JRJ

Gregory Alpinisto 50L Pack, in size Large. Details here: http://gregorypacks.com/en/GM322_cfg.html?dwvar_GM322__cfg_gmp_color=alpine_gold Its a beautiful pack that I bought thinking I'd need on longer outings, but my current pack is dialed in. So, this pack sits in my gear closet, having never been used. $190.

Speaking as a soon to be graduating Mountie Basic, I made the decision to do the Basic climbing cirriculum after a couple of great sessions with AMGA/IFMGA guides. I knew the Mounties approach was going to be a bit pedantic, but wanted the "fill-ins" that are hard to get in a couple of days, so the Mounties fit the bill for me. The cirriculum is "modernizing," so while we still carry an obscene amount of crevasse rescue gear, at least this year I didn't have to buy a bunch of oval beaners ;-) I also found out as ChuckC points out that "it screwed up my ski season," cost me 5 days in the the BC in my winter prime time. What I didn't count on, but have certainly benefitted from, are the friendships that have resulted from the experience. YMMV, worked for me. Not sure whether I'll do Intermediate yet, but if the long range ENSO WX forecasts hold, it might be a nice distraction from waiting for the snow to come.

We have three MontBell bags, including two UL SS #3's (last years with the 5"10' fit) for me and members of my family. Given their weight, they look a bit minimalist when you pull them out of the stuff sack, but I've found them to sleep very comfortably (I'm 5"10, ~185lbs), and true to temp rating. I've been comfy in this bag down into the 20's in a bivy/single wall tent. The one negative of this bag, IMO is the lack of a filled draft tube (the draft covering over the zipper is a a little spare), so I'm not sure this is a one bag quiver. Still, for a light bag, this is hard to beat...