Alex

Erden, best of luck! Keep us in the loop with regular updates via laptop and sat phone modem! Alex

yes its in the guide, tho the pic I've seen of it in the past wasnt as fat as it looks here.

Wolf, did you wear the TeleBreezes or are they someone elses? If they are around the same size as the Snowpine (i.e. you wore them) I'd be interested

Mountain

lol!

yeah when I went in with Larry he showed me that approach, and I didnt like it as much as mine (the first option in the book). I think erik and I are heading up there soon, will see how the other climbs are doing and maybe flag the approach that comes in from the left of Motherlode. Alex

I had the Bibler I-tent in Alaska and liked it enough for 1, but not for 2. Kelley Cordes had a Fitzroy I think and it was really nice. There is really something to be said about a single wall tent for the windier, higher elev and colder camps. They do pretty well and are pretty quiet. The drawback is you have to be very very careful when shovelling them out (which will be often) as the shovel blade tends to cut the walls pretty easily and then you have a real repair job ahead of you. I also slept in an MEC copy of the Wild Things (Quazar?) tent. It was nice for 2. We almost never cooked in the vestibule. If it was storming out, you just put on your gear and cooked and shovelled at the same time - 2 birds with 1 stone. Alex

Hey Frenches Dome! That place is pretty cool. Yeah, its probably more solid than Smith or Mt Washington, certainly more solid than anything in the Sisters

Scott, I hate plastics too, and have tried a few different leathers lately. My foot is wider, so I cant wear Sportiva boots at all - too painfully narrow. I wore the Nepal Top for a year, and it wasnt sized well enough for me to continue trying to make them work, and they were so heavy! I also cant wear the Scarpa Alpha Ice boot, as my arch is higher and this is a lower-volume boot, but I really like it and wish it fit: its really a nice boot for snow slogging and ice climbing in wet environments for multi-day trips. I settled on Scarpa Eigers initially, thinking they would remain stiff enough to wear step ins, but that only lasted one season. Now they are much too soft. They are still a nice boot for "mileage" summer trips where there isnt much technical climbing. Gene Pires showed me the Scarpa Freneys a few years ago and I got a pair last year and have not worn anything since. After one trip the blisters stopped and I have worn them without worry since, climbing fairly involved technical rock and ice in them over the last 10 months. They are step-in compatible but the asymmetrical sole makes it an effort to find the right crampons for them: Grade8s *barely* fit. Summer's Charlet Super 12s or whatever those things are fit much better. Anyway, everyone I know who climbs with them (Gene, Colin) agrees that these are awesome boots for everything imaginable. Worth looking into to see if they fit you. Alex

minx, Summer uses LaSportiva K3s. They have seen 2 seasons on Banff now and a fair amount of alpine, and do very well. A great all-around boot!

Illumination Rock is as solid as it gets. Well, for Oregon anyway

tex, I found it at Barnes and Noble

I was just trying to answer your question Ray? Jeff Lowe climbed that roof back in the day, the first pitch is called Seventh Tentacle and the whole thing incl roof is called Octopussy (M8).

Right on, glad everyone is ok. Hood in a storm...sucky sucky!

for those interested, Alpinist 1 is on store shelves and I found it worth buying. Very reminiscent of Mountain, inspiring, not a lot of advertising, dedicated to alpine (not rock or sporto or the Colorado and Yosemite scene like other rags seem to be).

Kevin, likely that was Kiddy Cliff, its fairly climbable after you kick off all the snow off the top. Its usually well trafficked throughout the winter since its on the approach to Source Lake. John, yes, thats Source Lake Line for lack of a better name. FA unknown (but I think I know who first climbed the 5 - it wasnt me) but its been climbed by both its variations: the nasty looking death pillar straight up can come in a little better, at solid scary WI5, while the ramp going up and right is usually a 3 to a belay, then the snow ramp to the final WI3+ or so final curtain. There should be a good pic in the guide when it comes out.

its been done

I was in the valley yesterday, here's what I saw Alpental Falls (1) only 1st pitch formed, second forming and spitting. Alpental 3&4 in and thin/fun WI2 bouldering. To the left of the large drainage where these climbs form, in the woods, I found a 30ft wall of thin ice that might be fun to toprope if you are in the area (but dont make the trip for it!). Its at the same elevation as Alp4, 100 yrds left in mature timber. "NW Ice Couloir" (??) is in, some people did it yesterday and said it was fun. Its been mighty warm this year.

Didnt see any Ade Miller there yesterday; forrest_m, was that you with another partner?

Dwyaner, you talk as if you know/represent the climbing community in general by making such blanket statements as "not many people are lining up for this route..", but fact is, you dont/dont. (Neither do I.) The only thing, therefore, that can be taken away from your three posts now on this topic are "this route isnt for me". As far as EDM, this route has been tried by myself and many of my friends and many of their friends during various winters over many years now. Though I know none of my immediate friends have succeeded, I am not convinced the route has not been repeated, knowing how easy it is to approach and assess conditions on the Index peaks. The route itself is mostly a moderate snow climb with some technical sections up high, which aren't much different than you can expect on any similar routes in the Cascades. Forest is right in one regard, if Index were in the Banff, it would rival the other well-known quartzite peaks for solid rock. Its all relative though, and relative to the town walls, yes, its not that solid. My parachute is packed! When do we leave? Alex

ZZ is excellent, although the crux pitch is well over the Doctor's head at this point I thought that was only 10a?

Actually Dwyaner, if I read correctly Tim L said that, not skisports. Tim L is right. There are quite a number of silent hard men and women out there who dont give 2 cents about this web site and us silly posters who frequent it, but regularly run up all manner of routes a-la-Colin et al.

looks like its deteriorated since Jan 1 when we climbed it in this warmer weather we've had. Did you climb the left side? Is it touching down?

trask sums it up nicely, well done lad!