CaleHoopes

OMG I keep being out of town for this :-( Fricken job.

So, last year I equipped up for a guided climb of Lib Ridge and I have some suggestions for you. First, Jason's comment is excellent. Look at the forecast before you bring your double boots. With the forecast we had I was bringing my Phantom Guides over my Baruntse's. If it was going to be colder, the Baruntse's were the deal. 20 degree bag is perfect for Lib Ridge and if it gets cold, wear layers. Since you're doing a carry over, throw out the crap that you don't need (your guides probably will). With EVERYTHING I was down to 38 lbs leaving the white river trailhead. That included a glacier rope and all my climbing gear. Pack got considerably lighter when we dropped off of St. Elmos. You will wear most of your climbing gear from there to the Summit so don't get overly stressed about the weight of that stuff - you'll only be carrying it up Glacier Basin to St. Elmos and then you'll likely rope up. I'm doing it again this year (we got washed out, literally at the base of the ridge) so it's my "big trip" I'm training for, etc.

Ok, I hadn't seen this until now. However, the coolest thing here by far?! The awesome STILLS you grabbed from the GoPro. I haven't yet looked into grabbing stills off the GoPro videos but you have absolutely inspired me. Very cool stuff!

+1 Summerprophet.

Looks like a DMM carabiner. I know Jim Nelson has a whole selection of those at Pro Mountain Sports in the U-Dist.

All are sufficient, honestly. I'd focus on what's convenient. You should get all the same skills. Check and see if you can get with an AMGA certified guide (JR & Olivia are certified, many AAI guides are and some RMI guides are) then you will probably get more depth. Also, for something to do during the winter - find a ROCK RESCUE clinic somewhere. Why? Because many of the systems are very similar. Knowing knots and such and understanding the scenarios will help you with crevasse rescue for sure. Other than the 3 you mentioned, you might be able to find a PRIVATE clinic with IMG, KAF Adventures or Pro Guiding in N Bend. I also put on a fairly decent advanced crevasse rescue clinic through the Bushwhacker Climbing Club but we usually limit that to previous students (club preference). Finally, crevasse rescue usually isn't a skill that you just "learn". You need to practice and probably keep learning. So, remember you are beginning a journey, not checking a box. Good luck!

Yes on the one long one short. For the one season I used my Rambo's, I really enjoyed using the one short and one long that it's set up with when you purchase em. Right now I have two long set on my Lynx and the desperately need some adjustment if I really wanna try mixed climbing this year.

Awesome report! I can't wait to do this this year... I hope it stays in to January!

This is fantastic. For someone who's never been there for climbing, I'm looking for any beta just to get out there and try climbing there. :-)

Thanks Off_White for clearly stating what I was trying to say. I think the community appreciates any beta. Competing guide books? Bring it on! I'll try to use all the info I can get and then make good decisions. Could you imagine trying to track down people and get them to buy off to create a NEW guidebook? It would take forever and may never happen. I think it's the right approach - the data needs to be updated, Kurt is a stand up guy, he will give respect. I think he simply wants to give back to a great community. That's why he asked the previous author and is working on WARP. Good stuff. Keep it up Kurt!

Kurt, don't listen to LUCKY. I appreciate any work you do to update the guidebook and don't care about FA's and royalties. I think it's stupid to make any big deal about it. I speak for the weekend bolt climbers I think when I say I'm grateful for any kind of beta. Even if it's handed down/passed on. So, don't lose heart.

OMG. I wish I could get over to Banks. I guess I'll just have to settle for my trip to Bozeman right now and then Ouray in January. I hope Banks is still in late January.

STOKED FOR BANKS THIS YEAR! Bring on the ice!

I know I totally fell down in my offer to help you Michael (I just got too busy :-( ) However, I do have a graphics program suggestion... A great program I used: http://inkscape.org/download/?lang=en Has all the features of Illustrator and you can interchangeably open files. However, good illustration would really enhance the project, but you'd have to hire someone for that. Good luck!

WISH YOU'D POST PIX ;-)

Alex speaks wisdom. Thin but fragile.

So, 1st... get the Washington Ice book. Second, dial your expectations DOWN a bit. Much of what's in the book barely comes in. Usually, ice is in between mid Jan to end of Feb around the state. Alpental area varies a ton and is short season. Longest season is usually Banks Lank. Right in the middle? Strobach down by Yakima, White Pass. There's always Glacier Ice but that's really best in the late summer... it's starting to fill in right now so you'll lose a bunch. Many of the glaciers have a bit of ice, but the lower coleman seems to be the fun spot to go to. Good luck!

You mean like: http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/wpb_jacket.shtml ???

Banks is pretty awesome. I did a bunch of climbing there in LATE FEB this year!! Anyhow, not too far a drive on 2... and lots of various climbs. Get the Jason Martin/Alex K. book on "Washington ICE" and you'll get a bunch of options at Banks. The book is a bit outdated, but a good representation of the repeat flows. Easy approaches off the road (a bit steep) and some brambles around anchors, but generally great stuff. Everything from WI2-WI6.

The Kautz is one of the best routes on the mountain. Very awesome!

Yeah, I thought that usually the Finger is pretty much "out" in late July because of the Nisqually Ice Fall being way too broken up. Not to mention the shooting gallery that you must have endured down the chute. Anyhow, I've heard of various routes through there early season (May - June). This year was especially "normal" in my opinion on Rainier and through the month of June we had a ton of warming from the first week in June to the 3rd. We were barely able to cross the Carbon to the base of Lib Ridge and by the first week in July I believe the Carbon was uncrossable. I wouldn't be surprised that the section between the top of the Finger and the other side of the Nisqually was quite broken up.

My guess is the $5000 might be putting everything together including whether or not you wanna buy new gear, throw in the food costs (can be way cheaper, just depends), throw in the flight to alaska costs, the talkeetna flights, food in town maybe, luxury items, the $1000 IMAX camera for the summit shot (just kidding) etc. I could see how you could get your independent costs up if you were acquiring all new of some things and such. I agree with you DPS though - you can do the trip for MUCH cheaper than 5k depending on what your strategy is. Anyhoo, good luck Nick! Denali is indeed a special place.

+1 JBP

I know for sure that USFS has been notified. However, if their answering machine was full, they probably don't care yet.

Ok, after reading this - I hope Scarpa brings some Rebel Ultras to Bozeman and Ouray this year for demos. Last year La Sportiva didn't bring the Batura 2.0 for demos to Ouray and that sucked because I really wanted to compare em. I did climb in the Salewa Insulated Gaiter Pro's at Ouray and even bought them, but they got returned. LOL Dane! I'm still thinking of the Scarpa Rebel Ultra possibly being the perfect alpine boot for summer/fall rock glacier and ice boots in the cascades. After trying some vertical ice at the fests, maybe I'll end up with a pair. We'll see. Thanks for the reply to my "jab"