DPS

This baloney has a first name and its N o B o l t s.

He must be funning the locals.

While climbing NF of Chair in winter for the first time I was belaying my second from the top of the first pitch. This was right after Nelson and Potterfield's guidebook came out so there were a dozen parties on the face. One guy leading, about 100' above the 'schrund leans back on this tools and simply falls off the face, hits the slope and keeps sliding. About six climbers cued up walk over to him, pick him up and carry him out.

Is this a joke? Using a nut tool as a sky hook then expecting the company to pay for your medical expenses? This must be a joke.

I wondered about the ATC comment as well. ATCs must be about the most popular style belay device used. If there was a problem with them I'd expect to hear more ATC related accidents.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I wrote it to answer the questions that seemed to come up repeatedly.

Spire Rock at Sprinker Park in Spanaway. http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/services/recreate/spirerock.htm. I used to boulder there when I lived in T-Town. Come for the greasy climbing, stay for the ambiance.

Here is a link to an article on SP.com I wrote that you might also find useful: http://www.summitpost.org/so-you-want-to-climb-mt-rainier/507227

I think a lot of new climbers wring their hands over what to carry on the Big R because it is one of the few variables they have control over. One can also train appropriately, but one can't control the weather, objective hazards, conditions on the mountain, or their physiology and reaction to altitude. Also, taking time off from busy schedules, flying across the country, etc costs more time and money than driving from Seattle so non locals want to stack the odds in their favor as much as possible. Not to mention non locals do not have the opportunity to work out their systems on lower but similar mountains like Mt Baker.

Deadmanned trekking poles work well in snow or with rocks piled on them in dirt. One approach is to bring all the gear to the trailhead and make a decision on what to leave behind based on recent climber/ranger reports, current weather forecasts, conversations with returning climbers, etc.

FWIW, never use a shovel to remove snow from the tent itself. Small burrs can catch and easily tear the tent wall. Use a gloved hand or arm to sweep snow off.

Airplanes are aid. F'ing spectacular nonetheless.

Hmmm. Discussion on SuperTopo.com agrees with this: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=999032

Much has been made about the susceptibility of stainless steel crampons to develop cracks or fail in one way or another yet I have not heard the same claims made against aluminum crampons. Is this because folks who use aluminum crampons realize the limitations of aluminum crampons and use them for mostly approaches to alpine rock climbs and ski mountaineering and such or is the ductility of aluminum inherently less like to form cracks or fail catastrophically?

Even experts have divergent opinons. On this thread I have read opinions from climbers whom I respect very much yet don't completely agree with. I'll bet someone is reading this right now thinking I'm nuts for suggesting a shovel is not always necessary on Rainier.

Useful? Perhaps, but certainly not necessary. I never bring one in July.

Really? I only bring goggles in the winter. While one can bring gear for every possible situation, you will be so heavy it will be a miserable experience. 10,000 vertical feet is a long way to carry extra shit. Mid July has the best weather and is the hottest time of the entire year, I'd gamble and leave the goggles at home, as well as the extra gloves, and the hoodless puffy. I do agree with the steel crampons. A lot of extra security for only 16oz more. In my experience one can 'outrun' altitude sickness if one is fast enough. You will not be able to fully acclimatize to 14k by spending an extra day at high camp, but it will help some and will give you time to rest and re-hydrate which prolly does as much for you as the physiological changes.

May some years.

I rack my Stoppers, hexes, and pitons on found 'leaver' biners. These often get left on anchors when a biner is called for.

I would personally drop the Nano pullover and the MH epic shells and would opt for the 32 degree bag. But I run pathologically hot. I would also consider a light pair of polypro liner gloves and drop one of the warmer pairs of gloves. Overall, some really good choices for a kit.

Jeebus Sobo, keep your head down and don't try to be a hero or anything.

Descending rings are good for popular rap stations as each time someone raps and pulls the ropes the webbing/cord is weakened. If you use rap rings, use two if you are using the cheap rolled aluminum. Hardware store quick links are handier as you can just add an addtional one to existing webbing without retying. In the Tetons on frequently guided routes they used 1/2" static caving rope with two beafy 1/2" steel quick links. I typically carry a rap ring or quick link or two to improve rap stations on popular routes, otherwise I just rap off of webbing or cord that I have placed.

Looking at the specs I'm guessing Uli and his partners are not big guys.

What might be interesting is a route by route comparison e.g. Chere Couloir == Triple Couloir Arete De Cosmic == North Ridge of Forbidden (or whatever)

Hard to go wrong with DPS.