Dane

Ya it shows...the Direttissima under discussion is a 52.5 liter bag. Which, when full, is about as much as anyone ever wants to carry.

And Suck wins the $64K! Prime doesn't have the dbl rocker sole or sticky rubber of the Ice Evo....which is too bad. But the Prime (at least some of them) has a Goretex liner, better/more insulation and more tongue padding and a more user friendly lacing system. The Prime really is an updated Trango Ice Evo with simpler lacing system, a little more warmth and a little less weight . Great kicks for most everything but really cold weather.

Just glad BD doesn't design by the majority @ CC. Hard to screw up a rappel with this rig but if anyone could, it would have to be someone posting on an Internet forum. Since it isn't made to rap on. Limitations? It is after all a belay device not a rappel device. If you want to rappel, buy something else. From BD web site... "ATC-Sport A single-rope, sport-cragging belay device, the ATC-Sport is built using the rest of the ATC family’s time-tested design. This simple, lightweight, hot-forged device can handle a rope from 7.7-11 mm, and is designed with regular and high-friction modes for excellent versatility and holding/stopping power." Also works fine on thin, single ropes in the alpine when used as intended.

Guess I don't see your stress. The thing is for belaying on a single rope. Works well for that with no extra baggage. Cleaning anchors....doesn't your second do that with little or no fanfare? Decents can generally be rapped with biners or maybe even a walk off. Nope, you can't rap off it on a dbl rope and no you can't easily hang it off the anchor for a self lock. But then it is only a simple BELAY device not a 007 super ninja piece I've used an assortment of do-dads for that over the years. This one doesn't seem any better or worse than anything else out there. Guide ATC works well in some instances, as do others. But then I've been known to leave the ground with nothing but a rack and biners too. It is the walk offs that are giving me trouble these days

$200 for 4 hrs? Or $500 for two days?

I have one. I've used it. And it works fine for the intended purpose.....belaying on a single rope. Something a lot of folks do besides just the sport climbers at the local crag. Gazillion ways to rig a rap but this obviously isn't the piece of gear for most of them.

Nicely done!

Soft shells really aren't much different than a hard shell when it comes to layering. Out side temps and your work load dictate what is required to stay comfortable. Biggest advantage I have seen in soft shells isn't warmth, but breathability (easier to stay warm and dry while working hard) and more flexability from the clothing while moving.

Dorks Looks like winter out there to me...even though it is a low snow year with above average temps so far. The kind of year most of us dream about to get a lot of "winter" climbing in. Short approaches and no avi danger is a good thing. Nice climb, great pictures, good for you! Winter for me typically runs Thanksgiving through till Washington's birthday. Not like I am going to write Dec 20 to March 20 in stone.

More likely just freezing rain...

Cool, hu?! More here.... and a good video http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/canadas_wild_thing_gets_free_ascent/

I need some binding parts for my Darts. So I'd like to buy a used pair that are CHEAP. Flip lock lever system would be nice but not required, what I really need is the front bails. Send me a PM on what you have and how much. Thanks!

Craig said: You won't need much if anything in the gully. We climbed a good bit of the headwall together with little pro looking for a decent belay. A 70 meter rope would help that. There was at least one fixed blade, a bug, high on the route.

That was fun. I'll hold out for the hut Thanks for playing!

Leashes and dual points will get you up 99.99% of the climbs out there. Done 99.99% of my own climbing with the similar rigs. Now I have a quiver of boots, tools and crampons...which is only wasteful if i don't use them all on occasion Hardest part these days is deciding what set of gear to take! From the original tone/choices of the poll I thought Marc wanted to know what we use "generally" on technical ICE. Glacier travel might well get a different answer and a different set of gear.

The gully gets cleaned on a regular basis all winter and builds a deeper and deeper snow pac. To be useful anchors would have to be put in very late in the summer or late fall, low on the sides of the gully. They would be buried most of the year. To set stuff up for full 55m raps and to be used as running belays in the lower gully about the only thing that would really work (and last) would be stainless 3/8" bolted anchors with chains. Done right it could be done fairly cleanly. Up high, fixed pins are going to be required to keep the run outs under 30 feet or so. I think we (Craig) used 8 pieces in two pitches with zip really for the intermediate belay. There were two bad fixed pins one on the first and one on the second pitch.

For the few that know me they'll get a laugh out of this after my stance on Dishman and retro bolting trad routes. One of the plans this winter is take a quick trip to Chamonix again and climb some alpine ice gullys with quick access from the trams and fixed rap decents. You can get a lot of climbing in within a short time frame with that kind access. So last week I got a chance to do the NE Coulior on Dragontail. Done Dragontail many times and enjoyed the entire trip every time. The NE Coulior in good ice conditions is a stellar climb, every bit the equal of any moderate in Chamonix. Gotta admit the decent down Asgard in the dark was a little over the top for the amount of fun involved. So I started thinking, ya the route was really fine, but the decent sucked compared to the length of quality climbing. Would a set of rap anchors all the way out of the gully and fixed gear on the last two pitches make the climb more fun? Besides being quick you'd turn a 2 hr climb with a 6 hr r/t approach and decent into something that would be fun to do laps on. Crazy idea? Or just dumb? I already know I am getting old and lazy

OW, ya, sadly I hate to admit it but I am semi serious about a rap route and fixed gear on this climb. It was that much fun and worth multiple repeats while ion season if you could do it as a "chamonix sport" route. Can you image the typical traffic jams you'd have when the route is in on a weekend? But the ambiance of the lower gully and the excellent, moderate, mixed climbing on the headwall makes me want to run laps on this one...but only without having to stumble back down Asgard of course. I've done TD, the G/S, the Fin, Backbone and Serpentine (some many many times) and never thought I'd ever suggest such a thing as fixed gear and a rap route on Dragontail or climb the NE Coulior for that matter (@40 degrees and 5.7)

Hey I aint selling anything or having an arguement. Just my own observations If you are convinced otherwise from your own experience.....as a few of my buddies are, more power to you! For the sake of discussion. It is all those fancy shenanegans that can make even steep thick ice easier and if I am any example you can be less strong and climb better leashless. Not trying to diss your comments just found them in error for my own climbing. YMMV Funny though, I just recited the things I started noticing the end of the first week I forcing myself to climb leashless. After I posted I went and read C Haley's article. Some how I came to the exact same conclusions Like I said, if it wasn't easier...I wouldn't be doing it.

Nice! So is this going to be the first "euro" mixed climb in WA? I was thinking 55m dbl, chained, rap anchors down the entire gully from the top out on the rocks and fixed pro up the entire headwall Avoiding Asgard all together. Either way I am going back during the next hard freeze for another round of mixed goodness.

Buddy of mind was amazed I could switch to leashless so easily. He decided it was the hiatus of several years off that allowed me to open my mind and become a convert. I switched last season over a week's climbing in Canada after being on water fall ice since '73. Now on anything from the Central line on Weeping wall to moderate M climbs I watch my partners thrash away, obviously to me wasting energy. All the while I am leashless, enjoying life. Trust me if it weren't easier...by a good margin...I wouldn't be doing it. Yup, leashless (on a good tool set up) saves you energy over any leash system....no matter the terrain. It takes an old fat guy to really make that observation with some clarity. There are lots of advantages to leashless but let me address just steep ice. Your circulation will be better so you can climb in a thinner glove and stay warmer. A thinner glove will allow more energy savings holding the tool. You'll be much, much faster putting in screws, a biggie for most. You can switch hands on the tools or climb on just one tool, reach farther by matching on one tool, traverse and rest much, much easier. You can easily drop and shake a arm at any time delaying the arrival of a pump. All of that will make you a faster climber on vertical ice (or any ice)..again saving energy. Modern tools, designed as a leashless system, really are a big improvement over the very best leash system, for any style of climbing. I would never have believed it myself. And it took some effort to force myself through the change. But I'll never go back and I am climbing harder now than I ever have on ice and mixed because of it.

As part of a layering system they are warm enough for Rainier in winter, Denali in late May. Many guys are using them all winter in Canada...doesn't get much colder than the icefields. Although it isn't a "big" jacket, it isn't something I'd normally take on Rainier after April....as it is too warm imo, till Sept or so.

That is the one my partners and I have been using. Sorry about the name confusion. Easy to find on ebay, new, with tags. I bought one a year ago (last year's model, with little change) and one this summer (newest versions) for right at or under $100 each. Currently I think I saw two on bid. I did one on bid and the more expensive at a buy it now price. http://cgi.ebay.com/New-NEVER-WORN-Patagonia-Micro-Puff-Hooded-Jacket-L_W0QQitemZ300276956573QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_CSA_MC_Outerwear?hash=item300276956573&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Hummm.....never would have thought of layering Puff parkas. Great idea, thanks! Walking out the other day I found my partner's puff parka laying on the trail. Of course I picked it up and soldiered on. But a couple hrs later I was pleased to lay down and take a nap with my puff on and his wrappd around my legs. Worked well for a nap in 15 degree weather. While I have a heavier NF Baltoro (similar to a DAS) that I have used in Alaska...it does have to be really miserable out to be able to climb in it. At those temps I really don't want to be out. Never would have thought of it till Gene's comment but two puffs don't weight much and would be a better option, for several reasons I think. I also have a puff pull over that I may try in a cold weather layering system with a a parka. Puff pants would be a good addition for my winter system (great for a quick warm nap) just haven't done it yet.

Patagonia micro puff synthetic parka. Well under $100 new on feebay if you look around. Most of the guys I have climbed with in the last few years have been using one instead of a DAS...both in Canada in winter and here locally. Built to layer over your gear and a helmet I liked my first one so much I bought a second one size down to use in less extreme conditions. They actually are very light, pack small and offer a good level of insulation.