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wfinley

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Everything posted by wfinley

  1. That's what I'm wondering. Is the padding built into the boot or is it just the footbed?
  2. In one season I successfully wore my Salewa Rapace boots down to a smooth sole. Anyone have any luck with resoling lightweight boots such as these? In the past I had a pair of Trangos resoled only to find that the footbed was so packed out that I was unable to wear them without pain so I'm wondering if it's worth it (my feet are pretty sensitive).
  3. Email the guy who puts up these videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlpineMikeAlaska
  4. I know many who have endured Doc O'Malleys fine demeanor (my wife included). I hope I never get the pleasure! Glad to hear you're doing fine. Stay warm!
  5. Nice movie! Hope you got that toe looked at! Did you have the pleasure of showing your toe to Dr O'Malley in Anchorage?
  6. 60m is fine. Depending on snow / ice coverage / this years route there is only one section where you might pitch it out on the Upper Rib - but the distance between gear / good stances is short. As for diameter, I've always been a fan of 8.5 for glacier ropes. 8mm is too thin for my comfort level when you consider all the crap you'll have to deal with in the event of a big crevasse fall.
  7. FYI -- there's an interesting article in Outside about the use of Dex at high altitude: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/Climbings-Little-Helper.html
  8. 3 person. The Hilleberg 3 person Nammatj is huge (the 2 person Nammatj would be more than adequate for a 3 people for a few days). The giganotosaurus vestibule is nice but it's too much area to deal with (in terms of shoveling) in extended storms. Likewise if you're doing the Rib cutoff the 17 highcamp isn't that big and is very exposed. The smaller the better for that camp. Everyone and their mother carries too much stuff on the West Butt so if you're stuck at 11 or 14 for days just walk around and make friends with people who have megamids. Much better than carrying and shoveling out spots for your own tent.
  9. How many non-upper-middle-class-white climbers have you met? Economies of scale are the reason we have a leisure class. The white middle upper class demographic has benefited greatly from the business models that have lead to such things as not-at-all-cheap-lightweight-use-once-jackets that last for one trip. Furthermore the growth and success of the outdoor industry is why we're seeing a person like Sally Jewell nominated for secretary of the interior. A person who comes from a background representing the outdoor industry is a far cry from past appointments like Kempthorne. I fully agree with a lot of what you're saying - which is why I choose gear from smaller companies like Serratus (RIP), Cilo, Western Mountaineering etc. when I can. But I also recognize that multinational outdoor companies have more sway when it comes to protecting public lands than the mom and pop shops working out of a garage.
  10. Obsolete gear drives industry as well. Do you still climb in your EBs and with straight shaft ice tools? And ski with 404s? And I said bums... The bums all have English & philosophy degrees. The engineers have jobs.
  11. How is this any different than its always been? El Cap can be climbed with pitons, Denali with bunny boots. New tools make it easier and generate industry - and while pitons and bunny boots work just fine and last forever everyone has the latest greatest gear. Furthermore the notion of doing more with less is an ideal that doesn't exist when you consider the fact that climbing is primarily a middle/upper white pursuit and that climbing bums are generally from well to do families & have a (fully paid for) liberal arts degree.
  12. Tvash was actually referring to the Nepalese government. Revenue from mountaineering and tourism in the Annapurna and Everest regions has improved the quality of life for the people in those regions. Electricity, schools and medical centers exist becuase the the money from trekkers and mountaineers. Sure there is wealth discrepancy and environmental impacts (deforestation / garbage etc.) but those issues exist in all third world countries. At least the people in heavily visited areas of Nepal are aware that environmental issues directly impact tourism in their regions.
  13. Nice! Evey visitor to KAH takes the same 2 photos: unloading the plane and massive ave off Hunter!
  14. Since there are already 3 pictures of Mt. Hunter in this category decided add yet another one!
  15. Quiet summit day in the Alps. [video:youtube]RHtr1mTkghE
  16. Has Claus promised to fly you in or will all this grant $$ get you a direct heli-drop from Seattle?
  17. This is an excerpt from an essay Catherine Mulvihill wrote in the '01 Canadian Alpine journal. I always think of it when reading about Twight.
  18. O2 is doping but not diamox? The rumors were at 14 camp where gossip and innuendo are the norm. As for drugs -- half of the high altitude climbers out there are sucking down Diamox from the start and dropping Dexamethasone on summit day. Using drug technology is no different than hauling light gear and ditching it at 17K on Denali to speed things up.
  19. At 14 camp a couple years ago there was a rumor that Twight lead a group of SEALS who tanked up on a bag full of drugs before blitzing from 14 to the summit and back.
  20. Wonderful! Loved all the pictures on your web site! I grew up in Bangkok and have since been back to climb. Loved it as a kid... loved going back to visit.
  21. When you're on the summit the normal route tops out via a short mellow chimney that is completely nondescript. In the daytime it's easy routefinding because you can see the trail leading to the Canaleta just below final rocky chimney - but at night all you can see is a steep chimney surrounded by steep rocky chimneys. We reached the summit around midnight and I hunted around for a good hour before deciding to wait till daylight. Three times I started down only to discover I was downclimbing something much steeper than it should have been. Go too far to the north and you're on the rocky buttress seen in the below pic (right side). Walk 50 feet to the south and this is what you'll fall down. As for waiting for a climber to point the way... Given that 2 of 3 succumbed to either HAPE or HACE I'd guess that Greg was also suffering from high altitude sickness which inhibited his route-finding come daylight..
  22. My condolences to the friends and family of Dave Reinhart and Eric Norse. I climbed the Polish Direct in 2010 and we also encountered bad conditions which lead to a summit bivouac; we escaped with minor frostbite but it was a long night. I cannot imagine the pain that Greg Nourse is going through right now.
  23. Double boots are actually quite popular up here for bush whacking. Hunters - especially sheep hunters- wear them because they tend to be warmer and more durable than leathers. Plus it was -15 last weekend; leathers suck when you're slogging through snow at -15. FWIW I was with Jake when he tore up his boots and my invernos have hardly a scratch on them. I know they're different types of boots but they also cost double what invernos cost.
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