BootsandPants

Awesome write up and pictures. I need to get back in there one of these days; that terrain looks really fun

I switch between atmos and Weatherspark and they rarely let me down. Weatherspark is pretty slick if you haven't tried it yet. Think of a more user friendly and customizable NOAA graph output with point-click forecasts. You can even get historical summaries (from a few days to a few years) of precip/temp/wind speed and direction etc. which I find really useful for snowpack conditions. Pretty rad.

Is that what we're calling it these days? Quality thread; making Monday better

The photos were from all three of us. Photo equipment included: Nikon D600 w/ Rokinon 14mm 2.8, Nikkor 50mm 1.8 Canon Rebel T2i not sure on the lens this guy Sony NEX 6 w/ 16mm 1.4, 16-85mm 3.6 Sony Xperia Z1 cell phone

You can follow a skin track without walking in the track and ruining it. It's basic backcountry courtesy. Telling newbs to ignore it will be setting them up for some interesting (sometimes not-so-nice) confrontations. Please don't tell people to post-hole in skin tracks in the name of easy navigation...

Trip: Iceland - Snæfellsjökull, Tröllaskagi, Vatnajökull and more Date: 3/27/2014 Trip Report: Cody, Stephen and I spent two weeks road tripping, living out of a tent on pasta and hot dogs, and climbing/skiing everything in sight all throughout Iceland. This is our story. Sorry to link a blog post, but there's just too many large pictures to re-upload here. It would take me an extra few hours. As to not make your click on this TR a total waste of time, here's a pretty picture to look at! There's more like this at the link. Enjoy! Gear Notes: Tent, about 5 pairs of skis and skins, lots of whisky and Stoke Approach Notes: IcelandAir

Use them as an improvised ski straps to fix a broken binding or skin! Grab a handfull of them to use as a whip on slow partners on the approach! Lash some wood together with them to make a raft. Float your way out from a climb, because hiking is for suckers! You all need to get more creative with your straps. +1. I hope they've gotten better over the years since I've had one. Shit fell apart on me after one season

Any ~1kg ski with race bindings. Those will fly uphill really quick! Honestly? 174cm Dynafit Cho Oyu (88mm waist) with speed superlights (or speed radicals if you want a flat "boot on ski" tour mode). Good all around, but a little more uphill oriented than downhill. They do fine in deeper snow too. If you want lighter; I've skied the Trab Magico and own Dynafit's Nanga Parbat in 171, both fly uphill. They take a little more control to ski down though. Wider/heavier? K2 waybacks are cheap and strike a good balance between weight and downhill performance. Coombacks are heavier still, but ski better than waybacks. You can find trab Volares and Rapidos out there on closeout now too. Both are amazing skis but have no rocker, so pass on those if you need rocker to ski (if not the Volare is seriously awesome). Lots of other options out there; just look and do some research. I've only recommended things I've skied on and would ski on again, or own. EDIT: I did not take cost into any of my recommendations. If you're trying to do this on a tight budget, say goodbye to most/all the truly lightweight options.

That little guy has flagging DOWN.

Hey Nate. I don't have any experience with those exact classes you're talking about, but I've taken a few avy classes with AAI and I'd definitely recommend them as a guiding service. Knowledgeable and fun people to work with. I had a great time and learned a bunch.

OR Trailbreaker maybe (I think that's what it's called)? Softshell uppers, hardshell from the knee down. More skiing oriented, but then again I don't really know anyone who is making waterproof knees and butt without the whole pant being waterproof. The OR pants have served me well for 3 seasons now. Just don't use the beacon pocket and tomahawk for 500ft; you'll rip the pants. Maybe just take a small sit-pad or sit on the pack instead of goretex-ass?

For long multipitch and simuling, this way is the jam.

I got one to replace a reverso that was getting sharp in between the "rope holes". I've been cragging (gri-gri) and skiing too much lately and only have used it a handful of times, but so far it's been alright. Kind of jerkey and annoying when rapping in autolock mode; though I was on a pretty thick rope (9.8 or 10.something). Would think that on a thinner rope (8.9/9.1) it will rap easier in autolock mode.

If you look at your lean/lock mechanism (found just above your achilles usually) you can find the metal plate that locks the cuff into the shoe. Sometimes you can unscrew it and flip it around to adjust the forward lean. Worth a shot before buying new boots. Seems like 25deg is an awful lot of forward lean. Way too much in fact. Two of my touring buddies use these boots and don't complain about it, so maybe the previous owner flipped that plate around?

We say we accept the risks inherent in climbing, but those risks and their consequences aren't really brought into the forefront of our minds until something happens to someone close to us. It's one thing to read about accidents and deaths in the hills and think "man, that's horrible, good vibes to their family/friends". It's another thing all together to be on the flip side of that and have it happen to someone you're close with. Lots of feelings and emotions to deal with. As to how to deal with it; everyone's different, and will deal with it differently. I think everyone involved in an accident will re-evaluate their own risk tolerance however; some will remain the same, some will be more cautious, and some will stop all together. Luckily I've never had any real close friends get seriously injured or die in the mountains, so I can't say how I personally would react. I hope to never have to find out. Regarding rock quality; I never thought that a piece would have broken off the Sword on the Grand since it's climbed so much and that rock is so damn solid, but hey, that shit happened last August. Luckily nobody was hurt. It's all part of the game...

Canadian Hunter; going to have to try that. Single malt is usually too spendy for the ones I like, and fireball just makes me do stupid things... I'd also like to point out that 17/25 replies to this thread are related to whisky. I'm glad to see everyone has their priorities straight.

I wouldn't trust REI to do anything to my skis. I've seen too many botched mounts and shoddy work out of that shop. Unless that's your only option, I'd go elsewhere. I would trust ProSki or Evo to do a descent dynafit mount. Too bad Marmot isn't around any longer. In the future, learn to mount skis (this goes for everyone). It's really easy, takes no special tooling (unless you buy a ski drill bit, which is $10), saves a bunch of money, and you know the job is done right. Not to mention it's a well of infinite free beer from friends.

Wow, should have gone out on Friday! Nice pictures I think we ran into you on Saturday on Arrowhead. We were the group of 4 coming off the summit ridge (had to bail close to the summit due to one member having bad gloves and frost-nipped hands). At least there were some nice turns towards the bottom!

No harm at all in getting touring gear and learning to ski on it in-bounds. If backcountry is your goal, I'd say it's pretty smart to figure out and get comfortable with how your equipment handles in a controlled environment (resort) before taking it out. Check out Wildsnow if you haven't already. Enough info over there to make your head spin. In theory, yes, "heavier" skis are generally more downhill oriented and will handle better in firmer snow and in heavy and wet conditions. More mass = more momentum = more power to blast through the mank, thus making skiing variable conditions (which is most of what is in the BC) much easier. Obviously a heavier ski won't go uphill as easily. That's the trade off, and it's a balancing act we play with ski choice. For your first BC ski, go with something middle of the road. It'll go up OK, it'll go down OK, and you'll have fun doing both especially for a few seasons while learning. I'd stay away from the super light skis, they take a lot of wherewithal to ski well in most conditions, and for someone who is just starting out, they won't be much fun on the down. You can add these to the quiver later on once you've developed more as a skier. Stay away from the super heavy "freeride" skis too. They are pigs on the way up, and you'll be spending most of your time going up. Some suggestions for good skis that split the middle of the road between weight and downhill: PNW Classic - K2 Coomback (Wayback is alright too if you want a lighter ski, but the coomback does the down better) G3 Tonic- was renamed the District 100 this season, but there are still some of past season Tonics floating around for good prices. BD Revert or Convert (last year model is the Warrant or Verdict; both on sale now for ~300 too on BD's site) And yes; as was said earlier get tech bindings (lots of offerings out there now). Don't even bother with frame binders if you plan on touring. With the lower prices now, there is no reason to consider a frame binding. Tech bindings in bounds are totally fine. Have fun and stay safe!

Got skis on there, but how about ski boots? I know it seems obvious, but I've learned my lesson that nothing is obvious at 4am when getting ready.

I've been carrying that little green Brooks Range doodad you linked for the past few years and it's been great. I've put together G3 and dynafit binders in the field with it, no problems. The price was right at $7 or so off of BC.com.

I have a small haul pack thing (atom smasher?) from Russ over at Fish. Super durable, will haul easily without any fiddling with shit, comfortable enough, and the price was totally right. Not the lightest/fastest, but works really well for cragging days.

Thanks for the TR and the great photos! I was up there that day too skiing the C-D and saw you guys high on the route. Looked quite nice; well done! Glad you're OK all things considered, and I wish you a speedy recovery. My partner lost an edge heading down from the hogsback that afternoon as well and would have turned into a missile if it wasn't for his whippit. Crazy conditions that weekend...

There better be some rioting, otherwise all of the "were the loudest fans in the league" stuff is total bullshit.

Maybe it's because I'm discovering more of it each time I go, but it's gotta be Index for me if we're talking WA crags. It's close-ish, and the route quality is unmatched imo. As a mid 5.10 leader, it's pushing me to be a better climber too in order to get on some of the classics, which is great. Not to mention the setting of the place (tweakers aside); there's nothing like sitting on the banks of the Sky with a cold beer in the shadow of Mt. Index after a good day of climbing. Vantage will also hold a special place in my heart too. It's always there with (mostly) good weather when you need to scratch that itch in the winter. Plus there's something to be said about watching the sun go down over the planes out there after a fun day. Haven't been to Darrington yet though, so that could change things. Looking forward to getting out there and exploring this summer. It's been on the back burner for too long!