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Devil's? nice!

Nothing against CC, but I'm wondering why you chose to post this question here and not on neclimbs (where many of the local NH guides post) or neice? Anyway, the only note I'd like to discuss is the goggles. Do take some. Yes, they can freeze up, but there are ways of minimizing that which are better than just having your eyes and that sliver of skin exposed. Even a slight twist of the head into the wind can provide some good air circulation in the goggles to keep them from completely freezing. There are many discussions on NE boards about the perfect setup which will not freeze up your goggles - some ideas are don't breathe up, breathe down, don't rest your goggles on your head, wear two neck gaiters... it goes on. Your list of clothes looks fine. I never had any problem with any down in the Whites. It's just nicely cold and crisp. Have a great time up there and don't you be heading out intentionally into 100mph gusts.

All books sold! Trying to thin out the collection: Over the Top - $5 Free Spirit - $5 Advanced Rockcraft - $10 Meet up or figure out shipping.

"On The Ridge Between Life and Death" - David Roberts - bio "Moments of Doubt" - David Roberts - collection of writings by author "Conquistadors of the Useless" - Lionel Terray - bio "Kiss or Kill" - Mark Twight - collection of writings/bio - very entertaining! "Eiger Dreams" - John Krakauer - collection of writings by author "Touching the Void" - Joe Simpson "Climbing Ice" - Yvon Chouinard - Snow/ice climbing how-to classic! FOTH Books that I felt were lacking but still interesting if you climb: Annapurna - Maurice Herzog - great story but has a disneyland aspect to it. Free Spirit - Messner - the guy did awesome things and that inspires, but the personal side of it is very dry and curt.

Yep, kev, you're right. I was thinking of the XLC Nanotechs, not the Vector Nanotechs.

One shouldn't need ice tools for the Emmons route - it just doesn't get that steep for "piolet traction". Honestly, if the glacier is pure ice then it is probably very dry. If it is very dry then crevasses should be visible and obvious. If they are visible and obvious then you shouldn't be falling into one by surprise. If you are feeling uncomfortable on the icy terrain I would recommend more crampon practice and possibly try some ice climbing. I find that a lot of people place too much emphasis on practicing self-arrest and not enough on just good crampon technique.

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Unless it is pure snow I like to carry 2 screws, a shorty and a longer for making v-threads. You take whatever pro is appropriate for the conditions. I'm guessing the top half of Rainier would've taken pickets right now. Alpine start - probably true, and you can have rock/ice fall happen at night during the coldest of times when water and ice are expanding, but I'd rather start early to give myself plenty of daylight usage - winter days are much shorter and I'd rather start in the dark than finish in the dark. Plus, you want to get out before the bar closes.

Hey Dan, Aaron and I did Mesahchie last fall around the same time http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=845279 The route was in great condition and a lot of mixed fun - nice chossy sidehilling, easy minor glacier travel, some easy ice climbing through the ice fall, enjoyable moderate couloir, and then from then on almost continuous snow on all the gullies that you get into, with interspersed rock steps. Great route and I doubt you'll see anyone near the area. And good on ya for showing an outsider something other than the volcanoes. Tired of hearing "Rainier this", "Baker that...", "I wanna climb Hood by any route, don't care..."... sigh. If you do go take some pics of the 'beard's NF, eh?

NE face of Eldorado, Mesahchie was excellent last year... Look for north facing things that just need a little bit of snow. Up to this weekend the snow line was at about 4K', but it is supposed to warm up this week to freezing levels above 10K', so hold off on fall for some.

One addition easily picked out and emphasized would be the Twin Sisters. About the dot near Buckner - Looking at the area topo, it looks like that is Booker Mountain. Again, thanks! Awesome effort, this is coming out very nice!

Second on the camping. Its right next to the train tracks on the East side, North from the station. There is also a campground in Tasch, the last town you can drive to to get a train in to Zermatt - a little nicer ambience and a little cheaper, if I remember correctly. A good option for a first night or last night on the way out.

Maybe these guys? http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/910984/Re_Rap_off_S_side_of_Dragontai#Post910825

All they need now is a few more thousand to get something like this with extendo legs:

There is more info on what happened on the full link to the vimeo video: "He had a Black Diamond Avalung on, but as you can tell from the video while he's talking as he's dropping in, it wasn't in his mouth to start. He tried to shove it in the instant of starting to get sucked down, but it didn't stay in fully during his ragdoll descent. It was just off to the corner of his mouth he said, and he definitely got some snow / ice in his mouth still." ... "So as he drops in you can also see the sluff to the skier's right immediately start building....and that's actually the chute that was the intended route down. For whatever reason - well pure, unadulterated powder will do it to you - he didn't go make some strong 'skier cuts' into the upper pack to do one final snow check as instructed by the main guide who was doing the 'tail gunner' work. Instead he just sent it. And it didn't take more than a few turns out on this big shoulder above this cliff band to break loose."

Right on! And the music is way cool!

Thanks for the TR and pics! They have no match!

That looks outstanding! Thanks for the pics!

I see you're in the East? So basically just straight up ice climbing will be in your future. I'd go with the Nomics - such a great fun tool for pure ice - it just gets better when the ice gets steeper. I've tried the Reactors and new Vipers... the BD tools have a different swing than Petzl and I thought the grip on the Reactors was a little bulky. You can adjust the lower pinky rest on the Nomics for hand size. What "alpine" are you planning on doing out there? Not really much alpine out there that would benefit from a hammer or a spike... unless you plan on heading to Katahdin during the winter - which I recommend and advise especially if you're going to be in the EC for a while. Go, stay in the South Basin at Chimney Pond. Also, take a trip up to Lake Willoughby this winter - enjoy

Dan, nice stuff, man! So, does it uphold it's classic status? ...a sea of seracs!

I think trees are the real problem. We should cut down as many of them as we can. "One woman riding a motorcycle with her husband died after a tree fell on her." http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060620/REPOSITORY/606200339/1028/OPINION02 http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/51749807.html "A Mount Healthy woman sitting at her computer was killed when a tree fell onto a back room of her house" http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20080915/NEWS01/309160014/-1/winds/Three+killed+by+falling+trees

The black cloth is just there to tell you who made it and to cover the raw end. It's simply a tag. Because of that I've put notches on all my black Mammut tags so I can distinguish my slings from others'. If there was damage to any of the actual Dyneema then I'd retire it - I marked my retired one with marker and use it as a gear sling in the closet, where it can still hang out with it's able-bodied brethren.

Wow, thanks for sharing that with us, Mark, and glad you got out of that one in good shape considering the situation. I'm not sure I can fit a big ass helicopter on my harness but maybe I can sneak onto in my partner's pack.

Good point, Clint, you're right. Ya ya... I guess no one is safe... I should've seen that one coming!

Hmmm... I'm with Clint on this one. What's the point to go the extra distance to knock the dude down just because you don't understand his motivations?