Alex

That (the Shrike) might make a good introductory tool, but is pretty old school as far as design. I think I would go with something like a BD Viper, BD Cobra, Quark, Alp Wing, or any one of the "clearance shaft" tools, if I had a choice and money was less of an object. They just climb better. Alex

That sounds ...hmmm...very familiar! It was my fourth year climbing, however...first ever "alpine climb"..

depending on the routes you want to do, you might just bring the 8.1, and then 50m of like 6mm rap line. West Ridge of Forbidden, for example, doesnt require anything particularly beefy as far as rope,..most of the route is like 4th/5.2. However, a 50+m rap line might come in handy. If you are planning something more difficult, like Direct South Buttress South Early Winters, or N Ridge Stuar w/ Gendarme, I would bring a full-on lead line. Alex

Jason and I followed standard ratings protocol, which was to try to get the consensus for the routes rating in "typical" conditions. For most routes this is pretty easy. Many routes in WA and BC have been around a long time and climbed often enough to get a solid consensus. No one would call Drury in typical conditions a 5, or a 3. Other routes are harder, especially ones that only come in once or every few years...Requiem For a Post Modern World is a good example in WA. The Gift is a good example in BC. Thin ice, brittle ice, etc makes it feel much harder!! Soft ice, warm day, good sticks makes any 4 feel a full grade easier.

The main purpose for any rating at all is to give some guidance for an immediate region, where you can assess climbs relative to other climbs in the area. Take a second Bob, Don, Dru, others, to realize that one thing you might be trying to do is "re-align" West Coast Ice with Rockies grades. Rockies grades have always been a little on the hard side compared to the rest of the continent/world (not a bad thing), .. I am not sure true re-alignment is really necessary in the big picture... what is likely more important is that the grades are consistent throughout the region, or at least accurate for a climb in typical conditions. Consider that you could extend this conversation to "bringing Skaha grades in line with Yosemite" or "Exit 38 ratings in line with Index ratings". This has value, certainly, but its more valuable for the routes at Skaha to be consistent with each other, than to be consistent with Yosemite. As far as the specific examples cited here, I've only found a few routes in Lillooet that are not really consistent with the vast majority, and these have already been mentioned: Loose Lady is a pretty hard 4+, but I don't know if I would call it a solid 5 certainly not (Rockies) 5+. Synchro is 4, a soft 4 when I did it, but it has ice that is as hard as Bourgeau Right, Weeping Left, or any other "classic" Rockies 4s. Never done Shreik, but I've heard of so many people backing off of it that it seems a pretty aptly named route (the Sheep in this case being you and me...) !!

terrible news

Here are three trip reports with pics. If you google for it, you'll find a few others. I would suggest early June as ... really really early!! Go July-August-ish. http://www.mountainwerks.org/alexk/climb/TRPtarmigan03a.htm http://www.mountainwerks.org/cma/2003/ptarmigan.htm http://www.mtnphil.com/Ptarmigan/Ptarmigan.html

true, true

I thought I would bring this back to the top, as I've experimented recently a bit. Based on some stuff I saw at Hafner, I bought and modified a set of Viper Fang pinkey ledges for my Black Prophets, and they improved the "leashless" performance of this tool tremendously. The modification is easy but delicate with a sharp knife and rat-tail file. If you modify it too much, the ledge becomes unstable and flexes alot. I did one well, and one not-so-well...the differnce is very noticable. BD is coming out with Fangs for Cobras next season. So for those of you who can wait, you will be able to convert your cobras into a better performing leashless tool with these. Grivel makes a bolt-on trigger, but I dont know if it fits BD tools. Finally, Trango has come out with a headless Madame Hook, which is a modern clearance oriented tool with interchangeable handles - ergo, or regular. I will probably be demo-ing them in the near future, if anyone wants to try them out. Alex

Josh, Murchison Bow Falls perhaps Panther perhaps Shades of Beauty, but if its sunny next 2 weeks I doubt it Polar Circus pretty much anything up high in the Wilson/Mt Murchison area.

Its really warm in the Columbia River Valley and Radium area. Stanley Headwall looks about normal (ed. ah I just read Dale's post again, I heard that Nemesis was fat, but only saw French Reality from a distance) Hafner in and fun. Borgeau Right was in great shape, soft 4, great ice, classic. all David Thompson climbs are in, basically - Elliot Left in great shape, first pitch fat and sunny, wet, last pitch brittle, steep and technical hard 4. Kitty Hawk fat. Murchison, fat, will be there another 3 weeks. Weeping Wall fat, but do it on a cloudy, cold day. Weeping Pillar is in, but ice isnt as good as on the lower wall. Polar Circus, trade route, currently. People at Rampart were negotiating starting times with each other. Louise in. Shades of Beauty, Stanley Falls Senior in. Tangle Creek in. Panther in, Bridal Veil in but pretty stiff for a 3. J_Fisher, I have been experimenting with my prophets, and modified two Viper Fangs to fit them. I have android leashes on them. On this trip, I seconded alot of pitches leashless, and lead a few easy pitches leashless too. When I lead, I put on the androids. At Hafner and elsewhere, it was nice having some type of tool you could drytool with without leashes, but clip in some leashes for harder leads. I'm still a little too freaked out about dropping my tools (though I never have, come to think of it) or doing something dumb to start leading everything leashless just yet, but I think I will be there next year. Alex

Things in the Columbia Valley were pretty much a bad idea as of this week. Its still cold up on the Parkway and in Jasper. Murchison will be in for another 3 weeks or so.

I agree N Face is going to be the nicer route in May. Might I also suggest Price Glacier? The Sulphide is pretty much a ski-mountaineering trip that time of year, might not be worth your while unless you are looking for the summit more than the experience of a good route.

Adams Glacier N Ridge of Baker as an overnight

I'll see you in hell, Remsberg!!!!

Climbing 1st place is inspirational! I also like Bouldering 2nd and Scenic 3rd pics. All of these are great pics!

Climb: Alpental-Take Two Date of Climb: 2/21/2004 Trip Report: Saturday was a nice weather day, and my wife and I decided to head out into the Alpental backcountry for some exploring and ice climbing. We got an early start and wanted to check out some ice Mike Stanton and friends had climbed a week earlier in Great Scott Bowl. The day was indeed a beaut, and we headed up the Alpental Valley to Source Lake, hung a left, and broke trail up to beneath the Tooth. Deep fluffy powder snow! Here we found a steep and wide wall of snow and ice, and the route Mike had climbed the previous week. We continued further up the bowl, however, drawn to the steep cliffs across from Pineapple Pass. There, in the central couloir, we saw a nice looking ice route that seemed to be in better shape than the stuff lower down the bowl, and longer. We approached the ice and stamped out a belay ledge. The route itself is a moderate route which can be broken into 2 pitches, with a steep step about halfway up the first pitch. The usual crappy ice leads to better ice over a short pillar, then good travelling conditions to a tree anchor about 30-35m up. From here, two options exist. A short (15ft) curtain of ice further up the left hand gully is pitch two. The right hand gully is just steep snow leading nowehere noteworhty. The route is recommended for a couple reasons: Its moderate. It really is WI3, with ok screws and only a short section of difficulties. The first and most significant pitch tops out easily, to a nice live tree anchor. Unlike so many climbs in the Alpental valley, this one doesnt have a death-steep-snow top out. Really pretty area away from most of the crowds! There are other ice climbing possiblities in this area! Gear Notes: regular rack. a fluke or picket would be nice for steep snow above the ice on the second pitch Approach Notes: 2 hours to base of route. You can also get to it with skis from Alpental - approach as for the Tooth

RuMR hiked from his car through the door at Vertical World recently!

scrambled_legs, yes, I've seen TONS of flagging in the bush. I worked as a wildlife biologist for 4 years and have seen enough flagging in the backwoods of Washington, Oregon, and Utah to fill a small stadium. Its not environmentally friendly, its made of plastic. It does break down after "a while", but so do beer cans, pop bottles, and Uranium 237. Alex

Thanks for the info. For those others who already have not been able to help themselves from spraying on this topic, go to SPRAY where no one will prevent your mountie bashing. Alex

I think US jobs will continue to leave the US for offshore regardless who is president. This is the reality of the newer globalized economy, where Wall Street plays and increasingly visible direct role in our economy. The funny thing is, US citizens and residents have come to expect and rely on strong, private, profitable corporate sector to drive the economy. How do those corporations become profitable, exactly? Certainly not by paying an employee salary and benefits when the same work can be performed very well by an English-speaking person who requires 1/4 or 1/2 the salary and fewer or no benefits? The trend over the last 15 years has been blue-collar manufacturing labor going "offshore" to Mexico, Canada, and places further afield. As technology and biotech become cornerstones of the US Economy (where US Steel etc once was), I see the trend moving towards outsourcing "white-collar" computer and technology related work offshore as well. The value proposition for profit-desperate corporations is the same it has always been: reduce the paid wage for the unit of work, without sacrificing quality. This is one of the principle ways you can cut costs, out-duel your competition, and stay in the black so Wall Steet will not punish you. The US's strength has always been its flexible, well-educated workforce, and its productivity compared to the rest of the world. I've been alot of places in the World, and I don't see anyone working harder than US workers, overall. The US's weakness is that its workforce somehow thinks it has a birthright to maintain a super-inflated standard of living, while the rest of the World lags far behind. It is this super-inflated standard of living that causes your job to be outsourced!!! And before anyone tries to hatch "yeah but US workers are smarter/produce better quality/have higher levels of skill", the recruiters at Microsoft and other very very successful and profitable corporations would beg to differ with you... Alex

For a day trip, use the WA state ice guide. For a 2+ day trip, Lillooet BC has perhaps the most reliable ice in the Pacific Northwest, but is a 5.5 hour drive from Seattle. For a 4+ day trip, Banff is an 11 hour drive on I-90 and a 12-13 hour drive on the TransCanada from Seattle and has much better ice and choice of easy-access routes than Lillooet...can be a bit crowded on weekends though....nice to go midweek..

I'll take the trekking poles. Contact info? Alex

Here is a pic of Hotline and Bryant Buttress Right (aka Flight to Mars)...

On a serious note, I spoke with Kevin last night and he said that there was still plenty of stuff to climb around Lillooet to make it worth your while. Stuff up in the Bridge, Oregon Jack, anything higher up will be around a while longer. I think Kevin said Loose Lady was looking awesome, and Carls Berg in 4+ -ish shape. Another way to think about it is, I mean, if the ice in the Alpental valley is still fat, then ice around Lillooet can't be half bad???