sprocket

Clearing out shelf space and have a bunch of climbing books, some DVDs and some cycling books if anyone is interested. $1 or $2 per book or whatever seems reasonable, except the Beckey Guides, $5-10 for those depending on which edition. Would prefer to have them go in batches and local pickup in Seattle. Thanks.

Curious if there are any updates on the gym with ropes? Location from West Seattle would be far easier that traversing the city. Thanks.

Not to cause thread drift but any day hikes in the Dolomites you'd recommend? We are planning on heading there in 2017 mainly to ride our bikes but plan on doing some hiking too. Thanks.

I've been taking my car to Lioe's on Beacon Hill for years. They've always been honest and reasonably priced. If they can't/don't do specific work (body repair, alignment, etc.) they have referred me to places I've been happy with. I live in West Seattle and have heard really good things about Maestro. Haven't used them just because of my history with Lioe's.

Thanks Meadowlark. Is there typically beginner/intermediate gear or is it more race oriented gear?

Thanks, I'd read many years back that it wasn't easy to get permits. That sounds straightforward. I love this area but only make it down there every few years or so.

Nice report. Any issues with getting permits to enter tribal lands?

Thanks for all the input. I need to make a trip to Glazers and talk to them and look over what they carry.

Ditto on that, loved reading that and the photos. Forwarded that onto my GF since we had just decided to go to Iceland when you posted that. No skiing for us but definitely some nature viewing. Thanks for the input so far. Binoculars would be for general viewing, travel, sporting events etc. Definitely want optical quality over weight saving and not too powerful so stability would be an issue. I just saw the Seattle Audubon Society's website so may have to take a look at their selection. The Nikon Monarchs seem to be featured on their website and are favored by a lot of birdwatching websites. I've looked at these and really liked them but the recommended model (5) is a little out of my budget unless I go with a used pair. As far as camera lenses go I have a lot to learn in this area. My GF expressed an interest a few years ago. Based on info from a couple of friends who are avid photographers I got her a used Canon body and a couple of zoom lenses off of BH Photo and she's played around with that set up a bit. Obviously the image quality isn't the same that our friends are getting with set-ups that are in the thousands of dollars for newer electronics and better lenses. I was just wondering if there was an affordable lens I could get her that would be cool for our upcoming trip to Iceland and Croatia. Budget is a bit tight right now with travel expenses but I thought I'd ask since I see a lot of really great photography on this site. Thanks again.

There seem to be a lot of people with outdoor photography experience on this site and I assume many of you use binoculars while scoping routes. I’m looking for some help/recommendations for a pair of binoculars and a lens for a Canon SLR camera. Binoculars would be under $200 unless there is a vast improvement for spending a little more. Quality optics and waterproof are priority, weight secondary. General use, 8x magnification. I wear glasses, stigmatism, so eye relief is important. I’ve looked at Nikon Monarchs and have found the 3’s for under $200 and like the optics. Have read reviews praising the Vanguard 8x42 Spirit ED Series since they have the ED glass and can also be found for under $200. The camera lens question might be more problematic. My GF has a Digital Canon SLR, older model, with a couple of basic lower priced zoom lenses, 28-80 & 100-300. The optics aren’t great for these lower end lenses. What I’m wondering is if there is a modest priced fixed length lens that would really produce sharp bright images. I know there are great zoom lenses for $1,500 and up but this is not in the budget right now. What focal length would you recommend and at what price point would you really start to see the difference in photos? Thanks

In the photo you can see a camp of skiers and boarders. One guy just kept going up the south route and boarding down. We saw one couple coming down on our approach and I don't think they had any other gear besides their boarda and boots.

No worries, wanted to be clear, since I wasn't before, that "last" weekend was July 4&5.

We were up there last weekend and there were tons of skiers and snowboarders and snow most of the way form the circle trail. Expect some of that has melted by now but should be plenty of turns. It was pretty soft early, we were moving from the lunch counter around 5am and didn't put crampons on until the last 800 or so feet to the false summit.

Wow! Lucky dude, that could have ended badly. Did this even make the local news?

FWIW most if not all tent sites including the one on Piker's Peak are dry. Plenty of running water at the Lunch Counter if you look around. We carried an extra stove, fuel and shovel but didn't need them. Snow almost continuously from the point you cross the circle trail. Conga line to the summit unless you got an early start on the holiday weekend.