Climzalot

Does anyone else think the short 5.10b pitch on the Bale-Kramar route in L-worth is a little spicy for the grade. Only 1 or two hard moves but dang, kinda awkward more than anything. The Zip feels like 5.8 in comparison.

I guess you are correct on that detail. I would hesitate to call this route "the north face via the hidden couloir" though because 3/4ths of the route was the same as the triple couloirs. We definitely avoided the so called crux section of the climb (the 2nd couloir). Had conditions on this section been different it would have been the way to go but the lack of ice and amount of snow in the gully made us think twice about heading up there. Again this was just our opinion based on visual inspection of the 2nd couoloir rather than actually climbing into it for verification. Conditions may be fine once you are higher in the 2nd couloir but they did not look to great lower down. Either way, its is still a good mountain climb and plenty exciting regardless of route choices and variations.

A partner and I climbed the Triple Couloirs route this weekend. The route consisted mostly of snow climbing with very little ice to be found. The first couloir was perfect neve and went pretty fast. Instead of heading up the 2nd couloir we opted to continue up the 1st couloir and get out on to the North Face. Climbing on the face was steep sugar snow with and included a mixed step to gain the notch behind the tower mentioned in the Select book. The 3rd couloir was fairly decent 45-50 degree snow. Approach and decent conditions are great. We ditched skis at the Stuart Lake trailhead and covered the rest of the approach in boots only. Thank for the boot pack whomever you kind souls are. The route is in really fun shape but if you are looking for an alpine ice climb you might want to wait a bit for this one. Enjoy! cgentzel@aai.cc

Just got back from an 8 day trip to the Rockies. Tons of stuff to do up there. Best bet for a wide selection of climbs is still the Icefields Parkway. Many other areas are coming along nicely and worth visiting. Feel free to email me if you want more specific beta. Enjoy cgentzel@aai.cc

The easiest access to the upper ice fall is to drop down next to the feature called survey rock. I believe it is noted on most topos for the area. Just follow the Heliotrope ridge trail and dont take the climbers trail as you approach the tree line. Continue hiking through the meadow/snowfield towards the glacier overloo,k crossing two decent size streams in the process. You should see a boot track or two at this point. One will lead to the Harrison Camp (downhill into the trees) area and one should will lead uphill towards Survey rock. You can access the bottom of the upper icefall by walking under Survey rock and right down to the glacier. Some folks head down through Harrison Camp and take a steep nasty trail to the compression zone but this is much longer and a less enjoyable way og getting there. Have Fun, see ya out there

After a marathon trip to the Rockies this weekend we were able to compile to following information on route conditions. Please bear in mind that most of this info has come from visual inspection only an should taken as persons observation. My intention is to give those folks interested in early trips up there some bits of useful info to maximize their efficiency while looking for something to climb. Banff/Canmore Area-Very little snow and warm temperatures have delayed the forming of routes in and aound the Banff and Canmore areas. There is ice on Mt. Rundle but from the road it is hard to tell what is climbable and what is not. Professors looked bare, Welcome to CA has ice, and Terminator has ice. Most everything else has little or none on Rundle.-Grotto, His+Hers, Coire Dubh, Cascade, Urs Hole are non-existent. Lake Louise-Louise Falls has ice but it is not in, didnt check out Bourgeau's or Johnston area but no reports of climbing there. Ghost Area-The Ghost area is really dry as well. Not much snow and warm temps.-Big Drip has plenty of ice, This House of Sky is climbable but mot much fun due to thin ice, nothing has been reported to be climbable in the Valley of the Birds. People have climbed Sorcerer and Hydrophobia but we didn't make the trek to visually inspect. Stanley Headwall-Most climbs are formed to one degree or another and pretty much all of them have been climbed. French Reality, The Day After..., Acid Howl, Nightmre on Wolf St?, Nemesis (few rock moves to start pitch 3), Sinus Gully, Killer Pillar is not yet formed, dont know for sure about the last climb or two at the end of the headwall. Most lines are thin and steep as usual for this area. Kananaskis Country-Didnt drive up there but spoke with locals who said there is very little ice to be had. Nothing on Whiteman, Amadeus, or Mt Kidd area. R&D is getting climbed as is Chalice and the Blade. Icefields Parkway-From what we could tell the parkway is your best bet for ice up there right now. After a binocular drive through yesterday there was lots of ice to be had.-Crow Foot falls, Bow falls, Aimless, Pointless, Murchison, are all looking good and getting climbed. The longer steep routes on Wilson are not formed (Oh Le Tab, Shooting Star, etc.) but there was ice in and around L.Wilsons cleavage. Most of the big scary routes below the icefields look to have plenty of ice, (slipstream, Riptide, etc.). Polar Circus has ice on all sections and looked climbable through the binocs, it is definitely not fat but it should go. I am not sure if the wall of ice we saw hidden back in a gully towards the end of Mt Wilson was the Weeping Wall or not, but there was plenty of climbable ice there if it was. Shades of Beauty is getting climbed, Curtain call is thin and scary looking, The Wings and Stage look to be good. Not much else to be seen between here and Jasper. We did not make it up highway 11 near Elliott and surrounding area. Field, Radium, Golden-No first hand info but locals say little or no ice is around yet. I hope this helps people whe might be looking to head up there. Feel free to drop me an email with specific questions as I am sure I have missed somemthing and/or reported something in error. Happy Climbing? cgentzel@aai.cc

See route reports for British Columbia

1 year old, like new, dual point setup. Asking $90. Price is somewhat firm but willing to talk. sethhobby@hotmail.com

After being introduced to a married yet attractive female, "hey there, you sure are looking healthy".

I thought I saw some at MEC earlier this year but I could not find the product on their web site. http://mec.ca/

Ahh, one of my favorite pass times is to search for and research new additions to the lifetime tick list. Most climbers I know whether they are skilled at and/or enjoy one medium or several, have at least a few routes that they aspire to or dream of doing for a variety of reasons, not just difficulty. I personally enjoy climbing in new and exciting areas as much as anything else. For me climbing includes everything from cranking an asthetic boulder problem to frozen waterfalls to shiver bivies on a remote peak. I enjoy spending time expanding the diversity of my climbing rather that working hard to become more skilled in one discipline. I guess this means that I will never climb harder grades on rock, ice, or 8000 meter peaks but there is enough climbing to do in the acheivable grades in each of these areas to keep someone busy for many lifetimes. Here are some of the routes on my lifetime tick list. I look forward to seeing others lists and maybe finding a few new additions to my own. Ferrari Route, Alpamayo, Peru Astroman, Washington Column, Yosemite Regular Route, Lotus Flower Tower, Yukon Terr. Ham & Eggs, Mooses Tooth, Alaska Range Keeler Needle, Whitney Area, Sierra The Nose, El Cap, Yosemite Cassin Ridge, Denali, Alaska Range Moonflower Buttress, Mount Hunter, AK Nemesis, Ghost Area, Canadian Rockies Mount Slesse's NEB, Cascades, WA Sea of Vapors, Mount Rundle, Canadian Rockies Midnight Lightning, Camp 4, Yosemite And many more! Happy climbing

Used 1 season. In fine shape. Will include the installed set of monopoints as well as 2 sets of dual points. Asking $115. cgentzel@aai.cc

1 year old but hardly used. Red and gray. Size large in mens. Asking $175 or so. cgentzel@aai.cc

How about Geronimo. Also near the Hidden Valley Campground at JTree. Definitely the largest semi off-width roof crack I have had to surmount on a 5.7. The emotional scarring wouldn't have been nearly as bad if the campground audience had not witnessed the entire embarrassing sequence of events.

Oh, life it seems is a struggle between What we see and what we do I'm not going to change my ways Just to please you or appease you Inside a crowd, five billion proud Willing to punch you down Right, wrong, weak, strong Ashes to ashes we all fall down Look around about this round about this merry-go-round around If at all God's gaze upon us falls Its with a mischievous grin....... -Dave Matthews "Seek Up"

We were out there last weekend and had no trouble with the glacier. Crossing from the col was super mellow and straightforward. Approach shoes worked well and crampons made the glacier travel go a lot faster. There were no problems getting on to the ridge and the route was in fine shape. There is good fishing in the Thornton lakes on the way in as well. Enjoy!

Some years ago I read a series of books by a fellow named Peter Hathaway Capstick. He tells some pretty adventurous tales about hunting various man eating beasts in Africa and other parts of the world. Really enjoyable reading and highly recommended to those looking for adventure literature.

There are several organizations out there who offer the WFR cert. and recert. To name a few of the larger ones Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI), Wilderness Medical Associates(WMA), Stonehearth Outdoor Learning Opportunities (SOLO) and AAI in Bellingham. Often times organizations and/or schools will offer a WFR course but it is usually conducted through or taught by one of the above named companies. I have personal experience with SOLO and AAI and would highley recommend either program based on your scheduling needs. All of the companies have schedules and prices on the net. Good luck and enjoy the course

Can you get by in approach shoes without crampons or axe?

The North Ridge of Baker is very difficult to approach right now and will be getting harder as the season progresses. There is a way of approaching the toe of the ridge by crossing the lower compression zone on the Coleman glacier and looking for a small chute which leads to the ridge proper. This approach usually works for late season attempts when the standard approach is near impossible. Be prepared for more exposed ice on the upper route. For a picture of this approach look at the far left side of the picture in the Beckey guide and the Select book. You should be able to spot the unbroken line from left side of the Coleman to the toe of the ridge. Good luck.

The West Face start is a good way of getting to the route as opposed to heading up the coulouir and traversing over. Look for a large forked larch tree at the base of the West face and head up the obvious steepening ramps. You can make 1 medium length pitch or 2 short ones to get to the dead snags at the base of the 5.8 crack/flake (1st pitch of SW Butt). After that the route is mostly straight forward. We got a little of route and had to back track a bit where the Boving route begins but it was an easy mistake to recover from. The only pitch that is a little run out is the 5.6 friction pitch and it is not bad at all. Descend the S Arete. Fun route but not a high quality route like the Dir. E. Butt or West Face of NEWS, Many ledges and large features cut down on exposure. Have fun.

As of 2 weeks ago the route was almost entirely uncrevassed. The only crevasse wprth mentioning was on the upper Kennedy glacier on your way to the saddle below the rabbit ears. You can completely avoid any and all crevasses in this area by staying high towards the crest of the ridge. The steep sections were fairly mellow with two tools both going up and coming down as long as you are comfortable on 60-65 degree ice. This is one of the more scenic climbs I have done in the Cascades. The meadows and views on the lower ridge are spectacular and the upper ridge is very enjoyable with the execption of the pumice slope below the rabbit ears. The pumice slope is not manadatory. You can climb 55 degree ice to left of it for a more technical and less ugly option. You can take 3 days to do it but it can go in a whole lot less than that depending on how you like to climb. Super fun outing.

I've had a copy of the new book for a little while and you right it is well done. It has kind of bummed me out at the same time though. It is responsible for significantly increasing the size of my tick list. So many cool mountains, so little time.

Size 9 Mens 1.5 years old with low end use. They are in great shape but just dont fit my foot. Feel free to make and offer if you are interested. Coley Gentzel climzalot@hotmail.com

I am looking for information on all aspects of the Direct North Buttress Route. Approach (time & distance), route, descent, etc. All of the guides I have referenced have been pretty vague as far as the approach and descent details. Personal experiences and thoughts would be appreciated as well. Thanks