jared_j

In addition to the Boalps and Mountaineers suggestions, I will add a 3rd: The Bushwhackers. This is a small Seattle - based climbing club who offers a glacier skills course starting in April and continuing through early June that I took last year to learn and practice what you can read in FotH. I had a very positive experience with this group, and have remained active in their club. I came to the group with a rock climbing and backpacking background, and summited Baker and Rainier last summer (read: got the requisite skills from their course, was fortunate to have good teammates, and got lucky with the weather). Their website is here . Best of luck pursuing your goals!

I hear the term alpine climbing and I think 'commitment' and 'substantially higher elevation from where I park my car'. I also think of this term as being defined to contrast with 'cragging'. Understanding what people on this board mean when they use the term alpine might be aided by understanding what they define as cragging. I think of cragging as being relatively low-committal. One can back off of a route relatively easily (by being lowered, or by a small number of rappels). By low-committal, I also think 'proximity to safety'. In most instances, this means proximity to ones' car. There are lower - elevation crags that involve long approaches, and there are climbs labelled as alpine that are relatively close to ones' car (e.g. Washington Pass). So yes, surprise surprise, constructing a precise definition may be impossible.

You're right about me pointing at a beefcake pulley - that was accidental. I just meant that variety of pulley in general. I interpret your 'it depends' statement as stating "if the pulley can accept an 11mm rope, but you're only feeding through an 8mm rope, then there's more of a gap between the rope and pulley where the prussik could get sucked in" and "if you have relatively thinner prussik cord, it is relatively more likely to get sucked in". Hopefully this is a correct interpretation of your post.

I've not used 'prussik - minding' pulleys such as this. In your experience, are they effective at keeping the prussik knot out of the pulley without being 'tended', say, while being used in a mechanical advantage system in crevasse rescue?

I probably spent $500 there this last year on non-sale items (e.g. items where you will get a dividend), but still shows me 'no dividend balance' in red following Rob's advice. Oh well I'll just be patient 'till they mail me something. Weird,though.

OK, for those of us who were misinformed by the REI online helpers and can't seem to navigate their website correctly, where exactly can I view my dividend balance?

Dude, are you sure? I just chatted w/ online help there and they said they would not be determined 'till March. Sure you don't just have some from last year you forgot to use? Also, just to be sure, I went through the checkout process, and sure enough it says I've got no dividend, though I have spent $$ there this year.

It's warmer and not rainin' for the next few days. What do you think are the crags in Washington state that are likely to be driest and warmest?

Sorry to hear you got nearly creamed. Scary! You know what would be a good exercise for all runners? Becoming a cyclist for awhile. Riding a bike in traffic teaches you to keep your head up and be alert at all times. I used to ride very seriously, but grew tired of it and now run 4 or 5 times a week. I'm always reading intersections as I approach them, and assessing what's going to happen next with the signal, and what cars are coming from what directions. Haven't had a serious altercation since, and this habit has arguably made me a much safer driver. I live in Seattle, so dirt trails are not terribly accessible to me. That's fine - I run on sidewalks and shared use paths in town. My background cycling has taught me to keep alert at all times. This includes staying to the right on the shared use path, which is essential for it to be a shared use path and not a cyclist/pedestrian deathrace 2000 path. My girlfriend, who is a runner but never rode bikes, as prone to run out in traffic like she fucking owns the intersection. Kinda like a lot of cyclists and other runners do. This is bad for business, and a good way to get creamed. A similar thing that happened to Rob happened to her a month ago. She was OK, but it was definitely close. She was pretty nonrepentant when I suggested she be more alert. Having the right-of-way doesn't give you the right to not be looking out. The moral of the story: if you're out and about in the city, you need to keep your fucking head up. Sure, we all slip from time to time, but we all need to remember the consequences, as well. P.S. If you really want to learn how to be alert, live in a mid-American urban wasteland of a city like Houston (where I grew up). The traffic is moving a WHOLE lot faster, people give even less of a shit than they do up here, and the lanes are wider. It will give you a newfound respect for how nice it is in the PNW.

Thanks for the link - I had originally come across their personal websites detailing the trip, which is where I got the idea from. I agree, you'd have to be really moving and go super lightweight to make it happen. I'm still entertaining other itinerary options for the range. Seems like the 'enchainment' of these peaks would be a sweet trip, however.

I'm thinking about a north-to-south Pickets Traverse trip this summer. Taking the boat up, going through Beaver pass hitting Challenger. I'd like to exit south via Terror Creek to Goodell Creek. I'm not sure if I'm up for the north buttress of Mt. Fury. Any suggestions for the Luna Creek cirque / Fury area? Id' like to be able to make it down to hit up the north face of Mt. Terror. I was thinking of descending down to Luna Lake, then crossing over the saddle between Luna Peak and Fury. The Beckey guide shows a dotted line along this path, which appears to traverse WSW to just south of the SE Fury Glacier.

Cilogear 40L fits the bill for you, especially if you've already got a baby pack and a big-ass pack. Its size should fit your needs reasonably, especially if you pack light for bivies. Searching around on this site (and rockclimbing.com) will reveal a lot of testimonial info about these packs. Graham has started out by grassroots marketing them via climbing websites, though now they're gaining more popularity. If you live in Seattle, you can check them out at Feathered Friends.

Check the Supertopo High Sierra guides.

Got this as a gift a year and a half ago, I've slept about 10 nights on it, decided it's too big and bulky for my taste. Stored indoors in a smoke-free home, unrolled with the air chamber open under my couch. Holds air fine, never had any problem with leakage, never been punctured. I'm including the silnylon stuff sack that comes with it. I live in Seattle, and will ship if you can pay via Paypal.

Still got it, I live and work near downtown Seattle. I'll ship, however. PM me if you're interested.

Just like the subject says. Rope bag that converts into a little crag pack / backpack, enough space for some draws, bottle of water, a guidebook, and a snack. Someone gave it to me, I don't really need it.

Crackers has it dead on about the cronyism / corruption as it relates to Bhutto, no offense meant to the deceased. It is amazing how she became a media darling in the US, and seemingly no major reporting on our country has delved deeper into the sources of her fleeing Pakistan in the first place. We have a hard time thinking more than one or two steps in succession; it's a shame, since the "enemy of our enemy is our friend" modus operandi generally has not worked well for us. That, and most of our governing officials are mis/under-informed, mildly racist, and also culturally ignorant. What would be cool is if Americans elected officials who seek to understand instead of pontificate.

I have a set of the older carbon fiber lookin' BD Cobras like this. Can I fit the BD Cobra / Viper Strike accessory on this older style of tool? The shaft is not an exact circle/oval. Some marketing literature I read for this accessory indicates it is only supposed to fit on the 2007 models. If it indeed doesn't fit straight away, have people had luck with mods to make it work?

A buddy and I went to Alpental in search of easy ice on Sunday not wanting to stay indoors. Alpental I - IV are nowhere close to in yet, and Chairlift Falls has got a ways to go yet. Others were able to find ice on Chair according to another thread on the board.

Alpinist home page The language on their notice makes it sound like they're desperate. If you enjoy high - quality climbing pr0n then you might consider being charitable to ensure that you continue to get it.

The Canadian company Lafuma rates their bags this way, which (I suspect) is why they are relatively light and don't cost that much (comparatively).

A friend and I want to hit some easily toprope-able ice either in the Snoqualmie pass or Leavenworth areas (Millenium wall?). The weather forecast looks good (cold, no more snow) and the avalanche risk looks like it's settled down at Snoqualmie. If anyone heads up there before then, beta about conditions would be appreciated.

You can get the Koflach Vertical, which has the shell of the Arctis Expe, but with thinner liners, for relatively cheap here, and I think they've got most sizes. Should fit comparable to your Degre: Edit: Not many sizes left.

As explained earlier, I cut the tags off already to flake, and didn't expect to be able to return 'em. After a quick conversation on the phone with a manager there, I was assured that they were gonna let me return 'em even though I cut the tags. So yeah, great customer service. I originated this thread thinking I was gonna be stuck with the ropes since I clipped the tags, but they were super responsive (I got called back in like 5 minutes). Thanks, Second Ascent!

I don't want rope proliferation in my closet; doubles offer more diversification of uses than twins relative to the single rope I already have. If it weren't for my aversion to having N! pieces of gear (and a limited budget), I'd just keep 'em.