DPS

Thanks for the heads up, I had never thought of that problem.

I've been having fun making some simple but useful gear mods. http://www.themountain-life.blogspot.com/

I see.

You're new to climbing, right? Go do the South Face of the Tooth, not only is every tree wrapped with a mile of brightly colored webbing, gear is stuck on nearly every pitch.

I did the skinny lead line (9.4 mm) and thin tag line (6-7mm) for a few years with various results. For clean raps it works well, but if there is any chance of the tag line getting caught, it will. The last time I used this system was on the North Face of Mt Index. We had so many problems pulling the ropes that I cut up the tag line for tat and prusiks as soon as I got home.

Daisy chains are fine so long as one recognizes their limitations.

Ok, that is a little weird.

I would feel totally fine with it as long as it was stored properly.

I second the nomination.

There you go Shane, from the King of the Kahiltna himself.

Geez Josh, some how you manage to make the already awesome North Cascades look even awesomer. Nice work!

I have a pair of Grivel Air Tech aluminum crampons. They work well for snow and neve, but on bullet hard black ice they are less than confindence inspiring and the down facing points are too short to penetrate a thin layer of snow over ice. They rock climb better than any other crampon I have had. This is due to the shorter points and the soft metal. They 'bite' the rock almost like rubber. They won't last long doing that though. I veiw them as specialty crampons for alpine rock climbing and ski mountaineering. Alpine climbing//mountaineering I go with a pair of steel spikes.

Is that still there?!?

NW Alpine Fast/Light Pant http://nwalpine.com/apparel. BTW, you don't need 100% waterproof pants but if you want them, Dutch Harbor rain gear is cheap and durable.

My preference is Nikwax Waterproofing Wax for Leather. It is beeswax/silicone that comes in a tube.

All good insights above. If you do go with leather boots, make sure you keep them dry as the snow pack in spring can be wet, and once leather boots get wet, it is much harder to keep your feet warm and comfortable. Use a good wax on the boots and wear gaitors. At high camp take off the boots and remove the insole to help dry them if they are damp.

I would say it depends on the boots/weather/how cold you get. I personally feel good and wholesome climbing Rainier May - October in an insulated leather boot (Scarpa Summit).

Cool! My running buddy is Fay's cousin. I have been hearing Fay stories for years.

FYI: Swedish is opening a new hospital in the Issaquah Highlands. They are hiring all types of health care professionals. Issauah has incredible access to trail running, hiking, mt biking and is 15 minutes from the nearest rock climbing and 30 minutes from accesible alpine climbing, ice climbing, rock climbing, bc and front country skiing.

Thanks.

Great idea. I was thinking it would be kind of cool to do an anthology of sorts from some of the trip reports. Call it 'Uncle Tricky's Bedtime Stories' or something.

Hmm, I would volunteer to play tour guide, but I may not be well enought by then.

My daugther started by bouldering with me when she was 5. I let her decide when she wanted to start top roping. She started out on small, 30 foot crags at first. I think just letting the kids have fun on their own terms is a big thing. If the child finds the experience frightening, or unpleasant then there may not be a second time for a while. I would suggest trying not not to push the child. If you are top roping and they want down, let them down.

The standard route on Eldo is not difficult, but if you have no experience with an ice axe, crampons, wilderness travel, etc., you could easily find yourself over your head. When is your trip?