TrogdortheBurninator

There are some sweet deals in there. $100 reactors, $50 Vasaks, $4 DMM nuts

Condolences on the loss of your friend. I'm sure she would have been proud of the fine line you put up.

Some of the hosting sites are a bit tricky to work with. With picasaweb i have to use their blogging/embedding link to find the proper source jpeg, then link here to that. Otherwise, the link just shows up as dead because it is in some sort of magic google language. Post one of the jpeg links and maybe someone can figure ti out.

Dru is talking out of his ass! I have an Exped Downmat, and it is awesome. I will never sleep on a thermarest again. I will use a ridge rest for light adventures and when sleeping on dry ground, but will almost exclusively use my downmat on snow (except maybe when carrying over or bivying on a technical route). The downmats are so much more comfortable than thermarests (I have had 4 or 5 thermarests up to prolite 4 to compare), it is unreal. You can sleep on your back, side, or stomach and be totally comfortable. Plus it feels like it adds 10 degrees to your bag. The Downmat 7 only weighs 4 oz more than a thermarest prolite 4(that is with stuff sack which makes a sweet pillow). Pumping them up sounds like a pain, but realistically takes less than 5 minutes. Apparently this guy likes them too http://www.lyon.co.uk/outdoors/showitem.asp?Id=474

Awesome work!!

Certainly a different type of adventure (i.e. the type of adventure I'd associate with alpine climbing). Obviously modern alpinism is more of a hybrid.

I dont disagree at all that easly ascents of El Cap were some of the most extreme climbs of their time.

What about routes like the E Face of Cutthroat, it sure looks alpine to me. Or how about the pictures of Burgundy in winter (or any routes in winter for that matter). Is this region really reduced to "just" rock climbing at the onset of summer.

Interesting, because I would disagree with your assesment. El Cap FAists had the luxury of extensive route observation. To me, adventure lies in the unknown. While Dream On was almost certainly more adrenaline pumping climbing, I would reckon (with no knowledge of the route) that it was almost exactly what the FAist envisioned when they saw the line. FAists at washington pass were by and large exploring an unknown canvas.

I consider most routes that reach a notable summit to be alpine routes. I think of most WA Pass routes as alpine rock routes. This to me contrasts with routes of a broader alpine nature involving an ice axe on the approach/climb, or possibly some technical mixed climbing. IMO in washington, mountaineering explicitly involves glaciers and often occurs on volcanoes. To consider certain rock climbs not alpine (i.e. WA Pass) detracts from the sense of adventure employed by the FAists. I suppose in my mental heirarchy "alpine routes" rank something like this on the Alpinometer. 1. Alpine cragging w/o summit (SCW) 2. Alpine cragging w/ summit (WA Pass) 3. Remote alpine rock climbing (Prusik) 4. Short glacier approach climbs (NR Stuart) 5. Extensive glacier approach climbs with some steep snow on routes (Cascade Pass) 6. Winter/Spring Alpine mixed routes (DT, Stuart)

Come on oly, you know he hasnt done any pushups since highschool

It is a bit weird and busy fishing up near the hatchery, but a bit of walking on the far bank seems to make things feel more "natural" and less crowded. I was amazed how many people were content to just fish that first series of pools before the foot bridge. It definitely fishes like a spring creek though, those fish are tight lipped. That is the second I have heard about crab creeks in the past week. Perhaps I will have to check it out. It'd be cool if you could PM me any beta you have on fishing out there.

Gary, you must have been riding your bike really fast

Way to go guys. I'm sure many folks would have turned around in your situation, but you pushed through it.

Rocky Ford. My first trip out there. Beautiful place with huge fish. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jason.Killgore/RockFordCreekFlyFishing Were you fishing for steelhead? I have found I rarely have the patience for steelhead fishing (probably because I am so bad at it).

I almost caught a dozen fat rainbows, but because my knots suck I only caught 5.

I use godaddy.com Have had great experience with them and have always been able to talk to real people when I want. They also call me when I dont renew, which is helpful since I sometimes ignore their email.

N03ybrSV-JQ

It isnt the fall that shocks the system, it is the stopping.

Thanks JH!

The road is rideable to within maybe 1/2 mile of the TH with only a few short mandatory walking stretches. I'd imagine it will be mostly clear very soon. They still havent touched the landslide yet, so it could be a while before they get the gate open.

I have the vetta's but havent put them through the ringer yet. Seem like nice light boots so far.

I dont know about tents actually shrinking, although metal poles have way higher thermal expansion coefficients than tent fabrics, so if it were colder, the poles would be less snug. If it really shrank, I suppose you could just take a hack saw and shorten the pole sections.

Hardly the climb we were hoping for, but not a bad consolation.

The ice is still fat. THe approach is just a little bit longer: