Maine-iac

Thanks Spotly for those pictures. Its nice to see what a camera will actually do with a picture. Just curious, but where are the top two pictures taken? Currently i am looking at a Sony Cybershot DSC 90 or 120, an Olympus Stylus 790SW, and i will have a look at some of the Cannon P+S's.

This article is interesting, its about America's National Parks http://www.npca.org/what_we_do/visitor_experience/clear_air/code_red/

It is actually becoming quite the problem. I happen to like fish, and now when its hot out i turn dark red, and the opposite happens when im cold. Damn mercury. At least i dont live in LA and eat the fist there.

IT Bands also tend to hurt on the inferior end of the knee cap as well as the lateral side. They (from what iv heard/seen/felt) can be very painfull and will stop you right where you are. It just started all of a sudden for me one day, and ended almost as fast as it started, although there was close to a 5 week period where i couldnt do anything. Muscle imbalance/strain is also possible. I managed to blow out my hip flexor with a few hours of snowshoeing and that was last march, i have only now just started training again. Let us know what the doc says. and make sure whenever you are in-doubt about something to put ice on it. If it is IT problems the good thing is you can "push" through the pain, although it takes quite the pair of balls to do that.... Good luck man

So the other day my friend was filming me while skiing, and he crashed and my camera is no more. I was using a Sony Cybershot (2004?) 5.1MPEGs. What do people recommend for a new camera? My budget is anything under $300. Do people like the waterproof/crush proof Olympus cameras, anybody using a new cybershot??

I have the Petzl Mini, and love it. The standard set up i use is a 10.2mm rope with 6mm prusik cord and it works great. Of course, you need to mind the pulleys though, because if you are hauling something, you need to reset the prusik so that you dont loose the extra few inches that the prusik travels before hitting the pulley. But i have never had my cord sucked into the pulley if that is what you are asking. Hope that made sense, if not make a system and it will, especially if you are in a vertical setting.

Which REI is having a used gear/boots sale?? I asked my local REI guy if i could just buy a pair of Koflachs off them, and he told me if they were being sold they would appear in scratch and dent sales. But, i wonder what their "lost boot policy" is..... I also looked at craigslist for all of seattle and portland, and nobody had a useful size. Damn Atomic!

I am thinking about doing a double traverse of the Sisters either in the spring (ski-able) or in the fall (hike-able). I was wondering if anybody has any advice on which one to attempt first, either the North or South Sister. I suppose if the North Sister is the middle point then i only have to deal with going up and down the same route once, versus going Up then Down, then Up and back Down. I did a quick search and i didnt find anything on a Sisters traverse, so i was just wondering what people have done in the past.

Hey thanks Dane for this great post. Its great to hear about somebody entire system for climbing, very useful information. Keep up the climbing!

Great pics!! I was just looking at this climb in the guide book, so its great to actually see some current pics! well done guys

So i have a question.... On a two person team, my buddy falls in the hole, and i am in self arrest. The snow is hard enough to hold a picket (standard MSR picket, not a stick, or sticks), or at least hold the picket long enough (and safe enough) until i can get a backup in place. Me and my partner have tied in at the end of the rope, and then coiled the rope back on ourselves until we were at an adequate distance apart. We then tied butterfly knots in the rope, and clipped into that. So still in self arrest position, i use my god like forces and get the picket into the snow. How do i transfer my buddy onto the picket? Do i try and take one of my prusiks (sp?) which would be tied onto the rope, and try tying a munter with a backup knot, and then loading that prusik? Then build my hauling system with the coiled rope that is around me.

I would be down. Any specific dates? I have been on the SS once before but called it off because of the line to get up through the gates. The only thing is i am car-less (student), so i would need to think about actually getting there....

Why indeed? Just remember, sometimes the soul is willing yet the quads are screaming, "Screw you dummy!" 8D HAHA very very true. Damn those inferior leg muscles. Maybe i should try straight-lining things a little more....or hucking things. That should give my skinny legs a little rest.

Thanks guys for the info. And ya Plexus, you are correct, they would get wet while yo-yoing. But why hike something once when you can lap it??

According to G3, they say never to leave your skins on your skis. There is no explanation why through, but I'm assuming they could become stretched? I guess if they still get you the turns you want, then no real harm is being done....

So i bought my skins at the beginning of the season, and i have heard different stories on how to actually store them (long term). Up until now i have had both of the skins together with the mesh sheet in between them, and i have kept them in my fridge. I have noticed that when they are mildly damp it seems like the glue is none existent, is this just a byproduct of them being wet, or could i be keeping the glue too cold? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have the G3 expedition skins.

Haha true that about the rivalries. Dont pick your school because of its proximity to climbing locals, or if you want to be a duck or a beaver (who in their right mind reallys wants to be one anyway?); although being close helps a bit, and will save gas money. Its really about getting a good education. Although....i kind of like the 8 year idea...

I go to UO and i love it. Best choice i have made in a while. The student wall, is your typical student wall. V1s and 2s a few 3s and 4s... and mostly 5.9s, a few higher and lower. The columns are great, 5 min bike ride from campus, easy top roping. quite a few good outdoors stores (backcountry..) The outdoor pursuits program is great if you are starting out, and want to learn new activities in a safe way. The leaders in that program have the largest amount of knowledge i have ever been able to tap into! But i would say the true gem, is the outdoor program (different than the pursuits program), its a community/school co-op where anybody can become a trip initiator and they use OP resources/gear/vans, and you can do anything you want to for a trip. http://outdoorprogram.uoregon.edu/ i have not been to OSU, so i dont know anything about them, as for UW, all i can say is Huck the Fuskies. haha. Which ever you pick, enjoy yourself.

Assuming you are coming from a TH along 46, then you probably want to ski a southern face. The Prouty Glacier looks cool, but it is in a northeastern direction, so you would get your turns in, then be back on skins (but i could be mistaken, i suppose if you head far skiers right it would be fine). I would stay away from the Lewis Glacier (the standard route up goes around the edge, and you will see why you might not want to go there) If i was going there for one day, i would go to the Devils lake TH, hike/skin standard trail to the top, and ski slightly to skiers right of the trail down to Moraine lake, then ski right to the car.

haha, my vote is that this is some weird project her profs assigned to the class. You probably get into some pretty funky stuff in a philosophy major. I am sticking with the tangible stuff, Geography all the way. P.S. Fuck your Kevin Love, he's a traitor. Go Ducks

Perhaps your ultimate dream should be to become an Ultimate Dream Motivational Speaker. haha perhaps.

Oh ya and....damn your Ultimate dream is to climb the big one? That sounds like you have some weird perceptions of ultimate dreams. Maybe a subsidiary part of your big dream. If this really was your Ultimate dream, i.e. something you would do at all costs, you wouldnt be wasting your time promoting silly responses here, you would be out training. Get off your computer and get on the stair master, and get your ultimate dream sorted out. Damn. My ultimate dream would be something along the lines of finding a cure for cancer, or brining people into the outdoors who have never experienced that sort of thing before. Something to keep me occupied for life, like i said before if my ultimate dream was to climb Everest (it would be guiding people on 8000m peaks) i wouldnt be here complaing about things. Read Ed V's book, that will sort you out.

Biggest advice that has helped me is to be persistent. Train hard, and when it is the worst weather that you guys get down there, you better be out training in it. No excuses. And read as much as possible. learn your knots well enough that you can do it one handed (left and right) and behind your back, learn your rope rescue systems, learn the history of climbing, learn everything. Somebody already said to look for the clubs, im sure your school has a climbing wall, hang out there and meet people. Be sociable, through a guy i met at my climbing wall i did a 10 day trip to Bishop. Find what roads head towards Joshua Tree, and when you have some time hitchhike over there, you will meet a tonne of people that way. I am finding that the more knowledge i gain, the more i find people. And lastly- "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem". -Emil Zatopek

Did somebody say a winter ascent, ehh? Keep me in the loop, i would love to be part of it.

sent you a PM.