Alpaholic

April is an awesome time to be in Yosemite Valley. Not too hot, not too many crowds and not too many mosquitoes. Getting from there to the east side, however, is a bit of a chore. If you have a month, though, I would definitely consider spending a week in the Valley. For routes on the east side, depending of course on snow conditions and temps you could try the classics on Temple Crag, Incredible Hulk and several classics in the Whitney cirque. Might still be pretty cold but you might get a good window. Bear creek spire and the rock creek region has great climbing and skiing. I haven't been into Langley but there are supposed to be some great routes in the 10's as well as good skiing...Again, might be a bit cold for a 14'er. For skiing, you have plenty of time to do a trans sierra, sierra high route, evolution loop, palisades loop, sawtooth loop...Probably not all of those but definitely some great options. Guidebooks: http://www.amazon.com/Backcountry-Skiing-Californias-Eastern-Sierra/dp/0979264464/ref=pd_sim_b_4 http://www.amazon.com/Backcountry-Skiing-Californias-High-Sierra/dp/1560449136/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Backcountry-Snowboard-Summits-California/dp/0898866561 http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Californias-High-Sierra-2nd/dp/0762710853/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294962925&sr=1-7 http://www.amazon.com/High-Sierra-Climbing-Californias-Country/dp/0967239184/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294962925&sr=1-15 and the sierra bible: http://www.amazon.com/High-Sierra-Peaks-Passes-Trails/dp/0898869714/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294963062&sr=1-1

http://www.alpinist.com/

"...uhm...I guarantee you, you will eventually land on the ground without deploying a parachute... ...oh, doing it twice, that is the trick..."

this should be worth your time (Jeb Corliss talks about landing a wing suit): http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=147891

You saw that Colbert report also? something like: "So you wanna land after jumping out of a plane without a shoot?...uhh...I got news for you...you will! I guarantee it!"

The USGS also has USGS maps for download via a user friendly google inspired map browser. Just go here (different and WAY better for our purposes than that other interactive map BS they have): http://store.usgs.gov/locator/?store_url=http://store.usgs.gov/scripts/wgate/zww20119d47dc/~flNlc3Npb249UFJEOklHU0tBSENJR1NTQVAwMjowMDAxLjAwMjkuYWYxY2ZkMWIuNTZhYyZ*aHR0cF9jb250ZW50X2NoYXJzZXQ9aXNvLTg4NTktMSZ*U3RhdGU9MjAwOTQuMDAxLjAyLjA1====?~okcode=SESH ...now all I need is access to the print shop at work...

I have a big agnes nugget. It's 45deg primaloft fill with pertex endurance shell (waterproof). If you want a bag for warm days that means it might be warm enough to rain or at least provide a very wet snow. If you're going for multiple days, it's nice to have the robustness of a synthetic fill. This is a floorless bag so you save weight there and in the fact that you dont need a bivy sack or a tent. Layered up with my belay jacket I've slept into the 20's just fine.

Well, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Squaw yet. K-wood is definitely good but for big lines and lots of great steep terrain with plenty of variety, I think Squaw takes the cake. Plus there's an outdoor hot tub with a bar at mid mountain that you can stop by at the end of the day (or the middle of the day if you're taking it easy). Being from the northwest and mostly skiing crystal and whistler, I was generally underwhelmed with most of the Tahoe area offerings. Squaw, Alpine and K-wood are quality resorts. MY general impression (after being a ski/snb instructor and skiing most of the resorts up there) is that the rest of them are fluff or small. If you go to K-wood keep your eyes pealed for some ice on the right side of the road (88). If you have the time, Lee Vining canyon is only ~2.5 hours and it's really pretty great ice climbing. Check this out: http://www.aboutmyadventure.com/directories/shared_photos/lee_vining/72-75.htm it's definitely worth the drive. Keep in mind that the posters above are reporting on a very VERY dry year. We never got more than 50% of our average snowpack last year and by may we were at 23% of the average may snowpack. Yes, our season does start a little later, but I for one am hoping that the little series of storms we're about to get is going to get us started off on the right foot this year. Realistically, I can't say how great it will be in December but it's a high probability that it will be better than last year (broke the record low for precip from 1889!). have fun!

Yep, no problem. That's exactly what I did on my skis. Plug the holes. If you're planning on mounting the dynafits on your own, do it on an old pair of worthless skis first. There's a lot to learn by just doing it and it will ensure that you do it right on your good boards.

Or one mountaineering axe and one ice tool if you want to be able to self arrest, save some weight AND climb a little steep section where you would be using piolet traction...too much info? This setup seems to work for people on the Kautz, Lib. Ridge in certain conditions (although that's not really a *little* steep section) and similar...

re. hard sciences and climbing: Some of what I see is that generally we're up for challenges. Climbing presents pretty extreme challenges (as extreme as you want them to be) in a variety of different areas... A potpourri of challenge if you will... Climbing can necessitate physical endurance as well as strength and mental toughness combined with the necessity to solve problems on the fly and some times instantly. Another aspect is related to the problem solving. Physics and engineering are all over in climbing from how your clothing system works to how your hardware works. Plus, getting up a climb can at times be like an engineering problem. Well, that's about enough of that because I also don't want to neglect the emotional/spiritual side of climbing which is very significant to everyone who ventures into the hills...But this thread is about work.

Interesting topic. I'm sort of an electrical engineer with an identity crisis...Seems like I'm doing more mechanical these days. Either way, I'm still designing control systems for spacecraft. It is apparent to me that climbers are generally the hard science type. Many people I meet or climb with are some flavor of engineer, physicist, chemist or biologist. It'll be interesting to see whether this thread agrees... thoughts? Then there's the whole topic of WHY people of this group are attracted to climbing. I have many theories...

Nice work. That place looks sweet. It's probably beneficial that the guide is out of print...

Climbed the Kautz on the 8th. The chute was alpine ice under a thin layer of rotten neve. The steepest section (~60deg max) is about 250ft and feels solid. photos: chute in the chute looking up in the chute looking down There is also a steep section below the chute but it's heavily sun cupped so the going is easy. photo:

very nice shots!