montypiton

so by Petzl's criteria Fred's 75-year-old carabiners are still good to go... I strive to retire them at 10 years, for no reason beyond paranoia. But I have a few first-generation Friends that still see occasional use when I need multiples of a particular size cam... so I'm obviously not consistent... retired carabiners are good for racking, clipping a nut-tool or chalkbag to your harness, dedicated for aiders, and they're cheaper to leave at rappel anchors than going and buying rappel rings. -Haireball

please do - I'd love to have feedback

I survived a total harness failure on rappel in 1972 - the days of swiss-seats. The water knot on my swiss-seat failed (ends fed back through knot), and I detached from my rappel-brake 80' from ground. In those days, standard practice was to route brake strands from brake between legs to brake hand (for additional friction around leg). When the brake failed, I instinctively brought my brake hand across my waist in front (body belay "locked" position), and managed to catch myself sitting in a bight of rope. From that position it was a simple matter to route the rope over my shoulder and complete the rappel as a dulfersitz. I don't recall how we retrieved my rappel brake (I was probably in shock). I have not used a water knot since that incident, and I still always rappel with the brake-rope between my legs. If Todd Skinner had routed his brake rope between his legs, he might still be alive. As far is I know (climbing 47 years now) I am the only person to have survived a complete harness failure on rappel. -Haireball

John- Mike Steele and I installed this route. We had initially hoped it would go without bolts, and for the creative leader with the right rack, it could. We installed the bolts to encourage more traffic to try it. Have you climbed the finger/hand crack from the top of the bolts to the anchor? It eats gear, goes in the 5.9+ range - we haven't settled on a rating, since when we installed the bolts, only Mike, Ben Stanton, and I had climbed it, and we hoped for a broader consensus than just the three of us. As for odd, I've always thought it odd that no-one had removed that carpet of moss when there was a crack system clearly visible underneath it. Working name for the project is Equinox - halfway from Midway to Solstice.

I've climbed it a couple of times, but not with as much snow on it as there's likely to this year. I'd be prepared for a mixed pitch more than a pure rock pitch. It protects well, and I've always climbed it in alpine boots (not with crampons, though...) you're probably ok in your a/t boots... -Haireball

I drive a school bus in Leavenworth, so have a time window from 0830 - 1430 on midweek days. I do have partners, but am always open to more. I'd have to limit myself to Leavenworth area, and stay close to the road to make my afternoon drive, but I have done climbs as big as Condorphamine within that time window... crippled-up-old-fart been climbing 47 years, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Oregon, California, Nevada, Washington, Alaska, Canada, Argentina; can still grovel up the occasional 5.10... this summer I will be out of the area from mid-June to late August... honeymooning again (we make it a regular practice), this time to Scotland and the Dolomites... -Haireball

if you really must have a softshell, take the lightest, thinnest one you can find (I have no recommendations). I don't like softshells - they're typically heavy, and as a hybrid of shell/insulator, they perform neither function very well in my experience. I had excellent experience with the most breathable insulating layers I could get (sherpa pile -- but you'll likely have to make them yourself - I did) and the lightest hardshell pieces I could find/make. My "hardshell" pants were a simple nylon taffeta - and they saw me up the Cassin Ridge and a solo of the West Buttress. A full-on three-layer goretex is overkill in my opinion -- its not going to rain up there. A solid lightweight windproof is what you want. Keep it simple - lotsa breathable insulators, and a single simple shell ensemble that you can wear over all or none of you insulating layers. Also try questioning the Denali climbing rangers. whatever they're wearing is probably a good choice. -Haireball

it does in fact work, but it's damned inefficient. If you're looking to save weight/complexity, bite the bullet and buy a microtraxion - a progress-capture pulley that also works as an ascender if you happen to be the one in the hole. I wouldn't normally buy/recommend a hundred-dollar pulley, but Petzl microtraxion is one that might even be worth paying retail. Mine lives on my harness, and sees more use than I ever expected before I started carrying it. -Haireball

I'd second Playground Point just for the ambiance - it has the most comfortable base area, and as you walk through Arnica Glen on the trail up, that's a treat. If your little lady has been in a gym and had some encounters with steep jug-hauls, she might get a kick out of the cube boulder at Clamshell Cave. It's easy to get a top-rope on it by chimneying between the boulder and a tree on its uphill side. -Haireball

My wife and I are headed to Scotland in June, then Italy in July. While Karen still climbs, her dearth of anterior cruciate ligaments (ruptured all of 'em in her dh ski days) limits her as an alpinist. so I'm looking for folks who might be interested in hooking up for classic routes around the Cairngorms, Ben Nevis, Isle of Skye in June, and/or the Dolomites - Marmolada, Civetta, Tre Cima, Cinque Torre - in July. anyone interested please shoot me a pm. -Haireball

in my experience on two trips up Denali, generous fit seemed more important than enormous insulation. I knew regulars who fitted their boots two sizes big to be absolutely certain they'd have no restriction of circulation - then they'd fill any extra volume by wearing more socks. with a pair of insulated supergaitors, you can get by with a far less expensive boot than Olympus Mons. What's critical is that besides a generously fit boot, you keep your feet DRY. we used foot powder and changed/dried socks religiously, and our feet were never remotely cold... -Haireball

on two Denali trips, we used logan bread (google it for recipe - you'll make this yourself), snickers bars (huge calorie load per bar), nuts, dried fruit. - of course trail mix is an easy source of the last three ingredients. jerky for extra protein and salt, though we didn't eat that much of it... -Haireball

yes Virginia, we still have ice in the Icicle drainage: tried Pearly Gates on Thursday, but it was delaminating badly, snd sure enough was gone two days later. but Millenium wall was in prime shape on Saturday, filled in to offer an abundance of lines on delightful plastic ice. and reports indicate that Back-to-the-Future wall and Fourmile Falls (mile-and-a-half beyond Millenium/Snow-Creek-Wall) also remain in good shape. note that Fourmile Falls, like the Funnel at Hubba Hubba, is an active avalanche path... -Haireball

for others who may not know, there is a resident anchor at the top of the first pitch of the far left flow -- in rock, climbers' left. avalanche debris is typical below the main flow, especially late in the season. I've seen it piled 20' deep in some years - most likely accumulated from repeated slides. that's why old-time locals call this flow The Funnel. -Haireball

Tydog- climbed Fugs on 2/5. Fat as I've ever seen it. Only time I've ever climbed it when I was able to top out without climbing through open flowing water. Frenchmans Falls did not look complete. -Haireball

two laps on the Drip yesterday - in WI5 condition this year, meaning you can weasel up the left hand column without having to pull an overhang. ice is chandeliered enough that it won't hold screws without major excavation. we found it challenging enough on top rope.

I like stoves that hang for alpine bivvies. I like stoves that simmer for trips where I actually want to cook real food. On trips longer than two or three days, I carry a pressure cooker so I can eat real food without waiting all night for it to cook. nine minutes to boil!? in most conditions I can build a fire and get a quart boiling quicker than that...

plenty of groundwater this year, which bodes well if it gets cold. Leavenworth has not yet seen temps in the 'teens, and valley ice usually doesn't come in well until we see single-digits. if you have time to make the approach, the Stuart range often has good mixed-climbing this time of year... be aware the road closed in November. -Haireball

I can tell you what has worked for me, but it may not be what you expect. Background -- I led trips professionally for the boy scouts and for outward bound for sixteen of my younger years. For week long trips in colorado, new mexico, wyoming, and utah, I used an ankle-length waterproof cagoule as my rain shell. I wore as little as possible inside it -- the secret is to not let your clothes get wet in the first place. Leading 21-day outward bound courses in the sisters wilderness, I upgraded my raingear to helly-hansen fisherman's gear -- rubber - very heavy, but I stayed dry, even when it rained hard for 19 days of a 21-day trip. again, I wore as little as possible underneath. clothes stayed in plastic-bag lined stuffsacks in the pack. I had dry clothes to sit around in and sleep in. the system depends on your ability to judge how much you need to wear under the waterproof. wear less - move quickly; wear more - move slowly. -oh, and I used a down sleeping bag which I religiously kept as dry as possible. yeah, the down bag got damp just from humidity during the really long rainy stretches in Oregon, but it never got too wet to function. so - my take: if youre serious about being out for days in real west-cascades-olympic rain, ditch the breathable rainwear and get something truly waterproof - then wear as little as possible underneath it. don't worry about drying wet clothes -- keep clothes dry -- and the only item you'll have to dry in your bag will be socks. -haireball

sorry, billbob, I was on the road for a couple days --- you're right, permit season is ended. weather forecast looks pretty wet - visibility might be pretty minimal. let me know how things look if you go. -Haireball

okay, I tried sending again. if you don't get anything, email me at curthaire@nwi.net, and I'll message you via regular email. -Haireball

pm sent -Haireball

Denver, at 5000+ may be a good bet. Jackson Hole, about 6000, has a hospital. Leadville Colorado is 10000', but I doubt it has a level 2 trauma center. Grand Junction, Co? Salt Lake has some great geography close, but the altitude doesn't compare to Colorado. Washington, as Rad says, won't help you with altitude. Leavenworth, and Winthrop, the two primary climbing centers, are barely 1000' and nearby peaks top out 8000-9000. What Washington has to offer is variety: the most heavily glaciated mountain in the contiguous 48 at 14000+, the greatest variety of alpinism in the lower 48, alpine rock climbing rivaling the Sierras and Tetons, and decent sport climbing at Index and Vantage. If altitude is your main concern, move to Colorado. If you want every variety of climbing from volcano slogging to high-end alpinism, waterfall ice, and trad & sport rock, you'll find Washington hard to beat. Wenatchee seems to be a magnet for MD climbers - I'd be glad to put you in touch with some of them...

decades ago I had highschool aged groups on both South and Middle Sisters - glacier walks. had equivalent groups on Mt. Jefferson - add some rock scrambling to the glacier walk. if you have the time, what about Glacier Peak? Bonanza? - Silver Star? (groups have liked this one...) what are your group's priorities? remote/wilderness? - rock? - ice? - snow/glacier? I've found it useful when working with groups like this to have them - not me - decide/agree on the objective. best of luck to you -Haireball

pm sent