subjax

I'm the accidental proud owner of two #4s, but I hardly ever place even one of them, and I'm almost sure I've never used them both in a single pitch. Thickness, apparently, is not my sickness. As you can see, one of them is the old style purple #4 and the other is the new-fangled gray #4. They are not identical... the purple one is heavier (12 1/8 oz. vs. 10 1/4 oz.) and slightly wider (4 7/8" fully open vs. 4 1/2"). Full disclosure: I am not the original owner of the purple one. I've owned it for about a decade, but know very little about its history before that. I've probably placed it a couple dozen times and fully trust it, but your mileage may vary. I'm looking to trade just the purple. Unless you make me a screaming offer for the gray (it's pretty much brand new). Some example trades: #2 or #3 C4 OR $50 OR A bunch (and I mean bunch) of wiregate biners OR A bunch (and I mean bunch) of new webbing or 5-7mm cord OR 2-3 cases of good beer or anything else in that general ballpark.

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I'll look to add a Baker glacier route and a couple more in the WA Pass area to my list... now I just need to convince my girlfriend that our weekend together time is really more of a winter thing!

Hi all, I recently moved to Seattle after about 4 years in Maryland. God, it's nice to back in real mountains! I'm looking for some advice on a first summer tick-list for the Cascades. I haven't climbed a lot in the past couple of years, so I'm feeling a little rusty, and I haven't done a lot of technical alpine routes... but I'm hoping to change that. For reference, my longest, hardest lead was probably the Grand Wall, but that was a few years ago after a summer of regular climbing. More recently, I've been pretty comfortable leading Seneca 5.8 and 5.9. As for alpine, I have a fair amount of 3rd and 4th-class experience in the Sierras, but I've only done a few 5th class back-country routes and none with more than a cursory snow field approach (I've never seen a real crevasse). So, I'm looking for a handful of moderate routes (5.6 - 5.9) that will help me get comfortable with some of the features of Cascade climbing. Going through the Nelson/Potterfield books, I've picked a few -- what do you all think? - Northeast Ridge of Mount Triumph - Southwest Buttress of South Early Winter Spire - North Ridge of Mount Stuart - Southwest Face of Early Morning Spire - South Face of Prussik Peak I based these on allure of the photos, moderate-sounding approaches (I can usually only get away for two or at most three days at a time), (hopefully) appropriate grade and rating, and gear that I possess (no technical ice gear -- yet). I'd love to hear thoughts from some folks with experience on these or other routes that fit the bill. And if anyone is looking for a summertime partner, hit me up (I know that there is a separate partners forum -- I'll post there when it's time). Happy climbing!