i_like_sun

copious amounts of bubble gum stuck to the bottom of your cramps. works PERFECT.

The Alpha Comp is rad too. Perhaps a better summer softy than the Gamma.......

In my other post I talked super highly of my plastics, and, for me they work great! Its just my personal finding that plastics are more comfortable on bigger glaciated peaks. Maybe its just that I've broken both of my girly ankles twice, and I have bony ass feet that require copious amounts of babying. I do agree however that a good "all around" leather/synthetic mountain boot is far superior for its versatility (as long as they don't cause blisters). I only use plastics on more technical ice stuff. In terms of nonplastics for general cascade volcanoe things, I know tons of people who do it! I've actually done most of my stuff in boots super close to these: http://www.zamberlan.com/catalog/uk/product.html?id=126&idc=8 Mine are just way older. I think its pretty damn funny how climbers are so opinionated of each other based on gear choices! I just say go with whats comfortable.

Yes, you are right, the BDs I suggested will only work with heel welts. I think your boots would be fine in a strap-on crampon, the only question is how stiff is the sole really? If you get any significant flex, esspecially torsional, they'll be utter hell when dealing with super stiff crampons and hard glacial ice. I'm sure they'd be perfect for scrambling around on most of the northwest's peaks though. Stubai makes a decent strap on thats pretty cheap. As for kicking steps, the harder the boot the better. It has been my experience that you can get away with quite a bit in terms of softer boots, its just not as comfortable and fun. In fact, when dealing with really hard ice, you HAVE to have crampons. And, soft boots won't support your ankles as much. I might go as far to say that until you've developed some foot skills on the ice, softer boots might actually be less safe (sure footedness is the first defense against accidents). I'm replying with this much info. simply because I've spent WAY too much time suffering in my own feet! I now have two sets of boots: 1 Old soft leather pair of Zamberlans for scrambling and non-technical rock (I actually went up Rainier with these, just remember wishing I had more ankle support) and 1 pair of Koflac Arctic-Expe plastics for ice climbing and general glacier stuff. You'll meet people who totally hate plastics, but man, I love em! You don't need to brake them in, thier plenty warm, and your feet never get wet. I would recomend plastics for Rainier or Baker, simply because they are such glaciated peaks. Besides that, love your leathers! Maybe go walk around you neighborhood for awhile in them to brake them in though. Then when you do go out, take duct tape and moleskin! Later.

For the peaks you've described, as long as you are on the standard routes, you won't need plastics. I even did Rainier in some super old softy leathers. Plastics will make life more enjoyable though; probably moreso on Baker than Adams. I would recomend that you simply rent some from REI or somewhere for these climbs to learn what you like. Crampons now are all pretty good, with the exception of the little "4 point lightweights" (not really intended for general glacier travel). The BD Sabertooths are pretty cheap, and they work great. Just make sure that whatever boots you use are comfortable and broken in BEFORE you go up. The worst thing in the world is ending up with zero foot skin at the end of the trip!

I was up there a couple years ago at the same time. There was hardly any snow in the mountains (drought year) and the forcast was good. I went up there with minimal gear......no map or compass, no gloves, no hat, weak jacket and pants......long story short, I summited, alone in a whitout w/3 feet of fresh snow, and had a mild epic getting myself out without frostbite. Lesson: even small places can be super dangerous! It would have been a perfect day for snowboard gear though......

I'm thinking spring glacier ice......and yes Blake (giggles) I know the difference between axes and tools...... jeeze...... these forums are political suicide traps......

Some waste more time than others....... as you say, who cares?! I'd think these look pretty rad: http://www.grivelnorthamerica.com/products.php?gid=2&id=14 I think we should keep this going for a while, just for entertainment purposes.....see what kind trouble we can raise!

Cool. I'm stoked to have the appropriate knowledge to stop destroying my posting credit! Im off to go laugh for a while.....

Actually, I only rented the Quarks. So I don't own tools.... But yur right, the "carefully stimulated and massaged consumer angst" is a rather strong pull..... pathetic.........

Can anybody shed some general knowledge on ice tools? I've used the Quarks, and I was a huge fan of the curved shape of the whole tool. It was great for, what is it, "piolet appuie" ?????? french technique, please excuse spelling. They also seemed to have a nice swing weight, which is a must. Basically, I'm looking for a new set of tools, and my knowledge about different models is limited. ANY bites to this thread would be rad. Thanks!

" I have the gamma MX hoodie...two BIG thumbs up. I have two other softshells and nothing gets worn as much as the gamma." Me too. Actually. The Gamma fits better than any garmet I have. Its tapered, which, if you have decently wide shoulders, makes a HUGE difference in the comfort and style. The hood fits perfectly over my helmet, and can also cinch down with the cuff to make a mummy tube. This gets used every day! The jacket is knarly enough to withstand pretty sever conditions, but breaths so well that you never get too warm. Plus, it just looks so dope! Which afterall, is a major issue when you're throwing down $350. I also have the Patagonia Core-skin from 4 years ago, and the OR......something.... I'm not a fan of the Patagoochy anymore, simply because I've gained bulk in my shoulders since I got it, and it doesn't fit anymore. Its a little less breathable than the others, so it tends to feel a bit warmer. Fantastic product and quality though, and if it fits you, youre' set. I'd say that the Outdoor Recearch jacket is super good quality, highly functional, and extremely comfortable. It does not have a hood, which I actually like for winter type activities. That way, you can wear your hardshell over it when its super cold and windy, then layer off when you need to. All in all, I'm still the biggest Arcteryx fan ever. You pay more, but you get a garmet that, well, you'd have children with if you could! You'll fall in love with it and never want to wear anything else. EVER.

Just go to a gym to get your bf checked. U probably don't need to do it more than once every 6 weeks! Use the ol self finger pinch......U can definately feel when things start to thicken up. Another "wide rule of thumb", if you have a six pack, then you are definately under 10%. Thats when things get fun....

Actually, yes, I would like to hear about how you managed to mangle your health! And for that matter, what your symptoms were. " This, in turn, led to months of general rest, and I was the most depressed I'd ever been. My mind was telling me to "train! train! train!", but I knew I couldn't. I felt lazy, floppy, and out of shape. " Yes, this part sucks. I know I'm WAY healthier than I've been in months, but jeeze, I used to be so damn ripped! I keep telling myself "it'll come back, be patient". The whole part about feeling lazy, floppy, out of shape, is extremely irritating. I think I'm probably used to being so ungodly fit, that my brain is simply going through withdrawals; going for easy walks seems to slap me out of insanity. Maybe I should put a rubber band on my wrist like those self-mutilator types, so I can sting myself every time I want to go out and run like hell....... R

Tapley, Sherri, vw4ever, I can't tell you how much of a difference your posts have made! Meeting other people who have gone through what I'm currently dealing with is making a massive difference in my cognitive health. Most individuals in my life haven't ever experienced what it is like to push one's body to its maximum limit. They don't have any idea what true fatigue feels like! Thank you for your posts. When I experienced the worst of my symtem's catabolic rampage, I began a nutrition diary to make sure that I was getting enough calories. I was simply desperate to stop losing weight! Then, as I desribed in earlier posts, I came down with monoculeosis last fall, and literally "suffered" my way into a 4.0 quarter at Western. Great grades, terrible health.... To drastically simplify the story, when I began to finally get the weeks of couch time I needed, I found my body in a state of chronic fatigue. I've never felt so utterly debilitated in my life. Scary. I've even dropped out of school for a quarter so I can put my health first. Over the past three months, the lost pounds started their everdue accural. In fact, my body seems to be dealing with a "shock rebound", because I'm all the way up to 165lbs (a solid 20lb gain, and bigger than I've ever been). My muscle strength is back, but man, I'm looking forward to putting this shit behind me! All I want now is my health and life back, but I do realize that I have to remain chill and build myself up SLOWLY. I tell you guys though, my brain still thinks my body is some killer animal! Caution has to be my biggest priority. I like how Tapley compares this to alcoholism. Because fitness is definately an addiction. Its a strange and fine line to walk, but I am determined to beat this, be balanced, and be a better climber than ever. I'll keep posting as things change. Perhaps this forum can help some other poor bastard out there! Thanks again. R

Thanks Blake, that was a super useful post.

Thanks for the replies! I am for the first time in months starting to come to grips with this thing. At first, I just got real pissed off and pushed myself even harder. Yes, stupid. But I've never truly been through this before, and in the past exercise has seemed to fix ALL of my problems! I'm seriously working on this..... For now, I'm entrusting myself to Seattle Performance Medicine, and am following their strict protocol of very low-intensity active recovery for six months. The program makes sense. Simply sitting on the couch for months isn't going to work. I NEED to do SOME movement. Even if it is short walks. Then under doctor supervision, the intensity and volume will slowly be increased over time. For the future though, I am beginning to see the bright side of this ordeal. As p_tapley says "now I'm as strong as ever and easily twice as smart". My hope is that this will happen for me as well! I'm determined to stop fucking up. Thanks again guys. This forum is helping me to stay optimistic and keep some friggin' sanity... R

Balance = health and good performance. eating less = [read the overtraining forum!] buff legs = tough legs

Holy crap man, you've hit the f**king nose! Without understating in any way, I have lost all ability to "feel" or "listen" to my own system's stop signals. It used to be that I'd just get super tired and sore. Now, I can still get sore and tired, but it almost doesn't matter. I can still keep going! As you said above, unless one has been through this, there really is no way of explaining it to others so they understand. In that way, this problem is a major bitch. There are no physical/visual signs. People just say "eat and sleep this weekend, you'll be better on Monday"; not so easy. This doc in Seattle has me pretty nailed. She specializes with athletes, and knows all of the physiological parameters of overtraining. So, I'm going to start a 6 month rehab program where I work on active recovery and nutrition counseling. This experience has been amazing. In all honesty, I can say with experience that dealing with broken bones is way easier by comparison! Archenemy: have been through this before?

This topic is awsome...... I've seen some mind-blowing hotties hiking up the Muir snowfield. What is it about beautiful women? Call it simple human chemistry, but they seem to be the driving force behind all my motivations!

Seattle Performance Medicine? Emily Cooper? I'll look into it.

Hey thanks man! Yes, this whole shebackle is taking a very long time. I find that too much exercise kicks my ass, but too little seems to make me feel even worse! I've been working with a sports medicine guy in Bellingham, and a naturopath who has background in endocrinology. For the time being, these docs have me on some low dose hormone replacement, which is having some positive impact. I'm also being as religious about sleep patterns and stress management as I can. Its tough. The amazing (and actually very interesting) thing to me, is how my body literally "stopped", or nearly shut down with this. Before this year, I was virtually "invincible" when it came to massive quantities of high intensity exercise. My buddies and family all call me the "sled-dog". How did you know when things were starting to turn around? I'm trying not to obsess about it, but man, I REALLY want to be healthy for this spring and summer. I realize that I need to be careful with this though. Since you said that you are a PT, I thought I'd tell you that I'm majoring at WWU in Pre-PT/Pre-med, and it is honestly very difficult to "take it easy" when I'm surrounded by all my extremely fit and active buddies! Not to mention all the climbers on campus..........jeeze...... I'm rationalizing myself into sanity by telling myself that when it comes time to being the best physician or PT possible, I can look back on all this as a great learning experience to share with patients. What better lesson about balance in life than actually going through this. Thanks for your post. It feels good to know that I'm not the only one out there who has drowned the pooch!

Go steal the most monstrous sized deisel Dodge Ram 4x4 you can find! Then run it on McDonalds fat. Or......my buddy has Lesbaru outwank, and he gets that thing in some pretty quirkey spots. Or......I have an early 90's toyota 4x4. Its a 4 cynd, and gets close to 28mpg on the highway. I can throw all sorts of crap in the bed, +, OLD yoters can go ANYWHERE!

Worthless post, huh? Well, I'll put it this way: After the last of my "masochistic outings", within 3 weeks I went from 160lbs @ 5% BF, to 145lbs @ 2-3% BF. Not good. I definately did not plan this! I consulted a sport medicine doc., had a bunch of blood drawn, and found out that my endocrine system was acting super wierd! Namely my Testosterone to Cortisol ratios, and reduced thyroid function. My doc. basically compared my condition to someone who had been in a concentration camp for a few months, and said that it was a severe case of Overtraining induced wasting. My body went into survival mode, and slowed down all anabolic processes in order to keep the vitals going. There is another twist however. Somewhere along the line I picked up the Epstein Barr virus, and developed REALLY bad Mononucleosis. To shorten the story, I ignored being sick, and got even worse. Fast forward 3.5 months: I'm slowly picking up my activities again. Basically building on strength right now. No long runs until the system says "OK". In regards to JB Guero's post, my calories on climbs usually come from tortillas, nuts, dried fruit, tuna fish, whey protein powder, and super rich hot chocolate. I've never used GU, but I'm definately re-thinking everything. Is there anyone who out there who has experienced "burnout"? I'd be phsyched to hear about it.

Orthotics have helped me out tons! I have essentially no arch, so they just compensate for that. If anything, its [my] opinion that by simply having your feet and ankles work within proper movement patterns, your muscle-activation patterns get re-wired! I find that I can now take my orthotics out of my shoes for a day or two, and my gate and muscles stay good. I then cyle back onto the orthotics. Its actually very interesting to me (I'm an exercise science major); by "cycling" like this, I find that my feet and ankles remain stronger than if I always relied on the orthotics. There are actually studies that show that people who run and exercise barefoot, have the lowest insident of injury! Barefoot running is also super fun. I think that orthotics make a real difference if you have a good therapist and orthotic maker; but also strengthening the right muscles has made even more difference for me.