NoahT

I like watching new people self-destruct on this site. They sign up, get a little encouragement, get hooked, send some sick FAs on the haystack and 5.9s at index, act like a d-bag for no apparent reason, preach about the sanctity of river-beer... May be time to take it easy on the cc.com-binge summit (?). N

Since you seem to have the energy for it: To get an idea of performance as the canister gets lower, what if you found 5-6 pots, and as soon as one liter boiled, you pulled it off and threw the next one on. If you timed all the pots, you'd get an idea of how much weaker the performance was at the end of the bottle. Granted your gonna boil like 20 liters of water, so it might get old. N

You might look for an ultralight waterproof shell, expensive ones made of eVent or cheaper ones made of proprietary stuff. Some weigh in around 10 oz. Windshirts are awesome for active layers (what you wear while moving) but no good for hunkering down.

This thread has amazing longevity for a issue that can be summed up as, "you do it your way, I'll do it mine."

Auto-lockers are the name of the game in the alpine IMO. When you have 20 pitches of difficult or nerve-wracking leads to think about, I think sometimes I am a bit disinterested in the second. More interested in just keeping them off the ground, drinking, eating, staying warm, staying awake, planning your descent, etc. With my partners, the second's job is usually to get to the belay ASAP. I agree there is some re-prioritization over giving the second the absolute best belay.

The main trick for that route is COLD conditions. Otherwise the upper face that catches the sun falls apart, and rains down disappointment on everyone! Fun to see routes get climbed at different ends of the season... I think last year it was the NW couloir on Eldorado someone did late spring. Cheers, N

The more I climb, the more I realize its not the weight of 1-2 bigger pieces holding me back...

I've used big golf-style umbrellas on sea kayaking trips...super sweet. I've always thought I'd man up and take one on some future expedition-length alpine trip. Where weight doesn't count quite as much. There's nothing worse than having to venture out in the middle of the night while it's pouring rain to drop a deuce...and nothing sweeter than doing under an umbrella. Glad to know I'm not alone...! Cheers, N

519 views, 519 what the F@&$...

My friend did this for a year and a half, probably the same program. It was through the Brits also. Once in a lifetime experience, for most. Not a great climbing trip--he could probably count the number of pitches climbed on one hand--but an amazing test of self-reliance. From his stories I was struck by how autonomous he was. They really seemed to leave you to your own devices, often on your own with little oversight. You are expected to be the expert, even though it's likely the first and last time you'll ever be down there. Lots of snowmobiling!

Not that this back-and-forth was really about the strength of pickets, but I'm reminded of a good article floating around a couple years ago done by some new zealanders detailing picket strength/failure. Maybe someone with more energy could provide a linky... General jist that I took away: even in the best of snow conditions a picket will actually deform and rip under relatively low impact forces (when talking lead falls). They had a whole quiver of tacoed pickets to prove it.

Oh my!

Woah! Everyone was out killing it this weekend...so cool!

Kick-ass!!

Nice job! Is this one of the gullies right of the face?

I want 'going-up' to lecture us more about "alpinism," and how it relates to chair peak! Start with getting up....earlier...

So much of what we think is our "experience" keeping us safe, is stoopid, dumb luck. Good climbers die on "easy" stuff . We control much less than we think we do, but we have to lie to ourselves a bit because success is so sweet. Note: I haven't read the whole thread, nor am I talking to anyone in particular

Ya, nice post! Thx. --N

Nice alpine stoke--what's the road like?

Wayne, I had a YouTube notice about copywrite infringment on a video due to the music. I "objected" to it, though not with any legal right to, and the blockage went away. I think it must be a computer program that detects and automatically notifys the offending party, but then doesn't necessarily follow-up on determining who does or doesn't have legal rights to use the music once it's been challeneged. Probably protects YouTube legally, and leaves pursuing "offenders" up to the people who actually own the rights. Anyways, might be worth a shot despite the serious sounding note they send. Cheers, Noah

Dorado needle is on the right... Nice pics--N

...early morning spire, with a wicked zoom lens, I think. N

What about that kearny off-width chimney thing on kangaroo's south face. I think the aid sections went at around low .11? Might not fall under the "top" category...

Just a community development thought: One thing this place doesn't lack is opinions. But, something we DO lack are more well-thought out articles by posters who have something to share, and have the time to articulate it in a cohesive way. I know there are those of you out there with a knack for words, because occasionally I'll run across a 15 paragraph post about boot fitting or backpack construction. Whenever I look at that "Articles & Resources" tab, I wish there was something recent to read, and think about the GOBS of potentially interesting info that could be in there. Health, fitness, dietary, training, technique, more recent gear reviews/comparisons, local history...etc. Just a thought. There's some great stuff in there, but seems we've just scratched the surface. Cheers, Noah T.

Seriuosly, there is no mystery here...it's super clear.