fowweezer

Dude, go to an eye doctor next time. My girlfriend had something similar happen and it didn't sound nearly so painful. She didn't require vicodin afterwards--she was fine. They scraped a corneal nodule off her eye. Fucking crazy. Shit with eyes makes me hurt and I don't even have contacts or anything.

Mostly stuff in the North Cascades--I've just seen TR's on this site and of course know a few people that have climbed long rock routes in the summer there (N Ridge of Stuart, etc). It appears that the potential for winter ice routes on the peaks is pretty high, and I'm sure there have already been a lot done. Not so interested in Portland. While Hood is nice, I don't want to have to make the trek to Seattle and THEN to the N Cascades anytime I have time to climb seriously. Although I love the city of Portland.

Hey there, I'm from the Salt Lake area and me and my girlfriend have been thinking about making a move. We're considering options in California and Washington (and Colorado less seriously). Knowing that local traffic patterns can make mapquest distances deceptive (I lived in D.C. for 12 years and saw that first-hand), I was hoping to get some input from locals on where the best places in Washington to live are. I'm mostly interested in: 1. Very close after-work cragging (sport or trad, I'm no purist, small walls are fine too) 2. Local ice climbing (again, doesn't have to be spectacular, just enough to work out on a lot). 3. Good access to the alpine rock and ice I've seen pictures of. Mostly interested in moderate to hard ice routes on the peaks, so I'm assuming North Cascades exclusively, but where is reasonably close? 4. Employment--we've both worked for a few years for eBay doing customer support. She has an associates in accounting and I'm finishing up a degree in poli sci but will probably either teach or (more realistically) do customer support. She'll probably do the same, she's not particularly interested in accounting or bookkeeping. She's considering real estate as well. Any there any call centers or similar facilities in Bellingham? Any other cities to recommend? How far is the U. of Washington (seattle campus) from rock and ice cragging and from the peaks? How bad is the traffic? She may be pursuing a masters in art. Or, should we just stay away and move to California instead?

Yeah, I meant the liner would be fit and molded by BD for free if I bought them there.....they said they'd charge $40 otherwise. I've found them for as cheap as $330, so that's not a ton more than the Inverno's new, so I might go ahead and do it. Any other opinions on warmth?

well, just gonna go ahead and bump this post a bit. I'm looking for info on the Scarpa Omegas, and haven't had much luck at either summitpost or Rockclimbing.com (go figure). I posted my exact post on summitpost below and didn't get any respose. Any help here?? So, with winter slowly approaching, I'm trying to decide on a boot that will keep me warmer than my La Sportiva Trango S EVO. These are great boots, but they're a bit more summer weight for me, especially since they fit quite snug (impossible to put really thick socks in them). Perfect for scrambling and warm weather stuff, and rock, but not so good in the winter. I had pretty much decided on the Scarpa Invernos, based on their popularity, price, warmth and all that. They are compatible with my splitboard bindings, which was nice, and they're warm enough for Tetons winters, Uintas winters and Alaska trips if that becomes necessary (Denali not necessarily in the forecast, but other Alaskan objectives). I was trying them on at the BD store in SLC again today, and just don't like how clunky they are. The guy recommended the Scarpa Omega as a replacement, and they felt a lot better. Lighter, less bulky, and easier to walk in generally. He seemed confident that they'd handle Tetons winter temps and summers in Alaska, but cautioned me that they are not as durable as the invernos. Has anyone had any experience with these? My specific questions are: 1. Are they warm enough for what I want? I know they'll climb and hike better (and ski better for that matter), just based on feel. But will I lose toes? I have poor circulation for someone my age (21), and my feet and hands do tend to get cold easily. 2. With molded thermofit liners (free at BD if I buy them there, by the way), they should be a bit warmer, but how much? 3. Concerns about wear and tear and durability? I don't abuse boots, but I'm not easy on gear either. I won't be using them daily or even weekly.....mostly reserved for rare (1-2 times per year) trips to the tetons and uintas in the winter, and occasional days in the wasatch in the winter (but I'll also use my trangos there). 4. I'm looking at a UK size 9.5 and they felt good with a single thick sock, and a liner sock would be fine once they pack out (the boot liners that is). I'm tempted to make sure I've got a bit of extra room because I would like the option of THICK socks for my poor circulation, but I was warned away due to increased chances of blisters with more socks in there. Any thoughts? 5. If they're not warm enough for winter stuff like I mentioned, would a supergaiter or even overboot work well enough with them for long approaches and slogs (removed for technical climbing) to make them more feasible? I think that's all for now. Thanks.

I will make you an offer once I find out if a size 10 will fit me. I can't remember what my size is in those boots. Otherwise I will take them if you're willing to ship to Utah (I'll pay of course).

We'll see. The trip is up in the air suddenly, based partially on weather and partially on work obligations. I'll come back to do the North Face sometime, but if I can I'll still try to get it done while I'm there. The guys from teh other trip report said it wasn't bad (2:30 am to 4 pm which I can handle). Hell, if nothing else I'll go climb the South Side as a nice intro to the Cascades. I hope to make a nice long loop trip through the Cascades in May or June for about 10 days climbing as much as possible. Thanks for the help guys. I'll check out the Reid Headwall route as well and assess things as it gets closer. Thanks again.

Doug: Sorry, you actually stated the times in your first trip report. Thanks for that info. The trip is up in the air right now, but I will report back when/if I get there to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks again for the help.

I meant next week Tuesday (but I assume it will be about the same). Thanks though. I won't be there for valentine's day unfortunately....I'll be climbing by myself in utah.

Also, any thoughts on the weather for Tuesday? I'm not familiar enough with the weather stations to know where to look for Hood weather, but it looks like possibilities of rain and snow on Tuesday. That's my only day to hit it, and I need to book a ticket tonight, so if anyone has any thoughts tonight, that would be awesome.

Well that is good to know. I am thinking about renting a car for the day to get there and then drop it when I hit the airport Wednesday morning. It will require an extra day off work and $70 rental car fee. Think it is worth it? I'm not made of money, but I'd like to climb the route, so I might do it. Any thoughts on that? I'm assuming the road will be gated, necessitating a start at the lower trailhead (around 3K feet). Looks like I'll be bringing my skis I guess.

I'll be in Portland this weekend visiting a friend who is sick. I have a chance to take an extra day or two to hopefully climb on Tuesday or Wednesday (next week). Hopefully the weather will be good. I was hoping to climb the North Face of Hood later this spring, since I was told it was more of a "shoulder-season" route. But it looks like it is in and nice, according to the trip reports. I have a few questions about the area though. First, are there other routes that I should consider? I'm looking for somethign technical, in the WI3, 5.6 range to solo. I'd prefer it to be on Hood, since it's been on my tick list for awhile. But anywhere within reasonable driving distance of Beaverton is acceptable to me. How are conditions looking after this weekend? It looks good, with possible snow on Tuesday, is that right? Also, how is the length of this route (or any others suggested)? I've heard most of a day, so I'll call it a long day for someone not familiar with the mountain. Is there a guide I could pick up that explains the approach in more detail? I don't want to get lost on the approach....that's never fun. Finally, would there be a good way to get a ride to the trailhead from somewhere near Beaverton (I assume not)? I don't need a rental car while I'm there, so I don't want to rent one just for this climb, but will if necessary. Is there a shuttle that heads up that direction ever? Anyone want to split a ride? I'll pay for gas. Also, if anyone is interested in roping up, I'd be open to it. I'm looking for something hard, like I mentioned. I'll lead up to WI3+, 5.7 in the mountains and I move moderately fast. Plenty of altitude experience up to 12,000 in Utah. Never climbed in the Cascades before. Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

I am hoping to get out and climb this route in about a week when I am in town in Portland. I'll only have a day window, so hopefully I'll get good weather. I am going to make a main post about this on the main index (I'm new here), but I was hoping you could tell me when you got back to your car.....I've heard it's a long day for most people. It should be a bit quicker cause I'll be soloing, but I was wondering if you have any useful information for me. Stubbies you said? How do you think the route will look after this weekend (I'll be there on Tuesday)? Thanks.