fenderfour

Do yourself a favor and rent the DVD's

The issue with Absinthe is the wormwood that is used to make it. It is considered poisonous in the US. Most of the hallucinagenic effects from absinthe are largely anecdotal. http://www.feeverte.net/ You can get one of the cheapest brands at the Duty Free shop at the CA border.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050803/ap_en_tv/tv_chappelle_s_show The end of Chapelle's Show

www.gearexpress.com has ABC Huevos for $48/set. If you spend a totoal of $50 you ge tfree shipping.

I bet the BD trigger wire replacement kit would do the trick. I've heard that people have taken cams to sail rigging shops for a quick swaging. You might have to explain to them that the trigger wires don't hold any weight to alleviate their fears of killing you.

You so look like Stewie (avatar pic)

I think I can see it right.... there.

everyone needs independant food weight verification

I will second alpinfox's comments. The pack, sleeping bag, pad and stove are the best places to save weight. Forget a tent. Use a bivy. When climbing Rainier, you are only getting a few hours of sleep. The big drawback to bivvies is long hours in the rain. Lets see... half of a 10 pound tent, or a 1.5 pound bivy... decisions, decisions... A lot of climbers use an assload of stuffsacks and compression sacks. Foget about them. The few little things (sunscreen, glasses, mp3 player) that may get lost are easily stowed in the top pouch. Use pieces of shockcord to make big rubber bands to keep gloves and hats together. Compression sacks suck. There, I've said it. They will get you sleeping bag or down jacket as small as is humanly possible, but you are left with a rock-hard ball that doesn't pack well. Instead, line you pack with a heavy duty plastic bag and jam your sleeping bag in the bottom without any stuffsack. Really jam it in there, filling all of the corners. As you pack other stuff on top, Push it down more. The sleeping bag takes up more volume than it would in a compression sack, but it fills in the nooks and crannies of your pack, leaving more usable space. You don't need 3 nalgenes to carry 3 liters of water. I keep one Nalgene clipped to my pack to rehydrate and 2 Aquafina 1 liter bottles inside to refill. You can also check out the platypus bags and such, but I'm worried about them getting holed. You really don't need a camp cup. Use your nalgene for cocoa/tea/cider, whatever. Sure, it will taste a little funny the next day, but who really cares when you are halfway up Rainier. No crampon pouch - Tie the crampons together (points to points) and strap them on the outside of your pack like the Alpine Hardmen do. My extra clothes are usually a pair of socks in the bottom of my sleeping bag. I wear a short sleeve shirt, carry a Marmot driclime, a down jacket, and a shell. I usually don't even bring shell pants unless I think it will be cold and windy.

I heard that girth is more important than length.

I would avoid hammering on crampons. Any part of them. If you are completely out of options, take a file to the wire bail and remove a bit of the tab. Don't remove any more than you have to in order to get it back in.

The lower Coleman glacier was fun this past weekend. All conditions are as expected.

I can't speak for the Airtech crampons specifically, but on my G14's there was a little tab on the toebail just past where they met with the crampon. The hole where the toebail enters the crampon is actually a slot, and the toebail has to be rotated so that the tabs line up with the slots. I was able to pull it out by hand, but a large screwdriver might help you out.

They all open beer if you know how.

The Metolius tool has been ground so that the clip end is wider than the hook end, making it easier to get at small (aid climbing) stoppers.

seattle fabrics or REI http://www.seattlefabrics.com/

I saw some Stubais in action on some aerated glacial ice over the weekend. They did not do well for climbing anything steep, but they seemed to hold their own on the flatter (<30 deg) stuff. I certainly wouldn't take them on a climb that I expected a lot of ice, but they should be ok for an occasional icy patch.

Sometimes all you gotta do is Google it... http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/current-conditions/mta-climbing-report.shtml Don't forget to pick up a permit.

Super-secret Northgate Ice. I'm going for the FA.

Here's somethign I put together a while ago from the bulger list. The comments are from Smoot's website. I hope he doesn't sue me... 479801-100PeaksClean.xls

You said Solo AID, right? Two 'biners, two clove hitches with 3-4 feet of rope between them. Build a bomber upward pull anchor at the ground and start climbing. As you move, alternate retying one of the clove hitches so that you are always tied in. No real need for backup, unless you don't trust a clove hitch on a locking 'biner. You would protect the climb as normal. Most times you would leave the unanchored end dangling so that it doesn't catch on anything, bu you could tie into it as well. I doubt you will be moving fast enough for the system to be too much of a PIA. Where you headed? I usually hit Index once a week for a little aid after work. PM me if interested

Alice lake

Brian Miller did the rescue piece on Forbidden in the Seattle Weekly in February. I would say that he is unusually qualified to write this article after being airlifted off Forbidden.

I will second the "No Beal" sentiment. I picked up a 9.8 single last year and it's pretty chewed up after one season of use. I'm not impressed.

A couple of long slings are all you need to set a handline to the summit block. It's 3rd class, but very exposed on the right as you head up.