burchey

Ask your mom. OHHHHHH well played. Gottem! She actually told me to ask - she said she's seen threads on making your own using those replacement blades for reciprocating saws, but she was worried that it might not be truly long enough to be effective. Given that she doesn't have much experience cutting snow blocks or testing for avi danger, I thought it was a reasonable question.

How long is sufficient?

You get 'er steep and cheap? How long is this bad boy?

On my way to wearing out a pair of Camp Fours (normally buy Sportiva). Great rubber, pretty stiff, but the older they get, the worse they seem to fit me. Doesn't make sense. I want to buy another pair, but they hurt too much in a couple spots. Maybe I'm getting bunions. YEah! If they feel good on your feet, and you can find a sale, buy them. Not sure about crampons, but for friction on slabs/smearing they are amazing. Was all over the Sierras in them last summer/fall, mileage ranging from 10-28ish, pack weight 20-35lbs. Climbed up to 5.9 in them at 14,000 ft, and I'm an average climber.

FAIL!!! The trouble with spanking is it shows your child that to solve a problem you use violence. You rule, Kevbone. Nobody says FAIL anymore. On a serious note, you're oversimplifying. You don't solve every problem with violence, you solve some of them with violence. Welcome to reality.

This move away from spanking is one of many reasons we're becoming a nation of nancys. 50 years ago, an 18 year old was a man. Today, in the age of don't swat your kid/everyone gets a trophy, it's normal to be living at home at 26 - paying more attention to video games and your newest iwhatever than your responsibilities. The trouble with spanking is when it's not coupled with love/support. If you just beat your kid, and that's it, you're a failure as a parent. If you use it appropriately, and show them with words/actions they are loved and supported, your kids turn out relatively fine. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule on results, but the general trend is there. Opponents of spanking usually got it REALLY bad with none of the good parenting.

Ready to move on to another set of axes/tools? Let me know, I'll take your old Grivels and climb the sh*t out of them.

I wish I'd started young as well - just have to make up for lost time, I guess. Same thing with music, would have been great if someone stuck a guitar in my hands at 6 instead of 16. Amazing to watch what the young can accomplish.

Abs zero here: http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Men%27s-Absolute-Zero%E2%84%A2-Parka/OM1240,default,pd.html Ion here: http://westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=products&page=Down%20Garments&cat=Jackets%20and%20Vests&ContentId=63 Brands aside - you have to look at specs in cases like this. The Ion is in a different catagory. Total weight is about a pound and a half. That's around 1/2 the weight of the Abs Zero. They don't give a fill-weight on the MH website, but my guess is there is a lot more down in the Abs Zero parka. I love WM gear, but the Ion loses in warmth here. It's like comparing a hardtail with a full suspension bike, I think.

This is my all-time favorite thread now. I've got to get one of these ice hatchets.

I looked at the twin sisters - I've got a roomy 2-man already, was thinking megalite (with custom skirt) for 3-4 guys, moving fast. We got shut down with bivi sacks on a recent Palisade Traverse attempt (lack of sleep, snow/wind gettin up in our gear)...would have been fine with a decent shelter at base camp.

Yeah, we used to date back in highschool. Nope, love my Meltdown though. Different animal, but WM construction is solid.

FWIW, I think it's a gamble with the floorless tents if you don't have the burlier sleeping bag fabric, especially for multi-day trips. You could toss on a bivy sack, but now you're adding more weight. I'd also be concerned if you like getting out in the wind, with no snow skirt, a pyramid/ish shelter is hard to keep the spindrift out of. You can really sink in the tent edges themselves and pile on snow, but then you loose usable floor space. I'm thinking about sewing a tyvek skirt on a BD betamid/megalite - would add minimal weight, but I think it would do the trick. Less snow blown in would help you keep the down intact as well, although larger concern is the snow you're laying on / what gets between your pad/bag.

Looking at Megalite by BD for 2-3 climbers plus gear - basecamp style. Wish it had snowskirt, have read about people modifying them and adding one. MEGALITE

I haven't been doing this for decades, but I've had gear fail on me before - lower/mid-range stuff. Shell wet-thru, goggles fog up beyond belief at the worst times, etc etc. I lean towards nicer gear now, but I take my time and catch a deal. I'll never go back from my WM Antelope GWS (shipped to my door for $419!!), or my Meltdown jacket (got it used). You'll feel that much better beating the elements for a discount. Key is to beat the elements. That being said, Doug ( guy that owns the portal store down at Mt Whitney) rocks bluejeans in the snow at 14,000. I'm not that badass. [img:left]http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/i-zvZLSNw/0/L/i-zvZLSNw-L.jpg[/img]

I'm in the same boat - tired of carrying the bigger and heavier tent, but can't find a good light option. 6'2" - I understand the BD first/hi are going to be snug on length. I'd be worried about the tight walls pressing down on my footbox and killing the loft. Cold feet. Down here in the Sierras, it's a lot drier. PNW, the wet seems like it would make those single-walls with only "water-resistant" ratings a drag. I don't think those BDs are really built for T-storms, I'd imagine they're intended for cold and snow mostly. Been eyeballing the Rabs, but they seemed cramped as well. I do know just a bivy can be hell in the wrong conditions. Trying to get out and dressed at 2am in a storm can break your trip, so much nicer to have a vesti to hunker down in, but then you're carrying that weight. Just pray for good conditions?? Using this right now Uber Bivy

Well played - wish we got ice like that down this way, not that I could get up it. For the most part we're riding the WI2-4 express, with average scenery.