montypiton

I'm not a big fan of the elephant's foot concept. A more versatile option would be one of the many "pounder" ultralight 800+ down bags that would be comfortable to near-freezing, and easily pushed colder by wearing a bivvy jacket and folding the top of the bag back down over the leg portion to give a double thickness over the legs. I used this tactic at 21000' topping out on the French South Face route on Aconcagua in January of 1990. It allowed me to get away with a 1-lb sleeping bag, in perfect comfort, on the highest wall in the western hemisphere... and I still use that same 1-lb bag without the big jacket on most of my summer trips!

Looks promising. At least it has a spike. I'd have to demo them on ice, but even not having done that, I'd guess that they'd most likely have the ergonomics that has distinguished BD ice gear since Chouinard was making it... My hunch is they are probably an improvement, but I doubt the improvement will be great enough to convince me to replace my DMM Rebels... - but then It was well past Y2k before I found tools improved significantly enough to justify replacing my 1989 Cassin Antares (equivalent, near as I could tell from demoing both, to the BD X-15, and far less expensive) - What I really like about the Rebel, is that the grip is truly functional without a leash, with meaningful trigger-finger support in addition to a matching support, and still streamlined enough for effective plunging. Even the new fusion grip pictured above looks to be, while effective, less versatile than the Rebel overall. Still, I withhold judgment until I can demo...

Looks promising. At least it has a spike. I'd have to demo them on ice, but even not having done that, I'd guess that they'd most likely have the ergonomics that has distinguished BD ice gear since Chouinard was making it... My hunch is they are probably an improvement, but I doubt the improvement will be great enough to convince me to replace my DMM Rebels... - but then It was well past Y2k before I found tools improved significantly enough to justify replacing my 1989 Cassin Antares (equivalent, near as I could tell from demoing both, to the BD X-15, and far less expensive) - What I really like about the Rebel, is that the grip is truly functional without a leash, with meaningful trigger-finger support in addition to a matching support, and still streamlined enough for effective plunging. Even the new fusion grip pictured above looks to be, while effective, less versatile than the Rebel overall. Still, I withhold judgment until I can demo...

Dane - A wish list similar to the one you've posted was what led me to jump on the DMM Rebel three seasons ago (the timing was dictated by the fact that Bentgate.com was discontinuing them, so I got a helluva price deal...) I find this tool meets every criterion on your list, except: range of picks - DMM only offers one, but it has proven more than versatile enough for my purposes; micro-hammer/adze - I don't buy/carry adzes anymore, and the stock hammer is barely usable as it is, wouldn't want it any less conspicuous; shaft is only covered/insulated in the grip area, which is hands down the best engineered grip I've tried (including nomics, quarks, vipers/cobras). Last June I managed to break one of my Rebels during a 1000'(vertical measurement) ride in a lightning-triggered avalanche. When I contacted DMM, they offered to repair/replace the tool at NO CHARGE if I would send it to them. I'm hungrily awaiting the replacement, having finally shipped the broken one in September, after spending the summer in hospital. Compare that to BD's inability to even SELL me a leg-loop assembly for my BD harness, whose leg-loops were sliced off of my cracked pelvis when I was delivered to the emergency room... but I digress - I've never been one to refrain from modifying gear if I can make it work better - but when I demo'd the Rebel, I realized that I'd finally found something I had no inclination to modify - so I bought 'em!

It's an interesting idea, Dane, and I have donated gear to similar causes in the past. Unfortunately, my partners and other climbers currently laugh and joke about the most modern stuff on my rack these days (I don't replace stuff until it becomes obviously unusable, and after nearly forty years of climbing, I know the game well enough to not buy stuff I won't use). End result is - anything I'm not regularly using probably SHOULDN'T be used by anyone else, especially someone relatively inexperienced! Good luck, though - I see enough stuff come through Ebay & Craigslist to reckon that there is a helluva lot of high-quality, essentially "new" gear just gathering dust in folks' closets. Them's the ones you need to target. (hell, there's so much stuff on the "used" and "auction" market these days, that I almost never buy from retail shops any more!)

WM,FF,Marmot,& Montbell all appear to be good bets. I'd guess anything with 800+ down, at a total weight of about a pound will make you happy. When I made my decision (in the '80s), some of these options didn't even exist! I bought what TNF sold at the time as a bicycling bag - "lightrider" - total weight 1lb, continuous baffles so I can shift all the insulation to the topside on cooler nights, plain ripstop shell. It's a close mummy, which allows me to use it to line a 15-degree FF bag for Alaskan/Himalayan type cold. (The FF bag was ordered "extra girth", has continuous baffles which allows me to adjust how much down I sleep on top of, & how much I use for insulation, and it also has a gore-tex shell) The system yields a summer bag good to 40-or-so (I've pushed it much colder), a "shoulder-season" bag, and both bags used one inside the other make an extreme-condition bag. When I say I've pushed the ultralite much colder - in January of 1990, I used it at 21000' on the South Face of Aconcagua, wearing a down jacket on top, and folding the lightrider down to create a double layer around my legs. It worked, I was comfortable, I'd carried the jacket anyway, and this strategy allowed me to make this multi day high altitude climb with a 1-pound sleeping-bag. While I had owned a subzero rated bag in the '70s & early '80s, I found that it was overkill for 80 percent of my use, so when it was stolen on a South American trip, I intentionally replaced it with two lighter bags which allow me to accurately match conditions much more effectively. Over twenty-five years, I've never regretted it. So - any 800+ down-filled close-fitting, continuous-baffled bag that weighs in around a pound and you can get a good deal on is what I'd recommend!

one even easier step: 1. carry an alpine hammer third tool - any hammerhead you cobble onto a nomic is gonna be unsatisfying, at best, and more likely, only marginally usable... for what its worth, I've witnessed last resort peg placements made just using the stock backside of the Nomic head. Adding a mirohammer is likely to be little more than a cosmetic improvement.

davidjo - I currently use a pair of Garmont "Epic-carbo-goretex" for most of my alpine climbing, Lowa Civettas for super-cold, and Lowa AT boots for ski-mountaineering. I've also had reasonable fits in sportiva (trango series) and salomon. In all of these, I need to use a lace-lock between instep and ankle, because my ankles and heels are so skinny. And the custom footbed is key in all of them as well. I have not been able to wear Scarpa, and haven't liked Kayland's fit for my feet, either. I'd have to say the Lowas come the closest to feeling like I was born in them... but I haven't had the opportunity to try on one of their single high performance alpine boots lately...

I originally made my decision based on volume. MSR makes a bladder that holds a full gallon. I've used it for going on ten years, and have never questioned my choice. I don't have to fill it all the way, but its nice to have the option. I've gone through several hoses and bite-valves on mine, and the different brands of valves seem to be pretty much interchangeable, so I wouldn't make that a determining factor. When replacing the hose, I just use food-grade tubing from the plumbing department of my local hardware store. Oh - and I've frozen that bladder solid a few times... seems to have survived just fine.

Having worked as a boot-fitter during my college years (admittedly about 35 years ago...) I can tell ya that the "finger rule" was never intended to be more than just a general starting point. And the idea of over-sizing a boot so you can wear multiple socks is nonsense - most often resulting in nothing better than a sloppy fit. Fit the boot with the sock configuration that you expect to wear in it most often. Same for footbeds - fit the boot with the footbed that you expect to use in it. Then wear it around indoors for as long as possible (several hours stretch at a minimum, all day if possible, even try sleeping in them). Most shops will happily refund or exchange for boots as long as they haven't been worn outside. My personal preference is a fit that holds my ankle/heel/rear-foot allowing as little slip as possible, but allows enough toe-room so that I don't go lame after a long day of front-pointing, step-kicking in firm snow, and steep downhill walking. Achieving this can be a challenge, because I have low-volume feet with very skinny ankles. I've used a pair of custom cork footbeds since the late '80s, with great success. I also experiment with various lacing configurations to fine-tune the fit. It can make a surprising difference, and results in such oddities as the several pairs of boots/shoes I use for various mountain activities all sporting different lacing configurations. Ultimately, I strive for the fit that feels like I was born in the boot, so that I can climb all day, sleep with my boots on, and climb the following day, all in reasonable comfort.

Haireball's oldest son might be interested in nomics. Give Curt a call.

Agreed. Yeah, I climbed wi6 with Forrest Lifetimes, and I pulled beyond-vertical schrund walls with a 70cm piolet in one hand and an alpine hammer in the other. The difference the modern gear makes is that thirty years later I can do those things without pissing myself during the pitch and enduring a case of dry heaves while recovering. Yet I climb fairly regularly with John Tarver, who still seems perfectly happy on wi5, with boots, tools, and crampons old enough to have been used on his first solo of Polar Circus back in his teen years...

Of the large, loose group I've mentioned, there's a bunch out on average about twice per week; pretty much every weekend, plus a day midweek. I can add your email to our circulation. It's pretty informal - usually somebody sends out a mass email to the effect of "anybody up for (fill in the blank) on (blank)day?" and somebody responds and they agree on a time/place to meet. As winter gets more serious, we tend to split into skiers and ice-climbers, and communication remains constant. So, just to confirm, your email is chris24eph@gmail.com? Your post leaves me wondering whether I have to type "dot" as part of your address...

If you're living east side (you said Vantage was closest) there's a pretty active community in the Wenatchee-Leavenworth corridor. We had a bunch out at Vantage today ranging from retired AMGA guides in their 60s to two 16-year-olds (the next generation). You're more than welcome to join us...

Vertical World is worth a call, and I've seen programs offered by municipal parks & recreation departments, and by such groups as the Boy Scouts and YMCA. In addition, most college and community college outdoor recreation programs offer some opportunities for group trips with varying degrees of challenge & supervision, which are often open to the public but may not be publicized off campus. The optimal fix would be to hook the kid up with a friend whose parents & family climb, and a place like Vertical World, or the Mountaineers, or any of the above-mentioned agencies might help make such a connection. If he's in school, see if any of the teachers are climbers, and if they are, whether they're willing to mentor. Many are -- my wife learned to climb with her high-school biology teacher, and thirty-five years later, the guy who taught her to climb is my main fly-fishing and bowhunting partner! Yet another option is your local SAR unit. Sometimes the ones operating in the heavily populated counties have youth adjuncts. Your county sheriff's office can connect you with your local unit. Good Luck!

I gave up on adzes on ice-tools back in the early 90s, because even when I used to carry one, it seemed I never used it, while I did (and still do) use the hammer regularly. I've used the hammerheads on a few curve-shafted tools (Quark, Aztar, Cobra, DMM Rebel), and they'll work if I absolutely have to use them, but none have worked well enough for me that I will leave my trusty vintage alpine hammer behind when I expect to be banging pegs. I like the original (heavier head with thicker pick) Chouinard alpine hammer and the Forrest Mjollnir (surpisingly effective on steep ice with the "skye" pick!) I do feel comfortable enough with the curved-shaft hammers to leave the "real" hammer behind on climbs where I'm only carrying iron as an "emergency back-up". For chopping stances, I prefer to use the side of my crampon as a saw to cut a step, as opposed to chopping with a hand-tool, and the old Lowe Footfang excelled at this function, as do the Trango Harpoon, and the DMM Terminator. The new-age ultra-light tech-crampons like Charlet's Dart don't put enough points underfoot to accomplish this function well. Some of these functional issues may be determined by whether you're more of a waterfall climber or an alpinist. I find myself far more likely to carry and use a "real" hammer on mixed alpine climbs than on waterfall climbs. And some of it just boils down to personal "style". Me, I'd trade the adze for a second hammerhead, and I'd go play with the hammer to see how it works for me. And, like Dane says, climb fast, because even with the best adze, if you have to chop a bivy ledge or tent platform with it, you're gonna suffer...

I'm guessing you will be okay with the less expensive safety glasses. I wear prescription specs, and for the past thirty or so years, have always bought lenses that darken in bright light (used to call these "photogray" lenses, but I think that label is ancient history now). I've summited Denali, Aconcagua, and Orizaba with nothing more than these everyday glasses (they get virtually black above about 15k') and I prevent light-and-wind leakage at the temples with blinders made from strips of first-aid tape or duct tape. My sixteen year old son has been ice-climbing with me in the Cascades and Canadian Rockies since he was twelve, happily using hardware-store safety glasses with, so far as we know, no ill effects.

I'd listen to Dane about BIG packs. I climbed Aconcagua twice in the winter of 89-90 -- via the Canaleta, to acclimatize, and then via the French (original)South Face route. Most parties hire gauchos and pack animals to ferry their gear up the Rio Horcones to Plaza de Mulas ("mule park") at just over 14000'. Above that base camp, most use mid-sized packs, and make multiple carries to upper camps, to acclimatize. And if you're considering one of the technical routes, you're going to limit your load to something you can climb with - say 40lbs or so. The problem with a big pack is that most tend to fill the damn thing, then struggle with the overload. That practice can be dangerous even when you're not moving at significant altitudes... These days, I pack for a week in a 50-60 liter pack. BD, Arcteryx, Osprey, Deuter, Gregory, Lowe Alpine Systems, all make great alpine packs in that size range. If you already own a pack in that range, I wouldn't buy a bigger one...

As another "old-fart" (started 1970) with a few significant notches in my tools, I'd have to say I agree with most of the above, and would add: for light gloves, I've gone to a mechanic's glove for mild conditions -- very thin (superb "feel"), durable, and with enough wax melted into the leather palm, water-resistant enough - just not warm enough for anything below about +20F. but cheap enough for extras... screws - for me, it doesn't seem to matter so much the make, as how sharp I keep them. O-P, BD, Pretzel, Grivel, all work superbly when they're sharp, and none of them work particularly well when they're dull. carry files... I haven't found double boots necessary until below 0-F, or out for more than one night, and I prefer the ankle range of the modern singles. While I agree that Charlet/Pretzel, BD, and Grivel make great tools, I am absolutely in love with my DMM Rebels. DMM has, hands down, the best leashless grip I've tried. And in three seasons of active use, I've yet to break a pick (on my third set so far -- and I keep (and tune up) the old ones for climbs that have much mixed ground on them...) Rigid crampons are (to quote Dr. Shipman) "like porta-ledges for your feet". My current favorite is the DMM Terminator set up with monopoints, and I like the Trango Harpoon with a monopoint as well. Didn't really care for Grivel's Rambo series...prefer more significant instep points... I wear glasses, and used to have to climb blind on vertical ice because I'd get spindrift and ice chips all over them. Sometime in the 90's, I discovered that a billed cap (ball-cap) worn inside my helmet kept snow and ice away from my face--problem solved.

one time-honored dirtbag method is to place the newly resoled shoes under the tires of whatever you drive, on a flat surface, overnight. I have actually achieved acceptable results with this method... I don't use this practice with my alpine boots, though -- if you beat the @$* out of the bond when you first pair the surfaces, it seems to cure ok without continuing pressure - in fact prior to my diy days, I actually watched a couple of pro resole jobs, in which the cobblers simply glued the soles on, trimmed and sanded the edges, beat the @#$* out of the soles with a hammer, then handed me my shoes saying they were ready for use! Those jobs held up fine, but I still let my diy resole jobs cure overnight.

I've had reasonable results from the very first pair I tried just by following the directions provided with a 5.10 resole kit. Over the past 18 years, I've probably self-resoled a half-dozen pairs. If your shoes aren't completely dissolving off your feet, but are just worn at the toe, a half-sole is a relatively simple proposition. The great thing is, the most likely version of "failure" is your resole delaminates, in which case, you simply peel 'em apart, clean the surfaces, and reglue 'em. big deal... more recently, I've taken to plugging a toe of rock-shoe rubber into my rigid-soled alpine boots because it seems like that's about the only point that wears (from walking approaches), and replacing the entire sole seems a ridiculous expense when 90% of the sole is hardly worn... so far, so good...

Beckey lists a "Girth Pillar Left", IV-5.9-A2,by Bebie & Hampson in 1986, in his latest guide, but doesnt' identify the line in any illustration. The text says "steep rock route... stay left of the Pillar for the entire route... may have some snow". Hard to say from his text whether your runnel is this route or not. Looks interesting... when was the photo taken?

LCK - The last few pairs of twin/half ropes I've owned have been right at about 8mm...

I'd have to go with Halifax on this one. I've never found rope-tugs to be decipherable. When belaying the leader, if we're out of earshot, I belay to the end of the rope. If my leader keeps pulling, it means one of two things - he/she is anchored and belaying, or he/she needs more rope to anchor. In either case, the required response is that I must disassemble my anchor and start climbing. With new partners, I review this procedure, let them know that I will be doing this, and suggest they do the same. Saves a lot of grief...

before I switched to climbing almost exclusively on half/twin rope systems, I used to equalize anchors with cordelettes. Now I simply tie each rope to a separate piece, and if the anchor is more than two pieces, I clip to the others with slings. I don't care for the "sliding X", because a shot to any point on the X-sling toasts the entire anchor. (unlikely, I know, but why allow the possibility?) AMGA advocates tieing a hard knot at the power point when using a single long sling to equalize load among anchor elements, for precisely this reason. I can chop any of my anchor points and remain attached to all the others. Another tool I use is what I call my PAPA (Personal Anchor Prussik Attachment): this is a variation on the "Purcell Prussik" popularized by the Rigging for Rescue folks. It's a cord tied into a prussik-upon-itself that lives on my harness like a daisy chain. Girth-hitched to my tie-in point, it offers two adjustable clip-in loops which can be clipped to a single anchor point, or to separate points to equalize them. Tied from 7mm or larger accessory cord, the loop provides belay-anchor-strength, and the prussik can slide to absorb shock in event of a severe load. Tieing in either with the two belay ropes, or with PAPA, I can equalize two anchor points without burning any extra slingage, leaving my cordelettes free for building hauling/rescue systems, or cutting up for rappel anchors when I epic, as I often do.