kurthicks

I just made an updated topo for the NW Face of Snoqualmie Mountain. The large dots approximate belay locations. I'll do a regular topo of all the current routes (Pineapple Express, Blue Moon, NY Gully, LA Express) sometime, but I need more motivation for that project than I currently possess. The full-sized version can be found here

We fumbled a sling on the north face of Chair Peak today. I don't want it back, but whomever found it can rest assured that it has good history and should be put on your rack.

I've got a red alien that needs a new trigger wire. pre-recall. the lobes are still pretty good. $20?

Some on sale at 20% off: http://www.backcountry.com/store/subcat/4/sale/Avalanche-Safety.html Of the ones on sale, I can't recommend the Freeride or the original Tracker since it they are not 3 antenna models and can make deep burials more challenging to locate.

The seasonal closure of Midnight Rock in Leavenworth should be on here too. No dates posted on the USFS site yet though.

Looking for a ski partner for the Wallowas next week. No hut reservations. I'm prepping for a Level 3 avy course and am planning spending a good bit of time digging pits and doing stability analysis stuff. Definitely logging some turns too! Planning on a mix of day tours around Wing Ridge and an overnight towards Aneroid, depending on conditions. I'll be leaving from Seattle on Monday and have to be back by Saturday, but will likely return on Friday. Word is that good pow still abounds... Any takers? PM me. Kurt

Not really a place to be cheap IMO. Get a modern digital 3 antenna beacon...but find it on sale.

The best liquid is one that stays liquid AND one that you actually drink. Throw some tea in a 1 liter Thermos. I also take another .5L nalgene filled with hot water that is nestled inside a beer cozy. The Nalgene lives in my jacket and I drink it first.

Dartmouth? University of New Hampshire? UMass? No great mountains really, but great cragging. Perfect for a grad student's schedule.

It works often, but not necessarily all the time depending on snow surface conditions. Be sure to practice crevasse rescue with the butterfly knots in place. The 6:1 drop loop (a.k.a. Canadian Drop Loop) is often the easiest rescue method.

i'll take Alpine Select too.

That's a lot bigger than it looks from the lake. cool!

An additional concern might be to see which crampon attachment system you can do with bulky gloves on...and reliably. As Alasdair mentioned, the OR overboots are terrible for use with anything other than full-strap crampons. I have seen issues with 40 Below also (actually, with those it's mainly a size issue with the boot welt), but these can be resolved with some creativity with a pocket knife. So, you can do some modifications to overboots to get them to work more consistently with 'automatic' crampons, but it's just another thing to worry about in my opinion. As for me, all I take anymore are full-strap models. If a guest of mine and I can't resolve their crampon fit issue at 14,000', they're going down. It'd suck to end your trip that way. Get it perfect before you head to AK. Nothing's easier up there.

ah, lots of ice to be climbed in the Snoqualmie area still. Source Lake Line, the Snow Lake routes, and the Bryant Buttress stuff all look good from what I saw today. just deeper snow on the approach...

I'll take Squamish, N. Cascades Traverses, and Kearney. I'll be in town in a couple weeks, so let's meet up!

not to trash on the thread, but your harness isn't doubled back properly. doubled back, yes, but not done correctly. I've seen lots of folks make that same mistake with that same harness.

Gene - shoot me an email and I'll send you my info on this. I'm too lazy to post it online.

Looks like a fun day out! you might want to check how you double back your harness though.

Nice. I went looking for that a while ago. I'll have to go back.

I think you're fine using an auto-blocking device in this configuration. Do be careful of having two seconds jugging IF the ropes are going in different directions (e.g. a traversing pitch where one lowers out and the other jugs the lead line). If the ropes are loaded a different angles it can cause one or both to not lock in a fall (or if weighted by the jugger).

Jeez John, spraying for me! Why do I even log on to cc.com anymore?! I did climb the NE Slab of the Tooth today after deciphering a cryptic note about it being climbed recently on TAY. We found excellent s'nice and a tiny bit of water ice on the route--much higher quality than the last time I did it. I did fumble and drop an alpine draw on pitch two--if someone finds it and wants to give it back I'd be psyched. I bet similar climbs (Chair, Bryant NF, Abiel, etc) are all in reasonable shape so long as you get on them before the snow falls this weekend. The ski in and out is a bit icy; some may prefer snowshoes (or not. one could get by on foot easily). Here are a couple photos: Route Starting up on good ice and snice pitch 2 On the North Ridge cumbre

I believe it was Fixe who bought the CCH patent and equipment. Totem is doing a near replica from what I've heard. There's been much discussion about this across teh interwebs.

expect a long walk on either side. at least 6 miles to the trailhead either way--probably shorter on the north side.

I'm glad my superhighway to the junction helped ya! Looks like a fun place to wander into sometime.

There's no appreciable ice in leavenworth from what I saw yesterday. Nothing was climbable in the Icicle including Mountaineers Creek and Hubba Hubba. It was dark when I drove the Tumwater, so I can't speak to that. If you're thinking of going up to Colchuck to find ice, don't bother. The only stuff I saw up in the mountains were those little bit up by Hel Basin and the usual tiny drips at Colchuck Lake. It's the driest and least icy in that I've seen in the last decade.