DPS

I'm not happy about having my climb poached. Gerrit and Jake will corroborate that I had intentions on the winter ascent as far back as 2013. I even placed a piton with a red tag, but it was probably covered in ice. In all seriousness, nice work. A very cool addition to winter climbing in the Snoqualmie Pass area!

HI Curt, You probably don't remember me, but I climbed WR Forbidden with you and Carlos Hatfield 25 years ago. I was chatting with a colleague whom I worked, climbed, and skied with for 20 years. He just mentioned he had a class with Gary Gray at WWU. Small world. Good to see you still setting out. DPS

Yes Jake, Mark has crushed my dreams of making the FWA of the West Ridge (unclimbed in winter according to someone at Pro Ski and Guide). Remember when we went to attempt it but stopped at the North Face because it was so heavily iced? Ahhh, what could have been.

Well, that would be the best time frame. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Quiet you, some of us have tick lists you know.

Hyalite, Montana.

I did my graduate school research and dissertation on waterborne pathogens (Giardia spp., Cryptosporidum parvum, and Fecal Coliform bacteria). Every stream I tested had the protozoans, however, they were typically at concentrations far below what is necessary to cause an infection. That said, if there were protozoans present, Fecal Coliform bacteria was typically in the millions of CFU per 100 ml. One of the take aways is you are more likely to encounter bacteria than protozoans, which can still make you very, very sick.

So, I know four people who have done the Tooth in 1:58. Jens K did it on skis in 1:32 (I think). As for most ascents, I don't know, but I've done it between 25-30 times. Jim Sykes called fast soloing the Tooth Toothercising.

Black Diamond Firstlight is on sale: https://www.backcountry.com/black-diamond-firstlight-tent-2-person-3-season?CMP_SKU=BLD1186&MER=0406&skid=BLD1186-WAS-ONESIZ&mr:trackingCode=A2E49D7F-8F66-E311-9C6B-BC305BF82376&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pa&mr:ad=8823334149&mr:filter=4580840319639064&CMP_ID=PLA_BNmyDeviceIndicator=c001&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=PLA&k_clickid=ad1b5973-f54f-4b6f-b879-67874ba28ac4&rmatt=tsid:1042798|cid:43125974|agid:3780426122|tid:kwd-4580840319639064:aud-806123401|prd:BLD1186-WAS-ONESIZ|crid:8823334149|nw:search|dvc:c|st:black%20diamond%20tent|mt:be Also, have you considered a tarp? They are light, cheap, roomy and work well in the winter. I have used my BD Betamid for 16 years in all seasons. If I were to get a new one I would look hard at the Mountainsmith Shelter LT.

I personally would not want to see any rocks, just snow and ice. If there are rocks peeking through, in my mind there is not enough snow. You don't want to climb on frozen rocks. Better than unfrozen rocks, but still not ideal. Be patient and wait for more snow so then you will only have to worry about avalanches.

I think rock fall would be a serious issue. I personally would wait until the mountain gets a lot more snow and it has time to consolidate.

I really wanted the older version of the Thor, the red one, but I could not find one anywhere. I ended up buying a Salewa, which was the lightest of the bunch, as well as the least expensive.

Thanks for your feedback. I have my eye on a Petzl Bongo, I think that would be a good balance between driving ability and carrying too much weight.

So, after a few attempts I've finally accepted leash less ice climbing as more than a passing fad. I bought a pair of Nomic copies (Grivel somethings). They don't have hammers or adzes, and even if they did the radical curve would make it very difficult to pound in pitons. Has anybody carried a light piton hammer with them along with their leash less tools? I likes my pitons, and I can't see a down side other than carrying a bit more weight. Thoughts?

Good luck. I purchased and returned quite a few belay parkas to replace my Micropuff. The nicest of the bunch was the RAB Alpine Generator parka, which did not fit me well at all. NW Alpine has a great looking parka, but they seem to be out of stock. I ended up with a Mountain Hardware Supercompressor, but I have yet to use it.

Moderating sucks, but at least the pay is terrible.

The Pickets - so hot right now.

The Tooth The Tooth The Tooth is on fire Burn MFer, burn

Yes, I pull the core out of 6mm and use the sheath for flat boot laces when the stock ones break.

You may be correct. If I was civically minded like Chris or Kurt, I would use static caving rope inside 1" tubular webbing. A lot of the anchors I leave are not meant to last that long, for example V-threads, or are on obscure descent routes. For some reason I have had the notion that cord is better than webbing. Maybe I read that some where. At any rate, I feel good and wholesome using 6mm for tat, it is a good balance of compactness in the pack, lightweight, and strong enough for the application. Andy Kirkpatrick weighs in, and he mentions cord is better than webbing: https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/life-at-retail?utm_content=buffer93c8e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Edelrid, here is what I bought: https://www.backcountry.com/edelrid-powerloc-expert-sp-accessory-cord-100m?CMP_SKU=ELR001K&MER=0406&skid=ELR001K-FIR-S6MM&mr:trackingCode=4530F522-2651-E711-8100-005056944E17&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&CMP_ID=PLA_GOc001&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PLA&k_clickid=fe0ca984-ea2a-4883-9043-51b100033e50&gclid=Cj0KCQjw557NBRC9ARIsAHJvVVPvkYXTJzcBLNcBLN2w79vwPOR8NGWL5Ye6YIdEeEoYv-uns5Yh3FEaAvdeEALw_wcB

I recently bought a 100 meter spool of 6mm cord because it was on sale and I leave so much of it as rappel anchors. I have always considered 6mm to be too weak for quad anchor/cord-a-lette material, however, this manufacturer rates it at 9kn. For comparison, PMI 7mm is rated at 10.7 kn. What is the cc.com's brain trust consensus on this, is 9kn strong enough for use as anchor material? Also, 100 meters is more cord than I can use in the foreseeable future, so I am selling lengths of it at 0.34 cents a foot, what I paid. Great for rappel tat, prusik slings, tag lines (if you are into that kind of S&M) and perhaps even anchor material. If you want to buy some 6mm cord, still in plastic on the spool, email me at Daniel-p-smith@hotmail.com

I think the crux for you will be finding good winter conditions while the highway is still open. Not sure when it typically closes. You could ski or snowmobile the closed road though, if you really want it. FWIW, I have found very good conditions in the Cascade Pass region in very late fall and early winter while the Cascade River Road is still open to mile 20/Eldorado Creek TH, which typically becomes impassible by January. Very short days that time of year.

Were the roads washed out or something? That is kind of a bummer.

Agreed, good suggestion. When I got bored of running repeats on Mt Si I would park at the Mt. Si parking lot, run the road to Teneriffe, run up Teneriffe then traverse to Mt. Si and then down Si to my car.