dbconlin

The Impreza WRX STI gets 300 hp and is rated at 24 mpg, according to Subaru.com (the regular WRX gets 230 hp, 26 mpg). That must be one pimped out engine to get 370 hp, 27 mpg!!!

Should be relatively easy in early june, steep snow, no ice is my guess. Easily doable in 2 days if weather cooperates.

i've been very happy with my mammut double ropes...

I know a guy who took a 20 deg down bag on Rainier in December... Mark Twight uses a 20 deg synthetic in Alaska in winter.... last summer I used a 30 deg down bag on Rainier...my two partners each had 0 deg bags... we all slept fine... a possible recommendation for versatility would be about a 10 deg down bag (relatively light and warm) supplemented by an overbag (such as the bibler winter bivy = 9 oz) for colder conditions and you can also lay your puffy jacket over sleeping bag inside overbay for extra warmth (as per jim nelson's website promountainsports.com)...just a thought...

Can't go wrong with the Tracker. Tried and true and just 'bout everyone touts it as the best and easiest to use. I personally prefer the Mammut Barryvox, by only a very small margin. Either is A-OK in my book. I don't know much about that Arva.

Sweet! Looks like a lot of rock...

...the elusive graybeard...

got any of the lighter fabric ones left? size M?

Climb: Graybeard-North Face [attempt] Date of Climb: 5/6/2006 Trip Report: Tyler Thirloway and I started up the north face of Graybeard on Saturday early in the morning. After the first pitch of ice (kind of an approach pitch below the face proper), we abandoned the climb due to warm temperatures and falling rocks and ice. The overnight low at our camp below the face had been a balmy 34 deg F and it was looking like a sunny and warm day. With rock- and ice-fall pelting us already by 5:30 am, we decided it would be wise to bail. We traversed off the face to the left and spent the remainder of the morning soloing along the NE ridge, which afforded some spectacular views onto the face. From what we saw the face looks quite thin, but probably climbable (with colder temps), and would likely involve a substantial amount of mixed and thin-ice climbing. Here are some photos: From the road: From the bowl below the face: Tyler topping out the first pitch: Tyler soloing along the NE ridge:

The way to not become a badass is to have kids.

msr xgk. the new model looks even better.

I agree, Mythos are the best, do anything, except maybe extended 4th class.

We were going to ski it but....we didn't bring skis....and were not that badass!

Post deleted by dbconlin

Climb: Dragontail-Triple Couloirs Date of Climb: 4/23/2006 Trip Report: Scott Gullberg (scottgg) and I had our eyes set on TC this past weekend. I headed up to Colchuck lake on Saturday under blue skies and warm temps. Unfortunately this meant the snow had softened and I ended up postholing in a few places (I did not bring snowshoes). It also had me worried about the warm trend and its implication for avy danger and snow/ice conditions on the route. The NWAC gave a low rating overnight and early morning and moderate danger late morning and afternoon, especially on sun-exposed and wind-sheltered slopes. I figured that avy danger on TC wouldn't be too bad, as we would be on it early and it doesn't receive any sun. However, I was still concerned about the high freezing level, predicted by NWAC to be 7000 - 8000 feet overnight...that would mean very warm temps at 5400 feet at the lake. I got to the lake around 3 pm and hung out, enjoying the view: There was very little avy activity in the surrounding hills that afternoon, an encouraging sign. Some sh!t was falling off of the slopes below cholchuck balanced rock, which recieves full sun all day, but that is about it. I went to bed early as I had nothing much to do and had run out of fuel melting all my drinking water for that night and the next day and cooking my dinner, so I couldn't boil any water for cocoa. shucks! I had thought there would be liquid water in the outlet but everything I saw was frozen solid. My alarm went off at 4 am. I looked at my thermometer and it read 25 deg F, so I figured that was the overnight low at the lake (5400 ft asl). Very encouraging! The route would be frozen and I was optimistic about the conditions we would encounter. All the snow around my bivy site was very firm and crusty too. At 4:45 I saw a headlamp coming from the trail and it was Scott, who was doing the trip "in a day". SCOTTS STORY: Scott had arrived at the trailhead about 10 pm took a quick nap and started hiking at 12:30 am, he got to the lake in less than 4 hrs (quick time, he had good firm snow, no postholing!), then spent some time looking for my bivy site. After walking halfway around the lake and back, he found me. We geared up and left camp at 5:30 am, walked across the frozen lake and up the slopes below the start of the route. AFter donning our crampons etc at the base, we started up the first couloir at 6:30. Conditions were perfect, very firm, we were able to frontpoint through most of it with our tools in dagger position. In some sections the snow was a little softer and we were kicking steps quite easily. 45 mins later we reached the crux ice runnels. Scott led the first pitch traversing left across a slab partially covered in thin ice and then ascending to the base of a steep runnel in 60 m. I then led the crux ice runnel, which was about 20 m of steps interspersed with steep thin ice, exited out onto the second couloir on the bottom left, climbed up and to the right and set up a rock belay in 60 m. Me leading the crux runnel: I belayed scott up and we continued simul-climbing above this with scott leading. The runnels ended up being two full-length pitches and took us about an hour. The second couloir went quickly and scott continued through the rock band into the third couloir. I took over leading and by the time we reached the top we were both tired. From the col, scott led across a snow slope to a ridge, where we unroped and made the final few meters to the summit about 11:30 am, 5 hours after starting the route (6 hours from my bivy site across the lake). Me following in the second couloir: The descent was uneventful (good i guess). We replenished our water supply with what we had left at the bivy site, had a bite to eat, packed up, and headed out. WE still had 8.5 miles to hike, snow conditions were getting noticeably softer (we ended up breaking through deep more than a few times), and Scott had been going full on since 12:30 am!!! Luckily Scott had stashed a large can of RockStar 21 (like redbull & vodka, yes it has alcohol in it) at the trailhead, which sustained us the final 4 mi down to the gate at Icicle Creek. We finished at 5:30 pm, a 17 hr car-to-car time for Scott!!! Gear Notes: 1 stubby ice screw couple of cams small nuts + tricams 1-2 pickets Approach Notes: Firm conditions overnight and morning, soft midday. Gated at Icicle Creek, no snow for first 1.5 - 2 miles. Bridge crossings very sketchy!!!

My first rope was a Maxim 10.5 - it got flat through most of its length pretty soon after I started using it, but I kept on and it took some lead falls and seemed fine. I retired it a couple of years ago. Probably wouldn't buy again.

Yeah, well 5 days of postholing up 9000 feet of mountain takes a lot of....determination!

Are you suggesting that a DAS Parka is appropriate for Everest and other Himalayan peaks? Have fun shivering up there. If you want a belay parka you should consider a lighter and more durable one like FF Volant or Frontpoint. My Volant works great as a jacket in the Cascades from summer bivies in Boston Basin to winter climbs on Rainier. To answer your question, no, and I don't plan on going anywhere near Everest...ever. But, I was originally set on buying the Volant, when I lived in Colorado, where it is relatively dry. Since moving to Washington, the last several climbs I have been on have been characterized by wet snow falling the better part of the day. I had a synthetic belay jacket with me, which ended up pretty wet, but hey no problem it was synthetic. That made me want to reconsider my next purchase of a down belay jacket, and maybe synthetic would be better. So, what kind of shell fabric is your Volant made with? Does it keep the down dry even when worn for extended periods when it is snowing? Thanks for any insight you may add.

I just want to rant about those darn retailers, that seem to not carry any "winter" apparel in the springtime. Patagonia doesn't list the DAS parka on their website right now, and I've run into many other companies doing similar things. Don't they know June is like the best time to do Everest? the northern summer is the standard time for major mountains in the himalaya, alaska, washington, peruvian and bolivian andes, etc, etc. What the *&^%@!? Why can't I buy a belay parka now and have access to the widest selection? Just rantin'

yeah, id o how was it? how were the conditions?

maybe you are to fat?? i've lobbed on mine too many times to count...never retired any of them... I weigh 140 lbs. too fat...??? maybe. it could also do with the areas I have climbed. I used to do a lot of trad at Eldorado Canyon in Boulder. Lots of placements in horizontal cracks, etc. not straight up and down, so the stems get bent if you fall. Maybe they are better for other types of climbing. But anyway, I used BD camalots and Aliens in the same place and never have had a problem with those.

I hate tcu's. they are great new, but once you fall on them or overcam them and have to wrestle them out and you bend one of the cable-stems, they become worthless. I have BD camalots, aliens and metolius cams, and the metolius are the only ones that have quit working on me. and yes, i have tried rebending them back in shape, but they are never quite the same again.

vw4ever posted a pic of the Trango Lighweight Wiregate (I think). I too have a bunch of these and love em. I also have some neutrinos, which are great for rock climbing, but sometimes I fumble a bit with gloves.

I think an important factor for 3- versus 4-season tents, which Genepires touched on but did not seam to emphasize, is the warmth factor. With netting comprising most of the inner wall, much of the heat that you generate inside the tent will be vented away. 4-season tents have solid walls, with mesh only on the doors which you can open to ventilate or close if it is cold. Tents offer a significant thermal advantage over sleeping outside, but this is only maximized with 4-season designs.

I seriously considered a Valandre bag, along with Marmot, Integral Designs, WM, and FF, when I purchased my winter bag. Valandre undoubtedly makes awesome bags (at awesome prices), but they did not offer a water-resistant fabric (at least at the time, about a year ago), as do the later three companies. The FF with an Epic shell weighs about the same as the comparable Valandre, if I remember correctly, yet it is more durable and water-resistant (the Valandre used Pertex Quantum). ID offered water-resistant shells, at high price and more weight. WM did not offer as slim of a cut as FF, which added weight and since I am quite slim, was interested in saving weight and BTUs with a snugger fit. Anyway, all of these companies offer great bags, depending on your needs. BTW, I question the durability of the super-light Marmot bags. Attaining the kind of numbers for down fill that they do at such light weights, I get the feeling they hold back on things like...thread. I had a friend whose Lithium bag had a seem unravel on its first trip. Just some thoughts...