montypiton

when the call came for the woman on Stuart, Chelan County was told there were already three SAR missions in progress at that time, so yes, a busy day for helicopters.

geologic time includes now

agreed - "best practices" continue to evolve, and a wise person maintains a "beginner's mind"

pcg - I like the acronym - think its worth spreading Tvash - you've been around enough to know that you can do everything right and still get chopped. your friend may be an example regarding wind and ropes not being where you want them - I like rope holsters - keep the rope with me and route it while I rap. I even keep the ends tied to me if the rappel ends in unknown or questionable terrain. For following rappelers, I prefer to tie the rope into the next anchor - slack J-line. Followers are thus anchored at both top and bottom, and clip to new anchor before disconnecting from rappel. Yeah, maybe its overkill, but 44 years of climbing suggests I can't be doing too much wrong... and repeat: you can do everything right and still get the chop "geologic time includes NOW"

I presume that means Excalibur came through for you. DMM is a great outfit for customer service. That was the main reason I hooked up with them in the first place. Well, that and I absolutely love their gear... -Haireball

please remain tethered to the anchor until you've fully loaded the rappel and rechecked your rig fully loaded - only after fully loading the rappel (slack personal anchor) unclip your personal anchor and go.

so Amazon is now sending me notices when somebody tags my review as helpful when they buy the book. I guess that indicates some are buying. yeay!

one "trick" I use to reduce the "manufacturers weight" is to lose all the plastic-framesheet-aluminum-stay crap and just slide a folded half-length ridge-rest foamie into the body of the pack for a "frame". between the plastic and aluminum and extra pad that I don't have to carry, I've saved in the neighborhood of two pounds. Unless youre carrying 40lb loads, you really don't need all the overbuilt frame stuff.

thanks for the beta -- I've looked at this line from the air, always been put off by rumors of dogturdite. your report and photos are far more encouraging than what I've heard in the past. thanks again - guess I'm out of excuses now...

okay Mike - finished a quick read-through and posted a 5-tar review on Amazon for you. hope it helps. -Haireball

variant and hornet look good to me on paper, but I have no experience with either... the mutant is heavier than I'd care for, although the features look attractive. I'm most attracted to the hornet (on paper) - the variant looks better for larger loads (over 30lb?)

Thanks for the suggestions! No sooner had I posted for help than I found the "east west usa" store - selling pressure cookers from India as small as two liters for under $50. I am officially excited! -Haireball

check pm's

received my copy of the AAC journal, and Accidents in North American Mountaineering yesterday. the "Know the Ropes" feature on snow climbing was good as far as it went, but ultimately disappointing: not a breath about on-the-fly ice-axe belays? seriously?!? I know guides know these technigues because back in the eighties, I was presenting clinics for the AMGA. I've used and taught these procedures for forty years, - far more effective than the frequently taught "team arrest" (I've never witnessed a successful team arrest... although I have personally executed numerous successful on-the-fly ice-axe belays) seems to me like a serious omission. comments??

back in the 70s and 80s, when I was making long (more than two weeks) trips and climbing "big", my pressure cooker was my best friend. even high on Denali and Aconcagua I ate real food. during the interim, while my kids grew up, the pressure cooker died. now that they're out of the house and I have the time/freedom/fantasy to go "long" and "big" again, I'm looking for another, & not finding. anybody know where I can find a "small" (like four quarts or less!?) light/compact (compared to other pressure cookers) pressure cooker these days? -Haireball

re binoculars -- several years ago I compared glasses in your stated price range, and chose a Leupold over the Nikon Monarch - can't remember the model name of the Leupold, but I carry them most of the time, find them easier to adjust/focus than Nikon's Monarch, and I prefer the Leupold image. (the image may not, for all I know, be any better, but I liked it better). I've had good experience in general with Leupold optics - but I don't buy "brand" -- always go with what looks/feels best to me.

word of mouth seems to be working -- everyone who's had the opportunity to look at my copy has wanted to order one... I'll post a review for you as soon as I've read enough of it to write an informed one... first impression is the price is not at all out of line. sure, my copy, as a contributor, was free, (a screamin' deal - 700+ page reference "bible" for an old photo? there's a trade I can't pass!) but I'll buy another for my oldest son who's been drooling over mine... -good luck with school! -Haireball

glad to hear someone actually got up something there... I made trips into the Leaning Towers in 1979 and 1980, and got rained/snowed on for a week both times. approached up the St. Marys river to the hot-springs, then over the ridge to the towers. in 1980, we never even made it over the ridge, just camped at the hot spring for a week while it rained & snowed, then packed up & hiked back out. not sure that this is the first route on the east face of Hall Peak -- I believe I recall descriptions of at least one earlier route from CAJ mid-seventies. a superb venue, if you can catch the weather window... congratulations.

great trip report! definitely qualifies for the CFCC ("if I told you, you'd have to kill me")

stop in Stanley and get some Sawtooth action - a hidden gem that I've heard some well-known (as in Icon well-known) alpinists call the best alpine rock-climbing they've seen anywhere.

what was considered "hard" when I was coming up is now called "moderate". back in the '80s & '90s I got good results by "sport-climbing" to my limit (about 5.11) in alpine boots. climbing in winter, or mixed conditions, or in the "greater ranges" this is a skill that sets an alpinist apart, and will quickly get you up stuff that just might stop someone wearing approach shoes or rock shoes. with the advent of "modern" mixed climbing, rock climbing with crampons has also been helpful -- and might be critical if you hope to climb to your stated limit in any but the most forgiving conditions. it ought to go without saying that if you're sport-climbing with crampons, you'll do so discretely on less-than-popular venues.

I like to be able to alter the location of the sling on my pickets, so no cable, and no permanent sling - just sling them to match the placement -- e.g., sling will be at midpoint of shaft if picket is T-slotted, but will be at end of picket if pounded in vertically.

35 years of wd40 does not seem to have bothered my several generations of cams. not sure what chris means by "oil-based" - wd40 is pretty much fish-oil (yes, it's edible - look it up) it does hold dirt, as do most oils, but it is an effective cleaner & lubricant. 3-in-1 or pam would probably work, too. (disclaimer, I haven't actually used pam on cams...) this ain't rocket science, folks - just clean 'em and lube 'em with whatever's handy. olive oil, anyone?

Excalibur in Sandy, Utah is the U.S. importer for DMM. You should be able to order directly from them if you can't find a local retailer. If you have difficulty, I handle DMM for the Chelan County Mountain Rescue Association, and should be able to get them for you. I'm currently out of circulation (playing in AK)but will be home in Leavenworth again August 8. -Haireball curthaire@nwi.net

Charlie Hickenbottam, a retired teacher in Wenatchee, maintains an ENORMOUS email list of Wenatchee area climbers. The list is a good entry point to the local climbing community. If you haven't gotten on the list yet, contact Charlie, or send me your email addresses, and I'll submit them. Tons of local knowledge, and ready partners for out-of-areat adventures. -Haireball