CaleHoopes

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD.... Great ice climbing crampons. $100 + shipping. Professionally sharpened (thanks Pro Guide North Bend). OR bag included. Feel free to Private Message me or Email me @ caledh@gmail.com

Drove over the pass this morning and there was a bit of snowing going on, but only RIGHT at X51. That probably means about 2-5 inches in the alpy valley... but we're supposed to get a warm front after this storm. Good luck. Toothy sounds fantastic now. I don't think skis work out for it, but I'll let someone else chime in.

66 Routes according to Alex Van Steen & Fred Beckey. I wonder what variations can go past that. http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Mount-Rainier-Essentials-Guide/dp/0966979508

Emma, I'm in the process of moving to Leavenworth and I'll be around and looking for climbing partners in the future. So, let's keep in touch. I'd provide some basic instruction but I can't go too far with it because I'm only a moderate climber. What I can do is provide information on anchors and give you tours of the beginner areas. Let's keep in touch as you're in the area. I'd like to find a group of people to climb with once I make the transition.

Objective hazard is a part of climbing. "i wouldnt advise this route to anyone. IMO" is such a cop out. The Kautz route is climbed all the time and still one of the greatest routes on the mountain. There's a lot of risks in life - with that attitude, I probably wouldn't even drive to work every day. Be smart, mitigate the risks, but set yourself up for success. Climbing is a sport of "get away with it". You won't do that unless you take a chance. Without taking a chance you'll probably just rack up a lot of time watching climbing videos on your couch (but I won't mention the objective hazard of beer & pizza cutting your life short)

The coleman is easily the most accessible. Yep, it's farther. But there is so much more area to practice and a much easier approach than any of the Rainier locations. Yeah, the lower Nisqually, but honestly, I think it will take you longer to get to that than to just bite the bullet and go to the coleman. On the other hand, I've found the best training for yearly ice is - HARD CLIMBING IN THE GYM and FAUX MIXED CLIMBING with THESE: http://www.dryicetools.com/ I've been climbing ice hard for 5 years and have been prepared for each season by hard training in the climbing gym mostly - and some cardio for approaches. I usually bug out of town and head to Bozeman or Ouray but I've also climbed a bit at Alpental and Banks Lake. I'd love to get up to Canmore, but I just haven't found the time or vacation. Coleman is great because you can swing tools, find great short pitches, toprope and even put up a few contrived multipitch lines - I love practicing there. The best part is that there is enough solid serac areas that you don't have to climb inside a crevasse - you can put a strong day of training together WITHOUT lowering and climbing out. Good luck! (And let me know if you need a set of technical ice crampons, I'm going to be putting up some Rambo 4 crampons for sale).

The piece by Forest looks awesome. I've glanced through it and can't wait to go deep into the article. Nice work! Great to have the Pickets represented as the awesome resource that they are.

Very nice report. Good job on the last picture showing the ice cap's bergshrund. Reaching the schrund and walking a halfish mile to the west is a life-sucking activity in my mind. You can see the summit crater but have to go around the big-ass crevasse. Ugh. Nice send...

I'm a stretch zion advocate. I've had them for years and climbed a ton in them. I've never had a problem with them being not abrasive resistant. I've been in off-widths with them and hiked with them. I've done a ton in them and had no problems. There are two different generations though. The older generation had a second cargo pocket but a really irritating double-back belt buckle that was difficult to adjust. The new generation loses the second cargo pocket but has a very easy to tighten belt buckle. I love them. For an alternative, I've considered the OR Ferrosi pants. However, I just haven't had a reason to switch out climbing pants. NOTE: Look for sales. If you use the interwebs, you can usually get a discount on the stretch zion pants. They are lightweight and make great travel pants too.

This was a totally amazing trip! Thanks for the awesome TR!

Very nice send guys! Love your gear notes ;-)

Grab some pix...

Thanks for an awesome trip report. Despite the tragedy, it looks like you had a great climb on the route - and it looks like it's in great condition.

I need to replace Liberty as my bucket list Rainier climb with Ptarmigan. I just need a partner who feels like he wants to try and tackle it with me.

I've also heard there is at least one section (Robo wall) at X32 which is a good crack to practice placements. I think it's only one or two routes at a low grade, but might be a great place for follow up.