keenwesh

how do the baruntse's climb? I like that they're a double boot so I can curl up with the liners at night and dry them out, and I really like that they make them up to size 16. is there a marked difference in their performance compared to the nepals?

of july...

the nepal evo, what about the extreme? In mountaineering boots I like to go slightly bigger because if theres not enough room in my boots my feet get cold and I get more blisters... they say they make size 49 and 50 by request for the nepal extreme. My patagonian aspirations? I'd like to get up Exocet, Marc is gunning for the west face of cerro torre but thats a little bold for me to declare. Canadian route or supercatalena on Fitz Roy. Poincenot. In AK I'd like to eventually do the Cassin

I need a boot with a toe welt, I want to get into mixed and hard ice. are the Baruntse's the way to go? I don't think I can pony up the dough for those and they seem to be overkill for my current needs...

oh, and I've got size 15 feet, so that severely restricts my options as far as different boots available to me

I've got a pair of Garmont Tower GTX's for ice climbing and the like. they're great in the cascades because they're light and warm enough, my question is, will they be too cold for ice climbing in bozeman? also they do not have toe welts so I have to get clip crampons for them (I'm about to purchase a set of cyborgs...) Is it worth it to pick up a pair of Baruntse's for the extra warmth and toe welt? I'll be going to patagonia next winter (I think the garmonts should be alright there) but I'm worried about the cold temps in bozeman and I'd like to eventually do some trips to Alaska, where I'll need a pair of warm boots. thoughts?

Trip: Leavenworth bouldering - Date: 3/4/2011 Trip Report: Thank god for teacher in service days. With the 3rd four day weekend in a row upon me I convinced my friends ian and joe to rally out to leavenworth for the day, the weather was kinda iffy but hey, we were going to be roadside bouldering, nbd... I got up at 5.40 and ian picked me up at 6.30, a quick detour to joes house to a part of tumwater neither of us had been too before and we were on the road. When we got to leavenworth we were surprised by the amount of snow on the ground, no matter, all the overhanging rock looked dry, we didn't need to top out on anything, it'd just be like climbing in the gym. we parked at Forestlands and postholed up to the boulders. I managed to get the V3 "arrested development" (minus the topout, it would have involved a scary beached whale into icy snow) 2nd go, not bad as I've only been training for a month! we then surprised ourselves by making very good progress on the V5 right variation to this problem, I'm going to get it next time! we worked the other V4's at lower before it started snowing and we headed up to upper forestland. played around and got increasingly cold for the long boot soaking posthole out. We then headed for swiftwater and the "footless traverse" such a fun problem! that loaf hold is so cool! we messed around with that, some really fun lockoff campusing and stuff, another one to go back too when the finish isn't glazed with verglas! Before making the long drive home we stopped at Curt Haire's house and had a really nice visit. I hadn't seen him since 8th grade or so so that was great. I hope I can get out with him before I leave for school at the end of the summer. Snoqualmie pass was slow and we saw at least 15 cars in the ditch. There was also a big wreck on northbound I-5 with one car on fire, I hope no one was hurt... Really great day out with fun friends. Gear Notes: 3 borrowed pads, hot hands! Approach Notes: posthole in cotton jeans, get real cold.

As I'm leaving for college away from the cascades at the end of august I'd like to make this summer count. I'm looking for a reliable partner to climb 5.10-11 routes in the greater enchantments area. The boving route on dragontail comes to mind and I'd also like to give gorillas in the mist a try. CBR, Solid gold, and the like. PM me

raindawg, your chest thumping "sportclimbing sucks!" banter is super fucking annoying. You aren't changing anyones mind. (and I'm sure I'm not changing yours) You don't have to take every opportunity you can to get your already widely known views out there. Sportclimbing is convenient, fun, and here to stay. stop whining. you're acting like a child.

be able to get up at least WI 5 by next december. I'll be at MSU Bozeman so that shouldn't be too hard. comfortable lead the grand wall over the summer. lead as many trad 11's as I can. have fun.

I like my rivers fast and brown. I'm also more of a boater then a floater. sure you could do it in IK's in august but that'd be a pretty mellow trip. preseason runs are balls to the wall adventures. it was just a suggestion. I also suggest that you look on professorpaddle, I think you'd get along with those guys pretty well, you big party-er, you.

montana

^core

check out professorpaddle.com if you haven't already. basically a CC for NW kayakers

do a high water trip before season starts. often the river is completely dried up by the last week of july, even if you have a permit. I have a few friends who've done it really high (above 20k) and while it was big, most drops develop sneaks. I might be into doing a preseason run depending on how important the last bit of senior year is to me (not very) and if I have the funds.

which handhold on terminal preppie broke? theres the sidepuls with the high foot smear on nothing at the crux, then you reach out far to the left to grab that incipient crack. is it the hold in the crack? cause once you hit that the crux is over. if it's harder now what is it? 12a? sorry I just NEED TO KNOW

terminal preppie is a good one to get spanked on.

the car sized blocks coming off the north face of Fury are pretty cool to watch too...

I didn't realize you're from NYC... if you've never done any routes in the Cascades I'd say a pickets traverse is a pretty bad first trip, especially solo. once you're in there the only way out can be days away. Oftentimes the only way out is the route you've planned, which may become unfeasible due to the shit weather. I'd either find a partner whose climbed in the cascades before, ideally in the pickets, or do something with less of a commitment factor, like the Ptarmigan.

Vol. 3 in the beckey guide. get in there, the pickets are the shit.

it'll be the dam... too poor to pay for that shit.

wiley isn't that bad. a plus with it is you avoid having to traverse challenger glacier solo. going out goodell is not hard either. plus there is some serious shit that you would have to climb up to get through outrigger, descending it's just a short rap but going up it would be a long scary death gully on climbers right with loose chockstones of death. My dad talked to Fred Beckey back in the day about it and all he said that the north to south traverse is easier. I tend to agree with him. how hard is descending Access Creek? my plan for this summer is in wiley and then out access. as we were hiking in we ran into a party who had spent 2 days trying to thrutch up access but had given up as it was raining and upward progress was impossible due to alder and turned around...

last summer got me hooked too, I'm planning to do the N buttress of fury in july or at least during the earliest weather window... maybe see you in there!

we went north to south last summer. there is a 5.7 30 foot thing to get out of the moat on the north side of the ottohorn/himmelhorn col. really exposed and you would die if you fell soloing it but it is only 5.7... going north you would have some tricky bits going towards outrigger from picket pass... I would suggest going North to south and either being confidant soloing 5.7 in boots with a pack or carry along a lightweight self belay system.

My tentative plan now is to attend the fist semester of school at NAU and then fly down and adventure for the rest of the year. that way I can get to experience college and go have fun. I'm not being disrespectful to anyone who went to college. I DON'T want to just get drunk for 4 years. I want to insure that I get the most out of my education and that it is meaningful TO ME.