Chad_A

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/473450/an/0/page/3#473450 It's all been well covered; here's our TR from last year.

I'll take a We sure need it!

1-30-06 from mounteverest.net: 02:42 am EST Jan 30, 2006 (MountEverest.net) There's been no further word from Jean Christophe Lafaille since Thursday. A small plane is currently on its way to the mountain for a reconnaissance flight. The plane will try to spot Lafaille’s tent. Home team fearing crevasse fall “If the tent is still there, that would mean Jean Christophe may have fallen in a crevasse somewhere between his latest bivouac place and the summit,” his home team reported on Jean Christophe’s website. “Although hopes are scarce, we can’t give up yet,” said Serge Koening, mountain advisor with the French Ministry of Youth and Sports and climbing instructor at ENSA School, Chamonix. Possible communication problems Lafaille last called home to his wife Katia on Thursday 26th, from 7600m. He hoped to leave his bivouac place by 5:00 am local time the following morning (Friday), in order to reach the summit by midday. He also mentioned he was running low on batteries. The French climber is soloing the mountain in winter. A cook and a kitchen helper are waiting for him in BC. However, apparently his BC staff has no means of communication – only Lafaille had a sat-phone with him, and he would always report straight to Katia. Out of sight from BC A helicopter has been requested to reach BC (5300m) as soon as possible - the pilots could then ask for details to Lafaille’s staff. However, the route on Makalu can’t be spotted from BC, according to Kairn.com. In addition, from Makalu La (at 7400m) the route follows a summit ridge located on the Tibetan side of the mountain, and thus out of sight from lower camps.

Very nice pic

Very cool- good job on getting back safely

On sale! http://www.mgear.com/pages/product/produ...98%204294967270

FRI PM JAN 27 -FEB 1 HIGH -2°C -2°C -2°C 4°C 0°C -2°C LOW - -10°C -11°C -9°C -7°C -7° I did a historical search; looks like it got warm from the 23rd to the 25th.

I've been watching the temperature; not likely. Looks like there's definitely some cold days there.

Nevermind. Redundant.

www.climbaxe.com Here in Portland, they're a distributor of their products. I don't know if they carry the new stuff, but it's a place to start out at. Sorry- just saw that they've consolidated with Pagan Gear. If you search www.dexonline.com I'm sure you'd be able to find the number directly to their shop, here.

PM sent. D'oh! Email sent

Wow! That's a much better response then I could've hoped for. Thanks for that. Here's a bump for the seller, as they're a great price.

Squamish jacket looks okay; the switchback looks heavy and bulky. I'm not a big fan of windproof fleece; for me, it doesn't breathe well enough. At some point, it'll all come down to your personal preference, and you'll have to experiment to find out what that is. That said, going cheap is the way to go when you're first starting out. For cold conditions, my layering system goes something like this (there's a million ways...this is just what I use): Base layer short sleeve t-shirt, 100 wt. fleece (non-windblock) with a spare fleece, or other long sleeve layer in the pack. I throw in a light primaloft insulating jacket, and have a light shell to throw over top of that, for a final windblock. This allows me a lot of versatility. If it's cold and dry, but doing aerobic work (like approaching a climb) the t-shirt, fleece, and schoeller pants fit the bill great. Stop? Fine. Throw on the primaloft. If it's relatively warm, but rainy (hiking...not going climbing in this scenario), I go in my t-shirt, and throw on the light shell, with the zips open to ventilate. These are my basics, but I can use the same gear for multiple scenarios, and add to it, or subtract, as to what the forecast is saying. Sorry if this is too much information, or all too obvious. Chad

I have the Camp aluminum strap-ons. Very nice. Great for trips where you have short glacier crossings to approach alpine rock climbs.

Wow, this is crazy. Timberline is up to 138 inches. Neck and neck with Paradise, and more than Baker...

Oleg- I don't know what they are...but you can see from this copy-and-paste as to what they're going to be: Today: Snow showers likely. Snow level 2500 feet. Snow accumulation up to 3 inches. Pass winds southwest 5 to 15 mph. Tonight: Snow showers likely in the evening...then snow developing north after midnight. Breezy. Snow level 3000 feet. Snow accumulations 4 to 6 inches. Pass winds southwest 10 to 15 mph increasing to 10 to 25 mph after midnight. Friday: Snow...heavy at times. Breezy. Snow level 2500 feet. Snow accumulation 8 to 14 inches. Pass winds southwest 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Hi, another gent and I were on that route in the spring of '04. We had gotten a ton of snow that winter, and then it stopped, and turned to summer, just like that. What we found was that, going that early in the year, the approach was so much easier...on snow, the whole way, and the Nisqually was closed up enough, that we could have approached directly to the Turtle snowfield, without even using "The Fan". Depending on snowpack, it'll prolly have good conditions through June, but I wouldn't count on it much past that; if the snowfall peters out, plan on early June, or maybe May. It's south facing, so it can melt out pretty quick. As with any other gully, they're a natural rockfall/avalanche funnel, as well; I think I remember a TR where a couple guys dodged falling serac debris. Have fun and post a TR It's a good route that's not too difficult, gets you to the summit pretty directly, and gets you away from the crowds.

Are the intuition liners remoldable for a different type of boot? I have a set of scarpa alphas that the size 10 would work, if they could be made to fit the boot. Input?

I'll second them. I took their course a couple years ago; very good. Nice area to be, as well!

haha, well, I wish it were for more glamourous reasons, but I was on call; couldn't sleep. Or, it could've been because I was on my 11th cup of coffee, and the search engine actually sounded like a good idea.

Wow! The power of the search engine. Great read. Can't believe no one ever responded to this one; glad to be the first.

Ok, thanks, Iain. That page lists the average snowpack on the first day of each month. So, for example, on the first of February, at Timberline, it says that we should'be been at 117 inches, and in a couple weeks, we should be at 140 (supposedly). Keep the snow coming!

Googled it, but didn't come back with much. Looking for a website that tells what out snowpack is for the ski resorts, as they seem to be the most documented. I saw a SNOTEL site, but it didn't seem to help much. Or, does anyone know the average snowfall amounts for Paradise, Timberline, Baker ski area?

Thanks for sharing, Chris. Nice post

Thanks much for the update. Looks like a good winter in the Cascades this year (hopefully)