cj001f

quote: Originally posted by DRB: My friend Jim "Hemlock" Sedor always calledhim Gaston RubberFat. One of the 60's/70's brits (Tom Patey?) called him Ghastly Rubberfeet. You ever taken a look through "On Rock, Ice & Snow" - aside from his perfect guides uniform, ALWAYS! he had a liking for unbelieveably tiring technique. Like instead of liebacking or jamming a crack - put both hands at chest level - pull apart! move feet up, repeat with hands. I don't think I could do that for more than 10'! Carl

Senor Happy - Although I've not read Annapurna I found true summit fascinating, particularly as I'd read Rebuffart & Terray before hand. Roberts has had an interesting career - I liked his ascent pieces. The Diemberger book is "the Endless Knot" which for some reason I've avoided. What about "Challenge of the North Cascades"? It's not literary, but it is pertinent. Carl

Instead of the standard most influential books - I'll add the ones I liked best! In no particular order:Nanga Parbat Pilgrimmage - Hermann BuhlConquistadors of The Useless - L. TerrayEverest the Hard Way - C. BoningtonGervasutti's Climbs - G. GervasuttiDownward Bound - by the late Warren HardingAny Issue of Ascent For a nonclimbing book - 7 years in Tibet by Harrer is awesome - Carl

BD doesn't have any gaiters any more, nor any parts to repair them - they gave away their last "years ago" They suggested I try Rainy Pass repair - which I will. I e-mailed Dave page a while back about resoling the gaiters, I haven't heard anything from him - I might call them depending on what Rainy Pass says. Thanks for the help so far - any other ideas would be nice. Carl Whose no longer in the hell hole known as Virginia (though they don't have an open container law, which is nice - a brew on the ride home kicks) [ 03-05-2002: Message edited by: cj001f ] [ 03-05-2002: Message edited by: cj001f ]

Is it possible? I've got a pair of the old chouinard supergaiters - they're in great shape, they'd work awesome - except that the rubber is so dead I can't put them on a pair of boots. I've tried "repairing" them with scrap rubber & cement. Would it be possible to get a new rubber base for the gaiters & sew it on? Has anyone tried this? Carl

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Surfing Kicks ass! Lots of exercise and chicks in bikinis. Where you headed? I'm moving from the dump known as Alexandria, VA (within smelling distance of Washington, DC) to Santa Cruz, CA - an infinite improvement! As for Backcountry Skiing in New England - the guides list about 20 routes per book! Carl

Well I'm moving(Back to the land of Surf!) so I'm cleaning out the appartment, and I've got far to many unused guidebooks - here's the list (all include bookrate shipping from my humble abode)Ice Climbers Guide to Northern New England - R. Wilcox, 2nd Ed. - $15 Rock Climbs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire - Ed Webster -$15 Bolivia - A Climbing Guide - Y. Brain - $7 Peruvian Andes - C Huayhash & Blanca - Ph. Beaud. Great Route Pictures, Out of Print, Make me an offer! Utah Mountaineering Guide - Kelsey - $6 Seneca - The Climbers Guide - $8 Complete Great Falls Climbing Guide - $4 Backcountry Skiing Vt & NY - Goodman (Signed)-$8 Backcountry Skiing Me & NH - Goodman-$8 AMC River Guide Maine - $7 All of these are in Great shape (pathetically, most are unused) If you've got any questions, e-mail me at cj001f@yahoo.com Carl

If your looking for routes in Chamonix - try The Mont Blanc Massiff - the 100 finest routes (nice book to get you drooling) But the question still begs, where are you going? Carl

quote: Originally posted by trask: __________ Curious...why are you getting rid of crap? You leaving the country or something? No, not fleeing the country - though I know a couple I'd like to run too. Mostly I just have too much climbing/skiing/backpacking stuff so I'm parting it out to friends and family. I discovered I don't need 5 pairs of ski poles - of course having just said this, I bought a new pair of skins yesterday. Carl

Dwayner - you've made a good point. The problem isn't with them paying a substandard wage to overseas workers, your right usually they pay market, or better than market there. The problem is constantly moving production to the place with the lowest wage (i.e moving from the Philipines to mainland China). For High End Goretex - a labor change shouldn't save you that much money. I think for the labor issue - Dru's got it covered - there just aren't that many people willing, or skilled to work in the Grament industry, the pay is low(see the following link) and the work conditions aren't good. And Dwayner don't bash the Unions only 8.5% of the U.S garment industry is unionized - I got that from here http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/pdf/cgs007.pdf. Carl

That being said, I gotta call bullshit. China has the biggest labor pool. But their are several other countries with equally cheap and skilled labor. Your half right on that one - there are other cheap countries. But at least according to an article I read recently (WSJ??) what we would consider equally cheap isn't so. i.e. companies actually find that 1 cent difference between the Phillipines and China, or the Philipines and Vietnam to be signifigant(this was for low end stuff like jeans) As for made in the USA having bad quality -bull****. Quality is solely a function of the companies standards. If your willing to pay extra for quality gear, you'll get quality. My older Made in USA Patagucci gear is just as good as the current stuff - their may be a shrinking US workforce, but I bet it's still available, particlularly if you were willing to train personnel - there are a lot of rural areas with high unemployment. As for eliminating the China problem. I'm not sure if a boycott would be instantly effective, but getting companies to acknowledge the source of their goods (this may be slightly difficult for large producers as they may have multiple sources) Raising the China issue to the attention of Marmot, Patagonia, would be a start. As for boycotting - I'm trying to get rid of my crap as we speak, and I don't see many purchases in the future. Carl

Are you as bored already as I am? So... I'm at work - nuf said... Why the hell do so many high end mountaineering gear companies make things in China? The same reason Ralph Lauren (nee Ralph Lifschitz) makes shirts in Mauritius - cut the costs of goods to pay for the advertising. What also goes unsaid here is that there is a rapidly shrinking pool of competent sewing labor in this country - part of the reason why Lotus Designs and Granite Gear located their production facilities in rural depressed areas is this is where they could find good find skilled seamstresses. How many women do you know that know how to sew? Of course I'd venture to say the move to China is more driven by base economics - they have a fixed price, they can't cut the ad budget, they can't cut the materials budget, but they can cut labor. And, why do we buy them? I'm not quite sure the source for the addiction - but I definitely have one. Maybe I should go talk to Mr Durden.....

Nevermind.Carl [ 12-11-2001: Message edited by: cj001f ]

Aidan - If your looking to buy BP Adze/Hammer's Mountain Gear in Spokane (alias mgear.com) has them on clearance for $17 each. Black Diamond usually keeps a stock of spares for all of their discontinued tools, but I wouldn't necessarily count on this in the future. Carl

Dan - Montbell has bit the big one - at least for this country, short of ordering directly from Japan. I used to live by their US distribution center in Santa Cruz it's dead and long gone. But o the discount deals while it lasted. They had some of the best long underwear ever, not to mention light weight, and ultralight weight shells before everyone and their mother was pitching "fast and dead". For what it's worth: http://www.montbell.com/top/top_f.html is their website - if you speak Japanese, and can tolerate Japanime kiddie graphics. Carl

I've got the Shadow Peak Vest (Windstopper Fleece Front - Schoeller Dryskin Back) Awesome Vest! Very High Quality and Durable. Sized a bit Large (normally I'm a perfect fit for a large, it fits a bit loose). As for the Serendipity , it's a really nice jacket, but - I'm not sure that's what you'd want for the Cascades - Dryskin doens't do well for either prolonged rain - or wet snow.Carl [ 10-29-2001: Message edited by: cj001f ]

Anybody have any experience with the new DMM ice screws - for reference http://www.northernmountain.com/pgi-ProductSpec?501286,7 Or the ad in the current issue of Rock & Ice. Main question is - how well do they place - as well as the standard BD screw? And is the hangar corrosion proof, as the colorcoding would suggest? Carl

The Rock Empire Cams are made by Hudysport in the Czech Repub. Hudysport is also the manufacturer of Trango's line of Pro - with little or no variation in the overall quality. I don't own a pair of Empire's yet, but from inspection at a couple of shops they look nice, if no frills. Carl

A thumb's down for the Soloist as a Lead Climbing SBD - and for that matter as a Solo TRing tool. From what I've heard the Silent Partner is the S*** for Solo lead - but I haven't yet found or seen anything to justify the price. Stick with knots. Carl [This message has been edited by carletonj (edited 10-01-2001).]

Gripped is a decent magazine - But your right the gear reviews are sycophantic(and extraordinarily incomplete - no Beal Ropes, no BD ropes?, and thats the B's). The regional climbing mags are the best when it comes to spirit/soul - Vertical Jones, Boulderdash, etc. As for Climbing/Rock & Ice - they both suck, though month to month it changes which sucks more. What's depressing is the complete absence of any quality quides in R&I anymore - there used to be almost a guidebook in every issue. As for Outside - they've got that bizarre mix of hardcore tips/destination with fashion photography (anyone remember the rock climbing shot they did last year with Beth Rodden? - almost soft core) Carl

The money's going to good use, really it is(from the NPS Morning Report): Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Fee Demo Funds New Bulletin Board Materials The Division of Interpretation has completed a fee demonstration project to upgrade bulletin board postings throughout the park. Visual information specialist Patti Wold developed a layout to give all park bulletin boards a consistent look. Use of the Unigrid design system identifies Mount Rainier with the NPS and other national parks in the system, consistent with "Message Project" guidelines. The new materials address parkwide and location-specific information and were developed with input from area staff. The new postings include a Mount Rainier NP banner with the NPS mission statement, a general information sign, a map of the park, several campground maps, several area trail maps, a campground regulation sign, and visitor services guides for the four main areas of the park. All were printed on a plastic weather resistant material called Polydura available through J. L. Darling Corporation of Tacoma, Washington (sole source). [Maria Gillett, CI, MORA]

I've got a Soloist - doesn't work badly for top-roping - but I wouldn't use it for leading. If you wanna solo lead shell out the $$$ for the Silent Partner. Or stick to aid and get the solo-aid. On the other hand, if your looking for a nice device to top-rope solo, my Soloist's for sale. Used, not heavily, usual dings from being trucked around. Fine Corinthian Leather. Make me an offer. Carl

AlpineK, What do you use then for free-aid treeclimbing? The loggers trick of a belt around the tree, but instead of using spikes as they did, replace that with friction from your boots? Or are your cracking up the bark? Or am I, pardon the pun, barking up the wrong tree? Inquiring minds want to know. Carl

I've got the Conduit SL Bivy - a big hearty thumbs down. I bought it as a bag cover for winter, and light summer use - it's not very breathable (even in warmer temps), nor is it very waterproof(spills run off as well as they did with the standard material, which is non-H20 proof). The Zip-In feature is pretty nice, but I found this slightly drafty in the winter - and it's heavy. It's a nice bivy sac if your not really planning for it to rain, ever, on your trips. If your looking for a bag cover - go with the OR dryloft, or get a bag with a Dryloft or Conduit shell - if your looking for something which may ward off precipitation - go with the OR/Bibler/Integral Designs Gore-tex sacks. The Conduit's cheap - but that's about all (and not in the long run)- if you really want one get it at REI so you can return after using it and finding out how much it heads. Carl

Are you looking for a headlamp for alpine climbing? Or if your SOL coming back in the dark becasue ya screwed up? If your looking for the former a LED lamp just ain't gonna work for you - they don't through out enough light - if your looking for the latter they're just about perfect - small, light weight - and reliable. Which brings me too -You don't need a spare bulb! If you need to replace more than one bulb it's because you did something really dumb - and the headlight ain't gonna work anyway. As for the battery management setup - running the batteries at maximum output is required to run the LED's they have a very high threshold(you have to juice them a lot before they emit light) so there is not a possibilty of progressive operation. If your looking for a water resistant headlamp check out the Black Diamond Moonlight - everything that's ncie about the Tikka - and more in the same package. Carl