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The above is good advice and something to think about, especially if you plan on getting on steeper terrain. Another lightweight ice tool option is Petzl Aztarex. Otherwise, there are lighter axes out there, such as the BD Ultra Pro and the Camp Corsa, both of which are a full half pound lighter than a lightweight ice tool. True, but why not go a step further and develop some balance and just ditch those things. They add a half pound of weight, are one more thing to manage on your pack, and make your arms tired after using them all day long. The only time I’ve ever wanted them is for stream crossings and I can usually find a stick that does the job. Uuhh... for hiking in snow? I'm an old school peep that still loves his gaiters.

This is one of those topics where you will get lots of different answers, depending on an individual's needs and personal preference. I like to go as light as possible so that means I'm looking for the shortest axe that will get the job done. I don't use it as a walking stick. It's for self arrest and self-belay only. I'm 5'11" and my axe is 50 cm. I can't imagine that you would find 60cm to be too short, given your height. Also... climbing styles and techniques change along with the times. I was perfectly happy with an axe that was almost 90cm (I just measured it) 45 years ago.

Rocky Butte good: 1) It's closer than anything else - it's in Portland! 2) The rock is good, routes are fun. Rocky Butte bad: 1) It's trashy but you can overlook that. 2) Faces north so even after a few days of sun it's still wet and slimy. 3) And this is it's worst attribute for me - lots of freeway noise makes communications with belayer difficult.

Wow this is great! FWIW, as you are expanding your database, I hope you add Cilogear packs and Stephenson Warmlite tents soon.

Wow – lots of good suggestions and advice. This is all very helpful. I’ve compiled everything and am trying to plan out a couple fun days so when we get to Smith we can spend more time climbing and less time wandering and bumbling around like the newbies we are. Many thanks to everyone!

Yep that was us. We were looking for a route to top rope while practicing setting gear and Adam’s Crack seemed to fit the bill – except that there was no anchor that we could access without climbing. The folks on the route before us were kind enough to pull up our rope on their last climb and pass it through the anchor at the top of White Lightning and then through a directional sling and biner at the small maple tree near the top of AC. Now that I know the route and am confident I can lead it I will set up a belay farther up at the fir tree and do as you suggest. Thanks for your advice. I welcome any I can find! Holler and say hi the next time you see us. BTW thanks to Jeff (Geoff?) and Jim! Jim is quite the unselfish individual – a real class act.

So if you were going to buy just two cams to augment a rack of otherwise passive pro, what would you buy? I know to some extent that depends on where you want to climb, but I'm looking for a general purpose answer that I understand won't work in all situations. We're interested in technically easy alpine routes - Ingalls Peak, Whitney East Buttress, Long's Peak Keiner's, etc.

My son and I are beginning trad climbers and have never been to Smith Rocks. I have Alan Watts’ climbing guide, but was hoping someone could recommend some easy trad climbs (5.7 and under, multi or single pitch) that can be protected with passive pro only. I have a full rack of nuts and hexes and some tricams. Given that we are learning I’d like to stay away from really crappy rock and run-out routes. Any suggestions?

Same here. My solution has been to carry an extra prussik leg loop. After working up as high under the lip as possible, with my waist and leg loops below the lip, I can generally reach up and grab the rope above the lip with my fingers and jam something underneath it, thus providing room to attach another leg prussik. Of course if someone hasn't placed an axe handle or something there and the rope is dug in, well... haul me out!

For a one-day hard push if I want to go light I will take 3L of electrolyte mix (I use Accelerade) in a bladder and packets of non-caffeinated energy gels (strawberry banana GU and vanilla Power Bar are non-caffein). It doesn't taste great but it's tolerable, I can eat/drink while climbing, it saves lots of time, and it's all I need for up to a 6,000 ft. push. I reward myself at the top with a couple Snickers bars. Back at camp or at the car I have something salty like some cold KFC and hot Raman. Years ago when I didn't think about how much weight was on my back I used to pack in a gallon of milk and a roast. There is nothing like real food when you are tired.

Years ago I and three other newbs decided to climb Long's Peak over spring break in mid-March. We assigned group food to one individual. We made camp at Chasm Lake just in time for a five day storm to blow in. Two tents shredded within about 30 minutes and we headed to Chasm Lake shelter cabin. Once we got inside and realized we would be safe we looked forward to finding out what kinds of tasty meals we had in store. Turns out this fellow thought granola was pretty nutritional so he brought one huge sack of it, and that was all. Oh, except for one more thing. On top of the bag he had packed a canister of white gas, which leaked and completely saturated the granola. We were faced with the inevitable and so we spread the granola out on the freezing concrete floor and waited for it to dry, leaving the door partially open so we wouldn't get sick from the fumes. The next day we were hungry enough to start eating and eat we did. I spent four days dreading every time I had to burp, which was often, because when I did it tasted like gasoline. The story gets worse, but I'll spare the details because it's almost dinnertime. After the storm let up we were worse than lethargic. We couldn't bear not to summit so we opted to post-hole back and over to the keyhole before turning back, completely exhausted. Yes, knowledge slowly gained...

Pretty close... http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=966443 Also I recollect that many years ago someone happened to be on the summit with skis when a couple fell off the Cooper Spur route and onto Elliot Glacier. This fellow immediately followed their route down on skis to offer assistance. Tragically they had expired. I'm not sure the route he skied, but DH would probably know.

April 7...

I have wide feet and can't wear Dynafit because of that. Right now I'm happy with BD Primes. Beware though, everyone I know that uses this boot thas had to spend extra $ for an aftermarket liner because the factory liner is too small. Maybe they've fixed that in 2012. I don't know. My boots are light (not as light as TLT5 but OK), comfortable, and warm, but it was more expensive than I had planned.

I would be a terrible salesman because my pitch would always be a disclaimer listing everything that was wrong! In this case I not only did that, but worse - I was incorrect when I said there is nothing to ride unless you want to practice slalom/GS. I am used to skiing higher up on the Palmer snowfield in the summer, where it is fun to poach gates after the ski teams are finished and before they tear down, so that is where my head is and I totally spaced out on the fact that snowboard camps run all summer lower down. In a good snow year (this year) there will be ample snow on the Magic Mile run below, which is groomed every night. The snowboard camps build big jumps on snow that has been consolidated by snowcats, but unfortunately these are not available to the public. They are accessed by private rope tows that are brought in for the summer. You can definitely have a fun day riding on the Magic Mile in June. A snowboard would also be nice to have for an early afternoon descent (when snow softens) from either Hood or Adams. Suncupping won't be bad that early in the year and it's not unusual to have fresh snow up high in June. Early in the day, however, the snow higher up can be rough and icy.

Not unless you want to practice slalom/GS. Resort skiing on Hood in June is limited to Palmer snowfield (Timerline ski area), which is divided up into about 15 private race lanes and one public lane, all on mellow terrain. The public lane has no gates, and is mush by 11 AM. There may be snow left on the amply wide, also mellow, Magic Mile run which is directly below Palmer snowfield, but it will be marginal in June. With a free wilderness permit you can boot or skin above Palmer snowfield and get into harder snow later in the day. This is ungroomed crud - i.e. sastrugi, chicken heads, suncupped corn, interspersed with the occasional patch of windblown fresh for variety. Much better June skiing is on N and E sides, but non-resort.

Thanks! What airport did you depart from?

Not sure about sport, but these two for single-pitch trad in the Gorge: 45 min. to PDX: The Far Side is drier (and quieter!) than Rocky Butte. Has bolted anchors or convenient trees for TR. 2 hrs. from PDX: Horsethief Butte is often in the sun when PDX is wet. Can be windy though. Good TR area, but you will need trad gear to build anchors - no bolts allowed.

Can anyone comment on the repeater coverage for amateur radio 2m frequencies in the PNW. Not the I-5 corridor, of course, but in the more remote areas. How does it compare to cell coverage?

This is one tree per square meter - about as tight as can be managed and no fun. The first pic in the TAY link above looks like Private Reserve up above Yoda Bowl at Mt. Hood Meadows and is about as tight as can be skiied and still have fun. I'm guessing it's about 3,000 stems per hectare? I never thought it could slide, but I'll be rethinking that, especially in areas of similar density that are steeper.

How much are you willing to spend? I've had my eye on the Stephenson Warmlite 2R... http://warmlite.com/warmlite-two-person-tent The 2C is lighter but 2' shorter. I know a regular poster here has the 2C. Both are under 3 pounds.

Next step... Quiverkillers to help you amortize those expensive bindings! I'm really eager to try the Manaslus as the lightness is very appealing. I was surprised when I first mounted some Dynafits on alpine skis, how much more nimble and quick I felt. So, in addition to the obvious advantage that lighter skis and bindings hold for skinning uphill and on the flat, for a slightly-built guy like me, getting weight off my feet really helps my skiing ability.

I can see both sides. It's true you see a ridiculous number of huge fatties on days when they seem to make no sense. I can only assume that this is because the owners have a one-ski quiver and bought for the powder days they rarely see. I remember when fatties first showed up in the 70s. Until then everyone skiied powder fine on relatively skinny skis with little sidecut. The key was locking them together and mentally skiing like you were on one monoski if you will. Stein Eriksen - "ski like an eagle" was the mantra. Ski technology is constantly improving to make skiing more conditions easier. Why not take advantage of that? Re. the Shamans. They are fabulous in deep powder, but where they really excel, and why I bought them, is in deep heavy snow. For me, they are the ultimate cheater ski for skiing trees on those days when the snow is heavy - the kind of stuff that I consider somewhat dangerous to ski because you have to ski in a very deliberate manner to avoid catching an edge and you get tired fast - at least I do (did) because I am (was) in the back seat a lot in those conditions. In these conditions the Shamans are a game changer for me because I can get up on the tips and they won't dive. Also, the sidecut is so radical you can steer them by just edging, allowing high C turns in deep steep snow. In powder they are the most fun I've ever had. Surprisingly, they hook up and carve on hard pack as well. The only down side is that I am constantly banging the fat tips together as I still tend to ski powder with my skis locked together. Lots of clunking sounds when I am on those skis! In general, for light powder not deeper than 1 foot, I ski on 171 Head Monster 78s (78 mm underfoot). They are fairly soft and still carve well on hardpack. I have another shorter pair mounted with FT12s for summer volcano skiing and they are superb for that, but also work fine in powder as well. I think it boils down to how many skis you can afford to own (I buy used in the summer) and your ski technique. If you can only afford to own one pair, then fatties might make sense if you expect to be skiing powder because for most people, skiing powder is more challenging that skiing groomers (ice aside). When I see people sking powder nowadays most of them are skiing with skis well apart and the only way you can easily do that is with fatties. I guess most would rather have their only ski be a fattie as they prefer a fattie on groomers to a skinny ski in the powder. Fatties are cheaters. That's why I like them. They make skiing powder so much easier. If you can afford to own more than one ski why not take advantage of that. I have some old school ski buddies who refuse to ski on cheaters. IMO, their pride is preventing them from having a lot more fun.

Best review yet! Can I float across canyons from cornice to cornice?