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Everything posted by Stephen_Ramsey

  1. Recommendations on Bivy Sacks?

    You can discount any posts you like, but just to be clear, I fully seam-sealed my Firstlight before using it, and yes, I know how to apply it. It just wasn't enough to keep the thing from leaking. YMMV.
  2. Liberty Ridge; Test, Triumph, and Tragedy

    Hi Bruk, Congrats on the Lib Ridge climb. I'm glad you and your partner made it down safe. Cheers, Steve Ramsey
  3. [TR] Maude- NF 6/22/2004

    Here's a picture from Sunday June 20, 2004.
  4. Next step up from the Ingraham/DC route??

    Breezy, Are you talking about routes on Mount Rainier, or in the Cascades in general? (I noticed this is posted in the MRNP forum so I wasn't sure). If you're talking about any alpine climbs in the Cascades, wow, the list would be long indeed. I think Alex K. has compiled good list of moderate alpine rock, glacier, and snow climbs on his web site... If you're talking about Mount Rainier, I don't know, maybe the Kautz Glacier?
  5. Recommendations on Bivy Sacks?

    Yeah, the Firstlight was kinda leaky. It didn't bother my partner as much as it bothered me; she still thinks it's a great tent, for carry-overs. I'm gonna give it another chance. I slathered a lot of seam sealant on it, and I'm hoping to take it up Mount Baker soon.
  6. [TR] Mt Baker- North Ridge 6/18/2004

    Fantastic trip report! Very well written.
  7. [TR] WA Pass- Liberty Bell, Concord Tower 6/19/2004

    Greg_W, Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought about the bouncing and stress on the rap anchor... good point! Hopefully JJA will post the video. That would be cool to see. Cheers, Steve

    Hi Greg_W, Thanks for posting the trip report. The down-climbing part sounds pretty sketch. Nice work getting out of a jam. I'm just wondering, would it have been possible to prussik back up the rappel rope, to unstick it? (the one that was stuck). Cheers, Steve
  9. Hilleberg Nallo 2/ Bibler I/ Stephenson 3R- Best?

    Carrying all your camping gear up and over the mountain, and then coming down a different route. I've only done it on Glacier Peak, Mount Shuksan, and Mount Stuart (none of the routes absolutely required a carry over, but we chose to climb them in that fashion). In all three cases, having the light tent was helpful.
  10. Hilleberg Nallo 2/ Bibler I/ Stephenson 3R- Best?

    My wife is my climbing partner, so for us it is "cozy". The Eldorado has a bit more elbow room, but I-Tent can work for two climbers who are not too big. I like the Eldorado for winter climbs, where the small margin of extra room is really nice. But for carry-overs, it's the I-Tent for sure.
  11. Hilleberg Nallo 2/ Bibler I/ Stephenson 3R- Best?

    Munckee, I'm 5'6" and the I-Tent is perfect for me, with a few inches to spare no problem. If you're 5'8" you should be OK. I wouldn't recommend it for someone over 6 feet, however. Cheers, Steve Ramsey
  12. Recommendations on Bivy Sacks?

    Hi Paul, Good point about cost. It's pretty pricey unless you buy it on sale, and cost-share with your partner. Even then, it's a big initial purchase. But compared with round-trip gas to the hills 45 weekends out of the year, and amortized over the many years the tent will last, it's really in the noise. As far as weight goes, yup, nothing is going to be lighter than the Basic Bivy Sack. But if we're comparing to the Deluxe or something more fully featuerd, the tent weight without poles compares pretty favorably to two bivy sacks. Perhaps my perspective on tents vs. bivy sacks is influenced by the fact that my climbing partner is my spouse!
  13. Recommendations on Bivy Sacks?

    I'm just a gaper, but I still don't see the point of a bivy sack. My partner and I can share our I-Tent (4 lbs) or Firstlight (2.5 lbs) for less weight per person than using hooped bivy sacks. And we get the benefit of shared heat, better ventilation, and the ability to actually do something like study the map or eat or sort the rack, while sitting out the weather. For situations where weight is REALLY an issue, we can leave the poles behind and use the tent as a bivy sack for two, and it is definitely less weight than two minimal bivy sacks. Maybe for the dreaded 24" rock ledge bivy, sacks would be better, but in the PNW isn't that sort of like being inconvenienced 99% of the time for the 1% corner case? Am I missing something great about these magical bivy sacks?
  14. how bad is it really?

    Here's some good reading for you to ponder: http://www.nps.gov/mora/climb/cl_rpt.htm Search on "Hommer Incident". Granted, the incident was on September 23rd. But rockfall on the D.C. can certainly happen in June.
  15. What piece has saved your ass?

  16. four season tents

    Just curious, how did you clock them? I didn't think they had a working anemometer at Camp Muir. I always heard the NPS "extrapolated" based on meterological data from Paradise.
  17. Guided Expedition to Ecuador Question

    Talk to Craig Van-Hoy at www.gotrek.com; he is a great guide who leads trips to South America.
  18. What piece has saved your ass?

    16-cm BD ice screw
  19. Hi Paul, Do you know how close one can get (by car) to the Phelps Creek Trailhead, at this point? Thanks very much, Steve Ramsey
  20. [TR] Mt. Baker- Coleman/Deming 6/13/2004

    Paul, Were you on Mount Stuart this past weekend? Which route? Elain and I were on the Ice Cliff Glacier. Small world... Cheers, Steve
  21. WTF: boyfriend; seriously. *DELETED*

    Just wondering, why did you post this in "The Yard Sale" forum?
  22. Another Liberty Ridge Accident.

    That's going pretty light! Here's to you for having the guts and ability to pull it off.
  23. Borghoff on Beckey and Brush

  24. connecting 2 ropes

    Dmuja, Have you considered recruiting a fourth climber? That would solve your problem. You could travel in two rope teams of two, each with a 30m rope. This is (arguably) faster and safer than a rope team of three. Andy Selters's book glacier travel has a good discussion of the advantages of traveling with two rope teams of two. Stinky does make a good point about Cascades crevasses. Still, I personally wouldn't use static cord as a glacier rope under any circumstances. Just a personal preference. As for whether one 30m rope would be enough for a rope team of three... well, in a pinch, you could make anything work. But if I'm traveling through crevasse country, I'd prefer to have 40m minimum, if climbing with three. I guess it mostly depends on where you plan to use it. Will it be some small minimally crevassed glacier remnant? Or a big, highly crevassed glacier on Rainier or Baker? Cheers, Steve Ramsey
  25. Mountaineering boots?

    Trango S are pretty good, but watch out, they seem to run a bit small. I'm not sure if the Trango S would qualify as "3-season", though. I use them mostly in summer and early fall, then switch to plastics during winter & spring. The Trango S can slog in the snow, up to a certain point. But once the exterior wets out, it won't insulate very well. Thus, it would not be my boot of choice for the Cascade volcanoes, except perhaps in late season. Then again, the gear sages at Rock & Ice recently suggested the Trango S would be a good boot for climbing Liberty Ridge.