montypiton

echoing what is said above -- two weeks is not significant weathering time -- would you be concerned after two weeks of dawn-to-dusk climbing on the rope? mechanical damage is your main concern. If you can determine no visible sheath damage, and no palpable core issues, the rope is likely no worse than when you started the climb. Billcoe's description of checking a rope for palbable damage is what many "journeymen" do every time they coil a rope.

I use an ME 20oz bag as a summer bag and as a liner for an "oversize" FF bag on colder winter trips. The ME bag is warmer than I'd expected, so I also use it as a light "three season" bag. the ME bag was a replacement/upgrade for an older NF "lightrider" -16oz- which NF originally marketed for bicycle touring. being borderine between NF "regular" and "long" sizes, I bought the regular, which turned out to be uncomfortably short in use. for temperature regulation, the lightrider is constructed with no side-block baffle, so that on warm nights, you can shake most of the down to the bottom side of the bag and sleep on top of it, while on colder nights, you shake all the down to the top side. this gives the bag an extraordinary comfort range. If you're 5'10" or shorter, and not too bulky, the lightrider could be an excellent solution for you, and I would sell it cheap - $100. the lightrider in combination with a puffy jacket and pants kept me comfortable at 21000' on Aconcagua... in my opinion, a bag with a full-length zipper is more versatile than a quilt. You can open a bag and use it as a quilt, but closing a quilt securely is problematic.

consider that the chute above the hogsback will likely be clogged with climbers headed up, may be too crowded to ski. another option is to move west on the summit ridge and ski the slope above devils kitchen. I skied that in June of 1987 on old-school three-pin binding telemark gear. I'd call it double-diamond terrain. I know you're not gonna fall, but its advisable to have solid self-arrest-with-ski-poles skills just in case. once below the hogsback or devils kitchen, its just cruising. -Haireball

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some fun history -- Mark used to tell climbers to simply identify themselves as "guests of Dr Shipman". if a bothersome landowner threatened to call the sheriff, he/she was encouraged to do so,and if/when a deputy showed up, the climbers could enjoy the picture of the landowner desperately backpedaling to try to avoid a charge of harassment. havent heard of fun like that for maybe twenty years...

I couldn't recommend planning a descent of the Sherpa Glacier without at least microspikes & ice axe. I've descended it twice, comfortably, but I was wearing big alpine boots. The Northwest Buttress is worth considering - has resident anchors, has historically been a relatively popular northside exit, but it can be tricky to locate the top if you haven't been on it. But if you miss it (and I have) you just end up leaving a few slings and maybe a bit of gear. Finish down the Stuart Glacier and out Stuart Lake. -Haireball

if you've been doing extended backpacking trips (longer than an overnight) you probably need almost nothing. if you've managed keep your down jacket dry & functional on those trips, you can probably do that on mountaineering trips. on most summer trips, you'd likely not wear more than the base, fleece, and rainshell, and the downie is your backup for a bivy - in which case you're sitting still, so can wear it under the rainshell without soaking it. you haven't said what you do for bottoms, but the long pants you normally take backpacking are very likely adequate if they are either synthetic or wool -- just NO COTTON!!! (jeans) if you truly MUST go out and dump a few hundred $$ on something, look for Schoeller -- the fabrics are very light, extremely breathable, and unbelievably "waterproof" - real honest-to-dog magic in my book. I'm on my second pair of pants of Schoeller extra dry (crampons are hard on pants, but I've gotten 10+ years out of each pair) and they are worth every penny of their exorbitant price. somebody mentioned gloves & hat -- you probably already have something for your backpacking that will work for summer. cheap fleece or acrylic from "stuffmart" or a hardware store. your backpacking shoes will likely work for most summer climbs, unless you'll be spending multi-days on glaciers, when you'd likely have wet feet. but if you're doing quick daytrips, well, I've been known to wear crampons on running shoes, and these days, with microspikes and their clones, it's even easier. that said, if you find yourself committing to a trip on which you'll actually NEED a pair of $300+++ boots, there are places you can rent. kolockum was dead on when he/she? suggested doing some easy trips with what you already have, and adjust as you discover what works best for you, and what just plain doesn't work. have fun! -Haireball

well, except for the missing family members -- congratulations! keep up the good work and the good attitude, and keep sharing. I'm always inspired hearing folks getting all excited about being able to do "not very much"... that step from "nothing" to "not much" is the biggest one - and more exciting than anyone who hasn't had to make it can ever know. keep it up! -Haireball

I ate ridiculously well in 1981 and 1982 in the Alaska Range -- carried a pressure cooker, raw beans & split peas, raw grains, real vegetables, canned meats. Pressure cooker and skillet (for making flatbreads like chapatis or tortillas, and of course bacon) no special stove - we used an MSR XGK, which at that time was the Rolls Royce of mountaineering stoves, but pretty much any stove should work, since you just bring the cooker to pressure and then just let it sit. I made split-pea & ham soup from scratch for a potluck at the 14000' medical clinic, which Peter Hackett actually remembered thirty years later when I talked with him a couple of years ago... can't figure why propane shouldn't fly, since they fly the pressurized butane-mix canisters. my brother-in-law and I have flown propane tanks in for fly-in float trips in the Brooks range, never been an issue. might be worth asking other air services... one pleasant thing about MSR's multi-fuel stoves -- if you're a cheap dirtbag like we were, they will burn regular unleaded gas at about half the price of Coleman or Blazo (Chevron's version), even cheaper than propane I think... another wonderful thing about pressure cookers is you can cook real food at any altitude, whereas at Plaza de Mulas on Aconcagua, (14000' "basecamp") I met folks who couldn't understand why their rice wouldn't cook. (at 20,000 I was comfortably stirring boiling tea for a partner with my bare finger) there's a reason pressure cookers are the standard in the Himalaya -- all the "basecamps" are too high to cook with anything else... if you really want ribs, or other barbecue, just fly in a couple of bags of charcoal and a firepan. -Haireball

"always sit your raps before removing yourself from the anchor" bears repeating...repeating...repeating also, back in the 80s & 90s, AMGA self-rescue protocol included tieing in to the ends or rappel ropes before rappeling. guarantees the system is closed. I've not seen this practice anywhere else, but I still do it when I rappel first, and I do encourage it.

back in the '80s we bought sleds in Anchorage. these days I would be very surprised if they are not available in Talkeetna.

jelly beans aka "redneck energy gels" bodybuilders weightgainer powder - a 1000 calorie serving of hot chocolate, with abundant electrolyte profile -- I've done entire weekend alpine trips on this and nothing else stovetop dressing -- just add hot water & jerky, tuna, or whatever -- cheap no-cook meal

jelly beans aka "redneck energy gels" bodybuilders weightgainer powder - a 1000 calorie serving of hot chocolate, with abundant electrolyte profile -- I've done entire weekend alpine trips on this and nothing else stovetop dressing -- just add hot water & jerky, tuna, or whatever -- cheap no-cook meal

a pile of us old farts from the Wenatchee area do a week in the Canadian Rockies each February (this year Feb 12 - 21). you're welcome to join us...

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forty years personal real-world experience: 1975 - softball sized falling rock to side of Joe Brown helmet -- it starred the surface of the helmet, but NO INJURY, and I used that helmet for another decade 2009 - 1000' avalanche ride down couloir, cracked BD Half Dome, resulting in TBI with permanent symptoms 2010-13 - numerous "dents" to BD foam helmet, eventually cracked & retired 2013 - avalanche on Kitty Hawk cracked Edelrid hardshell, no injury 2013-16 - CAMP hybrid, cracks developing in internal foam from shell flexion, still using takeaway: experience seems to favor old hardshells; foam helmets appear to have durability issues; jury still out on hybrids

I suggest that BEST practice is to NOT LOWER through resident hardware, whether steel or aluminum. Leader can install personal carabiners for entire party to use for climbing and lowering. Last climber should clean carabiners and thread rope through resident rings, then RAPPEL to exit. This practice completely avoids running a LOADED rope through the resident hardware, thus avoiding nearly all abrasive wear on that hardware.

Stuart NW Buttress is entertaining as a winter/mixed route... NBC on Colchuck sometimes yields ice this time of year... both the NE Couloir and NW Buttress on Argonaut NW face of Dragontail - pick a line other than triple couloir until later in the winter

November ice is pretty unusual around Leavenworth (I've been here since 1980). today on November 17 its raining pitchforks & hammerhandles -- plenty of precip, but way too warm for ice. If you're monitoring weather reports, look for a week of single-digit lows, with highs no higher than freezing. Without a string of days in the low teens to single digits, it won't happen. -Haireball

I also have low-volume foot -- La Sportiva fits me well. Anything in the Trango series seems to work for me. Nepal is a bit heavy for my taste....-Haireball

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For an "expeditionary feel", consider Mt. Robson, either North Face, Kain Face, or Fuhrer Ridge. North Face and Kain Face are about the same difficulty (I3?); North Face is twice as big as Kain Face. Approach to Berg Lake is long, and may be extended for Kain Face by continuing up Robson River to Robson Glacier. I took about a week for the North Face back in the 'eighties - in early September. Also consider the Leaning Towers - a little-visited group of "Bugaboo-like" peaks in the Purcells south of the Bugs. - A long approach from either St Mary's River (east) or Kootenai Lake (west), some elect to approach via helicopter. Mt. Assiniboine offers a number of surprisingly challenging "moderate" routes that might give you a feel for whether you really want to jump on something like Kitchener's north wall (which I would avoid in August and try in colder temps). Mt. Temple at Lake Louise offers an accessible variety of "big" alpine climbs that may provide a reasonable progression to greater routes in greater ranges. Less "expeditionary" but closer to home, the north side routes on Mt Hood are easily accessible "full-on-alpine" climbs that are "relatively forgiving", but not in August - I've had my most pleasant experiences there in October/November. Also close to home - don't discount the Picketts because of their moderate altitude - if you can get around in that part of the North Cascades you can probly get around anywhere in North America. Mt Goode from the north requires a "long" approach, plus a glacier challenge guarding the rock routes. In the Sierras - consider the Evolutions - N. Face Mt Mendel; or Palisades - for a real adventure, approach the Palisades group from the west - very rarely done, so very few routes on those long faces & buttresses. And right in my backyard - seasonal mixed routes April-June in the Stuart Range; they vary from year to year, yielding high quality "adventure climbs". hope this helps -- study some maps of these areas -Haireball

re-sent I;ll keep trying...

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