davidk

Been having trouble lining up trips with my normal partners, so I'm looking to expand my pool of alpine rock partners. I have weekends free (excluding Aug. 15/16), with every other Friday off as well. Have gear and experience, looking to get some mileage on moderates, and will happily follow if you want to ropegun into the 5.10 range. I'm mostly interested in the North Cascades, and have a list but am also very open to your objectives. I would also like to do the North Ridge of Stuart before the season is out. PM or email at kiehld@msn.com. Let's go climb! -David

...check PMs

nice, thanks for sharing Wayne. I'm digging the Pickets bumper sticker too!

bag check at the front counter is standard for many high-end downtown retail shops. Lighten up!

I currently own a BD Quantum 55, and have used it for everything you list (except 7 days, though I think I could manage to carry enough for a week in the summer). In general I have been very pleased, but after 15 months of use some durability problems have arisen: excessive wear at the hipbelt attachment, and the VX21 fabric, which is seemingly bomber, has worn through to the middle reinforcing Dacron grid layer in key wear zones (bottom of pack, sides, front). It seems as though the face fabric is actually not that abrasion resistant, and the stiff Dacron grid behind it creates a mesh of wear points. Cold Cold World packs come highly recommended by a handful of people on this site. As wdietsch suggests, the Chaos model looks like it would fit the bill well. This looks like an attractive option to me because it's lighter than the BD Quantum, the fabrics are proven to be very durable in the field, and custom add/subtract features are available because they will most likely not sew the pack until you order one.

Kinda last minute, but the weather forecast looks awesome so I'd like to get on an alpine rock route in the North Cascades. Give me a call, I've got some ideas. 425-736-6570 David

PM sent on screamers

the snow you will encounter on the Stuart Glacier and crossing below the west ridge face on your way to the north side of the peak can get very hard after a cold night. If you plan to cross it in the early morning, take crampons and ice axe. If you plan to cross in the afternoon, you probably could get away with not having either. While you don't need permits to climb Stuart or camp at the base, you do need a Northwest Forest Pass to park at the trailheads. $5 for a one day I believe, available from most local gear shops and often at the trailhead too.

love the Iron Bored sculpture installations!

Doesn't sound like Morton's Neuroma to me. I would guess it's related to plantar fasciitis, only yours is affecting the front of the tendons instead of where they attach at the heel (most common). Were the shoes you wore significantly different as far as arch support compared to your running shoes?

all sold

Arcteryx sold

Mountainsmith and Gregory sold

Bump - all packs still available, prices reduced

Gotta thin out my collection. These are all packs that I rarely if ever use, but they are all still in great condition. Can arrange for local pickup in Seattle or the eastside (I'm in Redmond), or can ship for extra. PM if interested or email me at kiehld@msn.com. Osprey Eclipse 26L, size large (adjustable torso). Great all-around daypack, well used but so bomber it still has a ton of life. Might be hard to see in photo, but it has two ice axe loops, ski straps, a sturdy hipbelt, and the harness is a removable hydration pack. $30

new might not be what you're looking for, but check the specials on patagonia's website. Last time I looked they were pretty cheap

I would stay with what you've got, so long as the FF Volant fits well over the Arcteryx shell. Since puffy layers are usually only worn at rests/belays or around camp, it's easiest to just throw it on over everything. It's also warmer that way: no loft compression, and the major contributor is no loss of warmth due to taking off your shell prior to putting on more insulation. I used to buy shells to fit over puffies, but then they are too loose for activity. Now I buy shells to fit perfectly over a midlayer, and I buy my puffy jacket to fit over the shell easily.

That's the fact, Jack!!!1 :lmao:one of my all-time favorites, thanks for the reminder sobo!

Always. Same goes when I'm on my bike. A note on that though: bike helmets are for biking, climbing helmets are for climbing. I see a lot of people biking in their climbing helmets, and most climbing models will do little to protect your head in a bike crash. You wouldn't wear your uber light, full-of-vents road bike helmet to protect you from falling rocks and ice, would you? Just like you shouldn't wear your climbing helmet (which is designed with primarily top impacts in mind) to protect you from the side, front, and rear blows common in bike accidents. Sure, it's better than nothing, but our heads are irreplaceable, so it's in your best interest to protect appropriately. I've had my life save by my bike helmet in a serious downhill mountain biking wreck. Good helmets work very well.

You can hike in to the South Pickets via Goodell Creek, explore the ridgeline south of the MacMillan Spires, and even have a go at West MacMillan Spire. If you want to venture into the North Pickets, I suggest you ensure that your boss is comfortable with North Cascades bushwhacking and potential epics, or you may be fired afterwards

Cool, thanks for sharing. I was on ice during the past summer (Nov.-Dec. 22), but the closest I got to the pole was calling on the HF radio during snow school, and I roomed with a couple polies when I arrived at McMurdo. Spent six weeks in the Dry Valleys for geology research. I have a google picasa album of a selection of my photos - it can definitely take up a couple hours of your time: http://picasaweb.google.com/davidfkiehl Good luck with the rest of your winter-over! -David

sounds like a great route - any pictures?

PM sent

Sweet! That's a huge effort on your first day - quite impressive. Your last photo sums up the weekend up there: beautiful conditions and shit-eating grins everywhere. Glad to see everyone had good trips.

Trip: Eldorado - NW Couloir Date: 5/25/2009 Trip Report: Despite repeated proclamations by both Kevin and I over the past few months that "it's rock season now," we nonetheless found ourselves jonesing for some steep snow/ice. Conditions looked good leading up to Memorial Day weekend, so we decided to have a go at the NW Couloir route on Eldorado. The other TRs on here of previous climbs of the route were all in October or November, so we were a bit skeptical as to the relative amounts of snow and ice we would encounter. The Eldorado plateau was a zoo over the weekend, but there was plenty of space for everyone to play. Kevin, Peter, and I hiked in on Sunday afternoon to a bivy at the base of the east ridge. Shoutout to the cute climbing ranger, Erin, who we met on the way up. We got up at the crack of dawn and set off across the Inspiration Glacier. We followed the approach detailed in AlpineDave's TR: rap/downclimb the obvious gully at the base of Eldorado's north ridge (between Eldorado and Dean's Spire). A single 30m rap from a fixed pin at the top of the gully got us to snow that we could downclimb. (In late fall parties make 2-3 raps) Traversing the Inspiration in the morning Coming up to the gully to cross to Eldorado's west side Kevin rapping as Peter downclimbs. Note the second rap station with blue webbing at right-center (a little hard to see). After traversing back towards Eldorado's west face for about 200 yards, we got a glimpse up the route. Boy did we score! The route had two sizable steps of water ice (grade 2/3) separated by a bomber alpine ice luge track. The top 200-300 feet consisted of steep, soft snow. The walls of the couloir were guarded by steep and deep snow, making it hard to access the rock for pro. Plus, most cracks were iced up, so we only bothered with rock placements for belays. Kevin leading up the first water ice step In the luge track: firm snow and alpine ice made for quick movement Kevin leads up the second water ice step while Peter intercepts falling ice and I belay Looking down the couloir After the second ice step we simul-soloed the steep snow to the top of the couloir. Peter topping out: A quick trip up the knife-edge staircase of the east ridge got us to the summit, just under six hours after leaving camp. So our suspicions that this would make a good spring route proved true, and we were rewarded with excellent conditions and super fun climbing. Props to Peter - this was his first time ever on ice, and he did well. Gear Notes: 60m rope 2 screws (10 cm and 16cm) - could have used 1-2 more cams BD #1&2; yellow and orange TCUs; red Mastercam; set of nuts - used most cams, no nuts 1 picket - came in handy for one belay Approach Notes: Snow from about 4500+ feet up. Skis are highly recommended - we didn't use any flotation, and put in enough postholes for a border fence.