Jed

Trip: Abercrombie Peak - SW Face (First Ascent) Date: 3/20/2007 Trip Report: Colin Haley and I skied up the Valdez Glacier to the base of the 1450 meter SW Face of Abercrombie Peak (circa 2130 meters) on March 19. The forecast was for "a major change in the weather pattern" to hit in a day, so we knew we would be racing the weather. We left camp under clear skies at 6:40 on March 20 and climbed steps of water ice and mixed terrain to around WI4- and 5.4b. Although we wore harnesses and carried a rope and some rack, we never used it. Good training, I guess. We reached the summit at 15:00 in a whiteout and began the descent. We reached camp at 19:00 and coaxed enough water out of our dying gas cylinder for a Ramen each. We were very pleased that we had gone high class and brought Maruchan rather than Top for this recovery meal. We believe this to be the first ascent of the face. Some photos are at http://59A2.org/valdez/200703/

I have a Canon SD800. I'm pretty happy with it, but since the battery is rechargeable, if it gets very cold, it won't work. With the screen off, I get a few hundred shots on one battery. I kept the camera in my jacket so it didn't get too cold.

http://59a2.org/huntington/200703/

I've got an SD800 which I'm pretty happy with. I think wide angle is important for climbing shots. The Panasonic/Leica has is 28mm equivalent with 16:9 ratio which I find less useful than traditional aspect ratios. Image Stabilization is not just a gimmick since it allows tripod-free shots in lower light than would otherwise be possible. One potential problem is the rechargeable battery. I would much rather it use AA so that I could put lithiums in and be confident it will work to below -40. The rechargeables haven't failed yet, but I'm nervous and carry a spare.

There are some more photos and the web page has been created. http://59A2.org/hayes/200607/