andrewbanandrew

Need to climb: it's to the far skier's right at Alpental, maybe 10 min walk from the parking lot. Anyone seen the conditions this year?

Does anyone know what the local conditions in Leavenworth are like?

you can make a little biner loop on your belay loop out of tape. it's not load bearing; it just prevents the biner from rotating in the belay loop. easy to do with some tape or a rubber band

I left a garden gnome, black t shirt, and red water bladder at Exit 32 on Saturday at the area just up the trail from the burnt out tree near Sweet and Sticky...if you found it please let me know!

Yeah I guess that means the ice is probably gone at Snoq. pass then eh

Judging by the temps in North Bend on Monday, I'm guessing most of the stuff at Snoqualmie Pass has deteriorated?

Exit 32 is dry

well the McNetts stuff is also pricey but not ask pricey as Techwash

well given that I have a grand total of 3 trad leads under my belt all under 5.7...probably 5.7 or easier. though I wouldn't mind aid practice on steeper stuff

hmm I just noticed that the Red Rocks Rendezvous is the last weekend of March...does this mean camping will be a clusterfuck?

Some friends and I want to get out climbing over spring break. I'm still a sport climbing gumby though I just bought a rack (and conveniently tore a pulley two weeks after I bought it). I've been to North Bend, Vantage, Squamish, Leavenworth, City of Rocks, Shelf Road, and Boulder Canyon, and I've liked every place except Boulder. My friends are pretty damn new to climbing, they've led a few routes here or there but for the most part they just started in the gym 6 months to a year ago. Do you guys have any recommendations for a 5-7 day trip where there's sport climbing between 5.8-5.12, easy cracks for a trad newb, and maybe even some multi-pitch sport climbing? We'd be driving from Seattle... Off the top of my head I can think of Red Rocks and maybe City of Rocks again but I don't know how cold it will be.

woah RR looks like a really good winter destination

Dude, that's some nasty shit. I'd be worried about some health considerations... and more importantly this as an inhibiting factor to getting Yeah it's been cleaned up and it's gone now. I was worried it'd come back though.

Is it an enzyme-based cleaner?

I've since become somewhat accustomed to it (since my room also smells like mold), but it occurred to me that if my gear smells like mold, it may be because there is mold growing on, and therefore eating, my gear. It all started back in December/January where we had that 28 straight days of rain or whatever. A friend pointed out that my room smelled kinda funky, and I thought gee, I should look into it. Pushing back my bed revealed a 7 or 8 by 3 foot tall patch of mold growing on the wall (oops). Anyway, I'm wondering how I might get the smell of mold out of my gear. I'm trying that special synthetic gear wash stuff right now; initially I thought it was a load of horseshit but after 6 separate people told me to try it I figured it might actually be worth something. Anyone know if using the baking soda and/or vinegar trick with a goretex garment would ruin the membrane? This is what I do if I accidentally get mildew on my jeans or something, but I'd imagine it could potentially damage the goretex.

Andy Kirkpatrick did a review of em. Check psychovertical.com

Well I am talking out of my ass since I don't know anything about leading but I can tell you from being up there yesterday that the ice was not very thick once you got up above where the climber is in the first picture.

I was looking at the temperature data from NWAC and was trying to figure out if there was any way of knowing if it stayed in over the week, but then I realised that I had no idea how to tell just from the temps if it did. Anyone ski past it recently?

the main reason why I didn't buy a half-dome when I got a helmet was that it didn't feel comfortable to me. a minor reason was the velcro used to adjust the fit, which just seemed kind of annoying. I like my elios and it has already saved my ass once.

Cool, thanks for the info Alex. If it's better than this: then it should be fun to TR.

Has anyone been up to this little flow by Alpental recently? It's the one to the left of the quad chair. Is it in? It wasn't when I went in December...

So it seems that the course offered through WWU doesn't include lodging or food--does anyone know of a cheap way to stay up there? I was thinking of camping but at the same time that might be a hassle (driving to and from campus). Even though the course run through Rescue Specialists is $150 more, it includes lodging and 2/3s of the meals...this is appealing because I wouldn't have to worry about food until the class day was over, and I'd be pretty hard pressed to stay and get 2/3s of my meals in Bellingham for a week for only $150. Also, how exactly is field instruction handled? Are skills actually taught in the backcountry, or is it just say, outside in the parking lot? If I were to take this course I'd either do it during spring break or during summer, and I have a feeling that it may be wiser to do it over summer when my brain isn't so frazzled from taking finals, although at the same time I think that it's an entirely different mode of learning--can anyone provide their two cents on this?

Thank you guys for all the input, it seems both courses are extremely good. I'm still not sure what to make of the differences between the WMA/WMI backings, but since both places have gotten glowing recommendations it seems like either would be good choice.

I am thinking about working at a summer camp sometime in the future and I thought it might be a good idea to look into a WFR course. I understand that they are relatively expensive ($550-700) but I would like to know if anyone has taken any courses with the following organisations, and if you have, what your impression of their teaching skill was. I looked online and the only ones that really fit into my long-term schedule are through either the WWU Outdoor Center or an outfit in Leavenworth called Rescue Specialists. The WWU one is backed by NOLS and Rescue Specialists is endorsed by the Wilderness Medical Associates. I am not sure if this has any influence on the quality or breadth of the courses, I would assume that quality is mostly influenced by the particularly person who teaches it and scope of the course would hopefully be a standard set of skills put forth by whoever made up the WFR certification. I know it might be a bit overkill but I've been wanting to do this for some time now anyway because it seems like useful knowledge/skills to have.

I have noticed that 5.10 and Evolv fit similarly. I'd speculate that the lasts are shaped such that they're more ideal for people who have second toes that are either as long or longer than their big toe. I've noticed the same thing with Montrail shoes as well. I fit Scarpa pretty well so I don't really know. What La Sportiva models have you tried?