DPS

He is a well known scholar, archelogist, author of many books on the subject and professor at a University.

Thanks Alasdair. I recall Jason Martin saying it was his favorite country to guide in. Maybe if I ever get well enough I will plan a trip.

Mt Baker. You would have some learning to do (roped travel, z- haul system, Prusiking) etc. but it is an extremely worthy objective.

I did the Coleman-Demming route about a month ago. We did not take snow shoes but they would have been helpful for the deep, soft snow conditions we found between tiberline and the glacier especially on the hike out. Otherwise the route at that time was in really good shape with an excellent boot track and no open crevasses. With the cool weather I doubt conditions would have changed a whole lot.

I have the Grivel Air Tech Light and like them for appproaches, mellow glacier slogs, and ski mountaineering. They fit well on everything from approach shoes to ski boots. The one complaint I have is that the bottom points are a bit short so in some circumstances they feel a bit sketchy (e.g. thin layer of snow over ice).

All my climbing and skiing shit for a sailboat.

Your loss, I have no interest in climbing with folks with no sense of humor.

Has anyone in the group done anything athletic or just played children's ball games?

Congratulations! I climbed Shasta last Memorial Day weekend via Casaval Ridge and really enjoyed the experience. The parking lot at Bunny Flats was in full on party mode when we rolled in.

Hey, Mr RainierGroup, I am no way interested in being paid or otherwise compensated to guide you, however, I may be interersted in climbing with you since you have the permits all worked out. I would also be happy to show you everything I know (would take about 15 minutes). I sent you a PM and can also be reached at bighurtbob@hotmail.com.

Jens, No, I took two days - car to car in 30 hours, with a 12 hour bivi at Thumb Rock. I have a partner who did the route car to car in under 24 hours. The 18 hours is something I heard somewhere, yet seems very reasonably given good acclimatiztion and conditions. Dan Dan

Yes, it is possible and has been done in as little as 18 hours car to car, although that may not be the record.

Many good options on sale here: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?allwords=mountaineering+boots&searchdescriptions=True&page=1

These are not climbing boots and I would never wear them climbing. One of the things I noticed is no mention of any kind of a shank. That said, I once saw a half dozen Russian kids climb the DC route in late season, all wearing leather tennis shoes with newmatic crampons jury rigged on. The moral of my story is, they may work, but are for sure not optimal. One solution is to wear running/hiking shoes for the approach/deproach to/from high camp, carrying the plastics on your back and only wear the plastics on summit day. Another solution is to duct tape the hot spots on your feet and wear the plastics car to car and deal with the discomfort. One more solution is to spend a bit more (ok, a lot more) and get a good quality leather mountaineering boot that fits your foot well and will serve your various climbing needs for years to come. A couple of models that come to mind are the La Sportiva Nepal EVO and the Scarpa Summit GTX. Both are modern versions of the classic full grain leather mountaineering boot but break in much quicker. They are also lightly insulated. You can wear them ice climbing, mixed alpine climbing, volcano slogging, etc.

Thanks for the feed back Crackers, having an actual pack builder's opinion is very valuable.

Perhaps try Dave Page Cobbler in Fremont.

So my much beloved Serratus Genie is beginning to show extensive signs of wear throughout the fabric. I have already had it repaired once which cost me nearly as much as the original pack. I have looked around and not found anything as simple, light, and functional as the Genie so I thought of having someone use the pack as a template to make a new one, using the existing shoulder straps and hip belt. A number of years ago I took a couple of friends up Rainier who were competetive sailors and they both had stuff sacks made from left over scraps of sail cloth. They gave me one as a thank you and I have since used it to carry ice screws, pitons, v-thread hooker, extra picks, and other sharp objects. The durability and weight of the fabric is impressive. Can anybody comment on the viability and cost of having the pack rebuilt using scraps of sail cloth? Does any body know of a person local to the Seattle area who could do this kind of sewing for a reasonable price? TIA, Dan

I took a stroll up the Coleman-Demming last Sunday and was surprised at the amount of ice still left on the NF of Colfax. The top ice step on Cosely-Houstan looked a bit sporty, but doable.

Sounds like a fun trip. I would join you but my recent poor showing on Baker and subsequent three day lay up has convinced me I am not up to mountaineering yet. Good luck with the weather.

The OP mentioned food so here is what I have been grooving on lately. Trader Joes cooked brown rice Trader Joes Indian Fare (various flavors) Trader Joes ethnic flatbread (chapati, tortilla, etc) The rice comes in a vacuum sealed plastic bag, the Indian Fare in a foil 'retort' type package. You can put the Indian Fare package in a pot of boiling water for a few mintues and combine with the rice and spoon on the flatbread. This is plenty of food for two hungry people for dinner. Cheers, Dan Since both the Indian Fare and rice are NOT dehydrated they are not particularly light, but for only a night or two the weight is hardly noticeable, plus that is just that much less water you have to melt for the meal.

Strong day's work my man!

Sweet!

I believe there may be shuttles that will get you to Bellingham, but then you are only half way there. You could rent a car in Bellingham for the rest of the ride. I think the best option is to rent a car at SeaTac airport and drive to Mt Baker.

Summitpost.org has a forum for the Pacific Northwest. Best of luck on Baker. Out of all the mountains I have climbed Mt Baker remains my absolute favorite.

Sounds good, but this time you bring the intestinal parasite.