NateF

V14!? Ludicrous!

Yes it changed hands last year or year before.

Try getting in touch with Dave at High Himalayan Adventure (in Vashisht, near Manali). He has a website.

There is a book about what happened during the previous resort development planning. I don't know what it's called but you'd be interested if you haven't read it already.

Woodinville Bicycle will not disappoint you.

Genuine & inspirational, a wonderful expression of what adventures like these mean to you, and no doubt to your partner as well. Heartily enjoyed that, thanks!

Plenty of excellent places to pitch a tent but water is certainly a problem in the upper basin once the snow's gone. I camped below SEWS late summer my first trip up there and had to head over to Blue Lake in the morning for water. My partner & I both agreed we wouldn't do that again. If you're just looking to camp in a nice spot and don't mind a side trip for water it might be worth it to you.

You can walk/scramble to the top anchors of the big block on the parking lot side of the river at Smith. Couple or three decent 10- routes there, and popular beginner group location immediately adjacent. 40 min drive from Bend though. Meadowcamp is close to town, has several walk up bolted anchors, the "routes" are incredibly short, like 20'-40' (probably being generous). There's a little bit of bouldering on the river trail near town. Check both sides of the river upstream from town and you'll find it. There's some toproping near town at a place called powerlines that I hear is alright but never visited. Ask around about tick ranch for some more bouldering and a few short yet stout sport routes, I got schooled there on the one route that looked do-able to me. You probably would have heard of these places already if they were reasons to move to Bend, if you get my drift. All the same, it's great that there are some options close to town and the settings are very nice. The Bend rock gym is quite excellent.

See thread: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=32287.0 Todd Lk/Ridge would be up your alley. Tumalo if you want to run into more people, or for a shorter & more straightforward ski. See COAA for a conditions report (not mine) from 12/29 http://coavalanche.org/ If you're on Facebook, go to the Central Oregon Avalanche Association page and check out the pics someone shared there yesterday morning.

I notice a lot of judgmental people post here.

I heard they were located and hiked out Thursday morning. Try pm'ing bremertonjohn for further information.

Matt, I think he's looking for stuff to climb while his non-climbing buddies hike around and enjoy the scenery. Not stuff to try to get his non-climbing friends up.

Trader Joes has a vanilla whey powder that's pretty good (tried the chocolate once, thought it was gross). Blended with TJ's green plant juice, a little milk or yogurt, a few bananas, berries and some peanut butter, it makes for a very tasty smoothy. Even just mixed with a glass of milk or water it's pretty good.

That sucks. I'm sure they made the best decisions they could given the situation. I hope George finds his way home safe and sound!

The Dolomites are chock full of full service huts/rifugios. I think it would be difficult to do a multi-day hiking trip without having the opportunity to hike or scramble up a few peaks. There's a book called "Walking in the Dolomites" which is helpful in putting together hiking routes, but doesn't have scrambling info. Despite their stigma here, there are via feratta routes which might be worth looking into. I believe they are remnants of the wars. I'd bet many scrambles have a few ladder rungs here and there, or might even be considered via ferrata routes, so I wouldn't let the term turn you off from checking something out unless you are an absolute purist. I wasn't there long and had a sick travel partner, so just hiked around a bit, but I hope that helps a little. There's an expat in Munich who has posted some excellent Dolomite climbing reports here, hopefully he'll pipe in with some specific recommendations for you. If you happen through Bolzano/Bozen check out Messner's Mountain Museum, it's in an old castle and is worth a visit. Have fun!

Wow, look what we have been hanging our asses on for years! Thanks Kurt for replacing this stuff! I also appreciate any constructive comments made about hardware being installed today, after all it is what we'll be hanging our asses on for the next decade(s). num1mc can you support your statements with some information?

I'm an old F1 user too. It serves the purpose. I don't care what beacons my partners use. If I'm confident they can rescue me, that's great. If I'm less confident in their ability to rescue me, it has more to do with their overall capabilities & experience than what beacon they use. That said, I am also considering updating, it's just time. I'd rather just do it than have to do hours of research to keep up on compatibility issues, frequency drift, which is better for multiple burials, and all that. It's more fun to spend that time skiing.

Cool, I took the tram up with my folks and little sister once. Nice thing about the LA crowds is they don't seem to wander far. Have you seen that survival show that included the story of a couple from Texas or someplace who got lost up there and had an epic which included finding the remains of a backpacker who had been injured and didn't make it out? It sounded like a nightmare. Here's a summary account: http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Report_Lost_TwoHikers.htm

It's not your title, it's just cc.com/the internet. Wading through BS to find relevant content is required. Try mountainproject.com for more respectful results.

There's a newish Bham climber who posted recently looking for advice who sounds like he could use some help getting out. See the thread in the Rock Climbing forum "North Cascades Alpine, Snow, Sport Routes"

Always enjoy your trip reports and the reflection they provide of camaraderie on the road and at the crag, thanks!

If you decide to go that route let me know. I have a pair of dynaduke swap plates I couldn't use because the adjustment range on my old speeds wasn't quite enough to work with my boots. I also have a pair of unused sollyfit plates, that's another story. One option would be to get some cheap used salomon bindings and use sollyfit plates. Plates will be posted for sale soon. I've been skiing older dukes for resort and short tours for 3+ seasons, they work fine. I echo the comments from epst10, and would consider the Barons.

You might check with Mammoth Mountaineering for beta & local conditions

You can rap on 6mm static line with a munter hitch. Not all static line is created equal. Some is designed and marketed for the sort of use you intend, some is designed as "accessory cord", which I think is the type which loses strength when wet. I don't think you'll find something <6mm that has much strength or durability margin but who knows, there is some strong stuff out there.

Set of nuts, a few small cams, a few hexes for larger pieces, and runners/slings will cover you in case a hold pulls or something knocks you off. "Gym rope": if you mean 30m or so I don't think it will get you down the raps. Yes you can down climb, but most do not prefer to do so on loose easy 5th. If you carry the rope, might as well bring a few pounds of pro to throw in your partner's pack. It's not that far to hike. Be safe, have fun.