Bergretter

ACCESS OPEN, at least as far as the cliffs. Hit the lake wall last weekend (5/5-6)which was in good condition with plenty of sunshine working the remaining moss over. Didn't have time to check out the areas across the road, although other parties were climbing there. Some were complaining of areas of loose rock in normally stable areas.

Rumor has it that access to McCleary Cliffs is shut down until early May by the Park. I second the above plug for the Olympic Mountains Climber Guide, has great new sport climbing/alpine rock sections. JH, I would be interested in where the climbing near Quilcene is located, I am familiar with Chimacum Rock, but nothing near Quilcene?

I don't know about Petersburg or Ketchikan. As far as Anchorage goes, check out the Alaska Rock Gym (www.alaskarockgym.com), I'm pretty sure that the college has a rock wall as well if you are a student or are buddies with one. For going outside, check out www.rockclimbing.com, go to Routes-North America-United States- Alaska-Anchorage Area Rock and Ice-Seward Highway (or other areas of interst). Good luck.

You know, I was asking this same question, is it safe for two? I found some good answers in the Mountaineers book titled Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher. Mark and Kathy discuss in detail the pros and cons of glacier travel for two and detailed techniques for a crevasse rescue with only one partner. Read what they have to say and decide for yourself the answer to your question.

Anyone using Julbo's instinct sunglasses with the photochromic Zebra lenses? They are supposed to darken to category 4 protection in bright light yet mine seem to be not adjusting as advertised. Any other experiences with these?

A solid 'hell yeah' to my brother crews in the North!! Makes me miss being out of country. Nothing like seeing this when having a bad day!

Store is closed, yet rumors are that they may open a smaller shop (similar to the one previously on Peabody St.)somewhere on Race St., hopefully. It did seem as though they were tired of working in the customer service industry! Browns does nothing for climbers gear wise, but for basic camping items they are okay. Steve at Wildernest is a real good guy, and yes, the shop has recently expanded some into the adjacent space, allowing him to display some of his new Black Diamond line and more of his packs and Exped gear. He's got some good used stuff upstairs as well.

Great theory, the knots assisting in fall arresting and all, this I have not proven. What I have found is that when you decide to change over from stopping the fall to setting up a haul system, say a z-pulley setup, then the knots create havok! I'm sure there is a time where the knots provide more benefit than hinderance?

I agree on Mammut's Barryvox as a great choice, it's size is nice for mountaineering. My friend uses the Barryvox and I use the Tracker (we agree the Tracker is the more user friendly), finding these very simple to use compared to traditional analog types, this makes you a pro (or close to) without tons of practice.

Try this shop for some better pricing. The GPS Store For my two cents...I've used Garmin's Etrex Summit for some years now with no problems, seems very durable and weather resistant, loaded with usable features (as you desire), battery life and other good info on the above website for you to compare. Good luck!

If you're heading up Hurricane Ridge road, watch out for those darn turns!! Peninsula Daily News

I have a sore spot for REI as well, I was working for Base Camp when REI entered the Bellingham scene, that was a sad time for sure. Everyone has a choice to support the local shops, they may not have the same 'great' return policy or 'huge' selection but they are trying to make a living genuinely helping others do what they love, give them the first chance.

Kitergal, you're doing good so far!! Just as Philfort said, get yourself a Voile Mtn. Kit which contains two bail type bindings that screw right on to your Voile slider tracks ($45 at mgear.com), a pair of good (some say entry-level) AT boots, such as Scarpa's Avant Lady will snap right into your Voile Mountain Plate bindings with no problem (sale $260 at mgear.com) and ride/skin very nice, this is the setup I use and have found to work great (of course, my Avants are a different color), much better and faster than my original soft boot/strap binging setup I started with. The tractor skins work great and with the wide surface area they don't need to go all the way to the ski end, traction is huge!! Have fun!!

Just called TNF on 1st Ave. in Seattle, they close 7pm tonight.

I am in agreement with Stemalot, Mountaineers seem to be too thick, get very sweaty, and thus dry slow. My Mountaineers also seemed to have lost their elasticity above the ankle, which gets annoying. I've had good results with their thinner models.

Check out BCA's Alp 40. It is not a ice climbing specific pack, per say, yet it holds tools very well along with other winter necessities. The feature that sets it apart is it's ability to give you a hydration tube that is hard to freeze since it is sewn into the shoulder strap, with convenient zipper access. If you are looking for more volume then this pack will not help you out much.

By the looks of it (www.dave-stephens.com/mtns/mtnlinks/webcams.htm) it's getting dry quick!