BootsandPants

I'm only speaking from my own observations, but I think Lowell hits it on the head. I've noticed much more climbing activity at Vantage, Index, and even Tieton than usual for these months, and I have a feeling it's directly related to the lack of skiing. I don't normally climb three weekends out of the month of February, but I will this year. Couple that with just the growing popularity of climbing, and just the fact that the weather has been really nice out there in February, and you get crowds. Not really that new of a thing. I did hear it was pretty raucous last weekend. Crazy...in February! This. It's a rare thing here in the US that a camping access spot be unregulated. Doing our part to keep it that way is a very good start, and a clean-up day would be awesome. While I doubt it's climbers who are abusing the land and making a mess, we as a group probably use the land more than the Seattle Family Adventure crew rolling up in their mini-van once a year. Yes, it would be nice if they weren't slobs, and not all are, but I'll spend 5 minutes picking up their trash if it means I can still camp there, for free, whenever I want to access climbing.

This is a fantastic idea. I think I'll do this with my now defunct touring skis since this season has core shot them to hell and back. Nice, light, short approach skis!

Most likely. However in regards to the the Beckey-Chouinard; it really is quite the fantastic climb. I'll always remember that one and am not surprised that it's mentioned as often as it has been. Question for the masses; I've seen LFT and the Cirque on a few "Will not climb" lists. Just wondering why? It's not technically that difficult of a route; just long and remote. Is it just the logistics? I'm interested as I'm heading up there this summer.

I think you're right for the majority of climbers with the regular 9-5 jobs where month+ long vacations aren't possible every year, making climbing in far flung destinations difficult. While I would like to climb in the Alps, Andes, and Himalaya, and probably will once in my life, there's also a lifetime of fun/challenging routes to be had right here in NA where the travel time and cost are significantly less. Especially being in the Cascades and on the West Coast, we're much closer to things relatively than the rest of the country/continent.

New year, new goals; good idea for a thread to get one thinking! 1) Favorites I have climbed: - Beckey-Chouinard on S. Howesr - Sunset Strip on the Chief - Rebel Yell on Chianti - Pigeon Spire WR 2) Capable of, but have not climbed and want to: - Lotus Flower Tower - Nose/Salathe/El Cap or anything in the valley (I really need to get myself there...) - Index Traverse - Slesse NEB - Sunshine Crack on Snowpatch 3) Admire but will never climb. - >5.12 - Willis Wall - the Bulger list

TLT5s SOLD. Other stuff still available. Hard to think of skiing here with these conditions, but you'll be set for that dump that'll happen in Feb/Mar! I've also got an pair of Solamon Sensifit 7 alpine boots I found from my back East days; size 28.5. Used, but still in good condition. They drove GS skis on the Ice Coast, so they work pretty well. $20 and they're yours, with a free boot bag if you want it!

Everything is sold already. Crazy! Easiest time I've had getting rid of things yet. Now if only someone would take this computer case off my hands...

I've seemed to accumulate shit, use it a few times, then put it away. Wtf is wrong with me? Please take this stuff off my hands and have fun with it! 181 K2 Darksides; newest version. Skied 4 days on them; bases, topsheets, and edges are in new condition. Awesome and fun ski on any day where there's any amount of fresh snow. They tour well on the way up and rip on the way down! Currently drilled for G3 onyxs. I can either leave the onyx plates on there or remove them/fill the holes. Your call. How about $250? I'll even throw in a pair of new skins already cut for these bad boys if you want them. Skins were used those same 4 days and are in new condition from CSD. Dynafit TLT5M boots Size 28/28.5. Used, but there's still lots of life left in these. Liners have only been cooked once and there's still plenty of tread left on the soles. These are the best boots I've ever toured in (save for the 6Ps I'm in now). I swapped the normal dynafit velcro powerstrap for the Booster powerstraps, but can swap the originals back on there if you don't want the boosters. How about $250? SOLD Tecnica Demon 130 boots, size 26.5. These are basically brand new (size stickers still on the toes!) and have only been skied three days or so. Liners have never been cooked. The soles are swapable with dynafit compatible touring soles which I'll include. Not that you'll want to tour in these, but it'll allow you to ski your touring bindings inbounds with a real flexing boot! Will work with all binding types; apline, touring, tech. $300 OBO? I'm located in Seattle and teach at Stevens on Sundays (if there's snow). Would prefer a local deal for the skis but will ship if you are willing to chip in some $$. Thanks for looking

Trying to thin the gear room down to a gear rubbermade and spring cleaning because its friggin 65 degrees out. OP Link Cams, sizes: .75 $45 1 $55 2 $45 All three for $120 Green and yellow are used but in good condition and work great. Red is new with tags. Same color racking biner included with each if you want it. Totem offset red/yellow. Won in a raffel, placed it once in 2 years. Guess I don't climb stuff where I need these. $40 Assorted belay devices and locking biners. BD guide device is in great shape, has a few scratches on the outside, but almost no wear on the inside at all. Annodize on the teeth isn't even rubbed off. Someone left this in my car over a year ago and doesn't want it back now (wtf?). Cool...$15. $20 with a locker Edelrid mega jul in basically new condition. Only used it 3 crag days. $20, $25 with a locker Random assortment of BD and Petzl lockers. $10 each, less if you want more than one. Located in Seattle and teach up at Stevens most weekends (if there's still any snow left). Willing to ship if you're willing to chip in a few bucks to help out shipping. Thanks for looking!

My prediction is that this is all an extremely elaborate marketing stunt. If so, it sure is paying off! You can bet your ass that when they do release this (which they will), people are going to flock to it in droves.

Steering this back on track; Comcast actually has been doing this since 2012 in certain test markets. They're starting to broaden these "tests". Although amount of data supplied by ISP is not really the issue of net neutrality. It's how the data is supplied and at what rate it's supplied to the end user.

My girlfriend and I were taking it easy on GNS that day and saw the group ascending Pisces to the anchor where the rack was apparently left. They hiked out to the parking lot after rapping off the route. I was there until about 5PM when it got dark and nobody came by, otherwise I would have let them know that someone retrieved their rack. Anyhow, I believe one of the climbers' names was Fletch, or something similar. At least that's what it sounded like from what I could hear of them calling back and forth. If someone knows him, maybe give him a heads up that Tom has it for him

Bump; feel free to make an offer. Hope you fools are taking advantage of the nice weather. Index is sweeeeeeeeeet right now.

Arc'teryx Stingray jacket, size men's medium. Brand new with tags still attached. I won this in a raffle and I need money for trips and gas more than I need another coat. MSRP: $500 Yours for: $400 OBO Located in Seattle; would prefer a local deal but don't mind shipping if you chip in for it. Winter is coming, be prepared!

...and yet a big cable lobbiest was appointed to the head of the FCC. Dafuq? It would be nice if all the people we elected and pay who are voting on this actually knew how the internet worked. Conversely, it would be nice if the people we elected and pay took the time to educate themselves on all the issues they vote on.

The one having the most fun. Sorry, couldn't resist. I've been using Garmont Dragontails the past few seasons for almost all of my summer objectives where I might need crampons. I think of it as a lightweight, low top, mtn shoe; somewhere in between an approach shoe and a full on mtn boot. They're stiff and climb/frontpoint well, but won't kill your feet walking on trails. I fit my pair slightly smaller (-1/2 size) than my street shoe for better performance on the more technical stuff. They also fit into a pack or carry on the back of a harness like regular approach shoes if/when you need to break out the rock shoes. Saves lots of space. They don't have welts for pons, so that could be a deal breaker depending on your crampon configuration. It's been a great shoe for my needs that fits in between mtn boots and approach-chacos.

Ah, typical Seattlite response. Do nothing. Shitty neighbors.

Never had good luck with any of Osprey's packs, so I stay away from them. Too much frivolous stuff on them for my tastes. Durability was pretty terrible in my experience too; even worse than my cilogear pack that only lasted a season... I'd recommend: Alpine Threadworks Selkirk; the only ski pack you'll ever need. A little bit more $, but it's made to your back length. Perfect fit. I have used it to carry heavy loads on multi-day trips too and it works great. or Cold Cold World Chernobyl or Valdez; awesome climbing packs that carry skis well too. They will last forever. The guys who make CCW and ATW packs are actually out there doing these things; their designs are all well thought out for actual use. Plus, I like to support the little guys.

Quite possibly, it definitely wasn't crazy dirty or anything; pretty much par the course for alpine climbing in the cascades. I've climbed plenty dirtier things around here. I just got back from some time in the Bugs, so my perception of alpine rock is a bit skewed at the moment. Bottom line: people should go climb this.

I actually just climbed this yesterday. It looked more interesting and aesthetic than the standard NF route we were thinking about. The lichen is back and we threw off a few sizable chunks of moss, but we gave it a bit of cleaning on our way up. There's still one very large, loose block on P4 that's a bit scary. My partner stepped on it and it teetered and rumbled; couldn't get it to bust free though. It's easily avoidable, just be careful. The rock was solid for the rest of the climb overall (I chucked off a few pieces here and there). Darrin isn't full of shit; I thought it was a fun day out on a great line. Very reasonable and easy climbing; it was a nice break from going balls to the wall for the past month. The position is impressive and striking, and the views back behind you are fantastic. Really nice thing to do that's so close to home. Thanks for putting it up and the new hardware!

Can't help with the binoculars, sorry. A few friends (myself included) have been having great luck with Rokinon lenses for outdoor and landscape/nightscape stuff. They produce some exceptionally sharp and clear images for their price. Some good examples here from a TR I wrote a few months back. Most of those images were taken with a 17mm or 24mm Rokinon. The only drawback of the Rokinons is that they are manual focus only. It cuts down on the cost for sure, but has it's limitations with moving subjects. I haven't found any problems with only using MF, especially for climbing and outdoors photos. With a little practice, it becomes second nature. FYI: They market these lenses under three brand names; Rokinon, Samyang, and Bower, but they're all the same thing. I've read some complaints on the interwebz about there being lemons out there and you have to "get a good one", but nobody I know has gotten a "bad one". I think it's just photo geeks being picky about nothing. Personally I have the 24mm f1.4 (Bower label); bought it new for $400 and it's been great. Definitely recommend it or similar if you're on a budget.

Better in snow, but OK without it. I climbed it a few years ago in September (no snow in sight) but felt secure scrambling. There is some loose stuff, but not any worse than anything else on the peninsula. If she's OK with scrambling, she should be fine.

Wait, this was meant to be a serious TR? My trolldar is all out of whack these days...

Alright; which one of you is trolling over on summitpost? Mt. Hood Hike Entertaining read and really twisted some panties over there.