SeanO

Awesome climb! Your other TR is cool too (gulley). I was one of the guys brewing up at our camp just below the Palmer. Cool to chat with you, and glad you made it back safely.

I second that. They are an amazing shop and I recommend them to everyone that has needs a Subie mechanic. I also bought a used car from them (my second Subaru) which was stayed in perfect mechanical condition until it was totaled. After that incident, they connected me with a customer who was selling her old 96 Legacy, and vouched for its mechanical condition since they had done all the work on it. Bought that thing almost two years ago with 140k miles, and I haven't had to put a cent into it aside from regular maintenance. Whenever I've gone in there for work for the 3 Subies I've owned, they're always honest about it ("no, don't worry about that, you can wait on it for a while" or "you really need to get this fixed; let's go look at your car and I'll show you why it's so important"). Lots of other things I can say, especially on how well they've treated my friends, but I'm a happy customer. /end of sales pitch

That's just insane. Wow.

ALso, here are some pics of the current conditions. Approach Start of the climb Base of the couloir Climbing the couloir Top of the couloir Summit, with a few feet of snow here and there

It was a fun climb, and the weather ended up being perfect. Kozak, here's the only pic I took that might give you an idea.

My guess (as a soon to be ex-Firstlight owner) is that the fabric would fail if you took it into an environment where you needed double poles. It's a somewhat fragile tent. If you're only going to own one 4 season two-man dome, and want to get something that'll work in high wind conditions, it makes more sense to sacrifice the 1.5lbs. for a much more sturdy tent like the Eldo or I-Tent. But if light and fast is your top priority, perhaps a modular pole system is for you. Give it a shot and report back.

I looked into double poling the Firstlight, but determined that unless you already own one, a better purchase would be an I-Tent or an Eldorado if you're concerned about being in high enough winds to necessitate two poles. The Eldo and I-Tent come with thicker poles and much more durable fabric, at about 1.5lbs more weight. An extra set of poles would weigh around 1 lb. for the Firstlight and cost around $100.

I'd like any beta as well, planning on heading up there this weekend. Will report on conditions if I go.

This is what I did with my Vireo -- I rented it for a few days, slept very comfortably, then built my dream bag: Pertex Shield waterproof/breathable fabric, tuck stitch, 900 fill upgrade, plus 2 ounces of overfill. It lofts from 5.5 inches in the foot to 4 near the head, and is super warm. Only 22.5 oz with customizations. Love it! One thing I found out about tuck stitch vs. top stitch at FF: not all of their bags are tuck stitched. Most of the lightweight bags are top-stitched, so you have to request the tuck stitch on a lighter bag. Just ask them when you check em out.

Thank you for posting; may have to alter my plans.

Someone who wears XL or Med is going to get a steal.

Lots of people over at BackpackingLight have them and love them. Didn't recommend it because it's a bit narrow in the shoulders, which would be problematic if you want to sleep in a jacket to extend the warmth rating. But if you're a smaller guy, no problem.

Hey Raoul, are you sure you don't have the Helium? I think the Lithium only comes in 0 degrees... maybe you have an older model that came in 15 degrees. Interwebs specs say the Helium is about 34 oz, while the Lithium is 44 oz. I have a Feathered Friends Vireo, but friends have been happy with the FF Osprey (30deg). Weighs 25oz, and the rating is conservative. An alternative is the Western Mountaineering Megalite, at 24oz at 30 deg. rating. You really can't go wrong with FF or WM. If you truly have the Lithium at 44oz, then you could save well over a pound going with these bags. Not cheap, but accurate ratings and top quality.

Really awesome pictures Kevin. Thanks for skiing with this noob at Alpental and picking up all my shit after that faceplant/yard sale... best of luck in school too.

Cool video, thanks for sharing! You'll get it next time.

Answer 1: Because Eddie Bauer's HQ is located in Bellevue. Answer 2: Because Bellevue likely embodies everything about the target market for FA gear and RMI clientele.

I haven't used my Reactor extensively in the field, but like keenwesh said, the efficiency of the stove makes the extra weight justifiable. Not to mention it's super wind-resistant and comes with a larger cup by default. Melting snow for a few hours on Rainier with a less-efficient stove was incentive enough to get the Reactor. Sucks when you're tired and just want to sleep. I do like the JetBoil as a more multi-purpose stove, great for trips where you're not melting lots of snow, or when you're backpacking. It weighs nearly half as much as the Reactor too. Might have to pick up one of them as well.. I've also looked into the hanging setups, such as the mod for JB hanger to Reactor (which apparently isn't very stable). I may have to play around with something...

So it sounds like a 30m rope is insufficient if you chose to tie butterfly knots along the length of the distance between you and your partner, because they will jam in the lip of the crevasse and the fallen climber won't be able to prussik out of the jammed rope. DPS, since you've tried this method, do you always tie butterfly knots, or no? I've heard about this technique only from this forum. It seems good for stopping a fall into a crevasse, but otherwise, it sounds like 30m is totally sufficient for a rope without butterfly knots.

I think they meant to say Bluewater. I also picked up a 10mm double dry from them during the Second Ascent sale. I think it's good that you lean conservatively when it comes to glacier safety, as Gene and Kurt are reinforcing. I'm rethinking my fast 'n light philosophy...

Agreed on the clothing in general -- the Peak XV by all accounts is a great jacket. But this recent foray into camping gear is very lackluster compared with alternatives, even marginally more expensive alternatives, and that's the main thrust of the thread.

This is a good conversation, I'm glad we're discussing it. I'll be hopefully practicing crevasse rescue in the next couple weekends and hope to dial this in for myself. If we go by Gene's numbers (and 30 feet between climbers since a 30m rope is 98.4 feet), I'm assuming 30 feet in coils isn't enough to execute a rescue. How many feet is necessary, and also how many is recommended? It seems that 30 feet would be plenty for a Z pulley, assuming the arresting climber isn't right next to the crevasse. Let's say they're 5 feet away from the edge. They place a temporary anchor, move up about 10 feet and place a bomber anchor, then return 10 feet and add a prussik and pulley, then start pulling the climber out. Assuming a few feet for knots, the rescuing climber would still be left with some (admittedly little) extra rope. A few obvious statements: this situation would be really difficult and suck no matter what for 2 people. But are the numbers way off? This is essentially the consolidated advice from other climbers and I'd like to get your opinions (Kurt and Gene).

Thanks for the input Kurt. Would you say that the additional difficulty when performing crevasse rescue warrants carrying a single rope for glaciers, in your opinion?

What exactly is your objective in climbing a couloir, as opposed to any other mountain feature? Most of the interesting places to climb a couloir in late April/early May will still have substantial snow in them, so you should bring crampons and an ice axe just in case. A couloir at 40-45 degrees might have a scary enough runout to justify protecting the climb. It sounds like you might want more of a steep hike if you're not looking for the possibility of something technical. Couloirs are usually by definition at least a little technical and steep. If the road is mostly accessible, you could have a good hike up to Colchuck Lake, then climb the col to the saddle between Colchuck and Dragontail. There's not really significant danger if you fall because the runout is relatively gradual. But you'd still need crampons and an axe.

Any particular reason you want 60m? 30-40m is generally considered sufficient for 3 people, accounting for extra rope in the event of a rescue, or 2 people with coils. Also, you could probably go thinner than 9mm; more like 8mm because it won't be taking major falls.

I picked up the Neo Air All Season a few weeks ago and have been impressed with it so far. 19 oz for a regular, with an R value of 4.9 and beefier 75d fabric to resist punctures. The new Neo Airs also have a great non-slip coating on them that's a huge improvement from previous years. I slept well on mine at home a few nights, will test it out on the snow this weekend.