chris

There are three guide service concessionaires and 12 (I believe) annual single-trip permit holders. The single trip companies, such as Pro Guiding Service, typically operate at smaller ratios and can offer you the personalized trip you want. Start looking now - the Park Service should be able to tell you who those companies are. Another possibility is to join one of a number of climbing clubs, many of whom finish their basic climbing class with an ascent of Rainier. Its hard not to be insulted when asked to pirate guide, since money is usually the first reason people look outside of the concession guide services. I understand, but I also am trying to make a living here, and as an AMGA certified and IFMGA licensed guide, I can't afford the consequences of being caught operating without proper permitting. It would destroy my reputation with land managers and give guide services good reason not to hire me as well, since what guide service would want to admit to land managers that they employ a known pirate guide? That's the risk the OP is asking an AMGA certified guide to take by pirate guiding. Tvash, believe me, we're working on it. Its a whole other topic and I don't want to hijack the thread. Feel free to PM me with follow-ups.

Says enough for me.

Is that public, or an example of cragging on private property within public sight?

Trip: Mt Elinor - Elinor Couloir Date: 2/1/2013 Trip Report: Just a quick TR and road condition report. Skied Mt Elinor on Friday with DF in surprisingly good conditions. 4 miles of the 7 mile drive to the lower trailhead was passable, adding a small amount of time. Since neither of us had been here before, we followed the lower trailhead along the ridge, then traversed across into the meadow. Climbing up the couloir was a mix of skinning and booting. The summit was so iced up that we opted to boot the last few hundred feet, and I was glad I hadn't brought the dogs along. The skiing from the summit was a great mix of hard and softened crust all the way to the bottom of the couloir - the remaining skiing through the trees was a mix of crust and soft with a lot of tree debris mixed in. A real typical PNW descent. Three miles of road skiing led back to the car. Next time, I'll continue on the road past the lower trailhead to the first drainage, then head up along the left edge of the clear cut into the trees. From there I'd climb steadily up and right until I reach the rib that the higher trailhead follows, join that trail, and continue as I did Friday. Its a fascinating area, with a lot of potential to explore and none of the traffic that I've grown accustomed to in the Cascades.

@smithxrandy: I wonder about the plastic pieces - it would suck to rip out a tower mid turn. Here's a link to Lou Dawson's page on this binding. @Bstach: I would for fun, on a nice groomer, green run, for the novelty of it. But plastic ages and becomes brittle. So do my knees. The combination of the two would keep me from pushing it more than this.

I've also posted this over on TAY, but want to share the information as broadly as possible: Now that things have settled down and everyone's returned home, I'll chime in too. The two climbers ascended the North Face of Chair Peak, but found snow conditions much looser than reported by teams over the weekend, slowing them down markedly. But both were very experienced climbers and familiar with Snoqualmie Pass, and felt ok finishing the descent in the dark. What they hadn't counted on is the increasing winds managing to move snow that day, creating a windslab pocket high in Chair Peak basin. While descending the upper slopes, after rapelling from the ridge, one triggered this windslab at approximately 5750' elevation and was carried 500' downslope. He suffered a fractured wrist, ankle, and foot. His partner managed to splint his injuries and drag him a further 250' to the flats immediately uphill from the Thumbtack. 911 was called immediately, as well as a phone call to friends. Variable winds in the basin prevented a helicopter evacuation. Three of us were able to rally and respond, arriving with the SMR hasty team and assisting with the evacuation. The injured climber was evacuated and taken by ambulance to Harborview, where he had two surgeries and was released on Saturday. A full, albeit long, recovery is expected. I want to give a huge thanks and shout-out to Erik and Patrick, the two volly ski patrollers who responded to and accident; and to SMR and ESAR, who did an impressive job. I was particularly impressed with how quickly SMR responded, how well they managed the rescue, and utilized their resources (especially the three of us friends and ESAR). Pnwclimb's partner did a fantastic job splinting him up, and keeping him stable while waiting for rescue. For the snow scientists, winds picked up from calm to 25mph in the morning, and the temperature inversion allowed the moved snow to create a cohesive slab quickly of DF. The bed surface was the MF layer that will plaque us for some time, possibly with a very small weak interface of FC on top of the exposed MF. The crown was 60m, averaging 15cm; the right flank was indistinct; the left flank averaged 25cm high, and descended 200' elevation down-slope. The total slide length was 600' elevation. Slope angle at the crown was 40deg, the majority of the slidepath was 35deg. Slides during the previous storm cycle exposed the MF and created a hardened surface to allow the slide to travel further than possibly in other conditions. Feel free to ask me any questions in public or by message.

For a quiver-of-one, something around 270cm for the Cascades. 300cm is too burly and heavy for all but ski patrollers, mountain rescue teams, and the occasional avie instructor.

Leatherman Juice C2. Big enough to handle, pliers and philips head screwdriver.

Thanks for the reminder about http://www.westcoastice.com/. I had forgotten about that resource, and Don's taken it a big step forward since I was last here.

Can anyone report on BC Ice Conditions? Is there any? And any new recommendations on the best lodging in Lillooet? Its been six years since I climbed there last. I heard a rumor that access was lost to Honeyman Falls - is that true?

FWIW I have friends in Boulder and Jackson who rave about the Alpine Training Center and Mountain Athlete, respectively. Sounds like these Cross-fit inspired gyms are creating programs to train on the weekdays without being wasted for the weekends. If anyone has Crossfit instructor training, and is interested in opening a similar gym in Seattle, I'm confident you could thrive here. http://www.thealpinetrainingcenter.com/ http://www.mtnathlete.com/

Ha! In New Zealand, they're called nutcrackers, and come sewn into a weight-lifting belt that you get with your lift ticket. But still, why has this happened. It seems like too much of a conspiracy to blame large resort ski resorts.

No worries Jason! Just be more careful in the future. What Jason and Kurt did was respond with an understandable vehemence. You did say, "one of the things that the clubs have is an interest in the students actually learning." That is a polarizing statement. And it is untrue: as a guide I'm very interested in making sure my students learn - I rely significantly on return business and word-of-mouth recommendations, which only happens when I'm successful in presenting the material, and my students are successful in understanding it. It takes more than motivation - no matter how earnest and well-intentioned - to make for a competent, qualified, and effective instructor. And for Newman and anyone else considering an avalanche course, not all AIARE courses are the same. The American Avalanche Association provides "recommended guidelines" for avalanche courses that AIARE adheres to. In fact, AIARE instructors are required to be members of the AAA. But the curriculum provided by AIARE also allows for some variation so that instructors can use local photos, terrain maps, and case studies. There is also quite a bit of flexibility in how some of this information is presented. Picking the best way to present the material, and making it relevant and understandable to the students, is what sets great instructors apart.

So, not to put words in Jason's mouth, but my takeaway was that he hypothesized that club avie instructor-members are more optimal instructors than guide service avie instructors because a club member will have a greater investment in insuring positive student outcomes. He supposed this was because club students and instructors were more likely to become ski partners afterwards than guide service students and instructors. While I agree with part of his reasoning, I think his hypothesis is false. My example is my favorite ski partner, the Missus. Just because I am heavily emotional invested in her learning avalanche awareness, that emotional investment does not mean that I'll more effectively teach her that information then to someone in one of my avalanche courses. Also, afterwards club instructors and students will not suddenly be planning trips together as equals: a more likely and probably scenario is that the instructor becomes the more experienced partner, who's judgement is deferred to more often. Obviously I'm biased, but I believe that I provide a superior service because of practice - I teach a lot of avalanche courses and apply those skills almost daily (starting tomorrow) throughout the winter. Jason's idea was an interesting one for discussion - its too bad he didn't choose his words more carefully - but I think I've done a decent job explaining why I don't think its correct. Full disclosure: I'm a guide and avalanche instructor at Pro Guiding Service, North Bend.

When I spent time in New Zealand, I was happily stunned by the number of ski club hills - tiny basins, often on logged or alpine terrain, utilizing rope tows. None had anything fancier than a warming hut at the base, with a club-run concessions stand. The biggest one I skied at had three rope tows - two linked together on the right side, and a third on the left. What happened here? There used to be two other ski hills on Stevens Pass, one on Pilchuck, and several others. You can find the list of KIA on Lowell's website. I also noticed this at Lake Tahoe when we lived there for a few winters, so is this a national phenomenon, or did something specifically change here in Washington? I've never seen the little rope tow at the Sahale ski club run. Some point down the line, I heard that it was safety regulations that became too burdensome. I even heard that the rules governing a rope tow are the same for a chair lift, gondola, and a tram, which seems a little ridiculous to me. But this is all hearsay. Does anyone know the facts? Lowell? The cost of entry to skiing and snowboarding keeps getting greater. Lift ticket prices are spendy. Base areas sometimes seem over-developed, but many ski areas say that without that development, they can't afford to operate at all. Is there room for minimalist non-profit ski hills today?

BCA did a great job of summarizing and not-so-clear presentation from ISSW: ISSW 2012: Avalanche Beacons and Electrical Interference There's also a whole long list of entries specifically about avalanche beacon operations: Category Archives: Avalanche Transceivers / Beacons Good food for the brain.

Thanks Smith - I've been thinking of heading out to the Island for a while now. What's the best guidebook(s), and perhaps the best climbing shop to be found?

I know I'm a big fan of mine - I wear a t-shirt base layer underneath it, and layer on top as needed for temp management.

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/all/qc-lab-sling-strength-in-3-different-anchor-configurations While this study didn't look specifically at cordellettes, it did compare the sliding X to the anchor point method. KP determined that even though the sliding X was the strongest, the anchor point method was still strong enough. My consideration is what happens when one of those pieces does fail - would I rather the entire sling extend to shock load the remaining point(s)? Of course not. But putting in extension limiting knots is a pain in the arse. So for me, the anchor point system - with a cordellette or a sling - wins 95% of the time because it is strong enough and non-extending. Its the best compromise in my opinion.

FWIW, Fairhaven Books in Bellingham has an on-demand press downstairs. You can set up an account with them, and then they'll print the book as needed. I don't know what the split is - I'm sure its not as favorable as if the Mountaineers Press was publishing, but it may be worth saving you the time and effort.

Mine arrived this weekend!

I use a velcro too, the V-Mile from 5.10, with a loose enough fit that I can wear socks for cold days. They're 10.5, and I typically wear a 10.5-11 street shoe.

I agree with a lot of Cale's post. I don't even consider fit on anything 30L or less. I typically remove the waistbelt and its the features (or lack of them) that determines my purchasing decision. I'm happy with the Warthog 26L that I won in a drawing on Dane's blog, but my overnight ski-touring pack needs to have compression straps. What I have discovered is that I'm willing to take a weight penalty for features that I appreciate on a pack. Just a stuff sack with shoulder straps doesn't work for me 66% of the time, irregardless of how light-weight it is. So another brand to check out is Millet. I'm getting ready to order two of their packs, a 30L and 45L. It appears to have all of the features I want and none that I don't.

These days the only times I use running belays on snow slopes - typically with a picket in a vertical orientation - is to mitigate the consequences of someone pendulum-ing from a team-arrested slide, like into a crevasse, over an edge, etc. On truly steep, hard snow - where neither climber has a snowball's chance in hell to actually hold an arrest if their partner falls - it calls for pitching it out with deadman-ed pickets or agreeing to simul-solo. Most instances that pickets have failed - in my opinion - are the result of poor judgement of the snow and under-reliance on good technique.

That's what makes those Fixe fixed-cable draws so sweet - they use a quick link on the bolt-end, making it hard to remove, and pretty impractical to boot. http://www.fixehardware.com/quickdraws.htm In some areas, the team establishing the route is responsible for the initial installment, then the local climbing community (either officially or unofficially) raises funds to maintain. But really, your final comment is spot on. If you don't want to take the risk of relying on fixed hardware, but don't think you can onsite it, then take the time to get your own draws on the route, and take the redpoint. In the end, There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch (you out there?) and climbing isn't cheap. If you try to be cheap with your wallet, she'll just take payment by other means.