wfinley

Seth - the RSS feed for the Chugach National Forest Avalanche group is here: http://cnfaic.org/library/rssfeed.php Feel free to add it. I'm one half of their web team so PM me if you have questions.

A year or so ago there was a great letter in Alpinist written by the sister of a man who died in the Alaska Range. The gist of the letter was that two grown men with children went climbing in the Alaska Range and died - leaving 4 kids behind without fathers. Her take was their actions were utterly selfish and unreasonable - and to pretend that climbing is positive and healthy when the risk of death is so high is unrealistic. It was a very emotional letter & one that makes you question the notion of climbing as "positive and healthy".

That depends on whether you have the new ABS Sky Tour pack. It can automatically be programmed to lift you out of the danger zone and deposit you in the nearest hot tub.

I'd have to move to another state.

That's a little off. NHTSA lists the US at 11 fatalities / 100,000 / year. I think a better way to look at it is to ask yourself how many of your climbing acquaintances have died in a car accident verses how many have died in a climbing accident.

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12w/newswire-vitaly-gorelik-dies-k2

Have fun. I love my Manaslus & you can't beat the weight. Besides - when snow conditions suck you should go ice climbing. You'll need this to match your new gear:

I've skied the Manaslus hard for 4 seasons now in just about every condition from deep powder to solid ice. Yes you get pushed around a bit but if you're looking for a BC ski the light weight is well worth the trade off in getting pushed around in mank. That said... I just got a pair of Stokes and am liking them. However I've yet to ski them in anything but blower powder so I can't really give a review.

Having Rudy as your dad is aid.

Ahhh... The good old days of the Virginia Tech Rock Climbing club! That club was instrumental in my decision to forgo responsibilities for at least 15 years.

Have to share my favorite puffy jacket pic. This is me holed up in a crevasse at 13K on Mt. Blackburn. We spent 7 hours inside a crevasse waiting for enough light so we could descend. My Feathered Friends puffy allowed me to sleep like a baby.

I use full front / rear bail sabertooths with my 40 below overboots and they work great. In the past I have also used those grivel (?) crampons that have the plastic clip for the toe. Both worked fine but I prefer the sabertooths. When I use my super gaiters I sometimes have trouble with my crampons popping off so I use the front part of my sabertooths and the toes bail / the rear part of my cyborgs crampons. That way I can use the metal strap that latches the toe to the ankle.

With the exception of my sleeping bag I have yet to take any down garment to Alaska. I've done five trips (not counting ice climbing trips in Valdez) to climb in different parts of Alaska since 2009 in either winter, spring, summer and fall. My choice of kit in Alaska is based on my experiences climbing in the lower 48 (OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, CA, CAN). Down garments potentially have a place in one's kit but that is for each person to figure out for themself hopefully before they tackle their bigger objective. I think you need to take this in context. John is talking about climbing one type of route and for that type of route a synthetic jacket works best. It's not dangerous to choose synthetic over down - it's just heavier and bulkier. Jacket choice depends on your route, climbing style and the season / temperatures. If you're climbing something technical where there's a good chance of standing underneath an ice pitch while your partner buries you in spindrift then a synthetic jacket is the way to go. If you're climbing a moderate route at high altitude a big puffy down is the best choice. I have 2 puffy jackets. My wife has about 20 (she has a puffy jacket fetish) and they all do different things. Here's my $.02: For technical routes and cold (below 0) ski days I carry a Patagonia Full-Zip Hooded Puffball (don't know the actual name - these are heavier then their slip over puffballs but lighter then the Das). I use this for ice cragging and on routes like Ham and Eggs or the Japanese Couloir. It's heavier but seems to repel water better, allows me full mobility when climbing and functions reasonably well when damp. My wife wears an Arcteryx puffy (not the $500 model, some older version that was on steepandcheap.com). Her jacket is super waterproof, super comfy for climbing and quite warm. Pic of her jacket below. For high altitude easy routes down is the best way to go. It's the best warmth to weight ratio - which is important when you're carrying food, gear and crap for 15 days. I have a Feathered Friends parka that i bought in 1997 (I think it's the Icefall - not sure. Big but not the biggest). I've abused it to hell yet it's still in great shape. I've used it in Nepal, on Denali 3 times, Aconcogua and a myriad of smaller peaks in Alaska. It's warm enough to keep me comfortable during a bivy and stays warm and dry as long as temps are well below freezing. My wife has a Western Mountaineering Ion parka. It's super light, super warm and also keeps her reasonably warm sans sleeping bag. Pic of my jacket below on a freakin' cold day that got much much colder. In short... if you're climbing technical routes where you'll get wet, get a synthetic puffy. If you're climbing moderate high altitude routes go with down. And if you go with down, buy a jacket made by local climbers in the USA (Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering).

Here you go Zimzam: Opt Out of Behavioral Advertising - http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp Opt out of Google adsense (need to use Firefox): http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/html/intl/en/plugin/ What sites do you have to visit to see ads for Cougarlife?

I fully agree. I foresee a new basecamp drinking game where every-time someone says "stolen from the future" they have to take a shot. You should be fair to the Canadians and Italians and say that it's the "euro-centric" way.

Edit... Seems the Vimeo embed doesn't work on a Mac. Here's the real URL:

I have 4 limbs - but I met a couple amputees on the Moose's Tooth a couple years ago. Here's one finishing up the first pitch. They made it about 7 or 8 pitches up before they bailed. As for getting out... I'm just off the couch after 5 months off due to a broken ankle so I know how you feel. However - don't do something stupid & set yourself back another 4-6 months - It's not worth it. Take up spraying or something.

Btw Sobo, just read this on the Supertopo thread. Maybe it will set your worried mind at ease.

Go practice. It's embarrassingly easy to flip a vehicle on icy roads.

The tauntaun recommendation was inevitable... However they're not quite as good as you'd think. Afterall their insides are only luke warm.

I've stood below the North Face of Huntington a couple times and wondered how McCartney and Roberts ever came up with the strength and fortitude to climb that face. If you're never read it I highly suggest you download "The Timeless Face: the North Face of Mount Huntington" from the AAJ website (http://www.americanalpineclub.org/p/aaj). RIP Mr. Roberts.

When on the west buttress in 2001 we topped out above the fixed lines to encounter a Russian guy wearing a leather vest over a gortex jacket taking a break to smoke a cigarette before continuing up with an obscenely heavy pack. We found cigarette butts all the way to the summit and back. To be able to chainsmoke at 20K is pretty impressive. [video:youtube]

Wow - that last photo is beautiful. Great write up - makes me wish I lived somewhere i could go cragging more often.

Looking forward to some good pix & stories this summer!

Check out the Dzi Foundation: http://www.dzifoundation.org/ Likewise Summit Climb offers a "service trek" (http://www.summitclimb.com/new/default.asp?vid=70). You could contact either group for more info.