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CaleHoopes

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Everything posted by CaleHoopes

  1. 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
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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)
  6. 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).
  7. 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.
  8. 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...
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 407 is a proxy error. Probably if you're trying to post from work, you can't get the pix through to whatever URL for posting pix
  14. OMG DOUBLE RAINBOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!!?@?!@?
  15. Rime ice? Grab the tools and lets go mixed climbing! Ticks require different tools.
  16. I also think this route may be one of the most interesting moderate routes on the mountain. Multiple glaciers involved, multiple camps usually, technical difficulty while short is still interesting, objective hazards, an easy walk to the summit after the last great technical difficulty (crossing the Nisqually icefall above the Wapowtey Cleaver). However, I wonder if the route was a bit abandoned for awhile by the guide service because the descent can be difficult down the chute and the loss of the actual spot of Camp Hazard. Anyhow, I still really love the Kautz route and honestly can't wait to do it again. :-) Currently, I believe all 3 concessionaires guide the Kautz (RMI, IMG, AAI).
  17. Oh and yes. I don't carry a bunch of water I'm not gonna drink. I portion to get to camp, and go from there. I may have bottles for it, but I don't take extra.
  18. Rad's point is a good one. So, the ability to pack resolved itself when I started focusing on fast and light. If you can reuse something for another purpose, do it. Practice to figure out what you can live without Get tips to go LIGHTER and the volume with work itself out. Check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841 Unless I'm cragging or such, I've reduced everything down a great deal. Four days on Rainier with a summit attempt including all climbing gear and such and the pack itself? 36ish lbs. Did I have to buy some special gear? Yes. Is everything very packable? Yes. Did I not bring some fancy luxuries (like a 26 oz sleeping pad)? Of course I didn't bring luxuries. It's FOUR DAYS for gosh sakes. I can endure a lot in only four days time. #1 piece of advice? Practice. Fill the pack, go out for a few days, come back and evaluate. Take stuff out. Practice again. Rinse and repeat.
  19. 1. I've been on that plane. 2. Is that an HLM gear ice pack? What size? 3400? 4400?
  20. I agree. In August you could actually run into some good ice steps there - probably won't need a lot of traction placements, but you should know how to pitch it out. Additionally, you will need to rap down onto the ice chute, then scramble out. There's a little exposure there and the objective danger from the ice cliff is extreme. Don't dawdle there - icefall could be very dangerous there.
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