jfs1978

Am I an idiot (or an a-hole) for even asking if this is a troll?

that'll get the psyche meter going. nice.

Tugboat thanks for your work and posting the info! Cool stuff. To be honest, I am mainly interested in this kind of thing from an academic standpoint. I have yet to see anything that really gives me serious pause with regard to the gear on my own rack. Like I said...it's interesting. Sorry but I don't know any specs on the rig. Only that it was at a climbing mfr. we all know and use and done as a favor to satisfy my own curiosity.

Yes that's true. Tugboats data seemed to contradict this.

Tugboat, that's interesting. I've had 5-year old Mammut 8mm slings pull tested after 4-5 years of moderate use and they reliably failed at 50-60% in multiple tests. I believe this has been noted by others as well. note: of course 50% is still 11kn-ish...

I've open bivied in mine in low teens and moderate wind and actually been tooooooasty warm.

That's Dave and Ryan on the NF. I'll let 'em know you posted up.

where from? you have 1 rope or 2? looked like the last party to the p2 ledge probably had done just that, as the cordelette was set up over hte edge - holy shit it looks like they would have had a scary time getting onto the rap though! Wasn't too bad actually. We were at the huge ledge at the base of P3. Full rap distance is a fair bit less than 60...but a lot more than 30. Having a single 60m line meant things were slightly more complicated...but not much. Genius idea - fix and haul up the 2nd one...no worries. Back home/at work in time to keep from getting fired...so 'twas a successful day in my book. We'll go back.

Hey! I bailed off that Free Lunch thing-a-ma-jigger once. Sweet TR Ivan.

heheh...lets just keep that Mt. Hood in winter time myth going. Keeps the riff-raff out. Compared to a spring-time Mongolian Horde Siege of the Hoodwand, things were downright pleasant Sunday morning. A relatively leisurely parking lot departure of 5:15am, temp inversion keeping us nice and toasty warm in the low 20s, mostly firm and stable snow, almost windless summit, clear as a bell summit views, slightly less obnoxious than normal boot-pack up the trade route, complete lack of rope/climber-floss teams above you in the old chute, and down in time for breakfast AND a quick session at Smith Rock on the way home... Yup...the South Side ain't so bad in the winter time. Nice start to the year. The rest of the mountain awaits.

buaahahahaha! This is entertaining. Hope the video stays up.

lol... no Hugh...I'm not too worried about how you spend your money. Do your thing brah.

whatever works for ya buddy.

Kinda funny to watch all the hoops people jump through when they want to justify something. If you aren't satisfied with boots lasting only a decade, or your sleeping bag melting when you slept next to the fire, or the jacket that "tore" when your kid took a scissors to it, or the pants that wore a hole in the seat after hiking the entire PCT, or can't figure out how to patch your own thermarest...you CAN return it. Hooray for you! If you're ok with that...go right ahead. You're apparently completely helpless ... but go ahead. =) And don't forget to complain about how over-priced all this outdoor gear is as you walk out the door. Or wonder why companies focus on markets they can actually make money off of. Or rip on all those chumps who paid full price for that dead bird harness. You're better than them anyway.

lemme get this straight... people are pissed off that REI doesn't carry gear that they can buy and abuse for 5 years...and then return... riiiiight. And ya wonder why REI is abandoning the dirtbags...? ha!

It's snowy...and yes...you can still climb. You're welcome. =)

yeah, i think it's limited to six. I'll try to remember to check tomorrow when I have access to one. Might also call the NW rep to get some specs...since i'm a tech-weenie when it comes to gear...

I believe the Foretrex is actually running a newer antenna than your old Geko. I ran that by a rep and all the non-quad-helix models are using what is generically referred to as the High Sensitivity antenna. Same as on my Vista and the Oregon touch-screen models. I've never had a need for the bulky quad-helix models like the new 62s. Those are the only two options I know of.

the 500 waypoint limit on the foretrex 401 unit seems like a pretty minor issue. I don't have anywhere near that number in mine. Then again, I rarely bring a gps on a mountaineering trip...and when i do i just load in the WPs I need for that climb and dump them when I'm done. the foretrex does everything else i might need - in the smallest possible package. i still use an etrex vista hcx and am perfectly happy with it.

It's a way more enjoyable way to reach the west side than slogging up Misery Ridge. Out of the I-don't-know-how-many-times I've climbed Super Slab...I think I've done that double-rope rap maybe three times. Pain in the ass to haul up an extra rope just for that rap anyway... Just drop into the gully on the left after the top-out and climb up the groove. Hike to the trail.

Not to rain on your parade...but the SS of Hood in November will probably suck.

You don't have to rap all the way to the notch. Just rap to the top of the ramp - unexposed easy down-climb from there. And the whole down-climb from the rap anchor looks worse from above than it really is.

backatcha Tyler! wish i coulda stuck around longer last week!

Not sure what an "alpine shoe" is...other than a comfortable shoe that climbs really well. Seems like it's pretty much the same thing you'd want at the home crag... The TC Pro is pretty damn good though. Just used mine on Liberty Crack and loved 'em (although that "5.10" sh** was STILL hard dammit...wtf). I'm still breaking them in so I took em off at a couple belays...but they climb as well as my LS Miuras (edge on nothing, climb all crack sizes, and I managed to finish an alpine climb w/o ripping open my ankles on any offwidth - !!!). And they are way more comfy. Freakin' spendy even if you have a hookup though. No way to justify them at full price imho.

... uh huh...