andrewbanandrew

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?

My feet aren't especially narrow but they're slightly narrower than normal and I fit La Sportiva shoes really well. Try the women's versions; they're typically narrower. The downside to this, of course, is having baby-blue colored rock shoes. But after a while the mud and dirt just makes them look gray.

Anyone notice that the material between the tongue and ankle cuff on the Trango Extreme frays incredibly easily? Or rather, the ones at the store looked rather frayed. I'm hoping its just a cosmetic thing.

something thin cos 10.5 is heavy as fuck

LS Glacier LS Trango Ice LS Nepal Extreme (only had small enough size in women's, too narrow) Raichle 90 Degree EXP (a bit too wide, I think, although I don't really remember) Scarpa Freneys (old blue ones, too big) Montrail something or rathers the ones with the special crampons, too pronounced of an arch. Not that it really matters anyway, I got in a fender bender the other day so my savings will go towards increased insurance premiums. Oh well. There's always next year.

Been to FF, REI, PMS, Marmot, and Second Ascent.

Seattle, U-district. And yes I've been to PMS but they only had two boots in my size and I wanted something different than a pure water ice boot (Trango Ice) or pure glacier travel boot (La Sportiva Glacier). I think the La Sportiva Trango Extremes that I tried on at Marmot fit pretty darn well, they're a tad wide in the forefoot on my right foot but not on my left so I'm thinking thicker socks would cure that.

I've tried on seven pairs of boots at five different shops and I've only had one pair that had very little heel lift when walking. I've found no boots that have little or no heel lift when standing on my toes (to mimic frontpointing). How much heel lift is normal? Obviously with a full shank boot it is impossible to have no heel lift because the foot flexes and the boot doesn't, but I don't want to drop a lot of money on boots only to find that I should've gone a size down. The biggest problem is that each shop only had maybe one or two pairs close to my size, so it was impossible to try on a half size larger and smaller than my measured size to compare...

Did you take the Denny Creek trail?

Are any of the slopes adjacent or above the approach route (take trail to source lake, turn left up gully) prone to sliding?

If I come, which I don't know yet (depends on how crazy school is), I can bring some food. I was thinking lots of tortilla chips and salsa, but if anyone has any requests...

I might be wrong but if you were to tie both ends to your harness, could the rope kink up something nasty ala tying the ends together before a rap?

Is all this gear...new? I see tags Any chance of bigger pictures? You can use www.imageshack.us

Does anyone know where I could find a guidebook or topos of Beacon Rock?

Milk, mixed with muesli

I'd like to try them on since I have no idea if they'd fit me. I don't, however, know when I'll get a chance to go down to Tacoma. When do you think you'd have some free time?

Will those boots take step-ins?

Yeah I'd love to take a look. When do you have some free time? I'm busy pretty much until the weekend, however.

I am looking for nuts and stoppers (and perhaps hexes although I may hold off on those). I've been bitten by the trad bug and I need to scratch an itch... Full sets would be nice but not necessary, I'm thinking I'd like to end up with doubles in some sizes anyway.

I think www.gearexpress.com sells short ends of rope

a good IPA or sweet stout. Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout is heaven in a pint glass.

Hmm I suppose it is between keeping meticulous habits when using a down bag or buying a new synthetic bag every couple of seasons, eh?

Since I only did backpacking and carcamping for the longest time (and mostly in the summer, for that matter), I bought the cheapest synthetic sleeping bag I could find. It's an off-brand one made by a company called PRIME USA. I don't remember what it was rated to nor, I just remember it being cheap. Currently it takes up about a third of the volume in my 50L pack which is mildly annoying, even for backpacking. Anyway, I'd like to replace it with something I could use for short alpine trips. I don't know much about alpine climbing since I've just started, so that's why I'm posting here. From my searches I've gathered that: Down is a lot lighter and a lot more compressible than synthetic insulation but if it gets wet you're going to hate life. Synthetic supposedly retains ~60% of its insulating properties even when wet. Down lasts a lot longer. Primaloft seems to be the best synthetic insulation? There are ten million different shell fabrics (Pertex, E-VENT, etc) and I don't know how to tell them apart. Temp ratings seem to be kinda arbitrary although total weight of insulating material used has a lot to do with it. I would personally rather buy a synthetic bag because it could perceivably do double duty for backpacking where I've gotten rained on, a lot. However I really don't know what to go with. I was looking at three synthetic bags that seemed promising, the Renaissance made by Integral Designs, one made by Marmot (Pounder Plus, I think...nobody knows anything about it apparently), and another made by REI (Nooksack UL +10). I think all of these were in the 20-25 degree range, and about the same weight. The ID and REI bags look to be warmer and heavier than the Marmot bag, but if the Marmot bag is as warm as the other two and as light as the other two then that'd be neat (doubtful since I think they all use Primaloft Sport). I'd like to go try on all of these before I buy them. It seems like if the short version of the Renaissance fits me it'd be ideal. BUT if I am misguided in my thinking about what class of bag I need, none of this matters at all. So, any advice?