cj001f

Anyone ever used surveyors stake flags as Glacier Wands? http://www.benmeadows.com/store/product.asp?dept_id=1111&pf_id=15365&cat_prefix=3WB They're dirt cheap ($7/100) and easy - and you can get any color you want.

If you read metric http://topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.71639&lon=-119.66417 You can use topozone to look up all kinds of things. I'd recommend Diamox for the valley

Upside the head?

don't forget your tag stickers asshole If you show up on a weekday they don't really enforce the whole snowpark permit crap. And the road up is plowed to a snowpark, which provides nice skiing this time of year.

I went up yesterday - the crowds are appearing, thats true. I left the lot at sunrise and was among the first to top off who didn't camp up top. The earlier you get towards dawn the better the snow is - I was able to boot most of the way up in the morning. Snow will need a little bit more time before the corn harvest can begin. The climbers bivy road was driveable for about 2 miles w/low clearance and 2WD. Does anybody know how far you can get up there with a truck?

If you'd looked - that was for Friday. The storm started on Wednesday. 8ft in 2 days is pretty damn big - for anywhere.

From the National Park Service Morning Report for Friday (www.nps.gov/morningreport/) Rocky Mountain National Park (CO) Park Buried Under Many Feet of Snow The Beaver Meadows VC reopened on Thursday, but all roads within the park were still closed due to the extraordinary amounts of snow that fell on the park this week. Additional time was needed to plow roads and clean shoulders. Wildlife, stressed by the heavy snowfall, were reportedly also using the roads for travel. At least four feet of snow fell at the visitor center, elevation 7,840 feet, but the really breathtaking snowfall occurred a bit higher up – eight feet of snow at the Bear Lake trailhead, elevation 9,475 feet. Extreme avalanche conditions are reported in the backcountry. [submitted by Kyle Patterson, PIO]

I seem to remember that one of the MH founders was related to a Powdr Corp guy. I may be wrong on that though..

I have quite a few RURPS & Peckers. A stockpile for a route that wasn't to be. As I live south of the border, down Oregon way, it'll probably cost you as much in shipping as you'd save. Coming down south anytime soon?

I'll be there next Thursday (am skiing this R)

Bibler (owned by BlackDiamond) has been off and on selling blems (or special color runs, like neon green!)through their website, and the factory sale flyer.

Thre stuff is way pricey, but their GTX is about the same as others, or a little more. A $180 windshirt is almost twice the price of the Marmot Driclime. Admitesly Arc'teryx's stuff is sewn in Canada (which is more expensive than China, if only slightly ) And there website sucks, but everyone's is starting too (like BD's new one)

The catalog picture has them anodized, as does the website text. "Stopper Set This year we’ve anodized our Stoppers for easy identification and made them available individually or in a convenient (and less expensive) set that includes Stoppers #4 to #13 and a “bonus” Oval Biner. " The colors aren't as bright as the ABC's

I think Arc'teryx has now officially dethroned Patagonia as the price King, with the launch of the Katabatic. Yes kiddies, that's a $180 windshirt. Yikes!

BD's be color coded this year

It depends on the representative, glen. Mine (when I lived in VA), sent an e-mail form response 2 weeks later saying that they'd catalogued my message. When I wrote a response that I thought e-mail form responses 2 weeks later were a bit insulting, and they should just not bother to respond, I received the same e-mail form response (2 weeks later). The response by phone is usually better (they have an intern whose job it is to catalogue the preferences of the constituents who call)

Yeah, and that I'm selling one for $75

You said feet? Yup - Patrol had a picture of one of them on skis at the base - arm up, pole up - and still didn't reach the top!

Hood Meadows had a slide with a 12' crown height in Heather Canyon this weekend - Yowsas!

Given the demand for pins nowadays (getting smaller every day) it wouldn't surprise me. Just make up an extra big production run and store them in the warehouse. The BD Lost Arrows are the same as the camp Lost Arrows - their other pins are not quite the same. As for manufacturing - BD actually produces a bunch of stuff on site in SLC - that's why they were hiring machinists. They're fairly unique that way - most companies don't "make" anything themselves anymore. I.e pretty much all of your clothing comes from foreign contract shops nowadays, with the company only handling design, marketing & distribution (liek Cloudveil).

Jason - The red tape your speaking about is at the National Park Service level - it has little to do with the AMGA(though they have now started lobbying to change this), and it affects all guides, foreign and domestic. If you want to legally guide (whether your an American, a Euro, or a space alien) someone in a National Park or National Forest, you must be approved by that local body to guide there (i.e. MRNP, etc.). Anyone can guide on private land, no questions asked.

Telescoping Poles rock! For me, the pole height for poling uphill is nowhere near the same pole position as for downhills. Don't bother with probe poles though - they're the biggest ripoff out there right now. Hell you probably have "trekking poles", right? Just use those.

Oh that does seem to be true. Jason - Just link to AIARE - http://www.avtraining.org/ - it's easier than wading through the crap that is the AMGA website (not that the AMGA is crap, just their website IMHO, sucks) I took my course from Norm Wilson

It seems most of peoples beefs with Ovals are with the old BD/Chouinard solid aluminum oval style - me thinks people would have the same beefs about the old D's - tried a Light D lately? The new wiregate Ovals (BD & Omegapac) are light and strong (Doval is 37g, 25kN strong)

Classes are great yes - but classes are short. Classes are also much more expensive than a library visit, which is free. If your going to take a class, I'd look for a ski area avalanche professional course (depending how many you've taken already over an AMGA course - they generally have more experience.