DPS

Because they friggin lose bags! If I fly to LV for 3 days and my bag gets lost, I guess your climbing trip will turn into drinking and gambling trip pretty fast! Cost is another thing, but most of trips people book a flight are a week or under and if the bag gets lost your trip will turn to shit fast. Fair enough, but it seems like an equal gamble that the TSA folks will confiscate or at least make you check the gear anyway.

It may be that my memory is clouded by the hospital herion I have been taking, but as I recall the upshot was that Jens threw away the rope. Could have been he didn't have time to go back and check the rope or whatever, but that is my recollection. Perhaps Jens (K) can post up and clear up any confusion.

It may have been Jens who tried to carry on a rope and TSA made him trow it away because it could be used as a restraint I suppose. Why are folks unwilling to check climbing gear? Fear of theft? My guess is baggage thievs are looks for high value items like cameras, jewerly, and electronics. But what do I know?

The only thing TSA is consistent about is being inconsistent. I have never chanced it and had no problem stowing in my checked baggage.

Some dude soloed the North Face in late June:http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=480466

It is kind of a lot of rope for just glacier travel, but you can use it for rock climbing and ice climbing too, so there you go.

My frist bladder broke the first time I used it. Years later I bought another one w/out a hose and it has worked without failure for years. I dislike the hose because it adds another failure point (breakage, freezing, leakage) and adds weight. I use one 1-liter bladder for weight savings and one Nalgene for foolproofness and to use as a mug, furhter reducing weight because it obviates the need for a separate mug.

I like a combination of salty and sweet like Pay Day bars.

Edelweiss 8.5mm X 50m Sharp Everdry.

No, not always. In two man rope teams on big glaciers (Alaska) is the only time I've used it. I personally don't think its necessary with three or more man rope teams (as long as everyone knows what they are doing). I've read a number of folks advocating using a 30 meter twin rope, but my guess is these folks have never had to do a crevasse rescue. Use too skinny a rope and you waste all your rescue efforts on strectchhing the rope, not to mention a thicker rope is easier for prusiks to 'grab'. I personally think 30 meters is too short for a big glacier (Mt Baker, Mt Rainier, AK). The difference between an 50 m rope and an 30 meter rope is only about 13 onces (in 8mm diameter). Totally worth it for the extra flexibility and safety it provides IMNSHO. Not to mention, buy its mate and you have a great alpine/ice climbing set up. Using a 30 meter rope (about 100 feet) allows you have have 50 feet between partners and about 25 feet in coils. (Knots take up rope, so this is a rough generalization). If you have a text book fall and your partner is able to prusik out, no big deal. But if the rope is entrenched and you have to drop a spare line in, you are S.O.L., not to mention hauling out your parnter's pack and skis to help facilitate the rescue.

Me too! It was the craziest thing, like the crack just ate the rope! You should've been there. Oh wait, you were.

We actually could not retrieve the rope, we had to cut it.

In the one time that I used this technique and my partner went into a crevasse, the knot jammed so deep in the slot that it would have been impossible to prusik that rope. A second rope was employed, so one needs to have enough coils to drop into the climber in the hole.

huh? If you tie butterfly knots in the rope between the climbers then you have to send an unknotted rope down so the guy in the hole can prusik out.

Agreed. Also a half rope, in my experience, is more durable than a skinny single rope. The skinny single rope achieves its weight savings largely at the expense of sheath durability. 50 meters is a great all around length. Good for technical climbing, plenty long for glacier travel. Look for something 8-9 mm X 50 m and you should be good to go. My preference is the Edelweiss 8.5mm Sharp Everdry. Not cheap, but a great rope.

Ice axes are for steeper slopes, they are not walking aids, they are climbing aids. They should not be used as canes, that is what treking poles are for. On low angle slopes (~ <25 degrees) trekking poles work fine for balance and the other points you made. I have seen climbers use one trekking pole and one shorter axe to good effect. The best of both worlds. If I have to bend over to use my axe, I use my trekking poles. The slope is not so steep that I worry about sliding off of it. On steeper slopes a long axe must be lifted higher before plunging, tiring the shoulder. That said, if you enjoy walking around with a long axe, more power to you, but I am sticking with my 58cm axe (I am 5'9") and my trekking poles. Petzl makes and axe with an extendable trekking pole from the bottom. This may solve the problems you encountered without having to carry trekking poles if you don't like them. I still recommend beginning climbers buy an appropriate length ice axe (58-65 cm for most climbers) and a pair of trekking poles.

My vehicle was a plain Chevy pick up truck. I had a sturdy diamond plate aluminum tool box with sold steel locks. It was large enough to put my approach skis in as well as all of my and my partners gear in. I had no stickers at all. To me, sticker from gear manufacturers serve as advertisements to thieves as to what they might find inside. Political stickers just might make someone angry enough to vandalize my truck. Everything went into the locked tool box and I never had a theft. When I car camped, I used a cheap tent and sleeping bags so if they got nicked it was not too big a deal.

+ 1 for Evazotte. I have the thin, full length one from Pro Mountain Sports. Feels about the same warmth as my RidgeRest without the annoying ridges that collect snow.

I'm sure plenty of folks will disagree but...I drink a couple of liters of water when I roll into camp, drink water throughout the night, and drink a liter in the morning before I leave for the summit. On the summit push I carry two liters of water and no stove, although this can change given time of year and the experience of my partners.

I see snow shovels as being situationally relevent. BC skiing and winter climbing; definitely. Summer climbing in the Cascades, probably not. Everything in between is a judgement call - can be usefull but often not necessary.

Probablly not, but I see your point now. Those SMC stakes are light enough to bring a few.

Now you are officially overthinking it. Either one will be fine and useful for both snow and ground situations. Still, nothing beats the MH soft snow and sand anchor for pure snow. http://www.backcountry.com/mountain-hardwear-snow-sand-tent-anchor

I haven't used the Sum'Tec, only fondled them in the store. The upper curve should not have a bearing on the self belay/plunging. I use a tool with a similar curve (Petzl Aztar) and it plunges/self belays/self arrests just fine.

Sum'Tec adze in 59cm length paired with a Sum'Tec hammer in 52 cm length would be the bee's knees for Liberty Ridge and similar routes. Grivel Air Tech Evo or the BD Venom are also good choices but not nearly as sexy as the Petzl tools. \ BITD I climbed Liberty Ridge and many other classic, steep alpine snow and ice routes with a 60 cm SMC Shuksan axe paired with a 50 cm SMC Himalayan hammer. Basically an old school version of the above set up.

4 pickets is crazy. Why bring the lightest tent then negate the weight savings by bringing the heaviest possible items for stakes? Think outside the box. Snowshoes, shovel blade and handle, dead manned trekking poles, stuff sacks filled with snow - whatever you have will already work perfectly.