montypiton

I'm in Leavenworth (live there)and have an ice-cragging day planned for Wednesday. You're welcome to join us. Shoot me a pm.

Fit is critical, because the shell will NOT break in. Custom footbeds (try a high end ski shop,Superfeet makes a number of footbeds that might solve most of the problem) will make a huge difference. So will preventive taping. And wear them around your house for as many hours at a time as is practical to help break in your feet to the boots.

Most of the "standards" are currently in, and should be gettin'fatter all week if the weather forecast is even remotely accurate. The Central (chicken) Gully on Icicle Butt-rest is about the only thing that's NOT in. Tumwater isn't quite as nice. The Drip came in two weeks ago, but is gone now. Drury is there, but watch the crossing. Comic Book Hero and Plastic Fantastic Lover are pretty weak, but you could have some good mixed adventure in that area, if that's your cuppa tea. PM me sometime, cuz I drive a school bus in Leavenworth, and I'm always lookin' for fresh meat.

Hey Icefrog- The CFCC (if I told you you'd have to kill me, and if you know, then you're automatically a member) is always lookin' for fresh meat around Leavenworth to Banks Lake! We're some of us lookin' pretty gray above the ears, but we can give most youngsters a helluva workout... pm me!

Yes, Craig, it does look vaguely familiar, although what Mark and I climbed was nowhere near that FAT. This is a superb season so far, and the temps for the next tent days indicate it should get nothing but better for a while. Keep those TRs coming! Always easier to expand the ticklist when ya got lotsa help!!!

The really cool thing is, the truly quality lines eventually end up in guidebooks anyway, and who really cares who climbed it FIRST? I know for a fact that I have been credited (at least by the National Park Service) with "first ascent" of lines on which I've found old rusty pitons in place! (example: Devils Tower, Wyoming, Mr. Clean, 1976 - the pitons were most likely from a 1950s era event during which the M&CWTC - Mountain & Cold Weather Tactics Corps - swarmed over the Tower like an anthill for a week or so...what's even worse is that I coauthored the guidebook in which that credit was published! Shame on me!!!) I've had the fortune to grow up just a smidge in the interim, and now believe that beta can be provided for subsequent climbers in a less ego-pumping way. If "fame" wasn't part of the picture, we might see fewer "misguided" attempts on routes of "dubious" quality, using "controversial" methods... And no, I DON'T wanna start beating that dead horse here - this is a remarkably high-quality thread so far,and my Christmas Wish is that it stays that way!!

..."if you have an epic, consider it a gift..." Well said, Rolf, and I heartily agree! At my age, and my stage of recovery from my near-death experience last June, epics are pretty easy to come by these days... coupla days ago, I even epic'ed on the Funnel!!! (Shipman can share the story of taking care of me during our ignominious retreat) I no longer have to spend big bucks or go somewhere exotic for this experience - now I can enjoy it on my "pet" climbs... one of the benefits of age & decrepitude... -Curt

j b is correct - Comici coined the falling drop of water saying. It is sometimes mis-attributed to Cassin because Comici was one of Cassin's mentors. I sometimes report (claim) FAs, but not often anymore. The feeling of being on an undocumented line is indescribable, and I have taken to not reporting my ascents of "undocumented" lines, because I wish to leave that same experience to subsequent teams... I share reports with close friends whom I think might enjoy a particular climb, and given the traffic in the Cascades these days, I prefer not to claim that any climb is a "first ascent" - I consider it more accurrate to report the climb as being a previously undocumented one. -Curt

Reading the comments attached to the World story, I am struck by commentators' ignorance of their own state constitution. Anyone familiar with the constitution of the state of Washington would know that no sheriff anywhere in the state can legally charge a recipient of rescue service for the sheriffs department's costs. The state constitution mandates that county sheriffs provide such services at no charge! (one reason they depend so heavily on volunteer SAR units) At Osprey, however, Gary would be well within his rights to send a bill, just like ambulance companies throughout the state routinely bill recipients of their services provided in SAR operations. (Collecting on those bills is entirely another matter, though...) That's an easy place to get in trouble, with extremely serious consequences (a Grade VI rapid, variously known as The Wall, or The Quartermile Drop immediately downstream continuing all the way to the candy store. These guys are damned lucky to be alive!!!

In case anyone is confused, my response to genepires' question was a serious one. I do climb with some pretty accomplished partners who climb on "antique" tools. Were I a more accomplished ice-climber, I might, too. In a thread elsewhere, I had described buying the current model Cobras on EBAY, and finding them priced less than the current model Viper (screamin' deal, mine were $150 each!). I suspect this phenomenon is the result of merchants who order inventory of both tools, and find that the Viper sells more readily because it is not only less expensive, but also (with its more "natural" swing) more forgiving for the less-accomplished or less-demanding ice climber. The excess Cobra inventory then ends up with a liquidator like the one I bought mine from...

interesting observation, yeoman... I couldn't tell, but it seems like one could use them as hand support for the daggerring that was shown early on in the video. long as they're there, it would seem absurd not to use them for that...

I have a few partners who still climb on them, and just last winter I sold my old Cassin Antares (same generation as BD x15, and its equal in performance) to none other than John Tarver, (first solo of Polar Circus - 1981) whom I witnessed climbing on those very tools last Sunday!!

Doug 1. to clarify, I was testing the current version of both cobra and viper JoshK - I (who have pretty damn enormous hands)also disliked the previous cobra for the "hourglass" grip. Near as I can tell, the current versions of both tools use the same grip, which is very comfortable (read smaller/narrower), though lacks the trigger-finger support that I prefer.

eightmile road was gated about a month ago - can't help with other questions -Curt

Using both, I came away with the impression that the Viper offers a more "natural" swing, while the Cobra works more effectively with a "hooking" swing. My first pitch with the Cobra surprised me, because I expected the "natural" swing that has been BD's trademark since the Chouinard days. Adding the wrist-snap of the "hooker" swing, the tool performed beautifully. This makes the Viper an easier tool for most folks to handle on low-angle ice, and the Cobra a more positive dry-tooler, also requiring less of a "power" swing on very steep ice. Although they handle a bit differently,both are versatile enough for a generalist.

Sliders are nice. I would use 2 per shaft - one "high" as a matching support, the other fitted to my trigger finger. I've cobbled the equivalent on several sets of tools by chopping wire-rope thimbles to a J, and attaching with hose-clamps. On old straight shaft tools without a bottom handrest, it takes three per shaft to get my rig. I used to insulate the metal thimbles with bicycle handlebar tape. I do modify picks, but not much. Most recently I noticed that the picks supplied with the latest version Cobras I got for my son had no bottom bevel on the first tooth at the tip of the pick. Sure enough, the picks were sticky. The release improved immensely when I extended the bottom bevel all the way to the tip of the pick. This is really more "tuning" than modification, although I have to get more aggressive by the time I've worn through two or three teeth (more than an inch, for most tools). I work my picks mostly because I'm too cheap to replace them until they get REALLY SHORT. And I'm far too lazy to go to the lengths that Dane does.

Please, if Pete's post is not "tongue in cheek" just everybody keep quiet... it already is hopelessly overused... at least in snow season we don't need reservations and permits... yet...

thanks, Plaidman! there are probably as many "best" ways to core screws as there are avid ice-bums. I say, try 'em all and use the one that works best for YOU. my own favorite seems to vary from day to day, even hour to hour as conditions evolve...

thanks for the report. looks like a great line.

great piece of beta. we could supplement the NWAC reports/forecasts with ground-based observations from wherever posters happen to travel, if folks will make the reports. any interest? moderators? BTW - I have 10" new in my driveway in Leavenworth this morning, which leads me to guess that hazard from the Enchantments to Stevens Pass might be Extreme for at least today. Take care... good day to ski in bounds at a yo-yo area...

actually, Steve, I was pretty damn impressed with my son's performance! I mean, I got a RIDE down...

Condolences for wife and dog. Hope Colorado proves a healing ground for you. To quote Heide: "I knew the mountains would make you well!" I pray that be true for you...

My apologies to OffWhite and any other who may have corrected me. I'll admit that my trivia piece is pretty old-and that the tidbit was offered "tongue-in-cheek". (an example of my sometimes inappropriate attempts at humor) The claim was offered at the 1983 National Avalanche School, held in Reno. By that time, transceivers had been so widely accepted that virtually noone used cords anymore. Created by the USFS in the '50s, the National Avalanche School was the source of all subsequent avalanche science in the US. It no longer exists, of course, with the need it once met now better met by its many successors. I don't know the details of Unsoeld's burial, but I'd be surprised if he was using cords that late. Skadi & Pieps both had beacons fairly widely available by that time... But Willi was pretty old-school about a lot of things... And Lostcamkenny makes a very appropriate point. I had understood ground search to have been suspended because of the danger to ground based searchers. Say a prayer for any who might still be out...

One advantage to plastic boots is that most are still beefy enough to ski out from the 14000' basin on the West Butt, if you're a ski-mountaineer. You could even climb the West Butt in an AT-boot with overboot, if you choose to ski for the approach and exit... whatever you end up choosing, fit them "generously".

Well done! While it may get buried in a more normal snow year, it looks well worth chasing in a year like this! Quite a prize!