BirdDog

Trip: Mt. Baker - Boulder Glacier Date: 6/28/2009 Trip Report: After a hiatus from alpine climbing I teamed up with Tazz and Magnum for an attempt on Baker via the Boulder/Park Cleaver. The alarm failed to go off, or we ignored it; so our alpine start turned into an early morning start. The pond next to our bivy was frozen, and the snow was perfect for cramponing, at least for an hour or so. After a gorgeous sunrise we were post holing in deep slop. To avoid crossing snow bridges in the heat of the day, we bailed @ 9000'. The Boulder is a great route. We had that entire side of the mountain to ourselves, except for the headlamps of a team of two who turned back below us. A stunning day none the less. Shuksan looked so good we're heading there tomorrow. Gear Notes: Better alarm clock, usual glacier stuff; cold beer in the cooler. Approach Notes: Stay in the creek after the swamp, that way you'll be on route. Old fixed line at the class 3 part getting onto the ridge; we just climbed it, rapped on the way back.

I'll be taking my boys (ages 9 & 14) on a road trip in July with a stop at Yosemite. Anyone have some info/beta on easy (5.4 - 5.6) routes in Yosemite? Thanks

Old ad - 25% off camalots expired memorial day.

Best wishes to Curt and family for a speedy recovery. Thanks to those who helped out.

BD's great. I bought a pair of clip-fix skins last year and couldn't get the cam lock to lock. Send BD an e-mail, got a personal call back the next morning; guy on the phone says "I'll just comp you an STS tail kit. Got it in the mail a couple days later. Nice!

The Edelweiss Axis is a great work horse rope. Heavier than hell, but tough. Good "top rope" rope; can take a beating. Nice hand after it's broke in. That would be my choice, I have one.

Like this:

Agree with everything you say, except I doubt you'll get much "dynamic properties" from a short cordelette that's looped all over and tied off with a figure eight.

A partner is a member of a partnership. A partnership is a relationship whereby each partner helps and complements the other. Posting for a partner is one thing; posting for a free guide/rope gun to drag someone's ass up something is another. If n00bs posted for a mentor and were willing to learn the art of climbing rather than asking for someone to short line them to the summit of Rainier right off, they would probably have more luck.

Well here's a pic of an anchor I built the other day. Granted, pretty simple to "build" an anchor on two bolts. Redundant double slings, sliding X, belayer (me) tied off with a Metolius personnal anchor thingy, autoblock off the anchor, blah, blah, blah.

Couldn't much higher than the one I saw, it was only about 15' below the top of the haystack.

Is this the bolt you're talking about? Saw this puppy on the trail at the haystack the other day. Are we bolting trails now?

I agree with Matt, keep it simple. Work out signals with partner before climbing. Also remember to really reef on the rope with long pulls and pause between each pull, otherwise rope stretch will negate any signal reaching your partner. Many times, especially at Icicle, you can see each other, but can't hear. Work out some hand signals for these situations.

Nice! While you didn't have perfect weather, it was better than I would have expected from the forecast. We bailed on a planned Shuksan trip and hit Vantage instead. Definitely warmer @ Vantage.

The first time I heard "take" was from a French climber I met at Dante's and climbed with at Icicle in the early/mid '80's. As it was explained to me it means "take my wieght"; as in I'm going to fall off the this unless I can out and rest (hang dogging).

I have Mt. Baker Super Lites, and I love them. Great all around ski, handle all conditions well. In real deep pow they could use a little more width, but then they wouldn't handle other stuff (like hard pack) as well. MHO is the super lites are a little "snappier" than the regular Mt. Bakers. If I remember right the Shuksan's are a little skinnier than the Baker's. If you're looking for a true one quiver ski, my opinion is Mt. Baker's are it. I've got Freerides mounted on mine and use them for front/slack/side/backcountry.

Thanks for the opinions, folks; all good. I find autoblockers easy to use in bringing up a second and also give me time to do other stuff; like organize gear, grab a drink, etc... And usinig one (Reverso) doesn't entail an extra weight or piece of gear. Thanks all.

Many of the old 11's were 120'. Or 150' if you got the really long version. Then came the 165'er; "wow, who would ever need a rope that long". Pretty soon we'll 80 meter 7.9mm.

OK, so I'm doing a multi-pitch route with my partner, we are going to swing leads. I lead the first pitch, set a bomber anchor and belay up my second with an auto-blocking belay device (Petzl Reverso) attached directly to the anchor. Second climber gets up to the belay and prepares to lead the 2nd pitch. What now? Continue to belay without re-rigging, (assuming anchor is set for upward pull)? Re-rig to belay off my harness? This would eat up time and second would need to tie off etc... What's the most time efficient method for swinging leads with an autoblocker? Opinions.....

As far as acclimatization goes, you'd be better to hike/climb above Paradise during the day, and sleep at a lower elevation anyway.

I've got two boys 9 & 14, both climb. Sent you a PM.

Nice! Hope to take my oldest up there next year.

Zeta Male; If you have ever had an epic in whiteout conditions with little food/water and lacking adequate gear for warmth you would understand that rational thought is not always possible. It is easy for us to arm chair this thing from the comfort of our living rooms; yet another to put ourselves in the situation at the time; cold, tired, hungry, disoriented, scared, etc.... I think the lesson here is to learn what decisions/mistakes led the group to their predicament; many of which are obvious and have been discussed at length. If you can't guarantee "fast" don't go "lite".

Are you using the ATC or the ATC-Guide/ATC-XP; both the Guide & XP have two friction modes, regular and high friction. I recently bought the Petzl Reverso III whcih also has regular and high friction modes; I've used it with ropes from 9.2 to 10.3 and I really like it. See if you can borrow one and try it before buying. Also as others have said, give your rope some time to break in.

My 13 yo wears a Black Diamond Mometum AL, works well for rock, a bit bulky for alpine especially under a pack waist belt, but reasonably light weight. The BD Bod/Alpine Bod are good as well, although the buckle is a bit of a pain to double back, especially if it's cold out. Momentum's run about $55, bods $35 - 40. Mammut Focus is "pre-buckled" so you don't have to fuss with doubling it back, again a bit bulky for alpine.