mccallboater

I have the old-style (2006) Sierra Designs Primaloft Chockstone jacket that is great, but I notice the this year's version doesn't have all the great climbing-specific touches. The hood's smaller, the thumb loops are gone, and I think the large mesh water bottle pockets on the inside are gone. Not as puffy either. You might find the old one on close out cheap somewhere.

A caveat with all the boots of this type. My sole started to delam after about 150 miles on them. My local shoe repair guy fixed it with super glue, but warned that Asolo and ALL of the boots like the trango S have soles assembled with heat-activated glue. So don't relax and enjoy yourself around the campfire. Your boots will fall apart.

And now for a completely different viewpoint:

Steve, That's my boot but with a little more stiffness and front bumper beefiness. I Iike the lacing on the Expert GV too. But it's heavier, alass. Such is life.

Just got back from a 90 mile, 12 day backpacking trip. The Asolo Vortex boots were great. Light, supportive, climbed well. No blisters! I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a good backpacking or light weight mountaineering boot. My only complaint is that the fabric bellows tongue leaks down near the toes. But that was fixed with some waterproofing paint stuff. I also wonder how long the sole-upper contact cement connection will last. I'd rather see a real rand there.

I looked and looked at the N Face of Cramer a week and a half ago on my 12 day trip through the Sawtooths. Even picked out the line on the face that these two did. All I can say is Way to GO! Just getting there is a job, with climbing gear in tow. My cousin and I were hauling nothing extra: my pack weighed about 16 lbs without food and water. No climbing gear at hand for a 90 mile backpack. The face is way up at the end of the Redfish creek drainage. 15 miles maybe of trail from the lake drop off. I believe the 5.10-11 rating.

Are you the guys from NY that I met on your way in and our way out of Barron? We were the two just finishing a 12 day backback through the Sawtooths.

I got rained off the S ridge in an attempt a long time ago. Good to see the campsite isn't trashed yet. But the best news is I now know how to do the move from underneth the roof near the top! The roof looks much more intimidating from the bottom. Thanks John! The rest of Mulvey Basin is just about close to climbing heaven. Did you have time to check out the other nearby peaks?

The N face is fun also. I'd like to know the condition of the pocket glacier just over the saddle on the N side facing Mulvey basin. Is it still there? Or has warming done it in?

Penny Schwyn in Spokane is the best of the best when it comes to gear mods. Specialty Outdoors

Nice job! That's what I remember from way back when. I also remember having an ice ax with me for some odd reason, and camming it in a few cracks to get up the harder stuff. I think the ice ax went along 'cause I didn't own any other climbing gear at age 20, and I thought it was cool. My dog can climb around 5.5 to 5.6 for a move or two, then 4th classes everything else, but I think she's a little out of the ordinary.

I got a call from Sandpoint friends, giving me and my daughter 9 hours to throw our shit together to jump on a 7 day Middle Fork of the Salmon river trip that had a cancellation opportunity. All other life functions come to a skreeching halt when that happens. We pulled it together along with another great couple from McCall, just getting back home last night about midnight. Seven days of bliss watching my 18 year old daughter go from a good class III kayaker to a very solid class IV kayaker. Great weather, great company, perfect water levels...wow. So Slickrock will wait for another day. I saw a rope team on it on the day before we left though. Huckleberries should be starting to ripen up there in a week or two.

Skiing or climbing, take your choice. Turns still to be had on Granite Mtn N face, Council Mtn, or Lick Creek Summit. Or Slick Rock is in.

I'll be up there this weekend. Hope the creek crossing isn't epic.

Should be accessable after this week's hot weather. The snow berm from the plow in my yard finally disapeared yesterday. It survived through the soltice! A new record.

pm sent

My Asolo Vortex boots arrived. The fit is very roomy in the forefoot with a narrower heel, just fine for my feet. Good ankle support while remaining light. I'm thinking the boots will climb (edge) better if I shave off a little bit of the overhanging inside sole rubber, visable in the -front- view here. How many of you do that to your approach shoes? I'd like some opinions before I start hacking away at my new $200 purchase.

Three months ago I bought a 2001 Volvo XC 70 wagon with 100K miles on it for $10k. On my initial road trip to BC from Boise with a moderate load and the skis loaded inside (using the handy fold down armrest feature of the back seat) I averaged 28 mpg. That was with a lead foot on the gas. Since then I've learned it does much better at 60 mph than at 75. With my canoe and a kayak on top traveling to McCall and back at 60 mph and below I can squeeze about 24.5 mph. Not bad for such a big gear hauler and such a luxurious car. I've heard rumors of reliability issues but talking with other xc70 owners and the local independant Volvo service guys, with standard preventative maintainence they expect my rig to last another 150 thousand miles. I'm selling my 2003 Focus SVT if anyone's interested. That's a great car, but too low to the ground for my use.

I've got the same problem planning for 180 miles of Idaho Sawtooth and Bighorn Crags backpacking this summer over a 3 week period, with the desire to bag as many peaks along the way as I can, considering my cousin and I won't probably take a rope and gear on our 50+ used up and worthless bodies. But I want to feel as confident as I can on lots of 4th class and easy 5th class terrain. I also have a big time ankle problem, so a low-top shoe won't cut it. We will encounter a few snowfields to descend or ascend in early August, but no glaciers. I just ordered a pair of Asolo Vortex XCR's from Hometown sports in McCall, hoping that will solve the problem. Anybody here use them?

The only real news is science.

I find it interesting that the most inspiring climbers for the majority of you respondees are people you have not personally known or climbed with. I'm not sure what that means, if anything. I too am inspired by the famous names written above (Rubuffat, Terray, etc.) mostly through their skill with the written word. I'd like to add big Bill Tillman to that list. But those folks did not get me into the mountains and change the way I live my life. The people who actually dragged me out there and showed me what truly matters are the ones who I immediately think of as my heros.

Joe Collins Bill Fix Don Hutchings Each taught me a lot about life, along with what climbing is all about.

Sorry you can't come Steve. I was thinking of you, among others, when I posted this. SO anyone else that is interested (Stewster, etc.) PM me and we will discuss details. No reason to clutter up the list anymore, unless someone has suggestions on favorite climbs, hotsprings, etc. Switch to the Idaho list perhaps?

Aug 3-9, Southern Sawtooths. Aug 11-16, central and Northern Sawtooths. Aug 17-23, hiking down the Middle Fork of the Salmon from Mahoney airstrip, then up Waterfall creek into the Bighorn Crags. Out by the end of Saturday the 23 near Shoop on the Main Fork of the Salmon. Lots of mountains along the way.

I'll be hiking from the Green River/Atlanta approach through the southern Sawtooths to Petit Lake the first week of August, then the central Sawtooths, including Baron creek, up to the Iron Creek trailhead the 2nd week, and then into the Bighorn Crags/Ship Island lake area the third week of August, with a day or two of rest time in Stanley on the weekends. I'll have my cousin with me, another 50 something climber. Anyone want to join us for some climbs along the way? We'll be traveling light, carrying a week's worth of food for each leg of the trip, so if someone wants to carry a light rock rack and rope in with them we won't mind ;> Given the limits of the gear we can haul on such a long trip, I don't expect to do routes harder than 5.7, but that still leaves lots of options. The bighorn crags especially offer the opportunity for pioneering routes on good rock in a beautiful setting. Sound interesting?