Flatlander1

Haven't arrived yet but that's what they told me over the phone when I placed my order. I asked what I should use as a cap when molding and they said they use the toe caps and would throw a pair in at no added cost. Will let you know what I get. They were shipped on the 16th but I don't expect a speedy delivery at this time of year. Until then, Happy Holidays, drink up and climb on!

So far I've heard nothing but good reviews regarding Intuition liners so I decided to buy a pair for my Koflach Verticals. Living in Ontario, Canada (flat land) I couldn't find anyone who distributes them in the area. I found a few guys willing to sell them on the net but their prices were extremely different and one guy didn't have the Alpine model. I contacted Intuition Sports to find out what the MSRP should be and found out they sell direct. Intuition quoted me $120 CDN for the Alpine model and that included shipping and the toe caps for molding!!! They drop shipped them only a few days ago so I'll wait to see if they fit my boots right and report back after molding them. Just wanted to let everybody know in case your looking for heat moldable liners. Cheers Brad

Post deleted by Flatlander1

Did it a few times in practice also but the guide was trying to yank me down even harder (thanks J.F.)! He taught us to attach a 5M x 7 mm cord to the rope a couple inches from our tie-in point using a triple loop prussik right after we tied into the rope. We daisy-chained the rest of the cord (keep it short) and clipped it to a gear loop with a locking biner. After you arrest the fall, dig in and fix an anchor you can unclip the cord, tie a double overhand knot in the cord's ends and clip it to the anchor. Then transfer the weight to the cord by slowly shifting towards the fallen climber. Not wanting to rely on a single cord we clipped ourselves to the anchor with a double-length sling, got off the rope and clipped the rope to the anchor using on overhand knot as a back-up. Now we were free to pull him out with a drop line or leave him there for a while to think about what he did (ha ha, not that I did that or anything).

Thanks for the great info so far guys. Mark, I sent you a PM on the gear and hope to hear from you soon. Griz, the trip is scheduled for May 9th. Alpinfox, the synthetic is only about 6 oz heavier than a NF Solar Flare but, obviously, not as compressable (fits nicely in the bottom of my Badlands 75 using the ass-compression method). Duchess, Pete, Rylan and Figger, I think you all agree on a warmer bag and jacket. I'll get working on it right away and keep the great info coming. Thanks, guys (girls included in that "guys" thing).

I'm thinking of joining a group doing Denali (West Buttress) in May 2005 and have a few questions regarding gear. I spent three days on Mount Washington NH in -25F weather but, of course, Denali is a whole different animal. My bag is a Marmot Maverick -20F/-29C synthetic, a Marmot Parbat (650 fill) down jacket and Koflach Vertecals for which I was thinking of replacing the arctic with Intuition liners (heard they were warmer and lighter). Any thoughts as to the appropriateness of the gear and any suggestions from more experienced climbers would be appreciated.

I completed an alpine skills course with a Canadian guide this summer in the coast mountains of BC and a single B-rated ice axe with a sling girth-hitched at the balance point of the axe was all we used for crevasse rescue anchors. Just make sure there is a decent angle in the T-slot so the axe doesn't pop and they worked fine. We sometimes backed them up by driving another axe in vertically in front of the horizontal axe between the sling to form a Saxon's cross but that was just for practice. Of course this all depends on the conditions of the snowpack (it was mid-August and extremely dry conditions). Books usually discuss the safest methods (liability) which is great but it's best to learn from more experienced climbers what really goes on out there, what you have time for, etc. Speed is safety in the mountains and people have froze to death wedged into shallow narrow crevasses. It's your call up there.

vw4ever and anyone else: I forgot to mention that there were a couple of manky rap anchors in the descent gully. One was a cord and piece of webbing that looked fairly new from a distance (about 25' off climber's right) but they were attached to a large block that looked as if it would tip over fairly easily. The second was lower down on climber's left. It looked pretty good, fairly new webbing and cord, however, I heard tearing sounds from the webbing behind the block it was attached to when I tested it. There were no rap rings so we cut both the anchors and left two bomber nuts and a biner in its place. They are about four feet up on the wall. I also placed a few more photos in my gallery of the ascent (mid north face) and the descent gully.

For my first alpine climb I thought it was a nice, moderate snow/ice route although Alpine Select (p. 160) describes it as steep. I don't have a great deal of experience in alpine climbing so bear that in mind when you read my description and the terms I use. I'm also sure that being with a pro guide during the ascent greatly reduced the "neck" factor at the steepest portion of the climb (last 100m) which I know would have felt different were I on the sharp end. He also took over the descent but for a very good reason. The approach from the Red Tit col was an easy walk around the northwest spur through moderately crevassed slopes. On lead our instructor had us evaluate and cross many snow bridges along the way which I suspected he was trying to get us to fall into just for the experience. From there we ascended the north face along the right side until the bergschrund. We weren't allowed to walk around it so we climbed through (my partner falling in 1/2 way through) and veered left up a steeper gully (60-70 degrees) to the east ridge. We didn't ascend directly to the summit so we could gain more experience climbing the poor quality rock along the ridge. I would never have thought something so large was so broken-up. Everything I touched was extremely loose and I was afraid of sending huge blocks down on my belayer. We descended the southwest spur (standard route) downclimbing what I thought was at least 100m to a couloir that led to the Ionia-Serratus col. Our guide took over from there as much of the snow/ice was gone in the descent gulley and it was quite a shooting gallery. We scrambled down most of the steep sections wearing crampons, rapped over numerous vertical drops and were lowered or rapped down what little snow/ice remained. Our guide told me it was one of the worst descents he had ever done and was going to post on the pro guide website that it should no longer be used due to its condition. Once on the col we traversed through numerous dry crevasses back to the Red Tit hut. Alpine select rated the climb AD but our guide rated it AD+ given the route's condition. All in all I had a great time during the ascent but would have been extremely nervous during the descent had our guide not been there.

Still coming down from the trip. I can see how someone like me could bite off more than they could chew the next time out. I'm still hyped about the trip and immediately started to plan the next one. My wife wants to attempt a winter ascent of Mount Washington (NH) in January and we may go to the Joffre Range in June to work on our skills. I'd also like to go with a couple of my buddies (far more experienced) to do Skyladder on Andromeda or a nice route on Athabasca. Too bad about the having to move from Michigan through. Was there anything to climb there besides the huge sand dunes on the lake? Since this was your first alpine season where did you climb and what were the routes like?

Climb: Mount Washington (NH)-Lion Head Trail Date of Climb: 1/21/2004 Trip Report: I know it's not located in the Pacific Northwest but thought you might like to hear about it anyway. At 6288 feet many would not consider Mount Washington (NH) a tall mountain but a winter ascent is a serious undertaking. Washington is the third deadliest mountain in the U.S. (130+ deaths) after Denali and Rainier. The climb ascends 4250+ vertical feet in 4.1 miles from the visitor's center at Pinkham Notch. The Lion Head winter trail is not a difficult climb but the weather can be horrendous. Full arctic conditions exist in the alpine zone (above 5000') and three days before leaving my climbing partner Randall and I watched in horror as area experienced record lows and the summit wind chill index dropped to -97F! Climbing buddies of ours thought we were nuts to go but we had booked the time off and decided to go anyway. We drove all night (12.5 hours), picked up more gear (2 hrs), ate breakfast and hiked in to the Harvard Cabin at 3435 feet (2 more hrs). I was so freakin tired would have stabbed Randall with my trekking pole if given the opportunity (it was his idea to drive throught the night). It was only after we arrived at the cabin did we hear about an unfortunate climber who froze to death just two days before we arrived. The following morning we attempted to traverse of a portion of the Presidential Range (4 summits, 18 miles, two days). We got within 1000' of our first summit (Washington) but our goggles froze and the wind knocked me down a couple of times. I couldn't see my feet let alone the route. The wind chill was -42F with the 60 mph wind so we bailed and descended to the bitterly cold cabin. My goggles didn't thaw out until 6:00 PM that night. The next day was even worse as the wind chill dropped to -50F. Depressed, we hiked back to town for a good meal and I drowned my sorrows in beer. On the third day we caught an unbelievable break in the weather and decided to go 'fast and light' from the visitor's center. The wind chill had risen to -20F and we left the trailhead at 8:30 AM arriving at the summit four hours later. Our descent took only 2 hours (feet burning inside my double plastics) and we were back in town to celebrate (more beer). The next day we packed up and headed back to Canada knowing that our summit was a matter of luck with the weather. Unfortunately two other climbers died in falls, the first just five days after we left and the second a month later. Gear Notes: Trekking poles Ice axe Double plastic boots Down jacket Approach Notes: All trails are well maintained by the USFS.

Climb: Serratus-North Face Date of Climb: 8/19/2004 Trip Report: I'm hooked!!! This was my first (but not last) trip to the west after catching the mountaineering bug on a winter ascent of Mount Washington (New Hampshire) this January. I enjoyed five fantastic days on an apline skills course held in the Tantalus Range. There was only one other student so we had a 2:1 ratio with our instructor and personal photographer John F. We flew in by chopper to the Red Tit col (sorry, more money than time). Set up camp and practiced self-arrests, building anchors, gear placement, belaying, crevasse rescue, snow and ice climbing, etc. On the third day we summitted Serratus via the North Face. We crossed numerous crevasses (John wouldn't let us take any easy routes) and led all but the steepest of sections. I couldn't believe how loose the rock was. We spent a 1/2 hour at the top before descending the southwest spur. What a shooting gallery!!! John could not believe how much the couloir had melted-out and how much loose rock there was. Down-climbed over 1/2 the route before we reached any snow/ice. Round trip took us 12 hours (newbies) but we were there to learn. We passed at an ascent of Dionne the following day as the weather was turning and we wanted to practice more on the glacier.