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dave schultz

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Everything posted by dave schultz

  1. Would you elaborate on this a bit more? Other than the obvious, where's the utility in two single ropes? Not much more other than the obvious. Best example I have, on the Nooksack Tower-Price Glacier link up I did in 2014, we core-shot one of our ropes while rappelling off of Nooksack Tower. We were using two 9.2mm single ropes. If we had been using a tag and we had core shot the main rope we would not have been able to continue to Price Glacier (at least not with a full length of rope); if we had core shot our tag we would just be stuck doing 30m rappels. (The core-shot rope then became a glorified tag line since the butterfly isolation knot would obviously not go through a rappel device.) If we had been using double or twin ropes we would have only had one full length double or twin rope to continue on Price (still doable), or bail. If not doing a link up, but simply doing an up-and-over (i.e. Stuart NR) the concept does not provide much benefit, one single rope is probably best. If doing something were two ropes are required to descend, and the option is two dynamic ropes or one dynamic and a tag; the choice to use to very small diameter single ropes vs two normal sized half or twin ropes, can provide more flexibility if something were to happen to one rope. That something could be a ice pick through it by the follower, ice or rock fall, etc.
  2. 6mm accessory cord form Mammut, mine is 75m to work with my 70m single to account for some static stretch in the climbing rope. http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-accessory-cord-150m I got something like this ^^ and made a 75m tag and a 35m tag, then use the rest for my v-thread cordage. I don't normally use my tag on alpine routes, there is just not much utility with a tag line. For an extra pound or two (or equal weight if you have a heavy single) you could get use two ultralight single ropes (there is an 8.5mm by Beal and an 8.7mm by Mammut) and have a full backup rope if you need it. You could also use double ropes, but there is potentially less utility with one double rope as compared to one single rope. I normally use my tag where there are normally two rope rappels and I just want to use one rope, or a two pitch type crag (the Gunks) where I can go from the top to the bottom in one rap, again, without using two ropes. For alpine I don't find much justification on the tag because it lacks utility. It is obviously MUCH cheaper to buy a 75m length of accessory cord than it is to adjust your rope quiver, but if you build your rope quiver around that idea I think it works out better in the end.
  3. Olyclimber, feel free to move as you see fit, although it is relating to this particular trip report, so might be valid to stay with it? Thanks for your hard work with the site.
  4. Depends on how one grades it, if one grades it strictly based on steepness then yes WI5's must be almost completely vertical. But in many cases the quality of ice, and strenuous natural of the climb Is factored into the grading. This climb would definitely fall into this category , if it doesn't meet the vertical requirement. From Alpinist Link to Grades. I think this section of text is what the site program code or whatever does not like ... but ... It still must be 85-90 degrees with few good rests. The only thing is that it could be "shorter," perhaps 30m. I don't see any photos showing anything that represents this definition. Something that is not vertical or nearly vertical (85 degrees of so) does not qualify as grade five, regardless of its ice quality. "Depending on how one grades it"? there is actually not that much ambiguity in the higher grades of ice. Grade three ice is probably the largest and most gray, grade four can be fairly gray, but there is a pretty distinct change from grade three to four, and grade five is obvious compared to grade four.
  5. The site is still broken and posting large replies and trip reports is still a huge PITA. I'm sure people are working on it, but man it makes it hard to take the time to provide a response or post a trip report.
  6. Some of my pictures: Lake Willougby, this is grade 3-4, depending on your line. This was the crux pitch of Cilley-Barber, supposedly grade four, felt like hard grade 3 or easy grade 4. This looking down from the top of the Rigid Designator in Vail, CO. Graded as 5-. You can barely see the follower (about 10-15 feet off the ground already). Some examples of grade five or five plus: Mindbender (WI5+) Lake Willoughby, VT Last Gentleman (WI5) Lake Willoughby, VT Dropline (WI5) Frankenstein Cliff, NH Bridalveil Falls (WI5) CO Bird Brain Boulevard (WI5 M5+) Ouray, CO Skylight (WI4+ M4-5) Ouray, CO Some West Coast routes for perspective (from Wayne's site) The Cable (WI5) Zenith (WI5) https://waynewallace.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/banks-ice-13/ Additionally, look at the route in Ghost River area of Canada and the Weeping Wall on the Icefield Parkway, they will blow your mind for how ice should be graded.
  7. I would respectfully disagree in stating that the northeast grades harder than the continental or west coast. What I have climbed in Colorado, Utah, Canada, and the Northeast all seems similarly and appropriately graded. The West Coast does not see a lot of ice, and that could lead to poor application of the otherwise fairly standard grading system (although my two Washington examples at the end show ice graded appropriately). Pictures rarely do justice for the steepness, or difficulty of a route, especially true with ice as it usually has very little definition. I have not climbed the North Buttress Direct, it looks like a proud line, and will be on my list when I return. But, I also felt the photos provided did not show anything that looked like grade five ice, and barely showed grade four ice. It really probably needs a second ascent to confirm the grade ...
  8. You mentioned NH in your original post, my understanding is that New England ice climbs tend to be graded harder than continental or west coast route. Thus the 'NEI' ratings. NEI is simply northeastern folks being different. An NEI 3 is the same as a WI3. Both system go up to "grade" 6 ... although there are the unusual specimens that are pushing the limits of incredibly difficult ice climbing well past grade six (Helmcken Falls, Canada).
  9. I don't remember much detail (number, lengths, etc), but Haireball and I did the NWB and found relatively consistant tat to allow for a descent. I think if you topped out with enough daylight to negotiate the descent the NWB would be viable, if you topped out in the dark or very late descending the Cascadian might be more prudent.
  10. Hey PNW! Long shot ... Looking for partners for some High Sierra or Tuolumne Meadows alpine climbing. Or anything else in the Eastern Sierra, need to be around Bishop on June 14. I could also go to Yosemite Valley, but greatly prefer the alpine climbing over The Valley. I could also maybe be convinced to drive all the way to Washington for the right window and objective. I do not plan on brining skis, but I could. I fly into Reno on June 8th and rent a car. Perfect opportunity for a little road trip ... I'll have all my gear and most excited for grade IV and 5.9; could go all the way to grade V and 5.10 (or higher if you are leading it ...). I also have a similar window June 25-30; will post a dedicated partner request for this window later. Thanks! Dave 239-two-three-three-2002
  11. Ryan, I think we did Buckner-TFT in 2014, right? What a trip! Someone climb with Ryan, he was a solid partner and will not disappoint. Dave
  12. I wrote the Acrux2 review and think it would probably fit both of your criteria pretty well, but not excel at either (except for the glacier crossing). I got mine with the Howser Tower approach specifically in mind, I felt my Ganda Guide would like get too wet and it takes up a lot of room / weight in the pack - hence the Acrux2. I also have a pair of the Arakys approach shoes, which are very minimal, and the heel folds down for casually wearing around belay ledges or if cragging. I felt both shoes climbed pretty good, especially slabby routes - something any 3-season or heavier mountain boot will not do well. The new line of LS TX2/3/4 look tempting, but to me I was searching for something that make the shoes unique and fit into a specific niche: -Aceux2 is gore tex and thus will handle any snow/ice without compromising the foot. It also has the removable liner for wearing at camp. It's bonus was that it climbed in winter conditions unexpectedly well. I do not have enough first hand knowledge on their kick-step ability, but I think it will be sufficient unless acending a long, super steep, hard snow, mountain where all the steps will need to be placed and kicked in. -Arakys is very light and minimalistic, likely my approach shoe of choice unless snow is in the equation or it needs to go across more rugged terrain. I have a pair of Trango S EVOs and am not entirely sure where they fit into my shoe quiver with the addition of these other two shoes; the only place I can really think of will be anything that needs to be kick-stepped for long periods of time where the temps are mild enough to not justify a Batura or where skiing is not an option. I don't have a lot of good knowledge on how Ganda/Guide Tennis/Boulder handle sustained travel in snow (ie to Howser Tower or on an early ascent of Forbidden), my sense was that they would work, but would get quite wet and then their usefulness day-in and day-out might get compromised (ie an extended trip to the Bugaboos). Just my thoughts, it's a serious first world problem.
  13. Got these to go between my normal approach shoe and three-season mountain boots - I think they fit perfectly. I had done some rock climbing in them, but nothing to test the winter aspest of them. This past Monday I had an opportunity for a rock/mixed route on Mount Washington, NH and they performed very well. Warm, precise, handled snow very well (even without crampons) and took Kahtoola crampons very securely. I would definitely consider these on the DC or CD over a three-season mountain boot. They could also content for some of the spring mixed terrain in the Stuart Range. Full write up of the trip on my buddies website: http://www.trexcursions.com/arcteryx-acrux2-fl-gtx-review/ Thanks!
  14. I did TFT after Buckner a couple years ago: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1126562 IIRC, 2014 was a good snow year, I think probably similar to what you have this year. Here are some of my thought for your timing and plan: 1) In early July 2014 we were the first party on the TFT for the season, so there was no pre-placed trail. Probably not a big deal, but something to think about. With the good snow season thus far, if you go in early July you may also be the first party on the route. 2) We also had a fairly challenging bergschrund after the rappel on to the north side glacier. We got around it, but it could pose a significant challenge if it continues to be a problem. I don't know how the schrund behaved later that season or last season, others could likely give you more information. But, as the first party on the route it was a big moment for us. 3) Speed, we were a full 2.5 days on the route, mostly due to routefinding decisions, etc. I would consider the consequences of that same time and your trip planning. Perhaps TFT to Buckner or TFT to Boston/Sahale instead of doing Elderado to TFT. I found the link up for Buckner to TFT to be quite enjoyable. Good Luck, Dave
  15. I've tried about a half dozen times to get this trip report to post on cc.com. Not sure what I am doing wrong, but I just cannot get it to post. Here is a link to northeast climbing community: http://www.neclimbs.com/forum.php The link only takes you to the forum homepage, then you have to click the trip report button about halfway down the page, not sure why there is not a link directly to the report. I had a hell of time trying to get photos to upload, fortunately cc.com was accepted my large pictures, so the neclimbs TR has the photos linked to cc.com. (I could not figure out how to make them smaller?) Technology did not look favorably on me for this report, but this is about as good of an alpine route as the east coast will offer up. enjoy.
  16. Trip: Re: Katahdin 27 Feb - 3 Mar 2016 - Cilley-Barber and Chauvin-Cole Date: 3/15/2016 Trip Report: Test
  17. Kyle, you nailed the description. shoot me your email address and I'll forward it to John in Seattle, I left the gear with him. Dave
  18. While descending from the summit of Cutthroat on Saturday, we came across some gear that was left behind. Describe it and I'll get you in touch with who I left it with in Seattle. Thanks, Dave
  19. Trip: Spontaneous WA Pass (West Face, SW Rib, South Buttress) and Pearly Gates Date: 11-13 Sept 2015 Trip Report: I currently live in Upstate New York, but was visiting friends in VA Beach and had plans for the weekend to climb in Seneca Rocks, WV. The forecasted weather was off and on for the weekend, and when it looked immanent that I was not going to get lucky with the forecast I started looked at any and all options for something to salvage my five days off from work. I sent feelers to all of my previous consistent partners (NC, SoCal, and PNW) and had one possibility but he needed to iron something out before he could commit. Fortunately, another cc.com user had posted looking for a partner for the same time frame and I sent him an email. He responded quickly and on Wednesday night at 8pm (EST) I bought my ticket for 645am Thursday out of DC, which was also a four hour drive away. I arrived at the airport and packed at the drop off curb with stuff I happen to have with me based on the assumption I would be climbing at Seneca Rocks. The airport security went without a problem, though it took nearly 20 minutes to get through. I arrived at SEATAC and John picked me up and off we went. We stopped for food and water, and got to deal with some great bumper-bumper traffic; which gave us time to go back-and-forth with what route and what combination for our three days. We arrived at Blue Lake in time for about seven hours of sleep. Friday we got up at 5am and at 6am were headed up to NEWS. We started up the West Face at about 745am and went pretty smooth and fast. John took the first two pitches to the beginning of the 5.9 traverse, and I took the next three pitches to the summit slab area where John topped us out around noon. We took our obligatory pictures and made quick work of the rappels to reset for the SW Rib of SEWS. I started us up at around 130pm and we took the third pitch 5.10b variation (which I thought was the 5.6 variation, and that it would climb easier than it looked); John took the final pitch to summit and we topped out around 5pm. We took our pictures, scoped the descent, and headed down after a few minutes. We caught up with a group of three guys who had come up the South Arete and shared our ropes to make fast work of the final three raps – thanks guys! John and I got to our cached gear around 620pm and started back down to the parking lot around 640pm. We got to the car around 8pm with just enough light to not need headlamps. We debated what route to do Saturday, either the East Face of Lexington or the South Buttress of Cutthroat. We ended up going for Cutthroat and it was a blast. After a little back on forth on the start – the Supertopo description says the east end of the long guardrail when I think they mean the west end of the long guardrail – we finally located the cairns, and at 615am we set off. We made fast work down to and across the stream, then up the meadows to the left-most approach gully and were at the notch and started climbing at 815am. John led and we simuled the first six or seven pitches to where you “crawl under the chockstone,” around this point a soloist showed up and we chatted for a bit and let him pass on through. John then led us to the 5.7 boulder problem in the notch, I took the boulder problem and the next section to just below the summit, and John took the last section to the summit and we topped out around 2pm. We easily found the first rappel station, but the second was a little more skiers left than expected so we lost some time searching for it, we eventually found it. The second rappel seemed to come up just short of the north side ledge system (with a 60m rope) and we opted to stop on top of the crest and add a length of cord around a boulder and make a third rappel onto the north side ledge system. We chose to pitch out some of the third and fourth class scrambling and found the next section of rappel anchors without too much trouble. Again, the second station proved to be in a different location than what the topo showed, but this time it was much farther skiers right. The last two rappels we fast and we bottomed out around 5pm and were back at the car around 630pm. We knew the forecast called for dropping temps Saturday night and on Sunday, so we drove into Winthrop to confirm the forecast. With my lack of warmer clothing we opted to head south to Icicle Creek to check out the Pearly Gates. The easy approach allowed for flip flops and a leisurely few routes before heading back to Seattle to catch up with some other friends and finally a drop off at the airport around 1030pm for my 1245am flight. No problems getting my carry-on baggage through the SEATAC security – almost like they have seen it before. After climbing lots of single and short multipitch in NY and NH it was great to get back to the PNW to get on some longer alpine routes, and am looking forward to my next trip back to the Cascades. Thanks a ton to John for picking me up at the airport and doing all the driving, another John for feeding me dinner and giving me a shower Sunday night, and Alex for taking me back to the airport! Adams, Little Tahoma, Rainier, St Helens from the plane. John taking apart the anchor before the 11a pitch. John working his was up. Glacier Peak in the distance, fantastic visibility and views. Looking down on the bear hug. Riding the Camel Hump. Baby (?) squirrel with a giant (relative) acorn. Cutthroat on the approach. Cutthroat on the approach. Great views. Liberty Bell Group. John at the summit. Double photo op. Strange looking marmot, later identified as a "hoary" marmot. Liberty Bell group. Liberty Bell group.
  20. Very cool pictures. Makes me really jealous. What is really shocking is how little snow there is across the valley. I was there almost exactly one year ago on the TFT and I skied from just above Cascade Pass to Sahale along the Sahale Arm and from the Sharkfin Col to the Forbidden Col; from your pics that is not even remotely possible, and appears to have been out of the cards for a while. The snowpack / glacier looks like what I imagine it might normally look like in August. Still, some amazing terrain and scenery; truly a special place.
  21. I did it last August with a 30m 8mm and a 35m tag line. We led the 5th class option in one pitch with the one 30m 8mm rope. It's only 5.4 or 5.5 and the 30m made it to the summit block for the belay. We rapped with the tag line. It worked slicker than snot. We roped up for the climb up with approx 10m or spacing (1/3) with one third of the rope coiled over each of us. We never felt remotely in danger. We did not rope up for the descent. We did it car-to-car running (what we could), and the weight savings was entirely worth it. We did not bring rock shoes. We posted a TR for our trip last year. It was totally worth it. Gene - you should make it out there this year, it's a very cool route.
  22. i helped fund them. imagine the reaction when you send down your nut tool to your follower after they cannot get your stuck nut ... its worth it ... it's more intriguing that in the last six years the OP has found a pair of sunglasses (hence his sarcastic reason for joining cc.com) ... and invented a new (dick shaped) nut tool ..
  23. http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=3212&p_id=2321162 Montbell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 30 degree down bag, 5.2 liters compressed (though I get mine about 2/3 that size (maybe even 1/2 that size) when packing my kit). This is the only bag I used while in the PNW WTE going even lighter (50-degree) on a few occasions and on one winter climb on Rainier. I cannot say enough good things about Montbell.
  24. wow. awesome. how long had you been planning this stretch? or have you been to most of these places before so knew the routine/logistics/etc?
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