mike1

I was going to ask the question, but ended up finding out the answer first, so this is an FYI out to you all that might be planning a trip like the Ptarmigan Traverse. Forest Road 26 is closed from a washout as you can see from the FR 26 closure. This news release led me to believe that FR 26 was closed from SR 530, being about 21.6 miles (according to my map-tech program) from Downey Creek TH. After a short call to the NFS, I found out that it is closed 6 miles up from SR 530, so you are looking at a 15.6 +/- mile hike to or from the Downy Creek TH.

I have an older Magellan Sport Trak. Trained on a rescue team with many other brands and it always seemed to lock faster than others and it picked up satellites in forested areas better than Garmin. It's a base model; no maps, etc. Throw some lithiums in it and it's pretty light weight. Had it for many years and never used it beyond training or rescue mission tracking. IMHO drop all the bells and whistles and go basic and light. Practice map and compass EVERY year and plan on using it as your primary navigation tool.

Just came back from 4 days in the NC breaking in a new pair of these bad dogs. I have narrow feet and these fit perfect. Light, tough, sticky, gortex. (rival La Sportiva Trango) Mike

Arcteryx Needle

Agreed. I always thought chaining the Ptarmigan, Pyramid Inspiration and Pickets traverses (AKA The Grand Tour) would be a great way to spend a summer.

http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/ more good info.

I have Arva and like it a lot. However, I've trained with others that use the Mammut and it's top notch. I suggest Mammut Berryvox for ease of use and built in safety switch.

more... older thread After this thread I picked up the HB El Cap. No complaints.

IMHO go with a basic model and stay sharp on your map, compass, route finding and bow staff skills. They’re fool proof and won’t let you down in an emergency. Having said that... I picked up the base model Magellan Sportrack a few years back. 0 complaints. No bells and whistles, but it picks up that rinex data signal easily enough. I put some lithium AA’s in it and it lightened it up a bit. (try that!). It stays in my pack 95% of the time, unless I’m specifically training with it. IF I bring it at all.

It Looks like the two front runners from folks here based on those searches are the Garmont (Tower or Pinnacle) or La Sportiva (Trango). Thanks for the info man. Mike

La Sportiva (Trango S Evo GTX), Mad Rock (Alpinist), Scarpa (Triolet GTX) to name a few. I'm thinking about picking up a lighter weight alpine boot for multi day, ridge traverse/alpine climbing. Currently I have an all leather pair of Sportiva (Karakoram GTX). My last trip into the Olympics left my feet wounded for weeks. Still waiting for my nails to mend... Others had the Sportiva (Trangos), which they spoke highly of, but by the end of the trip one pair had opened up on the nylon upper. I typically fit a little narrower so I'm leaning towards the Sportiva's. Any suggs.? Anyone have the Mad Rock’s? Triolet’s??? Thanks!

Still wear my old Avocet. I was initially bugged about the lack of a back light, but it seems I’m usually wearing a head lamp when I’d need a light on the watch anyway. Got to send in for battery changes, sure. But they’ll take care of repairs etc. The last time they actually replaced my bezel and band with no extra charge. Watch looks and acts brand new... must be over 10 years old now... Knelson, I’m betting you can send your broken one in with a $20 and they’ll fix and return with no or minimal additional charges. $0.02

Reynauds... I have that. It’s also referred to as “White Finger”. My index, middle, ring finger and sometimes pinky on both hands turn white at the second knuckle. There is NO blood flow to the tips which is pretty bad news unless you have a heat source to bring them back. You’ve seen some guy skiing down Saint Helen’s stopped waving his arms around? That’s me forcing the blood to my fingers!!! I asked my Dr. what I could do and he said stop subjecting your hands to the cold.... Ya, not likely... He also suggested high blood pressure medication might work to dilate my vessels. I haven’t tried that yet... It most often happens when I’m gripping something like the steering wheel, ice axe or ski pole in the cold. There are many reports of loggers with this condition the theory being that the operation of vibrating tool during the cold (mostly Canadian loggers) can lead to the condition. I’ve been experimenting with gloves for a bit and currently my system is to use the Seirus Therma-Lux Glove Liner w/ heat pocket, or as I like to call them my "Michael Jackson’s" due to the gold mylar mixed into the stitching. I keep at least a half dozen of those hand warmer pouches on me or in my pack’s FA kit depending on the length of the trip. My outer gloves are the BD Guide. When I start having a problem now I just stop and break out a few hand warmer pouches, put them in the liner gloves hand warmer pocket. As far as water proof glove... warm hands are happy hands be them wet or dry. The key is to have a second liner so a dry one can be used while the wet ones are drying somehow. My $0.02 Mike

They were mountaineers, nuf said.... Is Heinrich still alive?

Michael , I enjoyed reading your essay - thanks for sharing. Mike

REI used to be the shit! Started by climbers for climbers... then they hired a marketer.... I'm betting the fly fishing section will take off. It would prolly adversely affect the small businesses like Red Point. SUPPORT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AND COFFEE STAND!!!

Well I for one feed from the “duh” bowl so thank you. Ok so I know liquid water does not equal “water ice” Mr. Hawking (compliment), must have been thinking about climbing.... Admittedly, I mis-typed my post. My point was to say that ice could be cooled to below freezing temperatures. It has been my understanding that ice or pretty much everything else for that matter could be cooled to absolute zero (-273 C. aka Kelvin)... theoretically...

That's all you got?

Hey, isn't this a climbing forum? he he he, I love it.... so you're saying if I floated a water ice cube into space it would remain 0 degrees even though a thermometer would read something near kelvin? what about temperature gradients? Dru, I'm just yankin yur chain man... But since I got everyone talking physics here's another question; Why does water boil at lower temperatures at higher altitudes? And don't give me some bs like, "Duh, it's air pressure".

Why?

A friend showed me this trick once. Question: Why does the water on top freeze first? I've set a nalgene upside down on the glacier next to my bivy to test it and sure as sh*t only the bottom of the bottle froze, not the portion contacting the glacier... Maybe the outside air temp. was lower than the glacier. if so then a suspended bottle (or equally insulated) would freeze evenly? Sooo, IF that's correct then it only works when you leave your water on the ground? Or is there some thermodynamic molecular reaction taking place?

Ade, thanks for providing the links. Answers a lot of questions. Made me a little more confident in my choice for a helmet. Mike

You are right, plastic helmets are designed to shatter (I learnt sumpin tday). I think there’s more to the story though. I mean wouldn’t it be better if it didn’t break at all and could still absorb shock like a polystyrene? Carbon fiber helmets probably come closer to this than plastic. I’ve heard folks say the HB aren’t ventilated enough and are a little heavier. The El Cap is a bit heavier, but I decided I liked the design enough to carry the extra weight. There is another that’s worth a look if you’re interested... check out the Carbon Dyneema Helmet http://www.hb.wales.com/helmets.htm I would be curious to know if there has been comparative tests done regarding different helmets makes and models and the failures from impacts taking UV into consideration.

UV man... (sounds like a super hero). I haven’t heard of new helmets shattering, (not that that means anything), but it only takes a couple years of avid climbing for the affects of UV to breakdown the plastic. Same rules apply to hard hats. I have a fibermetal (plastic) hard hat for work that actually has a replacement date stamped into it (ya, I’ve had it for about 15 years). I’ve had the same Petzl Ecrin for... uh... 11 years so I decided it might be about time to replace it. HIt a few of the local shops and got the same story from everyone. Plastic helmets shatter after UV deterioration. I opted for the HB El Cap (carbon fibre/kevlar). Funny, you visit a construction site and you see these new carbon fibre hard hats. Hmmm I says... What kind of helmet do you (everyone) wear? Why?

After seeing the dudes face plastered all over is page. I'd be surprised if he could spell lawyer... But he probably is married to some cousin that was in court once...