pup_on_the_mountain

Proposal at the summit => Its all downhill after that . Congrats!! Thats truly romantic. Hope you have a lot of fun times together in the mountains. Good choice to do the peak over three days as well. I'm not so sure about that general statement buddy. I've very limited experience of the winds in Colorado, but did feel the brunt of the winter winds and cold once. And I've had my butt handed to me by nasty winds and cold temps on a few trips around here as well. Looks like you had fairly decent conditions overall on this trip. As more experienced folks around here can attest, things could get pretty nasty here as well if you're in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

ADN link Hoping for a happy ending...

Ice climbing near Missoula.

May be I'll pick up the wildflowers on the way back from the climb, and cook a four-course backpacker lunch . Kevin, I've done Ingalls (SF and ER) before, and is a good suggestion as well for this trip. The road might be the issue though - at least it didn't look like its open yet. This will be only her second backcountry camping trip, so lesser road miles will be better. I'll look into the Enchantments option - thanks Justin! Any more suggestions? Anything worth exploring in OR?

I'm sorry, but I have to say that its always a gamble to make plans well in advance (and book your flight tickets) when it comes to climbing Rainier. Gauthier's blog has a word of caution about the warm spell and possibilities of avys in to this weekend (sort of echoing what NWAC has to say). If you were local, I would've said go somewhere else. Since you're flying in, I'll say go up to Muir and check out the conditions (and talk to the rangers). Start real early, and be off the mountain before it really warms up (so, get back to camp by 8 AM-ish, or even earlier). You can hope that at least the chances of getting caught in a whiteout will be lesser...

For the long weekend, the lady wants to do a backcountry camping trip. I'm trying to pick a spot from which I could do a solo climb in the morning. Upto 55-60 degrees on snow/ice, and rock up to 5.5-5.6 should be fine for me to solo, but I'd settle for class 2-3 scrambles if nothing else shapes up. What are some spots with decent views of mountains with such solo options nearby? Water bodies or running water at/near camp spots will be a plus, but not a must. Willing to drive 5-6 hrs from PDX. Colchuck lake is an option (hopefully, the road will be open to the trailhead by next weekend). Would like to hear about other places in OR/WA. TIA.

Pretty close... Nice TR and pics OW!

Damn!!! Sorry to hear about the thievery Kurt. Did you have renter's insurance? These things covered on that or what?

I've taken NF 52 as early as mid-April, but that was back in 2006. It was well-paved all the way. Definitely the way to go when coming from the East Side. As far as current conditions go, you could call the NPS folks in the Park to find out.

The only beacon I know is my avy beacon. Now, thats a start. Ivan, I'm meeting Joseph to climb at Ozone ~10:30 am. May be you could join in the afternoon..

I've to be in the Portland area Friday night, and for the weekend. I'd like to get out for some climbing during the day on Friday. Driving from Pullman, and can start early enough to make a full day out of it. If morning does not work, I'd like to join some of the folks going for after-work action. BTW, the lady is starting her first job in the area, and I'll be spending many weekends there. It'll be nice to meet up with the locals in the future ...

The short answer to your question is to get boots that fit you best. Try both sizes (42 and 42.5) in a few different brands before getting one. My street shoe size is 42. I have a pair of La Sportiva Glaciers in size 42, and have used it on approaches, glaciers, snow, and some ice (mainly in the mountains). I like the fairly snug fit on the toes when going uphill, but they do bash against the toe box when going downhill. I need to stop now and then to re-tie the shoes tighter when going down. For the limited alpine ice I climbed with them, it was not bad on the toes. I also have a pair of Koflachs in size 9, which are on the loose side for that size. These have a roomier toe box than the Glaciers, and also stay tied in tight much longer. I have no issues with toes getting banged up on the downhill. I climb water ice in them, and when it gets near vertical, the heel becomes loose and causes problems. No issues with toe-banging though. Recently, I bought a pair of La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX boots, in size 42.5, and they seem to be the best overall fit for me. This model is designed to be narrow at the heels, and hence holds them fixed pretty nicely. Works great on vertical ice. I've not used them on approach trails yet, but they fit me so well that I think they should be fine on trail as well. My first pair of boots were the old-style Scarpa Freneys in size 42. Their toe-boxes are quite narrow compared to the La Sportivas or Koflachs. In just one day of ice climbing, I screwed up both my toenails.

Talking about glissading, the ride will be much smoother if you unclip the waist buckle of your backpack, and let the pack glide on the snow at a higher level (than your butt-level that is ).

WOW!!! This tool is really awesome. :tup:

Awesome job Eiji!! I still remember meeting you guys last year on your way in to give the route a go. Looks like you found it in better shape this time. Strong effort, and thanks for the pics as well.

I got mine yesterday (made by FF, exchanged from Mr. Gear Whore ). They are much lighter than I was expecting. Neat piece of gear for sure!

Beautifully written!! Thanks a bunch for posting the TR :tup: . Looks like you guys had a swell time!

So, I asked FF to make one for me, and he says he'll do it if there is enough "demand". At this point, two people have asked him (including me). Looking for 2-3 more folks. Any one else interested?

NF is in great shape. I even placed 5-6 screws. Crux was getting on the NF proper (over the moat). I heard the waterfall on the NEB is spicy, but not a show-stopper. Bunch of teams out there Sunday, including soloists (on both routes). Floatation was not needed on the way up in the morning, but we found snowshoes useful on the way down. Despite some doubts about crusty snow, the skiers had fun as well. I've some pictures here. I guess Chair TR's here have been scoffed at enough that people are afraid to post them any more .

Splendid pictures!!! :tup: The mountain peacock pic is out of the world! Awesome work gents, and thanks for posting.

Hi Ken, You want to give Chair NF a go on Sunday? Weather is not stellar, but not rotten either (30-40% chance of precipitation). At least the avy conditions are supposed to be stable. The recent updates seem to indicate that its in shape. I could've gone tomorrow, but then I only got 3 hours of sleep last night. So, Sunday would be preferable. PM me.

Awesome!! Looks like fun for sure. I'll have to get my ass over there, but its getting really hard to convince people around the Palouse to make the longish drive .

Good stuff!! Did you get a look at the NF? How was it looking - specifically, the NYG?

Awesome job!! Thanks for the stokey I sat on by butt and got fat ...

Thanks for the tip on how the custom search works. I was guessing something along those lines. You're correct - the SP page on Mount David does not have a high Page rank. In fact, even when I search for "Mount David" or "Mt David", the SP page is not in the first 2-3 pages of links pulled up (by regular Google search). I was trying weird (combinations of) words just to see what your search engine will pull up. Except for that word ("David"), most other words I tried gave relevant results .