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I've seen one of my (way more experienced than I) climbing partners do this with one of my 8mm dyneema runners. I let him keep the runner when he was done. Were they talking about dyneema cord (which has a dyneema core and nylon sheath, I think) or solid dyneema runners (like the mammut ones)? I think it might be OK with the cord, as the core is pretty well protected; it's just kind of stiff.

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I think any aluminum (some of them have titanium in the name, but are made out of aluminum) poles really benefit from opening them up and drying them out after a trip. I find that when it's cold out, I have to re tighten them after 15 minutes or so out of the car, and then they're good for a while. While the BD lock mechanism is nice, everything else about the Lekis is better. Also, Leki's customer service is WAY better than BD's. Leki has sent me new shaft sections on two occasions when I've broken them. BD has never been helpful when I've had problems or questions; they'll just tell you your're SOL and to buy some new ones. Dynafit uses a similar lock mechanism to the BDs.

Hey Off, Have you thought about the Petzl Elios? http://www.backcountry.com/store/PTZ0203/Petzl-Elios-Helmet.html It's lighter than the Ecrin and less bulky, but definitely more durable than the "foam jobbies". I've beat mine up pretty good, sat on it, and stuffed it in the pack among a bunch of sharp pointy things, and it's still going. If you're looking for one for cragging, who cares how much it weighs?

I was up there yesterday; snowshoes weren't necessary. There are more snowmobile tracks than boot tracks, but hopefully in a couple of weeks the road should be melted out to then end and the sled season will be over. There were alot of sleds up there yesteday; I don't know how many you would normally see up there, but there were at least 10 extra up there for the body recovery of the climber killed on Friday, so that may have been alot more than normal. The crevasses were starting to open up, but not too much.

I've had really good luck around here with a tarp/lightweight bivy/down bag combo. It really solves most of the condensation issues you usually get around here, and probably is substantially lighter than the setup you're describing. I've got the ID Micro Bivy (eVent) and it's treated me well. In conditions not suited to a tarp (winter on Hood, etc, a small tent or your Unishelter would be great.) I don't have any synthetic bags, but if I did, it would be a warm weather bag. If it's cold enough to need a -20 deg bag, I'm usually not getting wet. Also, a synthetic bag that warm is going to be huge . Of course the down vs. synthetic debate will continue to rage on no matter what you or I say. I've also had good luck with my feathered friends bag (epic shell) being pretty water resistant.

I haven't really had any problem using the Am'D for rapelling, depsite the fact that it's not a HMS biner. Am I missing something? Seems to work OK for me.

I've had the same complaint for awhile, but recently started flipping my belay biner around and using the narrow end. So far, this seems to work much better. I've mostly been using my DMM sentinel biner:

8.2 is great for glacier stuff (although more likely to cut into the edge when an actual crevasse fall happens), but is generally considered too skinny for genuine rock climbing. It's more of an abrasion/resistance to cutting issue than it is of strength. You can fold a double (8.2mm) rope in half, and lead on it using double rope techniques. You only get 30m leads, but this can be fine for scrambles.

Feathered Friends will ship stuff ordered over the phone. I've usually had them ship the same day if you call by early afternoon. They've always been happy to help when I've been in a hurry.

Thanks for breaking trail for us... I figured it was the Mounties we saw that broke trail. Didn't see anyone coming down; did you take eldorado creek down? We got a late start, and summited around 8pm Saturday. Camped out at 7400, just in time for the slush to start falling.

There is a substantial washout a little above the lower trailhead. It doesn't sound like there's much in the budget to fix anything but the Staircase road up there for this year, so Ellinor/Washington might remain a bit longer hike for a while.

Last meeting I went to, we got "off route" trying to find Robert Hall. Seems like the maps they have on the signboards on campus show the hall where it used to be, not in its new location . Not sure if that was supposed to be a test of our routefinding ability, but the real robert hall is over by the theater. Jason, I couldn't get the link to work. Anyhow, looks like another great slide show.

We were there yesterday as well. After half a dozen trips to Erie, I'm finally starting to learn my way around. The first few trips were more wandering than climbing. Powerline West is down and skier's right of Summit wall. Ask everyone you see, that's pretty much the best directions I've gotten when I've been down there. The maps in the Kloke guide aren't consistently helpful; sometimes they give you a relative location and sometimes you'd be better off without the book.

Your dad is my climbing hero too. In other news, we got my dad down his first black diamond run on his 65th birthday this winter.

Anyone? I'm interested in trying for Ingalls, just not sure how far I'll have to slog in on the road.

I think this is a great time of year to go up there; when I did it in october, it was all scree and brush on the approach and rockfall in the final couloir. I couldn't find a summit register for the south summit, but I'm pretty sure we found the right spot.

Anyone been up the Teanaway lately? Just talked to the ranger, sounds like road is snowed in somewhere between 29 pines and Beverly as of last week. Might be able to get to Berverly by this weekend? We could take the truck, and try to push a bit further over snow.

You can rig a piece of cord on the biner which the rope wraps around and gain some advantage by using one of your anchor biners as a "pulley". This gives you a 2:1 advantage, which usually is enough to allow you to lower the climber. That said, the new reverso seems to be improved in several other ways. It's lighter, works with skinny ropes, and shouldn't have the sharpening issue the ond ones did. If I didn't already have a reverso and a reversino, I'd definitely try the new one.

Here's a copy of the email forwarded to me via the Skagit Alpine Club: Hello, The City has received a request from the Department of Fish and Wildlife to help protect a peregrine falcon nest on Mt. Erie. The birds appear have built a nest and are incubating eggs at a site on Skyline Rib or Skyline Arete (an area north of the main wall and south of the cirque). We are asking climbers and scramblers to avoid this area while we review the situation. With nice weather expected this weekend we would like to help get the word out to as many people as possible. Staff will post information at Mt. Erie and hopefully a map or photo showing the general area where the falcons are nesting. We could use your help. Please forward this information to climbers or scramblers you know. I have attached a letter from Fish and Wildlife with this email. If you are climbing on Mt. Erie and the falcons demonstrate defensive or territorial behavior, please refrain from climbing in those areas. It would also be very helpful if you could report where you were if this happens so Fish and Wildlife can better understand the falcon's territory. I acknowledge that this is a difficult situation especially with the beginning of climbing season and given comments we heard during our public meetings regarding the Forest Lands planning process that people are concerned the City is trying to restrict access on Mt. Erie. Our goal is to try and balance the needs of recreation and the environment. Simply put, we want to keep the falcons from abandoning their nest while keeping as many climbing areas open on the mountain. I will stay in touch and would appreciate your feedback. Thanks, Jonn Jonn Lunsford Anacortes Parks & Recreation 360-299-1953

Nice work keeping your cool, Amar. Glad you managed to get some pictures as well. While it's fun to read TRs of sunny desert climbing, it's more informative to be able to read TRs of trips like this. Glad you made it out in one piece.

Anyone been up there recently? I'm assuming everything's still pretty snowed in? Thinking of the North Twin tomorrow (friday).

Hi Gil, You could consider Bellingham Mountain Rescue: BMRC Website They're a great bunch of folks. They'd appreciate hearing from you. Their mailing address is: P.O. Box 292 Bellingham, WA 98227

There's some OK stuff at larabee. It's mostly top rope stuff, but good for after work, and then a beer on the beach. The outdoor center at WWU has a copy of "bellingham rock" by Jason Henrie which covers most of it. It's out of print, but if you're a student you can check it out. Mt Erie has some pretty good stuff, but it can take some work to find your way around. The guidebook is for sale at the Lake Erie Grocery, right by the park.

As promised, Graham sent me a NEW pack (which appears to be improved in several ways over the v2 pack), not a repair, and it showed up today. Thanks Graham.