alpine et

...didn't steal a BD tent did they? http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/spo/4157264244.html

great shots - what a beautiful area, thanks for sharing. I wonder how many gorgeous Olympic TRs I'll need to read before getting myself over there....

sounds like you're gonna simul, so why not just fold it over and have a "full" rope?

Trip: Mt Thomson - West Ridge Date: 7/21/2013 Trip Report: West Ridge of Thomson in a day. After a few attemps beta gathering trips in March and June of this year, I was finally ready to put it all together. 17 hours on the move... alpine start to headlamp finish. Full value day. More photos and writeup here Approach is now totally snow free to Bumblebee pass, where there is a bit of snow left in the basin. If you're going in the next 2 weeks, fill up water in the basin. After that I wouldn't walk past Ridge Lake without filling up. Climb went well and East ridge descent took a while as we slowly picked our way down loose crappy rocks. I think if you had cut far right as soon as possible you can make it to a vegetated minor ridge, which would likely have better footing. Gear Notes: Leave crampons and mountaineering boots at home.... You may find a blue BD Guide atc on the bench below the 2nd pitch. Congratulations! I suggest recycling it. Approach Notes: PCT to Ridge lake... scramble up to pass.

boots are 28.5 - not sure how I left that out...

bump - there was a flurry of interest, but noone followed through, so everything is still available.

...got some plans now, thanks for responses...

Got a hodge podge of outdoor gear with lots of life left. Atomic Janak Skis 163 cm $275 Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe $40 Wild Country 400cm anchor slings (x2) $30 Petzl Helmet $20 OR Gaiters $10 It's way easier for me to upload to my site, so here's a link to pictures and descriptions: http://www.highpressurephotography.com/for-sale/ thanks! Erik

Taking off mid-day Friday from Seattle and looking to squeeze as much climbing possible into 1.5 days. Triumph? Forbidden? Another similar climb you've had on your tick list? drop me a line.... Erik

there is decent, though I think illegal, camping on the beach near the bridge that crosses the river on your way over to Far Side. I'd recommend parking at the lot and walking in the 10 minutes, and walking out of sight of the road, especially if you're planning a camp fire. MOtel... hmmm North Bend is closest, I guess, but no tips... have you considered Squamish?

Ill take the smith guide if its still available- pm me where to PayPal...

Anyone have any experience they'd like to share regarding ascending (or even just getting past) Sinister Peak from the south (via Garden glacier?). I'm hoping to approach the Ptarmigan traverse (south->north) from this direction, and being that we'll have nice heavy packs want to keep it as easy as possible. Only bit I've picked up so far is that the south face is 300' of class4 from CAG...but am a bit unsure of linking up the traverse to Dome. If this were just a climb I'd just go explore, but given that we'll invest lots of time and set up a car shuttle, I'd like to make sure there's a reasonable chance it goes....

Trip: Mt Thomson - East Ridge Indirect Date: 6/30/2013 Trip Report: After a failed winter attempt at Thomson earlier this year, I was motivated to return and get to the top. The conditions to and past the Katwalk were cruiser, with only small snow patches. Snow took over soon after and stayed with us until Ridge Lake, where the south facing traverse above Alaska Lake was again melted out. A snow finger delivered us to Bumblebee pass where we scoped out the rest of the approach. We opted for the east ridge route to save time, but ended up doing a variation with slabby moss, lots of trees and downsloping holds for a few hundred feet. We termed it the East ridge indirect. All in all - great day.... conditions are excellent out there now.... not sure how bad the walk off is when its all scree, but the foot glissade down was great. From what we saw, west ridge should be totally dry. full writeup and pictures here. Gear Notes: We didn't need crampons, but also had super warm weather.... might be nice to have some Al ones in the coming weeks if it cools off.... Approach Notes: PCT to bumblebee pass. read the beta you brought until you understand it, unlike us.

I've got a lightly used raven ice axe. It's not the "pro" version, so if you are a sponsored climber, sorry - this isn't for you. It's been on a few scrambles, up a few glaciers and carried along on a bunch of trips where it was just a passenger. It's a good light axe... I've diversified into some alpine style ice climbing tools that are actually not that much heavier, and have found myself always reaching for those instead.... just like this one: http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_Black-Diamond-Raven-Ice-Axe_10043657_10208_10000001_-1_ $50. In Ballard or downtown Seattle. Erik ETZepplin at geemail dot com

Howdy, We climbed N. ridge Baker on June 8. After now unpacking all gear that was with us on the trip, we're still short one ice screw. If you find a BD express screw, I can tell you the size and initials written on it, as well as provide a 6 pack of a beer and a firm handshake. For those looking for conditions, it's been a few weeks now, but navigation was striaghtforward through the lower glacier - certainly went over some bridges, but all felt very solid. We made two pitches on the ice, and then did our best to move slowly by pitching out 3x50m of hard snow above. Sketchiest snow bridges were present up high crossing from the firm snow on the north ridge to underneath the seracs you walk around to get onto the last snow slope. A few will be gone soon, and one we already had to throw tools on the other side and step up on a very trusting right foot...Other options weren't explored much, but could include more vertical ice. thanks Erik

My understanding is that glide ratio does not change with altitude, but speed does. Glide ratio is the relative speed forward versus downward through the air. These speeds are both linearly related to air density, so the glide ratio remains the same as the air thins. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) Lowell, I think you are correct - below is an excerpt from a website detailing high altitude soaring. It describes how the best glide ratio is unchanged at altitude, but the speed changes. I believe best glide ratio is just the ratio that maximizes distance, so is basically the same as the glide ratio you'd reach while base jumping if your aim is to get out as far as possible, which is usually the goal??! http://www.ssa.org/myhome.asp?mbr=4616398811 As we climb to higher altitudes, the air becomes thinner, or less dense. However, the indicated airspeed for stall, minimum sink, and best glide remains almost exactly the same. Some errors do creep in at the higher altitudes, but they are not larger than a knot or two. At 31,000 feet in our example, the minimum sink speed will still be near 50 knots IAS, and the best glide speed will still be near 60 knots IAS. The angle of attack of the wing at these indicated airspeeds will be the same as it was at sea level. The thing that has changed is the speed through the air mass (true airspeed). It is 100 knots in our example situation, and since there is no wind, the ground speed will also be 100 knots.

squinting... I don't think so - I never really realize it until I'm back at the car and the stinging starts up. more I'm thinking it through, more I'll probably see what a dr. has to say... and thanks - I'll check out those other Julbos - I don't mind throwing down more money at all, just want to make sure they'll actually be stronger / better fit thanks

I was up there mid-May, and there was snow about a mile or so down from the TH. I would assume much of that is gone already.... I wouldn't plan on being able to ski any of the road at this point... and a shameless plug for a blog I don't have ads on: Coleman Deming TR

nope, no meds, and since this is a recurring issue I suspect it's something rather fundamental. No one has come jumping out with some specialized expedition style glasses, so I guess the only thing I can do is minimize leakage... i'll give that a whirl this weekend... looking like another one that'll test out the setup well....

Yeah was out this past weekend on the Sulphide, and it wasn't very windy at all. I guess I'll hope there is some leakage going on, and will be extra vigilant...thanks for your thoughts.

from the sounds of it, the road is in fairly rough shape: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=28694.0

thanks for your responses - I feel like I do have a good seal around the edges - I'll double check though, to make sure.

I've been using Julbo Colorado glacier glasses for a few seasons, as they were the strongest I could get at 2nd Ascent. I still come back from every glacier trip with bloodshot eyes and lots of irritation - clearly on the exposed parts of my eye. I'm fairly meticulous with keeping them on tight. Anyone have tips for real strong glacier glasses? The ones I've been using have a 5% visibile light transmittance.... I don't see much that is lower - perhaps that is not the key thing to look for? Seems all decent pairs claim 100% UV protection.... I'd like to retain a decent color cast, if possible, as about half the reason I'm out there is to take pictures... thanks!

I'm interested, but could you post up some pictures that are a bit smaller?

don't see a date right off for this accident, but perhaps this is the group mentioned with the avy incident... http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-ice-climbers-survive-fall-from-mount-rainier-cliff/article_b0a13dae-c80b-11e2-8b4d-001a4bcf887a.html