Alex

yeah the snowfield itself is benign, but the slopes below panorama point are fairly av prone

I dont think Hood is a very safe place to be during or immediately after a storm. Every slope (even the Hosback up to Pearly Gates on SS - saw a 10ft fracture crown there once) is an avalanche waiting to happen, and visibility is very poor. Give it a few days after bad weather for slopes to slide or to settle and consolidate. That said, I've climbed both the Reid and Sandy Headwall in winter and both were very enjoyable - no crowds, interesting climbing, good views.

went to Mt Rainier today. the climbs in Nisqually canyon (Mikey's, Tato) are forming but no where near climbable yet. It was snowing like crazy (6 in in 2 hours), but we rapped into Narada. It has not completley touched down yet but we were able to TR most of the route on the left. It only offered mediochre climbing, not recommended in its current conditions. The Park closed the road again shortly after it was opened at 8:30, so there was very little traffic in the park. Alex

moved to Yard Sale, Alex

moved to Yard Sale, Alex

just movin' over to spray

AlpineK, now THAT is a classic emoticon! ROFL!

fleb and fern, yes PNW and Banff/Jasper have same system anyway, I'd imagine its the same system everywhere in NA.

Peter and Capt, I never meant to imply that it wasnt like that elsewhere. I just don't like bellyaching from people who havent been on the other side of the fence. I think dealing with customer service issues makes you a much more throughtful and appreciative consumer, just like working in the restaurant biz might make you a better tipper. Cheers,

I have worked in outdoor retail for many years. I would rather the retailers NOT take gear back, in principle, to make consumers more thoroughly research their purchases, than have the current "suck up" return policies in place. Good that I am not a policy maker, then. Retail sales people are there to help you make choices, and if you don't utilize their knowledge (which is CONSIDERABLE at FF, much lower at REI!) then thats your problem. Until all or any of you have worked in outdoor retail, and have dealt with the customer services issues personally (some are legitimate but MOST ARE IDIOTIC!), you will only know one half of the coin and will remain the bitching consumers that you are, with no understanding what lies behind something as simple/complex as these return policies. No one deserves the ignorant abuse that customers can heap on for the small amount of coin that outdoor retail pays. Alex

footwork on hard ice/mixed still isnt quite as precise as footwork on hard rock -- comparing say a WI6 to a 5.12 ...? Or M7 to 5.11? I have climbed 5+in plastics without too much trouble (it was alot of work, but mental and just enduring work). I climb ice and mixed in both leather and plastics and find leathers to be more comfortable and lighter, with better "feel"and precision...but you aleady knew that. I like that though, and strive for it. Why wear klunky boots if you dont have to? I have climbed 11s and 12s rarely, and found that the shoe depends on the type of climb. So for example you dont need a super technical shoe for red rocks 12s, but you might want one for squamish or index slabby 12. People who tell you you need a technical shoe for 10+ are dependant on gear to help them where they lack in ability (and theres nothing wrong with that...). But people were climbing 5.12 long before LaSportiva Mythos came out! The rule of thumb I go on now is I wear the lightest boot possible for the day: nice "warm" day ice climbing means lighter leather boots (Scarpas) while a real cold day (say -25C) means I strap on the heavier but warmer plastics. In general I think all the guys in Banff are wearing leather now because mixed is so much more in vogue, and requires much more precision from your boot than std ice.

Rod, I recently got skis and Silvretta 400s for 80$. You might want to bump your price down a bit.. Alex

Like DanE, I swear by MontBell gloves. I replaced them recently with a pair of Patagonia Stretch Triolet gloves. These fit well, are fine down to about -15 to -20C, and have great dexterity. Plus they are only 100$, making them some of the least expensive technical gloves out there. Take a spare pair of cheap-os for the rappels, these Patagonia gloves only have a thin leather palm that could easily wear out with alot of rapp'ing. I also have a pair of Marmot Ultimate Ski Gloves like Capt Caveman, and really like them too. They are well made and the palms are durable, so do worries about rappelling ruining them quickly.

Seam Grip works fine on ice tool shafts. I used Seam Grip for many years on my older X-15s (pre-BRS).

1991 Honda Civic 4WD. Hard to find, good car though. I bought mine at 155k and it now has 187k, still ticking. Gets about 32 mpg, is an "AWD" car, same drivetrain as the CRVs. Its a Civic wagon, so has a bit of room. I can't quite sleep in back but someone a few inches shorter could. It has a 6 speed manual (with a "super-low" gear, and 5 std gears) but also comes in automatic I think. The pre-91 models had the older civic styling, which doesnt look that great. This car also has a one-off EFI 1.6L engine that has greater horsepower than that std civic engines did, but the car only weighs a few hundred pounds more than the std civic. All in all, a nice "4WD" civic with higher-than-std clearance, and good gas mileage. Its essentially the CRV, a little lower to the ground. I paid 4k for mine, you could go less expensive but you might have to wait, these are uncommon cars. Alex

hey now that looks awesome! nice work, nice day to be out!

Thanks to Brian and "Xena", I got a chance to ski table mountain Sunday. A good thing, as I strained my back the next day, so might not be skiing for a while now... PanDome was coming in, looked thin but perhaps climbable (we didnt go close, only saw it from the lot). I would wait a few weeks, but no reason to think it wont be in soon. Death Picnic coming in, but has a while to go before you'll be able to lead it with gear. The top out looks very scary! powder on the E Side of table was epic. no one went over there all day, just yoyoed Artist Point and Panorama Dome. snow got heavy by midafternoon, but was real nice to be out.

maybe 40 miles?

Jim Nelson covers this route in his guide, vol 2. As for Mowich Lake road, if you are going to wait for the road to open, you will never climb; the route typically is way out of condition by mid-June. Best time to climb it is May in typical year, when or even before White River opens. You can approach it from Ipsut Creek, thats a std approach for Lib Ridge in early season and since Ptarmigan is a bit of an "earlier" route than lib ridge, it makes sense. But the hike from White River really isnt that bad at all, considering its mostly sidehilling, then down onto the Carbon, and more traversing...so not strenuous, anyway. I would take a day to approach from White River to the base of the route at 10,000, but more than a day coming from Ipsut probably. I remember going to Thumb took 2 days from Ipsut in April of 95. Anyway - with decent snow conditions it would be fun! Alex

i was up in that vicinity last weekend, and with snowshoes for the approach climbing the tooth would be a snap and fun! Alex

headed up to Alpental this am, expecting a day on rock. However, above Source Lake, lower and to the right of Rap Wall, a nice 30m 3+ has formed up into quite climbable shape. The ice is plastic and thick enough to not break picks, but thin enough that there is no ice pro. You can fake it around to the left easy mixed (WI3, 5.7, but almost no pro) in two short pitches to the large tree at top, from which you can TR to route with a 60m rope. The route could be continued above the large tree up a shorter gully to the right, for a full outing. travel in the valley is pretty tough right now, bring snowshoes! Alex

nevermind

pretty funny, from desperate obscurity to trade route in one month. time to find another project! Alex

wow, Allison, gee, um thanks! for all those reading, check the dates on the original posts. This is a thread that was long dead, and Alex has since grown to see the value of spray anyway...so kiss it (as Ray would say)

chriss, yes Maurice and I noted that had he clipped into his belay loop or boith swami and leg loops with the pearabiner, a differnt outcome might ahve resulted, since he would not have had the entire belay move around to the back of the swami, Alex