SeanO

Looks like a pretty good list! As far as changes: Bring the 32 degree bag and wear your clothes to bed. What about glacier glasses? I would bring the mitts, or switch your gear setup to a heavy fingered ski glove and a separate pair of fleece gloves. Would also bring the second nano puff. Rainier can get really cold. I also think you could probably fit all of that into a Cilo 45L pack. My whole Rainier kit including tent and stove fits in my 45. The 45 makes a good summit pack too, whereas you're really going to have to strap down the 60L. FYI, two-man crevasse rescue is going to be pretty difficult if not impossible; would recommend a 3 person team. My two cents.

Rad. Google maps API + some ingenuity? Does the Gmap API provide elevation?

Thanks everyone for your feedback and experiences. I rented a Vireo from FF the other day and tried it out for a few nights. Brilliant bag. The rental at 72" was 17 ounces on the dot and lofted better than my other 20 degree bag with 1.5 times the fill and 2x the weight. Slept really well, and pulling the bag off my core works great for venting in the morning. Was plenty roomy too -- now I don't see why I'd want more wasted airspace to heat up in a bag. Pulled the trigger and ordered one in Shield EX with 2 oz of overfill and a 900 fill upgrade. Ended up going with the 72" instead of the 68", though that could have worked. FF staff was great, but Max in particular gave awesome customer service. If you have any questions about FF stuff, ask for him and he'll give you all the info you want. Should get it in about a month or so, will let ya'll know how it turned out.

I don't see how it's better than the Firstlight. The Direkt2 is shorter, narrower, has non-breathable laminate fabric, no mesh to vent the front door if you want, and it costs hundreds more. All for a couple ounces of weight savings, and likely better performance in high winds due to the non-stretch fabric. Big advantage of the Firstlight is that it breathes well. Having a single-wall laminate guarantees significant condensation build-up. You'd likely be far more wet in the Direkt2 in the morning than in the Firstlight. Still seems like the Firslight is better. What am I missing?

Awesome video! Very impressive kid.

Cool pictures, and grats! No pro on the last ice section?

Thanks for the replies guys. What size are you both? I'm 5'10" 190. Just a little concerned I might compress the down a bit in the hip area... going to check one out at FF in the next couple days.

Thanks for the response, Dane! Very helpful information. I'm actually quite surprised you've used it below 0 degrees, as that's likely the lowest I would ever consider using it even with my belay jacket on. What do you think of the drawstring? Too thin? Does the drawcord stay closed? I'm thinking that because it's so narrow, it might be better to get some over fill added to the underside so that if I roll over at night (I'm a side-sleeper), then I won't experience a sudden shock of cold...

I've read everything on this site about the FF Vireo, and it looks like many people are using it. It looks like the bag I've always wanted, but I have a few questions. First, if you own it, do you like it? When do you use it? Which fabric? Nanoshield, Pertex Endurance UL, or eVent? If you have any of these, which would you chose if you could buy again? How much overfill, if any? Did you request overfill in the feet or in the torso? Is there a defined top and bottom side in terms of insulation distribution? As in, is there less insulation on the bottom of the bag to account for compression on the pad, and more on the top to loft? Or is it evenly distributed? Thanks guys!

Used or new of any of the following would be great. Insulated leather boots: Scarpa Mont Blanc or La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX. Puffy: Feathered Friends Volant w/ hood (down), Rab Neutrino Endurance (down), Norrona Lyngen (down synthetic mix), Patagonia DAS Parka (synthetic) Pants: You don't need down pants. Get some Schoeller soft shell pants, such as the Northwest Alpine Fast/Light pants or the REI Acme pants Pack: Cilogear 45L or 60L Sleeping Bag: Any Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering 15 degree bag, or a lighter one if you wear your puffy to bed Sleeping Pad: Thermarest ProLite or ProLite plus, 3/4 if you are comfortable using your pack under your legs/feet Harness: Black Diamond Couloir Belay Device: Black Diamond ATC XP or Petzl Reverso 4 Rescue Pulley: SMC cheapo works fine Ice Axe: Black Diamond Raven Pro, 60cm if you're around 6' Crampons: Grivel G12 newmatic or full strap, or equivalent horizontal front point crampon Layering: multiple layers is better than a couple really warm ones. Merino wool base, schoeller soft shell for pants and jacket, maybe a fleece layer like the Patagonia R1 hoody. Have fun!

Thanks for the information everyone. Looks like it wouldn't hurt to bring a 22cm along. Just one, or perhaps also bringing a 16/17cm as well?

Hi everyone, I'm wondering if people bring an ice screw on standard glacier climbs. For example, a trip up a snow route such as the DC on Rainier, Hogsback on Hood, etc. If so, what size do you bring, and what is your justification and intended use? I've heard from a few experienced climbers who bring a screw or two just to be safe, even in summer. I've also heard anecdotes about using a screw when inside a crevasse to aid climb out... an extreme example perhaps, but applicable. What do you guys bring?

Thanks for the responses everyone. Lots of great images. I'm going to look at them in detail this weekend and find some that I like. Bought the Mugs Stump calendar already, thanks John. Josh's are impressive, he's got some good ones. And to those who sent PMs, I'll be checking out your portfolios as well. Cheers!

I've got my own office now at work and have been scouring the internet for (affordable) climbing prints. They don't really seem to exist, perhaps because it's not profitable. Or, I'm just not looking in the right places. There are lots of posters of mountains, but few taken in the mountains themselves. Does anyone have suggestions where I can buy a couple calendars that have shots taken in mountains, either with or without people in them? And/or posters? I'd like to keep the poster/print costs down to $25/each, and preferably as large as possible. The alternative of course is to bring a quality camera and print those photos myself; I'm working on that.

Awesome pictures everyone, and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the info Ryan. I bought a Reactor and it's pretty darn awesome, but I'll definitely consider the Jetboil when I'm in the market for a lighter stove come summer.

Amazing pictures! Those ice formations are really cool, but I would never want to be underneath them.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It sounds like based on your opinions and others that for melting snow or just boiling water in the mountains, you can't beat the Reactor. And that's primarily what I'd be using it for. Just placed my order. I would like to see someone here who owns both stoves do an experiment still...

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It confirms my suspicions that you can't do better for fast snow melting than the Reactor. As most of my overnight trips will involve melting snow, I think it's the better purchase. Ironically though, I could see myself ideally owning both the Sol and the Reactor. Do any of you cook inside your tent with this thing? Seems to be a lingering concern about CO poisoning. You can read the article about it on backpackinglight.com if you're a member. Basically, the Reactor outputs many times more CO than competing stoves. Slightly concerned about needing to cook inside my tent and dying, heh.

Looking for an integrated canister stove system. The new Sol Ti heats up to .8L of water, weighs 8.5oz. without canister, and outputs little CO. The MSR Reactor heats up to 1.7L of water, weighs 19oz. without canister, and outputs a lot of CO. I'm a member of BackpackingLight and their latest roundup of stoves from a few months ago shows that the Sol Ti is very competitive in terms of time, though the Reactor is definitely faster and uses a little bit more fuel. Another big plus for the Reactor is that it isn't affected by wind. Use is for spring/summer Cascades mountaineering, always just heating water for one or two, with occasional shoulder-season jaunts at temps near freezing. Also need to melt snow. It's a tough choice. Anyone have an informed opinion?

Leukotape. There's nothing better that I've ever tried. Expensive but it'll stay on for a few days if you dry and clean your feet before application.

I too had a similar dilemma and did some research. The MH Compressor Hooded Jacket has ~100g of Thermic Micro insulation. I wasn't able to find CLO values on the efficiency of that insulation, but it's not as warm as Primaloft One, which has a CLO value of .92. I'm guessing it's somewhere in the .8 range. I think it's a great jacket for a warm day on Rainier and pretty much any 3 season climbing, but I personally would want something a little warmer for summit day on Rainier. Or, you could pair it with another lighter weight insulating piece like a nano puff. My two cents. EDIT: I should add that I own a Thermawrap Parka which has 80g of Montbell's proprietary insulation called Exceloft. It's CLO value is only .68, which makes it about as warm as a nano puff at 60g Primaloft One. I had this as my single insulating layer on Rainier at around freezing temps, and wished I had brought more. The Compressor is probably around 30% warmer than the Thermawrap, but I personally don't think it's enough for standing around if temps were to get quite chilly. Something along the lines of a DAS would be more of a sure bet...

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. genepires, I will look into the 6 day trips. It looks like AAI (American Alpine Institute) does a 3 day skills trip on Baker for around $500, but the other guys like RMI, IMG, and the other AAI do similar trips that are more expensive ($1500ish). I'll have to think about it. selkirk, thank you for sharing your experience. It's really helpful to hear your opinion as it does sound fair and also unvarnished. I've read lots of Mountie bashing on the internets which has made me skeptical of the posters, but also understand where they're coming from. I think the BCS is right up my alley, though I do think it'll be a bit repetitive. The way I see it, it's better to know all the rules before you try and break them. Safer and more fun that way. I'll PM you with some more specific questions about the Mounties. If anyone else has an experience or opinion to share, let me hear it! Thanks, Sean

Hi guys, I want to learn the basics of rock and alpine climbing. My background: I've been backpacking since I was a kid, I've read a few books on mountaineering, such as Freedom of the Hills, I've done toprope at local walls, I'm a member at a local bouldering gym, and I've done attempts on some peaks like Colchuck and even Rainier (with experienced friends). However, I don't feel like my head knowledge is complete or tested through experience. And there's holes, such as performing crevasse rescue in a real situation, learning how to place rock/snow/ice pro, etc. So, give me your opinion on someone in my shoes. How should I go about learning all the basics? So far I've considered the following options: Mountaineers BCS, or Boealps/WAC BCS Hire a guide for a couple days to teach me the basics Do a guided trip with AAI/RMI/IMG or something like that Just keep going on trips and get experienced I've heard lots of bad things about the Mounties, particularly inconsistency with leaders and rigorous adherence to rules. Boealps and WAC are too much of a back-to-back commitment (every weekend for 3 months). Hiring a guide for a couple days sounds like a great option, but who would I hire and how much would it cost? Any thoughts or anecdotes would be helpful. For example, how did you first get started climbing? Thanks a bunch, Sean