TheNumberNine

Oleg, Patrick here. Great meeting you and hanging out last weekend.. What a climb! Glad to hear you guys made it to the top.. Pretty splitter day to stand on top of Rainier. Thanks for the trip report! -Patrick

Hey people, Been a little while since Ive posted. Ive been in El Chalten for about 6 weeks now trying to get out into the range when I can. My first week here my partner and I climbed Amy Couloir on Guillaumet.. Super fun route that joins the comesana fonrouge on the ridge to the summit. We climbed through all the technical stuff to the summit snowfield but spun and headed down because it was getting late and we had to get back down to peidra fraille, a camp about 5000 vert feet down from the start of the route. Long day. We both caught a bit of a cold which ended up turning into bronchitis for my partner which screwed us for about 8 days including one good weather window. When we were healthy again we tried to climb the comesana fonrouge in its entirety on guillaumet following a wet and snowy storm. We ended up off route in snowy and icy offwidth cracks and ended up bailing early into the climb. Pretty bummer and a good hard kick to my confidence. My partner took off about a week ago and I joined up with a cool dude from south africa and we sent the Whillans route on Poincenot on Sunday the 13th in absolutely splitter weather. What a summit! The climb was quite an adventure complete with heads up bergshrund crossings, ice/rock fall directly through our rap route 2 minutes before we rapped through it, an anchor piton ripping out, and a 4 hour bivy at the base of the ramp to wait for the conditions to harden up enough to safely traverse and head back across multiple bergshrunds on the way back to paso superior. I fly back to the states the day after tomorrow and Ive been reflecting on my experience here. Climbing in Patagonia is the REAL DEAL and its been full of highs and lows... Successes as well as full on ass kickings in the mountains. Ive met some really awesome people and some truly phenomenal climbers who have inspired me to strive to become a better alpinist. I hope to one day return to these awe inspiring mountains faster, stronger, smarter and full of psych! Ill try to post some pictures when I get back to California. The internet down here is kind of funky...

Except for Herpes.... That shit stays with you for life...

Nepal Evos are comfortable, dexterous, and absolutely bomber. I've been very happy with them and they have done equally well at slogging as well as climbing ice. I haven't used the Baturas personally but my climbing partner has a pair and is always complaining about his feet getting too hot. The outer also seems a bit more fragile than that of the Evos. I would invest in Evos and bust out the spantiks for uber cold climbs.

Choada, absolutely. Jason, absolutely. 6 weeks until I hop on the plane... FEELING THE STOKE!! Been trying to get outside as much as possible but it's been hard.. I'm working on a campaign and there's almost no free time. After Nov 6th I'll be heading to the Sierra to climb...

Well... I'm going to go... and I'm going to send those routes...

We're looking to do the Whillans-Cochrane on Poincenot, Amy Couloir on Guillaumet, Luce de Leche on Cerro Nato, and some other climbs that are in the 60-70 deg ice/snow, 5+, and M3-M4 range. Luce de Leche is definitely going to be the "reach"...

Why not replace the liners in your arctic exp boots with an intuition liner like their "Denali" liner? They are super light, don't absorb water, and should be plenty warm for an early season Rainier climb. Throw some overboots on that set up and you're set for Denali. The Spantik and Baruntse are nice and fancy but they're going to be quite a purchase and not so great for mid/late season cascade climbing where there's an approach on trail. Spantiks seem to get eaten up easily if they're not being used exclusively on snow. Truth is, it's nice to have a boot for a specific application. I have scarpa invernos for early season climbing and big, snowy, cold mountains. Used them on Denali with a set of 40 below overboots and was dialed. Sportiva Nepal Evos for late season climbing and more technical rock/snow/mixed climbing. It helps to have a quiver.

Hey people, I've been getting in the gym whenever I can after work these days... I'm currently on a 75 hour per week schedule and can sometimes sneak out of work early to train. I'm working on a campaign and after nov 6th I'll be free to train allll the time! I'm getting ready for Patagonia and thus far I have been dry tooling in the back teaching room with taped up tools, mostly laps up and down a 20 foot wall and traversing around the room. I have started climbing a bit indoors with my nepal evos and have been doing laps on the main walls with a 15 lb pack and my nepal evos on. This is the best I can do for now but anyone have any input on how I can maximize my indoor training?

Funny that this became another thread seeing as I started one a while back... My SI is flaring up this week... STUPID STUPID STUPID Things that helped me with my SI joint issue. 1. Avoid awkward twisting movements 2. When it flares up, alternate with heat and ice. My girlfriend's heating pad worked WONDERS on me. 3. Arnica gel is great. I use it on anything that hurts and it seems to speed up the healing process... Neck, SI, IT band problems, etc. 4. STRENGTHEN CORE.. This made such a huge difference and has led to months at a time without any SI issues whatsoever... When I slack on the core conditioning, issues seem to come back. 5. Google/youtube SI strengthening/SI Rehab exercises SI problems suck but they seem to respond well to aggressive and proper treatment. I'm not a doctor, but these are things that have worked for me in the past and things I will continue to do when mine bugs me. Good luck.

Hi folks, I've been doing some research into doing Ama Dablam at some point in the next year or two... I'm headed to Patagonia in December and my next big mountain goals are Foraker, Ama Dablam, and Cho Oyu. I posted on Cho Oyu on here recently and have gotten some interest from other CC members but it seems that Cho Oyu is going to cost a lot more money than Ama Dablam and looks to be much more of a slog. I'm still interested in Cho Oyu but financially speaking, Ama Dablam appears more financially feasible. Anyone have any experience climbing Ama Dablam? What's the permit cost like? Also, I found this company, SummitClimb (google it) that sets up pretty much everything from transport, to food, to permits and liason officers, sherpas at a seemingly reasonable fee... basically all the logistical stuff but IT IS NOT a guided expedition. I'd be interested in putting things together myself but it seems like a logistical nightmare and the convenience of someone organizing all the preliminary details sounds nice. Thoughts? Experiences?

HAH... YES! I don't seem to mind dirt and grime on my equip... it's the nasty man made chemicals I'm not so sure about

Some guys working on my house right now were using some paint thinner to clean up a little bit of paint around the floorboards of the hallway... My room with my climbing gear is near where they were working, cams inside of a backpack, rope coiled in the corner of the room. None of my gear touched the paint thinner but I walked into my room and I could smell the paint thinner. I brought my cams into another room and put my rope in a pack out of paranoia.. They say that car battery acid fumes can weaken slings by 90%... Should I be concerned?

Thanks for the info, fellas. Nepal evos... Are they going to be warm enough for Patagonia climbing? Also... What do you guys think about investing in some cyborg crampons? I currently have some g-12s, new-matic style, crampons that are beat to hell. Not planning on climbing anything in Patagonia harder than m4/70 ish degree ice. I don't really like the idea of doing long routes in newmatic style crampons so I'm trying to decide on whether the cyborgs are necessary, considering future ice endeavors, or if some pro style sabertooths will be enough.

I know I know.. I'm looking for more anecdotal stuff at the moment.

Hey fellas, Partner and I are headed to El Chalten in December to do a bunch of mountaineering and stuff. Wondered if anyone has been and if so if you could spray some of that sweet beta about the town, sport/trad climbing nearby, anything in the rack to bring to the mountains that is crucial, etc. I'm planning on bringing my trad rack down (BD c3's-#3 camalot), stopper classic set, a shit ton of alpine draws, jumar, biners, prussiks, pulleys, and about 9 screws. What kind of weather are we looking at? I know it's considered unstable but are we talking first ascent peak xv/ MH absolute zero jackets here? I'm planning on bringing my nepal evos for the ice, snow, mixed climbs and my mythos for the rock climbing we do. How'd you get to el chalten? Fly to el calafate and bus it? Where's good to camp or stay in town? Any pertinent info would be greatly appreciated.

Only the best

The mountains were blue... but seriously... Is beer a concern? I know it can be considered acidic

Rinsed them off promptly... Any concern for weakening of slings?

So its sounding like you head up the standard polish direct and veer right into the rock bands at around 19,600 and climb straight up and meet the polish glacier again above the rock bands? I just want any helpful information regarding the route into the rock and ice chutes (rating, where to go, etc.) I have read that it's 5.6 YDS and 70 degree WI. How many vertical feet do we climb through the rock and ice? Can this technical section be climbed from camp 2 all the way to the summit and back down in a long day? We were hoping to descend the normal route and get back to our high camp. Is this possible or should we do a high bivy and do an up and over to a lower camp? What kind of pro would you recommend? We're looking to acclimate on another peak nearby before the climb so that we can push the polish direct w/ variation in about 4 days (not including approach and hike out) Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Hello! Anyone done this route or know anyone who has climbed it? I'm looking to hit it this December. Thanks!

Some people like to bring their kitchen sink on a three day climb I jacked mine up training for Denali like an idiot. Lesson learned.

At the moment my knees are fine.. Just ran 5 miles other day and climbed a 1000 feet vert yesterday on my road bike. I'm talking about those moments where you plunge step and all of a sudden the snow beneath your foot decides to give way another 6 or 8 inches and your knee locks out and all of your weight goes onto it. It's a split second "OH SHIT" moment and it feels like you almost or very minorly hyperextended it. Kind of one of those things that's hard to avoid sometimes. I second the trekking poles for descent from base camp but sometimes even walking down from the summit can feel like it's doing a number. I was thinking of rocking some knee sleeves like volleyball players or olympic lifters wear (very low profile and add a little bit of support) for when I'm slogging downhill for hours with a full pack on. Also, I see so many people not using their load lifting straps (the ones that come up off your shoulder straps to the top of your pack) properly and they're craning their head against a 60 lb load for hours. Talk about a way to strain and injure your neck/shoulders. I once was guilty of this. Lead with your chest, keep your ears above your shoulders. Climbing is a demanding sport and I feel like it's prudent to be conscious of these kinds of things. I'm a fan of base camp yoga, or "snow-ga" post climb and active stretching before the climb. A little goes a long way...

Hey Guys Something that I was thinking about when hanging with a couple of my buddies (crossfit addicts) tonight was injury prevention. I mentioned to them that whenever I'm descending a mountain I always manage to slightly hyperextend a knee once or twice... Especially when you plunge step more than you had originally anticipated due to a sloppy snow pack on the way down. What do you guys think of rocking some knee sleeves when mountaineering? Might get a little uncomfortable at times but I wonder if having knee support on the descent would increase my longevity as a mountaineer in the future seeing as I'm 23 right now. Also, what are some things that you think all mountaineers should be conscious of? i.e repetitive strain, overuse injury, ergonomics, etc. (Not stuff like tripping and falling off the mountain or getting caught in an avalanche)

Does anyone have any experience with the MH Direkt2 in some gnarly conditions? Right now I'm really between getting the I-tent or the Direkt2. Pros for the I-tent: Bibler material is bomber I can add a vestibule if necessary Pros for the Direkt 2: It's light as hell It's bomber (seems to be what I hear) ....it's light Any experience with either tent would be greatly appreciated. In any situation I'm not planning on sharing the tent.. It's going to be just me and my gear.