David_Parker

Yeah Dru, it is Omega not Ocean. My head must be in surfing right now since the flows down here are still water not ice! My Smiley came with the knob; I did not add it. It just doesn't fold down which I don't like.

Does anyone have any personal experience with OP ice screws? They have an express type screw, but I don't know if the thingy folds down. I have one Smiley that I don't like because it doesn't fold down and I also don't think it goes in nearly as well as an express. So I'm wondering if an OP is more like a Smiley or a BD express?

Hey, what size are your T-2's? I'm gay so would be interested in buying them if they are 9 or 9.5. You should decide what type of skiing you want to do and then buy new boots or new bindings! If you don't want to fork out big dough for new AT skis, go to a ski swap. Just get something short and fat. It doesn't have to be anything special! You should find some for $25!!!!

Does anyone know if I can put monster tires on my honda civic? Sorry, couldn't resist! Let us know if it works!

quote: Originally posted by David Parker: Well, thanks everyone, I'm off to RR. I'll let you know how it goes. Appreciate all the beta! Looks like I'll take my wife up either Cat in the Hat or Dark Shadows depending on crowds and temperatures. I'm back! Vegas is a lot different than 18 years ago! We flew via San Fran and on the way out flew right next to Yosemite although I wasn't sure at the time because it was a little hazy. It was 80 degrees and my wife insisted we stayed with the 3 cylinder geo metro for $35 for 2 days. Since we had only one full day, we headed out to Red Rocks on Tuesday. Stopped at the Desert Mountain Sports climbing store which is a nice place. $189 later with a new tcu, reverso, and some other stuff we were on our way. The temperatures were perfectly delightful and we even saw a fox on the hike up Pine Canyon. After a brief discussion on whether to do Cat in the Hat or Dark Shadows (we had been told DS had a four party line up the day before) we headed right to see if it was available anyway. There wasn't a soul in site when we got to the flat boulder with a pool of water under it. The canyon is very vegitated and the leaves were golden yellow on the hardwoods. Dark Shadows is rated 5.7- and it was perfect for me to give my wife a refresher course since it had been a long time since she had climbed. First pitch was 70 ft. of slab with mini heuecos 5.6 with 2 bolts to a great ledge. The second pitch is short and steep in a dihedral with a thin crack. The rock on the left was sandstone and grippy and the rock on the right was polished varnish with occasional jugs. Pro was good and it was rjust a really fun pitch to another big ledge (75 ft.) My wife opted out of the 3rd pitch which was 125' of more dihedral but not quite as steep. She let me lead it though. This was also a 10 on the fun meter and also land on a good ledge. I pulled the rope from my gear, and rapped down cleaning it on the way. We had a little lesson on rescue issues and then she rapped down all the way to the bottom. We then took a little side hiking trip before we headed back to the bright lights of Vegas. Funniest thing we saw in Vegas was a little sign in our Hotel room requesting we turn out the lights to conserve energy!!!! We figured we did our part by sticking with the geo metro. We put well over 100 miles on that thing and it cost $2.89 to fill it up before we returned it! On the flight back, we again flew over Yosemite and this time the Nose was beautifully lit in late afternoon orange sunlight with heart ledge just jumping out. Half dome was not sunlit, but equally impressive. Red Rocks is a beautiful place with lots of multi pitch moderate routes and a great place to be in November! I will be back!!

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Click on them with your cursor dude. The Reply with Quote stuff is at the top of the post -look for the little "66 99" symbol. As for the icons you just click on them like if you want the beer swilling guy you just click on him in the box of "instant graemlins" and there he is And if you want another funny icon I suggest you find a website with a bunch of gif's and use the tags to add one in , like this : [/img] http://www.duhspot.com/users/smiley/s/otn/funny/smile18.gif[/img] [ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: Dru ] [ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: Dru ] Like this? Thanks Dru, I knew I could count on a hockey playing, beer drinking, funny, cannuck climber to solve my problem!

I probably will get a bunch of shit for this, but I can't seem to figure out how to use those "tools" when posting a reply. How do you post someone's "quote" before you respond, make something bold, put in those funny icons, etc?

I like Will's rating system combined with Cavey's it's all 5.8 until you fall. Personally I think trad and sport almost need 2 different systems. Clipping bolts is a lot different than hanging out, determing what piece to pull off your rack, seeing if it fits, trusting if it will hold a fall and then moving on. The ratings are supposed to be for the actual moves only, but climbing is not just that. I did a 5.7- at Red Rocks. Wy wife did a 5.4d at Peshastin once in bare feet! My six year old son is blabbing he did a 5.10 because he started up one but didn't even make it to the crux. Man, do I have some explaining to do or what! Maybe we should adapt the British system, then it would all be meaningless!

As gas under pressure escapes a container, rapid cooling occurs. That is why canisters suck in cold weather. In Extreme Alpinism by Twight, he suggests using a closed cell foam pad to help aliviate this problem. Further, you can pound a piece of copper tube flat, and bend it around the bottom of the canister so each end extends up into the flame. This will help heat the canister...but he says this can be dangerous and has a disclaimer for suggesting this! I think in winter, I'd prefer an msr xgk. Hell, according to Twight, you can toss it when you run out of fuel to save weight too!

Oh yeah, I forgot I don't live in Maine anymore!! Actually, I bought them at IME in North Conway!!!

Well, thanks everyone, I'm off to RR. I'll let you know how it goes. Appreciate all the beta! Looks like I'll take my wife up either Cat in the Hat or Dark Shadows depending on crowds and temperatures.

I moving back when my stint here is done. WA is cool and all, but it doesn't have half the mountain oppurtunties UT has. ________________________________________________Someone needs to teach me how you guys get quotes in bold, official looking manner. Anyway, I lived in Utah for 8 years and most of the above post is true and why I loved and even miss Utah. However, when it comes to real Mountains and alpine climbing, Wash has it all over Utah. Perhaps mtnrgr needs to get past exit 38 or index! One option is to find a college "without walls" and live where you want. My wife is studying to be a Waldorf teacher and is getting her degree doing this through Goddard College in Vermont. She studies in our home!! She has basically written her own program and communicates with her professor through email and snail mail.

Previous posts on all this stuff last year if you want to search. Trango thing sucks. Low profile limits # of screws and makes them stick out to rip stuff. Plus it's all metal and digs into your hip. It's also difficult to add/remove from your harness. I like the BD clipper and have one on each side. Cheaper and lighter then a metal biner. Easy to take off in summer.

Johnny, obviously Will is much more qualified to answer, but being from Maine I know a little about it. The most remote section is in Maine. Personally I think the best mountains in New England are the Whites in New Hampshire. There are tons of side trails too. I imagine the Great Smokeys are awsome too. Will, at which end did you start/finish? For an interesting read, there's a book about a blind guy who did the whole AT with a seeing eye dog. That is INCREDIBLE!!! I'm telling you guys, some of these trails in the Whites and in Maine are the most rugged walking you can do. Boulders, stream beds, roots, and the MUCK!!! In the Whites, above timberline (which is only about 4000 ft) route finding can be a problem especially when foggy. You'd be amazed at how many people have died on a summer day in the Presidential range. Another read: Not Without Peril by Nick Howe gives some history to those events.

Will, I always thought Durango would be a cool town to live in for all those reasons you mentioned, but how hot is it in the summer? How come you don't live there? University of Snowbird (Utah) has a lot of variable climbing including ice as well! Dave

Dan, that was my gear up to last year!! But hey, I'm from Maine and you know how we Mainiacs are slow to accept change....probably a little worse than you New Hampshirites. How many Mainiacs does it take to change a light bulb?..... Three, one to change the bulb, two sit on the front porch and talk about how good the old one was!! I just stumbled across a few brand new wart hogs cleaning out an old climbers garage. I'm going to try them on some easy ice just for kicks!! Then I'm going to put them in my pile of gear destined for the first ice climbing museum!

Lambone, We had a quote back when I was single. Even though I'm married now, I think it still applies! "Just because I sleep with you, doesn't mean I ski with you!" I have always been weary of teaching a girlfriend or spouse to ski. It usually causes bigger problems off the slopes. Buy her a few lessons from a pro and you'll both be happier!

Other than some minor dissing by alpinek and a couple others, I didn't get the feel in this thread that anyone was claiming that one form of skiing was superior to another. The thread started with some newbies looking to find out more info about tele skiing in general, which lead to some posts about equipment; where and what to buy. I am used to dissing as a telemark skier and don't mind it. We all make our own choices. I tele and have my reasons. I don't think it is superior to other forms of gliding over snow. I do see that is has its advantages in certain situations, but not all situations. There have been times in the heaviest death crud I wished I was on a board (even though I don't even know how knuckle drag!) I have nothing against AT gear and wholly support someone to go that direction if they want to get into backcountry skiing and don't want to learn tele skiing. (It's ok if you don't free your heel to free your mind!) We all know tele is not easy to learn and if an alpine skiier wants to get into the BC and not flail, AT makes much more sense. But I don't think skiing in plastic climbing boots is that easy either! The whole thing is a big balancing act between gear you may already have, gear you need, price, and whatever style of skiing (riding) you know and may want to learn. There is no right or wrong answer! So newbies can read these posts and get the info and various opinions and make their own choices. My brother has a split decision and can choose between boarding or skiing or tele turns on the way down. My sister has a mono-tele-ski or tele-board or whatever the #$%^%@& you call it and I thought that was the most rediculous thing I'd seen in a while!! Probably not easy to hike on, but it was actually fun to try at the resort. I haven't seen it out west yet which leads me to believe those east coast skiiers are getting really bored (board?) without the terrain (and powder) we have out west. They have the choice of moving out west if they want, or trying a new and different way to glide over snow. Really, that's what it's all about! Choose your weapon and go shred and have fun!!!

A brand new ice climber with cobra's!!! Man, he'll never know what he missed out on! Kinda like a baby with a ferrari instead of a stroller! Guess I'm just jealous!

Matt, we should have this discussion over beer! Anyway, I may be guilty of thinking of older skis back when I used to race in the late 70's and 80's, but the slalom skis were by far stiffer than the GS skis and sucked in powder. For example Rossi Sm were the gs skis and the st's were the slalom. Likewise the K2 710 (712) were slalom and 810s (812)gs. Then K2 went to the vo slalom. I also had Dynastar omeglass II (slalom) and the gs skis with the bozo nose (GS) I used all these skis and also sold them and tuned them back in the 80's. The slalom skis were all stiffer because you were on hard and then off again and you needed the rebound snap to get what you needed out of the ski in a tight slalom course. A soft tip would not initiate a quick turn as well. In a gs ski, you definitely needed softer tips to absorb the bumps at higher speeds. Your turn is much longer in radius and you have to maintain the arc in the ski longer. They were not as stiff. (Don't confuse torsional rigidity with flex. All race skiis have very stiff torsional rigidity.) This is why we all used gs skis in the Utah powder. The tips flexed more, getting the ski to rise up in the pooder instead of dive like the slalom skis. Keep in mind, contrary to what many think, the key to skiing powder (and crud)is to put pressure on the middle of the ski and thus your tips so they flex. Leaning way back is not how to get your tips up and ski powder. Maybe all the technology is different now, obviously the case with shaped skis. The important point is that race skis should only be used if you are going to put the demands on the ski for which it is designed. I saw way too many skiiers using race skis that didn't know how to carve a turn none the less a turkey. What a waste of ski (and money) in the name of looking cool. For telemarking, especially for a learner, there is no need to have an advanced (race) ski for skiing back country or even soft snow in the resort. For hard groomers, then that is a different story, but that can be your second pair of skis. Basically my point is that weight, length, and flex are what you should examine when choosing a ski for telemarking. Keep it light, a nice even (soft) flex and not too long or short. I'm also a believer that your skis are second in importance to your boots. Whatever skis you buy, you'll get used to them. Spend your money on good boots that fit well. That is your real link to the snow. So I only offer this stuff because I know older skis if you are considering using older skis for telemarking. Older = cheap and there are some great older skiis out there for telemarking! If you want the new stuff, I'm not the guy to consult! I don't use it.

AlpineK wrote: Tele isn't anymore,"pure," than alpine. I've noted also that Tele gear is a lot more prone to break too. Telemark french for, "Hey guys wait for me." **************************************************Alpine, Personally I don't think ski lifts and ski resorts make skiing more "pure". Where else do you ski? And, so if we aren't at a ski area using lifts, who's waiting for who? I skiied "alpine" for 20 years and it got booooooooooring! Maybe you should try it before you diss it. Personally, I like the versitility it offers. I don't have to look at the untracked bowl and wish I were in it. I am in it, at least before you! I guess in my older age, skiing has become like sex. I want quality over quantity!!! And when we're out 10 miles and your bindings break, who's gonna be spending the night? The only thing I ever broke tele skiing were my tibias. Sure beats blowing out an acl. At least my ski career isn't over.

First, give me specifics of these K2's or what ever else you are thinking. You may want lighter skis. I may have something for you from my quiver of old skis. How tall and how much do you weigh and what type of alpine skier are you, intermediate or expert? If the skis are wide enough, you don't need risers. Most alpine skis are fine with out risers except maybe really thin ones or the new shaped ones. I would stay away from risers until you become an expert tele skier. Unless you are traversing a 45 deg. slope or cranking a racing turn, you shouldn't have a problem. I also think GS skis are better than slalom skis. They tend to have a more even flex and softer tip. Generally speaking, slalom skis dive in the powder. You don't need a racing ski. I've found advanced rec alpine skis work great for tele skiing. The only thing I give up in a rec ski is torsional rigidity which is what you need on super hard pack/ice. But if you're on that shit, who cares about tele turns unless you're a tele racer. Ski swaps are a great place to get bargains. I have never paid more than $75 for skis! Save your money for good tele boots or ice tools. I want that bumper sticker!!! my $.02!!

Speaking of guide books, is the Falcon Press guide book (#28) ok? That's what I just ordered.

I too am searching for schoeller pants and (maybe)jacket. So far Cloudveil and LL Bean is the only company offering it in the US I can find. Apparently, the fabric just hasn't taken off in the US. I thought Cloudveils prices to be high. So if anyone has beta on where to find schoeller at a good price, let us know!!!