Ade

Unlike screws pitons seem to be a real pain to organize on a rack. They're too bulky to get more than a couple in a biner. Has anyone come up with a better way of carrying pitons so they're easy to get to?

Pardon my ignorance... What is a "Freshie"? I'd also like to warn you that skiing, and season passes in particuar, will seriously interfere with your winter climbing

Seeing as it seems to be warming up in the West does anyone have any idea if ice has formed at Columbia River (mentioned in the second Nelson guide)? I'm doubtful as the falls there are bigger and steeper but of course it has been a lot colder there. Ade [This message has been edited by Ade (edited 11-22-2000).]

Brooks B and I went up early Saturday morning for a crack at this. The main pillar was in although fairly hollow - no need to use the sling on the right. The ice was very wet and poorly bonded so getting good pro was pretty hard, screws and some rock gear. We also did the top pitch, seeing as we were there and all. Thanks to Daniel Patrick Smith for retrieving the screw I dropped - what a gent! And Mike and Alex for doing the legwork and letting the rest of us know about it. Five days on ice and it's not even December yet! Cheers, Ade

Well I'm doing more exercises focusing on opposing muscles. I'm also doing more stretching during rock gym sessions. This seems to have helped. I'm gym climbing twice a week mainly bouldering to about 10b/c without problems. I'll try and build wrist curls into my workouts too. My off season is pretty not existent. Rock ends and ice begins Thanks! Ade

The Eiger Sanction: It's got Clint Eastward in it. He did his own stunts, including the fall sequence. At no point does anyone use a "bolt gun". Of course like Cliffhanger it's not 100% about climbing but when the competition is that, Vertical Limit and K2 (now there's a movie that really sucked) it's not hard for it to be a clear winner. Ade

Two weekends ago I was up ice bouldering on the lower Coleman, a friend was up their last weekend also. The conditions were pretty much the same both weekends. 5" snow on the trail, 10+" on the glacier. I imagine that this is pretty much unchanged given the cold/dry conditions this week. The Mount Baker Ski area also has conditions reports which are pretty much the same as when we were there. Hope this helps.

The manufacturer has links to some reviews (you may have already seen these). I'm interested in getting some backcountry ski gear this winter but the $1000 price tag is a bit off putting. Any other suggestions along these lines would be welcome. I'd like bindings that would fit a standard mountaineering boot for starters.

None of the ice over 5000' by the hiking trail on Mt Dickerman was well bonded either. The snow that had falled up there was still light powder and hadn't melted at all.

I nearly got thrown out of the movie theater when they played this trailer. I was laughing so damn hard. Vertical Limit is going to suck sooo badly that it might actually be funny.

The Grivel Cap is an ice climbing helmet with a full face guard. Looks a bit like a motorbike helmet. I'm not really sure it's what you're after as it doesn't sit that close to your face. Here's a picture of it: Taken from http://www.climbhigh.com/new/grivel_winter_cap.html [This message has been edited by Ade (edited 11-06-2000).] [This message has been edited by Ade (edited 11-06-2000).] [This message has been edited by Ade (edited 11-06-2000).]

I didn't think the Aliens were that bad when I tried them. The big difference was the straight shaft makes bulges harder and the very steep pick angle means that you have to really snap your wrist to get them to place right. I've tried a bunch of tools this year and the Aliens certainly didn't make last place. Lurve: Dryclime and Buffalo gear - light warm and windproof. If it's plenty cold then you can leave all that Gore stuff at home. Arrg!: Grivel ice tools. I've not tried The Machine but the other ones I have tried don't stick at all.

Here seems to be something wrong with spending the weekend waiting in a line to buy stuff (aparently part of the REI sale tradition for some) when you could be out in the hills.

Well my camera, weighs about 6oz. But then it didn't cost $1000 (which seems to the the cost of a Sony PC1 thingy). I'm sure I could manage to shave a few ounces off if I wanted to throw money at the problem. Time is the real issue here. To make good film footage you need time to do it. You also need to be a lot more interested in making a film than just climbing. In fact I think what really defines "business climbing" is the desire to turn your climb into a production rather than just an ascent. Laptops at basecamp, phones, radios, web sites, film footage, corporate sponsorship.

Modern toys help but nobody trying to do the Czech Direct on Denali in 60 hours as Twight, House and Backes (to fill in the blank) did you're simply not going to carry any of that stuff, nor are you going to waste time filming the climbing. If you think you can't take a sleeping bag because it'll slow you down then you're not going to take camera gear instead. Twenty minutes of good footage is probably about an hour of raw film, time you could be climbing. For these reasons I don't think you're ever going to see cutting edge alpine climbing making it as "business climbing". I think all that's been said about climbers from the old Eastern block is pretty much true. I was lucky enough to spend a summer there and the system certainly seemed to make you focus on getting to the top (enough said). I also think that having really crap gear probably makes you a lot keener to summit and get down fast! I remember meeting a guy on the glacier below Khan Tengri (~7000m), he looked like he had just been hiking around the glacier judging by the gear he was wearing. In fact he'd just summited the mountain in a less than 24 hour round trip! Those articles are all very thought provoking. Money for climbing is never for free. If someone's paid for half your trip it's hard to look at a mountain and decide that you just don't fancy it, for whatever reason, an go home. Ade [This message has been edited by Ade (edited 10-20-2000).]

After climbing (I lead about 9/10a), or more usually working out with weights, I have a pain on the inside of my left elbow (I'm right handed). This becomes worse if I continue to use the joint and icing seems to improve it. Normally everything is back to normal after a few days or a week of little or no use. From what I've read I think I probably have golf/tennis elbow. My main concern is that this will get worse over time and prevent me climbing. Are there any long term management or recovery strategies for this? Ade

The second Jim Nelson guide to the Cascades has a bunch of routes in it of varying degrees of of difficulty: Selected Climbs in the Cascades, Peter Potterfield & Jim Nelson, The Mountaineers, 1993, ISBN 0-89886-386-6. Selected Climbs in the Cascades, Volume 2, Peter Potterfield & Jim Nelson, The Mountaineers, 2000, ISBN 0-89886-561-1. Quite a lot of the routes in Beckey have also had winter ascents but I'm not sure any of them are done frequently due to the snow conditions in the Cascades. Access seems to be the biggest problem, Cuttthroat is only accessible when they open the pass for example. Mt Index, , B1 p202 Dragontail Pk, Triple Couloirs (II/III, 5.8?), B1 p261 Colonial, Watusi Rodeo (IV), SC2 p164 Chair Peak, NE slab (WI3), SC1 p51 Cutthroat Peak, E face (III, WI4-5), SC2 p 182, April/May There's some stuff on the Tooth too. Ade