rhyang

Thanks, a pic of the pick would be super ! I guess the reason I ask was that it worked decently unmodified (or so I think at my level of inexperience), and am kind of worried that beveling might mess it up, thin as it is. I wonder if the new blue ice picks have the bevel already (as the product listing on mgear.com seems to infer), or if there's a reason why they don't have it ... I saw a quark on the same trip, and the b-rated 'cascade' pick it had was beveled on the teeth.

I just had a chance to climb with a petzl/moser aztar, and I really like it. However, I wonder about the teeth on the stock pick - they aren't beveled, the way Craig Luebben's book suggests (and as is found on the black diamond cobra picks). The stock pick is Petzl's 'blue ice' model, b-rated, ice-only. Did anyone file bevels into it, and did it help ? Or am I just being anal ? (wait, don't answer that...) Thanks for any info !

Can't answer your question, but am curious to know where this (Raichle) boot is sold. btw I did have a chance to use Salomon's Pro Ice for a couple of days doing some climbing in crevasses and an ice gully. Stiff boot, light, good amount of ankle support, reasonably comfortable. A little narrower in the toes than I'd like. Best obtained on sale (backcountry.com occasionally and mountaineer.com in a few sizes). Haven't done any rock in them yet, but will see how they do this weekend on some Sierra couloir ice. Not very warm, but that could just be due to how they cram my toes. For the winter I'm looking at plastics or just using chemical toe warmers.

Lowe dumps triple point for gore-tex, news at 11 : http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article.asp?UAN=2865&SP=&V=1

dry-tooling in drag ... what will they think of next

Trango S Evo ? http://www.ynews.info/en/item.php?id=1445 no date on the article, guess we'll see

I picked up this tip from a backpacking book - one can protect the gaiters' strap or whatever with tubular webbing. On my OR low gaiters it's just a cord anyway, so replacing it is not a huge issue.

"Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide" (Mike Gauthier, 1999) actually lists four other guide services, also listed on the NPS website here : http://www.nps.gov/mora/climb/climb.htm#guide I recently talked to a guy who enjoyed a trip led by these folks : http://www.cascadealpine.com I'd also be interested in hearing about the other guide services, since I'd like to go up in '05.

Thanks, I wish those Trango boots fit my wide toes. Was also thinking about the Asolo Summit ... if they fit anything like the Asolo Titan (which reportedly is not very durable), then that would be great. I have also read that the Summit is not very warm... but then if it's that cold out, I'll be wearing plastics anyway.

Cool, thanks. They seem great in the toebox, but for the life of me I couldn't tighten the laces up enough to eliminate the heel lift, and for me that always means blisters. change of subject: I've read that Sportiva makes some ice-climbing boots with medium-wide toes & narrow heels, so I guess that's the next thing to try. Anybody with K4S or Lhotse (new style) ?

throw them chunks o tasty tundra bamboo wands or harp seal pups (conveniently racked on BD ice clipper)

polar bear country, that is. Might even work for pandas

Sounds like the same boot. Here's the one I'm asking about, just for reference : http://www.mtntools.com/cat/alpineice/boots/scarpafreneyXTboots.htm Thanks for the info !

Just wondering if anyone has used this boot. Thinking about using them for alpine ice climbing on glaciers and Sierra couloirs. Warm enough for spring & fall ? (I'm pretty much sold on plastics for winter use) Durability so far ? Thanks for any info !

Yikes ! After seeing that I returned mine. I did notice on Asolo's website a leather version, called the Peak GV. Found them listed for sale at www.altitude-sports.com, but when I tried to order, they said size 9.5 was backordered, with the same situation at the factory.

Clearly I should go try some on, but in the meantime I've read that Koflachs are typically best for medium-narrow feet (?) I'd be curious to know if anyone with wider feet has had success with them (Verticals, or the other models for that matter), and whether or not thermofits / shell modifications were needed. My toes just barely fit in the Invernos (was thinking of thermofits).

re: decaying seal - I picked up a pair of used Invernos off ebay that seemed great until I noticed that in wet snow my feet were getting wet. Any way to fix that ? Can the seal be re-glued or something ?

I'd guess at this time of year the summer boots are being closed out for next year's models. [by the way, I was looking at the deal mgear.com has on Tecnica T-Rock's ($199). I took a glacier class last month with a guy who had just bought a brand new pair from a shop for more than $300. Not sure if they are any good for people with wide toes and narrow heels]

Hate to ask a stupid question, but could you be talking about the Garmont Tower ? http://www.rockandice.com/gear/123/gear.1232.html

Just noticed the new Sabretooth crampons ... looks like they have a more adjustable heel lever, among other things ...

For anyone else wondering - picked these up on sale at REI for $199. I usually wear a size 9.5 street shoe and size 10 boot, and size 9.5 in these feels good, even with thick socks. I normally wear wide sizes or Salomons and so far have no complaints about toe room. Very flexible ankles (not as much support). Sole stiffness feels equivalent to a 3/4 shank I'd guess. Heel area feels really good. Seems like a stiff-soled hiking boot to me with a full rand and Vibram. Has a double-tongue. Weight just under 4 pounds. Well, those are my impressions after walking around the house anyway ...

These ? http://www.neclimbs.com/reviews/review.php?ReviewID=20030215 http://www.glacierglove.com/pages/iceclimb.htm

These don't appear to be aluminum (those would be the Raid Lite). The weight listed is 28 oz.

Someone on a backpacking list pointed these out a while ago - they look pretty much the same as Performance Bike's Radial II cycling glasses (www.performancebike.com). What would worry me is that I'm not sure what kind of light transmission the lenses have. EDIT: oh never mind, they list the light transmission for each kind of lens. btw Personally I wear glacier glasses made as per these instructions: http://www.climber.org/gear/glasses.html#eckert I think Opticus offers a similar kind of lens.

Just an fyi: Bought a 66cm Evo (slider, not the long leash), and used it last weekend on the north side of Mt. Shasta. Did some group-arrest practice with a rope team and didn't notice any problems. Plunged the pick into glacier ice during crevasse rescue practice, and was pretty well impressed. The steel spike worked well on summit day, where we encountered patches of blue ice. In areas of talus / rock I had to use the axe for balance. Pounded a picket in with the spine. Dug out a buried deadman with the adze, where it was good to have a solid 'shovel'. Good solid tool. The guides were using BD Raven's, so can't really say I was pushing the limits of the tool, except maybe for the glacier 'ice climbing' (really just hauling myself out of the crevasse after prusiking up). It was kinda cool to whack that pick in and lever myself up while gripping the adze. Afterwards, had to sharpen up the spike a bit because of all the clanking on rock, and some of the fancy paint job was pretty well smudged. Small spots of light rust were evident on the head, but that seems normal for Grivel chromoly steel.