wfinley

16 hrs? Wow... I routinely leave mine compressed for 2 1/2 days and it hasn't seemed to suffer too much. Let's say your flight is 36 hours, followed by 12 hours in a hotel, followed by another 4 hour flight. Would you unpack and fluff while in the hotel room (for that 12 hr period) or would you just worry about it when you reach your final destination?

He's not in / around Washington but I've always sent mine here: http://www.climbingresoles.com/

How anal are you about leaving your down sleeping bags / coats compressed? I'm talking about big warm (-20 down) sleeping bags and big warm jackets (the Icefall and Ion) . I know you're not supposed to -- but how many days before it's considered really bad? 2 days? 10 days?

Ditto on the pay a pro. If you do it yourself you'll spend the better part of a day sitting around a laundromat.

2 stories: 1. a few years ago I took a bad fall. I had a locking blade knife on my harness and I tumbled for a ways. When I stopped rolling I looked down on my harness to see my knife had opened and sliced and diced my jacket on the ride down. Luckily I had on a very fat FF down jacket and wasn't cut by the knife. Since then I always pack my knife in a pack packet. 2. a couple years ago while rapping off of the summit of Mt. Owen my wife dropped her belay device. It was late and cold and we had minimal gear so I opted to lower her down the steep pitches instead of rig another type of rap device (on the easier pitches she rapped and I downclimbed with a prussik). We bivied. It sucked.

I'm thinking that flying cross continent with them is a bad idea. (Didn't Limbaugh get busted for Vicodin possession?) Guess we'll stick to drugs we have prescriptions (in our name) for. pup... we bought drugs we thought might be hard to come by overseas (like Azithromycin) but plan on picking up Diamox, Ciproxin and Flagyl once we get there. One of my climbing partners (who is a pharmacist) recommended getting dexamethasone. Anyone ever carry this in their FA kit?

cj001f - could you describe this route. When the time comes I'd like to beta-flash it instead of working it over a period of 27 years.

In my never ending quest to post all my drug and customs related questions on CC.com I've come up with a new question: We have acquired bottles of Vicodin and 400 MG Ibuprofen from my father-in-law. First off let me assure you that he isn't necessarily trying to create a junkie out of me - he just figured we could use the drugs. So... we're flying into Katmandu with a rather large first aid kit with many prescription drugs ranging from an Epi-Pen though Azithromycin - all of which we have prescriptions (in our name) for. However - the Vicodin and 400 MG Ibuprofen are not in our name. Can we do this? If we show up with a bottle of Vicodin not in our name are we going to be tossed into some Nepali prison? Anyone have experience traveling with prescription drugs?

Thanks all -- We have the drugs but are still on the fence about taking them. As a child I lived in Thaaland and never took malaria meds so we'll see. Markharf we're gone 6 weeks (until T-Giving); if we don't take it I'll PM you when we get back.

No travel advisories as of yet. Apparently it's business as usual over there (the new Thai airport even opened up on schedule). PS -- After reading up on the Malarone I'm beginning to wonder about the whole helmet comparison. As my wife said "Hmm: malaira or suicidal episodes..." http://www.lariaminfo.org/information/WSJ20020904.shtml

Thanks all! We have a prescription for Malarone and after reading all this I think we'll just buy it here and decide once we're there whether we should take it or not. I already feel like a walking prescription (this week we get to take oral typhoid vaccines ) so I might as well keep it up!

Thanks -- We talked to a doctor and he said that we didn't need to take them but wrote us a prescription anyways. The doc was basically was getting his information from the lonely planet as opposed to actually knowiing what he was talking about so I thought I'd ask around.

Question to anyone who has been climbing in Thailand recently: Did you take malaria pills when you were in Thailand? Do you recommend taking them? Thanks!

Only at Rumney and the boulders at the Gunks. If you go slab climbing in North Carolina the locals will tell you "I love slab climbin' - my beer gut doesn't get in the way."

I'm not saying I support the increased fee-- I'm just pointing out that your expressed desire to climb elsewhere doesn't really save you much money. As long as you fly in the price is outrageous. Increases in fuel costs continue to push flights costs up all over Alaska (when I last flew into the AKR in 2004 it cost $350 RT to KAH) and because there is only 1 flight operator for glacier landings in the Wrangles you're forced to pay high rates. FWIW - I support the AAC's position on this. PS - As of '05 Sanford was $600 with Claus. $400 with Ellis.

You'll pay $650+ to fly into the Wrangells. And that's if you have a ride to Chitna. If not that's another $100. If weather blows in and you happen to get stuck at the lodge your money will burn away by the minute. If anything warrants being called country club rates it's climbing in the Wrangells. As for the popular "rather see the program go away" notion - it's not going to happen. It is better to support a viable working alternative rather than to just say "NPS out".

Far out! I have a friend that is going to attempt a skit ski traverse of Greenland this April. Why he's giving up April Chugach powder for windswept arctic ice and polar bears I'll never know.

Interesting... but when you search this guy's history the product he's hyping only comes up once. I think a better example of this is the control that certain forum moderators have over their members and the content their members post. For example... I know of one forum (no names) where if a person posts a product rep or spam of sorts, the moderator does not just delete the message or PM the poster - but instead posts a message (sometimes even a sticky) slamming that company and thus opening up a wave of criticism from forum members. Basically the moderate berates this person for repping gear and lays on a guilt trip about how the forum is made possible by sponsorship. In doing so the moderator effectively (a) slams the company with bad press, (b) unleashes the wrath of a member base that loves to flame and © pressures them to become a paid sponsor ... When they do become a paid sponsor the slam post disappears. In this sense the online forum (in terms of marketing gear) is similar to the new wave we're seeing with paid political bloggers. As far as disillusionment with professional climbers... what Lowell and others said makes sense except for one thing: if you climb a lot sooner or later you're going to be sharing a beer, flight or tent spot with a professional climber. 9 times of of 10 they're pretty nice and down to earth and the average climber can relate to them. In other words... i can relate to the individual - but not when he or she becomes a slick magazine presentation. However... if that same person were to post a message here... or send out a somewhat personalized email then it gives the perception of community; something print material cannot do.

Yeah - I'm fully aware of that; in the same way that the fashion industry has been sending out poeple dressed in whatever brands to whatever bars to flant a 'new style' for some time now. So you think it's happening here? Care to point to a thread?

So I was eating dinner tonight and thumbing through the new Patagonia catalog and in doing so i had some thoughts. First of all I realized that in thumbing through the new catalog all slick with wild photos of Steve House and other 'ambassadors' I realized I was really disillusioned with the catalog and with the company in general. I don't think this has anything to do with the Potter debacle - although their lag in response certainly made me think about the correlation between perceived environmental awareness and marketing hype. In all honesty I think I was already on my way to disillusionment some time back; and not only with Patagonia but with outdoor gear companies and climbing media in general. This in turn got me to thinking and wondering why I wasn't for example, in awe over House's FA; or in a state of product lust over the nifty new down sweater. At first I wrote it off to a maturity of sorts - in that I am getting older and thus less influenced by media hype and marketing. While I'd like to belive this all I really have to do is look in my gear closet and at last years bills to realize this isn't the case: new phat skis, shiney cobras (that - alas - did not make me climb like the people who post in the ice thread), a nice lightweight down vest and other things immediately pop into my mind. So i cannot truthfully say it is a dismissal of marketing hype and consumerism - if this was the case I'd still be climbing ice on my old Stubais and carving turns in my Silvretta 300s. I am instead attributing it to the rise of a new form of marketing (sorry - being a designer I think a lot about marketing)... this new form being more along the lines of a peer to peer network rather than traditional marketing in which the market establishes trends and then force feeds them to the public. The porn industry (who has always successfully managed to have their finger on the pulse of internet trends) figured this out years ago with 'amateurs'. The music and film industry are just now coming into their own in terms of indie music and film. And we're just now beginning to see new trends appear online (think lonelygirl). How does this relate to me and those on this forum? I think that the market is changing and that people are becoming less and less influenced by traditional media (i.e. - the Patagonia catalog and hype over a rad route by some professional athlete) and are instead being influenced by more of a peer network - i.e. CC.com. For example - when reading the House article in Patagonia I found myself equating those climbers with other professional athletes and in doing so I found myself dismissing their accomplishments. On the other hand - when I read about rad climbs by people in this forum - be it Colin and Jed's ascent on Mt. Moffit or Wayne's recent ascents in the Cascades. The same goes for gear. I could care less if some dude in Climbing mag tells me to use X piece of gear; but if someone starts a thread here and people chime in - then I'll start thinking about it. Anyone else think about this? Does anyone else think that these forums and dialog are changing their own perceptions of industry and role models. Discuss...

FYI... we got all the info on the supplemental insurance. The AAC isn't very helpful regarding offering information and don't seem to understand how it works so here's what we were able to divulge: AAC Supplemental Insurance is offered through Worldwide Outfitter and Guides Association. You pay for the coverage on the days you will be on the climb; not for the days you'll be on the expedition. For example - we'll be in Nepal for 4 weeks but only above 6000m for around 10 days - so we're paying for 10 days. The is a gray area regarding coverage at base camp vs coverage while climbing. AAC may or may not cover your rescue costs if you are injured at base camp. However w/ the additional coverage you will be covered. Coverage is up to $5000/ person with a $500 deductible. Costs are as follows: 6000 - 6999m peaks: $9 / day with a $100 minimum 7000 - 7999m peaks - $12 / days with a $150 minimum over 8000m peaks - $18 / days $225 minimum

Pix and TRs of my various adventures here: http://www.peakaweek.com/ Enjoy and tell me what you think!

You think your world is cruel? The Bugs are a 3 day drive from here... and the only time I made it there it rained the entire time! The locals took great pride in stopping by our tent (on the way out) and saying "You should have been here last week."

Pardon my ignorance... where in the Bugs is the Furry Pink Arete?

Thanks all... Due to flight conflicts I have a 36 hr layover in Bangkok so looks like I'm SOL with my homemade salmon jerky. treknclime - I'd love to hear the rest of the story.