Dr_Crash

As I said, I'm buying online. Are you recommending the Selected Climbs because the descritions are less terse / succinct than in Beckey's books? From what I've read about Mt Rainier in his book, I'm fine with the way he describes stuff. drC

Buying online, so can't look at the index, and yes, I don't have my passes etc. all down yet so I don't know if it's vol II or III (guess is II). I am buying vol I and whichever covers Baker / Shuksan. If that is vol II, is vol III worth getting for someone based in Redmond? What kind of cool climbs are in it that are doable over a week-end (preferrably a night and day) that I'd want to do? Thanks, drC

Thanks. And thanks for the good luck. Now if my cold and cough could only disappear in the next two days, that'd be awesome. drC

Hi, I'm going to climb the DC route this week-end, and am wondering if anybody has been there recently? There's a TR from 8/1 here, but I'm looking for beta as recent as possible. Thanks! drC

Or 8/14-16 if you want to stroll at high camp for a day and play, practice arrest, whatever. Or 8/13-8/14 or 15. We're flexible. We had a planned trip as a party of 3 and one of us cannot go (work getting in the way), so I'm looking for someone in shape and with crevasse rescue training / experience to join. PM or reply to the thread. drC

I'm 5'11" and have been using a 65 cm ice ax, and it's great. When buying my own, I'm considering going to 60 cm, though 65 cm is really nice as far as being the right length across my chess when self-arresting, and it works great for glissading. It's not too big for skiing, and anything longer than that would be way too long. If I need support on flats, I'll buy collapsible poles. drC

Hohm, I'm interested. Give me a shout when you're ready to leave. I PM'ed you my phone number. drC

Yes, it helps. My friend says thank you. It looks like the bergschrund and the bridge are in basically the same shape they were in 2 weeks ago. Should be an easy climb for them then. drC

Hi, I have a friend who's going there Thursday, thinking of skinning up and then climbing from the hogsback and up. Has anybody been recently, who could post some recent beta? Reports are that the bergschrund cannot be crossed, is that true? There was a snow bridge two weeks ago when I climbed it, but it's been warm! Thanks, drC

Yes. We moved it last week after getting tired of taking 8 hours to get there from Seattle, with all that damn traffic up to Olympia. It's much more convenient now. Check it out. I'll ask again in the right forum after I wake up. drC

[Please post here as this is not the right forum. ] Hi, I have a friend who's going there Thursday, thinking of skinning up and then climbing from the hogsback and up. Has anybody been recently, who could post some recent beta? Reports are that the bergschrund cannot be crossed, is that true? There was a snow bridge two weeks ago when I climbed it, but it's been warm! Thanks, drC

Sorry for the thread hijack, but I'm looking for conditions info on Easton glacier. Would you mind posting them in the thread I started? Thanks, and best of luck to recover you camera. drC

Hi, A friend and I are thinking of going to Mt Baker this week-end. Has anybody been there recently and can tell us what the conditions are? We'll get beta from the rangers too and I'll post it here. Thanks, drC

Thanks for the correction. I shouldn't have called it a "clear summit." And I didn't know it was a miner's hut, so I learned something today. Cool. drC

The peak was fine. I like that wooden structure that gives everybody a very clear summit to stand on We went in one day. The idea was to climb Mt St Helens the next day, but my buddy got acute mountain sickness (slowing down to about 450 ft/hr at a point, ugh) and wasn't keen on climbing the next day. RE: crampons while glissading, I had to tell somebody to remove them. I think the first of the (then 11) essentials should be "common sense." And it's useful outside mountaineering too drC

Adams, where my friends and I contributed to the crowding on the south side. drC

Very nice! Online magazines rock (skiers / riders, see http://www.aspectjournal.com/ for a different thing---fiction mostly). Congratulations on Issue 1, and here's to more issues! drC

Recently? I need to buy those and that's an awesome price. drC

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've found the best pair of crampons, which is a pair of borrowed crampons These should work for a while (semi-automatic Grivel) as their owner isn't going to climb for at least a year. I had them with me on Mt Adams yesterday but there really was no reason to use them, but I expect to work just fine. drC

Hi, I'm looking to join a party for a climb next week-end. Preferrably a single day, 7/25. Glacier or alpine / easy rock. I've got crevasse rescue training, and am in shape (slogged up Mt Hood and Adams the past 3 week-ends). I am safe and good company. drC

I did that route yesterday. It's fine. Pretty hot, long slog, nothing special to report except that the glissade tracks are really fast and fun Oh, and some of them have strategically placed butt-shredding rocks (sometimes not visible) but it only hurts for so long... About 2 miles of trail before reaching snow I'd say. And then, nothing to report for the next few thousand feet. drC

Did you cache your board and skis at Piker's peak, in the rocks? I saw some there. Didn't see you though. Or I didn't recognize you but you'd have recognized my accent, most likely drC

I have been asking Polar why their user manual includes a disclaimer about climbing with their watch: Here is Polar's answer: drC

Soft shell pants rock. I have a pair of REI One HD. The fit is not great, but then nothing from REI fits great (I am in between two sizes). But for the price I paid for them ($99) I'm very happy. They're warm (HD is the thicker cut of Polartec Powershield) but they have a full size zipper so ventilation's really easy. I love Powershield, great fabric, and one of the most water-resistant. But I don't know anybody unhappy with Schoeller Dryskin either. Carry an ultralight or light rain pant in your pack for when it's really wet or for glissading. I started glissading on the soft shell on Mt Hood, and got wet immediately. I then remembered I had that rain shell... drC

I'm making a trip down there with a couple friends. Driving from Seattle tomorrow afternoon, and then an alpine start, and to the top. If you see us, say hi (I have a black & blue BCA Alp 55 pack, and either long sleeved Patagonia capilene top or orange softshell). We'll likely be on South Spur since one of my friends has no glacier experience or training. If we're in shape after that long climb, we'll climb Mt St Helens on Sunday. drC