CaleHoopes

I agree with ivan. I think descent down the West Buttress will be your best option. If you did an acclimatization hike up to 17 and took some stuff and cached it, then you'd be golden to come back down the Buttress. If I was doing the rib that's what I would do.

Josh, considering the stuff you like to do and where you want to go with your climbing, I really think you SHOULD get the CAG. This route you are going to do is actually in the book and the beta in there can be really good. I know funds are cheap, but I think Beckey's guide would be a huge help to you in your adventures! Good luck up there!

i love the fact that a thread on the everest sherpa brawl (later tonight on UFC) has turned into trying to figure out why swedish girls don't come from switzerland.

Goat's Beard is an awesome shop. If you're climbing up near WA Pass or Goat Wall you can find anything you need there. They also have apparel and camping gear. Very cool. Don't ignore the Mazama General Store either. Best General Store in WA IMHO.

Bootfitter for the win. If you are in the Seattle area... go check out Sturtevant's. I went there and had my Baruntse's fitted and I've never looked back. The most comfortable boot I own. They will make you awesome custom footbeds. Take the socks and everything you'd normally wear. They will heat mold the liner and they will even do adjustments to the shell.

Milk jugs are good. I've had many friends do that. One of my partners on Denali had a full foot cutout from a milk jug on his crampon when he went for the summit.

The Andinista is a classic too that I can't make any derogatory comments about.

Yes. I'll give you two great options: CiloGear Worksack 75L and Black Diamond Mission 75 Both are great packs. The Cilogear 75L when all stretched out is going to be way over 75 litres. If you really want to spend money, they have the design in other material that greatly reduces the weight. The modular nature of this pack means you can configure it many different ways. I can say that on Denali, being able to configure your pack different ways is invaluable as you have to move crap all over the mountain. ESPECIALLY with a guide service who will likely hand you random group gear and food throughout your expedition. Everything installed it would be about 4 lbs. Mission 75 is much less modular but also very versatile. It will pretty much do exactly 75 liter so you'll have to make sure your kit is fully dialed. It's only 3lb 12 oz and rides like a dream. However, like I said, it's probably right on that edge of not being enough space. I took a 7 lb McHale pack that I regretted. Why? I bought it 5 years ahead of time and therefore it didn't quite fit me right when I started using it. Plus it was darn heavy - which could have been an extra bag of food or something else that would have been consumed. +1 for a lighter pack on Denali. If you're trying to do 60 lb in the pack and 40 lb in the sled, then you just need something to carry 60. Both these packs work fine for that! P.S. The CiloGear suspension is adjustable too - buy at 2nd Ascent or Marmot in Seattle (they can order) and they will do a full adjustment of the aluminum stay.

OMG I think I already miss ice. Nice work

TO: CouleeClimber Dude, if I lived in Grand Coulee, I'd have ice climbed all season at Banks. MUHAHAHA As for guides, it's really not that bad of a way to go. If you choose wisely, you can learn a lot. Some of the guide services for Rainier are only about the exact skills to get you to the summit. Others will let you pull out of them anything that you want to learn. I'd suggest a 4 day climb to learn a ton - unless you go alone. There are people here that will do your training and such for free, but it might be harder to organize. Good luck! I'm sure you can figure out a way to get er done!

Ivan! Kick ass trip! Last month went down and did Cat in the Hat & Birdland. Great stuff - was my first trip to RR. Vegas sux but RR rox (is that redundant??!?). Nice pictures and nice sends. I agree, that last pitch on Cat in the Hat before the rap from the bolts is most excellent!

Your best bet: http://www.mountaingear.com/webstore/Gear/Climbing/Crampons/Grivel/Rambo-Dualpoint-Spacer-pair/_/R-625598P.htm

Since you're from Portland, you can try the Mazamas. Also, for mountaineering you can probably get some instruction from Timberline Mountain Guides. Additionally, tons of guide services here in WA are available for training. That's my best suggestion.

Also, while they are sometimes hard to find locally, many manufacturers actually sell shorter ropes. One solution? Buy a sixty and cut it 40/20 - If you go to a shorter climbing gym (like VW Redmond/Everett), then the 20 is perfect for rock leads in the gym and then you could use the 40. And then you could buy a 8.8-9.4. On Rainier I've often used a 60m 9.4 and just created coils. If we ever had a drop in, then the coils would be great to create a quick drop-c. Yep, more rope to carry, but ultimately worth it IMHO. That being said, If I'd owned a 40 I'd be happy climbing on that too. Good place for ropes? http://justropes.com And they have an awesome coupon code: 20% off RBG2011

Excellent send Loren!

curtveld, I agree on large biners. Tiny no worky for me. I like the tiny load bearing ones however if I need to attach something to the pack or whatever. But I don't generally use them for any climbing.

Yeah, I don't agree with the "You'll piss people off". I've climbed on many different types of cams as a follower and never had any problems with people complaining. C4's seem like the most popular, but it looks like many of the other cams have their uses and/or niche. I think where this gets interesting is when you're using older cams with more difficult cleans or placements where there are double stems and such. If it's too hard to clean, that's been a problem for me. However, that's more about the choice in leader's placement than the type of cam IMHO (unless we're talking over cammed or under cammed units).

Thanks guys! Bearbreeder - all good points. What you're really saying is get out with someone experienced before you go too far on a rack. BStach - thanks a ton for your recommendations! I totally look forward to this process.

Nice send! Epic screaming barfies!

What the hell, it's looked fun to me before. Plus I have a bunch of friends who have been to the base but NEVER gone to the top of the haystack. This looks way more fun than the crappy scramble IMHO. So, the rock there on that flake wasn't horrible? And you topped out on that?

alpine et has an excellent point. I will tell you that this boot works fabulously with the Petzl Lynx. However, the Petzl Lynx has turned into the gold standard of adjustable crampons IMHO. I was able to move my pair of Lynx from my Baruntse's to the Salewa Pro Gaiter (same boot as original poster except for the gaiter) with only a small adjustment to the center bar which was easily made in the field (they were demos so I had to do it on a -10 degree morning at Ouray in a demo tent). Toe welt and fit are indeed something that can be hard to determine. So, the "hybrid" is really just telling you that there is no toe welt. Crampon fit is another discussion.

Better yet? http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/crampons-snow-ice-climbing.html Good description. And Gene, you're right of course.

Hmmm. The original poster's boot choice has a toe welt though. I get what you're saying though. I just wonder if the description for the boot was wrong then. I actually look close at the boot for whether it can support the crampons I want on them ;-)

Many of the manufacturers use different terms for crampons. These boots will fit a full clip-on crampon with a toe welt and heel welt. So, when they say hybrid, you are probably looking at being able to fit all crampons, honestly. So, one thing to think about if these will be your first boots - single layer boots take longer to dry on multiple day trips. If you are a person who gets the sweaty feet, you will want to consider that. These boots are pretty nice and fairly warm. Just be ready to spend time to dry them out overnight.

Very happy with my OR Ferrosi Hoodie. Perfect windshirt.