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Keeping a good thought for your full recovery Josh. d

Enjoyed this TR. Great write up and pictures. Thanks for posting. Looks like we almost crossed paths. I rode out that squall, Tues/Wed am last week on Easy Ridge. It was cold, I remember waking up shivering at one point... The blueberries/huckleberries were thick over 4k... d

That second to last pic of Stuart is pretty cool... d

Yikes

Well Nastia you should be rounding into fine climbing shape by now... The feet toughening up as well. Enjoyed this TR, looking forward to more. d

My 30m 8.5mm rope was plenty for my partner and I last year. There were only a couple short sections we pitched out... The route finding is part of the fun for sure. I had a copy of a route description from summit post for reference and it helped us get through. http://www.summitpost.org/west-ridge/164032 It was still a 17hr day, and longer for my partner Cecil, he started at the parking lot and I bivy'd at the base of the route... It was fun, and the climbing was really mellow. Good luck. d

Nice work Nastia and Dan. d

Don't have to be a skier (which I'm not) to enjoy this movie! Thanks for sharing it. d

It's fun to watch you work Marlin. JP, I am familiar with this "energizer bunny". Spent some time chasing him down the hill after our Eldorado climb last year, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep up... Nice work you two. d

Marlin, thanks for sharing the story about your week on Rainier. I was wondering how it went. Glad it all went well. d

Sounds an awful lot like a Union involvement of some kind... d

I'll drink to that

Did Gib Ledges route in early June of 2011 and it was really fun. That was a big snow year and it was one long icey traverse with a steep snow finish up the chute. Proly different this year... d

Wow what a trip! that's a lot of TR! Very cool pics and videos! That burner going off behind Andy had to be pretty distracting, along with the rest of it... The pic of the juniper was cool too. d

From my perspective, when fear crosses the line from healthy (i.e.: increases focus), to distracting (i.e.: to losing focus), I back off. Sometimes I've just needed to take a break from what I consider hard climbing for a while. Back in the day, I used to solo quite a bit. Some of it I wired thoroughly prior to soloing, and some alpine stuff I did solo was on sight mostly because those places were hard to get to. I had a lot to lose then, as now. I was a lot more solid back then and had a high degree of confidence after all the preparation was done and it was time to step off... Now it's different. I'm older and my body has changed. I can't train like I used to, so I've made some adjustments in the type of climbing I do. I try a lot harder to find partners and don't solo much anymore. And I know I'll have to walk away someday, but not yet. I admire guys like Twight who know when the time is right to walk. I really enjoyed Kiss or Kill too btw... It's always difficult to see, or hear about, people getting hurt or killed doing what we do. It never gets easier. At least for me it hasn't. It's never really caused me to cancel a trip that I really wanted to do though. Chad's situation was really bad luck. Could happen to any of us. I did not know him, but I felt the loss. Accepting that we can die up there is a big part of finding the peace that is a part of the beauty of what we do. It has to be worth it, otherwise, it's time to walk... Sounds like you just need a bit of a break to me to re evaluate. Good luck d

Very impressive ascent and pics. How nice to have stellar weather to enjoy while y'all were at it. Congrats to the team on a successful climb, and thanks for sharing the story here. d

By now you know of the relative benefits of calamine lotion?... Back in the day, I found it helped. I recall an ill fated W Face excursion on the Beacon that resulted in an epic dose. Miserable. It was, um, everywhere... We don't allow that shit to grow over here on the E side... d

Willi Unseld. Old school, strong, one tough motherfucker... d

Yeah. Nordic skiing is a fun change from the gym et al. When I do get into some powder on the trails, like I did today, it's really fun... I prefer to walk in the mountains but skiing down climbs looks like the way to go.

Tall people aren't designed for skiing... It's best we stay off the boards Ivan. Climbing's much safer.

Jim turning 70... I swear...

I turn 60 later this year, with a little luck. My wife and I recently discovered the medicinal benefits of tart cherry juice. When I went to the store to score some, the young woman I asked about it said "do you have gout?". We take it for a touch of arthritis. It also helps us sleep through the night... You should try it for the gout Dave. I aint gonna say nothin about getting on in years. I can still do most of the fun stuff I want to do and I wouldn't wanna get called a bitch by kkk... d

"My plan is to do Fisher Chimneys first, weather permitting, and then pick our next objective based on how things go on that route." Good choice to start. You'll be able to get a good look around from the summit. d

Man I wish I lived closer, I bet I could win that... d

Looks like a fun trip, except for the -25 temps, that's a bit much... Good pics especially the first one. Good to see you getting on some real ice Marlin. You gotta stay in shape so you can pull me up some more rock routes this summer! d