the mail never stops!

Well, a hardcore few of us successfully summited Mailbox Peak. it took us 4 hours to go 2.5 miles and gain 4040 ft. We all wore 40lbs or more on our back. The snow was about thigh deep until we blazed a trail through it for everyone else. its was pretty apparent that no one else had been there in a while. Good job fellas!

trail testing

i don't know about the rest of you but i have been getting soaked out there. This is our opportunity to test our gear!

We only have a couple of months left, i am so excited. Greg, Mike, and I went to the Prep for Rainier Seminar and they suggested that we should be climbing Mt Si a couple of times a week. I've been hard at it, and it has let me tweek and tune some gear.

One of my most valueable lessons was on lacing my boots. Check out www.youtube.com for some vids from backpacker magazine; they have a ton of tips for all type of gear sizing and adjustments. good stuff!

Rainier Prep Class - REI

Fellows mountaineers,

I found this while looking at the REI site in Issaquah. Maybe the other locations have simiar courses. This is on a B-Shift so A and C better represent.

http://www.rei.com/event/417/session/362

Terry

Hiking boots or Mountaineering boots? the debate

chime in regarding your opinion on what type of boots are appropriate for this climb. There seems to be a wide range of opinions.

Some are minimalist who seem to think that a good waterproof midweight boot is acceptable for these conditions. This is the route i am going, JB steered me in this direction a few years ago, saying that the same boot got him to the summit for many years. I will be using a strap on crampon, that seems to fit my boot very well.

Others are a little more hardcore and swear by plastic or leather mountaineering boots. These offer more stable crampons via the binding system compatible with the boots. But they are expensive and heavy.

Please share your knowledge on this curious topic. Us beginers need all of the info we can get.

Little Si

Well today Abel and I climbed little Si. We were joined by his daughter, Mrs Erickson, and my good friend Kristina.

What a georgeous day, the sun was shining and all the happy people hit the trails. A bit crowded coming down, but nobody gotin our way going up.

This was my last hike with a 15# pack; I will be kicking it up a notch with 20# pack for a couple of weeks. I am starting to feel th conditioning working for me. YAY!

Is any one interested in a hike on the 19th, 22nd, and/or the 25th. I plan on going somewhere each of those days.

Mt Si

Well, no one signed up so I hit Si solo at 0730 on Sunday. There were already 25 or 30 cars there ready to go. There was light mist turning to snow on the way up. At the top there was a couple of inches of snow, so I could not make the last 100' up Haystack rock. I had coffee made on my trusty little alcohol stove and a power bar and headed down.

I passed alot of people coming down who were on their way up. It was pretty busy.

It took just under two hours going up and 1:20 coming down. I was tired and my legs hurt should not have rode the day before.

All in all, it was a fun little hike.

gl

Poo Poo point tomorrow AM

I'm going to hike PooPoo Point after shift tomorrow (Tuesday) if anybody is interested in joining me. Unfortunately, most the hikes in the schedule are on B shift so I won't be able to make them, however I'll post when I'm doing my thang if anybody wants to join me.

I'm a "no backpack" guy and my typical time up PooPoo is around 36 minutes but I will leave no friend behind! :)

-P.J.