Colin

I've approached Sloan three times from the Bedal Basin side (all failed attempts), and as Drangsholt said it's not too bad. However, it is definitely better in spring than in summer, when snow covers all the brush and you don't have to follow the very-difficult-to-follow trail.

As Wallstein said, the point of this board is to hear the opinions of others. However, there is no need to call Spock's Brain a crazy idiot, or someone who deserves to get kicked in the head. Everyone accepts risks when they go cliimbing, and everyone has a point where the risks outweigh the fun for them - that point is different for everyone. I don't think that I would have acted the same way as Spock's Brain, but there is no reason to get pissed off at him/her just because they have different ethics than you do.

I was up taking pictures around Index today, and stopped by the lower town wall. There were two guys there who were climbing when the quake happened and they say that a sixty by thirty foot block fell off the lower town wall.

I agree with cmonster. I have had the Serratus Genie for a couple months now, and it is sweet! The only place that I know of where you can buy it is MEC, but that also makes it 50 canadian bucks (even beats the Lowe Alpines)! I am absolutely amazed that cmonster used it for a three week trip - that is going light. It weighs about as much as a pair of mittens, and zips into its own lid pocket.

Yes, Mark Bunker and I climbed the NY Gully yesterday. The route finding is obvious, and we definitely followed it. We climbed something that might have been the "overhanging flake," or the "offwidth crack" but there was no knifeblade crack. There was barely any ice, and no screws were used, but it is a very cool route. The "box" gully is a really cool feature and makes for difficult but quite enjoyable climbing. Although it doesn't look it will happen this winter, that route must be really, really, cool with ice on it. Phil, Matt, and Greg's ski descent looked really cool. A first descent?

Sorry to go off topic, but speaking of that, does anyone know when highway 20 is expected to open? WSDOT usually has info on their site, but I didn't find any. I would assume that would mean that it won't be happening soon, but I have heard rumors that it will open very early this year.

Phil, Why don't you take your MSR bladder into the mountains? It doesn't have a sucking valve (solves the leakage problem), and it doesn't have a hose (solves the freezing problem).

The water containers that I have always used are of course Nalgene lexan bottles. However, I really like water bladders because they fit in a pocket much better, won't dig into your back through the pack, and don't take up space when empty. I have used Camelbaks in the past, but they don't work in the winter really because the hose freezes up. Platypuses would be good, if they didn't always break. I am considering buying a couple MSR Dromedary water bladders. Anyone used them, or have any other ideas?

Due to the snowfall in the foothills, school was canceled for me. I would like to take advantage of this precious free time, so that I could leave for Lillooet and get there at a sane time. Anyway, if anyone is interested in leaving between 11am - 3pm today, and getting back late Sunday, I'm looking for a partner. If you can/want to go, give me a call ASAP. (206-232-1798)

I climbed the descent gully on Chair yesterday (As everyone has said, neither the N. or E. faces have any ice, or even snow for that matter), and yes, in the basin that contains the footstool, and also below the N.face, there are very large (3 ft?) fracture lines. There must've been some big slides.

Retrosaurus, Is "What DO Armadillo's Eat?" on Bridge River Road?

I agree with J Fisher. I was sceptical of Cobra picks, because I too had heard that they were thicker. However, after comparing them side by side, it seams to me like Stinger picks and Cobra picks are exacly alike, except that Cobra picks are better for hooking.

I rarely use pickets, but I often find myself in situations where I am climbing frozen water that really wouldn't hold an ice screw. I have fantasized before about a "scricket," which I imagine as a 25 cm, very wide, titanium ice screw. I just recently ran across this ice "peg," made by Faders, and I wonder if it is the sort of thing that I am looking for. Hopefully this link works, otherwise you can find it on Barrabes: www.barrabes.com/barrabes/product.asp?dept_id=234&pf_id=3642 Thoughts?

Darn! Yes, I already have "real" shovel (BD Bobcat), but it is designed with backcountry skiing in mind. It is way too bulky for me to convince myself to take it climbing.

I went to the Yates site, and they make an "expedition picket" that is the same as the other, but without the cable. Perhaps this is the best overall option (I'm thinking that the cable might be annoying for pounding the picket into really late-season hard snow). http://www.yatesgear.com/climbing/ice/iceindex.htm#5

Black Diamond stopped selling their mountaineering shovel just as I decided to buy one. I know it's a long shot, but if anyone has one, I would be quite interested in buying it. Who knows; I might even pay full price!

Accidents in North American Mountaineering is not just a great research tool, but great reading. Call me a freak, but I read it most nights before I go to bed. I think that there is no better literature out there on how to stay alive while climbing.

I have always used MSR pickets, but they are really annoying for racking (either on your pack or on your harness). In general, pickets aren't all that useful. When the frozen water is soft enought to use a picket, it usually isn't steep enough that you need one (there are of course exceptions). For this reason I have been considering the Charlet Moser tubular pickets that I saw in Pro Mountain Sports. I don't think that they have as much holding power, but they should rack easier, and should hold well enough for steep neve. [This message has been edited by Colin (edited 02-02-2001).]

Thanks Laner. I geuss I'll just stick with my ATC (although I do have a gi-gi for specific, but not most, situations).

Ade, That is a good point. I only weigh 120 pounds, and I am only 5'6". There definitely is a flotation drawback to using 140 cm skis (When I just go backcountry skiing, I use WIDE 170's). However, I think that the loss in flotation is well made up for in the ability to easily ski steep challenging slopes in your normal climbing boots (The cord from below your knee to your ski tip is just as important though). I don't like climbing in ski boots, and changing boots at the base of a climb is definitely out of the question. Because of this, I think that short skis are by far the best option. Perhaps WIDE 150's would be a little bit better for your weight though.

I find 140 cm to be ideal for me. Using such short skis is a miracle! I can now easily ski steep slopes or difficult conditions in my climbing boots, while using 160's I could pretty much only do kick turns. Also, attaching some cord from below you're knee to the ski tip can really help, as it mimicks high-back ski boots.

Just thought I might mention that while the weather is predicted to be spectacular, the freezing level is predicted to be about 7000 ft. on Sunday. It'll probably help that Triple Couloirs is pretty north facing, but there might be alot of stuff melting and falling.

I agree, new routes should definitely be recorded that are less difficult than grade IV. I do however, think that the internet is an excellent place for such a record. The fact that it is so easy to make a post on the internet, would make it so that fewer routes are forgotten. I know that the Rock and Ice site already has such a feature, but perhaps the one that Tim is designing will be better. There is a very valide argument against using the internet for such a record though, and that is that it might get filled with frivolous or untrue (joke) routes. For example, routes such as a one-footed Mt. Hood ascent should not be posted in such a record, as they are here.

Crazyjz, we are fighting user fees. Male rangers can be just as bad as female rangers can be, and vice versa. There is not reason to get sexist.

In case you use Jim Nelson's second guidebook, there are some faults in his section on Banks Lake ice. The pictures on pages 98 and 99 are said to be of "Absent Minded Professor" and "The Cable," but if you look closely you will notice that the pictures are of the same climb. After looking in the old "Washington Desert" guidebook, I think that both pictures are of a climb called "Zenith," but I am not sure. Just a clarification to those headed that way.