OlympicMtnBoy

I've seen old pics of belay pants with through the crotch zips that also allowed you to zip the legs together to form a sort of elephant foot sleeping bag bottom. I don't remember who made em, but if anyone knows I'd be curious about those too.

Yep, the Olympics always have a little more hidden away then you think. Nice job getting out there. Now I just wonder if the steepest part of that face even becomes a fun snow/ice climb? Hehehe.

Same boat, I got some Ice 9000s but I think they are a tad big and I get a wierd pressure point on the inside front of my left ankle. Might just try to find a size down (anyone need a nearly new pair of 11.5?) and then figure out the pressure point. As to your list, I don't think the Scarpa Phantom Lite is actually a double boot, just a single with an attached gaiter. I don't know anything about em, but Lowa also makes an Expedition 6000 and Expedition 8000 that I think are both double boots (at least the 8000 is). Just don't look at the price.

So the weather "might" actually be sunny, this being spring and all, and I can probably ditch work. Anyone wanna hit anything within striking distance of Seattle? Not so excited about the Exits or Vantage, but I could be talked into it. Never climbed at Darrington, could be fun? Is anything still in around Snoqualmie? Olympics? Other suggestions? I have plenty o gear and can drive (but only nice roads, borrowing Grandmas car right now). Will lead up to 5.10-, follow harder, prefer that you don't need belay lessons. PM me!

Can't most anyone get these at any Shell station by buying 10 gallons of gas?

Umm, yeah, that's what I was climbing too. Those nice ones over in Renton. Lucky bastard.

Feathered Friends in Seattle (not sure where you are) has Ice 9000s in 10.5 if you want to try them on. I think they're on sale for $320 too. I tried on a 12 (no 11 or 11.5 there) and it was a tad big, so I think these 11.5s will fit me. I normally wear a 45.5 La Sportiva Nepal Extreme and 11 or 11.5 in other stuff. Skyklone said he takes a 44.5 on his Sportivas and the 11.5 Ice 9000 is a tad big. Maybe that will help.

PM sent on Ice 9000s.

You bastards who spend too much time on the internet took all the stuff I want. Just in case I'll get in line for the larger big bros and aliens. I'd buy your funky Russian cam but they were only $12 new last time I was there. :-p

Dean Potter is really Alain Robert??? I knew the French were behind this whole thing! It explains sooo much . . .

Thanks, makes me feel better about the terrible time I had getting back down with my shorty skis the weekend before. That snow is just crap for skiing down from the lake right now. I got passed by vw4ever on his slow shoes too, ended up just bailing off the skis and postholing in a couple spots cause I didn't have enough edge to ski the icy crust (which of course wouldn't support me without the skis). Nice job on the couloir though. :-)

Note the height, 27.5". I saw a review on a brit site said it was hard to do much inside cause it was so freaking squat. No personal experience though.

After the recall debacle, I sent all 9 of my Aliens back for tensile testing at the end of January when I went on vacation (non-climbing). I got em all back a couple weeks ago with nice "tensile tested" stamps on the swages and little tags that said "tensile tested by Dave Wagonner". Given my painted on ID markings, and tags on the clip-in loops, none of them seemed to have been replaced (ie: failed the test). I am once more happy with them. I haven't used the offset TCUs yet, but Aliens still have a secure place on my rack. I talked to Dave once before I mailed my cams in and he was terse but gave me the info I needed. The other guy I talked to when I called to check on the status of them after a month was very nice, found my cams, and moved them to the top of the to-do pile. I said I didn't need them back immediatly, but it seemed like they were willing to make an extra effort if I had a big trip coming up (since they'd already been there a month).

AJScott, thanks for the nifty pics, gives me some good encouragement there. The winter direct listed in the new Olympics guidebook is different from the summer route, it goes climber's right of the SE ridge and has mixed potential depending on snow conditions (according to the book). The summer route is way on the other side of the ridge. Deception looks like it could have some fun potential in the right conditions. I've never been up there before. Damnible, sounds fun if the road is open high enough. Spring cc.com party in the Olympics anyone? Maybe after this next bit of snow settles? - OMB

None o' that now Porter, it's like just a few days ago you were spraying about Smith with pretty pictures. Get back out there soon! - S

Damn, that's all we can come up with? This forum just dies every year come November. I know there's more to do in the winter and spring than that! Damnible, what are you thinking of in the Buckhorn? I was up there in fall year before last and did both buckhorn peaks, didn't look like anything vaugely steep up there would be long enough to justify the hike. I've been thinking about the Winter Direct on Washington. Anybody interested in heading up there with me this weekend or next (weather and snow providing)? Or hitting anything else?

I still love my Geko 301 with the built in barometric altimeter, but yeah, I think the screen is just about exactly the same. It'll show you bearing (the direction you want to go to get to your waypoint from where you are), and you can find your heading (the direction your headed) as well.

My guess is the weakest part would be the attachment point between the head and the shaft. Look at the clunkly looking thing Grivel had to make for their carbon fiber/wood axe: Monte Bianco It is oddly cool though, that thing is like the weight of 2 or 3 biners.

Random websurfing while taking a break from my thesis just found this. Check it out: 4.5 oz ice axe. Of course they call it a "potty trowel" on the manufacturers web site here . 128 grams of aluminum and carbon fiber for the 55cm version. Somebody order one of these things and tell me how hard it is to snap. My CAMP aluminum axe is weighing me down at 8.6 oz. ;-) Just don't bring one along if we're gonna be roped up.

Combining that snazzy gu shot packaging with your favorite beverage! Check it out: Pocket Shots! Now I can throw away my heavy metal flask and those glass bottles! "The ShotPak is a new and innovative concept in alcohol packaging. The shot is a single serving shot of alcohol in a soft portable package. When full, the ShotPak is lighter than a 50 ml airplane bottle and more convenient to carry. The ShotPak was developed to target people who are engaged in an active lifestyle and are on the go."

Ok, so I'm thinking I haven't been in the Olympics much for a while and I need to get out in the spring. We have great steep couloir routes in the Cascades like Triple Couloirs, etc. What is the closest I can come in the Olympics? How steep does the couloir in route 1A on Constance really get? How about the north side of Alphabet Ridge from Charlia Lakes? Ridge of Gargoyles? There has to be some nice spring snow/ice somewhere.

And of course, don't forget your competitor product. While it's not exactly the same (straps on the floor instead of nylon, and no hood, it still probably takes a portion of your already small market share. Nunatak Dual Arc Alpinist $500-$600, ~2 lbs, 20 degrees, and available with Epic. Not to discourage any healthy competition though of course. ;-)

Yeah, probably not something I would pony up for (although I'm generally cheap), but something I would possibly use given the right route and partner. I think the attached hood is key,and something the differentiates it from some of the other quilt style bags out there. You don't get to twist and tun as much as you would in your own bag anyways, and being able to minimize heat loss with a continuous barrier on the bottom of the bag is great. Some thread drift now, here is what I would really like to see in a new FF bag, and might actually buy (although not at the custom rate). I really want one of these: Montbell UL Down Hugger #3 (ie: ~1lb 30 degree bag), with a real neck baffle, plus zip up or drawcord closed arm holes and a foot hole similar to your rock wren, or the Exped Wallcreeper. Maybe you can incorporate the stretch stuff like montbell too, but I haven't actually tried it. Basically a super light Rock Wren with a more tapered shape and a neck baffle. I like the idea, but no one that makes that sort of bag makes it light enough, shaped well enough to take full advantage of the insulation. And I don't understand why neck draft collars get dropped in warmer sleeping bags, it seems like a big warmth improvement for a small amount of weight. I would use it for summer mountaineering and nice weather spring/fall trips where keeping the pack light (and SMALL) is important. Ok, that's enough for my rant. :-)

So sue me, I rounded it to $100 for my 5 mins of work (100/5*60=1200), it really should be $105 for 5 mins work which would make it $1260/hr.

I just want 30 meters of a Beal Joker, then I don't have to worry about all that. It's not realy that much heavier either.