Todd Anderson

Has anyone been up to Snoqualmie Pass area climbs recently? I was thinking about checking out Franklin Falls, but I guess it might be pretty damp.

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I moved to Seattle in August, so I'm not very familiar with the winter climbing scene here. This is also the first winter away from ski racing, meaning I'll have time to climb every weekend. I have been leading on rock since 2011, and I consider myself fairly competent on long multipitch rock routes, e.g. several up or on Cannon Cliff, NH; the Original Route on Rainbow Wall in Red Rocks, NV; and simul fun in the Wind Rivers, WY. However, I have almost no experience when it comes to ice climbing and mountaineering (because I was always skiing instead). I have followed ice up to WI5+ (Mindbender, Lake Willoughby, VT), but I could count the number of ice and mixed pitches I've done (TR'd or followed) on both hands. I've never led ice. With that in mind, is anyone interested in taking an ice/alpine n00b up easy winter routes on weekends? Even if you just need someone to belay you on your project, that's okay, as long as I get to thrutch up it on TR afterwards. I would love to get my first ice lead in sometime this winter. I'll be out of town Dec 18-Jan 3, but on virtually all other weekends (including this one) I'm interested in activities involving a combination of tools, axes, skis, etc.

Nice work, and great photos!

I was thinking about checking out Dragontail or Colchuck sometime Thursday-Sunday. Does anyone know the condition of the Colchuck glacier?

Are these still available? If so, do you have a photo of the bases?

70L is probably fine for Rainier. I feel like anything larger would be pretty awful for a carry-over, but I'm sure some/many will disagree here. If you're okay with the idea of a frameless pack, I would suggest a Cold Cold World Chaos. The size medium is 66L, the large is 70L, and both have huge brains and 12-15" extension sleeves. I have the medium, and it's lighter and carries better than my Osprey Variant 52. It's probably worth noting that the Variant series is made with pretty heavy fabrics, but then so is the Chaos. According to the website, the Chaos weighs 3 lbs 12 oz, but I haven't weighed mine. Randy at CCW can do some customizations, as long as you don't get too crazy. My two gripes with the Chaos that I would have fixed if I got it directly from him (rather than eBay) are (1) there's no hydration port, so if you want to use a water bladder you need to improvise, and (2) the ski slots are pretty narrow, and definitely won't fit modern fat skis. The other feature that is often changed is the orientation of the shoulder strap adjustment buckles; Randy likes to put them in a pull-up position, which feels weird to a lot of people. I think it's fine. CCW packs have a reputation for lasting a long, long time. That may or may not be important to you, but it does tend to help their resale value. Anyway, here's the website: http://coldcoldworldpacks.com/chaos.htm

How did they work? I am in the process of acquiring 404s for skiing with my Nepal Evos. I was planning on mounting them to some kind of metal-edged, sidecut, waxless, 160cm/75mm touring ski; what sort of skis do you (and others) find to work well with Silvrettas?

I'll take the Silvretta 404s, if they fit size 42.5 boots. Doing some research now. Edit: pretty sure they do.

You five are coming from Portland, right? If there's any interest from Seattle area people I could potentially drive another group.