Joa

Our family won a lottery slot for the Stuart Zone in the Enchantments in August. Suggestions for several really nice quality easy trad climbs in the area(~5.4ish)? We plan to hike over to the Core Zone, etc. and also climb some peaks but want to get in some fun climbs that are a little more technical. Thanks!

Haven't ever gone this late in the season- what is the ski down the S climb like if we get an early summit and can pick the time of descent for soft snow? Huge suncups, etc. that won't make it enjoyable?

Ditto Jake's question... heading to Bozeman this weekend for the first time with my wife for our anniversary and want to climb a little ice. Good toprope routes that should be in by Saturday? Also, what are the most spectacular local 4-8 hour RT hikes or easy alpine climbs (simulclimbable) with or without snowshoes and/or crampons? Other "must do's" while in Bozeman? Thanks folks- look forward to the visit.

Unless you can get the sheriff dpt to do it then it might be worth another trip out there to set up a sting with a gps enabled device. Keep good notes and get a writeup of the adventure published in a climber rag

Thanks for the kind words. We start our kids in a backpack very young and then when they beg to walk let them for a while until they show that they're tired before we put them back in. Pretty soon they're hiking entire trails. And upward from there. I'm a firm believer that kids can do far more than we think they can if we give them proper support and training. One of our best tricks is a "no negative hiking talk " rule that we all follow closely. Works great with the kids to keep them more positive. Plus plenty of nutrition and hydration stops with a few foods that they normally don't eat at home (candy bars, Little Debbie snacks, etc). We have a big family so gear costs a lot but I always tell my wife, "We're investing in our grandparenthood," since we hope to have lots of grandkids to keep us young and climbing/hiking/skiing through our senior years. My personal inspiration is Fred Beckey in that regard. I see pictures of him still sending it at 90 yrs old and am completely amazed. Good stuff

No worries there- have lots of experience on Rainier and know the challenges. But on to the kiddos... IMO it's very important for them to use lightweight boots that are comfortable and don't cause blisters. They won't be doing any front pointing for these types of hikes so there's no real reason for stiff and heavy boots. (same reason our family hikes/climbs/ultralight-backpacks in lightweight shoes for rock and dirt trails)

The kids and I just climbed Shasta last week (10/11/13 yrs old). I wanted something light, waterproof, didn't give them blisters, and that could be used with light crampons. I ended up going with light, waterproof hikers (Keen, Eddie Bauer, etc.) and they worked great. With gaiters our feet stayed mostly dry until the end (~3000' of glissading) and none of us got blisters or even hot spots in 14,500' of climb/descent. We brought Stubai ultralight crampons but ended up not using them, but during the fit checks on the boots they seemed to work very well and of course are light, which is key for kids. BTW we plan to use the same setup on Rainier later this summer. My days of climbing in my plastic boots are over except for very technical routes that require rigid crampons. ABTW...Stubai is amazing. I have size 15 feet and their crampons were too short and after a quick email they shipped me a new set of longer bars in a few days for free.

Climbed this route with three of my kids (10/11/13) last week. It's in great shape and this is a good time of year to climb. We brought crampons but didn't use them since we started early enough that the snow was grippy on the way up and we came off the summit late enough that most of the descent was glissading. The steep section through the Red Band was very straightforward with good ice axe work (snow soft enough to protect off your axe stuck deep in the snow). Left Bunny Flat at 2:30 AM and summited in just under 8 hrs. Got behind some slow guys on the way down so it ended up being a 13 hr round trip. Only one other guy did the climb from the parking lot, everyone else we met camped at Lake Helen. It was our first time on the mountain and each kid's highpoint and with the plentiful glissading on the way down we all had a ball. The kids want to do Rainier later this year so they're pretty hooked on the higher stuff.

Need a lightweight set for my son... anyone have a pair they want to move? Stubai ultralight universal, etc.