Dr_Crash

It's because we French boys have huge arms and can just pull our weight off, so we don't need a foot prusik. And I would be surprized if one would need a safety prusik with an autoblock in autoblock mode since, well, the whole point is that it does block. And Petzl would never recommend a prusik... They'd rather sell a Shunt (Actually, they show a prusik in the Reverso '04 notice.) Alpinfox, do you use the thin side of the Reverso to belay a lot, or just the shiny round things (marked in the manual as for low weight / big diameter rope)? If you use the thin side, how fast is it wearing off? It looks like it would become very sharp... Last Reverso question: they say to use a backup prusik / Shunt. Which typically also means extending the rap device off (if the backup is on the brake part of the rope, which it should IMHO). Are they just giving us some overkill or what? I certainly don't need a prusik with my ATC (though I did use one on my first couple rappels, and will if I feel I'm in a iffy situation)... drC

Well, I have seen a damaged ring now drC

Double post (see below).

I'd think people leave 2 rings for two reasons: - Bigger radius for the rope to go through, thus nicer on the rope. - Some redundancy (though I haven't seen a damaged ring). Whoever climbs Ingalls Peak's North Peak next, there's a lot of extra rap rings to booty off South Ridge, then; please just don't wear Lycra drC

NOLSe, thanks. I guess when I say "always in my pack" I'm exaggerating (and no, I don't carry a stove for 1-day trips!). I won't have it for short backcountry trips with decent weather forecast. But I don't want something heavy and big that I will hesitate to take if the forecast is uncertain. craked, thanks for the recommendation. I won't fit into the size S that sierratradingpost.com has, but I'll try that jacket if I can find it locally to see if it fits me. drC

I was under the impression that two rap rings was the norm. When we climbed Ingalls Peak (North Peak, South Ridge) all the anchors but one had three rings and way too many slings. Overkill? Safety in numbers syndrome? drC

I would be so p... off if it blew and changed before I could ski it. Didn't work out this year and I was looking forward to some freshies... "The mountain will always be there" eh? Probably not in its current shape drC

I guess that if I'm serious about wanting to rely on it as an emergency jacket while ski mountaineering, I have to assume unfair weather, right? Which would push towards synthetic except if I can find a nice down jacket that stands out to bad weather well (do the FF ones qualify when dressed in eVent?)? drC

How does it compare to the Petzl Reverso and the Trango B-52? Can you ascend the rope with all of these devices (I am only sure about the Reverso but I'd guess all autolock devices can be used as poor man's ascenders)? I want something that will rappel smoothly. I've heard a lot of good things about the Reverso except for skinny lines, which I don't have (I have a 10.2 mm and an 8.4 mm). drC

Since I lost my North Face Nuptse down jacket (700 fill, stitch through---no baffles---, no collar, stuff in its own pocket) on Disappointment Cleaver, I'd like to replace it. I am looking for ideas on what to get. I want a jacket that I can always have in my pack for emergencies while ski mountaineering, as well as for those stops at high altitude and evenings in the mountains. Weight is important since I want that thing to always be in my pack. So is size. I am not sure about down versus Primaloft. Some of the candidates so far are the Western Mountaineering Flight jacket, a Wild Things jacket (the belay jacket looks great too but is expensive), maybe the Montbell? I am not looking into spending a fortune, so stuff that can be found on sale is a plus. Thanks! drC

How long are you guys out? I've been stuck in a first aid class for a long time now and Tuesday is the last one, I'd leave the East Side around 10:30pm, any chance to catch up w/ you or should I wait another week? drC

Climb: Ingalls Peak, North Peak-South Ridge Date of Climb: 9/25/2004 Trip Report: Another fine alpine outing with Chriss after last weekl's. This place is really gorgeous, and the proximity of Mt Stuart adds to that great landscape. Summitpost.org links, as we didn't have a camera: Ingalls Peak, North Peak, and its South Ridge route. We left the East side at 6:30, arrived at the trailhead at 8 something. Spent a bit of time in the parking lot, and then left for the peak, which we reached after 11. After eating a quick lunch while waiting for a party of 2 in front of us to move off the first pitch, we set up for climbing. The climb went easy, so easy I wish we had done the 5.6 variation (much thinner crack in the middle of the slab). Another time. We rapped off. There are tons of rappel anchors. When going up as well as down we skipped a couple, by doing some scrambling in the middle of the climb, and when going down by downclimbing maybe 15 feet or so to save us a rappel. The first pitch is long and you need to downclimb the first crack too (we had a 60 m rope). This place is really beautiful. A great two-day / one night trip would be to go there, climb one route or two on North Peak the first day, camp down below the lake, and then do a few climbs on East Peak the next day, and go back home. And of course, now that I've seen Mt Stuart, I want to climb it drC Gear Notes: Used rock shoes, mostly to be able to get out of the hiking boots in that heat. A few nuts, Chriss' favorite #11 hex, and camalots #2 and #3. Approach Notes: We used "Selected Climbs in the Cascade" to get to the route. The directions to the trailhead and then to the pass were pretty imprecise and ambiguous. We supplemented some with my copy of Beckey's. If the route is in the volume of SC that will be reprinted soon, it'd be nice to improve the directions.

Is anybody coming with kids. I may drop by for one day with mine (5 and 7 years old). If going only for one day or one day + night, is there a "better" day? (For slideshow or meeting more people etc.) TIA, drC

Ouch, Dru. You know how to make a point... So, here's a newbie question: I bought a $50 national parks pass. For an extra $15 I can get a golden eagle sticker: From what I read, you still need to doll out $30 for the NW Forest Pass because the damn uber-thing does NOT cover user fees? This is so lame... Oh, and while I agree it's nice that the money goes back to the trails, it's 80% of it. Ask anybody who gives money to charity, a 20% overhead by the organization who manages the money is ludicrous! They should put back 96% of it in the trails *at least*. drC

In this country, can you go to your local pharmacist and have him/her identify the shrooms? You can in mine, it's very handy... drC

My AT setup is 188 cm Volkl G4 plus Alpine Trekkers and alpine boots. It rocks on the downhill and what doesn't kill me uphill makes me stronger This said, the R:Ex is supposed to be a great similar ski (look at the dimensions) for AT because it's lighter. And the Sugar Daddy (Tele Daddy) is sweeeet. Of course, being a wood core snob, I'll stick to my Volkl until I can get my dirty paws on some Shuksan at a cheap price, or fork olver the big money for DB skis... drC fixed the quotes

"America, land of the free." It's all in the marketing... drC

I may get one day this week-end. Any one-day alpine trip? drC

I like the "send a fax to all the representatives" at once thing a lot: it's here (http://www.aznofee.org/aznofee/alerts.php) and mine was sent a few minutes ago... drC

I sure hope to make the next one. My kids had other commitments last Saturday, and I felt a round-trip to Leavenworth in a day was too much for them (especially the one who's car sick!). But next year, hopefully... drC

Looks like the kids had a blast. You parents who showed up with them did a great job of giving them a special time! Sorry about Meredith. Dru, leave the picture there. She's cute and hey, it won't be the last picture of a kid with some wound that we'll see. Looks like she's okay, and boys dig chicks with a history . Kids will misbehave and throw stuff at each other and do unimaginable things. It's tough to prevent it. It's irresponsible not to react to it appropriately, though, and Dru's example of a timeout is a widely accepted way of doing that (no treats is good too, if they get treats at all). My kids will do stupid things to each other. I can't always watch them and prevent it. At the same time, I will not ignore them and not react appropriately. But hey, really, this thread should be to celebrate people getting off their butt and braving a bad forecast in order to give time to their kids to do something cool and out of their ordinary. I'll to that! on! drC

Thanks. And thanks for taking some of your time to have me practice rappelling at Marymoor first. It helped a lot when time came to first lean out and go down at the top of the climb. I hope you had a great week-end. I'm still hungry for more alpine climbing before the ski season, so if you have something in mind you'd do with me, please PM me. drC

Climb: Das Toof-Standard route and catwalk, under snow Date of Climb: 9/19/2004 Trip Report: Chriss was kind enough to lead me to my very first alpine rock climb. We decided on a lazy day, and left Bellevue at 9am. We headed for the trailhead at about 10 something, and had a nice approach through some drizzle up to the bottom of the Tooth. I wish the approach was in snow, because those talus full of various sized rocks get old. There was a bit of a sprinkling of snow on the upper slopes above the bowl. We set up for climbing at the bottom of the Tooth, and the drizzle turns into snow. Hell, yes! Very very wet snow, though, that didn't stick to the ground. But it was pretty cool to be climbing with snow falling. Made a simple climb feel that much more alpine. No issues climbing up. The rock was very wet and slippery, especially in big mountaineering boots. But that was part of the charm too. At the summit, the view was pretty bad thanks to all the fog that was also present... We descended down in three rappels. We made the two extra raps down the gully between the Tooth and one of the pinnacles / gendarmes, and went back to the car. All in all, a great way to spend a Sunday. Gear Notes: Big fat mountaineering boots (not needed, just for the heck of it). Minimal protection; we placed a small cam, a small nut, and a #11 hex, and that's about it. Approach Notes: Too many rock boulders The trail isn't obvious, but one can go across anywhere.

Dynafit, Dynafit, Dynafit. I can't wait to get them. I may even get the Tech for that extra weight saving, and too bad for the adjustability (famous last words). I do not know anybody unhappy with them. drC

Quote from the site: "Note: This tool is designed for climbers who know how to use them, and recognise the situations appropriate for their use." Cool! A tool that nobody's used made only for rhose who know how to use it. (Or maybe "them" was a reference to "balls" and then that sentence means something entirely different ) drC