diepj

I can't be of any help on this topic but I am interested to see if anyone weighs in with info. I've never been able to get any kind of straight dope about the "right" way to access the reservation. Seems like most people just go for it.

Thanks for the report! Next time lug a Big Bro, it hangs a little neater than the big cams.

You're getting both sides of the aisle in here but I'll just line up one more time to echo Christoph. Most of the people wearing them were guided Euros. (This was later May into early June). I will also agree that unless you make a mistake in climbing when you shouldn't or in how you outfit the rest of your body the Baruntse + overboot will for sure be warm enough. Like toasty warm. Weight is similar manly because the Baruntse is the heaviest among rivals like the spantik and phantom 6k. It is also the warmest and has the moldable liner. Bulk will be lower between the naked boots, maybe similar with the overboots. Again the comparison is closer than maybe with other models since Baruntse is bulkier than the spantik and 6k. I'd still say 6 in one, half dozen in the other but I'm obviously advocating for the baruntses... May be 5 in one half dozen in the other. Maybe the more important thing to worry about - how is your fitness?

You don't need the Oly Mons by a long shot and if you didn't already have them I would say no way should you buy them unless you already have plans for even bigger objectives. If you decide to go with them you won't be the only person on the mountain wearing them. Really it is going to be a personal preference issue I prefer the flexibility of a leaner boot and the option for overboots if needed. The overboots are handy around camp as booties and you can easily wear them with your boot liners for calls of nature, visiting with neighbors, etc without going on and off with your boots all the time. The oly mons is a set it and forget it boot. No advance decision making about yes/no for overboots, no adjusting crampons. Your call...

Queen's chair is simply the more-or-less flat area up there. Basically there is a flat area where all of the routes between sunshine counter clockwise to Leuthold top out. If you do a rising rightward traverse to the ridge high on Leuthold you will bypass the QC.

MT - Thanks for adding input from rescuer perspective and some next-level thinking.

Good points all around. I have the ACR and I think it is great and fits my needs. Totally robust, totally reliable. Never out of battery. It's great for all the reasons Jason mentions. I also used the InReach on an expedition. It also worked great, but fit a totally different need/purpose. We used it mainly for 2-way with out meteorologist. Didn't really get into the social media aspects. (The point of climbing is getting away from that, right?). Texting is a bit of a pain with the device, but workable. Very easy when paired up. I question the importance of 2-way when initiating a rescue. Is there any difference in the response that the local agency is going to initiate whether you have a compound femur fracture or a head injury? By definition you activate a PLB or an SOS call when the team needs help extracting. The response is going to depend more on the local resources available and the current and forecast weather conditions, etc.

Brave New World in the New World Amphitheater was very in shape. Too bad we weren't that brave... Lots of stuff was in. Too bad its all about to come down.

Concur with all of the above. I use 5mm. The stuff from REI. It seems kinda stiff as you say. I got some once from an online retailer and it felt the same. I don't care enough about it to drive all over town and feel up different cords so I just keep using the same stuff. Don't over-think it.

I guess it depends on how waterproof you really need it to be. My wife has a Rab Neutrino (or maybe infinity? They are similar). She really loves it. She actually has a mens but it also comes in a womens. At regular price they aren't cheap though either. It is moisture resistant and does well in snow and cold temps. If it really is going to be drippy she either carries a shell that can go over or often carries mid-weight insulation instead.

This election proves we're in big trouble. Not because of who will win the presidency but because we as a people have failed to nominate a single respectable candidate. While both major candidates were in many ways reprehensible, the fact that so many have decided they can support someone so completely unqualified and morally bankrupt is deeply troubling.

We took the Goal Zero Venture 30. It was overkill. In the future I would bring the panel only and not the battery to save weight. This setup was used to charge DSLR, a P&S cam, iphone (music, occasional pics, inReach interfacing only), Delorme InReach. Party of 2. We could have easily survived without the battery. As it was everything was almost continuously at 100%. The DSLR required way less charging than I was prepared for. If you are in a guided group check with them before you purchase. The guide company may outfit the team for their own purposes anyway. It doesn't sound like your needs will be super critical or intensive so you'd probably be fine plugging into a panel every few days around camp.

I've spent a few nights in one. Late seaon (~Early Aug) at Camp Hazard on Rainier, April-ish at Dragontail. Also have the vesti. It is tight, this is obvious and is part of its strength. I'm 6-1 with a slender build. Its perfect for people like me with a spring bag. I would use it on Cassin but it would be really tight with a fat bag. It is a PITA to set up. The more you set it up the easier it gets though. Practice. You can set it up without going inside if you have practiced, which could be huge if its nuking. We didn't really have any problems with condensation. If it was storming bad and you had to seal it up you would get some serious condensation. It is what it is. This is really a quiver tent. I wouldn't take it if I was expecting to wait out rain, I would take a light 3-season double wall or I wouldn't be climbing. For your intended use it could work well. It is awesome to have a real tent that packs up smaller than a nalgene. The vesti is pretty nice. Can't remember if we have ever had it with though? I only take it if expecting some bad weather and thinking about cooking inside. The thing it so tight that you would need a hanging system to cook inside and even then it would be a challenge. Also it is so tight that you're going to be on top of your boots (literally) if you have to bring them inside. Basically just be realistic about the limitations. In good/decent weather and as a CYA its great. It would be cascade-level bomber if you guyed it out well. 17k on Denali? I didn't see any there myself and I would not recommend it. Only as a back up or pushing something technical in a good window where a "real" tent isn't an option.

Unless you have another beneficial use of them (like 2 followers) I probably wouldn't. It is a long hump for a short climb. When I climbed we had a single 60 and were relying on the summitpost beta which describes 3 raps with a little bit of 3rd class downclimbing. We topped out at the same time as a soloist who was carrying a 50 so we teamed up and did it in 2 raps and can't confirm the SP beta. FYI two 50's would leave you short. As it was we got to the bottom of the 50 and then had to let the rope run a bit through the top anchor before we could easily come off rappel.

Just wanted to chime in on the boots. Have a good buddy who is size 15/50. He (still) climbs in Lowa Civettas, everything from Hood in the summer to the Himalaya. I swear the plastic must be 50% worn through and who knows how many liners. He just hasn't found any other option. I think Sportiva will occasionally do special runs of 49 and 50 but I'm not sure about larger. You would have to contact them direct and have them imported. My buddy got a pair this way but they were still tight and only work for 1/2 days cragging. You're looking at pretty big $$ for a boot you aren't even sure will fit.

I agree 100% with Krakauer, it is a deadly serious mountain no doubt. I guess so much has been written about that route that I just didn't think I had a lot to add to the narrative that would be interesting to the informed climber. But everyone is entertained for a few minutes by pics! The conga lines were definitely legit. Its a blessing and a curse. We more or less avoided them and never suffered much delay. Our strategy was to be early... ...but not first. A couple guide strings an hour out front is perfect since they will lay in the booter and you'll catch them right when they take a break at the base of the lines... The beauty of Denali is that early is still 10 am when the sun hits your tent!

Thanks! Not related but we're treated like family and love him like a brother. The #1 factor in our success.

Pucker - Thanks, I don't really mean to minimize the effort. Like I said it was a ton of work, even the planning and preparing involved was intense. It was a great experience, but the story of this route just isn't particularly riveting to other climbers - but I do recommend it! Cas - The Hilleberg was incredible. I would not hesitate to fully recommend it. If the snow really piles up it can get a little saggy. There was one night where we were lazy and should have got out to shovel but we didn't, the fabric was sagging quite a bit but it didn't seem like it was straining the poles too badly. I'm sure at some point you could collapse it... Really the best practice is going to be to keep it somewhat shoveled out and I think that goes for any tent. You don't want to suffocate either. We had the Nammatj 2GT, which is a black label. There are some other red label tents (Nallo and Kaitum) which have lighter fabric and thinner poles but I wouldn't take one of them. Wind performance was great. We had gusts over 80 one night at 14 and had no issues. Of course we were dug in really well but that needs to be true of any camp in those conditions. The 2 worked perfectly for 2 people; snug but not too small. I would not recommend upsizing to a 3 like with many other tents. I also would HIGHLY recommend the GT model with the extended vestibule. The pound and a half penalty is well worth it, and still way lighter than a lot of other tents. For a team of two without a cook tent it was awesome. We met another group of 4 with 2 of these tents and they never bothered to even set up their 'mid. You can dig out a foot well, a pit to stand in, a stair out, and still have tons of room for storage, cooking, etc. A dome style tent would be relatively more bomber in the wind and heavy snow. IMO the Hilleberg is still plenty bomber and has some strong advantages. There are as many of these tents as any other you will see up there too.

Trip: Denali - West Buttress Date: 5/28/2016 Trip Report: Not too much of a report but I thought I'd share some pics. We did the West Butt which has been reported on extensively and is really about as straight-forward as you can get for an expedition climb. It was a great trip and a great way to break into the game. If you're looking for resources here are a few things I relied on quite a bit in planning for the trip: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1127222/TR_Denali_West_Buttress_With_a http://www.climber.org/reports/2005/1519.html. I can't hope to compete with the level of beta in those TR's (Thanks especially to lukeh!) but let me know if you're dying for an opinion or had questions about how we did it. We were on the mountain 20 days and spent over half of that at 14k waiting for a good break in the weather. The most (only?) interesting climbing is the ridge between the top of the fixed lines and the camp at 17k. At least in the expedition style you have reason to do it several times. Overall the climb is basically just a ton of work. But once you get up high the views are worth the price of admission. Enjoy the pics! Gear Flying In The Ruth Snow Flutes Climbers on the Kahiltna Landed at Basecamp Lower Kahiltna Camped on the Kahiltna Camped at 11k Top of Motorcycle Hill Windy Corner Windy Corner 14k Camp and Headwall Edge of the World Shot Edge of the World Shot Lower Kahiltna and the Northeast Fork Hunter Climbing the Fixed Lines Hunter, 14k Camp from the Ridge View from the Ridge Foraker and the West Buttress View from the Ridge 14k Camp from the Ridge Nearing Washburn's Thumb Heading for Denali Pass Summit Ridge Summit Ridge On the Top!! Approach Notes: TAT

Looks like Mazama chute to me. Mazama chute cuts to climber's right and avoids the narrow rim section catwalk.

Last summer we did some day climbs around the Canmore/Banff area which were easy multipitch routes. We did a couple on Cascade Mountain - Mother's Day and Valley View. We climbed a few other places too, I can look them up if you're interested in more ideas there.

Thank you. A big reason I climb the Hoodwand almost exclusively in the winter these days.

No worries! Also keep an eye on the similar thread in the Oregon Cascades section. Nothing specific there right now but maybe you'll have company up there...

I have thought about this quite a bit. On my recent trip to AK we went with a 60m rope divided about 22-16-22 or so with butterfly knots in between. The thinking on the butterfly knots is the same as stated above. You can't climb out a hole you're both in. The reasoning for 60m and ~22 on the coil is that you're more than likely going to have to climb out on the coiled strand. Even if you don't have butterfly knots the rope may be so entrenched that it would take a ton of excavation (around a loaded rope) just to get it free and clear enough to climb over the lip. We practiced setting up hauls etc and theoretically the coil we carried gives a lot of material to build elaborate systems with the assumption the original line can be hauled on. There are strategies for being able to do a drop loop or some other things on the coil too if you had to. My 2 person thinking has really evolved to focus on arresting the fall (butterflys) and having reasonable ways to self-extract. It's possible to climb past the butterflys but its a pain. The free rope on the coil gives another good option. IMO climbing as a 2-person team means assuming some significant additional risk in that I don't think hauling your partner out (and over/through a lip) by yourself is really reasonable to expect. I think it is good to be prepared to try but you have to be realistic about the fact that its probably not going to happen. Regarding picket quantity, on a 2 person team I like to have 1 picket pre-rigged and ready to go, 1 ice axe in hand for arresting and one more item which is pretty quick and dirty ready to T-slot and back up the picket. In AK this is usually a shovel or spade, it could also be a second tool, etc. I don't like to count on my main axe to make the second piece in the anchor. I also don't like to rely on the random crap like deadmanning stuff sacks or digging bollards in my frontline defense. This means on PNW trips I sometimes carry 2 pickets per person if its a one-axe type of ramble. I also cut a 3 footer in half and sometimes carry the shorty as picket #2. I also often carry a screw. The idea being if you're the one who drops it you might be able to sink it in the wall and get body weight on it for your partner to help make it easier/safer for building your anchor. Not sure if anyone else does that. If you don't need them for the climb I sometimes struggle to justify it. You don't need it until you NEED it kind of thing. Interesting idea with the double 30 thing. (And you could do it by folding a 60 in half...) Main drawback I see is that both strands are probably entrenched in the same slot, so climbing out might still be a problem. Also, topside partner has nothing to work with to try to haul with or rap in on etc. I think each person carrying some coil is still probably a better option.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mthood/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5191108