coug4

I was actually having fun with this. I am looking for a guess. 4th of July weekend on one of the busiest routes in the cascades. How many people/tents at the base camp?

Can anyone give us an idea on how many people (or parties of people) we could expect at the base camp for the easton route on Mt. Baker?

Granted, this is Montana but there is something to be learned from this one. http://www.mtavalanche.com/video/youtube http://www.mtavalanche.com/advisory/10/02/17 "Extreme luck was involved that no one was injured or killed". In particular, listen to the very end of Doug's audio in the second link to get the full impact from a very experienced Avy professional. From the GNFAC website: " SADDLE PEAK AVALANCHE Take a hard look at the photos. If you skied off the summit on Monday and find that your tracks are now obliterated, I'm asking, "What did you do to arrive at the decision to ski that slope?" Now that it slid there's no real argument about whether it was stable or not. It wasn't. But hundreds thought it was good to go. Perhaps I would have been one of them. But I know I'd want to puke looking at those photos knowing how close I would have been to dying. Seeing other tracks in fresh powder is commonly mistaken as a sign of stability, but it's not. Folks think that slopes that get skied often are safer because the weak layer gets broken down and compacted by the tracks. But in this case the weak layer was impervious to tracks because it was preserved under a supportable hard slab. Supportable until yesterday. Three inches of snow water equivalency fell in under 48 hours. Strong winds created drifts adding even more weight. And facets hibernating deep in the pack finally couldn't hold up any more snow. That's what happened. We are extremely lucky. I could just as easily be writing my condolences to 15 families this morning. Many people would have died if the slope slid the day before or a few hours later. Most days skiers are stacked on top of one another exposed to avalanches from above. Luckily it was triggered early in the day with few skiers around. Consider this avalanche the one and only free wakeup call we'll ever get. There's a lot to learn. The slope slid on a beautiful day with many tracks on it. It was undeniably unstable yet provides us with an opportunity to re evaluate how we ski, make decisions and travel in the sidecountry. " Just sayin'

"ok. now vee shoot"

Nope those are sold. http://montanaice.com/node/1247

I cringe at the sight of people using tools (of any kind, especially ice tools or crampons) on the inside of their $60 ice screws. Then notice they have to do it on every screw. All it takes is a little dust or dirt on the tool (wood, plastic, wood, whatever) or in the ice and you are scratching away. Think camera lens clean here. Just old school it - tap and blow. Works 99% of the time if you treat your gear with care. IMHO

Take a close look at the Aztarex. Used them on Lib Ridge this year and was very pleased. They plunge well and swing like only a Petzl tool can swing. They too have the retractable rest for leashless use. However, you need to remove and replace a screw to change over.

But of course! http://images.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=extreme%20ironing&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Traveling through E Wa tomorrow. Any Beta on ice conditions or is it all bad?

I'm looking for crampon parts - Heel levers and toe pieces. Grivel preferably, newmatic ideally, step in as well.

After a 20 hour adventure the other day I've decided to give the old headlamp the retirement it deserves. Narrowing the options has left me with the following list: BD spot Mammut TX1 BD Icon I would like to have AA batteries for other device compatibility. But weight and brightness are the two top criteria. Comments?

http://www.alexlowe.org/kcs.shtml

Irrigation: I learned to use non-iodized salt and a pinch of baking soda in distilled warm water. I guage the salt mixture by tasting a sample until is tastes like tears. Then heat 1/2 cup of the saline in the microwave to body temp. A ear irrigator does the job (no need for those "neti pots"). Fill and hold then gently blow. Disgusting but you get used to it quickly. I use it at the first sign of conjestion, infection or even a cold to reduce the likelyhood of infection. If you get the mixture wrong, too rich or too lean, it can be outright painful. Work on it - I swear by it!

Get and read the book Sinus Survival - changed my life in 1999. Irrigation was the answer.

Thanks Coul! I saw that the other day, but I was just bumping for the latest Beta. Were you on it since then? Same-same?

Looking for any up to date info on the route. Coleman crossing high or low? Ridge conditions. Number of screws used on ice pitches? Thanks

Anyone have up-to-date info on the conditions in the "Bowling Alley" on North Sister. Snow/ice or all "rocks"?

http://www.montanaice.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=890&start=0 They are not finished yet. Amy put up a good post yesterday suggesting that we keep up with our good citizenship and not interfere with the plowing efforts. As of yesterday they had it clear and open to the dam. Above that, there is still plenty of work for them and I assume they won't appreciate yesterday's new snow being packed by sleds etc. With some luck, they will wrap it up tomorrow. (John; it looks like they will just go to Grotto Falls, not the East Fork.) Steve

They plowed to just past Langohr today. Locked the gate so I suspect they will work to finish the job tomorrow (conjecure).

The sight of people looping the rope over the pick on modern tools creeps me out. Most tools today have sharpened (relatively speaking) top edges to assist in tool removal. IMHO this is no place for a rope! Worry about style and ethics somewhere down the line when you’re redpointing a WI6+. I have friends that have climbed on ice 15 years without a leader fall (knock on wood). On the other end of the spectrum I have heard of two falls this year by people just starting out. Stay in control and lead only what you can without undue risk. It’s supposed to be fun, right?

Heading back to Bozeman from Seattle on the 24th/25th. May take a side trip to Banks Lake. Anyone interested in meeting out there?

Bozeman? I'd recommend going to the Ice festival before you buy. Demo's abound. http://www.montanaalpineguides.com/bozemanicefestival/ Fusion and Nomic would be my pick (er, choice) for leashless. Everyone I know who has tried the Nomic is a believer; expen$ive but worth it. I thought the Monster's had a an unsettling twang on impact, not the thunk. If you think alpine is in your future check out Camp's Awax. Grip and swing are a personal choice so don't buy without trying. You can rent from Barrel too; I know they had Monsters there last year. Livin' in Bozeman so pm me if you want to get out this winter. Chompin' at the bit right now...

I'm in the market for a light pair of approach skis for ice climbing . With all the stuff on the net + ski swaps I need a list of skis that would fit the bill. With a climbing pack I top out at about 150 lbs and will be setting them up with Silvrettas. Need steel edges for those non-pow days. Your list? Steve

That BW is a tremendous shot!!

I took a group up Adams a couple of summers ago and on the way down passed a couple of guys with their dogs. We were just below the treeline on the tourist route. It was disturbing to see the dogs run from shady spot to shady spot. There was plenty of water around and it wasn’t that hot (70’s I’d guess). It was clear that the dogs were severely stressed from the above treeline experience.