Dannible

Cool, wish I could be there. Blake- give credit where credit is due on some of those pictures, eh?

Thats pretty crazy. I was there a couple of months ago and could see the whole signboard, so I guess all that spring has done is add a couple more feet. I tried to get up there three times this winter and my truck never made it more than .5 miles past where you turn left and start heading uphill.

Awsome. We should close the borders, take down the rest of the axis of evil, and put as much pressure on Russia (and everyone who doesn't agree with us) as we can. Then will we have world peace.

No boots. I used regular ski boot rentals and mountaineering boots (yeah, I know...).

Squamish- Free showers at the sports field place in the town to the north, looney and tooney days at the aquatic center in the town to the north. Suanas, pool, and hot tub for one or two dollars on some weekdays. J-Tree- We got a big box of day old doughnuts for $4 at The Jelly Doughnut in the town of J-Tree. Cemeteries make for good stealthy places to camp if you show up late and leave early, just watch for the sprinklers.

I've thought about doing that, to save money and all, but by the time I find them on the side of the road they are always covered in maggots already, and I can't bring myself to kill one myself.

Seeing those pictures made me more stoked about checking out those areas than I have ever been. Nice.

I'll only list climbs that I've done because there are way too many to choose from that I haven't. Most of these were pretty physically hard for me, but I've never had nightmares about them and while I was climbing them I never felt like I was in trouble, so I'd say they were moderate overall. For alpine climbs the location (how perty and remote) matters almost as much as the climbing. NE Ridge of Forbidden Rebel Yell NEB of Slesse 2006 route on the East Face of Gunsight Gunsight Traverse Single pitch: any of the 4 or 5 star cracks at the Smoke Bluffs in Squamish.

Where in Oly is it 3.29? Thats .30 less than most places I think.

The idea being to be able to go faster, since you don't have to stop at the "regular" (i.e., bolted, or not) anchor? Is that why you'd want to link pitches? Pretty much, two pitches for the price of one. It seems like I find myself using all of a 60 meter rope pretty often on longer alpine and multi pitch routes sometimes because I couldn't find a good place for an anchor and just kept going, other times because I was trying to go faster by linking pitches. Another option is to get a 60m (or 50m) half or twin rope (7-9mm) and double it over so that you are just using 30 meters. That option is light, and lets you do longer raps than if you just brought a 30m single rope. 30m is enough for when you are just using the rope to cross glacier, simul climb, or if you are expecting only short pitches.

Might not make any difference to you depending on how old your car is, but I think using BD voids your warranty in most cases. My dad used to work at a dodge and VW dealership and I remember him saying that there were a lot of people coming in with engines that were messed up because they used biodiesel (maybe they just didn't change their fuel filters enough?) and often they didn't know that they voided their warranty.

You might be right, the pictures match up pretty well. I was thinking that that area would be a bit easier to get into with snow covering the brush, but also thought the river crossing would be rough right now. If it's true tell us about it, Blake.

Yeah, I gave up on tele pretty quick. I spend too much time looking for ice rather than learning to ski.

Good advice all around. I might just wait until I'm there to get one.

$130? Come on people, spring skiing is here.

A few months ago I was pretty sure that we would be in Iran right now. Now I don't think people would let that happen. There would just be too much public outcry. If Mccain gets elected, it could happen. I still have faith in people's ability to do the right thing after they've screwed up a few times. If it does happen then a lot of us will get to start thinking about being drafted.

The rock looks a little red (and fun) for Erie. I'm guessing it's not in this state.

Classic Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca (or something like that) looked pretty good. The only other guides I've seen cover all of the Andes, which may or may not mean that they don't go into enough detail about Peru. Something that covers both the Blanca and the Huayhaush would be cool if it exists, and is somewhat up to date. If you have a guide written in the last 10 years or so that worked for you, I might be interested.

Funny you should bring up that movie, I just watched it last night. I agree that Rainier climbing permits are legit; without them there would be a lot more people who shouldn't be up there trying to just go for it, and they help support the climbing rangers who are good about hooking up info on conditions. NW trailhead passes are more of something that taxes should already cover IMO. That said I do have a one year pass around somewhere.

I'm looking for a guide for the Cordillera Huayhaush and/or Cordillera Blanca. I can't find them used anywhere, and new ones are expensive. Anyone have one collecting dust?

Voile Mountain Surf Skis 183cm with G3 Targa bindings and Black Diamond Ascension Skins. I bought them last winter, having never skied before, and only used them a couple of times before I decided to get ATs. Bindings and skins are in good shape, but the skis could use a tune up. I'll wax them. I'll be driving from Olympia to Bellingham next week and could drop them off somewhere, or buyer pays shipping.

If you are planning on bringing the down jacket anyway why not bring a lighter sleeping bag (20-30 degree) and wear your jacket in your bag. That way you shouldn't need to bring down pants. You can survive with just down clothes, but in most cases you won't be comfortable. The bivy sack will do very little as far as keeping you warm if you are already in a tent, if you leave it and your down pants at home, you've saved enough weight to just bring a sleeping bag.

Peeps still buy those things? Do you have any idea just how serious going to the mountains without the proper permits is?

As in sold to me?

I'll take the sierra designs jacket if you still have it. Also the gloves if they're free.