Le Piston

Neither are evening shots, but here they are:

After rereading it, John Roskelley's "Last Days" has to go on my list. Not only was he a great climber, but I love his writing style...down to earth, honest, great ethics and perspective, and a good story teller.

I have Platypus hoser, Camelback, and Dromedary. I prefer the Camelback in the winter with insulated hose...haven't had any leaks yet. Platypus is summer use and works great...only complaint is sometimes the bite valve has popped off and given me an unplanned shower (until I taped it to prevent a repeat). Dromedary bag I use for hauling water in bulk for camp or training. If it is really cold I bring a thermos and use my water bottles with the insulated cover...nice to have warm fluid on a nippy day.

I'm all for supporting the local economy also. Back in the 90's when I went into Cotopaxi I had heard you could easily get a ride from the frequent truck traffic in and out. I saw one truck going out as I was hiking in...it was a loooong approach hike. If you can arrange the ride, great...just don't know if you can count on local transport besides the bus. I don't know if they are still in business, but the South American Explorers Club had an office in Quito and had a board with climbers looking for partners and to buy and sell gear. It was cheap to join and had lots of good travel information for the budget adventurer.

In addition to the other good information above, you might look at Bill Corbett's book 11,000ers of the Canadian Rockies. Mt. Robson Route Card at Chesslerbooks.com and reports on BC Adventure.com and Peakbagger.com of the South Face route. Hope this helps. I'm hoping for another try (weather permitting) on the Kain Face myself. Cheers!

Thanks for the hard work. That is too cool that Don Brooks showed up. I too had that guidebook early in my climbing life(still in the collection). I had hoped to be there with machete, loppers, and saw, but wound up with the flu and wielding cough syrup, tissues, and an inhaler. It sounds like you were scoping out my old friend Online...about 40 feet to the first bolt. Again, thanks for showing up and putting in so much time and effort.

I have to agree wtih Rad, you will get lots of helpful information from Trip Reports here. Summitpost.org also has a lot of good information about routes here and all over the world.

Sorry, my bad...I didn't pick up the Perry Creek approach through my flu and drug haze. How is that approach by the way? The Depot Creek trail had quite a nice collection of fungi as well.

I hope you have better luck with weather and snow conditions here than I've had in Canada the last 2 summers. 2008 it rained every day I was there (still got to climb, just not what I had planned) Last summer planned to climb Robson and had a storm dump a foot of new snow. But generally the last half of July through August works. Good Luck!

I would suggest trying both on with weight added and see how they feel walking around. Many stores have sand bags or something similar to put in the pack. I believe you can have the hipbelt custom fitted also.

I have the 60 version of the Osprey Aether. It is by far one of the most comfortable packs I have owned. It climbs well and has all the features I need. I can understand wanting to save some coin, but quality and durability save you more in the long run. Good luck in your quest for a good pack and on Aconcagua!

I'm a big fan of softshell pants for most climbing endeavors, but if you need to pass through wet brush or hard rain, the gore-tex really comes in handy. The softshell sheds snow and light precip just fine, but I like having a backup of another layer that is warmer, waterproof, and windproof...especially on longer trips farther from the car. The extra weight seems worth it to me.

Sweet pictures. I can't believe I was up there earlier this summer...same route. I never considered Spickard for a Fall climb. I see you also enjoyed the variety of fungus along the trail. How was the passage of the falls?

That is a sweet shot of my favorite bird. Hope I don't get banned from Spray for saying something nice.

I have to agree with cbcbd, it doesn't leave you much time to acclimatize. I remember flying into Quito and just taking a couple days to adjust to that altitude. I took hikes on other mountains to acclimatize. It may have changed since the mid 90's, but arranging transport in and out of Cotopaxi park took some doing. The bus ride from Quito was an adventure in itself. The local guides usually have jeeps and can guard your camp, and weren't too expensive. I hope you have a great trip!

You might also check into the American Alpine Club. Members get enrolled in a Trailhead Rescue service with Global Rescue (which I luckily haven't had to try out) which can be upgraded to full rescue and evacuation coverage up to $500,000. I don't know all the details, but I'm sure their website has all that. You can get discounts on hut fees (came in handy in Switzerland), and other benifits. I believe UW and Virginia Mason offer Travel Medicine clinics also that can be good resources for immunizations and such before traveling overseas. I used one of the travel clinics before going to South America and they got me all the shots I needed, told me what health risks to be aware of, and had state department reports on the countries I was going to visit. Cheers, and enjoy your overseas adventures!

The warmest mitts I found were made by Granite Gear, but I don't think they make 'em anymore. You might try some of the chemical heat packs in your current mitts to make them work better in high altitude/extreme cold. I have the Mercury Mitts and have been pretty happy with them in winter here, but haven't used them over 16,000 feet, so not a good reference.

Here's one more I like...heading up to climb Lyskamm in the Swiss Alps

Exactly!, just between the false and true summits.

I agree with genepires, shortstow, and pdk. Sound wisdom. One other bit of advice...watch your layers and keep the sweating down, which it seems is the main culprit. I see this all the time, people start out with lots of clothes on in winter and don't shed layers until they've soaked them. Keep an eye on your body heat production. You lose more heat when wet through evaporation and convection. Winter is fun...if you stay relatively dry.

Although I love my Firstlight, I usually use a larger, warmer tent in the winter. After massive seam sealing, I have only had condensation problems in the Firstlight camped on sand near a lake in clouds/fog. The vestibule on my Sierra Designs Summit allows me to cook or dig a pit in the snow and dress sitting in the vestibule...quite the luxury. I've used the Firstlight in snow in Spring, but like the breathability and warmth of the Gore Tex tent in winter conditions

Red Mountain also makes a nice winter trip.

Like Danielpatricksmith I too really like the Black Diamond packs for climbing. I have also come to like the Osprey Aether 60 as an all around weekend climbing pack. It is really comfortable carrying up to 40 pounds of gear, is stable, and is reasonably light. It isn't as "technical" as some of the others, but works well for me. It all depends on your needs.

There are plenty of us climbers out here who are...shall we say less than svelte. While it's true that the less extra weight you have to lug around on your body the better, you can still have all the strength and cardiovascular endurance you need to climb well. The more you climb and the more you enjoy climbing I bet you will find plenty of motivation to work out, watch the diet, and work toward your goals. If I have a big climbing trip planned...it does more for motivating me to drop the Nachos and Cuba Libres and head up Mt. Si 20 times with a 40 plus pound pack than all the nagging my wife can dish out. Keep up the good work.