rhyang

what do you guys think about the fit ? I read that the toebox is a little wider than before. Or are they still pretty narrow ?

Looks like the new ones are going to be some kinda rubber sheet, if what's on the website is any indication.

Fill the form out more than one time, though I find it preferable to make my own.

Tioga road plowing update - local word is that it may be July before this thing is open, but it's anyone's guess.

http://www.shastaavalanche.org/reports.htm

Just curious - who uses chest harnesses on glaciers, and when ? I have read that they are a necessity with a big heavy pack, but probably overkill for daypacks.

My ice partner really likes the Yates rabbit runners. I hadn't realized there were any other kinds. What do people prefer ?

Thanks guys !

I was wondering what kind of belay setup people would use to belay someone who is climbing out of a crevasse. Not in a rescue situation, just for ice-climbing practice. I know about setting anchors via pickets, screws, equalizing, etc. but am curious to know how people would set up something like this. Thanks for any info !

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/contact Probably the Weaverville or Big Bar ranger stations are your best bet, but the higher elevations hold snow fairly late in the season. I wouldn't plan anything there until June at least.

We were there last w/e as well. Started both days early and went up the BH, followed by the main wall. Sunday watched some dudes going up the pillar on the right of the main wall while belaying. What were you folks climbing ?

Probably the most instructive & fun lesson I ever had was being forced to climb without swinging or kicking (this was on a really hacked out climb) - only hooking and stepping. Then my partner gave me some tips for resting in various ways - I get the impression this is a really key skill on steep ice. I still have a lot to learn, but now I can follow him on a WI4 pitch and not pump out so badly. I'm jealous that you had the opportunity to climb a WI5. Don't give up !!

What did you think of the secondary points ? The short secondaries and the weight were the most worrisome things to me about bionics.

Interesting ... I see that the dartwins have more of the frontpoint under the front plate than the sarkens, perhaps 1.5cm or so.

The intuition liners from marmot are thicker than the scarpa liners. Recently noticed that the '9.5' Alphas I've been wearing are UK sized, so I guess they are actually US 10.5's (STP has been selling them at least since September, and at the time they didn't put this little tidbit on their website), which might explain why the size 10 intuitions fit so well in them.

Has anyone looked at the Dartwin's ? I noticed that they have the outer point longer than the inner. Also, the points are thicker than the Darts. Huh ?

Very annoying, since I just saw some better deals at theadventuresource.com ...

minor detail: probably referring to the air tech evo (curved shaft). T-rated, so a bit heavier, but have used it on an alpine ice gully with a second tool. Speaking of which, here's some more wackiness.

Red Ledge thunderlight TH4 is reputed to be on the "less breathable" end of the scale, according to data posted on backpackinglight.com a few years ago. I like the stuff because it's fairly cheap, sturdy and light - it takes being thrashed through brush pretty well. Have gotten mine from www.campmor.com, but I'm sure google/froogle would turn up other sources.

I tried a pair of 44.5 Nuptse's with my old-school (black) sabretooths and they didn't seem to fit (neither did the boots). Maybe the newer ones would work better.

Thanks again guys ! btw Doug, the rambo's are great, thanks for the setup tips. With any luck we're going to be around again towards the end of the month.

Yep, the leader carried one of those ... he seemed to like it. As it happens, I was rooting through my gear closet and realized that I have an old mini-summit pack, complete with shoulder straps, 11oz / 900 ci or so. I think I'll try using that for my junk. Thanks for the info guys ! btw the route is in California, sorry.

I seconded my first multi-pitch WI3+ over the weekend (2.5 pitches on a 60m rope, took the better part of the day since there were 3 of us), and am thinking that perhaps I need to fine-tune the junk I was carrying (1L water, golite belay parka, belay mittens, food, camera, in a 2400ci golite jam whose compression straps I should have tightened down). The leader was carrying a fleece windstopper jacket and some water in one of those grivel manu packs, and obviously dealing with lots more gear. What do other people carry on stuff like this ? Do you hang the water / mittens from your harness ? Any other tips ?

I read this a bit ago.

Dumb question - how do you find such routes ? Is it a word-of-mouth kind of thing ? Depends on the area... there are guidebooks for DT areas but mostly Colorado and CAN. Around here it seems mostly word of mouth... where are you looking? California, perhaps Nevada or southern Oregon. I haven't asked around much, but read somewhere about Lee Vining Canyon in the off-season (when there's no ice).