Pete_H

Fawk. Just go to Squamish.

Of course you did.

The Sunshine Wall is actually pretty solid these days. Used to be a lot chossier and rockfall was very common. Most of the routes see a lot of traffic and have cleaned up quite a bit. Some of the cracks there are still pretty dirty, some aren't very parrelel sided and the gear just isn't very good. Semper vigilans.

Syria

Selling my g/f's Garmont Luster AT boots for her. - Skied about one season - Thermofit liner never molded - Tech binding compatible - Sz. 24 - Good condition $250 firm. Boots Monster Truck

Any time you'd save climbing up in plastic mountaineering boots you'd lose on the way down trying to ski in them. Sounds like the race (go up / go down) requires you to use AT gear. Sounds like you own AT gear. Not sure what your dilemna is.

Dude's got one of those PLO-style checkered scarves so he must know some important shit!

And what's more American the the good ol' college road trip?

The lady that makes this film The end of America seems to agree. Pretty interesting how she compares America to Nazi Germany, the similarities are quite striking if the content is true, which certainly appears to be the case. Wake up merica, your "freedom" is goin down! Yes. Contemporary America is the same as Nazi Germany. At least noone's wearing those silly small Hitler moustaches these days. Those are quite ugly.

Yeah, Vantage really sucks so quit going there! We almost had to wait in lines there in the sun yesterday! If you know what you're doing there really are some stellar sport lines there. If you don't know anything about it, you can get on some ugly stuff. What do you expect for a sunny warm weekend day in March at Sunshine Wall? As usual, the generic bolted 5.8's were crowded but most of the trad lines were free or saw minimal traffic.

We're headed to Cham at the end of the month to ski. We are renting a studio apartment for a week for $390 euros through homeaway.com. This was cheaper than any hotel I found and you get a kitchen.

I'd try Lake Powell or Daytona Beach. Don't forget to bring a bottle of flavored vodka and a video camera. Seriously though, why would you go the the PNW in March when you're right next door to the Utah desert, Red Rocks, Zion, etc.?

When I cross the border I wear a t-shirt that says "hockey sucks"

Even regardless of novelty factor, that is still one of the funnest ice routes I've done. Definitly needs a few weeks of consistent cold with a pre-existing snow pack to form up.

I also tend to buy Patagonia over other products if I can because they stand behind their products and will replace or repair them if they fail or wear out. Another company, like TNF, may or may not.

I had a US border agent ask to inspect my hands when I told him I'd been in Canada rock climbing. He remarked that my hands didn't look as bloody and scabby as other climbers he's seen. I just told him that's because I've been doing it for a long time and I've got good technique! I've had other US border agents ask me what the highest mountain in the world is and what the highest mountain I've climbed is. I guess to "verify" that I was indeed a climber. Ironically though, usually the US guys are a lot nicer and more professional than the Canadians.

Very cool. Looks like an interesting trip with some great climbing too. I noticed that you guys were tenting it but are there other accomodations, such as guest houses, as well?

Right. They don't meet DIN spec's or whatever.

11worth is going to be hot as fawk in July too. I'd consider going over to Index also. There's a few days worth of high-quality shaded 5.9ish routes there. Good shady bouldering and river swimming in 11worth though.

No. Except some AT boots, like the Dynafit Zeus, have interchangeable soles so they can covert to be alpine binding compatible. Also, most (or all?) slackcountry bindings like the Marker Duke can accomodate an AT or alpine sole. Why not just use an AT binding for the downhill portion of the race?

Sure a gigantual avalanche originating in a large alpine cirque is going to take out some huge vegetation and whether or not you are "skiing in the trees" will matter little. However, most fatal slides are diminutive enough that trees will in fact provide shelter and will probably negate the start of a slab avalanche in the first place.

There is a real good discussion on this on TAY: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=23262.0 Gary Brill had a pretty enlightening post: I think the key is whether or not the "treed" slope is canopied or not. Canopied means you can see little sky. #2 photo is not canopied and hence surface hoar can form. Open treed areas are "great" for surface hoar formation and maintenance. For a canopied forest, I have only a few times released a slab. This was on steeper areas of forest above 35-40 degrees. The slides were soft slabs (with snow falling heavily at the time) and because of the forest released over a limited area. Forested areas are more often than not bumpy which makes a slope less planar for slab formation. Canopied forests: 1) act as a reservoir for falling snow and then subsequently drop that snow as a stabilizing influence, 2) anchor the snowpack in localized areas, 3) restrict windflow, meaning windslab is unlikely. In general, I feel pretty safe skiing in "old growth" canopied forest in all but the most severe of avy cycles. I'm not exactly sure what a "hectare" is but I disagree that trees have to be nearly too tight to ski to provide safety.

Optimally, you'd get two different setups. But a compromise would be to have a l/w but versatile ski like a Manaslu mounted with Silvrettas and then a pair of AT boots and a pair of climbing boots. That would cover your bases pretty well.

Or by anyone with a couple wood blocks who wants to get really soaking fucking wet.

I'll take the rapists for 500, Alex