Dr_Crash

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

The notch is much shallower on wiregates. Thanks guys for the input. I think that I'll get a mix of wirelocks (I like them, what can I say) and Hotwires or Livewires for my alpine draws. I like the Posiwire draws and could get some for sport and crag and switch out the dogbone for a sling when going alpine (assuming I can get organized, that is ). The nose on the wirelocks is huge, is that why they won't go through chains? That's a bummer. You'd think somebody would test that during design... drC

This is what I'd do: - Get a pass at the Summit at Snoqualmie. It's $300, and you'll be able to ski at Alpental which has great terrain (even for beginners) or even at the Summit the first few times if you want to start easy. - Get a rental ski package. Less than $150 for the season. Beginner / interm skis and average boots but fine to start. Get a package in a shop, not a resort, so you can decide to go ski Stevens or Crystal later to see other places. Or get Sky's skis and buy him pitchers But his skis may be a bit harder on a beginner than the rental ones. - Take a few lessons. There's a pretty cheap I believe collective class at Summit Central every Wednesday night from 7pm to 9pm for 6 or 8 weeks. I taught it last year and had 4 students in my group (the most advanced one) which isn't bad. - Invest also in a couple individual (private) lessons. Ask for someone certified, a Level 2 or better would be nice (Level 1 doesn't mean much). Take them after the collective, or one in the middle and one after. Don't buy gear this year. You'll make huge progress, and the gear you'll want to buy will be different from the gear you'll want. Going to AT after that will be a simple matter as all you'll need to learn is to skin up. Ski, ski, ski... I skied ~80 times last year, which isn't bad at all with a full time job! Skiing is great fun. Ski mountaineering is even greater fun! drC

Hi, I'm looking at getting a few wiregate carabiners for two applications: - Lightweight alpine draws. - Racking. I am a big fan of the keynose carabiners (Petzl, some BDs and some Kong IIRC but I don't have Kongs). For the draws, I'd like to get something similar, at least on the gear end of things. It looks like DMM has a wirelock design that would do the trick, but I found a thread where people agreed that this is not a great design. Why? The weight isn't that great either I think (41 g). Where can I see the Wild Country Helium Cleanwire around Seattle? Looks like another clean design with a wiregate. So that was for draws... For racking, what's most important? Weight and ease of racking/unclipping? For wired nuts, looks like a clean nose would be good too. drC

Learn to use a sponge, dishwashing soap, and your little hands to wash something by yourself, fogawdsake! drC

Get a second knife... drC

Bump. I am still ROTFL in my office and people are looking at me with weird faces... drC

I love spray. This thread is really fucked up and good Oh, and I wanted to know: is it okay to spoon with your partners while on a Romantic A3 pitch? I've never done aid climbing before... drC

Ken, would you post it? All IP rights preserved, of course drC

Fox, LOL!

Double post.

Oh oh, I'd be interested if the boss (wife) lets me go ... And I am a native French speaker, in case there's no other one on your trip. Plane tickets should be around $400, maybe a bit more. I'll ask my wife, she knows prices month by month If the trip started in March, then we could wait for SAS to do their usual Christmas promotion where you can fly there for $249 plus taxes. Could fly to Milan and drive to Cham, or fly to Paris and take something else. drC

The nut tool was just in my climbing bag. Not used at Marymoor. No, I don't think the kids made up with it, I got it back from them before we left and I think it fell off my bag. It was last Wednesday. drC

Got to post that marinade recipe right here, now... Thanks drC

Mammut rep, Is it okay to mark the slings on the black sleeve that protects the stitching with something like nail polish (which is common for carabiner marking)? The sleeve will soak the polish and its solvent initially, and that's what I'm wondering about (since it may get on the sling underneath). I did mark a few slings like that before switching to sewing a bit of thread on the side of the sleeve instead (doesn't go through the sling; thanks fenderfour for the idea), and wonder what to do with them. If there's a risk of them not being full strength anymore, I may save them for setting topropes at Exit 38 for my kids, who weigh 50 lbs and shouldn't put much stress on them; or ditch them if it's really risky. drC

Regardless of human impact (or not), glaciers receding also will have a dramatical effect on our water procurement system. Drinkable water is one of our most precious resources, and glaciers an important source for it. If they recede, that resource shrinks too. drC

Regardless of human impact (or not), glaciers receding also will have a dramatical effect on our water procurement system. Drinkable water is one of our precious resources, and glaciers an important source for it. If they recede, that resource shrinks too. drC

If you're fine with a beginner (5.8, 5.9 in the gym) I'd be interested in going (I can belay you, of course, on anything); PM me. I have a membership there already. drC

Black nut tool (BD I believe, with bottle opener at the end), marked with a pinkish star, and accompanied by a few feet of 2 mm cord. drC