miller

i was looking for more of this: "If you're goin that far, why not go to where there's real ice - like Canada. That way you don't actually have to hang out in colorado."

dag! i cant buleev you just go and do a brotha like dat...

erik - you banged up my project sucka!!!

colorado climbers are ____________

mike, yeah, its been a while - get my email from someone and drop me a line. i just finally got enough time to do something other than climb and work and i chose, very productively, to waste it on this web site. i blame work and sunny colorado fall climbing weather on the disappearing act.

yo. PM me. ive got most of that good stuff and id be willing to share info... norway too... cheers, todd

hello mike, been a while - how are things going? ive tried on/used some of these boots... cumbre - f'n huge boot - dont like 'em. vasque boots - i dig 'em. theyre kinda big and bulky as well, but for technical stuff in cold weather theyd be the bomb. dont know about step in crampons with them - apparently pneumatics work well with this one... red kayland boot - depends on your foot. my foot is kinda narrow and they didnt fit me at all. but i like the design and think it would be a great boot...if you dont have narrow feet. as far as the availability of the vasque boot, im out of the loop. if theyre still hard to come by, get my email from andy or coley and ill try to put you in touch with someone who will know whats going on with them (you know kelly, right? - i think he has been "working" with vasque and is the owner of the only pair ive ever seen and tried on...) cheers, todd

you must be one of them mountain climber guys....

just getting back to bellingham - looking for partners. im interested in just about anything, as long as its fun. leave a message here and we'll go climbing. cheers, todd

slothrop, ill try to get to all of your questions and answer them the best i can. as far as gear goes, yes most items are less expensive in europe than the US, however switzerland is probably the exception to this - that country aint cheap. but yeah, most things - even five ten rock shoes (US company) - are less expensive in europe. june is usually pretty nice. soft snow in the afternoon and t-shirts and sunscreen on the glaciers. im not sure what it has been like lately, but i had been living there all year and just got back a few weeks ago, and it was one of the warmest and driest springs anyone can remember. if that trend has continued, conditions in june will be much more solid than they usually are. of course it can still snow up high at anytime in the summer, but that really isnt much different than the cascades. for reference, june is pretty much the same story there as in the cascades - maybe just a bit more wintry (is that a word?). as far as leaving the cams at home, id say yeah you should leave them IF you are only planning to go cragging. however youll need them on mixed/rock routes in the high peaks. since most of the rock in that area is limestone or chossy gneiss, there really isnt much crack climbing. if you want to climb cracks in the alpine, bring your cams and head over to chamonix - excellent alpine granite (you might want to consider just going to chamonix anyway - youll have no problem finding a partner there, no matter what your skill and experience level may be). hut reservations depend entirely on the hut. for example, if you want to try and solo the gouter route on mt blanc, you can pretty much forget about getting a reservation at the gouter hut (but of course this shouldnt stop you - just show up and theyll find somewhere for you to go - lots of no-shows). but at the monchsjoch hut, i dont think it should be a big problem in june - last time i was there in june the hut was still closed and there was nobody else there. to expand on mtngirl's comments, ill agree that i am a bit more relaxed on glaciers in the alps. but it has nothing to do with the glaciers themselves - the glaciers are at least as complex (probably more so) as glaciers in the cascades. the difference is that the standard routes get so much traffic that there is almost always a well beaten path through crevassed areas. that doesnt mean its safe - youll still cross bridges and you can still slip - its just a risk that a lot of people take in the alps that most people here do not. that said, there are probably more people killed in the alps during a single summer day than during the entire year in the cascades - people take risks and do things differently and certain practices that will seem bizarre to a north american climber are widely accepted in the alps, but often people pay for it. and she is right, there is a lot of cragging right outside of meiringen (and interlaken) but i wouldnt go all the way to europe to climb those sorts of routes. sure, the views are nice from the crags - so why not just go to the peaks you would be gawking at, right? im really excited for you and wish you the best of luck - again, if you have any more questions, keep 'em coming. cheers, todd

slothrop, ive done a fair amount of climbing in the area and there is definitely no shortage of things to do. the best advice i can give you is to go to the shop "vertical sport" in interlaken and talk to kaspar (im pretty sure thats his name - burly guy with beard...). ive been through the area several times over the years and kaspar has always been there and and has always given me great information. just be honest with him about your ability and what you want to doand he'll point you in the right direction. to find the shop, find the "happy hostel", turn around, walk across the parking lot and youll see the shop. as far as finding partners, interlaken can be tough. in the summer, the hostels are full of frat boy types who are "backpacking through europe". you might try balmer's campground, but dont get your hopes up. youll probably have better luck finding a partner in meiringen, but again, i wouldnt count on it. as far as moderate alpine rock climbs, there is plenty to do, although youll want a car for a lot of them. there is a book that you can buy at the shop called "plaisir west" that covers the interlaken/meiringen area as well as most of western switzerland. these climbs are very different than youre average north american alpine rock climbs. most of them are bolted - its not at all rare to find 14 pitch alpine rock climbs that are completely bolted with equipped rappels. almost all of the climbs in "plaisir west" are relatively moderate as well. but it is wrong to assume that these climbs are mellow because of the grades/bolts. the bolts are usually there because there either are no cracks or because any cracks that do exist are too fractured to take pro. ive been beaned by spontaneous rockfall on very popular, well-travelled routes and therefore id have to think twice about soloing a lot of those routes, even if the climbing is totally straightforward. as far as moderate snow routes, definitely try the monch and the jungfrau. looking up from the valley you may be tempted to think twice about soloing these peaks, but once you take the train to the jungfraujoch theyre right there! the monchsjoch hut is right at the base of the monch and is about a ten minute walk over a generally crevasse-free glacier from the railway terminus. the monch is pretty straightforward - just mind the cornice on the summit ridge. the jungfrau is a bit more risky as a solo because of a few crevasses, but ive done it in june and felt OK. if you stay at the monchsjoch hut and get an early start, its not unreasonable to solo both the monch and the jungfrau in a day. i dont remember exactly when the hut warden comes back, but i dont think he is there in june, so bring some extra food. the hut is still open and there will be blankets, etc. in the bunkroom. there is no end to the things you could solo up there, it all depends on how you feel about being alone on glaciers. for these climbs, the british alpine club books are excellent, but you might consider "alpine 4000m peaks by the normal routes" (or something like that) by richard goedeke (sp?). it describes the normal routes, which are obviously safer choices for a solo climber on his first visit to the alps, and the author describes in detail how to do them all with public transportation. another good, mellow solo day is just outside of montreux and can be done with public transportation and doesnt involve any glacier travel (a lot of people dont like the idea of soloing on glaciers). there is a little arete traverse called "uberschreitung" that is a good solo (but of course youll want a rope for rapping down to notches) and then you can scramble up the "dent du jaman" before catching the train back down. all of this is described in "plaisir west" - however the descriptions in this book are only in german, french, and italian, and the topos are in german only. however, the maps and topos are good will make sense even if you cant translate them. i could go on and on about things to do...if you want more information, fire away. best of luck!

it seems gene and i are the only people who support this, but i am with him - knots in the rope are a great idea and they work. however, id be picky about which knot you choose. we've actually done live-body tests into crevasses to see if the knots work, and they certainly do. however, one knot was clearly superior - the butterfly knot. we tried butterfly knots, figure 8s, and overhands and the butterfly knots were definitely better. in fact, sometimes the other knots didnt even catch, whereas the butterfly always did. i dont know exactly why, thats just what happened. of course i wouldnt count on them in ALL conditions, but in MOST conditions they work. also, ive used them a lot (everytime i rope up on a glacier since doing that little test session) and ive never had them hang up on ice chunks, etc. if you are working through funky penitentes, etc. of course they could get hung up, but so could an unknotted rope. in a team of two, i generally place a knot roughly (no science here) 1 1/2 - 2 meters from either climber, plus at least two more on each side of the middle just in case (for example if you break a long bridge near the end and the knot two meters away falls with you into crevasse). in theory, you shouldnt really have to prussik out and pass the knot, because if the knot worked it should be stuck in the snow near the lip of the crevasse just above you, in which case you should only need to move up a step or two to whale-flop over the lip. but, as if in the above mentioned example, you break through a long bridge and it is one of the secondary knots that catches, passing the knot while prussiking isnt that complicated. prussik up to the knot. take another sling, etc. and secure it (klemheist, prussik, etc.) above the knot, stand up in foot prussik and leave old waist prussik slack, slide new one above the knot up, weight it (of course knot will now be unweighted), undo the knot and the old waist prussik and continue prussiking as normal. you might say, "well what if i dont have an extra sling?" well, i guess if youre going to use the knots in the rope, be sure to have an extra sling as well, in case you end up in this situation. hope that helps!

no sweat erik. im pretty much as good as there - im just waiting to hear what my schedule is going to be like from the folks in bellingham. if its full, then it wont be worth it to pay rent in squamish - if its not, ill be there. thanks everyone for the tips - and again, if anyone knows exactly what the rules might be, please let me know. cheers.

believe it or not, i do (for the summer). again, anyone have any useful information? thanks.

does anyone know what the rules, if any, are for US citizens wanting to live in BC for a short period of time? of course i would not be working there, just wondering if it would be legal to get a place and live there for the summer. ive done it in other countries, but in those situations i wasnt crossing the border all the time - im wondering if customs will give me a hard time crossing back and forth...

what is this talk about helmets - whats wrong with that stylish visor?!

i own the cold cold world chaos and i love it. i dont know what "heavy" means to you, but i routinely carry pretty heavy loads (working for 6 days straight on mt. baker, for an example) with it and cant complain. i really dont think any pack is really that comfortable with heavy loads - might as well go light - youre carrying the pack too. ive also given the pack a pretty good beating and no problems. i also own the chernobyl and i love it even more - cold cold world is the stuff - i dont imagine ill ever use another pack.

jordop, you aint the first my man. i shop at those stores all the time, in person, and i speak french, and it is still pretty damn chaotic. i try to avoid all of this french bashing crap that, thanks to the current politcal situation, has become so popular - i currently live in france and some of my best friends are french. but i have to admit that they arent the most efficient and organized of people. when shit happens here, the attitude is pretty much "too bad." in north america, you can complain enough or to the right people and you will probably accomplish something. here you will be passed around to a number of different people, none of whom know a damn thing, until youre eventually passed back to the person you asked in the first place. cham3s is a bunch of stores in cham that somehow work together, although i havent exactly figured out how. i asked a friend of mine who works in one of the stores if they were all related and he said yes, but for example, if you go into snell (the largest of the stores) and buy something, it doesnt have anything to do (profit, stock or otherwise) with one of the other smaller stores down the road - however all are affiliated with cham3s. doesnt make any sense to me either. my non-french friends and i have have a saying when things like that happen over here (as they often do) to brush it aside avoid going nuts - "c'est la france".

i realize all of this is just good fun - i like to laugh at clever jokes regardless of whether or not im the victim. but for those of you that are taking this seriously, i think its important to note that both americans and canadians are lumped together in the same boat by most people in the world (sorry canadians, but its true). basically, let the jokes rage in north america. but talking anti-american/anti-canadian crap abroad is just shooting yourself in the foot. we can rag on each other back home - but politics aside, on the world stage it seems we are still best friends. both america and canada are incredible places to live, and are home to some of the most friendly people ive ever met.

i like climbing in tight-fitting, plain old leather gloves with no insulation. they get a little wet, but less sopping than thin fleece, and i find them warmer than thin fleece as well (although they dont dry as fast...). and they really come into their element if youre going to be doing any moderate alpine mixed climbing - great grip on rock. theyll feel stiff at first, but will soften up after the first good day. i just carry a warmer pair of gloves in case i really freeze, but honestly i rarely ever put them on. last weekend it was -15C in the alps and i spent all day ice climbing in just the thin leathers. sure my hands got cold, but never dangerously cold or to the point that i lost dexterity. i tried the neoprene "glacier gloves" a few years ago, and theyre not bad, but i found them to be too sticky. they make getting in/out of your leashes harder, and theyre always getting stuck/hung up on biners, etc. climbing in big gloves drives me nuts. i dont like to have to take them off/put them back on to place gear, and i have no dexterity if i leave them on. i really dont like schoeller type gloves like the bd dry tool - the word "dry" is very misleading - most of them seemed like sponges to me, and they dont dry very fast either. and those seal skinz that freeclimb9 talks about sound like theyre definitely worth checking out... i think someone already mentioned that youll hear good climbers swear by many of the choices mentioned above. but i dont think anyone mentioned plain old leather gloves yet... one more choice to think about! good luck!

i love cold cold world packs. cant say enough about them.

...or just skip all of that hassle with the link (unless you can read norwegian) and go to www.mountain-activity.no

fence sitter, i was the one that posted the original message. something got all screwed up with my old account so i had to change my user name - and "todd" took so much creative energy... tried to email you, but message got returned - right address? anyway, i spent a few weeks climbing ice in norway. it was pretty good, and the potential is amazing. however -30° high temperatures didnt do good things for the ice conditions, but still got a fair amount of climbing in. place is also ridiculously expensive - if i wasnt staying with friends i dont think my budget wouldve lasted. i just heard from one of my norwegian friends today and the word is that the conditions are "much better" than when i was there. take my word for it, that is something you should be very happy about. most of our time was spent in rjukan, and the place is pretty nice and deserves its reputation. climbed a bit around lillehammer and oslo as well, however the norwegian names dont stick in my head because they dont mean anything to me, and id have no idea where to tell you to go. but there is plenty of ice to be had, thats for sure. my friends would usually say "today we'll go to this place, and climb the blah-blah-blah-fossen" and id just get in the van and go. as for rjukan if youre looking to do some of the super long classic WI 3's, be aware that most of them are probably buried under several meters of snow. worth noting because looking at the topo you might get the impression that its an area for all levels, but most of the lower angle stuff is completely buried. there is no shortage of good 4 and 5 type stuff however, and im sure you wont be disappointed. for more information, there is an excellent website all about rjukan, in english. the catch is the only way i know how to get to it is through a link on a page that is almost entirely in norwegian. go to www.steepstone.com , then screw around trying to find links to "rjukan is". the word for link in norwegian is "linker", if that helps and as if you wouldnt have figured that out... anyway, once you get to this rjukan site youll know it - excellent site in english, and has photos of routes and up-to-date conditions. and if you need any other info or logisitics, dont hesitate to ask. and if you really want my advice, dont go north - come down here to the alps. the season has really picked up, and i think the ice climbing in cogne, italy qualifies as some of the best ive ever done anywhere...and the beer is a hell of a lot less expensive than in norway. best of luck!