Ajay

I lost 1 blue MSR snowshoe during the glissade down the center of the headwall below piker's peak and above the SW chutes at the end of the South spur of Mt. Adams. This was this Tuesday the 11th. I'm in Seattle, willing to drive to pick up or send ups $. I owe some booze to anyone who brings it back to civilization!

So, I have a Randonee setup and often ski with a pack. One of my sking goals is the Furher Finger on Rainier this winter, requiring skiing with a significant pack. So my question is if anybody have experience/suggestions on if and how much it's beneficial to move the binding forward when there's 45+ lbs on your back moving your center of gravity backwards. I'm thinking on drilling a second set of mounting holes forward for when I'm skiing with a large pack.... but am not sure how far forward I want, and with the foam core skis I only want to drill once. My current setup: -I'm 6'0" 185 lbs -Black Diamond Mira Skis 175 cm -Frenchi Diamire bindings currently mounted 0.5 cm forward Thanks for any suggestions, Ajay

I am not sure if this is the best place for this post, but I couldn't find a good fit otherwise. I am moving to Ecuador at the end of the month and want to do some climbing while there. I could be living (and therefore climbing) anywhere from Ecuador to Patagonia ultimately and will be gone for a few years total. I will only be doing moderate to easy climbs. Are there any good resources for discussion/reading about the correct boots. I don't plan on going real high altitude if I can find good climbing lower. Currently I have a pair of Sportiva Nepal Evos and don't want to buy new boots, renting plastics is an option for occasional high climbs if I need them. That is the question though, when do you transition from insulated leather to plastics? What kind of weather/altitude/temperatures/length of trip would be a turning point from one to another? I am new to anything higher than the Cascades and spend most of my time climbing rocks not snow and ice. Any help is very appreciated, Kelly