wfinley

That's 'bantha' and the tusken raiders rode them - not luke.

Only the draws -- not the biners.

I have a pair of skins I've used for over 10 years -- I reglue them every other year but all I do is just glob more glue onto the skins. It's not the correct way to do it but it works fine. Note that these skins are for my mountaineering skis which have such terrible bases that gobs of glue don't matter. I'd never do this to my powder skis and skins.

Thanks for all the comments!

FWIW my wife opted to go with some big sunglasses (the kind with multiple lens). She figured if they're good enough for the guys in Iraq the they're probably good enough for ice. Besides - her black eye keeps her office mates on their toes. Ps - here's the "Gladiator"

Numbers on Denali have already been capped at 1500 climbers / season. That number has yet to be reached (in 05 it was 1340) but the cap has been imposed.

http://www.northernlatitude.com/sultanaphotos.html

Stop by an Army Surplus store and see if they have any of those old ice pitons. They're work for you and will be super cheap.

We didn't get on Humanality. Alas - too many climb not enough time! To answer questions -- we were in the Khumbu for 3 weeks and had permits for Pokalde, Island and Lobuje East. We climbed Pokalde via the SE ridge. Island we attempted and made it all the way to the summit headwall before running into a traffic jam of 50+ people - 3/4 of them trying to come down and the rest trying to go up. The headwall was a tangle of ropes and yelling climbers so we bailed. After Island I came down with a nasty respiratory infection and after coughing a hacking for a few days I went on antibiotics and we descended. A few days later we hiked out of the Khumbu, toured around Katmandu and Chitwan and then went to Railey for 8 days of sport routes! PS -- To give you an idea of the crowds on big peaks here's a photo of Amadablam's summit ridge. We were told that this season there were 35 teams attempting the SW ridge -- and each team had an average of 8 people!

My wife took an ice chunk to the face today and now sports a nice shiner and swollen cheek. As a result she now wants a visor. Personally I cringe at the notion of my wife modeling a geeky visor but she is keen to protect her delicate skin from cuts and bruises. Anyone climb with one of these? Are they worth it? Do they fog up?

At Seneca there's one called "Lichen or Leave It'. My favorite named climbs at the New River: "Anal Clenching Adventures" - no one know whether this is named for the appearance of the crack or for your own ass when your feet inevitable slip at the crux. "Lobster in a Cleavage Probe" - a classic 10a dihedral "Keep me tight but don't give me AIDS" "Leave it to Jesus" - an absolutely beautiful 11d finger crack "Jaws" - a 5.9 handcrack full of crystals that bite And finally "Handsome and Well Hung" - a 5.11 dihedral the last part of which was not freed until this year!! (PS - don't google this one)

I really couldn't tell you about specific brands for the environment you're going to. I've been to alot of cold places but I've always worn expensive climbing garments. However... here's what I wear for winter trips up here: Base: Patagonia Mid-weight Polypro Mid Btm: Patagonia Tights Mid Top: Cheap strechy fleece (cheap b/c I always seem to lose them) Outer Btm; Gortex Bibs Outer Top: Gortex Top Insulated Btm: Integral Designs Denali Pants Insulated Top; FF Rock & Ice Parka Feet: Scarpa Invernos Hands: Gloves sized one size too large for extra warmth Head: Nice hat and balaclava If I were you I'd hit 6th Avenue, B&J (corner of C and Northern Lights) and the Army Navy Store (corner of 4th and C) and listen to everyone's speal and then make your decision. If you're looking for lighter stuff for hiking AMH will sell you a good down coat and some lightweight boots. Likewise Barney's (northern lights & spenard) carries some good boots that are popular with sheep hunters up north.

Hi all... I am back from my travels in Asia. Thanks to all of you who helped me plan this trip. Your help was crucial!! I owe you all beers. I'll be adding a real TR later along with more pix. In the meantime enjoy these few pix. In short we were gone 6 weeks; spent 1 month in Nepal; 3 weeks in the Khumbu and 1 week in Katmandu and Chitwan National Park. We followed this up with 2 weeks in Thailand where we went sport climbing on Tonsai Beach. Trip Highs: Camping out with a view of Ama Dablam out the vestible. Teaching our porters how tie into a rope and place rock gear! Climbing on the beach!! (I haven't been to a real beach (beaches in Alaska don't count) in over 20 years.) Trip Lows: Reaching the headwall of Island to find a bottleneck of 60+ climbers all fighting for a chance to either head up or rap down. Crashing at a beach beach bungalow at Tonsai only to discover (after going to bed at 9) that the epi-center of an all-night techno rager was a mere 100 meters away. Gear Notes: We brought everything. Packing for glaciers at 20,000' and sport climbing at 0' is hard. Good thing China airlines lets you bring 2 30 Kilo bags. Approach Notes: My wife had a free ticket. She flew from Anchorage to Chicago to Toyko to Bangkok to Katmandu. It took her 39 hours. I flew direct to KTM from Anch via Taiwan and BKK but it cost me $1500. Books Read: My wife struggled through The Brothers Karamazov and is still fighting to finish it before Christmas. I read: Bangkok Dangerous, A Scanner Darkly, Vineland and Blood Meridian. They were all excellent reads!! Once again - thanks to everyone who responded to my multiple questions. You helped us plan an awesome trip!! More pix here.

Where will you be? Little Diomede? I have a question for you; how will you keep your camera / batteries warm?

Brands like FF rock but are too expensive and not bomber enough for everyday usage; I'm assuming you'll be working somewhere on the slope - if so you'll want: - Big fat Sorrels or Bunny Boots for your feet - A gigantic jacket with a fur lined hood - Giant coveralls The best place to get these are in anchorage on your way up North. Go to 6th Avenue Outfitters, B&J Commercial or Eagle Outfitters. Tell the sales guys where you'll be living and they'll set you up. As a side note - North Face sells a fat polar jacket with a fur hood. I've seen them at Costco in the past.

I ski coastal snow meaning one weekend it's -15 and the next weekend it's 30. Due to the funky weather I have had alot of problem with icing on the toe piece, the heel-piece and on the boots. Here's what I do: (1) I always carry a whippet and use it to chop the ice that builds up under the toe piece (it can build up under the metal piece and be hard to dig out) (2) on my leashes I have tied a tiny piece of wire that use to clean out my toe and heel pieces when it's really icy and (3) I routinely spray my heel piece down with silicon since it seems to sometimes develop a mound of ice when skinning.

After reading this topic I went out and bought 10 quickdraws to replace the ones I've had on my rack for 10+ years. It cost me a whopping $40. FWIW my old draws have always held although for the past 5 years I've made a mental note of not to fall when using the super tattered ones.

Thanks Robert, Crystal looks nice. Our flight back doesn't leave till 7:30 so I think that's what we'll try for!

My wife and I fly down to Seattle for the weekend of 12/9-10 for an office Christmas party. We're thinking of bringing our skis for a day on skiing on the 10th. We ski 99% back-country up here so we're leaning towards a day of lift skiing with maybe BC access if conditions are good. Any suggestions of where to go for the day? Thanks!

Check out Adobe Illustrator CS2. It has a trace function which is pretty killer. http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/pop_livetrace.html

Kate Moss? I thought she was still slumming it with Peter Doherty. You got a link or what?

I was climbing in the Gunks once and a Russian party lead up to the route we were on and then began to climb up the same pitch as my wife was belaying - clipping gear right next to mine and getting the ropes all tangled. My wife (who is fluent in Russian) was furious. Apparently the reason the abandoned her major in Russian studies was because of Russians and it all came flooding back. I just assumed that's the way it is in the Gunks.

Likewise consider the source of the article. A quick review of The Reason Foundation's corporate sponsors yields the following: - American Petroleum Institute - Chevron Corporation - ExxonMobil Corporation - Ford Motor Company - General Motors Corporation - Shell Oil Co. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Reason_Foundation and http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=286

A friend of mine who XC ski races religiously wears those goggle things. He loves them for days when it's really cold or snowing.

Thanks for all the responses. I think I'll be anal about my newer bag and coats... but if my 25 year old Marmot Mtn Works dies after this trip so be it!!!