pjc

Suggestions for easy/moderate mixed climbs in Peru? Heading down there for climbing sometime between May and July, total time ~10 days. Other potential climbing targets include Tocllaraju NW ridge, but that is all snow/ice. We're looking for a climb that is similar in difficulty and risk to the NW ridge (low risk is important), but includes some rock as well. Difficulty ideally about the same as Contamine-Griselle on Mont Blanc du Tacul...so, pretty straightforward and safe but really fun. Thoughts or advice?

I bought one to try on, but it didn't fit my head well and returned it. Did any of those rumors pan out for other new ultralight helmets?

"I did hear that there will be a bunch of copycat helmets coming out this spring, using the same foam technology...but with more acceptable colors. " Mark, out of curiosity, do you know which companies?

Thanks for the feedback. I'm specifically still interested in how it addresses #1, of distributing forces for example in the case of rockfall. It doesn't seem to do much good on that front?

Cool, thanks for the feedback. Also, i'm referring to any helmet with a shell, eg Petzl Elios.

(Disclosure: posted this to SP.org as well to get as many opinions as possible) I've heard the two main prevailing thoughts of helmet manufacturers, for what a hard plastic shell does as opposed to just a foam helmet: 1. distributes force over the entire head, vs just impact point -- foam would just deform in that region without the shell. 2. keeps foam intact over multiple impacts. I've used the Petzl Elios for this reason, but am going to replace it given that its near the end of its life. I'm looking at the Petzl Sirocco. Petzl claims a safe mountaineering helmet due to the foam remaining intact over multiple impacts, but i don't see how this helmet addresses point #1. Anyone have insight into the safety of the Sirocco vs hard shell? http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/vertica ... ts/sirocco

Ha, thanks Atreides:D The paraphrasing was hilarious. Anyways, before posting I read all trip report from the last several years (the Search seemed to freeze after 4 years though), but those of course don't give info on recent conditions, for example, on the eliot.

We're looking to climb on hood around the week of march 20 or so. Anyone have recommendation as to what route might fit the bill based on current conditions? We're looking for something that can be done in a long day (could maybe be two days, not two long days though), that has a few fun and mellow ice pitches, maybe some rock, and glacier travel. So basically a relaxing fun mix. My thoughts so far are eliot, leuthold's, reid headwall (cooper might be an option but that doesn't seem as interesting). Not sure why reid's has a low score on SP compared to the others though. Any advice would be appreciated!

On a related note, if anyone's interested in purchasing a Venom, I have a brand new and unused 57cm Venom Hammer with tags that I'm selling.

Alpinfox (and others), regarding the review you posted. I'm under the impression that for safe rope handling (i.e. handle high loads of a pulley system) the pulley diameter has to be a few times the rope diameter. The DMM Revolvers are just 10mm diam, so that'd stress the rope quite a bit. Thoughts?

[Mods: Posted in Lost and Found as well, so if this is out of place here, please delete...] In case anyone's going to be around the base of Corrugation Corner at Lover's Leap in the near future, and finds a pair of prescription glasses, please let me know... Mine fell off at the second belay on Sunday, and seemed to bounce all the way down. Doubtful the lenses survived, but the frames might have. Thanks!

In case anyone's going to be around the base of Corrugation Corner at Lover's Leap in the near future, and finds a pair of prescription glasses, please let me know... Mine fell off at the second belay on Sunday, and seemed to bounce all the way down. Doubtful the lenses survived, but the frames might have. Thanks!

My sister once lost her wedding ring ring while snowshoeing in deep, fresh, powdery snow at Willamette Pass in oregon (There is a post somewhere on here about that). After searching with SAR for it for hours, declared it lost--and posted signs everywhere and gave SAR the description. Would you believe that months later, when the snow melted out, someone found it, and actually returned it while not accepting any reward?! So post some notes at trailheads, tell the rangers around there, etc.--it's possible you will be fortunate as well.

There is much hope for the other two. Regarding the two caves: We know they left for help after sheltering the first. Perhaps they were turned back, and tried to rejoin the snow cave. Failing to locate it in the severe weather, maybe they dug another cave in the vicinity. With 4 tools total, 2 could perhaps be left behind as they begin their second exit attempt towards the summit. Everyone's praying they'll be found safely tomorrow!

So sorry to hear this:( [ He is with his Lord now; of this I know you, the family, are all sure. In his last few days Jesus was with him, comforting him all the way, ready to carry home his dear child. ]

This last weekend I lost my glasses while descending Avalanche Gulch (I think) on Shasta. They also might be on the ridge running by the Whitney glacier as one approaches Misery Hill from any of the other W/NW routes. The chances are virtually zero that they'll be found...but hey, we recovered a ring after five months, so a miracle might happen here as well The glasses might be near the bivy site (trench) between Misery Hill and the Red Banks where we stayed overnight. The glasses have a thin silver-gray frame, and a somewhat more narrow lens (not big and round). They are Vogue glasses I believe. Relatively weak prescription. Anyways, if you find them in all the slush up there, please let me know! Thanks, Paul

But...it's just peeking through a hole in the wall! EDIT: And it's a squirrel, or a mouse with a squirrel mask.

Yep, it really is amazing. It's been about five months since she lost it.

FOUND ! Can you believe this? Somone turned it in. I put up many flyers with drawings, etc., and a Boy Scout leader discovered it yesterday because of the snow melting out. He called, and did not accept any reward after meeting to return the ring. Incredible. My family be holding on to the ring until August, when my sister will visit. Heaven forbid, it not not be sent in the mail for fear of it getting lost...again:) What a nice ending. There are many honest people out there. Thank you to all of you folks, this is a shining example <yes, pun intended>.

Okay. Point two, though, was not supposed to be solved by the attachment; I was only trying to get around the danger of spine compression. The pulling forward would always happen. Someone I know had the idea of always passing both ropes through the chest biner when tied in at the center. IF this is safe (I don't know) then it would solve that point, because the biner would never be cross-loaded, especially if a hitch is attached. Good point about the prussiks. That would make it very difficult... I can see a (cumbersome?) way around that, though: attach prussiks as normal. Clove hitch rope to chest harness. When in a crevasse, attach prussik above chest harness point, weight the prussik, and then the clove hitch can easiy be undone. Resume normal prussiking after weighting the rope again. Despite your valid points, I still think there might be some advantage to the clove hitch EDIT: Oh, and if the hitch is tied to those on the ends of the rope (persons most likely to fall), then luckily the issue of having the rope attached to the biner would vanish...only the person who is in the center would need to worry about the two ropes, as you pointed out. So those on the ends might benefit then? Maybe the center person wouldn't do this...

What about a clove hitch on the chest biner? Or some other temporary attachment mechanism... There would be no compression of the spine--or much less, in any case--since then the rope would not have the capability to pull the chest and waist harness together. What issues can people see with attaching the chest biner to the rope to avoid compression?

Dang it, that commercial's not listed on the Lexus site. It'd be funny to see this--(I don't own a TV)--so does anyone have an online source for watching it? Ha, I know that some might be tempted to respond unproductively:), so yes, I do have better things to do...now, where's the commercial?

Though it could still work, electric socks usually really work best to _prevent_ cold feet, and have a hard time warming up feet that are already cold. Therefore they are at best a preventative measure [at least, the ones I've tried, for fun only mind you! ] I got one as a gift once, never actually used it outside, only to experiment inside; I didn't think it worked too well, and so to warm cold hands up...well, they would probably not be sufficient... However if it ends up working, then cool!

Actually, it is my sister who lost her wedding ring. It is gold colored and has three small diamonds in a row perpendicular to the band. We were snowshoeing at Willamette Pass on New Year's Eve, on a route through the woods to Midnight Lake. I think she lost it either at Midnight Lake (about four meters to the right of that fallen log in the water near the trail, if you're facing the water), or at the "Entering Deschutes National Forest" sign, or at the parking lot Either way, this was the day that it started snowing heavily up there. We drove back up on the frozen roads after she noticed it was missing, and we all spent hours digging up the parking lot with the SAR folks with headlamps and shovels, etc. We also retraced the path a mile or so, but it was getting really cold so we turned back around with no success. I know the snow was quite powdery, and we really had little change of finding it. BUT come spring (uh, now? when the snow melts, maybe someone will find it. She was just newly married, and that ring was in her husband's family for generations before her. Obviously, she would be really happy to get it back from a kind soul, if it's ever found:) Thanks!

Thanks Pete for the reply. [Actually I'm not the original poster, so that trip date was not mine...so that's why I looked at the current conditions, since I was planning to go soon:)] Yeah, we'd all be tied in. But after further contemplation, and speaking with a few people, it just doesn't seem worth the effort to go up there; not much is in good shape around here yet...<sigh>.