miller

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!

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.