dbb

what kind of rock is that, oh rock knowing master?

When the road into hyalite is easy, the climbs are very dense... there are tons of 3 and 4s within an hours walk from the lot. Plus, the drive there is arguably a lot easier: turn onto i90, cruise control, pull off in bozeman. not many elk stand in that road either but I agree, nothing comes close to the rockies!

when is the next climb night? I bouldered up on that crack to the right last time I was there. I put my tool behind that loose looking flake on the left and sure enough it flexed an inch or so! Looks cool, thanks for cleaning it Alex.

yeah what AF said, thin gloves for leading/following, thick gloves for belaying. The one thing I would look for in the thin gloves is a single layer of insulation--they'll dry out easily overnight that way. I really like my marmot ice moto gloves for climbing, but they have a fixed inner lining that is hard to dry and sometimes hard to put on with wet hands. I think the cloudveil ice flow gloves are simmilar. I tried the atlas gloves ("thermal" grey palm) with the knit hand backing this year, and they worked great, even down to single digit temps. easier to dry out and they don't sweat out like the vinylove fully-rubber gloves. just make sure theres a warm pair of gloves waiting at the end of that pitch.

I think Phil and I parked at the mclellans butte trailhead, hiked up to the iron horse trail, went left on it (east) to Alice creek and then headed up on the left side. There is some devils club and brush. Cool area close to home though..

Thanks all for your well wishes! Some things I took away from this accident were: We were very lucky that Sam's pack had quite a large foam pad in it, that we all were carrying down jackets, and that we had several chemical-hand warming packs with us. Also, prussiks are not a great option for reascending fixed lines, especially half ropes that are icy. The second pitch's rope was free hanging, and once I got up into the air on it, my prussiks slipped. I've always carried prussiks and a pulley on my harness, but from now on I'll be carrying a pair of tiblocs. they are more efficient for jugging a line and wouldn't slip (when used with the right carabiner). Beyond that, just be careful out there. One slip can change everything... Dave

way to go Jens! thanks for all the conditions reports guys!

I'm offset a week from last years schedule. have a great trip! w00t!

awesome!

can't make it tonight. have to do it again soon.

I'll probably show up around 5:30... bring the lamps.

WESTSIDE GANGSTA!

too funny john! Yes, I've already started training hard and plotting your doom for next year's comp. ice season? no, I'm training for DRY ice season baby! I'm down for some seattle DT sessions. I've actually been out looking for roadcuts in the nearby areas. Closest feasable one I've found is off exit 16 on I-90. still a good 20 minute drive from town. Anyone know of cliffs, road cuts closer? I've practiced jugging on a road-buildup near the mt. baker neighborhood, but I'm not sure if it'd be all that fun to DT. we need some overhangs

how did you attach those aftermarket knobs to your screws? Are they the OP knobs grometed on?

Probably easiest would be to snowmobile or ski in to the pass from the silverstar gate (Eastside). I climbed the route once in early may and the 2nd pitch was covered with a bit of ice, though protection was fine. I bet the last pitch on up would be snowy, but ice free most of the winter.

wow, nice dale!

Yeah, thanks again for putting it on guys. Always a good time. we shoulda brought our ninja moves john.

Alex, if you haven't seen it, there is an effert to be an interim replacement here: http://rockiesice.ascensionist.com/ It'll all be super fat by the time us yankee doughboys come up though.

inspiring. thanks for the pictures and tr!

The Rainier one can be seen from spray park on the north side. pretty cool as the afternoon sun makes a "spotlight" on the north mowich glacier. taken from the central mowich face: From observation rock, the arch (and spotlight) can be seen below the first prominent notch from the summit on the righthand skyline:

wow, nice epic! That must have been character building I rapped from the terrace this summer down to the west slabs and westward ho!. It was, in my opinion, the easiest way off the terrace for people climbing the blueberry route. You arrive back at your backs without having to hike over from the jacob's ladder area, and the rapps are all generally low angled and easy. To doit, you climb up and right from the top of the routes, and find a solid slung tree on the edge right by the base of the wall above. One double rope rap brings you to the slung tree w/ the big steel ring on the West slabs. A couple raps more and you are at the top of the Ho.

and I'm sure endorsements from famous climbers are in no way biased... I think it comes down to getting a quality brand screw, and keeping it sharp. I personally don't like the grivel 360 that much because of the racking (they are easier to start and place in hard ice though!). I can get 5 BD-style screws onto one ice clipper, and with a sharp nice new BD or Americana, I doubt you could tell much of a difference. Haven't tried the laser sonic, but haven't heard stelar reviews...

a very, very small penis.

bob- I've been using the s30 (first 3MP version of the s80) for 3-4 years now. It is one hell of a robust camera. Has taken a couple blows against the rock, been superficially wet quite often, and the battery has kept its charge even through that many years of cycles. I've only ever needed one battery as well. It has a larger battery than the ultra compacts which helps in cold weather. The batteries worked well through a rockies trip when temps were generally 0F-20F. It had some problems a couple years ago with -10 to -15F, I needed to keep the battery in my pocket for it to work. but I think putting a shake handwarmer in with the camera would solve that. I've kept the camera on my pack strap or harness, in a simple velcro-top sundog case. a little padding, but no water proofing. Has kept the camera dry enough through pouring rain, powdery snow, slushy waterfalls, etc.. I just wouldn't submerge it (though you can buy a s80 underwater housing for that).

well, I hear they completed it.. in under a decade no less! This timmay show not coming to seattle?