Jon H

Just an FYI - John Frieh - the seller of the Cobras with 9 picks was asking $475 plus shipping. Figure close to $500 total. Of course, if he held any private negotiations with the buyer that could have changed things.

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.

Hey, I sent you a PM. Check your messages. I tried to call and text you but neither went through so I had to send a PM, sorry.

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.

Looking to pick up a used but not abused pair of Silvretta 404 or 500 or any of the other bindings that are also compatible with ice climbing boots. Ramers, Karhu's, the old Salewas, etc. Just mounting these on a pair of super light skis for the approach and return to the car. Won't be doing any real skiing at all. Just "pizza" and "french fry" all carefully back down to the road. Don't want a broken binding or a broken ankle. Please provide condition and price shipped to NJ. Only interested in fully working bindings with all parts. Budget is $100-$150 or have tons and tons of stuff to barter. Thanks!

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).

Expect to ruin your pants on your first couple days out. The first time I put on crampons I didn't make it 10 steps before I snagged the cuff of my pants and put a 1/2" tear in. But that was the first and last time I ever made that mistake. I took my buddy out for his first day of ice out last season... and he SHREDDED his pants. Must have snagged them no less and 12-13 times that day. But he's a big clumsy oaf. Your mileage may vary. Skip the Seracs. Get a BD Sabertooth or Grivel G12. They walk fine. IMO it's not worth dropping "below" those crampons (in terms of aggressiveness) unless you're buying a dedicated lightweight 'pon (prob aluminum) for routes where you know with certainty there won't be any technical ice. If there's a chance you're gonna have to frontpoint, get a real set of crampons. Otherwise you'll be chopping steps like the good old days. Ditto on Coldfinger's gear list. Learn how to self rescue. Tyson and Loomis' book "Climbing Self Rescue" is a good start. Also get Mountaineering: Freedom Of The Hills and read it cover to cover 3 times. FWIW, since getting a pair of good softshell pants (Stoic Tour's - got 2 pairs on SteepandCheap for $120 and then 29.99, go figure ) I don't think I've ever worn my hardshell pants since.

Ha, epic for sure. Nice TR, good comedy and great pictures.

All BD tools made in the past 20+ years (including these) all use the exact same pick mounting system, so you can get new picks easy as pie.

EFTR. That stands for Epic Fu*^*ng Trip Report.

Payment sent! Thanks Glenn!

sent an e-mail to your @live.com address

Thanks for the info matchswain, that pretty much clears everything up. Gracias!

I was just re-watching that bad ass POV video of Colin Haley's solo in Patagonia (link HERE if you haven't seen it) and I'm having trouble figuring out his self belay system. Does anyone know anything about it or have you read about it? The viewer never sees what device he has on his harness, so I suppose the only way to know would be from an interview/slideshow where he "spilled the beans" so to speak. Also, how was the whole system rigged? Did he have to rap down, unfix his anchor, and then jug the pitch again? Or did he only place pro for a single pitch/ropelength, and therefore not need to do any rapping/jugging/backcleaning? But if this is the case, how did he get his rope back for the rappel? Also - what rope was that? It looked awfully skinny and awfully static (i.e. thin white cord with no colorful markings). If anyone has any insight to share it would be greatly appreciated.

Nice TR! Bummer to hear about your friend's shoulder injury. I had an anterior dislocation and torn rotator cuff a couple years ago. I was out for 7 months but I'm back and climbing stronger than I ever have, so tell him to hang (no pun intended) in there! On another note, I'm stuck out here on the East Coast for the foreseeable future, so if you (or anyone) need a Gunks/Dacks partner, just drop me a line. I'm happy to show people around.

For two fat bolts, why make things complicated? Just two clove hitches in series and you're good to go. Speed is safety.

Thanks for the info Dane!

How much? If you prefer not to make it public, you can send me an e-mail. woahitsjb at gmail dot com

Just wondering.... is it just me, or did BD switch the front points on the Sabertooth from "pointy" points (like on the G12's) to a new, beveled front point that looks like a chisel? Any idea when/why this was done? Or am I misremembering completely... have the Sabertooths always had a chisel point? And then of course my followup question: Has anyone spent the time to comparing pointy vs chiseled frontpoints? I have a pair of SS Cyborg Pro's (and an older pair of Rambo IV's) for steep/hard ice... but for long moderate routes with pitches of snow (where I'll want horizontal points) but definitely ice to climbed as well, what type of frontpoints do you prefer? Hope I described my question clearly...