YocumRidge

Gorge and ice, hmmm... But I'll get hold of ya.

Yeah, but by now you could have set up a fixed line to make life easier for us and avoid this :

1. HOOD - Eliot Headwall/Cathedral Spire - "Ravine" - with Vitaliy 2. HOOD - Eliot Headwall - Olsen/Wallace line - with Andy and Oleg 3. SHUKSAN - Hanging Glacier - with Anita and Oleg 4. FORBIDDEN - East Ridge/West Ridge traverse - with Oleg 5. Led the Louise Falls pillar, Canadian Rockies, AB - with Dane and Rafal

Apparently, Hyalite TRs are not welcome on CC any longer, as those must be getting too much to read. So, below is another “update” on the ice conditions we had over the last few days while in Hyalite. Taking a short break from Yosemite climbing, my dear friend Vitaliy took a flight from the Bay area to PDX to hit proper ice with me in Hyalite for a few days. We drove from PDX through the night straight to the canyon and warmed up on the closest to the parking lot G2 and Hangover. G2: Vitaliy on the left side of G2: Anita on the right side of G2: Myself on the Hangover: Next day we climbed the Dribbles and the Thin Chance in Amphitheater. Dribbles from the approach: Myself getting to the headwall: Vita leading the Headwall pitch, left side, felt harder than Scepter that we climbed a couple days later: Myself on the last pitch: On the way out, Vitaliy got on the Thin Chance: Cool stemming off the tree: As it occurred to us that we might have a fetish for adrenaline, Vita and I decided to get on another Hyalite classic, the Cleopatra’s Needle. What an amazing line, and no human being had been on it for the last two weeks, as we were breaking out the chest deep trail to the base and knocking off tones of shedding untouched ice. Vitaliy at the base of the Cleo’s: Alpine-like “approach” pitch: It got very cozy behind those curtains on the traverse to the base of the pillar: The pillar is looming above and barely touching down: The ice on the pillar was very “interesting” and confidence boosting: Yep, that’s right. It’s me, just like after a bar fight: Vitaliy threading the Needle: Vita on the top of the pillar: Vitaliy starting out the last winding section of the least resistance to the tree: Just below the tree: The Responsible Family Man seen from the top of the Cleo’s: Next day was supposed to be a rest day so we climbed in the Mummy Cooler. I led the MC2 while Vita led the Scepter which was a solid WI5 with the run out suspect pro. The Scepter and the MC2 seen from the Unnamed wall: Myself starting up on the MC2: On the MC2 topout: The Scepter: Vitaliy on the low part of Scepter: Vitaliy higher up: Before our drive home next morning, we finished on another Hyalite’s classic, the The Thrill is Gone. The thrill was not entirely gone. At least for Vitaliy who enjoys bare rock just as well. Vitaliy on The Thrill is Gone:

As I recall, you swapped the Lynx heel pieces for the BD ones and that seriously improved the fit. The Petzl rear bails are too wide for the small sized boots, period. Which makes a big difference on steep brittle ice for me: I had a couple of close calls in the past with the feet blowing off while trying to hold on to my dear life. So here we go again. For the upcoming ice trip, I am planning on using the mens Phantom Guides (s. 38) and Dartwins fitted with the BD heel pieces.

The SS Sabretooth generally suck for fitting on the small sized boots. IMO, the SS sabertooth Pro and the LS Evo Trango Light Extreme GTX (size 39) is the worst combination possible: the SS sabres felt like having flip flops on. The ridiculously worthless toe anchoring band does nothing but adds fat and weight rather than securing the fit. Do yourself a favor and replace the original sabres' bails with the Petzl bails - those the Darts, Dartwins or Lynx come with. Petzl warranty department rocks and although they do not sell the bails as a spare part, they always have a few on hand and might send it to you for free if you ask nicely. My SS sabres modified with the Petzl front bails:

Thanks Chad. Yes, I need Acopas men s. 8 - they run small.

I thought the crux was not to ditch you old truck off the cliff at Cascade Pass

Are you in the mood for the repeat ? It is that time of the year again.

Hey Chad! Yep, it's me. And that was you who got me hooked on Acopas a while back so now I cannot wear anything else since . Unfortunately, I had missed that sweet Ebay deal on the Spectres, but instead I found a not so sweet deal on Amazon that has a variety of Acopa shoes in multiple sizes, so you might want to check it out. I got the Aztecs (that climb very similar to Spectres IMO) as an all around shoe in Mens s. 8 and the Chameleons (mens 8) for bouldering. Very happy as nothing else seem to fit my oddly shaped feet and I need my shoes wide and stiff BTW, I will be selling my Boreal Aces (UK mens 6.5) that fits US womens 7.0, 1 Ramuda resole with the C4, so if Amy is interested, please let me know.

But the company was successfully run by his sister since then.

Anyone knows what happened to Acopa USA? Are they officially out of business? Their customer service does not seem to exist any longer (their phone is dead and all the emails keep bouncing back). Any other way to reach them?

Why so much love for the Yocum Ridge? I hear it is in great shape right now

North Ridge on Baker when we did it in July 2011:

Ahh, yes, thanks for that. OMC refused to do it

Was it you I talked to in the basement on Sun and handed my stolen gear list? Apparently, some climbing gear was dropped by the store by other day and someone from the Next Adventure has already called me, but that was not mine

May be not. My HO insurance is with Ameriprise, since USAA do not provide the earthquake coverage. I reside on the top of a cliff, so gotta have an earthquake insurance, Joe

daaaaaaaawwwwwwww! now only the 'smash n' grab' bitches can do it! The approach via Tilly Jane takes only an hour longer which you had done in the past, and I was a witness at one occasion

Good to know that the serial numbers have some uses. But then how do you approach the crooks, Scott? With the serial number and a gun in hand?

Yeah, Dave, I have looked into this. My HO insurance has a high deductible, but "vandalism and theft" coverage on the USAA auto policy will reimburse half of the gear loss with no deductible and all the damage done to the car, which is better than nothing of course.

But of course

Like others mentioned, CCW packs are definitely worth looking into and you can customize it to your heart's content. And it is going to be the best fit of all since it is made just for you. When you climb with it, you don't even notice it sitting on your back. Here is the CCW custom pack (thanks to Dane Burns) in action while holding on to the dear life on the "white granite staircase" with an ice tool, steel crampons, rock gear, bivy gear and a stove inside: However I would agree with the previous comment that Cilo and CCW volumes are running differently: CCW 30 L is best for 1 day, max 2 d trip IMO. 30 L Cilo gear would go for as long as 4 days.

I had screwed up the solvent I used (Toluene) to dilute Seam Grip (1:1) so the seams did not dry out within the suggested 24 hrs when I needed to use my brand new at the time 30 L NWD $450 pack. Likewise, I got pretty much the same problem - the fabric was torn after 2 days of use. So, I had just showed up at the Graham's office and he gave me a brand new pack (or may be I was nagging him too much ). 2 years later the bottom of the pack started showing worn out areas that leaked water. My NWD 30 L pack is Generation "0" ( I think now Graham is on the generation 5 or 6 of NWD packs) and the bottom panel in the gen "0" was made of the same NWD as the rest of the pack. The current versions of the NWD packs use the re-enforced laminates of NWD and WD which are much more abrasion resistant but not necessarily heavier. Still, Graham replaced the ruined bottom NWD panel on my gen 0 within 15 min for free while I was waiting and entertaining myself with the collection of ice tools at the CiloGear headquarters . The replaced bottom panel: And, yes, this pack is heavily used and abused, so not much white NWD can be now seen.

None of this stuff was marked, Bill.