shannonpahl

sold.

now selling at $250

You can tell when the trailhead is snow free by looking at the Potato Hill weather station data: http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=PTHW1 When the snow depth reaches zero, go!. Thats also about the best time for the glacier. Later on in the season, it can get quite broken up. I've also got some more beta here http://sites.google.com/site/shannonpahl/trip-planning/adamsglacier-1

Brand new Black Diamond Eldorado tent, perfect condition, never been used. Paid $595, any offers? shannonpahl@gmail.com

Can you fix the pix links? Thanks!

Just a reminder - Will Gadd will be here this Monday. Dont forget to get your tickets, this is going to be a fun and informative event.

Here's a summary from Colins talk. Clothing: - base layers for comfort, use wool instead of capaline. wool dries out slower so it may have slower evaporative heat loss - mid layer use a fleece layer for colder temps. When very cold for legs, use a base layer, fleece pants then softshell pants - pants prefer non zip softshell vs shell. it breathes better. puff zip pant useful for very cold temps. Patagonia synthetic puff pant - top base layer, fleece then windshirt. Add hard shell if it gets colder. Hardshell for top since its easy to take off and on, but non zip softshell for pants. - insulation prefer synthetic to down because clothing in contact with snow. uses Patagonia Nano puff as warm layer for summer, add on the Das parka when it get colder. - socks vapor barrier socks can be useful to add warmth. something not totally VB can work too, like the REI hyperlight storm sock. a clean dry pair for sleeping is good Shades - instead of carrying goggles and shades, uses the new (not yet in USA) Addidas Terrex shades : modular so it can go from shades to goggle with nose protection Essentials: - a headlamp, food, water + stove. - a good headlamp means you dont need to stop. lithium batteries are lighter and last longer. - with water on route and/or ability to melt snow, a headlamp and enough food, you can keep going and get out of a bad situation - first aid : tape and painkillers. tape used to stop blood loss. Packs: - 30L pack for day trips, 45L for overnight. 45L good for follower and 30L for leader. Colin showed a prototype patagonia pack, very simplistic, not frame (but handy foam insert) Sleeping: - sleeping bag down a good choice unless expect wet weather, then synthetic. a bag without a zipper (draw cord) saves some weight - sleeping pad for snow, thermarest nano has good weight to warmth ratio (possibly add layer foam), for rock foam is better (to prevent punctures). Use a 1/2 length thicker foam for torso, foam from pack for legs. A good foam is from MEC (Evazote) in 15mm, 10mm, 5mm thickness. A smooth foam is good for when it gets some snow on, its easy to dust off, unlike 'ridgecrest' Food: - variety helps - carbs during the day - energy bars (pro bar, granola bars, powerbar) - gu very good but a little heavier and expensive - freeze dried for dinners (Mountain house) - nuts (high in fat) good for evening because of its high but slow energy release - protein at night: beef jerky Water: - the MSR bladder is a good balance between durability and weight - does not use hoses on the bladder, so it essentially becomes a water bottle - add electrolytes to water/bladder for during the day. something with little or no sugar to keep bladder clean - nuun tabs work well - carry no more that 3L on route or 2L during summer. find running water or melt on route to reduce carrying too much weight Stoves: - prefers canister stoves in all situations and destinations - MSR reactor for winter. uses it on route, use hands to keep canister warm - Jetboil for summer because its lighter than reactor - cook in tent with good ventilation. more comfortable and keeps canister warmer and more efficient (no wind etc) Tents: - not much use for bivy sacks. where no tent can be erected, just go with pad and sleeping bag. if weather turns, bail - single wall BD tent about the weight of 2 bivy sacks and much more comfortable and protected - double wall tents ok for base camp situations or west buttress on denali Ropes: - single rope. - half rope as a single. terrain not a concern for getting rope cut e.g. ice - twins. good for when double rope raps needed. its lighter and less management than half ropes - half ropes good for teams of 3 - single + tag line. tag line can be 7.5mm rope or better yet: for ice, use a 5mm tech cord, for rock, Esprit ropes of Canada makes a 6mm static alpine escape rope (need to call or email them since its not listed on their website) - joining fat and skinny ropes: a well dressed and tight overhand - pull skinny to avoid getting skinny rope twisted - use small biner (Metolius makes a very small one) or chain link to avoid having know pull through rap. but, you are still using both ropes in device - looks like Mammut may have a new belay device coming out that auto locks for leader and follower and allows both rope strands for raps Training: - best form is to go climbing often - climbing gym a good second to getting strong, fast. third is crags Ice tools: - use the BD whippet instead of an ice axe - self arrest means you screwed up, get better at being secure on snow, use anti-bods - dont rope up unless there is pro or on a glacier - leashless enables one to shake out more frequently making for less pump and warmer hands - use umbilicals. BD spinner umbilical or similar - hammer on tools very useful, not so much for adze, so mainly uses 2 hammers - Simond makes a good third tool Pro: - cams more versatile and useful than most other types - pitons good for alpine and winter climbing. carry a few knife baldes - use 3mm cord loop on each piton to help racking and cleaning (by attaching a runner while cleaning) - nuts useful for raps - can use slings for emergency cord if you dont expect to need cord for the climb and leave cord behind. when you think you'll need to rap, take cord - 1 cordalette per team plus two doubles instead of 2 cordalettes - v-thread: mostly use rope through the ice and not cord. if using cord (4mm cord), an overhand knot is good enough to tie it but with long tails - dont precut cord for v-threads, instead carry a knife and cut to size : reduces overall qty of cord needed Crampons: - vertical are good for steep ice - horizontal for alpine because its a little lighter and does not perform much different than verticals in alpine terrain - sometimes, when it makes sense, can replace back part of crampon with aluminum equivalent - shorten the center bars if your is too long to save some weight - use aluminum full strap crampons for many Cascade alpine climbs - mono good for hard mixed but tiring otherwise, so uses mostly dual Gloves: - 2 pairs, one thin for climbing, one thicker for belaying - uses BD Impulse (thin) and BD Punisher (thick) for moderate climates, if colder then Punisher is thin glove and use a thicker glove for the second pair - no mittens: cant do anything when you wear them unless its a glacier slog Skis: -short skis with climbing boots for approach if many technical pitches. -uses Silvretta 500 Backcountry Skiing Binding for mountaineering boots -to simulate a high ski boot, uses a custom 'knee cord' to help stabilize skiing with boots: tie a cord to the front of ski (drill hole) and use a strap to strap below knee with an adjustable strap to tighten or loosen support between legs and front of ski Other gear: - BD Chaos harness works well for ice, has 4 loops - foam helmets are good enough - no gaters! uses an elastic cord tied to the bottom of pants to sling over bottom of boot to keep the pants over the boot. make sure you sling the boot after you put on the crampons Strategy: - photos of decent proved very useful in his latest climb in AK when having to reroute the descent route after the ascent

Just a reminder about Colins talk this Wednesday, Nov 10, 7pm. This is a free event open to anyone. The talk will focus on winter climbing tech tips rather than telling stories and showing photos from specific climbs (we wont even use the projector). Instead, Colin will just bring some notes of things to talk about, and bring in some equipment that is relevant. Bring your questions for an interactive and educational talk. Last year, Colin Haley talked about various winter climbs in the Cascades. The tech tips and discussions proved very popular, so this year he will focus on this theme - gear, logistics, food, training, and general tips, for a fun interactive session. For a summary of last years discussion, see http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/949030/1 Directions: http://www.mountaineers.org//scriptcontent/default.cfm?insert=contact

Colin Haley will be giving a presentation at the Mountaineers clubhouse, Wednesday Nov 10 at 7pm. The theme will be about winter climbing tips and techniques. This is a free event open to anyone. Last year, Colin Haley talked about various winter climbs in the Cascades. The tech tips and discussions proved very popular, so this year he will focus on this theme - gear, logistics, food, training, and general tips, for a fun interactive session. For a summary of last years discussion, see http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/949030/1 Directions: http://www.mountaineers.org//scriptcontent/default.cfm?insert=contact

If we get a cold dry spell, what climbs would you do? Eldorado NW couloir, Colfax. Any others?

Last year, Colin talked about various winter climbs in the Cascades. The tech tips and discussions proved very popular, so this year he will focus on this theme - gear, logistics, food, training, and general tips, for a fun interactive session. Colin will be at the Mountaineers clubhouse on November 10, 7pm. All are welcome (free event). Directions to the venue is here: http://www.mountaineers.org//scriptcontent/default.cfm?insert=contact

The two WI3 picthes were awesome. Good sticks, good pro. The left lobe had more longer sections of ice.

Trip: Mt Baker - Coleman Headwall Date: 10/21/2010 Trip Report: On Wednesday and Thursday last week, Franklin, Cary and myself climbedd the Coleman headwall. The character of the climb is much different than early season, making it more of a challenging varied and satisfying mountaineering and ice climbing experience. The glacier crossing to the base of the climb at this time of year requires careful navigation, so a carryover is needed to get the daylight hours needed to plot a way through the crevasses. Wednesday night would be dry and warm (about 30F at 8k), so I just added a sleeping bag and pad to my pack, and planned on melting ice on route to reduce carrying the weight of a full days water supply. I tried this climb last year, spending too much time to find a way through the glacier crossing. Thanks to those leassons, this year, the glacier crossing went smoothly. The climbers' trail to the ridge leads to a flat spot. From there, we went up to the snow slopes directly above. Its here that you get the first views of the route. We went slightly right, around the invisible crevasse field directly infront of us. As you snake around this field, you can get a good view of the level traverse (at about 6700) that leads through the maize. A somewhat more level and less broken ridge took us through to the next open slopes. From here, we continued over the next ridge and only then started going up the smooth slopes, around a small clump of seracs up to another open serac which is where we bivied. This is about the highest and safest bivy spot before the climb (at about 7800). Bivying within the serac shielded us from the wind and made a fine dwelling. Bivy at 7800 ft. The next day, another 1100 feet of gain lead us to the base of the climb. We chose the left Coleman flow and on the left side of the flow but not all the way on the left. Approaching the base of the climb, there were a few small pellets of rock coming down. After a short yet vertical step, we setup a belay. Two excellent pitches (50m rope) of steep WI3 lead to another WI2 pitch which started the rightward traverse to the clever. While we were making our way through the top of the third pitch, a large ice fall came down on the left edge of the Coleman, which luckily only showered us with remanant ice spray. In hindsight, the cold week-end temps gave way to warmer mid week temps which should be a warming sign for possible ice falls. My initial thought was the ice cliffs were probably unstable but there was no good escape route, going back down the way we came could put us through that line of ice fall. The best way was up and the planned sharp right traverse into the right Coleman flow. Another pitch on and another ice fall, this time from the distant ice cliffs directly above. Now it was time to traverse and start simul climbing to get into the safer right flow. This section went by fast and easily. Not long after that, we were near the base of the exit slope. Another short vertical step gave way to steeper firm snow/ice slopes. Pickets and ice screws worked well for the simul climbing, where occationally I found good ice blocks for screws. Now there were two more concerns - limited daylight hours (knowing that the descent also required light to get through more large open crevasse fields), and the anticipated bad weather later in the day. We got to the summit about 4:30 in a total whiteout and high winds. The weather was coming in. With our light carryover packs and a cold and wet night ahead, I quickly dispensed of the option to bivy another night, so the race was on to get down and through the crevasses in the light. I had the Coleman-Demming route on my GPS that I had done earlier in the year, and so we easily got through downclimbing the roman wall in the whiteout. At this point we got below the clouds and could see the ridge and lower crevasses that we needed to pass through in the one hour of light remaining. We hopped over small two foot cracks, jumped one 6 foot wide gaper, and belayed through an even wider gaper using the remaining snowbridge. The final weaving went by just after it got dark, and then we were back on our incoming GPS track. Now we could relax and just follow the track home. More pix are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonpahl/ColemanHeadwall

wow, the ice looked nice and phat back then, thanks for the pix!

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