I'd do it if I wasn't a wuss

 

A perfect oportunity for you to grow some iron in your sack . . .

 

I might be interested. I have a little bit of ice climbing experience(Alpine glacier.) It's really going to depend on if I have to spend the winter in Illinois or in Arizona though.


It's going to be cold as hell in the UP in January, isn't it?

 

Awsome! Let me know if you can make it!

It wasn't that cold last year . . . between 26-30 degrees. Some years it's been above freezing, and other years it's been below zero from what I've heard from the guy who organizes the whole thing.

I wish I had more glacier experience. I need to take a mountaineering seminar some time, since most of my climbing is cold weather alpine stuff.

You get your experience on Mt. Rainier?

 

that'll NEVER happen! jk, dave!

 

No, actually in Switzerland. I should know within a month or so whether I will be here or there.

I haven't saved up enough for ice gear yet (I still don't have a full trad rack for the warm weather stuff). I will go up Ranier before it's all said and done.

 

Rainier is a pain in the butt. Cool place, but still a pain in the butt. Been on that mountain twice. First time I got hit with a bug and turned around about 3/4 way up (was not AMS), and the second time got slammed with a weather front that pushed 30 mph winds at Camp Muir and 60+ on Ingraham Flats and above. Most people never left the camp (including myself) I think two RMI teams made an attempt, but only the first one made it.

What did you climb in Switzerland?

 

This sounds like fun. I've not climbed since I left NC so I'm a bit rusty. I have to check the dates- if we are not in the Caribbean at that time, I may be up for it. I've never ice climbed before.

 

Yeah, cool! Let me know if you can go!

I would recomend signing up for one of the classes (they have one specifically for women I believe. . . don't know if it's any different than the standard class). But, I can kinda teach you the two most valuable things I learned when I took the class, as well as some other things that I learned if you want to save the money.

 

Oh, come on people, it's not THAT extreme of a sport by today's standards . . .

Any full on commits?

Jeeze, some of you whip around racetracks at blistering speeds in a steel bathtub, risking the $30k+ machine and your life, and you think climbing frozen waterfalls is crazy. . . . not that there is anything wrong with that.