DPS

Has anyone skied the Enchantment lakes loop? In via Colchuck Lake, out via Snow Lakes could be a good tour in low avi conditions. There are a couple spots that one might have to boot down, but most of it should be pretty straight forward.

Looks like most people are thinking waterfall climbing. If you include alpine ice climbs then for me Fred Beckey is one of the most influential ice climbers in North America. His climbs of Price Glacier on Shuksan, West Ridge of Hunter and Mt Deborah were done before the 'ice revolution' and are to this day solid ticks. Conrad Kain - imagine chopping steps up the Kain Face of Robson. And personally - Alan Kearney. Watching him climb ice with straight shafted Chouinard X tools (just like mine!) was my first time watching a pro do it.

I'm on a mission to save weight and am about to buy a pair of full strap Al crampons to replace my steel for climbs where I will be on snow/ice only. I'll be wearing them over everything from hiking boots to my AT boots. Why is the BD Neve preferred over the Grivel Air Tech Light? I have the Grivel Air Tech Light and my only complaint is that the downward facing points seem too short. This has caused problems when there is a thin layer of soft snow over neve or ice. The crampons kind of 'float' on top of the slop and don't penetrate to the ice making for insecure footing. Maybe the Black Diamond Neve has longer points?

That rock looks to me more like limestone than Leavenworth white grandiorite. Maybe near Lilooet somewhere?

They do. I saw it on a TV recruiting commerical for the Navy. Or maybe it was the Airforce.

Wow, thanks for sharing these Lowell. Makes the current TV shows of loggers look like a bunch of sally's with all of the mechanization.

Lots of good suggestions here so I'll just add a bit for info. Kautz - excellent route, becomes steeper, icier, and more technical as the season progresses. Alex and I did it Memorial Day weekend 1999 and walked up and down the route with just a standard ice axe. Parties doing it later in the season have reported needing two ice tools, belaying several pitches, and had to making several rappels to get back down. I believe it is one of the routes being used by guide services now, so it won't be the 'wilderness' experience it was when Alex and I did it, but it also shouldn't be a conga line. Fuhrer Finger is usually best done early in the season as it is prone to some rockfall. Here is different suggestion. There are other mountains in the Washington Cascades other than Rainier. Since you have been to Rainier many times, why not explore another part of the range, say the North Cascades? Mt Baker has a lot of great routes that would meet your criteria for a little bit more technical. North Ridge and Park Glacier Headwall are both great routes with a few pitches of steeper ice/snow. Mt Shuksan is super classic. The Fisher Chimneys route is great and offers very moderate rock climbing, some steepish ice, route finding, and a nice airy summit. The North Face is a pure snow/ice climb that is a bit steep.

I feel the same way about Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Nice photo, makes Mighty Chair look, well, mighty.

While I have not been this year in past years I have been able to drive to the Eldorado Creek trail head until late December/early Janurary. Bring tire chains, a come along and a chain saw if you are serious about your winter climbing there.

Welcome. Your English is better than my Chinese.

I have a question sort of along the same subject. I hot-rodded my old Invernos by replacing the long ago packed out stock bootie with Intuition liners. I had them baked at Marmot in Bellevue. Overall the fit is ok, but the top of the liners have a sewn over 'piping' that digs into my shin terribly. I have resorted to taping gauze pads on my shin where the piping digs in. Any idea how to roll over the top edge of the top of the bootie so it is more comfortable? Maybe heat it with a heat gun and mold it by hand?

Saw a TV commercial for FreeCreditReport.Com. The silly band was playing in a cowboy bar with a mural of...yup, you guessed it, Mt Shuksan in the background.

I aided over the very large cornice on Early Winters couloir by leap frogging a couple of pickets. I first had to aid the left hand rock wall for 20 ft until able to get to where the cornice's angle kicked by to 95 to 100 degrees. Aiding on the pickets was interesting, transferring weight to the pickets drove them deeper into the snow. Moving above the picket pulled it out. I had to make quite a few short moves.

Sage advice. Thanks for the reminder Dane.

Seattle Fabric sells neoprene. Not sure if it is what you are specifically looking for though: http://www.seattlefabrics.com/neoprene.html

I have a 2007 Subaru Outback. It is my second Subaru, the first one was totaled when a teen aged driver decided he needed to put his SUV where my Subaru was. The Subaru is awesome in the snow, great for road tripping, 29 mpg on the highway, very easy to drive. So far ground clearance has not been an issue, but there are some roads that I have driven my high clearance truck on that I would not want to have taken my Subaru on yet seen Honda Civics at the trail head. I guess it just depends upon how you drive maybe?

Well, both are right wing, religous dingbats who think they are far smarter then they are so yes, the parody is appropriate.

Manufactures use several methods including velcro straps or elastic to seal the wrist. Some fleece jackets employ a hole in the end of the sleeve that your thumb sticks through to keep the sleeves from riding up.

The perfect jacket for ice climbing is Light yet durable waterproof yet breathable Simple yet functional Hood fits over a helmet yet snugs down over a bare head Fits a climbers physique - broad shoulders, big chest, narrow waist. Arms long enough to cover wrists when arms are held over head yet not too long when arms are held at one's sides In other words designing a jacket for ice climbing is an exercise in compromise. The brands that I prefer are Patagonia, Wild Things, and Marmot. These brands fit my body the best and meet most of the outlined criteria. Price is not a big issue but I always bargain shop and buy when I find things on sale.

That's quite a memory you have for an old guy . I believe my exact quote was "It rolled around on my back like turgid sausage". When the Wild Things said not to carry more than 35 pounds, I think they really meant it.

I recall camping in the boulders below the Kain hut in the Bugaboos in a Betamid. It was super buggy with mosquitos but none managed to get inside the tarp. We staked it down pretty tight to the ground.

Carlos and John Roskelly were my heros when I was first starting to climb.

Exactly. A hut would have to be built large enough to acommodate all of the permitted overnight vistors who would be required to stay in the hut. All existing campsites and social trails would be rehabilitated. Think about Camp Muir for a moment. Without the outhouses where would all of the human waste go? Most people are not willing to pack it out. My guess the accumulation of human feces would outstrip the rate of decomposition that high and in short order all of camp muir would be littered with feces.