hydroman

Seattle fabrics if you are in Seattle. Also rainshed or outdoor wilderness fabrics would also have what you need in 60" widths. All do mail order. http://www.seattlefabrics.com/neoprene.html#Closed Cell Foam

One of my partners has one. Didn't feel very substantial but I wouldn't go so far as to say it felt unsafe. He generally only took it on long multi-day trips where weight was more of a concern. I never found it to be worth the money for the weight savings but if I found a good deal on one I'd be willing to use it. As others have said, I don't think it would swing well or hold a great edge but for basic self belay and arrest it would probably be fine.

Totally agree that the parks dept is pretty poorly run and leaves a lot to be desired but as for fleecing travelers for cash...not so sure about that. I'd say the opposite is true in that they make it difficult to even give them your money in the first place. I've spent about 75 days camping at parks in Kauai over 4 different trips since 1999 and I've paid them a total of about $25 to camp (other than for the Kalalau Trail). I haven't been there in about 5 years but historically the only way to even pay them is to drive to the city, find the government office, wait in line, fill out paperwork and then give them money. Then they won't even take more than 5 days worth of reservations for any campground even though most folks are there for weeks at a time. There is like only that one dude on the entire island I think that actually goes around to the campgrounds to check permits and collect money on-site and he comes around like once every two weeks. There isn't even a drop box to leave money. I've tried to pay them more money for an extended stay and they won't take it and I'll be damned if I'm going to drive or hitchhike halfway around the island to get another permit. If they made it easier to give them money they'd certainly have more. Basically it seems like the accepted status quo is to pay for a few nights and then stay for a month. I'd say $5 a night for beachside camping in Hawaii with running water, cold shower, and a flush toilet has been ridiculously cheap. yeah, it's run down a bit and they could do a better job but it's a steal for a tropical vacation.

Anyone here ever been climbing or trekking the Caucasus; particularly within Georgia? If so I’d like to pm you with a few questions if you have the time… Thanks

I'm contemplating a trip to the Winds the last week of Sept. Never been there and trying to determine the 'season'. Anyone have any input on typical weather that time of year? I would assume it's getting iffy in terms of possible snow, etc. but just curious what people have experienced. Rainy, snowy, pretty cold??

I don't know your source for that number and I certainly don't know the life expectancy of hunter gatherer types but I do know that reported lifespans for historic periods are often misinterpreted/misleading. They often seem very low because of significant infant mortality. If you remove all the folks that die before they reach the age of 5 or something like that, the lifespan numbers make a huge jump. Regardless of the true number, considering the lack of medicine of any sort ancient life spans are really a moot point. If you include modern medicine, remove all the environmental pollutants that gives everyone cancer, perhaps they would have longer average lifespans than we have now...who knows?

I've owned several Tarptents (with probably a couple hundred nights of use) and also have several partners who do as well. They are in use heavily by the long distance hiking crowd. Unless I'm on a volcano or expect extremely stormy/windy weather it's the shelter I use for most trips. It's not going to meet all your requirements 100% but when it comes to lightweight gear, somethings gotta give. I've tried a few models and for right now have settled on both a single and double Rainbow. In fact I just wore out my old Double Rainbow and got my new one in the mail a couple weeks ago. I haven't used a Moment so I can't speak to that model exactly. I like them, think they are well designed, and the listed weights are dead on. The Rainbow is awesome and you probably can’t find much else with room to sit up, full protection, 2 doors and 2 vestibules for 2.5 lbs. Particularly without spending $500. The cons: single wall in the PNT means you are going to get some condensation weather depending. I carry a tiny square of packtowel material to wipe off the inside before I pack it. Also, it’s made of lightweight material so it’s not going to last 10 years. I think they recently released a couple 4 season double wall designs that are still super light. Might be worth checking out. Also note that some of their 1 person designs definitely fit your criteria of fit 2 in a pinch. I think the floor on my single rainbow can fit 2 pads side by side if I recall correctly

SilNylon is actually very strong in terms of tensile strength. Many high end tents use it now. The trick is that it is not as abrasion resistant as urethane coated nylon (which is typically heavier material). SilNylon works great in tarp or tent fly form but you need to be a bit more careful in products where it's used as floor material (which is pretty common these days). I've been using it for years and have had virtually no issues, though I'm careful about making sure things don't come in contact with the material.

It sounds like your husband is in good shape which can go a long way on a mountain like Rainier. That said, it sounds like he is a little unqualified from a technical perspective (in my opinion). Mountaineering, like other sports, typically involves progression. I’m an experienced climber but there is no way I’d personally ever take a fit but inexperienced buddy (who has never done actual rescue practice) on Rainier under those circumstances (one day climb and one a 2 person team). Adding the one day push and then adding the 2 person rope thing further adds to the risk. One day climbs of bigger peaks like that are not done as often and are typically carried out by people who have a pretty good understanding of how their bodies will react to 14k. If he’s never been that high, probably not the best idea. All that said, I tend to run conservative on these things. A guide service is a good option for people who are fit, but lack the technical skills and experience in those types of environments. I’m not sure why he doesn’t want to consider that option (could be money, could be ego) but that’s what those services are for. Rainier really isn’t that hard of a mountain, and the vast majority of people who might not have the technical skills or experienced come through just fine, but when something goes wrong, bad things can happen quickly. If he has never even practiced crevasse rescue and has not set up and used a 6:1 system to haul some actual weight, I think it’s a bad idea to head onto a mountain on a two person rope team. There just isn’t any room for error if his experienced buddy goes into a crevasse. It’s not very likely to happen and considering the number of people that climb each year, very few people have incidents like that. But again, if something does happen, it doesn’t sound like he has the skills or experience at this point to safely take care of the situation. Adding a third experienced person to the team would go a long way to making this much safer. Also, some people may point out that there is lots of traffic on the route which can add to the safety factor. They are right, and if I found myself in a bad situation I’d welcome the help, but relying on the presence of others to offset a known lack of skills on your part is super bad form, IMO. More specific answers to your questions 1. Is their option reasonably safe? No. 2. Is Option #3 reasonably safe? Much better (but still not ideal) 3. If Option #3 is okay, what are some good ways to find good climbers? post here, climb more to meet people 4. What should the team be doing in the next few weeks to prepare? Adams, Hood, practice 6:1 systems under real weight, in the snow in realistic conditions, climb Baker

I've had a summerlite for about 4-5 seasons now and love it. It's my go to bag for summer season. I tried a WM highlight for a couple seasons but found I was just a touch too cool in it and decided to try out the summerlite as a slightly heavier (3 oz) and warmer option. It was just the ticket for me. That said, I'm not that big a guy so the narrow size works great for me. (5'8", 150 lbs)

Small world. I'm just north of you on Dixon St as well, between Circle and Walnut.

Sorry to hear about your gear. I live in Corvallis and will keep an eye out.

I think there is nothing wrong with using a guide service but having done a trip to this peak myself I'd say planning your own climb would cost a lot less than the 3,225 a guide service would cost. If you want them for route knowledge, safety, companionship it might be well worth your while but if you are hiring a guide service because you think 3225 is way cheaper than doing it yourself you are way off in your thinking. This is meant respectfully. I think the logistics of something like an 8000 meter peak could make the guide service a huge asset in terms of simplifying things but Aconcagua is really not that complicated from a logistics point of view. I don't know the exact current costs of things like permits, a mule and a few nights at the hotel nutibarra but I can't imagine a do it yourself would be more than 2000 each (sans airfare). We did ours for probably in the 1000-1500 each range but it was a few years back. This is for the basic trip items like (permit, mule, 4 nights hotel in Mendoza; 2 on either end, fuel, food (mostly purchased locally), and maybe 4 days of local meals in town) There are obviously some other odds and ends but these are the big items for on the ground costs that would be included in the guide service. Either way, best of luck to you

I've been a long time user of the WM bags. I live in the PNW and through winter and still this time of year I reach for my wife's WM ultralight (20) or my WM Apache dryloft (15) (looks like new after 15 years and 100+ nights). I grab the summerlight late May through early Oct more or less. I have been to the FF shop many times and think highly of their stuff but still prefer the WM bags. If WM ever pushes production off shore I'll likely move to FF instead. If you want complete custom colors/materials/fill FF can't be beat.

I knew a couple folks in college who did the drive straight through to Tierra Del Fuego. I've also considered doing this via enduro bike at some point and did some research. Based on conversations with these dudes I'd rule out driving unless you really want the experience of doing the drive rather than just as a means of transport down there. It's a serious undertaking and will take a lot more time than you might think. Getting across all the borders with a vehicle requires a lot of time, patience, fluent spanish and sometimes cash. You also have to barge your vehicle through the Darien Gap. I personally wouldn't consider it unless you have the time, patience, correct vehicle with knowledge of how to fix it, speak fluent spanish and have a travel buddy. They had some cool stories to tell but one of them gave up by Colombia as he was too fed up with the hassles at borders and other red tape nonsense. The other continued alone and barged his vehicle to Florida at the end. Getting on a boat or flying is going to be a lot easier and provide more time actually in Patagonia backpacking and climbing. It's also going to be the far cheaper option to driving.

Smearing is definitely not mountie practice but it was official NOLS practice for a long while. They changed that sometime in the past 10 years or so I believe.

Thanks for the info.

Hey Folks - considering a short trip to Bolivia or Peru next month on short notice. I've been climbing in Ecuador and Argentina but this trip is strictly non-technical. Considering one or two long treks and ideally with some possibility of non-technical summits to be had so that we don't have to drag gear down there this time around. Also trying to go at it without guide services but unlike last time this trip is on a tight schedule of 2 weeks. Previous SA experience tells me things can take a little time to figure out once you are there. Plus we only speak very basic survival spanish. Any recomendations on multi day trekking routes or planning thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Have little time to plan but trying to avoid spinning our wheels for several days down there figuring things out. Many thanks in advance.

We also used Grajales and had decent service. Would use again.

I took a whisperlite and it worked well. I don't remember where I bought white gas but I'm pretty sure I just walked around to the couple gear stores in town asking and one of then had plenty for sale. Or I should ay they had a white gas like substance that worked fine. It was a bring your own soda bottle and we'll go in the back and fill them up for you kinda deal. Worked fine though. I've never tried a canister stover at altitude but I don't think I'd try. That isn't a short trip due to aclimating and that's a hell of a lot of canisters to bring, particualy once you are melting snow in the high camps. And it can get really cold there. Seems like you'd have to haul way too many canisters to btother with a jetboil

Don't worry about specific brand pulleys. You just need 2 smallish pulleys and I prefer square nose vs round as they will work better in conjuction with a prussik. I also agree with the others to forget about the ascenders. It's pretty unlikely you will actually be carrying ascenders on a glacier trip unless your climb has some specific need for them. I like using a prussik as it's light and multi-purpose. On an actual climb you may not want to carry 2 pulleys depending on how many folks are with you. If you are a single team of two or three then yes but if you end up as a couple rope teams of three having 12 pulleys between you is a bit overkill.

I've only had one buddy with a pen and he ended up returning it due to consistent problems. No way I'd personally take one to SA. I used polarpure iodine for 9 weeks in SA including Aconcagua and had no troubles. I generally have had good luck with iodine everywhere I've traveled internationally. Though maybe I've just been lucky... My experience have used several filters over the past 2 decades is that they all suck for long term use, some less than others. I stopped trying years ago and have stuck with lighweight chemical purification and had great success. If you don't like the iodine taste give AquaMira a shot.

I'd say that's stretching things a bit... Occasionally someone might hurl lunch but I'd say it's rare, and if it's a regular thing something is very wrong. I've been crossfitting for several years and some of the folks at the gym are beasts. I've seen someone puke maybe a handful of times over those years and these folks are pushing hard. The idea is to get to the edge and ideally not cross over. Feeling like you got hit by a bus regularly is one thing while puking is another. As for elite athletes puking. I agree it definitely happens during all out events. Talk to some rowers about races and see what they say...

If you opt for the Phantom over the Verio I'd consider the WM highlite instead. It weights one ounce less, has an ounce more fill (8 ounces vs 7) and is made in US which the MH is not and is rated 10 degrees warmer (35 vs 45). An ounce of down may not sound like much but is actually quite significant. Unless there is something about the design or fit of the Phantom you really prefer, the highlite seems to be a better and warmer bag for slightly less weight. They are both made of ultralight material and it's not likely one is going to take more abuse than the other.

In my quest for an ultralight summer bag I started with the WM Highlite 40 degree 16 ounces (exact). Used it for a season or two and it got me through down to mid/upper 20s in reasonable comfort with my WM flight down coat draped over me. At the end of season 2 I decided that I wanted something just slightly higher in the warm/comfort factor and I bought a WM summerlight 32 degree 20 ounces (exact). I found it was the perfect 3 season bag for me. 20 ounces is still plenty light and the extra 4 ounces made enough difference in sleep quality and warmth that it was worth the jump in weight. It was the difference between ‘reasonably warm ’ and ‘warm’. So depending on how hard core you want to go I think either of these bags is worth a serious look. The weights are accurate and temp rating reasonable to what they claim. Quality is outstanding. I should add that I’ve tried quilts and thought them not worth the weight savings. I think you’d be warmer in a 16 oz highlite than any similar weight quilt. The draft factor is just plain problematic, particularly due to the lack of a hood which I think is very helpful. If you are a side sleeper or roll at all I personaly would not even consider a quilt. To be effective they really work best with a back sleeper who doesn’t move much in the night.