johnson37

Loved your clip with JJ and BirdMan up at the Ski Hill, am enjoying your videos now that I found your site.

Send this to the Board of Tourism, it is so much better than "Say WA" My in-laws are from Missouri and can't understand why property values are so high in the West. I'll hit him with this.

The bypass trail is complete around and over the washout. The old road is definitely an interesting walk and might generate an interesting discussion with your wife. As for snow, you may head south from Dosewallips to the Lake Cushman area. There have been a few TR's on nwhikers over the previous weeks from that area including snowshoeing and moderate climbing. The numerous towns on Hood Canal are interesting but watch out for the revolving speed limits. They'll make your head spin.

Thanks for the great advice, will be heading up soon for practice. I used to have a little ability with my old axe but have definitely forgotten more than I remember and need to re-learn. Reading is certainly no substitute for practice and haven't intended it to be.

A newb here and am hoping to learn a few more things. I used to have some no-name brand ice axe that I used for years (mostly as a trekking pole or glissade rudder) but loaned it out and never got it back. I replaced it with a pair of Grivels, an Air-Tech and a Monte Bianco (?) but never had a chance to use them due to life circumstances. Years later and I am finally getting to plan for some mountain routes (moderate) and realize I need an axe. Well I dug the Grivels out of the back corner of the garage and noticed the picks don’t fit the traditional profile of a mountaineering ice-axe. The Air-Tech pick is only 6” long, has an aggressive curve and teeth that reach nearly back to the shaft. The Bianco pick is 6.5” long with a flatter curve and less teeth. Here are links for both so you can see what I’m talking about. http://cascadeclimbers.com/gear/general/product/Grivel-Air-Tech-Ice-Axe.html http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/imanf/Grivel/idesc/Air+Tech+Ice+Axe/Store/MG/item/114135/N/0 I have an older M.B. with a steel shaft but the head looks very similar to the one on the new model. http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/CMP/KNC-97950/cmpn/97950/store/MG/item/111890/N/0 When I look at other mountaineering axes I notice they have a much longer pick. My experience would tell me that a longer pick would make a more certain self-arrest in deep or loose snow but are the picks on the Grivels adequate for stopping 200+ pounds of me and my gear? I will certainly practice with them before setting off but thought I would ask while I’m sitting at home. I’ve also noticed the Black Diamond Ravens have a different design with a head that looks more comfortable for the hand but the cutouts on the adze seem like they would make it less efficient. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. If it helps, my plans don’t include any water ice climbing, just glacier/snowfield travel and the occasional steep mixed snow/rock route. Thanks in advance.