Marko

Scotty, I can't believe this. My deepest condolences to you and your whole family. It can't be true. Mark

Did you get out? You up for the same type of foolishness on Sunday?

Dachsteins. Maybe add a windproof overmitt if it's really nasty up high. They've never failed me even after other gear has frozen solid.

Same here. However, while I'd say the lads' jaunt was the first true alpine style ascent, ours was in better style and much more important since we wore red capes and speedos throughout. Except in the photos of course. 'Cause like, that'd be weird.

Nice "little" project, and nice photo essay of the route. The studs were for Eve Dearborn? Did you know her?

As I recall that kit was just left over from their little trip up Everest the year before, "Colder than Everest", Scott said.

The guy does in fact say "route" not "face".

Thanks Jay! Damn cool adventures.

Very damn cool Bill.

Dudes, this is so cool! Fantastic send; and in a weekend! Cheers!

Ade, wouldn't November be a couple months early?

It doesn't seem possible

Nice work, er, play!

To be clear, I absolutely agree with you MP on the steep stuff where you're hanging off your tools and/or where the terrain dictates which hand places the gear. But, The mountain routes I'm on aren't that continuously steep or hard. Also, I use a quick-clip type leash to make it easier to place gear with that hand.

Crap, that's what I was afraid of. Sounds like I might be donating to the Jim Nelson retirement fund again this year! (My pleasure, to be honest.)

Nomics: I've been hearing folks rave about 'em for a while now; are they really that much better for ice and mixed than even Quarks? No adze: On snowed/iced up climbs I seem to often end up digging for gear; it sucks even worse without an adze. Real climbers just run it out? Plunging: Agree that it's usually better to just dagger. "Hybrid" leashed/leashless system: Still prefer it on easy/moderate stuff in the hills. Not as much on the steep stuff where you're sort of locked in to hanging off the same wrist at every screw placement.

On the route to Boston Basin the snow was continuous starting around 4000'; there were ski tracks down to that level. Deep slushy snow all way the past 7500'. It's melting fast though (obviously). Likely the same for the Cascade Pass trail.

Goddamn beautiful; nice! Thanks for the inspiration.

Damn cool gents

Hey Mike, it's for adults too, ages 6 to 60! I took one on the Waddington traverse; definitely enjoyed its light weight but its performance on bullet ice was quite a compromise...

You the man Jim, thanks! Think skis would be utterly insane? I'm guessing slowshoes.

Howdy Wayne! Nothing much, just looking to get out east where there's a bit less white stuff accumulated. Probably should just go skiing, eh? Cheers man, twoohsixfoursixfiveonefourthreetwo

Anyone ever been in to the basin E of Colchuck Balanced and WNW of Enchantment Peak? Beckey shows a dotted line following the stream that joins Mountaineer Creek at the bridge about 1 1/2 miles up the trail. Thanks

Damn cool doing the biathalon! Those are some great looking climbs. I went in there with Mark Price on his first attempt at Squeal Like a Pig years ago. After we bailed off the crux free-hanging curtain we too paddled our canoe back in the dark against a wicked breeze. Frickin' scary with steep waves dumping into my lap and then freezing. Yeah, you'd be SOL if you went in; even if you were near shore a lot of that shore is basically a line of cliffs. The climbs are definitely worth the trip but like jmace says, the shore is pretty damn rocky and would probably bash the shit out of your boat if (when) the wind kicks up. I think something light enough you could pull up onto the rocks is good, or light enough that you could use fenders to keep it off the cliff. Also, if you take a motorized boat be sure to tip up the motor to drain the cooling water so it doesn't freeze and fuck up your escape!

Thanks for bringing up "Degrees of Freedom" Bob; good article. Slawinski says something about bolts and M-climbing, though, that I've never been able to understand, about bolts and hard climbing in general. "...This brings us to the thorny issue of bolts. Much of the recent push into extreme technical difficulty in mixed climbing seems inconceivable without them..." And, "...Part of the reason why bolts have become an issue in mixed climbing is that rising standards have expanded our notion of what is climbable. Where it used to be that climbable and protectable lines more or less coincided, the new dry tooling skills have expanded our notion of climbable terrain far beyond what may be naturally protected. Conversely, it is absurd to pretend that mixed climbing standards would have risen as high and as quickly as they have without wholesale acceptance of protection bolts..." So, whether pushing the limits in M-climbing or rock climbing, the idea is to make hard moves without the risk of dying. Assuming I've got the premise correct, why the fuck not TR instead of placing bolts? The consequence of falling onto a bolt is about the same as falling on a top rope. Sure, leading is funner than following but if it's just about the moves why not TR? Or headpoint like them crazy Brits. And yeah, some cave routes would be pretty wacked to TR, but in general you could certainly reduce the hole count. Anyway, what do you guys think? Oh, for what it's worth, I have fun clipping bolts on occassion and don't climb hard. -M