Le Piston

Another of the Saturday visitors...a beautiful day to be in the mountains! Lots of powder...floatation a good plan. I mainly wanted to see how Chair Peak was looking. I'm thinking a few more melt/freeze cycles and things will be shaping up nicely.

Awesome pictures! I've always wanted to climb there...now I've got to go. Thanks for the inspiration. Can you provide the same stellar weather for me?

Thanks for the great TR and pictures. I love that area too...been too long since I was there (1992). Now you've given me an idea for my next climbing trip! I need some gelato!

Right all around. The MSR Thunderbird...my brother worked at MSR and got me a lot of my gear for cheap (helmet, stove, etc).

Is this one of the tools you were asking about?

I've enjoyed seeing all the pictures of you guys "back in the day". For another stroll down amnesia lane...my first climb of Mt. Shuksan. Ah, the days of strap on crampons, tied runners, and hair on the head!

Very cool. The approach drive looked scarier than most of the climbing. Beautiful scenery! At least the mountain didn't look like Waddington.

Like Quark, I'm another of those who almost always bring synthetic insulation for my clothes and down for my sleeping bag. I do own down jackets, which I tend to use on clear cold weather trips. If it gets wet and nasty, I either hunker down and stay dry or get the heck out of the hills. For the Cascades, I prepare for wet and cold...and synthetics work much better when wet than down. Personally, I've had no problems keeping my down bag functionally dry(there is always some condensation, perspiration, etc.)...even in some pretty gnarly weather conditions in the Cascades, Olympics, Canadian Rockies, and Alps. I much prefer the warmth-to-weight,durability and loft advantages of down sleeping bags over synthetic. Dane makes a good point though...you can make most anything work if you use good sense and have the will.

Eddie Bauer had had some sweet sales. I scored a Downlight Sweater (usually $169) for $70 this summer...used it on several trips and very happy with warmth to weight and quality. If I didn't already have a burly hooded down jacket, I'd be all over this too! Thanks Dane, but my wife would kill me if I bought another one.

I like the Canon A1000 IS for climbing. It is very compact, takes AA batteries (which I have anyway for my headlamp), has an optical view finder (great when glare is an issue), and takes great pictures...even one handed. I keep it on the strap of my pack while climbing...very handy. I also have the Canon G11, which has a great wide angle lens, optical view finder, and manual as well as auto controls (nice for timed exposure shots and such). I find it a bit heavy and bulky for climbing though and usually use it for scrambles, hikes, and easier climbs. All the cameras previously mentioned would take great pictures for you...it's a matter of finding the features you like. Good luck!

I was looking at Cutthroat also...looks like a fun climb. Thanks for posting! Probably no more warm granite weekends this year though.

I'm with Dane and BigSky on this question. I have the BD Venoms and love them for alpine climbs that are mostly steep firm snow and a little bit of ice. But, they are too light for sustained ice for me, and make me wish for "real" ice tools, like my BD Vipers, if it gets vertical or full pitches of ice. It really is about the skill and comfort level of the "indian".

Perhaps I was unclear what you meant by side impact protection. Are you referring to the cradle and padding, or the shell? I haven't had a sideways head impact, but my thought was that a firm brim extending laterally would protect your head more than a helmet from which my face and jaw are flush in a fall. I had my BD Half Dome break on the side on a bushwhack descent...not a fall. Is there any UIAA or CE tests of side impact? True, the shock absorbing capacity of the padding and cradle are vital...I was thinking only of the helmet shell protection.

My guess would be the old MSR or HB El Cap would be contenders for side impact protection also.

Never met you Steph (my loss) but enjoy your pictures and trail reports a lot...always something I look forward to. So, I really hope you have a rapid recovery and no long term complications. I'm glad you weren't hurt worse.

I did just that...not that I was worried about the seams bursting, just don't want any precip leaking into my tent. I've had mine for 5 years and it IS my go-to tent. It is willow-light, but has put up with all the weather and abuse I've come up against.

You might want to check out Castle Crags near Lake Shasta...if you have time. Have fun!

I don't have the Quantum, but I have a BD Speed 28 that I've used in the Alps, Rockies, and Cascades with plenty of wear and tear (though no Cholitas) over 7 years. It doesn't look burly, but is still going strong...I've been impressed with the durability.

As usual, awesome pictures. I always look for your TR's. I'm glad you lucked out with the weather...when I was up that way 2 weeks ago for Diadem and Woolley, we hoped to also climb Temple and Hector. But our visibility went from photo one to photo two. P.S. bummer about the ticket eh?

That is a long day (I've done it from Colchuck Lake myself) any way you look at it. Strong work! Thanks for the great pictures...I'm inspired to head back up there for a repeat!

From someone who's done some fine routes and TR's, I appreciate that. Thanks!

I didn't go over and climb it, but hopefully these are helpful.

I have had some success with hitting the "Refresh" icon and retrying 2 or 3 times to get the image to upload...after resizing the image to about 10-12% of original. It's a lot more work, but at least I'm getting some images uploaded...just not the big panoramas. It's an improvement. Hope this helps!

A few more pictures from the trip.

You made a fine trip report and nice pictures...I don't care if they're "well traveled routes", please post more. I like seeing what is out there for routes and peaks to climb. (I'm especially interested in future Canadian trips) Thanks!