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Looking to get one of these but can't decide- I'd rather not bring a rope and I think that eliminates the traverse for me. Seems like North Twin is just a bit shorter, but does not seem too dramatically different. What interests me the most is a fun, long, sustained, and solid scramble, which both seem to deliver. Seems like neither gets beyond a class 4 section or two, and that's my limit for this trip. Any reason to pick one over the other? We plan to ride gravel bikes to the trailhead split. Thanks.

Ok, so we've cancelled the skiing aspect of this trip, but we are still going but going to hopefully glissade down rather than deal with the skis. Camping at Lunch Counter. Two questions: The guys without them are renting BD contact strap crampons (and ice axes). Most people have proper boots, but one guy in the party has these: https://imgur.com/a/assmeyb He says they are 'pretty stiff'. Should I tell him to rent boots or will he be fine strapping them down tight? I feel like super stiff rentals may be inviting blisters more than they may help with the crampons (plus he'll want to kill me when we see a guy in converse all stars up there . We have given ourselves a 'weather window' of a 2 out of 3 days. We won't go/postpone due to big snow in the forecast or heavy winds or crazy lows. Not sure what else to look for really. We obviously want the best weather and best views but not sure how else to pick the best 2 of 3 days other than eliminating obvious hazards. If everything is clear just pick the highest temp/lowest wind? Plan was for 7/7 or 7/8 start so forecast just coming out.

A group of us are planning to do the Mt. Adams South Spur route this summer, likely in July. Nobody on the trip has any AT experience, but we are all strong skiers/snowboarders- can handle resort type bowls/double blacks/sidecountry etc. Is it a dumb move to rent AT gear for this as a first trip with zero touring experience? Southwest Chutes looks like a great objective, and if we decide it's too much we can always go down the way we came. I'm not worried at all about routefinding and will be ready for a whiteout, but I figure we won't be alone on a weekend in July. I know the conditions are not likely to be the best- but figure it is more fun than walking down.