rockermike

I realize its a lighter boot than either of the above; but does anyone have an opinion or comparison to the Scarpa Omega plastic double?

I'm looking to replace my old leather doubles. Need something that's good for Utah ice and winter climbs up to 14,000 or Cordillera Blanca. I'm thinking the Scarpa Omegas (light flexible plastic double) look about right. Anyone have experience with them?

Another armchair theory; I've climbed with BDs. Sometimes hard sticks are near impossible to clean; grab head and up down, jerk out, repeat. Damn. Waste of energy and always in precarious position. But I've been told Petzl picks clean much easier. One climber says "never have to take hand off grip to clean". So, maybe BDs break more because people are having to torque them up and down more to clean them? Just a thought.

I find a Joffre Creek in BC. Which peak is the route on? any beta. google can't find it. TIA (edit) my bad; I see other thread. But to me "alpine ice" means hours or days of work and a summit. ha

North Ridge Stuart. Around 1980. low snow year. soloed just after bad breakup; ha. didn't do direct start nor headwall finish but spicy enough as it was, including one long sliding fall toward the precipice. Most of the rock climbing up to the rappel notch was covered in reasonably deep snow and no big deal - except for the gully finish just after rappel which was 1" verglass over rock. scared the shit out of me. descended - whats it called? snow something gully - on south side and post holed all the way around back to my camp on north side which required one night out in open air bivy. One of the best outing of my life in retrospect.

I've done N. Face Hood, Liberty Ridge, N. Ridge of Stuart in Winter - all decades ago. But I've been in California for too long what with the all the dry granite and sunny skies. I'm jonesing for some Pac NorthWest alpine ice. Any recommendation? I've heard Price Glacier on Shuksan is good. Any others that stand out?

Hey thanks all for your input. I think for my old school tastes and WI4+ goals I'm going to stick to a more conventional tool. (sorry nomic fans).l The super deal on the new Cobras has disappeared off the web so my choice now is really between new vipers and quarks. I've used BD gear (including last years vipers) and pretty much liked them. The swing seems to be good balance of elbow swing and wrist flick. I've never used quarks but it appears the pick drop is more extreme and I would suspect they take more wrist flick then the BD tools? Anybody used them both enough to make a comment? I've also been told that BDs "stick" better, but that Quarks clean more easily?? any truth is such generalizations? thanks again

Cobras, Vipers, Quarks, Nomics? Proudly post up your current favorites... (and why?)

I'm slowing working my way into waterfall ice climbing and realize (at least from what I can tell) that placing screws is the real crux of the game. Flaming out on a left hand hang while fumbling with gear seems to me to be the risk. Any suggestions or work arounds to make this smooth and graceful? I recently got some Vipers with fangs. I'm thinking of hooking an adjustable daisy over the fang of my right hand tool while I place screw. Anyone do this? Is it a good idea or am I missing something. I know, I know, some say its cheating. I'm too old to worry about such things. I just want to get up the stuff safely. ha Any other secrets for steep ice you guys can share?

If you need a pair of ice tools have I got a great deal for you: Two CAMP Tiburon hammers with clipper leashes. (Similar in shape to Black Diamond "Rage" tools with a little more bend near hand). Bent shaft, super fine pick. Sweet sticks guaranteed. Almost new (4 or 5 days on them). This model was used by Thomas Humar in his ground breaking solo of South Face of Dhaulagiri so they must be good. ha see http://dhaulagiri.extremekanal.com/dhaul_exp/indexnew/indexnewfr.htm and see here for review http://www.climbing.com/print/equipment/camptiberon/ and hell, clipper leashes alone cost $40 - $50 each these days. (by the way, if you aren't familiar with the ice tool market these days, new BD tools cost $230 to $300 EACH, plus leashes.) Two killer tools for only $160. what a deal. Also one BD Rage ax (with adz). Also almost new $100 Both these tools have a little less shaft bend than the latest and greatest models but they were state of the art a couple of seasons back and actually work better than the new models for Alpine climbing where sinking the shaft in hard snow is sometimes necessary. Michael (Berkeley, CA - you pay shipping) lakejunk (at) hotmail

Hey there, My main rope is 50 mtrs. So maybe I'm dumb and too stubborn to replace it until it wears out. And just what is wrong with the '70's? 50 mtrs: cheaper, lighter, less gear, you can still hear your partner. So there. (oh yea; it never wears out because my partners all refuse to climb with the thing - great money saving strategy :-) )

Is there any meaningful difference between the new black diamond "titan" picks (I own two) and the old "alaska" picks (I've only seen pictures)? For general real word alpine climbing I'd like to have a pick a little longer and less steep than either the Titan or Laser. There are a few online sites still selling "Alaskas". I know they look straighter then new reverse curves but any other significant difference? Anybody like or dislike them? Thanks in advance. ML

Looks a bit much to me. But I'm contemplating giving up my full size van (sweet for camping) and getting a small Forester or something. But then where do you sleep at 1:30 in the morning in the snow after a long drive to the mountains? How about 3 or 4 Yakima cross bars with sheet of plywood on top. Not much wind resistance there. Then throw a Bibler tent on top when in need of sleep? Anyway that's my plan.

Time for some new screws. Which to get? BD, P, or CM? all look good in the catalogue ;-) BD, good reputation, a little cheaper P, longer winder arm CM, looks like you can screw in with sling attached (without twisting up sling) so less likely to drop. (edit: whoops, my mistake, it was Grivel 360s that were the third choice (on sale at bent gate). From comments below it looks like these are good ticket?)

Anyone used the CAMP Tiburon tools? How do they work? they're on sale at REI, cheap.

REI has these supper cheap. Any good?

I've got a chance to get a killer deal on a TNF -20 F sleeping bag (Solar Flare at 45% of retail), but is -20 sufficient for Denali? Or should I just bite the bullet (like an extra $450) to get a full on -40F? (Lets say early June trip) thx

Are there any routes on Rainier that are suitable for solo climbers? ie. no or minimal cravases on route?

I lived in Telluride in the late '70s. A friend of mine climbed the thing basically on his first day out on vertical ice - but that year it set up with chimneys and ramps the whole way up. Maybe WI4. The next year he tried again and took a 60 ft winger. Pumped out on long dead vertical section. I tried it once but suffered from the wimp factor after the first pitch. I wonder how often it sets up in the WI4 range; or was that a one time fluke?

Does anyone know if Bridalveil falls (Telluride) is open for climbing? Anyone done it this year? Conditions/ grade? thanks Oh yea, back on "tools" question; From what I hear if someone is going to buy new tools you should stick with top brands; BD, ChM, or Grivel; any cheaper options that still work well. thxs (edit -right you are - bridalveil - duh)

I've got a SP. Used it on 3 walls now. No complaints except big and jams at very inconvenient times (free climbing in the middle of some slippery slab typically). As to ropes, I have a 10.5, good shape to my judgment; not fuzzy but not shiny anymore either. And it always jams. Just won't feed anymore. (It was OK when bran new). I now use a bran spanking new 10.2 dry; and I reserve it only for soloing to preserve its new-ness. It works a lot better but still occasionally jams up. I hear 9.8s work even better but that's getting a bit thin for me for wall climbing. good luck

Liberty Ridge, definately classic. East or NE but whitney good (I don't think you mean SE?) While up there from same cirque do fishhook arete. Got to do a yosemite wall if you havn't, leaning tower is a great first shot. North ridge of stuart is nice but in same area south face of Prussic peak is better. Some nice stuff on north and west sides of Mt Hood. Dont forget at least a day at Smith Rocks. Oh yea, Liberty Bell Liberty Crack - the favorite climb of my life. Good luck

I haven't done any pure water-ice in 20 years (and I don't really want to drop a bunch of $s) but I'm thinking of a trip to Ouray soon. My gear is real old; like 1980 Chouinard ridid crampons and old Forrest (1980ish) axe and hammer with interchangeable reverse dropped picks (ie. they look to my eye more or less like modern stuff except straight shaft). My questing, is this stuff going to work or am I going to hate life? thanks