woodchips

Nice TR, Off. We had ambitious plans to go up to Wa. pass yesterday, but decided to sleep in and go to Erie. That led to many hours of muddy scrambling, not finding the routes we were looking for, pulling off several head size holds, and climbing a grand total of 2 (short) routes for the day. Thanks for the pics.

Hey Travis, Welcome to B'ham. Have you checked out the AAI Courses? AAI courses Maybe you know about them, if not, they're in Bellingham, and do most of their classes up at Baker. I've taken one class with them and it was great. Anyway, have fun at Baker.

I guess I should say single boot. I've had good luck with synthetics; I like how they dry faster and tend to be lighter.

Thanks, Dane. I tried on a pair of the Trangos, and they were too narrow, so I guess the Nepals definitely would be too narrow. I'm considering having my little toe removed.

I'm looking for a pair of insulated leathers to supplement my Scarpa Charmoz. The Scarpas are a bit narrow in the toe box for my liking, so I'm interested in trying a few other brands. The Sportivas I've tried have also been way narrow. They're always fine in the heel, I just need more room across the toes. Anyway, I'm looking at these: Lowa Cristallo X Pro GTX Any feedback on these boots? Any other suggestions? I tried the Kayland super ice (sold those to Couloir), and they had the same problem, although the Apex Rocks fit fine.

Also in Bellingham: Barganica, on State street and also on Cornwall, not as cheap as Deals only, but often has cases of bars for <$5 and more of a full grocery. Oh, cheap beer and wine and 25% off produce on Sundays. That is, for dirtbags that eat things like vegatables.

I wasn't expecting miracles, just hoping for replies to my emails and some guess of how long it would take. I know that in my work, a little communication goes a long way. Sometimes you just have to tell people "thats going to take a couple of months," and then they don't get their expectations up. I realize that you can't always expect the same service, but I'll continue to support small gear companies like Cilogear.

\ What? Um? Repeated emails on the 23rd of April about where to ship the pack? A pack that got shipped out to YOUR NEW ADDRESS AS YOU REQUESTED? I have to imagine that for some reason you are not getting my emails. As I wrote on the cilogear blog last week, UPS totally screwed us up, and I can't give out tracking numbers for packs shipped from the 23rd of April to 28th of April very easily right now. I called UPS and after about twenty minutes, Ian's tracking number is K107 586 2920. Everybody and their brother can track it. Why it went out from Maspeth on Monday when I shipped it on the 23rd is something I will never be able to explain but is no doubt associated with our UPS accounts screw ups. Thanks for the update, Graham. I did not get the emails, nor did they show up in my spam folder, so not sure where they went, but it looks like it's on the way. I realize you're up against alot of other problems than my pack, but I've got other things to do than send unanswered emails and wonder where my stuff is. Anyway, thanks again. I look forward to getting the pack back.

It's been something like 7 weeks now, and still no sign of my pack, nor any word from Graham except for the above post. At this point I'd like to get it back, repaired or not, so I don't have to go out and buy another one. I realize people get busy, but some more communication would be in order.

Probably true. I'm just being paranoid; in fact I think I'll go take my pills now.

I'll check that out too; is there a good description in the Beckey guide? I'm really partial to backcountry stuff, even if it means more hiking/skiing in and less climbing, so a short "alpine" rock route is ideal for this weekend.

Yeah, I tried that, but I couln't find it locally. I'm sure it's fine, but I was just surprised they wouldn't just knock a few bucks off and call it good.

Thanks Matt, I was looking at that last night; looks like the NW couloir could be a good route up, but we'll have to see what the conditions look like tomorrow. It might not be the spiritual center but could be a good day trip.

I ordered a rope from Backcountry.com, and got it yesterday, which is great, but the wrong rope (it was supposed to be bi-pattern, but wasn't.) Anyway, I called them this morning to sort it out, and the guy on the phone said he could just exchange it. I offered to keep it, if they would just knock some money off of the bill, as I got a cheaper rope than I paid for. I told him I didn't want to just have the rope destroyed after I returned it, and he said they would just repackage it and resell it anyway, even though I had opened it. He said he didn't have a price for the cheaper rope, so couldn't do that. So, the moral of the story is that if you order a rope from Backcounty, it may have been sitting in someone's trunk under the leaky car battery for awhile before it got returned and sold to you. Caveat Emptor.

Any updates? Any speculation as to conditions this weekend?

Shitty as in snowed in?

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?

Boots sold. Anyone need the J tree guide? Bug? Obviously you're interested.

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.