daler

I have stayed with the reyes family four times and have only had good times and I have experienced several accounts of them helping other folks that were left high and dry. I think all of the companies that work the area are good but something can be said for having a camp guard and the pickup truck always being on time. Francisco might even take you to his secret rock climbing area. Also don't forget to go to the pyramid of the sun, and the museum of anthropology is a must see. adios, dale remsberg

kevin, In the other north ridge thread texplorer talks about the Gendarme being a fred beckey 5.9- 5.10 for the rest of us. I think if it were at the crag it would be tossed around at 5.8++ maybe 5.9. Also the two short pitches are easily linked into one. Also in the other threads people talk about needing a number 4 camalot. Even if the fixed piece was gone ( its not as of 9-15 ) there is good gear to the sides of the offwidth and on the lower ridge the offwidth sections could be avoided with the much better 5.8 twin cracks to the left. dale

Walter, We did use the Ingalls approach. Mostly because of the less technical and prior knowledge of the Cascadian hell descent. Damm that Gendarme pitch is good!!! I don't think it is 5.10 as other have suggested though. dale

jblakley We did the whole ridge on Sat! If you are doing the whole ridge there are bivies about 5 pitches up on the lower ridge, then the notch and after that you would want to be on top. We did it car to car in 18:45 and I highly recommend going light and just doing it in a day. You can get to the base of the lower ridge without crampons. We had Ice axes to cross a 100 ft wide ice patch. Dale Remsberg [This message has been edited by daler (edited 09-16-2001).]

Caveman, ( where do you get your fucking info) Aaron had no part in the bolting of DDD. As far as I know the route has never been led from the ground up without bolts without rehersal. Even hardman Dave toproped it first. A good friend of mine works with Stoddard in Boulder and even the first ascentionists used much rehersal before leading it. Is that bold??? Have you led it in its current or past state. Its still quite sporty. Before you chop anything you should look around and consider the local ethics. Many local testpieces have a few bolts on them where gear could be placed. maybe you should use your time in a more positive manner and replace all the funky anchors on Castle Rock. Dale Remsberg

The point of changing out the head is not because the hammer or adze will break. It is possible to ding the threads ( where you attach the pick ). Also it is usually better to climb water ice with two hammers ( no need to have the weapon staring you in the face all the time) And usually better to have an adze in the mountains( chopping ledges, bollards, opening cans of tunafish ) Dale

My vote is for the Rage. The bend comes at the head not the grip( if you get the bent shrikes ) which allows for better pluging once the pinky guard is shaved off. Also with the Alaska pick the rage actually has a better angle on less than vertical terrain. And the rage has a modular head so if you ding the threads or want to change out the adze or hammer you don't need a whole new tool. Dale

Billy, I attempted the route a couple of years ago but backed off because of snow conditions. I still have the topos that I got from Steve House, I trust his the most as he has done it 3 times-but I also have two other versions. Send me a E-mail dremsberg@hotmail. Also I have good shots of the ridge. Dale

Shriek was great. Better position than Night and Gale and little harder. 1st pitch grade 3- 2nd grade 4- 3rd grade 5. A must do in Lillooet. Dale

The other guy is Bruce Kay not Lyle Knight!!

I found a face shield to the Grivel helmet (i think its the Grivel) on sunday. It was in the gully about halfway up to the climb. Send me a message if its yours. Dale

Where is the huge unclimbed Ice?? Dale

Ade, First of all I wouldn't declare it my route. Just a fun variation to the Dihedral. But your list is correct. Although that last two years the dihedral and Wait for Spring have formed as one large flow. Also the corner to left of the deeping wall( 10 feet to the left ) sometimes forms with ice - also a fun "variation" Dale [This message has been edited by daler (edited 01-29-2001).]

I hate sqeeze plays but thought folks would want to know!! i climbed the thin smear to the left of the dihedral a couple of years ago. Nothing new of course as i'm sure it had been climbed before. But I did place a solid pin under the roof that is still in place. With the freeze thaw make sure you check it before clipping! A fun alternate at the now normaly crowded area. Dale

512dude, I think you missed my point. Brad M thanks for the clarification. My point is that Ice Climbing is becoming super popular ( much to my dismay, but hey, can't be selfish ) There are still lots of folks that can't judge the Grade of a climb from 10 feet away and until they can a false report may get somebody hurt. I know that everybody needs to be responsible for themselves, but lets keep the reports just to the facts. I've looked up at a climb many times and thought no problem but 50 feet into it I wished I was at the pub drinking a cold one. Dale

brad m Did you climb Drury?? Or did you determine the grade of it from 3000' and a 1/2 mile below?? Dale

I guess it depends on what type of route your on. Sure, an ice axe and alpine hammer is great for alot of moderate routes, but if the route is mostly ice two tools is alot nicer.It takes a long time to chop a bollard or ledge without an adze. For waterice clearing ice is easy just with the picks. The adze is only a leathal weapon looking you in the eyeball on waterice. It's also nice to be able to pound pins with either hand on steeper routes where you don't have the luxury of standing on a nice ledge and switching hands. Dale

They both swing about the same. But one thing to consider is you can't change out the hammer or adze on the shrike. And I asume since you want these for Alpine climbing you want an adze. But when it comes to Waterfall climbing you're going to want to get rid of the adze and use two hammers. I would definately get the prophets. Are you finding Carbon fiber tools online or the old style peanut grips. BD hasn't made either of them for a while now. If you find a pair buy-em quick!!!! Dale

Don't count out the Cobras!! I have old school straight shaft prophets and Cobras and have actually had better luck in the alpine zone with alaska picks on the Cobras. No difference in how well the shaft plunges in snow situations. But as far as Waterice goes the cobra will be far superior. I climbed a season on the Axars when they first came out and they are a good tool. But if you ever break a pick in the field it will take 10 times as long to change as BD tool. Plus you have to carry tools to tighten or change out Charlet tools. The BD picks you can just use the other tool. Dale

The Cobra and the Quark are the same weight. FYI- The machine that makes the Quark is broken and spare parts and tools won't be ready to go until late spring. That was the last info from Petzl. dale

The Cobra is .7 oz. heavier than the Shrike. But remember because of the Carbon fiber all the weight is in the head. But the others are right. You'll pay a ton for not a huge benefit on pure Waterice. Dale

The Cobras are pricey but if you invest in a great tool to start with they will last you 10 years. Plus all BD picks are compatible but Charlet has just started with a new pick design for the Quark. No plans in the near future to stop making picks for the pulsar or Axar but you never know!!! A year from now you will have long forgotten about the 80 bucks. Happy shopping Dale

Climbed Pandome falls today. Led up right center and used only 11 and 13 cm screws. Hopefully it will cool down or it will soon fall. Dale

Climbed Pandome falls today(sunday the 7th). It was still there and some new Ice had formed. I led up right center. Max is correct in the fact that if it doesn't get cold soon it could very well fall off. Take shorty screws!! Dale [This message has been edited by daler (edited 01-07-2001).]

I have flown with Paul at TAT the last 3 years!! I've never had a bad experience. in fact he brought us pizza and beer once. Also he was willing to fly us into the Base of the West face of MT. Huntington when none of the other services would because of deep snow. Sure we got a little stuck but nothing a little shoveling wouldn't fix. Dale