trainwreck

I have a two door Bibler I-Tent which is awesome, it's heavier than the Firstlight but slightly more versatile.

Curtain Call starts to get some sun in the afternoon in late March/early April as does Murchison. I would imagine Polar Circus would be climbable but you'd have to do it pretty much all in the dark. It gets a lot of sun early and stays on it the majority of the day. Professors would still be good, as would Whiteman Falls, like Dane said the Field climbs would still be okay but it's a bit late for water ice.

It really depends on the piece of gear IMO. I have found that Patagonia stuff fits me well, lasts forever and is made with an eye towards environmental sustainability and non-sweatshop conditions (read Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard). It costs a pretty penny, but I buy a lot of stuff used and get it for far less than retail. I have nothing but good to say about Arcteryx too, I have an Alpha Comp Jacket that has held up better than almost every other jacket I own despite me wearing summer and winter. The other products I own from them have been excellent quality, again, bought almost all of it used. That said, I would never buy things that wear out quickly, like gloves, from Arcteryx.It simply costs too much to replace them as often as I need to. I have found companies with solid warranty plans like OR are a better bet. I also know there are great companies out there like NW Alpine which make, from what I hear, great gear at a reasonable price. My experience with lower end gear has been mixed, Lowe Alpine stuff seems to disintegrate and MEC stuff is pretty poorly made but backed with a really decent warranty.

The Ortovox S1 is only $274 at backcountry atm. Plus shipping back to Ortovox for the newest software update. Still a smoking deal though.

Ted is smarter than most cats I've met. He's MENSA-level in his trickery. I like Dane's idea that they're the our lost friends reincarnated. If that's the case, the Weeping Wall Ted is John Lauchlan which could explain the cigarettes...

Ted is a wily creature. You're better to leave an offering for him then allowing him to rummage through your stuff. Alternately, gear up at the car and carry everything you need in a bullet pack.

Expect a looong day.

Dane, You're a great guy and super strong willed. I have no doubt you'll manage the chemo and come through this thing! When you're healthy we'll go climb some ice and talk some gear. Stay strong and keep us informed. Grant

That is the descent route for the Shooting Gallery. No one actually tops out to the East summit.

If you talk to the folks at the Info Centre (Adam specifically) he'll be able to walk you through the entire descent. The times I have done it, we had two ropes and made v-threads from the AA Col proper to the AA glacier. Easy peasy.

I have been accepted to school in Vancouver so I am going to be a real Cascade Climber come September! I look forward to some ice and alpiney misadventures with you lot.

I don't think you can fly from the visitor centre.

Great job John!

If you can't climb the routes at Cineplex then your opinion about how others do is moot.

The hardest thing about learning to snow blade is coming out to your parents.

The 350a is hands down the best harness I've ever used.

Tried it last week actually. Still way too wet, but it's in enough to climb. Full value WI6 atm.

This is completely and totally untrue in my experience. Also, NO ONE I know who climbs hard ice does so with mono points. If it's WI5/6 the vast majority of people I know use Sabretooth Pros and a small minority use vertical frontpoints.

FYI Nomics climb ice better than most other tools too.

I guess I don't really know what kind of ice/alpine you're doing but I wouldn't ever go shorter than 60m and I think 70m is really the ticket. A 70m 8.9 Mammut Serenity is a fantastic single line that's light enough and easy to handle, if you're not bringing a rap line you'll get 37m rappels off of it. I find with alpine I almost always end up simul-climbing to get to stations so I'd be really hesitant to shorten my pitches down, more belays equal way more time on the route. Same holds true for ice, if the climb is 110m, you'll easily do it in two pitches rather than three. In my experience with alpiney raps (think bailing off) the longer the raps the better. Less gear left behind and more flexibility in finding stations. YMMV

I have. Do I get a medal or cookie? Please say cookie.

I went walking up towards the AA Glacier on Saturday afternoon and the wind was INSANE. Almost blowing me off the moraines and crazy shit like that. Lots of weird pockets and drifted sections.

We were going to try Sidestreet today, but it was -16oC at 6:45am and we weren't prepared for that kind of cold. Winter is a comin'.

That is BY FAR the best umbilical attachment I've seen for the Nomic. It looks like the wire and biner sit far enough away from your hand to not get in the way. Care to explain the process in more detail?

I haven't heard anything since those guys bailed about a month ago, I think some Americans I talked to tried heading up there as well but I don't think they made it as far as the narrows. I have a feeling that it's passable, otherwise why would Barry have agreed to give it a go... The Drip definitely wasn't in a few weeks ago when we were down in K-country on R&D, but I haven't heard anything else. It's a really strange year, but I think there's a tremendous amount of potential and opportunity to climb some cool shit given the weather window we're having.