armin

I ended up buying travel insurance from STA Travel (Council Travel on University Way in Seattle), also available online. It cost me 100 USD for 22 days and included health insurance, travel accident protection and baggage protection for up to 1500 USD amongst other things. cheers Armin

Also for while you're on your trip. i.e. not on the airplane? I am looking for insurance for my bags for the duration of my whole trip.

Has anybody experience with baggage insurance when going on a trip? The only one I found online is provided by STA travel, but it covers only up to 1500 USD. I would like to have a bit more for all the gear. Thanks for your input.

Trip: Colchuck Peak - North Buttress Couloir Date: 4/15/2007 Trip Report: Claire, Claudius and I climbed Colchuck Peak via the North Buttress Couloir and skied down the standard glacier route. We walked and skinned to Colchuck lake Saturday, the snow on the trail melting fast. With the gate still locked, we found the road completely snow free, albeit blocked by a mudslide and a few deadfalls. We were able to skin from trailhead Saturday, but large patches of snow were missing on the trail Sunday afternoon. The lake was still frozen, but the ice is getting thin in places. As we crossed it Saturday afternoon, large patches were not so solid any more. The route was in very good condition; all snow with a few meters of ice and a short rock scramble to below the summit block. We believe this was the first ascent of the North Buttress couloir by an All German team. on the trail above colchuck lake claudius in the lead claire following claire scoping out the west face looking down from the summit mount stuart skiing down (photo by tony martin) it is important to keep your feet dry and hands warm (photo by cory groom) back at the car Gear Notes: skis, crampons, ice axe Approach Notes: 3.5 miles road, 5 miles trail to lake

Dude, Spaten is the worst beer we have in Munich. Try Paulaner or Ayinger next time. Augustiner is very good also, but you won't get it here.

No axe needed.

Climb: Sherpa Peak-West ridge Date of Climb: 7/9/2006 Trip Report: My girlfriend and I climbed Sherpa Peak via the West Ridge on Sunday. We approached over Long's Pass on Saturday. Unfortunately we headed up the Stuart ridge too early and ended up in Ullrich's couloir. At around 6200 feet we began crossing east and made it to Cascadian couloir in about an hour. From there we crossed over to the basin below the Stuart-Sherpa col and bivied at around 7000 feet. The route from the col at 8200 feet is pretty obvious, but rappel slings mark the way. The climbing is pleasant and easy, with a slabby "crux". The views of Rainier, Adams, Glacier and Baker from the summit were magnificient. We made the fourth ascent this year and 2005 the mountain saw only ten ascents. Maybe it's too little climbing for the long approach? Gear Notes: Slings, a few nuts. Claire protected the "crux" with a #1 cam. Smaller cams are handy to make an anchor on the summit, although a positional belay would probably suffice. We had 60m double rope, but a single is rope is fine. Approach Notes: Do not branch off Ingalls Creek Trail too early, instead wait for the signpost to Beverly turnpike, which is right below Cascadian Couloir. Go up Cascadian and cross over to the East and head up to the obvious col between Stuart's false summit and Sherpa.

Kopftoerlgrat: http://www.bergsteigen.at/de/touren.aspx?ID=567

Maybe you know already, but Panico has good guidebooks for the Kaiser (https://www.panico.de/de/panico_buecher/gebietsfuehrer_alpin/gebietsfuehrer_alpin.php) and you can get topos for some routes on www.bergsteigen.at for free! (e.g. Predigtstuhl Nordkante: http://www.bergsteigen.at/de/touren.aspx?ID=568).

I did both routes a few years ago, though seperately. You can climb the exposed ledge (Oppelband) upright, standing on the ledge and balancing. Another classic in the Wilder Kaiser is the Kopftoerlgrat. Not difficult, but long and nice. Have fun! armin

Were you climbing the Predigtstuhl Nordgrat? cheers armin

I do not think bolting routes adds to more safety. If you think a specific route is too dangerous for you, don't climb it. Choose one that is easy to protect and well within your abilities. Respect the way the first ascensionists did the route. Let's say I feel scared on the slab move of Prusik's west ridge. Would it bother you if I added a bolt there? Just one? The same is true for SEWS's fin. I am disgusted that somebody would put a bolt in such a beautiful piece of rock (easy too!). Climbing is dangerous. However, most accidents happen due to human error and not because something is hard to protect. There's a lot you can do to increase safety while climbing, but start with yourself and not by adding bits and pieces to the rock.

Nobody?

Ski crampons for Fritschi Diamir bindings for sale. Maybe 3 years old, very little used (3x), 3 inches wide, 35 dollares. You need them for spring skiing!

We tried road 1131 (Boulder Glacier) on Saturday and it was blocked by a few trees maybe a mile off 1130. As of today the ranger station didn't know about it so I suppose it's not been cleared.

I installed Dynafit bindings on skis myself. There's usually a middle-of-the-boot marker on the ski. Align your boots to that (they have a little arrow that marks the middle), place the bindings on your boot (on the ski) and mark where you wanna/must drill the holes. I did it with a table-drill, i.e. a drill that always makes perpendicular holes. Worked fine for me, no big deal. You have only one chance to do it right though.

To add some information to this issue, Weissbier is the same as Hefeweizen. Whereas Weissbier is the common name in Bavaria, people in Northern Germany would not understand you. You have to order a Hefeweizen there. Berliner Weisse is very different. It comes in funny colors, such as red or green and I think it's mainly enjoyed by tourists. Some of the more popular Weissbiere are, Schneider Weisse, Erdinger Weissbier and Franziskaner Hefeweizen. Augustiner Weissbier should be good too. Weissbier (or "Weizerl", also "Weizen") is exclusively served in those 0.5 liter glasses people described before. You pour it in very gently, with the glass at a 30-40 degree angle. Leave about an inch of beer in the bottle and then shake it to dissolve all the yeast that's on the bottom. Put that in too. If you mix Weissbier with lemon lemonade, such as sprite, it's called "Russ'n" (bavarian for a Russian). It's very refreshing and "sueffig" in summer and mostly enjoyed in beergardes in 1 liter steins. When you do the same with a Helles, the most common beer in Bavaria, it's called "Radler" (Biker). But this has nothing to do with Weissbier now.

I saw Yvon Chouinard yesterday. His lecture was very good and interesting. Thanks for the information!

Wait, do you mean it doesn't get impossible until later in the season, or do you mean it's already pretty icy up there? dazed and confused.

Does anybody know if there's already much snow up there? Thanks.

I would definitely not use one double rope for leading. While it is generated to hold the fall of a following person (e.g. when two climbers are following in a group of three), it is not designed to hold a lead fall. There are a few light single ropes out, if you try to save weight.

What about Julbo Nomad with the X4 lens? The lens adapts to changing light conditions.

You better do love me, 'cause I just bought one of you little yellow bags. We are not going anywhere from here though.

Why don't you give me a 50% discount, for starting this thread? Only on the next down jacket I buy?

check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_fusion