Jason4

I tried on a pair of Scarpa Rebels (the regular version, not the integrated gaiter version) a couple of weeks ago and I think those will be my next pair of mountain boots. That way I can keep all of my crampons as step-in only and share 'pons between my AT boots and my mountain boots.

I suspect the news got it wrong. I was below Liberty Bell on the west side headed for SEWS when the chopper flew up the valley following Hwy 20 from the west, through the pass and then I could hear it somewhere on the other side of the hairpin. When I got to the ridge at the base of the South Arete I watched the helicopter fly south from the other side of the hairpin. Two other climbers at the ridge said that there plan was to climb Spontaneity Arete yesterday but they talked to SAR members either late Saturday or early Sunday and said something about someone rapp'ing off their rope and other party members needing rescue. I don't really have any more details than that but I know that the Blue Lake TH was really quiet when I was there at 8am and 4pm yesterday and I didn't see any commotion on the west side of the LB group. I was hoping to find out more info about what happened.

I think the heli crew has been very busy lately, I watched a helicopter land near the Heather Meadows interpretive center on Saturday and another one flying around the hairpin at Washington Pass yesterday. I don't know if I could pick out the difference between a standard life flight heli and the HRT heli so I'm not sure who I was watching on either day.

I was up climbing at WaPass today and saw a SAR helicopter fly by the hairpin. Another party that was on SEWS today said that they talked to SAR members about helping a party on Spontaneity Arete last night and going back in today for more work.

My coworker recently had a car stolen from a commuter park and ride. He found out when he got home that they had already beat him to it. He's lucky more didn't get stolen from home. It sounds like this is becoming more common. The thief used the the toilet paper that he kept in his truck to leave an extra crappy surprise on his back porch.

I would think people helping people is the American way regardless of the forum or it's application. Please forgive me. I don't think he's criticizing your question, just pointing it out that this is not being used in the typical application that most of us are used to. You might get lucky and find someone on here who is a professional rigger, or more likely you'll get someone who is a SAR member and has extensive rigging experience that can answer your questions outside of a climbing context. Again, since the same kind of comments come up in everyone of these rigging threads, I'd suggest using only one of the threads to ask questions in the future so you don't get a bunch of confused climbers asking about what you're doing with a lark's foot or why you're using a sewn eye-to-eye instead of clove hitching in with your rope.

It would be nice to consolidate all of the tree stand related questions into one thread to avoid the confusion.

I think the Cilo pack comfort depends on your body shape. I have large trapezius muscles that I think are the cause of problems with the Cilo shoulder straps. I end up bruising if I carry more than 25lbs very far. I was using my 45l worksack for a lot of ski touring and found that carrying my splitboard plus normal day trip stuff on/in the pack wasn't very comfortable. I hit my limit when the shoulder straps shredded the chest seams on an otherwise well cared for M10 jacket. I still use my worksack for overnight trips but I wouldn't buy another Cilo pack unless I could get it customized with the straps from a bigger pack on something in the 45l size. No way I'd go for a pack with nearly the same volume but with lighter straps. I know that there is a very strong following for simple sacks as climbing packs. I see the advantages but my Cilo pack is literally wearing on me.

I might pick up a pair to try out. It's an ingenious idea but maybe not particularly useful. I nerd out on new gear though. They seem to be very specific in their application, not sure when I'd need them that I wouldn't be happy with a full aluminum crampon with a minor weight penalty and more secure plunge stepping. Yes, sometimes I walk downhill when I'm carrying my split.

I've struggled with the same dilemma, not exactly a city car in the sense that it needs to fit into tight parking sports but a commuter that gets good fuel economy. I drive ~20,000 miles/year, I'd guess 95% is on paved and maintained roads that don't require any extraordinary ground clearance but a very small percent of my usage is on rough road. I lifted my previous Audi wagon a few inches and should have kept that car despite it only getting 22 mpg. My current Golf gets ~45mpg but is limited to which roads I can drive. I'm currently looking for a truck that I can use when the Golf won't cut it but will keep the Golf for commuting duties and regular ski area trips. Lifting the Golf has crossed my mind but for the cost of doing that I can buy a beater truck.

I saw pictures on FB, looks like a big day of climbing and great pics!

Explorer- What's your motivation for sharing your discovery and what sort of feature are we talking about? Do you want fame fortune and women? I doubt you'll get it but if that's what you're after then you'll probably want to find a lawyer and a publicist. Maybe an editor to help with a book deal. If you want to establish some sort of protection for this newly discovered feature then you should probably contact someone like the Access Fund or the conservation committee of the Mountaineers. If you just want to share your discovery with other people that will appreciate it then there isn't really a need to wait, just put up some pictures and lat/long and someone will go look at it. What are we talking about? Is it some 4000 foot vertical wall that's never been climbed or is there a mineral of economic value?

I splitboard in Dynafit Ones only because my feet are too big to fit in TLT5s. I put in a season back in the early 90s riding in Koflach Superpipes (an extra tall double boot for snowboarding) and wouldn't want to snowboard in them again. I even pulled them out of the closet when I got more into splitboarding to see if they would be a good alternative. They're not. What bindings are you planning to use with plastic boots? If I weren't in AT boots I'd be looking really closely at Fitwells but they still don't have a toe welt to take a fully auto crampon. What's your location and what size foot do you have? If you're close to Bellingham I can loan you my Superpipes, maybe it'll help you with your choice.

What are you going to use these for? If I remember right you were asking about the best softshell pants for splitboarding and now you want the lightest double boot that's not a ski boot... if you're thinking about splitboarding I'd suggest taking a second look at TLT5/6s. I have a pair of Koflach Superpipes from 1993 in the closet and they don't compare to a modern AT boot for touring.

PM sent regarding both pairs of crampons.

Email sent.

FWIW, I think Kai is an experienced climber, not someone just looking to get into the sport. Most of these posts are accurate. I have experience with two north sound chapters and have run into Boealps and WAC groups in the mountains and am a current member of both the Mountaineers and Skagit Alpine Club. I asked where you are or will be living because that makes a difference as to which chapter of the Mounties is most conveniently located to you and what outings that chapter offers. The Everett chapter has an active back country skiing community, the Bellingham chapter does not officially have a BC skiing component right now but there are serious BC skiers that are members. I can't comment on any of the other branches as I don't have any experience with them.

Your location says SLC, UT, where are you living now? The different chapters all have their own character and characters. It won't be a waste of your time if you're new to town, you'll meet a lot of great people and can find some good partners to get out with.

I don't really know why snow in the Sierras (or lack of it) would indicate anything about the conditions in the Cascades. I was on Eldorado over the weekend and it looked like there was still significant snow on the Forbidden glacier and on the ridges. If I remember right we hit solid snow at ~4000ft in the Eldorado creek basin and one of our group was surprised by how much snow is still up high despite the high snowline. I know it's not the route you are asking about but at least we had line of sight and were within a couple of miles and in the same approximate elevation. PM me an email address and I'll send you a few pictures that I snapped of Forbidden after I get home from work this afternoon.

Wow, that's a great deal and a great cause!

I second the Grivel G-12 and would also offer up the Grivel air tech light or the CAMP XLC 490 as aluminum options if you don't intend to climb hard ice and have the restraint to stop and take off your crampons if you'll be walking on gravel or rock. All of the above should be available in strap version to fit your boots.

I've heard viagra will make you climb hard. If that doesn't work, take your shirt off. Please put it back on when the crushing is done. Claiming your victory while lowering off might help but don't afterbang too hard. Whatever you do avoid alpine climbing. There will be no crowds at the bottom to witness your crushing of the alpine.

When I saw your thread title I thought to myself "Wow! I didn't expect Greybeard to be in this year" and then I clicked and read. I've had one of my scarier mountain experiences on the relatively mellow west ridge of GB and took a good look at the NF. Much respect to you for getting up it, much bewilderment that you attempted it without a hard freeze, and much appreciation that you made it back to the car. Thanks for writing up the TR and sharing your adventure.

If you're going to go for the One then I think the pebax version is worth the extra money but my preference would be the TLT6 if only my foot would fit in one.

I have the standard issue work sack and have put it through the ringer. It's a terrible ski pack but it's a good climbing pack. I've used it for slogs with and without touring gear strapped to the outside, I can fit enough to comfortably camp in the snow inside of it if I split the tent with my partner, the couple of holes that I've punched in the side either with a ski edge or my climbing rack pushing from the inside have been easily patched with tenacious tape and seam grip. I use the straps in a handful of different configurations based on what I'm carrying and it actually carries a split board pretty well with the additional shovel pocket.