miller

Anyone been there in July? Have any idea if that is a good time to go? Thanks!

fenderfour, i am the FF employee in question. never once did i tell her that she cant put a crampon on that boot. nor did i ever even use the word "ankle". and never once was i anything but friendly to this student of yours. im surprised that your student is telling you she had such a bad experience. she came in twice. the first time she came in she was on a break from work and i hurried around getting different boots for her and discussing pros and cons of different crampons. i basically spent a lot of time hurrying around from her so that she could get back to work on time - never once was i irritated or snobby with her, and i definitely didnt notice that she was irritated with me. we chatted about things non-climbing, and it seemed to be a pretty friendly exchange. she asked if she could return them if she changed her mind and i told her, "sure, it theyre unused and you have the receipt, thatll be no problem". yesterday she came in for a second time to return the boots and crampons. she had her hiking boots with her and said she wanted to know if i could fit a crampon to them. i got one that was a spot-on fit and she seemed concerned about it. i told her that it wasnt going to come off, but yes, this boot was not made for crampons. i also noted that ive used similar crampons on approach shoes that are less substantial than her hiking boots and that basically i think they'd be just fine. i guess the difference in stories comes from what you, the teacher, knows she will be doing in these boots and what she told us she would be doing. she told me that she would be ice climbing in them and that she would be climbing mt. rainier, mt. baker, and mt. shuksan. she also said she would like to have something that she can use for water ice climbing if she is in the area next winter. i dont believe those lowa boots are a great choice for any of those mountains, and i certainly dont think they would work for waterfall ice climbing. it seems that both of us have been misinformed by the same girl. it seems that perhaps you shouldve clarified this before launching in to an attack on me and the entire store. hope your trip goes well this weekend - have fun out there!

This is FUN!!!!

was this at a northwest forest pass area??? dang!!!

JAY HAAAACK!!! 'sup??? aint seen you 'round these parts before...school gittin' boring?

ok, "guide knot" thing has gone too far. wally, please put your mind at ease. the "guide knot" in simpsons book was meant to be a joke. if i remember correctly, he was trying to voice his insecurity about certain guiding situations and said something to the effect that sometimes he wished he could tie clients in with a "guide knot" - a knot that looks secure but magically unravels as soon as it is weighted. do you really think there are professional guides out there tying bogus knots that come undone as soon as theyre weighted???

does "weekend" include tomorrow?

dang!!! supposed to be very nice in leavenworth tomorrow and my partner just bailed on me!!! record high temps forecasted... come climb with me - i dont mind leading, dont care how old you are or if youre male/female, dont care how hard you climb (as long as this isnt your first time out), i have all the gear and a car, come on, skip work - its friday!!!! respond to message here - i dont really check my PM's.

thanks! yup, it is closed. dang.

does anyone know if royal columns is currently closed for raptor nesting? thanks!

hey hey! i have tuesday and wednesday (feb 21 and 22) off and i usually have 2 consecutive weekdays off. looking for midweek partners in the seattle area to do just about any sort of climbing. how hard do i climb and what is my experience? - i suck at climbing and i dont know shit. if interested, please reply to this message as i dont often log in and therefore probably wouldnt know if you PM me.

hey hey! nice poem. yeah, i didnt think it was too cold - but my girlfriend certainly thought it was, so it became a short day out... if youre ever looking for a midweek partner drop me a line.

do you think little si would be dry tomorrow (thursday 2/10)? does it get sun this time of year? ive never been and dont know anything about it. thanks!

joel, damn - i cant even begin to offer any sort of condolences since i have no idea what it might be like to be in your situation. hang in there. argentiere is pretty lacking in nightlife. off the top of my head, i cant think of anywhere in argentiere where you might even get a beer late at night. yes, there is a train stop in argentiere, just a couple stops from chamonix mont blanc. if you dont have transportation, i wouldnt stay there. sure, there are buses that run between cham and argentiere, but a better option would be to base out of cham and take the bus to argentiere for climbing/snowboarding during the day and be in cham for the nightlife (and everything else). if you will be there with a friend, check out "hotel la valaisanne". if there are two of you, you can get a double room for only a few bucks more than what you would pay at a hostel, the woman who owns it is very friendly, youll have your own room to store your gear without any worries, you will sleep well at night, and breakfast (some bread, butter and jelly and coffee - but that is breakfast in france) is included. its also on the outskirts of town so its a bit more quiet than other places, but only a two minute walk to town center. its about 300 feet past the vagabond. the hotel above the mexican joint behind the super u (im pretty sure its called "la cantina" but im having a brain fart) is also a good value. however, there is a club downstairs and it can be LOUD. but if youre into nightlife, this could be an attraction - all youll need to do is walk upstairs to your room when youre done partying. also, youre right smack in the middle of town. if youre on your own, single rooms get a bit pricey compared to hostels. but if youre with a friend, its almost the same price for a double room at some of the budget hotels as you would pay for two people at a hostel.

just moved a few blocks away from stone gardens and would be interested in finding someone to climb with. we should get in touch.

joel, when are you going to be there? if youll be there in the winter, id avoid all of the hostel-type places. the ski crowd brings a lot more, well, to be frank, drunken jackasses than youll find during other times of the year, and you wont sleep much. also stuff gets ripped off constantly, especially at the vagabond. the summer crowd is much more low key and during that time of year you may look into staying at one of those places, but i still wouldnt recommend it if you can afford to go elsewhere. without too much exaggeration, i think ive stayed at almost all of the budget hotels/hostels in chamonix several times each - id be happy to give you as many details as i can if you have specific questions. youll have no trouble finding guides - and there are plenty of english speaking guides as well. in france, if youll be staying somewhere for an extended period of time (1 week or more), i think the best option is to rent a "gite". of course, often youll want a car for most gites and normally you would rent one with other people - it might be a bit too expensive alone. i think the website is www.gites-de-france.fr - if that doesnt work google "gites de france" and you should find the site. anyway, i think when you are going should have a lot to do with where you choose to stay. again, fire away if you have any more questions about chamonix or other climbing destinations in france. good luck!

im with W. ive used a -20 something bag on denali and found it almost too warm, except for at high camp where i certainly wasnt cold either.

Hello, It is very likely that I will be moving from Bellingham to Seattle before the end of the month. I've never lived in Seattle. What do you think are good neighborhoods to live in? Could anyone give opinions on the following: Ballard, Wallingford, Fremont, Green Lake...or maybe recommend others that I haven't listed? Thanks!

ha ha! back in bellingham now...cant say im not happy to be back. hopefully things went well for you last night and you didnt catch a bottle rocket to the eyeball. it was cool and real and all that - see you in march.

hello, in 1998 i did the 3 highest in about 9 days. more time would be better of course, but you dont need much time. yes, the trip that i am currently wrapping up was one that i was guiding. id say a minimum reasonable amount of time would be two weeks total for the 3 most popular volcanoes (cayambe, cotopaxi, chimborazo), including travel/acclimatization days. of course, more time would be better and would allow you to see other places in ecuador and get on a more mellow and productive acclimatization schedule. i cant really say what the best time of year is from my own experience because ive only been down here in december and january. supposedly, december/january and july/august are the best times to go, with december/january offering decent weather and snow conditions and july/august offering clearer yet windier weather. the peaks get climbed year round. my local friends say that n. american spring and fall are the worst times to go, but still, the peaks are often climbed during these months. as far as weather down here, they say that solstices = better weather, equinoxes = worse weather. mountain conditions have changed as well, differing from repuatation and guide book info. cotopaxi has the reputation of being the easiest, but the route has totally changed, and now cayambe offers the most straightforward ascent. also, tungurahua spewed a bunch of ash on chimborazo a few years back, and apparently the mountain is now very icy compared to the past. im told that very few people actually summit the mountain now - the mountain is often topped out at the 'veintemilla' summit instead of the whymper (true) summit. im rambling now...probably created as many questions as ive answered - but please, PM me if youd like to get into more details. last day in ecuador (hopefully...) - ill be back in bellingham late tomorrow night. cheers, todd

errr just reread my post and need a correction...actually didnt summit antisana - close, but i had to turn back with sick clients at about 18,000 ft. but my friend i was guiding with continued on with his clients to the summit without problems. word.

hello, im actually writing this from quito. climbed 'em all, although some of the routes have changed dramatically since i was here just 6 years ago. not too adventurous really - all except for antisana have huts, and all 4 mountains are day climbs if acclimated. the mountains are high, but not that big. its only on antisana that you need permission to enter private land. the distance between the toes of the glaciers and the summits on rainier and baker is greater than that on the ecuador volcanoes. and you drive almost right to the toes of the glaciers, have a short jaunt with a light pack, and sleep in a hut. if youre interested and you feel like the cascade volcanoes are well within your abilities, then youll have no problem down here - just gotta take your time acclimating. if you want any more info, fire away - should be back in the states by new years eve if all goes well with flights. cheers,todd

havent seen that use of the butterfly knot - based on your description of what youd do with the knot, im not sure that would work, or if anything it would make things more difficult. maybe i just misuderstood? i often put butterfly knots in my rope simply to help stop the fall. i like to put three in - one right in the middle, and one about 2 meters from each climber. the knots will often jam where the rope has cut through the lip of the crevasse, making it easier to stop the fall.

not at all impossible my man! while placing the initial anchor you hold the weight with your feet, keeping your ice axe ready in case they should blow (but kick 'em good to prevent this). once you have whatever youre using for your initial anchor in, clip your leg prussiks...well, it might be a bit too much to explain here - hire a guide or get some more experienced friends to show you how its done. there are also several books that explain the process - maybe you could get together with some friends and figure it out in someone's yard using the book for reference. it takes practice to get all of the steps down, but youll pick it up in no time if you commit a chunk of time to learning how to do it properly then practicing. good luck!