ajpederson

Anybody in Tacoma willing to pick one of these up for me? I'm up in Seattle and probably can't make it down to Tacoma for at least a couple days. I could meet somewhere and at a time that is convenient for you. will be provided as thanks.

This trip we used one rope for 3 of us and it worked fine. There are only a few spots on the route that potentially need to be belayed so we simul-climbed a lot of the route. The first pitch is the most difficult and the closest to 30m so we belayed it. The chimney and the fin pitch can also belayed, but are much shorter than the first pitch. Getting down with a 60m wasn't a problem.

No tape. I tend to get more cut up doing finger cracks than hands, so tape gloves don't do much for me.

Went back up this route again this last weekend. It was super full of snow and a walkup. Used and axe, and didn't use the rope until the top to get out to the tree and for the rappel. 60m would reach for the rappel just fine right now. Here's a couple pics: Matt getting close to the top of Lovers Lane. Tim traversing out to the rappel tree.

Slowest......Camera........Ever. But I've seen one dropped a long ways and be just fine. So it really depends on what you need.

I completely agree. I recently traded up from a point and shoot to a NEX-3 and I love it. The pictures are so much better. The NEX is nice because it has a bigger sensor than the other mirrorless models from Nikon and Olympus. It is a bit annoying having to go into the menus to change anything and not having the physical controls on the camera, but you get used to it. The size is nice compared to some of the people i climb with carrying full DSLRs.

I've done a few easier couloirs this winter that were pretty fun. I would guess they have a lot more snow in them now than when I did them. Here are the trip reports: Lane Peak - The Zipper Guye Peak - South Gully Lane Peak - Lovers Lane

I have the regular Neo Air and have been using it for about two years. I've really like it so far. I use it for pretty much all my overnight climbing trips. I've used it on snow and it seems to be reasonable warm. I'm a side sleeper, and its been really nice to have it when sleeping on rocks. It's really comfortable. It won't be as warm as an Exped, but its not bad. I was concerned about the durability when I first got it, but mine has held up. If you're careful not to put it next to anything sharp in your pack and avoid pointy rocks, I don't see it being a problem. Get the little patch kit for it, as I've seen this work for people that have had leaks. Worst case you spend a night sleeping on a rope if you can't repair a leak.

+1. I still have the old jetboil, and it seems to work way better than any of the new models my friends have.(Flash, Sol) It seems to light way easier, is more reliable, and holds up way better.

I think 2mm, but maybe 3mm. Not 100% sure on that one.

Here's what mine looks like.

I drilled a hole through the hook inside the metal hole of the tool without touching the metal of the tools at all and threaded a bit of chord through the hole and into a loop. Clipped the umbilical to the loops. Seems to work ok so far.

I'm curious why you say this? Your two points seem to counter each other. Bringing a screw per person, especially with a 2 person team makes sense, but what good does it do you if either you fall in a crevasse and hit your head, or your partner falls in, pulls you off your feet and you hit your head. I would imagine crevasse rescue is a lot faster when both the rescuer(s) and the person being rescued are able to contribute. I've only been doing this a few years, so these others are way more experienced than me, but both times I've been up the Emmons I took my helmet. It doesn't take much to knock someone out, and its not much extra weight to bring for the added safety.

Yeah, apparently Matt learned how to ski, and Niki didn't come this time.

Didn't dig a pit, but did some smaller checks and kept an eye on everything as we were going up. Conditions were pretty stable. The only thing that was moving was the newest few inches of snow on top of a crust layer that we would scrape off with our skis.

Trip: Red Mountain - Standard Date: 3/18/2012 Trip Report: Matt and I decided to head up Red Mountain this last weekend. Neither of us had been all the way up it yet for some reason, so we decided to give it a go. Weather was nice leaving the parking lot and we headed up the basin. The bridge looked a little tricky, luckily we didn't have to cross it. We then headed up the ridge up Red Mountain. The skinning wasn't too bad, a little deep, but not impossible. View of Guye Peak from the way up. As we got a little higher and the terrain steepened the skinning got harder. It was about 6" of new snow on top of a crust layer. The skins kept slipping out on the crust layer so we just decided to kick steps up the last steep bit to the summit. Summit, getting ready to ski down. The clouds blew in just as we were getting to the top. We ate a quick lunch and the clouds cleared just as we were getting ready to ski down. Me, part way down Red. The skiing down was great up high, then through some heavier stuff, then the standard tree mess to get out of the basin and back to the car. It was a great day for some skiing. All pictures were taken by Matt. Here's a link to a few more. Gear Notes: Skis, and a Matt to break trail. Approach Notes: Up the basin, then up the ridge. Was hoping that going Sunday would mean there was a skin track the whole way up, but no such luck.

Completely agree. We were there a week ago and used the 60 climbs book to get us in areas there was stuff we could climb. Then we used the big book to find other climbs in the area. That seemed to work really well. We climbed some stuff in the Atlantis area one day that was pretty fun. There was a multipitch that looked really cool out there, and I don't think it was too hard, we just didn't have time.

Completely agree. I wanted to leave a pile of those little camp ones on the top of Sherpa Peak after using a partner's gear for the climb. I know they're not the lightest, but I have some of the Black Diamond Hotwires. They work with my rope and hands and don't make me feel like I'm trying to clip to a keychain like those little ones do. Hard to knock them when you can get blemished ones for under $5 on REI Outlet right now.

+1. My stuff used to get pretty bad, but this stuff seems to work well.

Probably a bit of both. There is a ton of snow in the Zipper right now. We had a 60m half rope we rapped down, so that stretches a lot too. We had a second rope from the other team if one rope didn't reach. Here's a pic of one of our party at the end of the rap.

Thanks for the Zipper and summit steps.

There was quite a bit of ice on Denman. Didn't get close enough to get a good look at any of it, but here's a pic taken from the way in to Lane.

Trip: Lane Peak - Lovers Lane Date: 2/11/2012 Trip Report: Wanted to get out this weekend, so I convinced Alicia, Matt, and Kevin to go climb Lane Peak. After seeing pictures of some friends wallowing up The Zipper last weekend, we decided the steeper Lovers Lane might be fun and not quite as snowy. Lane Peak Snow conditions were a breakable rain crust that made it nice to have snowshoes on the approach. The weather was a mix of sun, snow, and climbing in a cloud. The snow in the route was deep, but wasn't so deep we couldn't climb. Start of Lovers Lane Alicia had never led steep snow, so she wanted to give it a try. There were even a couple short ice sections for her. Matt led the second rope up Lovers Lane with Kevin in tow. Kevin had never climbed steep snow, so this was new for him. Matt with Kevin coming over the first ice step. Alicia getting ready to lead the second ice step around to the right of the rock. At the top of Lovers Lane we found the rappel tree to get into The Zipper. We were able to get down using a single 60m rope. Alicia coming down the rappel into The Zipper. Thanks to some others that kicked steps up The Zipper and to the summit looking for somewhere to ski, the rest of the climb was easy and unroped. Kevin and Matt finishing up The Zipper. Matt and Alicia on the summit. The 4 of us on the summit. There was another group of 2 behind us in Lovers Lane that dropped a picket. If anyone is up there and finds it and is feeling nice, I know the owner and I'm sure he'd appreciate its return. Gear Notes: Few pickets, few nuts, 60m rope. Approach Notes: Snowshoes were nice. Having your girlfriend lead the whole thing and kick all the steps makes for an easy climb.

You have no idea........

I don't think any of us had any cams with us, but I'll check with the others. Where did you guys go? We sat on top for a little while having a snack, but never saw you come up.