miller

If conditions/temps continue, I'd recommend scrapping your Thanksgiving Canadian Rockies trip and head south to rock climb. Sunday, drove all the way from Canmore to Icefields Visitor Center - not much at all was in and it was WARM. The long cruiser gullies on Mt Wilson were running waterfalls. Other climbs on Mt Wilson - upper pitches coming in but I dont know how you'd get to them. Murchison and Virtual Reality are forming but a look through the binoculars showed that both still need some cold temps and time. Bow Falls looked thin and not quite complete, but probably climbable - for an idea of the temps, the lake didnt have any ice on it. Polar Circus - upper pitches forming, lower pitches running water. Lower Weeping Wall - nothing. Upper Weeping Wall - a pillar was trying to form. Turned around and drove to Haffner - we climbed two pitches in Haffner before it got dark. Yesterday in Canmore it was literally T-Shirt weather. Then it started pissing rain. We drove along the Kananaskis Highway to have a look - Kid Falls was a waterfall - not a bit of ice on it. Raining and warm in K-Country. Deciding that there wasnt going to be a lot of ice climbing going on given the current conditions and the forecast for the week, and not wanting to wear out our welcome hanging out on our friend's couch in Canmore waiting for conditions to improve, we packed it up and headed back to Bellingham. Driving west on the TransCanada: Cascade - a pouring waterfall, no ice. Looked like some of the upper pitches on Professors might be in, bottom not in. Trophy Wall stuff is still there - must be wet and warm up there - it seemed to be raining up there as well. Over to Lake Louise - still raining and warm. Between Lake Louise and Field - raining and warm. Field - Guinness is climbable, a few other climbs are trying to form but have a ways to go. Our friends, Canmore locals that climb at hardboy standards, said that some of the Stanley Headwall routes were in great shape, and had a few other suggestions that were well beyond my game. For slack ass WI5 leaders like me who like to swing tools at thick ice, not a whole lot going on. Maybe some of the more obscure stuff way up high would be good - I guess you'd have to know where to look. A bit disappointing - word is that the season got off to a great start, then it got warm and most things that were either forming or in and climbable fell down. A day late and a dollar short...

I was thinking about heading there for the last half of February. Is that a good time to go for the ice/mixed alpine routes?

Hello, I was wondering if any of you have done any winter climbing in Scotland. Specifically, Ben Nevis area. I'd like to know what it is like staying in Fort William - is it expensive, and do you need a car to get around and go climbing? Thanks!

anyone able to go ice climbing in the canadian rockies mid to late november? i could leave pretty much whenever, flexible as far as how long you would like to stay, but would need to be back in bellingham no later than the evening of the 27th.

I've never climbed at either of these areas - are they steep enough to climb in the rain, or are there crags that stay dry (i.e. protected by overhangs)? Thanks!

nolse, i have the ergos and use hockey tape (if you dont know what that is, its black tape that is sticky on the outer side - you can get it at sports stores). i taped from the bottom of the handle almost all the way up the shaft.

hey scott, i tried the link on the ncmg site to get the topo to the route on le petit cheval but the link didnt work. do you know where i could find a copy, or is there another link that works? thanks!

why are they going to close the road at eldorado creek?

dr crash, alpinist is the bomb! (although im heartbroken now because i spent a bunch of time translating and writing letters to/from robert sennelier in france, just got #7 in the mail yesterday, and they gave credit to the other french translator for my work!) it aint the tightest ship, but i have been impressed with every issue theyve put out so far. i renewed my subscription. cheers, todd

badvoodoo, the books mentioned above are great resources and are indispensable. my recommendation would be a nice addition to those books and the extent of its value depends on where you live or where you plan on travelling to climb - im not sure where "the end of the leash" is... =) but if you ever climb in the front range of colorado i would highly recommend "serious play" by steve dieckhoff. its the only book of its kind that ive ever seen - its a beta-intensive instructional guidebook - youd have to check it out to see what im talking about. even if you dont plan on climbing any of the routes in it, you will definitely learn something from all of the little hints and tips he includes.

"whats the difference between god and a mountain guide"? -god doenst think HE is a mountain guide. and my personal favorite: "how do you know if there is a mountain guide at a party?" -he'll tell you.

faen i helvete! get some!

word. thats what i was wondering... also, do you know anything about changes being made by 2006 concerning guides working for accredited companies and AMGA involvement?

blake, not sure what youve been told, but actually the AMGA is the standard in the US, just as the ACMG is in canada, etc, etc. the problem is that at present you dont need to be involved with the AMGA to guide in the US - that is the difference between the US and just about everywhere else, including canada, and may be the source of whatever negative things youve heard about the AMGA. but the guiding industry is still comparatively young in the US, and im certain that things will change. but anyway, being part of the IFMGA, AMGA guides are held to the same standard as those from any other IFMGA country. hope that clears things up a bit - i know the whole thing is rather confusing!

lambone, no, you do not have to complete an AMGA course before getting hired. in fact, given the current order of things, its the other way around. for example, in order to join the AMGA as an individual member, i had to provide documentation of climbs that i had guided and show that i had been guiding for at least two years. and actually getting certified in a discipline is far more involved. however, ive heard that there will be some changes in the next few years and that guides who work with an AMGA accredited company will have to be involved with the AMGA... maybe jason could give you more details on that? but as of now, if you are interested in guiding, jason's article is the best piece of advice ive seen as far as what steps you need to take.

ushba basic ascender. pretty much bomber, no chest harness necessary, and hands free (just tie up the leftover rope at the bottom so there is some weight). using a locking steel biner isnt a bad idea - otherwise make sure you trick out a regular locking biner so that there is no possible way of it crossloading.

word - dru is right - that dude is crazy. nobody in the audience is safe! i recently saw his show. its more of a stand-up comedy show based on climbing. definitely not the traditional, slide show style "this is my bro on pitch 5, here is a shot of the summit ridge, this is our base camp..." sort of show. check it out if you get the chance.

we're getting way off on a tangent here... been to cynical pinnacle too - youre right, turkey rocks did get scorched but im 99% sure they reopened it, although with a different approach. i think of turkey rocks as being similar to vedauwoo, but half as good and twice as far away... the black is a place you could give me some beta on - but maybe we should PM or change the topic of this thread to "todd and dylan going back and forth about shit that has nothing to do with city of rocks" =) have you ever done scenic cruise?

yo, been climbing in this neighborhood for several days a week for the better part of the last 6 years! looking for some new scenery and i thought, "hey thats a place ive never been to..." but 12 hours, dang!!! i was assuming it wasnt that far from SLC. sounds like ill be getting a few more days in at the local spots, which is cool...still intimidated by the edge, currently fearing the lift of the raptor closure (which is my best excuse for not doing it...) whats the bummer about turkey rocks? - that jawn was open last i heard...

what up dylan??? yah, i meant the people's republic. about 12 hours??? - dang!!! is it worth it for a few days? - i have to head back to the fort before going to bham - wont be in bham till end of may...

it is good. for cragging. now is great. later is hotter. then it cools off again. what boulder area? lummox, thanks for the info. and yeah, i guess i didnt make that very clear - i meant from the boulder, co area - about how long does it take to get to city of rocks from boulder, co?

i have about a week between may 14 and may 20 and was thinking about going to city of rocks. ive never been and havent heard much about it, other than that it has good climbing. is this time of year a good time to go? does anyone happen to know about how long it takes to get there from the boulder area? thanks!

i must suck at doing searches - cant ever find anything... a week or so ago someone posted a great photo of a boyscout winning an award - know where i could find that? thanks!

...but a clever poem =)

exactly what is it that you dont like about the french? not speaking for you, but most americans who would make such a statement would answer "politics". lets change the perspective: does it piss you off when you see people burning the american flag, and threatening to kill all americans? same shit man - ignorantly judging a nation full of decent people (hey, there are assholes everywhere) based on the actions of their politicians...