quark

Born and raised here and have been climbing and camping in the Cascades for longer than I would like to admit (ok...a slight diversion in the Rockies along the way). I've climbed in a lot of places and the Cascades is the HARDEST place to dress right. Anything seems to work in Colorado, for example. It's hard to get wet rolling around in their dry snow and 0 degrees there feels a lot warmer for some maddening reason. In the Cascades, getting wet is real. Getting cold because of moisture is also real. I prefer synthetic clothing and down bags. Down bags are not hard to keep dry (enough) unless something really bad happens. I love the huge puffy cocoon surrounding me while I sleep and they last FOREVER. My main bag is 20+ years old and still going strong. I might bring a down puffy while ski touring or car camping, but otherwise it's synthetic all the way.

Thanks for the TR. Shuksan is a great peak. The N Face provides character all year long...soft snow in winter (I want to ski it!), snow climbing in summer, and neve in fall. A fine place for sure.

I'm a fan of the NWAC's style. And the UAC surely ranks at or near the top. We should be thankful we don't live in Colorado. That outfit puts out mickey mouse reports. I wonder if it would be better or worse, cheaper or more expensive, to bring the various centers under common practices. Maybe then we wouldn't have the directors involved in "web-site management and development, computer management". Those are commodity skills.