Jon H

Therabands! Hurt my shoulder a couple years ago and wound up taking 4-5 months off climbing. I had my arm in a sling for 2 weeks, icing it 2-3 times a day. After the sling came off I let it rest for another 2-3 weeks and then got started on a theraband routine. Did about 20 minutes, twice a day. Just tie it off to a doorknob and do every exercise you can think of. Lots of suggestions on youtube. Start with the softest band (yellow IIRC) and aim for high reps... you should be getting 20-30 reps of each movement and this isn't weightlifting, you don't want to go to till failure. Just get a nice warm feeling in the muscles. Interior, exterior, anterior, posterior. Overheads. Flys. Presses. Do everything - it will build your shoulder back up. And when you start climbing again, be REAL careful with open-shoulder moves. NO FULL REACH GASTONS!

Is that Bill Belcourt holding the chromed out Fusions? I met him a couple weeks ago and IIRC he told me there are only 2 pairs of them in existence. It must be nice being the hardgoods manager for BD... it's the little perks that make you smile On a more gear-related topic - Got a recommendation for fitting crampon bales to the new Scarpa boots? I've got a similarly "loose" fit with my Phantom Guides and SS Cyborgs and Sabertooths. I was just going to use a hammer and a bench vise, unless you have a more elegant suggestion.

Picked them up this summer after buying no less than 7 pairs of boots (MadRock Alpinist, LS Trango Prime, LS Nepal EVO, LS Nuptse, Mammut Mammook, and Scarpa Omega) and these fit me the best. Haven't had a chance to get them out yet though, so no comment on climbing ability, but they sure fit nice. I have weird feet - low volume, extremely narrow heel, slightly narrow foot but with bonespurs at the base of both pinkie toes rendering my overall foot width slightly wider than normal, and a high arch. These hold my heel down the best and give me the best toe wiggle room. We had a freak snowstorm with over 24" at high elevations so I've already started my backcountry ski season, ice can't be far behind. Will happily report in with pics and climbing impressions of the boot as soon as humanly possible. I'm itching to swing my axes

Thanks for the replies everyone. Got so stoked I posted without Googling first. It seems the Cascades aren't the way to go. I've got a free flight voucher courtesy of Airtran. I was gonna use it on ice this season, but ECB had some wise words... I really don't need to go anywhere at all to climb ice. I think I'll save it for Seattle to do Liberty Ridge next year. Anybody looking for a partner?

Serious question.... if an ice coaster like myself were to happen to plop down in the PNW for a couple weeks this winter - how hard would it be to find consistent partners? NH is nice but the Cascades are calling my name!

2010 Scarpa Phantom Guide

My favorite "warm weather" glove is the OR Vert - thin, relatively cheap, and relatively warm. Nice sticky leather palm. (Thanks to Dane for turning me on to them!) Perfect for those days that are 25-30 degrees, sunny, and dry. The classic ice cragging day. My favorite cold glove is the Mountain Hardwear Hydra - it's the first glove where the waterproof membrane is bonded directly to the nylon shell (instead of being a free-hanging liner) so when you pull your soaking wet hands out of the glove, the liner does not invert. It's amazing. Good durability too - probably have 30+ pitches on them, 5-10 rappels and they still look brand new. I get out about 15-20 days per season and I figure I'll get 3-4 years out of them. Fits true to size. Go up a size if you'll want to wear a liner glove for extra warmth. For ugly, chossy, rough conditions (and all rappels) I use a pair of cheap insulated leather work gloves like the Kincos. I also Sno-Seal them liberally every 2-3 days of climbing. Pro tip: put them in the oven at a low temp for 15 minutes before Sno-Sealing - they'll absorb the wax like a sponge, it's amazing. Just don't forget them in the oven!! I also have BD Mercury Mitts for belays when it gets reaaal cold... I usually need them in the single digits and lower. This season I'll be carrying 2 pairs with me for a day of ice - one on my hands, one drying inside my jacket, I like to switch off every pitch. Depending on the temps I'll either have 2 Verts or 2 Hydras. I'll toss the work gloves in the pack if the objective requires multiple long rappels at the end of the day. On routes where I positively know I'll be getting wet (running water, wallowing in fresh snow on the approach, etc), I'll frequently carry a 3rd pair just for the approach. Read andy kirkpatrick's blog on gear - this guy climbs in the worst weather on earth and has his system more dialed than anyone. And Kirkpatrick - Psychovertical

Patagonia Rubicon Rider in womens XS - not the most packable, but a solid jacket for sure. http://www.departmentofgoods.com/patagonia-rubicon-rider-jacket-womens-pat1660 Or you could get the EB First Ascent primaloft jacket for $199 Jacket And if you have an old winter coat to donate, you can get a 20% coupon for your entire purchase from EB. More info here: http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/One-Warm-Coat/index.cat

I asked this same question here last winter - the general consensus is "Go with whatever you find in sale" There was a pretty equal split of people preferring the grivel, preferring the BD, or saying they're identical. So basically.... go with whatever's cheapest. I found a set of BD's for $90 and that pretty much settled it for me.

Snagged a Radion too. Report coming once we got some ice

Very interesting. I would have had a need to do this maybe next year sometime but my Cinch got "opportunistically repossessed" at the gym last week after I accidentally left it in a cubby overnight. Oh well. Anyone want to sell a used Cinch?

+1

Before long days on ice i eat my patented breakfast of 3 huge pieces of french toast on challah bread with a big piece of muenster draped over each and melted, then sprinkled liberally with a sugar/cinnamon blend. For warmer days I'll go for a big bagel with cheese/meat and lots of veggies. I always make it a point to try and superhydrate at breakfast (I actually start the night before) so I can get by with a little less water - I usually carry 1-1.5 liters for all but the longest/hottest days. This whole food science/performance nutrition thing doesn't really click with me. I eat when I'm hungry. I drink when I'm thirsty. I eat almost entirely natural food, no preservatives, no soda, no junk food/fast food/HFCS. I pay no attention to portion control or calories consumed - I eat like a beast. So far so good... I'm 26, at 9% body fat, and never been climbing stronger. YMMV.

Great layer. Almost snagged one, but found an Arcteryx Atom LT instead (1 oz heavier, but much sturdier fabric) for a great deal. Ultraight compressible layers (i.e. the Theta LT or Nanopuff) have completely replaced fleeces in my technical wear. My fleeces sit unused and neglected in my closet. They're heavier and less compressible. Maybe a bit better breathability, but that's it. The Nanopuff would mostly be an under-shell layer for me in particularly cold weather. My "action suit" for ice climbing in anywhere from 15-35 degrees is a baselayer (weight varies by expected temps and anticiapated sun exposure), R1 hoody, and Norrona Lofoten softshell. If it gets colder (0-15 degrees), I would layer the Nanopuff underneath. My heavier belay jacket (Mammut Stratus) hangs in a stuffsack off my harness for belaying and drying out. Below zero and I'll wear the belay jacket when I'm climbing. It's a rare day that I'll still be climbing out below zero. The barfies just get too damn painful. The other primary use for my Theta LT is late-season multipitch trad. If I get caught out after dark and the mercury drops, I'm gonna be glad I have that 10 oz of warmth hanging off my harness. Fleeces (and my belay jacket) were always much too bulky to bring normally, so I would just head up and hope for the best. The Nanopuff would only come out if I'm in a shitty situation anyway, so I'm less concerned about my jacket than I am about hypothermia in a hanging belay. Otherwise, it wouldn't really come out of its stuffsack. Oh, and no need to post the same question across multiple forums. You'll get a satisfactory answer, I promise.

I've never climbed Acon, but have been looking at a potential trip next year so I've been doing some research. This is what I've found, distilled. Aconcagua has been summited in sneakers. It's entirely dependent on conditions. Most people recommend one of the newer and lighter double boots, eg LS Nuptse/Baruntse/Spantik or Scarpa 6000. Most people wind up climbing to somewhere around 18K in approach shoes before switching to boots. Occasionally, people don't change into their boots until summit day. Your EVO's may be fine with supergaiters - but do you really want to risk your toes and a lifetime of pain?

Yup

I own the current version of the vipers and had the chance to play with the new quarks at the shop this weekend. I obviously haven't had a chance to get on any ice with the new Quarks. The swing feels fantastic. Really, really, fantastic. Better than the vipers for sure. Maybe even better than the Cobras. I'm wary of the trigger. Seems like a good way to injure finger tendons. BD picks are much easier to swap. Petzl picks seem to need less tuning out of the packaging. If you're even barely competent with a hand file it shouldn't be an issue. Either one is fine for leashless. I don't think I've used leashes since my very first day of ice climbing. After some brutal screaming barfies in single digit temps, I haven't used leashes since. I'm quite happy with this arrangement. There are some great deals out there on Vipers right now. Gonna be very hard to find deals on the new Quarks. The old Quarks I'm sure you can pick up for dirt, especially in the next month. IMO, they're similar enough (especially for your intended usage) that I would just go with whatever you find a good deal on first. I don't think you'll be disappointed with either. One last thought: how much mixed are you going to be doing? For mixed, the Nomic remains supreme. For waterfall ice, it still stands supreme. The Quark shines in the alpine environment. Figure out where you'll be spending the bulk of your time. Maybe you should be looking at the Nomic?

You can't use regular detergent with any outdoor gear. Detergent works by binding water together with dirt. The problem is that any fabric washed in detergent will retain some detergent - the fabric then "replaces" dirt, so then water binds to the jacket's fabric and it will soak through immediately. Either use tech-wash (as recommended above) or regular Woolite if you don't drink the hightech koolaid. Then treat with DWR. Spray-in is usually the right choice. Then run under medium heat in the dryer for 15-20 minutes. That should do the trick. Make sure not to run the dryer too long or you'll dissolve the glue in the seam tape and seams will start to blow.

Bleeding heart liberals have forgotten that despite our American ethos of religious tolerance, they have a very different mindset in the Muslim/Pan-Arab world. Conquest is to be celebrated and the expansion of Islam is a holy and noble goal. Most assuredly, the Arab world will see the construction of this mosque/Islamic community center as a victory. That is a guarantee. And furthermore, it is quite likely that it will foment more anti-American rhetoric. To be objective however, those spouting said rhetoric will have plenty of other rhetoric to spout should the mosque not be constructed. On the other hand, right wing nutjobs have forgotten that this IS a country that at least claims to offer religious freedom anywhere. This includes lower Manhattan. NYC is not less free than Dearborn, MI (area of highest density of Arab-descent population in the USA). Who gives a shit if the Arab street sees it as a victory? We have ideals. And what's more, it's not AT ground zero. It's several blocks away. My main (and I think fairly objective) concern is this: If the intent of the center, as the principals behind the project claim, is to promote interfaith understanding, then they should, of their own accord, seeing how divisive of a topic it has become, withdraw the initiative. An issue this polarizing promotes no understanding at all. Build it uptown and any rational person won't bat an eyelid.

You need to size the shells and the liners separately. To fit the shell: Remove the liners. Insert your foot and slide your toes as far forward as you can. You should have room for 1-2 fingers behind your heel, no more and no less. If you're planning bigger mountains after Rainier, go closer to 2 fingers - your feet swell at altitude. To fit the liners: You want snug, much like normal boots. You do not want your feet to slide around inside. The main difference when fitting mountain boots is that you need to ensure you don't have heel lift when you're frontpointing in your crampons. You'll have no control so you'll climb poorly and you'll get big blisters on your heels. The flip side is that you need to ensure your toes don't rub up against the front of the boot. If they do, you'll bruise your toes on the descent and possibly lose toenails. Oh, and don't forget to leave good wiggle room for your toes. Cut off circulation and you might as well cut off your toes anyway.

I think your best bet is to dump the old Fusion on ebay and put the cash towards a better all purpose tool. The Fusions have a weird swing for pure ice - a couple guys I know who have them hold the pommel *above* the grip for climbing vertical ice. I hear they're quite difficult to get good sticks when pulling bulges. They only really start to shine when climbing severely overhanging routes. Couple that with the fact that you want to do some alpine and all factors point towards you getting a different set of tools. I've got a set of new Vipers that I enjoy greatly. I bought them new when BD cleared out their stock last season at 25% off. Geartrade.com has a set of the old style vipers for pretty cheap right now - might want to check them out. They're a very capable tool and I owned/climbed them myself for a full season before getting the new ones, and only because they were on a good sale and I found someone to buy my old ones. There's also a guy selling a set of Trango Scorpions for sale on mountainproject right now ( http://mountainproject.com/v/for_sale__wanted/fs_ice_gear_brand_new/106862325 ). I was thinking of snagging them myself actually, but decided to be financially responsible for once. I really don't need 5 ice tools.

I like integrated gaiters 80% of the time. They work as advertised unless the powder is seriously deep and/or wet. At that point, I put on my OR Crocs but wish I wasn't carrying 2 gaiters worth of weight on my feet.

You could also just get "instep crampons" that will strap right onto your regular hiking boots as a just-in-case policy. As long as snow conditions are "normal" for that time of year, they will be perfect (and much better than micro spikes).

Can you post a link to that new slider you're talking about? I'm looking for a third tool with an adze to carry on long routes (my two normal tools are Vipers with hammers) and I'm thinking about an Aztarex. It's the perfect combo of lightweight, good shopping, good plunging, and with the sliding pinky rest, it could even climb in a pinch.

Bam! BD Viper w/ hammer: http://www.geartrade.com/browse/101/item/143750 BD Viper w/ adze: http://www.geartrade.com/browse/101/item/143749 Or, if you want to go a little lighter weight and get better plunging, go with this... Camp Awax w/ hammer: http://www.geartrade.com/browse/101/item/126251 I've heard good things about the Awax but never used. BD Vipers are great, I did my first WI4 with them (leashless).