dbconlin

I agree with this advice the most within this thread.

Excellent photos! Approx. what time did the weather turn to shit? Had you made your turnaround time, would it have helped the situation?

Hmm... I thought you were referring to a pass in Nepal... Lift ticket prices don't bother me - they keep the road open and I ski the backcountry on the other side. The only days I go to the resort are when the avvy danger is too high (i.e. huge powder day). Unfortunately, I don't know how I will be able to teach my kids to ski because, as has been pointed out, you gotta spend at least a solid season at a resort to really get it down. I guess Snoqualmie is a great place to learn though...

Yeah, I have it and have read it...unfortunately I don't think it addressed any of the things that bother me. Yes, I think I am going to suffer with duckbills for now...I can jerry rig at least one of my pairs of crampons to work well enough. When I can afford it, I think I am going to invest in a good AT setup though...lighter and I find myself using p-turns more and more these days with the big boots and stiff bindings than I used to back in the day when everything was so floppy I had to use tele turns.

I currently climb with the Pentax Optio WP ( link ) which is around 5 years old at this point and on its last legs (fell out of jacket pocket while changing layers on a climb - luckily landed on the ledge at my feet and just shattered the viewscreen). I swapped the stock lanyard for a long one I got at a cell phone store that goes around my neck with the camera in my chest pocket. I recently read some reviews of all the water/shock-proof cameras, this one won the competition hands down from an image quality standpoint: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Apparently, there is a new one out (TS2) that did not make the review.

5'9" 145 lbs, 171 cm length @ 99 mm waist. REally good all around (one-ski quiver) skis (Atomic Janak) but I would like to move to a 2-ski quiver with a slightly fatter (not much - 105-ish) ski with mildly rockered tip and flat tail (like the Coomback/Stoke/or one of the niche skis like prior or dps) for winter & general conditions plus a traditionally shaped lightweight ski in the 86-90 mm range for spring corn and ski-mountaineering. I would probably go in the upper 170s for the winter ski (rocker reduces effective length) and lower 170s for the light ski.

pm sent.

Dear prospective climbing partner, I am hoping to spend Friday night at Muir and summit Saturday via Gibralter ledges. Weather outlook looks perfect. Alternatively, would consider a one-day summit and ski descent, so let me know if that appeals instead. All my normal partners are busy this weekend...anybody want to joing me??? PLEASE...I would rather not solo. PM me or (better yet) email to dbconlin [at] gmail Cheers, David

I find myself wanting for some AT gear, primarily due to the lack of climbing prowess of tele boots. In fact, none of my 3 pairs of crampons fit my tele boots very well. Plus the duckbill and flexibility in the toe do not lend themselves to stepkicking, particularly on firmer substrates (frontpointing). However, I don't think I can afford a new set up right now what with the price especially of boots but also the Dynafit bindings. Interested in hearing what limitations and solutions people have experience with tele-ski-mountaineering equipment, ie. what works and what doesn't. Thoughts?

Looking forward to your review of the lwt parkas, Dane!

Patagonia DAS has a two way - don't know about the others.

I have to say I have long wondered why, and been frustrated by, the FF Volant coming only with a detachable hood. I will not consider a jacket with a detachable hood. Permanent fixed hood is the only way to go IMHO.

Coombacks look sweet! Wish I had the duckets...

Sickness!!!

mmmm....that looks really good.

How steep is the skiing on the Finger? I have been eyeing this for a bit and want to make sure my ski skills are up to par...

same problem here...

Looks very good - nice job! This one has been on my list for a while now. Went a few years ago over Memorial Day w/e and got blizzarded the entire time - didn't even make it to the steep part of the ridge proper (approached from Mowich Lake). Looks like you fared substantially better...

My partner just cancelled on me - anyone wanna ski the Emmons with me? I was planning on leaving work early tomorrow (Fri), driving to the White River, getting permit, and hiking to Schurman. Then summit, ski descent and back to car on Saturday. PM me ASAP with your contact info if interested. Some glacier experience/ski mountaineering experience required - no complete newbies, please. Thx, David

30 hours C2C here, too, from White River. As long as the weather is good...

...perfect conditions on Helens a couple of days ago...

...and my question is "why doesn't FF offer a lightweight down jacket with a fixed hood?" Like, who removes their hood and why would you want a jacket without one?

I believe Scott, Luke and I took the red line with green variation also in May 2007. The climbing was difficult (I thought) with unconsolidated snow over shitty rock and little opportunity for pro. I looked through my photo archive but unfortunately nothing shows it particularly better than any of the photos already posted.

Good to know, thanks. I have been up there and not been sure it would go through without cliffing out.