OlympicMtnBoy

Mine came from the free bin at the used marine supply store down the street. Once in a while they have seats used by actual bosuns in there for less than $60. Not much different really.

Good flick, I liked it when it was here last year with SIFF. One of the better climbing films of late.

Thanks Vladimir! That was great to read, it's so hard to find information on that region in English. I would love to see some photos of some of these peaks with the various route lines drawn in! For anyone interested, I've put a few scenic pictures online from my 2004 trip to the Karasu branch of the valley here: http://picasaweb.google.com/matthiesen/Kyrgyzstan2004# Photos are mostly by Ken Zemach since he had the only digital camera and I still haven't scanned my photos. Someday I'll do a slideshow. I would love to get back in there since we had bad weather and only managed two climbs on the shorter Yellow Wall (Zholtaya Stena), which is also the wall Tommy and Beth were kidnapped from in 2000. Anyone interested?

My trusty (and only) boots need help! I've got a pair of Dyanfit TLT 700s that I've enjoyed for the past couple years and the walk/ski mode plastic lever on one of them broke. Apparently parts for this are long unavailable. Does anyone have an old pair (or single) one of these boots (or maybe similar vintage Dynafit) sitting around in their garage? I hate to throw away boots for a broken piece of plastic, and I also don't have the budget for a brand new pair. Failing finding the part, anyone have a good deal on a pair of 29.5 or 29 (mondo) Dynafit compatible boots? Thanks! Stewart - 360-301-2585

I was in the Cascadia Inn in Skykomish for a burger a week or so ago and there was a sign on the message board for a regular bus to Monroe with stops along the way. Maybe call them and find out who runs that?

Thanks for some extra stoke and sharing your little adventure!

I've got an OR Alpine Bivy with one pole that I use on solo trips when I'm expecting crappy weather. I have been through some significant rain storms in it and stayed mostly dry with the old school gore-tex (mine is several years old). If I'm going light and not planning on a bivy I take a space blanket type thing. if I'm going light and solo and planning on a bivy with nicer weather I often just take a silnylon tarp (8 oz). Most of the people I know with really light bivy sacks like the ti-goat use them with a sil tarp, it's a good light solution if you are going out for several days and want a comfier setup than a bivy alone and also avoids the inevitable condensation of a waterproof/"breathable" bivy (which isn't an issue for a night but can build up with prolonged bad weather and no drying. I wouldn't use the ti-goat as a stand alone shelter in a WA rain storm, but some folks just decide not to go out in that weather.

I'll second that. I got a second pair of those stupid rubber things for $5 in a closeout misc. bin somewhere, but they still suck. My first pair, one ripped after 2 days, so I replaced it with a milk jug plastic, coat hanger, and duct tape jobby which far outlasted the other side.

Hehe, nice, I like sunny rock climbing pics in winter. I'm pretty sure I pulled on my #4 for a moment when I groveled up Split Beaver a couple years ago. Nice job.

Didn't they just change the name when they released the TLT Vertical a couple years ago (ie: it's the new version of what used to the called the Comfort)?

A guy on the backpackinglight.com forums did a version with a titanium head too at a similar weight. Cool beans.

Nice job! Beautiful day!

So I'm spending x-mas with the folks near Port Townsend and the weather looks decent for Saturday. Anybody interested in heading up to Lake Angeles for some ice climbing or doing some easy ski touring? I probably only lead WI 3-4 right now and I ski worse, but would prefer to share lead or trail breaking duties. Have gear and a non 4WD car. I've climbed at Lake Angeles before but haven't don't much ski touring in the Olympics. Drop me a PM here, I'm heading out there this evening and should figure out what gear to bring along. - Stewart

I was there last weekend touring the Titan Missle Museum (worth doing if you like that sort of thing). It would have been great climbing weather! I was mostly just walking around in a t-shirt or a thin layer if the wind was blowing. There is a reason all those old folks head there for the winter.

I skied my Free Trek Ventures (basically the same ski) for several years with La Sportiva Nepal Extremes. I'm a crappy skier but could turn them marginally well on groomed runs at a resort, and pretty much fell down anything when i had a pack on or backcountry variable conditions. Maybe I should try again now that I know how to ski better.

I had a funny fold/bunch in one of my liners when I first molded them (actually Second Ascent did). I had to remold them a second time with some extra special attention to putting them into the boot while hot and floppy. The second time they came out about 90% better and I haven't had any problems with them since. Given I've only worn them for a few colder trips in Peru and a training hike or two here (~20 days), but I've really liked mine for being warm, comfy, and still fairly light and technical.

Since I was there too I'll be helping (heckling) Mountainmatt with slides! More beer and shwag too, woohoo!

Fred was blissfully unaware of this show when I talked to him at the Timmy O'Neil show and showed him the flyer. I'm sure his agent will get him there and give all the Tacoma folks a chance though!

For $1000 bucks that jacket better climb some serious shit for me. Wait, for $1000 bucks I probably could get some dude (or gal) wearing another companies jacket who would put up some serious shit for me.

I'd never seen his stuff before, very cool. Condolences to his family.

I didn't know there was a prequel to Vertical Limit! I sense a new drinking game coming on.

Cool, thanks for translating that!

If he doesn't get the pants I'll take em. :-)

I actually called Ritzville a couple years ago since it was a convenient place to meet with me coming from Seattle and my partner from Portland to head east. I spoke to a nice woman at the city who seemed confused as to why they would bother towing my car. She suggested parking "downtown" near city hall or something like that (probably not right in the main retail parking spots). I think I went down Division across the railroad tracks. I left it there for like 5 days over a weekend with no problem. YMMV Also this was my old beat up Subaru.

Nice job Dave! Having been on the original volunteer list, I'm pretty sure that we all suck. Good on ya for getting out and doing us all a favor! Glad the bear turned out friendly, I still use my copy of Washington Rock once in a while.