Jonathan_S

About ten minutes of walking to reach the snow from the parking lot, which is trivial, yet of course depressing for this time of year. So speaking of depressing beta, anyone have recent experience or even just baseless speculation on the condition of the Eliot Glacier crossing to ski Snowdome? In this picture (from July 2 of 2012), would be heading kind of straight up the lower section then angling to the right: (And no, we're not interested in trying to cross lower through all the really nasty kitty litter via those various informal routes that now substitute for the fairly decent use trail that went through there prior to the November 2006 storm.)

I've enjoyed viewing this webcam previously: http://mtadams.tv/ ... and now the owner is seeking donations for a replacement camera. The big bonus is that for a donation of $25 or more you receive a 2015 calendar with pictures of -- Mt Adams of course!

Here's the list we maintain: http://www.ussma.org/resort-uphill-policies Additions and corrections are always welcome!

Essentially the latter. We've revised the older text here in light of the additional recent interest: http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/Interference.asp ... but let me know if anything is still unclear (although updates are usually on only an annual basis).

Compared to all the other speed records/runs/whatevers on Rainier, the Dorais brothers were not solo, brought avy gear, brought crevasse rescue gear, roped up, did not stash gear for the ascent, and did not cache gear on the descent. Even if such speed attempts inevitably provide incentives to cut corners, compared to other similar attempts on Rainier in recent years, this one sets a new standard for safety and fair play.

I would have assumed that too, but turns out at these cat ops, although everyone has a beacon, that is not the case for probe and shovel. He's actually an adult with a family (although otherwise I agree with all your comments).

Dynafit was originally saying November availability in the U.S., and I even wrote up a draft review for WildSnow.com pending the actual on-the-snow assessment. But now my emails are no longer being returned, and I see that even the ever-optimistic MGear.com is listing mid-December, so you can probably add weeks or months to that. Unlike a full-on race binding, the release values are fully adjustment, but lateral and forward settings are linked to each other (which of course is totally fine if you always use the same lateral and forward settings anyway). No "flat" skinning mode, although the lower of the two elevators is similar to full-on rando race bindings, which is kind of a "half-step" (as Dynafit used to call it on some other discontinued models) and pretty much perfect. The higher setting is more like the low setting on a Speed.

Just curious, did your partner break through a snowbridge while on foot, or on skis? And if on skis, while skinning up, or skiing down? The first time I skied Snowdome we did not rope up: late June, hiked on dirt (/ rock / kitty litter / etc) straight to the snow, avoiding the Elliot. (This was before that route got destroyed by the floods.) Last year, we did rope up, mainly for crossing the Eliot, although I felt that we were being super cautious and that most parties probably would not have roped up: http://picasaweb.google.com/jshefftz/May26Snowdome

I've used my 60cm Camp Corsa Nanotech ice axe for lots of ski mountaineering. The steel insert on the spike makes it far more effective than my older 50cm Camp XLA 210. The steel insert on the pick seems like it would be far more effective than an all-alu head, although I haven't tested it with lots of self-arrest practice to confirm that. (The adze is all-alu.) Compared to my 60cm Raven Pro, the head has far less mass, which of course is both a plus and minuses re efficiency and effectiveness. However, regarding possible failure/breakage, all of these axes are meeting the B spec, so I think any speculation beyond that is just, well, speculation. Oh, as far as the slight curve in the shaft, and the sandpaper-like coating on the lower shaft, not quite sure what's up with that, although doesn't seem to be a drawback at least.

I've used mine several times, although oddly enough, every time I use it, the weather is disappointingly nice. But I can attest that it is absolutely impervious to condensation. (Even with two people in it, warm tents, no wind -- interior walls stay bone dry.)

I still have an old BD Alpine shovel -- the blade works very well with most ice axes, and saves lots of weight. Super strong too so no to need to worry about damage from prying. This seems to be the same idea, but the blade is all plastic except for that small metal insert. And it weighs only a couple ounces less than the lightest all-metal shovels from Voile and BCA.

Yet another critique to add to this "rule": if you do bring your cell phone, keep it OFF, not on. I've noticed that in areas with spotty reception, when I have left it on (for, umm, work purposes), the battery has discharged very quickly (apparently from the constant searching for reception in marginal areas).

Just by weighting it you can make it release?!! Yes. On how many setups (i.e., # of boots? # of skis/bindings?) have you demonstrated this? (My household has five pairs of Dyna-compatible boots and beats me how many skis/bindings -- impossible to do this with any of them.) And can you post a video of this? Some other points: -- On the positive side, glad to hear that the OP is ok despite such a sketchy incident. -- I'll add my vote that this is not normal for a Dynafit setup. -- Although packed-in snow/ice can explain such an incident, doesn't seem to be the case with the OP. -- I used to pack my toe sockets with white bike grease, but haven't been bothering much lately (since I never had any problems when I didn't do this). -- Brakes always worked fine for me, albeit with second return spring removed. (But oh those extra ounces of brakes as opposed to leashes!) -- I don't think TGR has a consensus that skiing with the toe lever in tour mode increases the effective lateral release setting by only two numbers. It also depends on exactly which "click" the toe lever is in. Based on test-twisting out of the toe lever at #3 -- with the heel also in tour mode -- I suspect it's much more than 2. -- Note that my leash pic referenced at the beginning of this thread is girth hitched incorrectly: should be over the top of the toe, not to the side (where it can jam). -- I've also been experimenting with using a strong cable tie, since I think that skinny one in the pic is just way too wussy. (I need to make lots of other mods to that website over this summer...)

Two resources for finding course providers who adhere to some sort of standardized national curriculum include: 1. AIARE: http://www.avtraining-admin.org/courseprov.cfm http://avtraining.org/Avalanche-Training-Courses/AIARE-Qualified-Instructors.html 2. NSP: http://www.nsp.org/nsp2002/edu_template.asp?mode=course_schedule [choose Level 1 Avalanche from pull-down menu]

For those of you using the Camp XLH 95, how are you securing the harness when tied into the middle of a rope? That is, end of the rope is easy: just tie it through the two little loops at the wasit. But middle of the rope (for glacier travel), previously I had been securing the two little loops with a small locking biner (as one poster noted previously, and how all the etailers suggest). But then I started reading Connally's book (yeah, perhaps a potential mistake there, as he goes off to tilting against the windmills of conventional wisdom), and he's very concerned about cross loading, and big fan of using a small sling to extend the harness's attachment point. After some experimentation, I think a small girth-hitched (a term I hesitate to use after Connally's rant about it) loop to both secure the harness and extend the attachment point, in combination with a super small wire biner (or "too new for school" in Connally's view) would work well: more xlh 95 pics

If anyone needs Dynafits, I have some for sale (new, totally unused.) Please send me a private message for details. (I live in Mass, but will be in Portland Oregon in October for a week or so.)