woodchips

Great, I love yellow jackets. I'll check it out.

I'm going to be in Leavenworth this weekend, and looking for suggestions. I've never really done much over there , but I'm looking for a day trip. If it warms up as predicted, I'll be looking for something with less avalanche exposure. We were looking at Colchuck, but seems like that could be problematic if avi conditions are bad. Any other suggestions for easy/moderate rock stuff or a ski tour? Otherwise, it looks like we'll just be cragging with everyone else.

I was up there last summer (after the fire) and it went through there, but didn't really adversely affect any of the climbing. Brush may start growing up more vigorously this year though. Also, watch out for poison ivy. I remember x rock being a fun gear route.

They are described in the "climbers guide to the olympics": http://www.rei.com/product/746012 They are mostly top rope stuff; I wouldn't go too far out of my way to climb there, but it's OK if you're in the area anyway. It's mostly used by the Olympia mountaineers to teach their basic climbing class.

Thanks for the quick reply Graham. I really do understand what you're up against, having been self employed and working for small businesses myself. I realize that repairs can take awhile, and I tried to make it clear that I didn't really have to have my pack back in time for that trip. I just was hoping for more communication. I don't think I have unrealistic expectations of what the material can handle; the (small) problems I had occured on the first trip I took the pack on, and seemed like a reasonable thing to request a repair for. Anyway, I look forward to getting my pack back to show off again. It is a great pack.

I've had a cilogear pack since last summer which immediately developed a couple of minor problems. After two or three attempts, I finally got through to Graham, who told me to send the pack in for repair. Anyway, I sent it in about 6 weeks ago, and got a reply about 5 weeks ago that he had it and would try to ship it overnight to me to get it back to me in time for a trip. It didn't show up for the trip, which wasn't really a big deal, but I still haven't seen it. And now I'm not getting any replies to my emails. I've read all the great feedback people have about Graham, and I really like the pack, but I've had nothing but frustration with it. I've been trying to be patient, but now I wonder when (or if) I'm ever going to see my pack.

What are you talking about? What gave you the idea that a non-dry rope would lose strength when wet? It's all about weight. Wet ropes are HEAVY! CBS, I always thought this was true as well. Actually, I thought there were three reasons to get a dry (or double dry) rope (lighter when wet, more durable and stronger.) Am I just buying the hype?

I'd worry more about the draws. You'll have those alot longer. They look heavy, which if you end up getting into alpine stuff will be an issue. You might look into something like this: draws Lighter, and they are wire gate, which has other advantages.

Placed one yesterday. Love it.

Well, you have to get past the bad puns and annoying writing style, but it is well organized and more current than the 100 hikes book. I use the 100 hikes more, but I think that the former is good for someone new to the area, as it's fairly descriptive of what you'll see and opinionated as to which hikes the authors likes. It definitely is heavily biased to hikes with big views.

I talked to the rangers last week, and it sounded like quite a bit of the baker lake road is still under snow. She said something about 5 or 6 miles from the highway? I've never been up there, so I dont really know how far that means you're skinning, but it was more than I wanted to do in bad weather.

Dont know if you're looking for climbing, but if so, you might want to check out mt. erie: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/153999/mount-erie.html Also, this book is good for hiking the N. Cascades, just be aware of how much is going to be covered in snow for the next few months: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Waste-Your-North-Cascades/dp/0899971822/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207948625&sr=8-1

I've had great luck with petzl replacing stuff. They just replaced a 5 year old headlamp which the wiring had gone bad with a brand new one for me. Keep trying. They responded to my first email right away, but it went to my spam folder, so you might check that. I've had nothing but "NO" from BD on repairs. I don't buy much from them anymore.

The few times I've climbed there, it's been pretty frustrating trying to find your way around. I'm sure this is a big part of the problem down there as people create "social trails" just stomping around trying to find various climbs. I think posting some signs and maps would go a along way towards remedying this. Also, the Kloke guidebook is not all that helpful to new climbers trying to locate stuff. I plan on attending the meeting and suggesting that the City work with climbers to create some signs and maps.

We were out there this weekend, and saw bikes both days. Yesterday (sunday) we say three bikes pretty close to the base of sunshine wall. Saturday, they were across the coulee, at what looks like a sand pit (pretty white from a distance.) I was annoyed, but didn't realize that the were prohibited. I'll give a call. Speaking of annoyed, I'm sure this has been thought of before, but why aren't their real outhouses out there? Also, when you buy a pass, it expires at the end of march no matter which month you buy it in, even though you have to pay a full year's price.

Would a ropeman be any better? It's still got teeth.

You're missing out, Off. These shows almost make me glad we moved to Woolley.

Sounds like a great trip... time to go unplug the computer and crawl in a hole for a while. Thanks for the reply... I'll shoot you an email next week or so.

I've got a Cilogear 45L worksack with a few little problems, and wondering if anyone else has had any luck getting repairs done. There is a tear in the pack fabric where one of the side straps attaches, and the hole where one of the extension sleeve drawstrings exits the pack is failing. The tear happened on my first trip out. Other than a few small complaints, I like the pack alot. The d-clips are great, and the pack carries really well (thanks to the moldable framesheet.) I think that some of the durability stuff may have been addressed in the new version of this pack. I've tried email Cilogear a couple of times, and had no response. Anyone have any luck getting repairs done?

I think that Feathered Friends has them.

I posted this over at TAY, but thought I'd check here too: We're a group of beginning AT skiers, however we are experienced climbers with winter camping and avalanche safety knowledge. We're looking for a good spot to go camp out for a night somewhere near Leavenworth (we're heading to Wenatchee for Christmas, and thought we'd get a trip in on the way.) Any suggestions for a scenic one night trip in this area, with some easy slopes to try out the skis on ?

Yeah, gotta love it. You can sign up for the email update by emailing this guy: AdamsoJ@wsdot.wa.gov and asking to be added to the Hwy 20 update list.

It may only be a temporary closure. Here's a copy of the email update they sent out this morning: Hi all, If you plan to go over the North Cascades today - do it before 7 p.m. tonight. We're temporarily closing the highway between the two gates (MP 134 on the west side, above Diablo-37 miles to the Silver Star Gate at MP 171 near Mazama on the east side). The road is fine right now, but the forecast for tomorrow and Sunday is for lots of snow and worse than that - wind at the elevation of Rainy and Washington Passes of 80 to 100 MPH. Coupled with the snow - that's not safe for our crews or you to be up there. By 7 p.m., most of the back country skiers who are up there today will have come out (we'll sweep all the parking areas to make sure nobody gets stuck behind the gates). By closing at Seven, we'll stop any Saturday morning back country skiers from getting up there - the dangerous weather won't actually start until Saturday. Our avalanche control techs expect the Liberty Bell avalanche chutes will likely fill and dump by Sunday morning. The forecast takes a dramatic change on Monday - freezing level rising to 8,000 feet and temps going up into the 40's, with rain. What will that do to the snow stability? That's the question - depending on how it all happens - that is, temperature, snowfall, rain and the layering that produces in the avalanche chutes - will determine if it's safe to reopen or not. They'll make that evaluation on TUESDAY - so, if we can work up there safely, it' s still likely going to be late Wednesday or Thursday before it would be open to traffic again. (No one likes to say it - but if we get a foot or two of snow this weekend - I'm not holding my breath waiting for a reopening...) A side note: Our Twisp maintenance supervisor, Don Becker, is particularly pleased with the work his crew has done over the past several weeks - particularly the Thanksgiving holiday. While it has been expensive - the combination of liquid anti icer applications before the snow, and the crystal deicer and anti icer treated sand (plus the plowing) has produced better driving conditions, during snow events and a faster return to bare and wet conditions - so KUDOs to the troops! I'll let you know what Tuesday's evaluation produces as soon as the avalanche crew gets back in cell phone range and calls me.

I went to the bellingham show, and I think we saw one "mountain" in the "Banff Mountain Film Fest." Kind of uninspired this year.

But does the dromedary make your water taste like plastic? That's why i've always stuck to the platypus.