timmy_t

John, Dave, and Dylan were just announced as one of this year's winners of the 2011 Copp-Dash Inspire Award... http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/news/events/winners-of-the-2011-coppdash-inspire-award-announced

PM on the pack

Well if you saw my current training regimen you would probably say I need to do both.

Congrats, amazing, great photos. Must... train... harder...

PM question sent...

PM sent

how firm is firm? is firm FIRM, or is it "firm"?

PM sent on the Divas...

Not that this is necessarily relevant, but I had a funny experience on the Ptarmigan Traverse a few years ago. My brother and I were doing the traverse south to north, and we came up to Cache Col from Kool Aid Lake for our last night (we were planning on climbing Mixup in the morning). We met two climbers from the east coast who were on their third day of the traverse. They had made it to the col, and upon looking south at Formidable/Spider and the Middle Cascade Glacier and beyond they "were like Oh My God." That's a quote. So they decided to just hang out and enjoy the views at the col (which of course are stunning) and drink whiskey, which was good for us because they were generous with it. So what was my point again? Well, if I can think of it I'll let you know. Have fun, be safe? Or something like that. If you want solitude (you'll see a few people for sure though), views, lots of good "safe" solo-able climbs, head to the Ptarmigan. I could spend a week at White Rock Lakes and not get tired of looking around.

http://www.basegear.com/rab-latok-alpine-jacket.html Pimento, Large, new, $220

PM sent this morning on quickdraws

Uhhhhhh........

ah, see the link, nevermind

colors on jackets? or better, pics?

Dane, you're selling these with the original (unmolded) inner boot, correct? Not with the new one you put in that you wrote about in that second blog?

Thanks a lot mr banos!

I was kind of kidding about the bears, but thanks. Although, did you hear about the bear attack that just happened to the Bellevue city councilman? http://www.seattlepi.com/local/427935_bear06.html Crazy. Wonder what the glaciers look like on Olympus right now. That would be another way out, avoiding the Elwha snow finger.

HEY! To anybody who has done the Bailey Range traverse this late in the season, do you have any route advice for me? Any sections that might be way more of a pain in the ass than I would like? Any spots where there are bears hiding just off the route, waiting to jump me and steal my Scooby Snacks? I'm thinking about doing it the last week of October if the weather is ok, which it probably won't be... OR, any ideas for another 7-9 day route through ONP?

Thanks for sharing. I may hit you up for some beta in the near future...

Maybe if you wanted to respond to one of my specific criticisms I would have a different way of looking at it when I saw it again. I wanted to like it. I was excited going in. I just found myself rolling my eyes a lot. It's an amazing story and I respect it, but that's why I liked Simpson's "Beckoning" so much.

Sorry if I'm behind the times on this, we usually get movies (and everything else) later than the rest of the civilized world up here! We're still into mullets and jean jackets, for example. Thanks for the link goatboy.

Just saw "North Face" in Bellingham last night, based on Kurz and Hinterstoisser's attempt to climb the Eiger Nordwand, and I just want to say that it was disappointing, even not good. There, I said it. Joe Simpson's "The Beckoning Silence" was much, much, better (link below). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmjJBu0xiwc It wasn't "Cliffhanger" or "Vertical Limit" bad, but I don't understand why they changed so much of the drama of the retreat, especially with what ensued after the avalanche. And I didn't like how the climbers were mostly portrayed as selfish assholes (wait...). The rival team were idiots, and the rescue climbers had to be guilt-tripped into helping with the rescue attempt. Then there was the inevitable added drama of the sleazy journalist and the almost-girlfriend. And of course every piton was about to pull out, and every step was a near-danger of slipping. Could have been better, rats.

I think it's on "The Horn" in the Henry Mountains in Utah?

Was there 9 days ago: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=946147

Trip: Mount Baker (ski) - Coleman-Deming Date: 3/6/2010 Trip Report: My friend Brennan and I took advantage of the bluebird day on Saturday and climbed/skied Baker's Coleman-Deming route (as did about 10 other people). If you have a soccer mom minivan like me you can drive to within five minutes of the trailhead. If you have anything else you can drive up to it. The snowpack looks like mid-June in the trees down low. The crux turned out to be the icy trail through the trees, which I actually slipped and fell off of at one point. I slid about 30 feet down a steep frozen hillside before coming to rest against a tree. Oops. Somebody had set a great skin track right out of the trees (thanks!), and it continued all the way up the Deming and onto the summit hump (minus about 300 feet above the saddle where we had to boot pack up). Here we are on the Football Field As you can see, there are no downhill ski tracks yet. What a day. Here's Brennan against Baker's backdrop as we continue up the Coleman Glacier Here's the first skier we saw coming down, in front of Colfax Peak And here's a snowboarder coming down the Deming in front of the rime ice-covered Roman Wall It was mild with no wind on top, so I snapped this shot of Brennan as he changed his wet shirt. It's March, for the love of God. (The axe is merely a photo op prop) The snow wasn't bad coming down the Deming. And, you know, the view... The snow below the saddle was amazing, super fun. Looks like a good turn was had by all. One final shot of a serac piece in front of Colfax 'Twas a good day. Gear Notes: Skis Skins Summit Burrito Approach Notes: You can drive to the trailhead. Try not to fall off the trail.