OlympicMtnBoy

Nice job Tom, looks like fun! I need to ski off Stuart one of these days! The last time I was up there from that side (not counting skiing on a good snow pack last Feb), I found it was much easier/faster to pick up the trail on the right bank of Mountaineers Creek rather than scrambling the cairned boulder field route. It didn't really become a trail until after you were in a ways around where the boulder field starts. Is that trail gone? Or just still hard to find?

Is there gonna be a "Photo Contest Winners" thread or something or do I have to scroll to the 10th page of each category, check the winner graph, then go back and find that number pic in the big list? I'm lazy. . . ;-) Great pics all!

Nice job! Here I thought it was a lot of work to solo the much shorter Leaning Tower as a first Yosemite wall (with a similar practice schedule in the rain at Index).

Or come up and do the complete Dana's Arch with me!

Second on the Spyderco Ladybug, tiny and light, really nice blade. One lives on a biner on my harness with some prussik/rap cord, never take it off, never notice it till I need it.

Sounds like a fun trip with some good elevation there! Any pics? I need to get back out in the Olympics!

I keep meaning to get up in there to ski! Looks like fun! And Lowell is right, Martin peak is the last peak of the Needles, just before Deception.

I spent a season teaching climbing to kids at an outdoor ed. school n southern CA. Every day I'd have to hike out and set up a bunch of top ropes on some 30 ft slabs. After a little while I decided to start learning alternate rappel methods since the kids were almost always late anyways. Dulfersitz works fine but is a bit painful and I'd hate to do it on anything overhanging for more than a few feet. That being said I have used to a few times while canyoneering where I knew the raps would be short and mostly into water or down slippery chutes. Let me leave the harness and crap at home and travel light, and a bit more secure than handlining it with frozen fingers. Then again, you aren't going to need to spend time doing crap like that in Yos. :-)

I think I've worn my hardshells like twice in the past 5 years and that was for skiing in the rain. Wear synthetic undies and a softshell and if you're moving you'll dry em out and keep warm. I hardly ever take hardshells anymore even in the pack although I do use some fleece lined, nylon shelled overpants in the winter sometimes. I'd go with the lightest/cheapest shell you can find with full zips if you're just going to carry it. The Mountaineers would disagree.

The bridge to Khazad Dumb . . .

Matt following on the NE Buttress of Chair Peak. I don't know why I'm posting as there are way cooler pics upthread!

Sunset bivy below Mt. Hardy.

Damn, I shouldn't have waited so long to post, there are so many better pics here. Oh well, here's on of Jon on Acid Baby.

And only a broken ankle: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/technology/gadgets/mark-roberts-falls-100-feet-during-mountain-climb-filmed-helmet-camera-video http://youtu.be/FjfHHFyKrtc

Yep, and you already own one. It's called a backpack. ;-) Seriously though I generally have a backpack with most of my little stuff (headlamp, first aid, sunscreen, etc) in the top pocket. I keep my "cragging" rack on a multiloop gear sling (that I never climb with) and I just add or subtract a couple things for the trip and throw the sling in the pack. Helmet/harness/shoes live on a shelf. The less time I have to spend packing/unpacking the better, being "ready to go" outweighs being "organized" with everything in it's right place on the shelf. I rarely forget anything (mental checklist helps). Here is some other great inspiration for actually building storage areas fro Wenatchee Outdoors (several of those featured post here): http://www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/15242 and another article from Outside on the same folks: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/The-Ultimate-Gear-Storage-Facility.html. Have fun!

Here she is on Monday, pretty darn snowy. Bergschrund was totally filled in. I'm sure you could get up it, but take some good flotation. It didn't seem to have gotten as warm up there as I would have expected given the weather. That may have changed some this week but I doubt it.

Thanks for the suggestions, I found a good deal through TAY on some K2 Sidestashes in 174 (does everyone here ski longer skis than me?)and I'm ready for the snow this weekend. I am now looking for a lighter skinny ski for spring corn though as I've clearly blown my quiver of one plan (and my budget).

Hmm, I thought the bottom of my ski was supposed to be sorta flat. These are finally toast after 2 warranty swaps and two epoxy jobs. :-( I need something to replace these old Dynafit FT 10.0s for my "quiver of one" ski (as in I don't have any others). Since it's not my first pair of skis and I'd like to enjoy the uphill and the down on our variable cascade snow, I'm looking for a newer ski in the 90-100mm underfoot range that can handle a bit of powder, crud, and ice. I'm 5'9" and 165lb so probably around 174cm (my Dynafits were 169 and 86). I have Dynafit Comfort bindings so I don't need those unless you have a really good deal on a newer/lighter dynafit. I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for lightly used skis but I'm also cruising the "end of season" sales so if you see a good deal out there . . . (but I wasn't planning on new skis so I don't want to drop $500). Let me know if you have something that might work!

Nice, always fun up there. I camped up there Monday night for the heck of it and there was still good powder in the bowl. We did a bunch of laps on the north facing stuff and there was still plenty of powder. Skiing directly off the summit was the worst run with sun/wind effect. We didn't have your bluebird day though, mostly in the cloud and it turned to rain as we skied out Smithbrook.

Of course if you keg you have a pretty significant extra investment and then you have a keg of beer and you'll want a kegerator. Oh and you can't bring a six pack over to your buddies as a gift unless you buy a beer gun or something. And you'll need more kegs if you want to have more types of beer around. Bottling on/in your dishwasher is a good way to keep it clean. Sanitize your bottles and put them upside down in the dish rack (also sanitized). Put your bottling bucket on the counter above your dishwasher. Pull bottles off the rack and fill, drips fall on the open dishwasher door. Piece of cake. Not that if someone were giving away some kegging gear I wouldn't use it for some things. Also don't underestimate your local homebrew shopes. They can get you set up with a "kit" and often help customize it based on what you already have. I've found pretty knowledgeable folks at all the local stores. My next project is a Flanders Red (Belgian Sour) when i unpack the brew gear from our move.

Nice, sounds a lot like my trip in the same January inversion a few years ago, except we left the skis at Muir. Nice when everything comes together for a "mellow" outing like that!

Cool, always fun to see the updates for the gearheads. Although not nearly a gear head enough to want to go, so someone has to give the highlights! :-)

I had a great 3 day loop trip in the Robbers Roost area last year with a bunch of short rappels and scrambling but no swimming (exposed up climb on the exit). I took a canyon newbie and we had a great time but I'm not sure of any guides there. Are you looking to don a dry suit and dry bags and do a technical overnight trip? Some backpacking with some slot scrambling? A series of day trips from a base camp?

Went out to Silverton off the Mountain Loop highway on Tuesday and there was a bunch of ice up there. The first set of flows you reach on the trail had a lot of water running. We kept walking a bit farther and saw this: And then this: We climbed this one, around 70m to the tree at top center left and then did a second pitch up the final short pillar. It felt like WI4 with interesting cauliflower ice and onion skin in places but reasonable screws for most of it. Only about an hour walk in, thanks to whoever snowshoed in before us scouting. We didn't take flotation although it might have been helpful. With the inversion temps I have no idea what things are like now. I also heard that Franklin Falls was in enough to climb on Snoqualmie. Have fun out there!

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