Ade

See Jenna do a slide show... no. Here's a thought... Maybe they should get together? "Twin Peaks, the quest for Analpurna" starring Jenna Jameson and Ed Viesturs. I'm sure Ed's sponsors, Mountain Hardware, would be all over it.

Jenna probably does a more interesting slide show than Ed too. I nearly fell asleep in when I saw Ed.

Yep, scrap the GPS and cell. I'd take a MD player or MP3 over them any day. Toons!!

I've always been very wary of GTX boots. It seems to me that the membrane isn't going to withstand the beating it would get wrapped around your continually flexing foot for very long. The only pair of GTX boots I ever owned didn't seem that waterproof. Does anyone out there have any real info on this, other than anacdotal evidence? What's the projected waterproof lifetime of a GTX boot?

figured you might ask, but i don't have that information anymore. For a set of nuts covering 7-30mm approx: Wild Country Rocks (#1-10): 383g BD Stoppers (#4-13): 399g DMM Walnuts (#1-10): 400g Half sets will be roughly half the wieghts depending on which ones you pick. Max difference for a full set 17g or about half an once.

Almost all the OR gear I've ever had has fallen apart, mainly gaiters and hats. I've heard other people say similar things and have similar experiences about/with the quality of OR sewn products, both other climbers and climbing store staff (who were presumably basing their comments on return rates etc). Personally I'd avoid their stuff.

i've done some, and once you start putting full sets of nuts together, there are definitely differences. of course, it's not like we're talking pounds' worth of differences ... but anyway. So what are the numbers? Most useful number would be for a half set, alternate sizes, which is pretty good start for a light alpine rack, and a whole set.

I use Wild Country Rocks. Mainly because I started using them way back when so can eyeball placements really quickly. I'd say buy something you're familiar with placing and that's pretty popular with your climbing partners. There's nothing more irritating than trying to lead something with someone else's rack made up of gear that you can't place first time. I've not done any weighing but I suspect the weights are very similar across all brands. On an alpine rack you're probably not carrying a full set anyways, further reducing any weight differences.

Excellent beta. THANKS!

Don't be so hard on yourself there Trask.

Despite a crappy forecast The Simoan, visiting from the East Coast, insisted that we go climbing... Cloud base on Stuart was 7-8000' all day with brisk winds from the North and occasional snow flurries. Cold for June. Poured with rain for most of the drive to Leavenworth and snowed for most of the approach. Route in good shape, hard neve in couloir but the "crux" narrow section was very unconsolidated. Schrund cross straightforward. Stakes and rock gear offer best protection. West Ridge has some snow cover making climbing slower and route finding tricky especially with poor visibility. Descended the Sherpa Glacier, schrund still easy to cross, large bridge right (east) of center. Ice Cliff Glacier also looked pretty good from below. Some stuff carving off late afternoon and evening from the right side. All in all very "Scottish". Good weather by Cairngorm standards. Tip Tips: Don't forget the brews. Hot water on it's own is very boring after the second mug and adding Gu doesn't give it any flavor. Don't drop the bog roll. The snow is way crunchy this time of year for that sort of thing. Don't leave your fleece on the route - see Lost and Found. Ade

I think so. The weather wasn't that good and we were well below camped at around 6000'. Judging by the condition of other similar slopes it would be unlikely for there not to be a schrund there by this time. Both SGC and Sherpa Gl have pretty substantial schrunds now. The lower ICG looked very straight forward although quite a lot of junk fell off if Sat afternoon/evening from the right hand side.

Somewhere on the Stuart Glacier Couloir route. Beer and good kalma for the returnee. Thx Ade

If you have the other one PM me.

What's the river crossing like at the moment? Thx.

I "modified" my AK picks with a hacksaw to remove the top of the blade that sticks into your palm. This seems to improve things and doesn't effect the swing etc.

Feathered Friends Raven 10F long length with Epic outer. New $460 (inc tax). Feathered Friends Sleeping Bag Liner also long to fit Raven. Wash the liner not the bag! New $40 (inc tax). Couple of years old but hardly used. A great bag but too warm for most of the climbing I do. Great for spring/fall/winter in the Cascades or the big volcanos in all but mid-winter. Looking for $300 for the bag and liner. PM me if interested. Ade

www.bentgate.com have them on sale if you're still looking for one.

I've usually gone earlier, early May until early June. Even then it can still get too warm. We had major melt out on the last trip and it even rained a bit of the glacier. Two friends of mine were up there in May this year and reported low snow in the Logan/Vancouver area also. Their pilot was very concerned about being able to get them in/out. Don't know where you got your phone but my friends got one from Day Wireless in Seattle. It worked for them. I'm in the Donini camp on that one. Tackle left his at BC. They never work when you want them to anyway.

Neatly coiled 9mm 50m rope left below the summit. It may be from last year but if you want it back PM me with the color and brand and we'll arrange something. Rope retrival and transport is free but it may cost you beers if you don't want it spread around town that you "forgot" your rope mid rappel.

There were a lot of snafflehounds in evidence in the basin below the col, I and a friend were there for two nights, but none of them got to our food. The col is only just over an hour above the best camping spots even carrying a rack and ropes. Might as well camp in the basin until the bugs get bad. I found a rope half way up the North Face of Burgundy (see Lost and Found). That and a bunch of other shit - popular route to bail off. Bootie Call!! Also did East Face of Chianti which is excellent.

See JoJo's article "Stupid is as stupid does" in this year's CAJ p 58-63. They climbed a new route on the S face of Mt. McArthur, Huge in Europe (Alaskan IV+, 5.7 WI3) and Night Shift a variation on the N ridge of the McArthur. They attempted the SSE buttress on Logan reaching a sub summit at 9600'. The ridge beyond remains unclimbed but has seen several attempts.

Already canned mine. Check out Alpinist. No stupid "how to cheat" tech tips there. Most of the mag isn't a reprint of books I already read either.

I have an Eldorado (bigger version of the I-Tent) and a vestibule for it. The door on the vestibule is very awkward because of the curved zip. It's barely extends to the ground too so it keeps the weather off not out. I took it on one long trip (4 wks) but left it behind on the last one (also 4 wks), we only used it on routes not as our main BC tent. I think I'd opt for cooking in the tent provided you don't consider this too hazardous and ditch the vestibule.

If you want something light then check out the Cold Cold World packs. I have the Chaos, which is about the same size as the Andinista. I looked extensively at the Andinista before buying the CCW. I got mine at Marmot in Bellevue. The foam pad is much larger/wider so may be a bit more useful than the Andinistas. I also think the lid is much better designed - yes, you can remove the Andinista lid but having a pocket for stuff you need in a hurry is useful. The Chaos has compression straps (no fancy zips). The CCW is fatter whereas the Andinista seems to get very tall as you load it up, I'm not sure it would be very comfortable or stable fully loaded, although it does carry more. The Andinista is lighter, although I'm very suspicious of manufacturer's quoted weights. This GORP review is also interesting. There's some opinions and stats for capacity/weight etc. Not that I would use either of these packs in the Cascades. I used mine up North with big loads and thought it carried OK even fully loaded but then I haven't used a framed pack in years. Other stuff worth checking out is Serratus. If you need a pack larger than the Nozone and you're going to carry heavy loads then you might be better off with something with a frame. Just make sure that it has reasonable compression straps and that the hip belt isn't too bulky to get in the way when climbing.