Dr_Crash

How often does someone come with a better ice screw mousetrap? I can either jump on a 25% off sale now, or wait if it makes sense. I won't need the screws until next April/May or so I think. drC

Thanks for the ideas! drC

... and I didn't want to hijack the rope marking thread, here's another question. I got some Mammut Dyneema slings, and marked them on the black sleeve which is around the sewing (because of the way the slings are constructed, those don't have a flap that is independent and could be marked). I marked them using fingernail polish, and it took a few applications since the sleeve was soaking up the polish. I wonder if the polish (or the solvent in it) may be bad for the sling, which I can't look at since it's hidden below the black sleeve. I'd rather waste some $$$ and throw the marked slings (or keep them around for some non-climbing use) than risk a sudden break. And yes, I could have thought about that first but it was in my first newbie days... drC

Yes that is the same jacket I lost. It will be visible, it's just that I can't see why anybody would want to come near to those crevasses and moat right by the cleaver and Emmons. drC

Bluewater sells a marking pen (non-permanent) to mark their ropes (the one I got on sale doesn't have two patterns; bi-patterns are not that easy to find, actually). I should have gotten one for mine. UIAA and rope manufacturers don't recommend marking with a pen anymore, even though they have done so in the past and "approved" certain pens. As you said, the issue is the remote risk of chemical contamination and damaging the rope in unexpected and invisible ways. I may simply mark mine with some sail repair thread (heavily coated nylon) wrapped and sewn in the middle (shallow through the sheath). drC

If I want to get one of these very expensive gadgets just to be able to set a rescue anchor in ice, what is a versatile length? I'm looking at the Petzl Laser Sonic and it comes in 10, 13 (short for all purpose?), 17 and 21 cm. (FOTH may recommend a size, I'll check, but it's not around.) TIA! drC

OK, I want to get my kids outside while it's still decent weather. They're 5 and 7 and have been climbing at Vertical World every week this year. I brought them to Marymoor rock, but all we can do there is boulder since I don't have another adult with me to set a toprope, and I can't lead yet anyway So I am looking for something where I could get my kids to have fun toproping (up to 5.6 or 5.7 I think), and where I can walk to the top, set the rope, and then go down and belay them. The pitch should be kids-friendly as in enough holds within the reach of their little span. Suggestions? Thanks in advance! drC

Ingraham flats was way more windy than Muir when I camped there last week-end. I second the recommendation anyway, because 1/ it's a great place to camp (beautiful and less crowded than Muir) and 2/ as fenderfour said it's closer to the summit, and that matters You'll carry your tent a bit more both ways, but it's worth it. Get there early, have a good sleep (we got 5 1/2 hours each) and go summit! drC

I have been looking at the Petzl Myo 5 and the Myobelt 5. I like the idea of the belt package to keep batteries close to my body, but the Myobelt 5's battery pack is made of C batteries. This brings the weight of the lamp and batteries to a whopping 16 ounces! And that's before one even considers bring spare batteries. I have also been thinking of running it with AA batteries (like the regular Myo 5) in battery upsizers such as those: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=161+0385. I think that would work, except of course that I wouldn't get the same long time of light using those but that's fine. Another option would be to get the Myo 5, cut the power cable and reconnect using quick connectors, and then make a home belt pack holding C batteries (and keep the empty AA pack on the head when using it). Or is a belt-powered headlamp overkill for the area's climbs, where one will spend maybe 5 or 6 hours at night needing a lamp, and in most cases the LEDs will be enough? drC

I did post in Lost & Found. Brianna, thanks for the congrats. drC

A howling wind got my down jacket at the top of the cleaver and flew it towards those gigantic crevasses on Emmons. It's not likely that anybody would want to be there, but who knows where the jacket flew. Jacket is red with black shoulders. It's a North Face, 700 fill (700 is embroidered on the wrist), stows in its own pocket, size large. If you find it, please PM me. drC

Climb: Mt Rainier-DC Date of Climb: 8/29/2004 Trip Report: Second time was the charm Gardner, Chriss and myself climbed Rainier through the DC route and summited yesterday morning. We slept at Ingraham Flats, and went from there to the summit at a moderate pace (including being stuck between a really slow team who didn't acknowledge our requests to pass them) in 5 hours. Conditions were great, except for the wind which was blowing at a sustained 40 mph and more. That wind got my down jacket as I was changing clothes at the top of cleaver after a break. That down jacket is now in a crevasse on Emmons next to the cleaver Conditions on the route are great. RMI again does a great job of maintaining the route. The trickiest part of the trip was crossing the 70 ft deep moat when getting on the cleaver, but even then, RMI had fixed a rope to use as a handrail and it was really simple. RMI is working on changing the route to avoid that crossing, so someone who goes later is likely to see something different. The mountain received 3 feet of snow since I was there 2 weeks ago, and as a result the cleaver is now snow (except for a couple of short rock sections). The other bonus is that the two crevasses you have to cross above the cleaver have bomber bridges, highway-like. All in all, an uneventful trip and a couple days spent with good people on the mountain. Very nice. Gear Notes: Shoulda secured my down jacket so it couldn't fly out...

I'm interested in beta too. We have planned to go Sunday-Monday for our second attempt, but the weather forecast isn't great. Pretty cold, snow level at 10,500 with chance of showers. Not looking forward to my first whiteout... drC

Mine came with a damaged spine too I don't know what's happening with USPS here! I called Alpinist and they'll resend one (they also offered to extend my subscription by one issue and let me buy 8 in a store; maybe that would have been safer, and definitely faster). My damaged copy of 8, for someone who doesn't mind, is reserved to someone who will acoompany me on some easy rock summits (like the Tooth or Chair Peak or something like that) in the next month so I can get my Mountaineers Basic Climbing course equivalency. drC

I've printed on plain paper on a big laser printer at work and the resulting map results water extremely well. I don't think the printer uses sublimation (you can usually tell) but maybe the toner it uses is water resistant. I've put the maps in a sink full of water, no bleeding... But then, I still buy USGS quads and waterproof them by hand The printouts are mostly for overviews with a different scale (~ 69,000:1). drC

0.15 grams! Wow. I'll carry three of these anyday Seriously... I've seen it listed at 61 g which is great (the Mini is 80 g), and it's $10 less than the price of mine ($20 instead of $32). Not bad. Bigger sheave and bigger breaking load (not sure about working load). Not prusik minding but that's fine by most people. drC

What about a combo like the Omnifuel, which burns both kind of fuel? The one clear disadvantage I see in it is that when you're in canister mode it's a very heavy canister stove, though... And even for white gas it's a bit heavier than the MSR stoves. drC

I like the Mini myself: More weight obviously, but sealed bearings are a good thing to reduce friction. Looks like it will mind prusiks nicely, though I haven't tried that by itself (learned to use my belay device to mind the prusik instead). drC

They'll let you get equivalency if your EMT certification us current. You may need to go to a trip to show what you can do in a mountaineering environment. Check out their pages and look for equivalency (http://www.mountaineers.org/mofa for the first aid one). drC

Thanks Brianna. I have a question re: your climb with your father. Do the two of you have some two-person crevasse rescue practice, or did you just plan to hang in the "middle of the pack" with teams around you to help in case you had to? drC

What's up with canister stoves in snow? I've had issues twice trying to melt snow quickly, and don't know if it's because of the canister (last time we were at 10,000 ft, first time at whatever height Bullion basin is at---i.e. same as the base of the Crystal ski area, so I'm not sure cold was an issue then). I also had a pretty small diameter pot, which may have been the issue more than the canister fuel? On paper, my canister stove boils water as fast or nearly as fast as an MSR bottle stove. It's actually rated by MSR as nearly as good as the XGK for high-altitude climbing (it's the Superfly; the light version of it gets the same rating as the XGK), and MSR says it'll boil water faster. In the field, it looks totally different for melting snow. Is it just the smaller diameter pot? drC

I'm looking for feedback on it. I picked one up at REI outlet for $83. It's heavy (a bit over one pound) but burns everything, including canisters (though I could have a canister stove for simple camping I guess). I am trying to figure whether to keep it or not. drC

How do they size? I'm a EUR 42, US 8.5 or 9. They indicate that the US 8.5-9 is a 41.5, 42 is a 9. Somebody who bought them, did you get your street size or something different? YA

That's what I got for alpine. I was taught to set the carabiner the way it's in that article's picture (gate opens up towards me, not down as someone else suggested here). I haven't rappelled with it yet, but would like to make sure I do the Right Thing. How do you rig it yourself? drC

Climb: Mt Rainier-DC Date of Climb: 8/14/2004 Trip Report: First time was not the charm... Two of our team of 4 got sick, and after taking an eternity (5 hours!) to go from Camp Muir to about 3/4 of the DC on the second day, we turned back when half the team said they wouldn't make it any further. A few people PMed me for conditions... Snow starts at Pebble Creek. From Camp Muir to Cadaver Gap, it's smart to rope up as there are crevasses there. There are a few crevasses to traverse on the way to the cleaver, including a couple very small jumps (really, more like a stretched out bounce step). The cleaver is basically rock (loose) and it's a good idea to remove your crampons there for the scramble up. The route is well wanded though some wands are fallen, and we erred a bit too much on the right at some point and had to backtrack. Looking further up may have saved me that though (many wands have reflective tape on the flag). I haven't seen the conditions above the cleaver, obviously, but rangers say the crevasses are very obvious, and the only risk there is softening snow bridges, especially on the descent. They had a few people punch through, up to 7 feet down (scary enough, I've been told). On the cleaver, the main risk is rock fall, mostly climber inflicted. Watch that party above you! We also got a big boulder running at us above Ingraham flats. It went in between two of us, and was definitely big and fast enough to inflict real damage. I learned a lot during this trip. About timing, about the weakest link in a team, and about the importance of having a big pot on a hot stove to melt snow faster. Even though---or maybe because---we didn't reach the summit, it was enlightening. Oh, and it is gorgeous! The Emmons glacier is a big mess of huge crevasses, and the ice fall on the Ingraham doesn't look bad either I'll be back there in a couple weeks. drC Gear Notes: Standard glacier gear. Shoulda had a third big pot with a white gas stove.