ScaredSilly

I do not know those gloves perhaps too warm for the lower 48. But in general I buy glove shells that have a removable liner. I typically have one shell and different liners, one thin one thicker. I vary them as needed.

Cool experience though you were being eyed with being a diner guest ...

Funny, I am in Chamonix now and we ended up going to the awards last night. Interesting gig - kind of long and boring. The best part earlier that afternoon when they showed "Mountain of Storms" which was Chouinard, Thomkins, Dorworth, Jones on Fitzroy. Classic. Of course seeing Walter Bonatti was cool.

Yes, Jeff ran Latok.

Actually, Jeff did not do the designing on the packs but his brother Greg was the designer. Greg also did the design of the Lowe hardware.

Good info on the approach - would have said about the same as Mark, start left, move center as the valley narrows then stay right. We stayed right past the ice fall as we were headed up the Cassin. But really follow your nose. Whatever, you plan do not head in after any significant snow fall. One comment on your plan of going into the West Buttress first to acclimate. You might consider just going to the Rib directly. The rib has a fair amount of horizontal to it as such one can reasonably acclimate on route. Though the initial col from 11k to 13k can be a bit harsh with extra weight. Many many end up carrying a load. Also note that the vast majority people who go up the West Butt to acclimate never get on their proposed route. i.e. you might just get up the 14k camp and say bollox and just do the butt or the upper rib - which many say is the best part.

In addition to the day, note the year of the posting ...

Are you sure it was a girl and not some internet perv:

From early on Jeff has been very very good about documentation - you can see his passion in the interview. While in the big picture climbing history is small I have to admit it is sure fun to dive into it.

Most of the camping will be closed until it warms up. Especially, as there is still snow on the ground and when melted it is rather soggy. IIRC, most of the poaching sites are in the woods which will probably still be snow covered. You are really better off at hostel or a Gite d'Etape (my favorite is La Tapia). Besides you need some where to ditch your crap while up high. Leaving crap in a car is not a good idea - unless you want someone to take it. BTW the camping is up valley from Cham. and IMHO and pita unless you have a vehicle or like to hop the train back and forth. Temps in town can be found via weather.com, weather underground etc. As for some thing fun in town, I usually hit the bars or get a good bottle of wine and relax. The other if clear is to take a walk and see something that you will not be climbing, like the Dru. Or make a day trip and ski the Vallee Blanche.

Bummer about your friend's ankle. I can see the desire to get even with the stump by taking it out. However, while one may think that a stump is a sign of a dead tree - not always as the root system may be alive and well. The root system is what is often holding the ground together. So removing the stump just may well start a chain reaction of erosion. At which point your solution may just make things worse. My suggestion is to use it as an opportunity to better learn how to spot and use crash pads. The woods are not a gym, there are hazards.

Ben Gunsight is an entirely different peak. There are skiable lines on: Lakes Lookout - pictured above over CC's left shoulder (right side of the picture). Lees Peak - pictured above over CC's right shoulder (center left side of the picture). Angle Peak - partially pictured and on the very left side of the picture. Gunsight - not shown but further to the left.

HAHAHAHA ... I grew up skiing and climbing around Anthony Lakes. The old guy driving the cat is my high school sweetheart's Dad. I will have to send her a link to this thread. Bummer ya did not ski Lee's. Did that about 25 years ago on leather boots and skinny double camber 210cm skis. BITD skiing Gunsight was a big deal but not so much now.

I shall be forever young ... 24 years young :-).

Yes, it is also known as West Crater Rim but one never gets on the rim proper.

Yeah, it is called the ZigZag or as I know it the Mazama route. A nice enough variation though it can have avy danger. One can traverse over to the old chute or gain the ridge a bit earlier and traverse along it. As for the time required - a reasonably fit climber can do the route from Timberline in 3-4 hours.

While I prefer to grip the other end of the shaft, using tape such as that used for tennis rackets works quite well and does hold up:

You can expect any type of weather on M-Day. Including snow!!! Seen that several times. Mid June - Mid July are a great time. Late July - Aug can be fine in the shade. Sep is also a nice month.

The DC is used cause of Camp Muir and the fact that the guides have permanent structures there including a shitter for everyone. Of course that may soon change at least the permanent structure(s). As said, crevasse danger is present on both the DC and Emmons. But the Emmons lacks big serac and rock fall danger. Alasdair what you experienced is not that uncommon, having huge sections of a crevasse collapse. I have seen it personally a couple of times. Once after I had just gone across a known crevasse which looked to have a good bridge. Scared the crap out of me as: one I was alone, two I was at over 6000m, and three was now on the uphill side of huge gapping hole. A friend died from falling into a crevasse and being buried when a huge section of the edge broke.

Emmons is the least technical and IMHO safer from both the people and snow aspects.

I would probably set thrown off the hill for yelling poser after seeing the nonsense they are portraying. Hmm, I wonder if they will have an ice screw gun so Robin Hood can pendulum from serac to serac like dumb ass Gabe did (except he had a bolt gun).

Now if you want to gripe about something to TNF. Cory is an American living in Canada. Earlier this morning TNF news report had him listed as an American now it says Canadian.

While you boys have been pissing about on the geography, those in the field made the summit today!! http://www.thenorthfacejournal.com/gii-winter-expedition-summit-reached-history-is-made/ Cory Richards is a friend so I think it is cool that he got his second 8000m peak and in the winter too boot.

The Chakras Green symbolically represents the fourth, heart chakra (Hinduism)

Good points ... Picking nits here, "serve a need" and "are needed" are slightly different things. So let me rephase my point; while not needed, the NPS and public structures serve a need. However, dismantling them will require either delisting from the National Historic Register or for them to disintegrate into the complete disrepair. The public shelter was well on its way to the latter until recently. The blog is more efficient because of bureaucratic politics. I personally would love to see zero presence on the hill. But I fully understand and acknowledge the chaos that would ensue. The situation on Rainier is a product of being the highest peak in the Cascades and requiring an overnight on the hill and as such whether we like it or not there will need to be a presence on the hill. Especially for the two standard routes. Because of it prominence it will always attract more climbers than any other hill in the Cascades. The same for Mt. Whintey and Denali. The reason Hood and many other peaks manage to escape the BS is due to being on land managed by the Forest Service. However, they are not far behind ala Mt. Whitney the highest peak in the lower 48 with a non technical route to the summit. Those on Adams are taking a cue and look at the BS for it now. Where to the vast majority end up? On the mule trail to the top. St Helens active volcano so everyone and their dog wants to climb it. The list goes on. If a peak has a claim it is getting hammered. Those with no claim, just do not get the visitation. And today that is what it is all about visitation. Baker and Jefferson just do not have the visitation and as such do not have the associated impacts. That said the point of what to expect or mission is where it should be at. I'd like to walk down through Muir without having to step through someone's shit pile or have to see gumby get their ass pucked off the hill. If that means a ranger is up there teaching folks how to poop in a blue bag or telling gumby to reconsider their plans I am all for it. Cause at the end of the day it is going to be less of a hassle when I take a walk on the wild side of the hill. "What is the mission of the climbing program at Rainier? " Spot on ... except it should be "What do WE want the mission of the climbing program at Rainier to be?" After all it is OUR park. And if WE do not speak up the decision will be made for us!!