korup

The real question is, why not ask Fred? You'd have all your answers in 5 miniutes or less, along with plenty of historical background....

Wait, so you can be a "rope leader" (to me, implicit in that is a significant level of experience and expertise) with 6, or maybe 8 days on rock EVER? If that's true, it is ABSURD.

Two things people don't seem to realize: 1. Leading is not a beginner, or even novice, skill. You should spend 2 (or even 3) full season cleaning boatloads of gear behind an experienced leader before you even think about leading. period. Cams have made the process seem trivial, when there is considerable nuance and experience involved. It isn't differential equations or advanced aeronautical enginnering, but it is damn serious, and the margin for error is small. 2. A beginner miltipitch does NOT exist. It's a freaking oxymoron.

Good luck, friend. I wear a 30.5 and it was a serious pain in the arse to find boots my size, and nothing close to $100!

Hmmm. REI just had them on sale for $250, and there's a store in Anchrorage....

Silvrettas are scary, scary, scary. You are smart to just do easy XC touring in them. There are good deals now on the (discontinued) Fritschi Titanal III, and they are a sweet binding ('cause I'm crazy enough to need to DIN of 13 or whatever on the Freerides and Naxos!)

Using homemade nuts and low strength 'biners back in the day was the ONLY option: if you wanted to climb, those were the tools available. Why settle for that crap now, when there is tons of solid, safe, and dependable gear on the market? CCH is just a joke; did Yvon ever send out pins that folded when you set 'em? I don't think so...and Ed Leeper stepped up to the plate and did a recall. Just my rant for the day....

You are a brave, brave man. I am shocked that anyone has any faith in any of the aliens on their rack.... seriously, if a company is sending unswaged crap out the door, in the midst of a deadly serious recall, why trust anything they've ever made? My life deserves real QC......

Excellent site- http://www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSki.php?name=Rainier

Yates does a great job; not local, but very fast if you tell 'em it is urgent... http://www.yatesgear.com/climbing/slings/index.htm#9

From the FAQ, CCH is currently working on implementing an ISO 9000 quality management system. To prevent this specific issue we are pull testing every brazed cable to the specified strength rating. You can verify that the new CCH Alien cams manufactured after January 2006 have completed cable pull testing by locating an "L", "U" or "N" punch on the head of the cam. We have also implemented new jig testing to verify that Alien cams meet specified tolerances. The fact that they are *working on implementing* ISO 9000 and *implementing* tests of their tolerances for manufacture means (IMHO) that ALL earlier cams are HIGHLY suspect. I am not trying to troll, I just think folks need to seriously think about what this means for whatever is on their rack....

Hehehe. Well, I never did purchase any for the reasons I stated above. I am thinking more about whether or not partners will pull 'em.....

Do people still plan on climbing with their non-recalled Aliens? I know I now have little/no faith in any of 'em. My life is worth more than a reverse engineered monkey-ass product that has a poor safety record and very poor QA/QC. Yeah, yeah, I know I can dispose of them at addresses X,Y, and Z....

well, damn, they are in LARAMIE, what can we really expect? Colorado Custom Hardware Inc. 115 Lyon Street Laramie, WY 82072 USA

"living with style" is tongue in cheek, I suspect?

Mention "intestinal parasites" and there will be no follow up questions, guaranteed.

dood, not twobee an arse-whole, butt your speling suxs! Sweet TR, thanks!

I've had my (pre-update) beacon on search, in the freezer, for 3hrs, and the batteries were down from 100% to 35%. Warmed back to room temp, they were at 65%. If you need to search for more than that amount of time, something is very, very wrong...!

I think you can design a scenario (trees, rocks, etc) when snowshoes are better, but 95% of the time, it is no contest. Snowshoes are clunky and ineffecient. How many of the folks advocating snowshoes have spent significant time on a good pair of BC skis? Arguing that shoeshoes are better/easier/faster than skinning is just funny....

My boots are a Garmont 30.5 (12.5 - 13) and the Fritschi Titanal III's they are on are very, very near the back of the adjustment rail. I am not sure they'd even go back enough for a 15....

Man, what happened to Marmot? sad, really. You'd expect REI to drop something like that, but Marmot? grrrrr.

The Time-Warner connection was new to me, did some googling, and found- "The fees they ask for are a great value as a customer and as a partner," said David Perry, vice president with Aspen Skiing Co., which paid the movie company around $50,000 to include its Snowmass ski area in the latest Miller flick, "Impact." Andy Wirth, vice president of marketing for Steamboat and The Canyons in Utah, said Miller's brand "carries a great deal of credibility and is really a key device in jolting people into thinking about skiing." http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041115/NEWS/411150302/1011/BUSINESS So, it is far, far worse than I expected....

I think every year gets worse and worse. There used to be reasonably subtle product views. Now, there is a gratuitous Jeep or granola bar in every possible shot. Not to mention the voice-overs, cooing about the amenities of Resort X, straight from the promo brochure/marketing department. Yes, I felt insulted last year, paying to be assaulted by a sales brouchure? The Alaska money-shot sequences almost make up for it though... BTW, the TGR film is touring too (Seattle, 11/3) and should be a good contrast!

Yates gear reslings any cams for way cheap, $4-5, very fast. I sent 4, spent more on shipping and insurance than the total cost. You can pick colors, nylon, spectra, etc. Just resling 'em all; I had several that were sketching me out, and now they are brand-spankin' new... http://www.yatesgear.com/climbing/slings/index.htm#9

Yates gear reslings any cams for way cheap, $4-5, very fast. I sent 4, spent more on shipping and insurence than the total cost. You can pick colors, nylon, spectra, etc. Just resling 'em all; I had several that were sketching me out, and now they are brand-spankin' new... http://www.yatesgear.com/climbing/slings/index.htm#9