wfinley

I posted sometime back asking for Nepal suggestions for next fall and got lots of great feedback from many helpful people. My fiancee and I are still tentatively planning on Nepal for Sept / Oct but given the current political climate we're starting to get cold feet and have begun looking elsewhere. We have begun tossing around the possibilities of a 2 month Canada / US road trip with a focus on alpine routes. However - we're wondering what conditions will be like in Sept / Oct as the only times I've climbed in Canada and the NW is in July / August. In short - we'd like input as to where to go for those months. Specifically we're interested in moderate alpine routes (5.4-5.8 alpine rock or III/IV snow / ice routes). The one thing we are not interested in is long glacier slogs or ski ascents - we'll be returning to AK in November for that. Note - we are not limiting ourselves to North America but are leaning that way b/c we'll be able to climb more and it will be a little cheaper. If you were taking off Sept and Oct where would you go?

No - the image loaded is one size. It's the same as coding an 800 x 600 pic to display as 80x60 - it might display smaller but it still loads the same. File size and file bytes are different and cannot be adjusted without resaving.

That's pretty slick. easy to implement too. The downside is the main reason I do TN is b/c of the people on slow connections. This JS addresses the size issue but not the load time issue. Cool script regardless!

MSR never said whether or not I needed them -- but they put a couple in an envelope and mailed them to me no charge.

I used it this past weekend and it worked fine - however temps never dropped below 20. We plan on a 2 week March trip and are thinking temps will be brutal cold - thus I have concerns. I did buy a new MSR repair kit this year - but there was no wick; today I sent an email to MSR - I'll pass on what they say when I hear back. (PS - cotton burns)

I picked up a pair of Fisher Outtabounds this winter and mounted them with some old Silvretta 300s. They're pretty slick until you (a) encounter deep snow and have to break trail, (b) encounter crusty snow, © encounter ice, or (d) have to turn. Come to think of it they're not much fun at all on anything but hard packed XC ski trails. My personal philosophy is to get a decent pair of skis that will work in all conditions and suck up the extra weight. The Fishers are super light but when I'm on my face every 5 minutes due to their instability I start wondering why I bother. Currently I use either my GF's She's Piste mounted with Silvretta 500s (short and light) or my Tua Crossrides mounted with Dynafits. Both of these skis rock in all conditions. The bummer is I can't make excuses when it's my turn to break trail.

You want to elaborate on that? I just tried one of those things that you stick on the btm of couches etc. to keep from scratching the floor. The smoke detector went off and the dogs freaked out.

That spongy thing in the btm of my XGK that collects the excess fuel finally died and fell out. Do I need it? What's it made of? My main concern is that on really cold trips when I basically dump a ton of fuel into the stove to prime it - without the spongy thing it will just spill everywhere and not properly warm up my stove. Is this a legit concern?

Ha Ha - that movie is soon to appear at the top of my Netflix Que! Glad to see it is CC approved!

My concern is that in doing this a door of sorts is opened. If we charge smokers extra then wouldn't it be logical to next charge drinkers, followed by extra costs of your family has a history of illness, followed by extra costs if you eat red meat, have illicit sex etc. etc.? Isn't heart disease the number one killer? In that sense it makes just as much sense to charge fat people extra as well as smokers.

Awesome TR! Did you see any snakes?

If you find a source for cheap Whippets let the rest of us know! On a serious note... I went through this every late winter for 5 or 6 years before I finally broke down and bought a new whippet. As of last week AMH had a few but they tend to go fast - and once they're gone you have to wait till next winter... so I suggest just sucking it up and buying them new.

That was the first multi-pitch route I ever did... Leading the 5.4 entracne crack pitch with no pro scared me to death! Good memories!

Thanks vw4ever - that's an excellent TR!

Bump... comeon don't make us buy a new one!

As an Alaskan I resent seeing Alaska respresented as part of the USA

"Ordinary Wolves" by Seth Kantner http://www.milkweed.org/kantner.html

My fiancee is looking for a big warm down jacket for our spring trip. She's looking for the equivalent of a Denali summit day jacket - i.e. 800+ fill, good brand (Western Mtn, Feathered Friends, Marmot, Patagonia, North Face) and in good condition. If you have one that is gathering dust please email wfinley (at) couloirgraphics.com!

When I was 13 my brother took me on a 10 day backpacking trip in the Selway Bitterboot. I was fresh from the east coast and had never really been in the mountains. One night we camped next to a lake with a big beautiful mountain (Marble Mountain) above us. I asked if we could hike up there and he said we need ropes to do that. "Ropes?" was my response. A year later I received a huge box from my brother for Christmas. In it was his old climbing rope, a harness, some biners, hexes, the old SMC rap device that was a bar across an oval biner, a bong (the climbing kind) and some ratty EBs complete with holes in the toe. My brother eased off as he got older - but when his son turned 13 I took my nephew and my brother up the Owen Spalding route on the Grand. Given my nephews look at the top I think I returned the favor.

RE: Uk special -- Check this page out: http://www.psychovertical.com/?bivibags Not that I buy how great it is (people I know who bought these never took them out of their gear closet). I duct tape a regular old space blanket inside my helmet - that way it's always around.

Just tonight I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store thumbing though R&I and there were pix of Mt. Kenya! AWESOME trip report!

Nothing concrete is planned for the Anchorage area. We are planning a Sanford trip in late March/ early April - so we'll just be skiing alot up until then. After that it's the local peaks as they come into shape. BTW - thanks to everyone for the beta!

Thanks for the book beta (I didn't know about it)... I'm sure it has more info than 50 Classics!

Thanks for all the info. July is not an option for us as I have to be in town for my wedding. May/June is wide open but I hate leaving Alaska during King season! That said I think we're leaning towards a late May/ early June attempt. RE: Rockfall -- Just how bad is the rockfall? I saw where someone compared it to Skyladder. Perhaps we were lucky but when we climbed Skyladder the rockfall an issue, but no more than normal for that type of route. Is the rockfall average for this type of route or worse due to the volcanic rock?

Hi all.. I'm tentatively planning on treating myself to a bachelor party by flying down to Mt. Rainier to attempt Liberty Ridge with my old climbing partner who now live in Montana. I have the following questions: Season - We both have wide open schedules from mid-April - July. When should we go? - I'm assuming May/early June night temps will hover b/t 0 and 10... is this a correct assumption? (Can anyone point me to tabular data for weather / temps?) - I read that if we do it in May we'll want snowshoes. Is this true? (I hate snowshoes.) Gear - Seems most people haul an alpine axe and a tool, some pickets and a few screws. Is there anything else we need? Pins, etc.? - Would you suggest two tools instead of an alpine axe and single tool? Seems most people say this is great up high at the bergschrund but sucks down low. Maybe have the leader haul two tools? - Apart from am extended tent bound stay at Muir a few years ago, I have never climbed on Rainier or in the PNW. Should we substitute a deadman for a picket - or will pickets be adequate? Route - As I stated before, I've never climbed in the PNW so when looking at pics of the route I'm slightly lost in reference to scale and difficulty. Can someone compare this route to a similar climb in the Canadian Rockies or Alaska? (I'm fairly familiar with these areas.) - Seems the average time is 3-4 days - is this what people normally haul for food / fuel? Can Thumb Rock be reached in a day from the parking lot? Finally - after LR I'm thinking of taking my brothers up either the DC or Emmons. Where can we rent gear close by for this? All we'll need is plastic boots - I can provide them with everything else. Thanks for everyone's help!