chris

Thanks guys, you've given me plenty to think about!

Not to get off track, Rocky, but my strategy has always been to take a bearing to the skiers left or right of the Palmer chair, depending on wind direction, then descending until my altimeter reports that I'm about 1/4 to 1/3 below the top of the chair. Then its a simple matter to turn towards the chair lift and maintain elevation until you cross under the cables. Then I just have to follow the Palmer and Magic Mile Chairs to the Lodge. I still disagree with your argument that the USFS, or any land manager, should be following up with permits. The point of the Wilderness Permit is to document user days. The point of the climber's sign-in sheet is to verify the itinerary after a third party has contacted the USFS and reported a climber overdue. Again, the reguirement to be responsible adults should be on the climbers, not on the government. Requiring the USFS to do anything more than gather up these scraps of paper for use studies is simply a step toward fees and regulations.

So the BD Cobra and Viper have identical geometry. But the cost difference ($110.00) is significant. What do you think? Does the carbon fiber justify the extra cash? Has anyone actually used both tools and can give us some comparison?

So many things have become obvious in these threads. Please correct me if I am off base. One of the glaring issues I see is little or no infrastructure on Hood to support climbers. Silcox sounds like it gets used as much by climbers today as when it was abandoned and unused 40 years ago. No one keeping track of who is on the mountain or where they might be. No daily or current on site weather or avi info available. As much as I get annoyed at the NPS on Denali or Rainier , Parks Canada or even climbing in Chamonix all those things are easily available..current weather and avi conditions, a useful hut system for when the mountains flush you out and someone in most cases requires you to register...and they actually keep track of your route and OVER DUE date and time. 10,000 climbers a year on Hood and no support required? No wonder we see an abnormal amount of accidents there. Dane and Rocky, I'm going to respectfully disagree. There is more support for climbing Mt. Hood then there is, say, for climbing Mt. Baker or Shuksan, two peaks that are managed similarly. And in the five times I've climbed the hill, I've never not found the Wilderness Permit and Climbers Sign in sheet. There's Timberline Lodge and the Ski Area building at the base; a cat and chairlift service; its possible to find shelter in the Magic Mile and Palmer lift shacks if you look around; reliable weather reports can be found online at the National Weather Service, the Weather Underground, and the Northwest Avalanche Center; and NWAC provides a specific avie forecast for the Mt. Hood area. most people have at least one spouse/significant other/domestic partner/room mate/friend/drug dealer/loan shark (I'm sure there are exceptions on cc.com), with whom they could reliably check in/out with. The difference from many other management examples - such as Rainier - is that the burden to find these resources and use them is on the climber, not the land manager. And that's the way I would prefer it. The other end of the spectrum is a ranger, 24/7, whom you must check in/out with who has the authority to prevent your climb due to weather hazard, avie hazard, or thinks you don't look "prepared" or "equipped" for your climb. Such a system is impossibly expensive and restrictive. So we get systems like Rainier's as a compromise, where climbers have to check in with a live ranger, get lectured, and then go. And the fee's that come with it to have that ranger there - which means you need another ranger around to enforce the regulations - which costs more - oh, this is getting complicated... So instead of "requiring," lets "encourage" climbers and skiers to come with SPOTs or MLUs or PLBs or (my personal favorite) PBRs! Lets encourage climbers to take responsibility for themselves - and how about a notice that gives directions for what to do if there aren't any forms left, "If there are no Wilderness Permits or Climber Sign In/Out Sheets available, please leave a note here with the following information..." If people don't take advantage of the incredible amount of services and conveniences available to them for their climb of Mt Hood, if accidents happen, then we should all bow our heads, light a candle, and learn from the event. But we should not start to cry out for someone else to start supervising our actions, out of fear that we can't take care of ourselves. What do you think? Chris Now, what I'd really like is a refugio on top of the Palmer lift!

Member of the 11% club.

Letsroll has it right. With that difference in your ski/skin sizes, you're going to have real trouble setting a side-hill skin track on any kind of firm snow. Since up hill is rarely head-on, you'll notice the difficulty immediately. You might be up for it, but what about your partners? Wall-to-wall, tip-to-tail, is best and will last the life of the skis. If you're on a real budget, treat this like an investment. Do it right the first time so you don't have to spend more money to correct a poor purchase decision later. Chris

Make a reservation to stay at La Posada. Also book to have them pick you up at the Monterrey airport rather than messing with the bus or negotiating with a cab driver. Like its been said, you're a 15 minute walk to the crag, the grocery store is either a 30 minute walk or a quick hitch in town, there is a guest kitchen/common area at Posada, and three restaurants and one cafe just outside the gate. One note. The market is a really popular thing to hit on Tuesday and Fridays. But if you want your money to stay in the local economy, buy your groceries from the groceria and carneceria near the plaza. The vendors at the market are all from out of town, and only a fraction of the market's fee to the city makes it back to the local community. Chris

Erie's great for when you don't have all day. Just expect to take some time getting acquainted with each wall and the maze of trails that connects them. Unfortunately, Dallas' book is the only game in town and the maps are a little vague and in a couple of instances just plain wrong, unless down-climbing 3rd or 4th class terrain constitutes a "trail". Chris

Because of FF's downtown location, they deal with shoplifting attempts pretty regularly. Don't take it personally.

Thanks for the math SnoBoy - you get used to the skinny factor, and it rolls up so much nicer than 7mm. Cheers!

I'll argue that smaller diameter ropes are more likely to be severed completely when cut on a sharp edge than larger diameter ropes. Its a known hazard. Why is anyone surprised?

Nice job Wayne - time to get a helmet cam!

Actually, since the closest I've been to the Gunks is LaGuardia in transit, I really doubt that what I think is very relevant... And I think that's the case with most cc.com members - does anyone have experience at the Gunks? Based on reputation alone, I would expect a 5.8 at the Gunks to be a bit harder than a 5.8 at Index. Does that work for you?

I stick to 6mm cord, DPS. When I'm expecting to leaving some behind, I simply carry an extra cordellette. Chris

You cannot start the OP with this sentence and then seriously complain about the responses given, can you? But there are some good responses here - the Gunks are notoriously graded stiff (some say sandbag). Also, someone mentioned that softer grades can also be found closer to the Gunks than the Cascades (in the 'Daks). And still a third commenter pointed out that comparing the Gunks to the whole Cascades is a little misleading - I agree and think your comparison should be limited to Index or Icicle Creek. Finally since you said in your last post: Its hard to really make an accurate comparison without a little more experience than that - especially if your route experience in the Cascades has been the high alpine. Come on back sometime and try to get a bit more cragging in, then tell us what you think. Cheers Chris

Originally I planned on camping out, but rough weather on Mt Hood and car trouble has pushed me down to Bend. Does anyone have a sofa I can crash on while I get my brakes replaced and dry out some gear? Dates are tomorrow (Wednesday), Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights. That's it. Cheers

I'm assuming you mean El Potrero Chico. The drug war seems to be confined closer to the borders and in the bigger cities. My friends in Hidalgo insist they've seen nothing of the violence shown on the TV in town or in Monterrey. Late March may be a little warm - good luck!

A short article in the OR daily news said they planned to increase advertising to 30%.

This GPS has worked great for me - I simply don't use it anymore. Comes with a great hard case, it's worked in colds of Antarctica and the wet of the Cascades. More about it can be read here: Garmin eTrex Vista This GPS costs $214.27 retail. Its for sale for $95.00 (55% off) + $5.00 shipping. Purchase it before the 18th without shipping and you can pick it up at Feathered Friends that weekend. For more details, PM me. Cheers Chris

Nice TV - I'm convinced that black makes the best background for photos on the computer screen. Your site locks clean and pro!

OK - I did it. I have a blog and I'm interested in your views and feedback. Here it is: Climb.Ski.Run.Sleep.Repeat. Check it out, become a follower, vote in the polls. Thanks! Chris

Learning to ski without professional instruction takes longer. Simple. I've skied for more than 30 years and I still hire a professional ski instructor for a few lessons a year. Until this year - I finally decided to become a ski instructor instead! I'm still amazed that people look for professional instruction or guiding but insist on paying those people less than a mechanic for their time.

To the best of my knowledge, BD and Metolius will only re-sling their cams - but Yates will sling everyones. A buddy had his entire collection re-slung by Yates to match BD's size-color scheme, irregardless of actual make. Pretty slick!

So I want to mount a pair of Look Tx7.0 Bindings - anyone know of online resources for downhill binding templates? Chris EDIT: Due to my fruitless research and lack of response here, I went in today to Marmot Mountain Works in Berkeley and asked there. I ended up at California Ski Shop, who immediately and cheerfully mounted these old bindings on a pair of only-slightly-less old Tua Sumos for my newest pair of in-bounds rock skis!

Fear, You're right - that's why my other two pairs of skis are mounted with Dynafits. But these are going to be specifically for 50/50 in bounds and lift-accessed backcountry. So I'm less concerned with weight then performance. Since the Fritschi's are step-in bindings, I think they're also more suited for lift-accessed backcountry and in bounds skiing then Dynafits. That's my plan at least - I'll let you know if it works! Chris