DPS

On Denali I used my old Invernos with heat molded Intuition Liners. The new liners seemed to add at least half a size of room in the boot (the stock liners fit perfectly, but packed out after 10 years). In Extreme Alpinism, Mark Twight advises buying plastic boots 1/2 size small if you plan on using Intuition liners, for this reason I suppose. I did not notice any significant swelling, and even with my thickest sock combo the boots felt sloppy at 6k. We spent a total of 4 or 5 days above the 14k camp on the West Butt. I was 36 and was very fit. We ended up just doing the Butt. An upset wife and really horrible weather for two weeks after our West Butt summit acclimitazion attempt shut down our plans for a more technical route.

July (after July 5th) is the hottest month of the year and typically has very stable weather. That said, this is an unusual year. My personal feelings are if the weather is fine, you can sleep out in a sleeping bag. If the weather sux, you want a tent, not a bivi sack. For your summit pack, bring a belay jacket, preferably a synthetic one, warm mitts, and a warm fleece hat. A shovel, a foam pad (most alpine packs have a removable foam back panel for emergency use) and a small butane stove kit add huge survivability at a cost of ~ 1 - 1.5 pounds per person, but is optional, especially if you start early, have good weather, and are willing to turn around if the weather turns foul. I would go as light as possible, single wall tent or even a tarp. I own four shelters and use my BD Betamid 90%+ of the time, even on Rainier. Another option is the public shelter, which may or may not be full. Here is what I would do; bring a light weight tent, single wall if you have it, and tarp if you have that too, and a light weight sleeping bag. When you register with the Rangers check to see if the public shelter is full. If it is not, leave the tent/tarp and bunk with 50 of your closest (new) friends. Bring earplugs and a sleep mask if you are a light sleeper. If the shelter is full, look at the weather forecast and bring the lightest tent/tarp that will do the job.

Oleg, My daughter got involved in drugs, was in rehab by age 13, still ended up using. She is in med school now, having turned her life around. I had to do the tough love thing, was very hard, but it worked out. I know both you and your ex Olga are smart cookies, I have no doubt your son is pretty bright. Best of luck. Dan

Yes, please send a photo. It was left in a crack on a boulder high on the North Face Bowl, maybe a pitch or less below the exit pitches to the third couloir. My email is softwareninja@live.com. The cord was not ours, I remember attaching a locking biner to both ends of a sewn sling since it was our only piece in hundreds of feet of simu-climbing. I welded that pin. My partner whacked it a couple of times and delcared it fixed.

If the weather is that bad I would go to the east side of the range and find better weather. I've heard from a good number of folks who can't sleep well in the hut. I have found the opposite, I sleep like a log there. If noise is the issue, earplugs and even a sleep mask weigh almost nothing.

Not sure what your price range is, but this would be a great tent for Rainier: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1066843/FS_Integral_Designs_MK1lite_ev#Post1066843

So, does than mean you didn't find my 12 year old pin? But seriously, great job. The route is very conditional I've climbed it twice, once is super sketchy conditions taking the North Face Bowl variation where I thought I might die and another time that via the thicky iced runnels which was an easy 14 hour CTC jaunt.

Oleg, Not sure where your son is living, but Pioneer Industries operates manufacturing facilities in Seattle (and perhaps other cities, I don't know) and their mission is to support and help rehabilitate former convicts through gainful employment. It is a very tough job market, even for those up us with advanced degrees and years of experience. I can only imagine what an uphil battle it must be for your son. Best of luck, Dan

The Icicle seems to offer more straight up crack and slab climbing while Castle Rock seems to be re-metamorphosed or something making for sometimes more thoughtful climbing and route finding. Also the grades at CR seem to be more old skool than the Icicle.

I have the original Betamid, not the SilNylon lighter version, and I have weathered storms on Rainier. I am a bit weary of the SilNylon tarps, they seem delicate. The full sized Megamids are used as cook shelters on Denali, I have seen them even at the 17k camp. Some partners complain that it is a bit drafty, but properly staked and guyed it is pretty stable. You can pile snow around the perimeter to make it less drafty and warmer. I have never built a snow wall for it, my suspician is if you need to build a snow wall for the Betamid, you should be building a snow wall for other tents anyway. I have used it in winter on Rainier. I own four shelters and over the last ten years I have used the Betamid on 90+% of my overnight/multiday climbing/skiing/backpacking trips. The 'chasity poles' keep everything kosher, no hanky panky, which, as an old married man of the mountains who is undeniably attractive to my female partners is important. I prefer the public shelter, others don't, but I generally sleep like a log. I like hanging out and meeting new folks, part of the experience.

On a complete tangent, I weighed my old, U stem style 0.75 Camalot Junior and my new Camalot C4 0.75 and they weighed exactly the same. I thought the C4s were supposed to offer a significant decrease in weight.

If it is not full that is always my preference. Some folks have an aversion to it, but you should experience it at least once if you can.

Good call! Some really good suggestions rolling in.

There is the initial wide crack/chimney, but you are correct, its a bit of a mixed bag rather than a meat and potatoes crack climb. Still, for the grade its a pretty great climb.

You want to go as light as possible. A small single wall like the BD Firstlight, Eldorado, Integral Designs MK1 Lite, MH EV2 and so on are both light and storm worthy. Know how to anchor and guy the tent in snow. Plenty of stories of tents turning into very expensive kites.I personally like the parachute style snow/sand anchors from Mountain Hardware to anchor the tent, and deadmanning trekking poles, shovels, and so forth for the guy out point anchors. Even lighter is a tarp. I have had really good luck with a BD Betamid on Rainier, but I get to cherry pick the weather living so close. Also, when you check in with the rangers, ask if the Muir Hut might be full. If not, that is an option that weighs nothing and is an experience in and of itself.

I've done this link up a few times, and what I like about it is the remarkable variety of climbing offered in 12 -13 pitches. Some straight forward cracks, some dihedrals, some delicate face climbing, some big chicken head pulling. Also, I have climbed Outer Space 6 times and never climbed it exactly the same way. Several start variations, a couple of different cracks below the 5.9 hand traverse, a couple of options off Library Ledge.

I do the same thing for alpine climbing. I carry 8-10 single length sewn spectra slings, 2-3 of which have a single biner just for extending Camalot placements. All of my other single slings are configured as alpine draws. It saves the weight of maybe 3 carabiners, but everything adds up.

The OP mentioned Denali. If I head back to AK, I would go with this: http://www.bradleyalpinist.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=71 Not a hard shell laminate, not a softshell, but windproof, super breathable, and highly water resistant, certainly enough for the dry AK Range. I have a WT Belay Jacket and a sleeping bag with Epic and they are pretty great.

Ground hog Day in the Tumwater. Three pitches, sort of cracky, sort of slabby.

Ray Jardine described white wheat flour as having so many nutrients removed so that not even bacteria could grow on it which is what makes it shelf stable.

The Revolvers seem pretty ideal, any idea of how well the rope tracks in the pulley in z haul systems?

I must be a goober because I'm not clear on the bearing issue. Will a closed sealed bearing give you the same functionality of the pulley and rachet combo of the Micro Traxion? Do closed sealed bearings only rotate in one direction or something?

As I was making mirepoix for rice pilaf I thought of a couple of other cracks and edited my list, including Pearly Gates. Good call, several good candidates on that wall. Also, my list includes some 5.7s and some 5.10s, a little outside the request range, but still very worthwhile cracks and most of the 5.10s can be toproped pretty reasonably.

Outer Space and Orbit link up, Dogleg Crack, Meat Grinder, Classic Crack, the 5.8 at Barney's Rubble, Ski Tracks Crack, Pearly Gates (several cracks here),Poison Ivy Crack, Cocaine Crack, the crack on the Cube (Clamshell Cave), R & D route (mixed bag, but worthwhile), Bo Derick, Givler's Crack, Saber, the 5.8 on Jello Tower, Angel Crack, Canary (all on Castle Rock).

I don't mean to keep pointing out your vintage, just that in the 20 years I've been climbing I've seen dramatic changes in glaciation and climbing seasons in the Cascades, and I know you've been around longer than I have.