Ade

Did it on the 24th. Very Scottish, especially considering the weather, put down 3" or so on the Alpental road during the day. Visibility was pretty bad, not more than a few hundred feet most of the time but I think we followed your line. I'm told this route actually gets better in Jan/Feb when there is more ice and the snow is more likely to be consolidated. The West face really doesn't have anything on it, not must snow and probably even less ice. Pity really.

Checked out Big Four on Sunday. Lived up to it's name... Big. Shitty weather, too warm, snowing at the base first thing. Needs more snow and a hard freeze to bring it in.

I have a blizzard and kind of wish I didn't. I actually prefered my old Bod harness. I still use an Alpine Bod for a lot of stuff. I don't think it's worth the additional cash. The only real plus I could see is that the Blizzard doesn't have fleece on it for the snow to stick to, it's also harder to drop the leg loops on it.

You could also try Jim Mates at Custom Boot in Ballard. He did a good job on my liners for a pair of Scarpa Invernos.

Golf Course and driving range, Cascades Wildlife Petting Zoo, McDonalds, The "Timber Experience Project" - complete with interactive fell your own old growth exhibit.

Thanks for all the feedback... I'll be digging out some of the references you guys sent. Just to be clear I've failed on one or two alpine routes this year, ironically both on the same face, and looking back on it the weather was pretty epic. I also usually factor in bailing on a couple of ice lines each season because they're not in, don't feel right. True to form I bailed on something this past season. Failing is good, if you take it the right way, "I tried, I failed, I learnt", rather than just getting pissed off. But it's super annoying when you've invested a huge amount of time, effort and cash getting to the base of something to walk away from it. All routes can kill you, getting to the route can kill you. Incidently nearly 4% if lightening related deaths occur on golf courses so I wouldn't recommend that either *. There are actually two things to be scared of; death and failure. I actually feel somewhat relieved when I've got so far up a route that I can fail up it. I've got more frustrated failing than I have fearful of dying. I completely agree with the comments on partners. I'm also contemplating doing more routes as a party of three. This isn't much slower if the two seconds simul-climb, although if you're trying to do a speed ascent two is the way to go. A three lets you split essentially the same weight in group gear three ways. And the difference in psych factor is huge, no more lonely belays. There's a third guy who may get things back together when the other two are burnt out. If the leading is hard then a three does a third less leading per person. I did two routes like this in 2002 they were two of the best routes I got out on this year. My other favourite route was a speed ascent but in some ways these are less stressful as I'm usually doing them because I know I can do the route and just want to see how fast I can do it. They're also short, time wise, so it's not like you're out for days trying to keep your head together. Forrest - You'll be hearing from my lawyers for suggesting I'm either mature or well balanced. * An amusing set of statistics - no I don't want to have a discussion about these, they're purely for your own amusement.

Feathered Friends will only wash their own down bags, or at least that's what they told me when I asked. Rainy Pass Repair were the people they recommended for washing "other" down bags.

AlpineK - That would be exactly my point. Another interesting thing is that both the British and Americans recognized the Vichy Government for some period of time and generally ignored De Gaulle's Free French.

Maybe you should read up on Vichy France before making such sweeping generalizations.

Same director, believe it or not.

Nope. Just like rock climbing it depends on the route. Big fat pillar lots of 17s and maybe the odd 22 (I like them because they give me big psyche when I place them before launching onto big steep sections, they're also good for belays and making threads). I have a bunch of 10s and 13s for thin stuff in New England.

It was a consolation prize for conquering half the known world and building an empire on which the sun never set. The runners up, France captained by Napoleon, got the SI system. Some say they actually deserved to win but a run of poor away performances cost them the championship, culminating in a weakened team playing England at Waterloo after a drubbing in Moscow. Originally billed as a friendly match at a farmhouse in the low country things rapidly got out of hand. A very contraversial eleventh hour substitution by Wellington of a Prussian back row in the second half cost the diminutive frenchman the match and relegation the Elba. Readers should note that although Anglo-French relations have always been strained but this was the icing on the cake as far as Paris was concerned.

I think evenyone is selling off their BD screws as BD have improved the design for this season making the old ones obsolete. I use stubbies quite a bit in New England where there is lots of thin, hard and well bonded ice. Stubbies plus a screamer make a good combination. In WA and to a certain extent in SW BC they're less useful as thin ice, when you find it, isn't of good enough quality to take a decent short screw.

From Blackadder, episode I, "The Foretelling" Who wants "stuff" anyway? How about three long weekends worth of good conditions and partners to share them with. If I get three routes between now and April I'd be dead chuffed.

This is the best argument you can come up with for voting republican? That's the best you can do? Ha Ha! How sad. How about, my "story". "Vote Nader, because my dog would if given the chance." This has several key advantages over yours. It tries to ensure that we don't end up with another president who can't say a single sentence without fucking it up. It doesn't misquote anyone, living or dead. It doesn't make the assumption that anyone who is poor got their by being stupid and lazy. Best of all it's short. Did I mention that it's short? That's a good thing because like your story this has nothing to do with climbing.

The first issue of Christian Beckwith's Alpinist has finally arrived. Issue 1 features a profile of Changabang, Jack Tackle's epic on Mt Augusta and Mick Fowler's latest effort in China. Further details and a preview issue #0 available on the Alpinist Web Site. Marmot in Bellevue also has copies. (Note: I have no association with this publication but I do think it's well worth a read)

Reception and Slideshow with Carlos Buhler In the Tahoma Auditorium, Mountaineers Club, 300 Third Ave. W., Seattle Friday December 13th, 2002 Further details on the AAC Cascades Section Web Site: The AAC Cascades Section

A bit acidic, carbo concentration of 12% is a bit high to facilitate good gastric emptying, low in sodium. Might be better if you over diluted it and added some salt. Goes off if it gets warm, a friend of mine discovered this the hard way on the second day up a route.

Yep. Got that and tried to follow up on some of the references too. What he has looks good although some of them seem a little dated. I'm checking them out but wondered if anyone else had any suggestions While the "better climbing through fear and (self) loathing" approach works for Dr Doom, and on may levels I can identify with it, I'm not entirely sure that my better half will appreciate it. Even if I end up climbing harder, she's already horrified by my annoying habit of cooking to Skinny Puppy (the dog hates it) . Markcq's book is very good though. I'm a convert.

So I've come to the conclusion that on a good day I can climb 2-3 times better than on a bad day and that good and bad days can run one after the other. I also failed on one route this year pretty much just by looking at it, although the weather was a bit of a factor. Granted it was very big and very scary, but I know I could do it. I've started to look into mental training and visualisation etc. Can anyone recommend any books or other sorts of resources on this? There seems to be a lot out there so it's hard to figure out what's useful, especially as the mental aspects alpine climbing (which is what I do), as opposed to sport climbing or bouldering, seem to be very different from say running or golf ( lets not go there shall we).

I get mine from nashbar.com. At one point the big tubs were going there for about $25 too.

There was 6"-1' of newish snow all the way from 5500'. So you leave the talus fields, which thankfully don't have any snow on them, and then cross the meadows and ridge to get into the next basin on snow pretty much all the way. Try and hit it as early as possible because it makes the going slow where you have to cross the rocks when the snow is soft... hip deep holes to fall in yadda yadda yadda. The road was gated at the Eldorado lot. The approach's apparant rep as one of the toughest in the Cascades is patently undeserved.

Unfinished business on Denali (if I can quit working so hard). Numerous routes in the Cascades. Get back to the Yukon. BTW: How about toneing it down a bit Ray? Threatening to beat people up or leave them to bleed to death makes you sound like a real asshole, which I know you're not.

Errr... Yes. We really want to know.

Slabs at the bottom of that too.