you would have a good combo to take on most any route. Many of us end up with a quiver of axes and ice tools for different terrain or as the tools become dated. A 70cm axe still makes sense to me for the right climb (any Rainier route for example). A set of 50cm tools, now matter what design, are for steeper, more technical terrain. One of each, one short and one long, is a good combo to get you up most any mountain. If you keep at it at some point you'll want a set of technical tools. (read 50cm matched pair) At that point check around and buy the most useful tools available. Technical tools change rapidly.....no reason to buy something that is already years out of date. ps..none of the pics are mine...thank you to there perspective owners.
  24. I also have the FF Vireo. Mine is not a half bag. It is a full bag with no hood but will snug up around by neck no problem even at 6'1". Also worth noting that the majority of the fill is @ or below the waist. The upper is made to layer with a hooded parka of some sort. Gives you an option for more or less insulation on top. I generally use mine with a Patagonia Puff Hoody. Gives me two pieces that are about the size of a one liter water bottle stuffed. Yep, the Vario easily stuffs to slightly smaller than a 1L water bottle. It is a tight bag and you need to carry a jacket if you want to sleep warm at freezing or lower. I've used the system in Canada in winter...works short term but just barely. The Vario by itself works for Rainier in summer if you are willing to sleep in your shell gear. The Vario is a 1# bag plus what ever your belay jacket weight is for a total bag weight. When your pack is loaded two small packages are easily stored and ignored. I'd rather sleep more comfortably most of the time but the light weight and small package made the Vario a bag worth having imo.
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