Jason4

There's a new product out called NeverWet from Rustoleum that just came out. It sounds promising but I don't know that the durability will be there. I'm going to pick some up to try out on my approach shoes.

I copied your post over to VW Vortex (one of the biggest forums on the web and have found stolen cars in the past), I hope you don't mind. I want to see Wyatt get home. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6074073-Stolen-Dodge-truck-in-Squamish-BC-WITH-DOG!!!&p=82282362&posted=1#post82282362

How does the Inspiration Route compare to Prime Rib? I was on PR on Friday afternoon and only got a bit of light drizzle around p8 but it dried up for the top pitch. We had talked about climbing the Inspiration Route but the guide book doesn't sell it so well. We also looked longingly at Spontaneity Arete but went for a trail run near Maple Pass instead.

I saw Colin Haley give a talk and slideshow at Backcountry Essentials in Bellingham almost a year ago and he had some excellent advice on how to pass a slow party on route. It was a 3 step process that ended with taking their sleeping pad. If anyone runs into him they should ask for the first 2 steps because I'm not sure that I got them right.

I got lectured for blocking the yellow sensors a week ago (or was it two weeks ago?). I liked the way it made my soft parts feel when I parked between them but I'm not sure if the new growth is an intended side effect.

Tvashtarketena, it sounds like you might have some experience with CBP? Some of my customers at my previous job were border agents and were really good guys. I go through the border a lot and am used to the odd questions but this was the first time that the border agent tripped up. She was kind of attractive too but really bitchy. I've been asked how I finished in snowboard contests, why I'm only going for the day when it's such a long drive (2 hours to Squamish!?), what size my snowboard is, whether my friend has snow tires, why I'm bringing an orange back with me, etc. I've had friends get mocked for downhill mountain biking (bomb biking!), turned around for being auto techs and having rachets in their car, others get pulled in all the time. Recently one of my coworkers who has been going to Canada for 20 years for work was turned around at the border for a DUI from 1973. The best guess that we came up with is that they finally digitized the criminal records for 1973 and it's the first time it's popped up on a computer screen since he got in trouble 40 years ago. I just stay out of trouble and know where I'm going, why I'm going, how I know the people in the car, and when I'll be back and I never really have any problems. There's a black helicopter that flies around near my girlfriend's house at night and I always see border agents out on 542 with fun looking toys, snowmobiles, KLR 650s, quads, and Jeeps. I'm sure they're keeping an eye on the less fortified border crossings.

I cross the border a lot to climb in Squamish and ride bikes in Whistler and usually everything goes well. Saturday I had a Canadian agent that was in a bad mood. It went something like this: Canadian Border Agent: Have any of you ever been arrested? Us: round of "no" from all three of us CBA: Have any of you ever had handcuffs on? Us: same reply CBA: Have any of you ever been in trouble with the law? Us: What do you mean, like speeding tickets? CBA: Yeah, like speeding tickets. Us: Each of us said "Sure, I've had a speeding ticket." CBA: How long are you going to be in Canada? Us: Just for the day. CBA: Where are you staying? Us: *puzzled*...Whistler bike park. CBA: You're going to sleep in the parking lot...? Us: No, why would we do that? CBA: You just said that's where you're staying. Us: No, we just said we'd only be there for the day. CBA: Then why would you stay there? Us: We'll be back to Bellingham by the end of the day. CBA: Ok, you can go.

Don't overthink the chalk bag but if gear is important to you then buy the fancy one the first time around. Some of us are stuck at computers all day long and can only get out on the weekends and drooling over cool gear helps the week go by faster. I actually really like the newer Arc'teryx bags with the reinforced rim but since I already have a perfectly functioning bag I can't justify another one, I should have just splurged the first time. I agree with getting a bag with a zipper so you can stash enough stuff to get you out of trouble. I also agree with tying it around your waist with a piece of chord. A friend that I climb with has seen a few people climbing with them clipped take ground falls (pad falls?) at the gym trying to get out of tricky sit starts and get punched in the kidney by the 'biner. We were talking about it yesterday while we were walking back to the car.

I was up yesterday climbing at Lumberland and got on a couple of the new routes on the wall that was cleaned last fall. They range from 5.5 to 5.9 with a mix of bolts and trad. It really is pretty kid friendly and the walk around is easy if you want to drop a top rope in there. I thought that the first route I climbed was a bit awkward and my GF thought it was delightfully awkward. The kids area seems to have developed pretty well and is always crowded with strollers and climbing classes so it seems to be serving it's purpose. Good luck and have fun with the kids!

I'm on the Voile Mountain plates now and I agree, they suck. I plan to go to the second gen Phantoms next year and hopefully the TLT6 will fit my foot.

Glacier Creek Road closed until further notice. I just heard about this via the most important source of news that I have, Facebook...bummer. It sounds like the approach for the CD route will be much longer and the other options will get more crowded.

Nice day to get out!

I drove through Darrington last Monday or Tuesday and posted some pictures of Whitehorse on Instagram, search for @jasonspeer and you'll see them along with a handful of other recent mountain condition pictures.

I tried to stop in last Wednesday but they were closed. I think the hours were Thursday through Monday 9-5 or something like that.

I don't ice climb but I assume that falling pillar is a pants cleaning moment at least and probably much worse. How would it have been if he had been on top rope instead?

I hiked to Cascade Pass in early July last last year too and skied fall line with some scrambling through the waterfall band back to the trail head. I think you should use common sense for mountaineering and expect a wet wintry mix up there this weekend. Take whiskey in case you get rained out and have fun.

It's true, I was up there yesterday.

There is parking at the Blue lake trailhead for maybe 4 or 5 cars and also more to the east on the north side of the highway. Check my instagram feed @jasonspeer for a shot of the LB group from yesterday (I'm at work and don't really feel like uploading to another photosharing host from here). I didn't have time to get out on the snow but I did go to Mazama on a drive for work mostly so I could scope out the conditions. The campgrounds on the east side of the crest are mostly free from snow and obviously the further you go to the east side the less snow there is. I think you'll be ok sleeping in your car this time of year but I haven't tried it myself.

That looks like a really fun trip. I've heard from very good snowboarders that Larrabee can be intimidating but you make it sound like a great winter/spring objective. I hope I can get out with you again soon.

Nice report and great pictures! It's reassuring to know that someone else thought the skiing was a bit challenging and also that we weren't the only ones that Dan flew by. He really does move at an astonishing speed. We watched him do a kick turn on a hard, steep slope above an open crevasse and I blinked and missed the other two that he did...

Dan, it was good to meet you up on the WS and I felt silly offering caution on snow conditions after I realized who had just flown past us. JasonG, I wish I had known that was you in the group of 4, I would have wandered down to the bivy spot to say hi before we cruised down Winnie's. We should get back up there together again soon.

PS I have a pair of Koflach SuperPipes in my closet that I bought when I was 13 back in the fall of '93. They were a lot cooler in memory than they are in real life. The welts are soft and won't hold well in a snowboard binding, they don't have enough support for heelside turns, they are heavy, and the heel on the sole is really thick. There are better alternatives out now.

As a snowboarder for 20+ years and into my second season of splitboarding ~40-50 days on the split now I can tell you that skiing is better for transportation if you aren't already a strong snowboarder. Think about it for a minute, skiing was originally meant as a way to get around in the snow and somebody thought it was kind of fun. Snowboarding never had that limitation and was fun right from the beginning! That does make it kind of a bad way to get around in the mountains. One of the reasons that skiing is so much more efficient is the boots and if you aren't willing to give up the leather climbing boots then you're back to splitboarding. The board that you are thinking about cutting is too short. I have found that my sweet spot would be 160-164 and I would prefer a board with camber. I'm riding a Lib Tech T.Rice with a dynasplit set up and the board rides better than the boots but even when I was on soft boots with Karakoram bindings the rocker makes skinning a little harder. I recently went back to a full camber board in the ski area when I broke my latest solid and realized that camber is a lot more fun than rocker but requires more aggressive input. Do not get tempted to ride in soft (relatively) leather boots with plate bindings just because you have toe and heel welts. You will not be able to handle anything firm on your heels without the support of a highback. I was in conditions yesterday that would have been downright scary with really soft boots and no highback. Check splitboard.com and craigslist, more stuff is starting to pop up used since gear has gotten so good lately. Check into the K2 Panarama too, I think they have hit the pricepoint the best but it might not be the best riding board. Ski gear is going to be a lot lighter, a lot more efficient, and cheaper!

Avy probes are good for other things than just probing for avy victims. they can be handy for checking snow depth, feeling layers in the snow, checking thickness on overhanging cornices, tent poles, and other penetrating tasks. They also don't last a lifetime, in the last two avy courses that I've been involved in I've seen two probes fail. Last year it was mine, this year it was the instructors. Pick the longest and strongest probe you can handle carrying, the difference in weight and space in your pack won't really be that big of a deal.

That's a great price for an AIARE 1 course from a reputable provider, if anybody is on the fence they should jump on it.