Take another look at those Ziffco sleds- one design feature they have that's worth its weight in gold is the rear-slippage brake- a little blade on an axel that slides over the snow when moving forward, but bites in and keeps the sled from sliding backwards. It should be pretty easy to kludge that onto any kiddy sled.
Never underestimate my powers of sneakiness, Klenke. I've surprised better souls than you.
BTW, there are some other notable new routes up at the UW:
'Tastes Like Mammut,' 'Beal Dental Plan,' and 'Tooth Fairy.'
Dberdinka, you sure sound like you have your head on straight. Sorry this shit happened to you, but your attitude is dead-on. I wanna be more like you!
Generally, the way I clip and (drumroll for ironic effect) the way I teach others is to try to clip when the bolt/piece is at yer waist- that way you don't feed extra slack into the system if you miss the clip. Clipping at the waist also obviates the necessity of rope-tasting.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, bite the rope.
Just for reference- I've seen plenty of harnesses used heavily for 6-10+ years (know some old geezers with harnesses older than me). Like the others said above, retire it when you feel sketchy about it, but I wouldn't be concerned about it just because its 4 years old.
A nice compromise if you're not willing to 'go commando' like Mattp is to pick up a non-goretex (goretex is a racket, a cultural myth waiting to be exploded) bivy sack like the BD Winter Bivy. These things breathe very well, yet do a great job shedding water. They're also much lighter than Goretex. Ever since I got mine about two years ago, my sad Goretex bivy has been collecting dust in the basement.
I've used the 8.1 Ice Lines and loved them, but I've also seen their single ropes get trashed in a very short period of time. If you do a lot of sport climbing, or intend to regularly take whippers, I'd stay away from Beal because their durability is lousy.
No more guide book recommendations! They're all I've read for too long- time to get out and remember what life is like in the subalpine.
BTW- AlpineFox- I just picked up The Island Within and enjoying it so far.
Greg, I see you've been studying the Bush guide to winning friends and influencing people.
Now's the part where you run over to Gowan's flat and smack him with a stick.
I was browsing the library recently and absolutely nothing looked interesting.
I've gone and read every book with pictures in it, now it's time to step up and start reading those books with hard covers and no pictures.
I'm taking all recommendations- fiction, nonfiction, Chomsksy to bodice-ripper. What are you guys reading these days?
(aside from spray)