cman

Here is your model of beacon on sale on ebay right now, only getting $15.49. www.ebay.com/itm/Ortovox-F1-Focus-Transceiver-Avalanche-Rescue-Devise-/310807763408

Mt. Baker - snow and mellower than down at paradise.

I have used the CU ones and they are pretty sweet. They do take a little getting used to but definitely cut down on neck problems. At steep sport crags, obviously not a popular option amongst the commenters here, they are great. I would leave them home if you are slab climbing. the ones i used can be worn over sunglasses. Hungover could also be a problem since they give some people mild vertigo.

I did that route a few years ago and remember it was just a little loose scramble to get back to the main trail and it was no big deal. I was down there two weeks ago and saw people climbing the route (my partners were aid climbing and wandering around aimlessly seemed a lot more interesting). This looks like the 2013 closures http://smithrock.com/b2evolution/media/blogs/routes/geagle-closure-2013.pdf but shows the First Kiss area outside of the closure area. Go for (as long as it is indeed open) and have fun.

Trip: Jim Hill - Date: 2/17/2013 Trip Report: Jim Hill was the place to be on Sunday with maybe as many as 15 people up there skiing. Feck, JeffH and i found a very nicely broken trail. After a little tricky sidehilling on the ridge and a short bootpack we summited in light snow but overall good visibility. We found about foot of nice powder in the upper bowl. It got a little heavier down low but still skied well. The trees at the bottom were very icy but not too bad. The new clearcuts at the bottom are helpful, thanks loggers. JeffH topping out Feck's New Helmet Tracks down the face And here is my ski video. Next time i will orient the camera the other way to better fill the screen. [video:youtube]

It was a good time and conditions on the north facing stuff were nice. On the way up it was getting very warm on the sun affected snow so i was having my doubts. NTM makes it to the top Kurt in the main part of the chute.

It was a great day and some excellent conditions. Everything up high was nicely filled in. Down lower was good, just had to watch out. Here Jeff has an encounter with the road on the way down. Hopefully there is lots more powders to come

That is a very in depth paper, well worth a read. i definitely agree with the conclusions they come to. I think a lot of small businesses sign up for these and only realize later what the real cost and impact of these groupons are. If i could get in on the IPO i would probably buy some shares. i'll bet the hype will drive up the share price on day one, before falling on day two.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/13/why-groupon-is-poised-for-collapse/ Interesting article on Groupon. It seems like i get a call every week from some site i have never heard of "we are like groupon", and have wondered how many of these deals can businesses really sustain. The proliferation of these deals can't really be good for many businesses long term. I know lots of consumers love these deals, and buy them all the time. I don't think Groupon is going out of business or anything like that but it does seem like the whole phenomenon is way over-hyped as being some kind of marketing revolution for businesses. Maybe with increase competition businesses will get a higher share of their groupon (when i talked to them they wanted us to sell a $50 product for 1/2 price, $25, and then we would get only 1/2 of that, basically selling a $50 product for $12.50) but long term businesses need to get more $ and control out of these deals to benefit themselves. or maybe i am just a groupon-hater...

I like the pictures. It is cool having a peak like that right outside your door. Had a great time coming up there, hopefully i can do it again next winter. Christian

I went to Skaha many years ago and had a fun time, barely scratched the surface of all the climbing there. I do remember it was a far drive but only a little bit more than smith, from seattle. It is probably worth another trip. Not really sure why it is not a more popular area, as i remember is was mainly moderate sport climbing.

Both those videos are great. I love how there are pieces of the sled all over the place in the rider video. All those people up top and not one pair of skis or a snowboard? they could be ripping up that mountain with basically no effort. i need to go hang out with that crew.

Here are a few more photos from the Trip. It was a good time, the mountains in that area are incredible. A nice line right out of Holden Feck climbing on the upper slopes of Fernow Feck getting ready to ski down Bonanza in the background Jeff skiing down Fernow A view of Fernow from our ski up towards Dumbell. Feck's Pack that had a little run in with a marmot last summer We made it back to Holden just in time for easter diner. the village is pretty mellow but everyone was really nice and they had tons of hot coffee and fresh baked cookies. A little powder the first day and corn the next, and the weather held out just long enough, what more could we ask for.

In the last few years that area, known as the "Reiter Pit" to off road enthusiasts, had been inundated with all manner of off road vehicle who were driving all over the place. So the area is now completely closed to all vehicles. The down side for boulderers is that you have to walk from reiter road, the up side is it is a lot quieter up there. I have not been up there is a while but all the off roaders made a lot of noise and made it kind of unpleasant up there. The solitude is well worth the walk, and the bouldering is good.

Check out this video of the out of bounds skiing at Jackson Hole. Really high quality skiing shots in the one of the most interesting perspectives i have seen. Good for a laugh too. http://vimeo.com/21864555