SplashClimber

On another tangent, does it matter where you locate yourself angle-wise from a bomber setup (bolts for example)? Example: You have a big bomber anchor off to your right, the climber is coming up directly below the anchor, but a mighty fine seat is over about 4 feet to the left of the anchor. When using direct belay with autoblock, I think in this case it does not matter where you sit, because this is the advantage of a direct belay? But, I am also a bit confused because if you are off to an angle this would also cause the whole equalized point to sway over towards you, so you would have a bit of a fall to your climber if they fell. Hard to describe some of this stuff, hope my new scenerio makes sense. Thank-you for any help!

Full description: leader reaches top of The Tooth, sling a big cordalette around the boulder that is very far from the edge (tie it off with figure 8), tie yourself in with a clove hitch of the right distance so you can walk to the edge of the actual pitch, set up a munter hitch/or atc-device-meant-for-direct-belays on the cordalette (using proper munter on oval biner, or follow atc-device instructions), and now you can walk to the edge and see how your 2nd is proceeding while belaying them up. Any concerns with this? I have seenn a lot of picutres of direct belays, but the anchor system is usually waist level or higher. Is this a problem at The Tooth because the master point is so low?

Thank-you so much. Your answers really makes sense,and are very helpful.

Definitions: What is considered "pushing leads", vs "swinging leads"?

What are the guidelines for when the 2nd can start disassembling the anchor? Can this be done as soon as the leader calls "off belay", or must the 2nd wait until the leader calls "belay on"? I hope this makes sense, so ask for clarification if needed!

Would love a BC setup, but my problem is this: my feet --- way too wide and nothing ever fits me. My downhill ski boots are custom made (blown-in insulation etc., custom foot bed) and fit PERFECTLY. So for the occasional 1-2x per year I might head up to Muir, maybe the Alpine Trekkers will suffice? But cannot afford those either, and like Argus said they are a "waste"? So.... I am thinking for this weekend, just to throw boots and skis onto backpack, hike up, ski down (assuming I can see the snow surface).

Neither Marmot or REI rent alpine trekkers . Maybe Santa will buy me a pair next xmas.

Thank-you summerprophet.... never knew about the alpine trekkers. I did not realize you could rent skins either. Marmot (easy access from my house), rents skins ($15/day), but does not list trekkers. So I might need to call Marmot to see if they rent them. I assume skins and trekkers are fairly easy to figure out (how to use etc.)? I will be with some experienced randonee skiers, so they might be able to help.

Thank-you all, many great points to ponder! I have never done AT or tele skiing, so not sure if I could just pick up a rental pair and know what to do (?) HOWEVER, I am both trying to save a buck, and also get in climbing condition, so the uphill-carrying-equipment weight in my pack is an actual plus. I am going to Rainier this coming Sunday. I am not sure what to expect, but will look at what snow has been falling if any (this week), and only pack ski's if forecast if farily steller (given my rusty skiing experience).

Is it wise to alpine ski down from Camp Muir? Do people do this on alpine skis and fixed heel boots (so basically resort skiing setup). I think the slope is not too steep for me, except maybe a bit right near Muir. I have not been alpine skiing in a while, but used to be advanced beginner. I will be hiking up to Camp Muir this coming Sun (May 10th), and thought why not add some weight to my pack (20 pounds total for alpine skis and boots, plus more personal gear... so maybe total of 35-40 pounds) and hike up. These are the only ski/boots I want to own.

I am looking for an ice climb that is maybe one notch in difficulty above Observation Rock. I am very very new to ice climbing! Can people throw out some suggestions for the time frame August/September in the North Cascades area. Or.... is BC the sure-fire way to go (and so plan for a 2 or 3 day weekend). Is a better time to be looking for ice climbs in May/June?

So I guess assuming there is ice at all on the climb, then it will be hard at least in the very early morning hours, and you should be off of it within a few hours after sunrise? (Assuming freezing level is at 14K and the ice climb part is between 11-13k)? Should I also be looking at reports of freezing levels over the last few days before the actual climb?

I ended up at Big Four ice caves due to my time contraints. Thank-you for the Baker advice though. I have some advice ready for my next practice session, when I have more time. I might head back there in order to get some actual ice swinging practice in. We left Seattle-area around 6:15 and were back around 2:30. We were at base of cave around 8:00 and finished practicing around 1:00. We did not attempt to get in practice in this area for the actual hurling axes into ice on a steep slope. There might be some big holes/mini-drop-offs off to the right of the caves. But we did not explore this area. We were mainly interested in practicing running belays & hanging anchored belays. We practiced off to the left of the ice cave. The slope of this area is only about 30 degrees at most, but enabled us to do a belay and practice hauling up follower while looping the rope over taught line leading to belayer. The whole area seems to be in the shade until about 1:00 or so. The ice in our practice area was certainly not hard enough for relying on screw placements. But good enough for going through the motions. We were able to get pickets in, also well enough for practice. We did not place the pickets very deep, and maybe hammering down a bit more would provide reliability. The area we were in seemed safe enough, so we did not need to set up a top rope. Although for ultimate safety it would be possible to maybe set a picket and maybe bury a stuff sack etc. This might have been safer to set up a top rope, just in case a slot/crevasse were to open up. ( At the slope angle and the safe landing zone, we did not feel a top rope was necessary in our area. )

Newbie ice climbing question!!! How do you use freezing levels to determine potential ice conditions. For example: I see on the Kautz Glacier on Rainier for this weekend the freezing levels are at 14,000 feet. The summit is a 14+, and the ice parts are somewhere between 12 and 14. How do I determine how this would affect the condition of this ice climb? Are there other factors to consider. Or is recent beta the only way to know what I might be in for? ( As in someone who did the route the night before, and freezing levels were similar?). But my question is really general in nature. If I am planning an ice climb. How do I use freezing levels in determining the condition of the climb?

Thank-you so much for the help. I am potentially thinking of doing Big Four Ice Caves because it is a bit closer to Seattle (1 hour drive) and only a 1 mile hike in on boardwalk. I unfortunately have to be back in the late afternoon. So the ice caves might at least provide some easy going-through-the-motions practice. It might only have 50 foot sections to climb, and a ranger told me there is ice, albiet it not so predictable in nature. Your information and help is extremely helpful for any area I end up at though. Thank-you so much for taking the time to help me out.

Two questions for you 1) do you know from beta or are you assuming there will be ice 2) how long to you think it will take from the car to reach some ice to practice on? I am thinking about checking out the Big Four Ice caves. Not too bad of an investment in time if it does not work out ( 1 mile boardwalk hike-in, and maybe 1-2 hour drive).

Does anyone have ideas on areas to get in some ice climbing practice before 8/5/06 withing Seattle area? I am also looking for general ideas on how to evaluate areas to go before I go (i.e. freezing levels?, trip reports?). I am mainly looking for the ice screw placement and belay-changover practice on a gentle ice slope.

Good luck on your climb. We might be doing Kautz on 8/5 & 8/6 so let me know how it goes! I am curious on how long the whole thing would take with doing a carryover (of course answers and results very dependent on conditioning, but still wondering on some sort of range of hours). Not sure if I want to be climing the ice with a 40 pound pack though!

Hmmm - thought about the mode after I was done. It would be a Chevrolet Suburban gas hog. I am thinking I have to Rt 7 or Orville Rd. There are some forest roads but they look like jeep or atv-type roads.

Anyone know the fastest & most accessible way to get from Paradise to Mowich Lake Campground?