Lara-Karena Kellogg (Bitenieks)

Lara-Karena Kellogg (formerly Lara-Karena Bitenieks) died Monday evening while climbing Mt. Wake in the Alaska Range. Some of you may have known Lara from her years as a climbing ranger and member of our Mt. Rainier search and rescue team. But when it came to friends and social networks, Lara was indeed a power-broker in Seattle. Her loss is greatly affecting many people. Her friends are coming together to sort through the sadness and remember her life.

The NPS released Lara's name after her husband, Chad Kellogg, was notified in China where he was climbing (he is now returning to Seattle). There is a lot more to say about Lara. She was a very close friend and influential force in the way the Mount Rainier climbing program runs today. Lara possessed an amazing amount of style, confidence, independence, and strength.

The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer spoke with her climbing partner Jed Brown for details of the accident, Jed has a detailed narrative about the climb and accident on his website. They were climbing the N.E. Ridge of Mt. Wake. The green dot indicates the high point and the red dot is where the accident occurred. This route has some history. In 1994, two Alaskan climbers fell at nearly the same location during a rappelling accident. We will post a lot more on Lara in the days to come.

Jed Brown provided this picture of Lara from their climb. The Mt. Wake photo was taken by Eamonn Walsh and provided to us by Mark Westman.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

My latest attempt at French cooking...

At first I though I would overcook the scallops, or add too much wine, or not reduce the wine enough.

Nope.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques is a lot easier to make than it sounds - try it!

Anyone been up to French cooking lately?

Longmire Cabin

These photos are of the cabin used in the TV show Longmire that is one of my new favorite shows. The cabin was in the same area as the other old buildings on the Valles Caldera.Longmire is sort of a modern western. This cabin is Sheriff Walt Longmire's on the show. It has been seen on the show many times and I was sure it was on the Caldera from what I had seen. Of course I had heard it was filmed in New Mexico even though the story is set in Wyoming. I have a hard time remembering itis supposed to be Wyoming when watching it as I see places in New Mexico I have been to. They have had some trouble filming this summer due to the fire and had to change some of the filming locations because of it. A lot is filmed in the Jemez Mountains and some in Los Vegas, New Mexico. I understand it will start being shown in Canada and England as well as in theUS.Oddly the main star is an Australianactor named Robert Taylor, who is a good actor. Lou Diamond Phillipsis also on the show. http://www.aetv.com/longmire/index.jsp

Of course I almost missed these photos as my camera decided it needed fresh batteries right then.

Hurricane Ridge

We have finally made it to the day when we will see Hurricane Ridge. Hurricane Ridge is about 20 miles from Port Angeles. You wouldn't have thought of a high mountain being that close to a port with huge ships coming into it. There is a visitors center that had an old cabin like was used back in the days when Lewis & Clark first came to this area. The only totum pole on my whole trip was there as seen in this photo, and it was an old one, as well as an old dug-out canue. There are some nice photos of Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge at this web site http://www.portangeles.org/phototour.html

Altitude

One thing that really fascinated me about Hurricane Ridge was the Altitude. The Ridge is said to be 5,242 above sea level. There are all those magnificent mountains around it that may be a bit higher and it makes you feel, as I have said, on top of the world. There are glaciers on those mountains. You are in an area that measures rain and snow in feet instead of inches. There are animals and flowers and trees that would never grow in my home state of New Mexico. But here in New Mexico, in the high desert country, I live at about 6500 feet above sea level. Makes you wonder why some areas have one kind of Eco system at a certain altitude and another type of Eco system at another altitude. Of course there is the difference in latitude and longitude, also.

Our Enchanted Blue Forest

Every April, some of my bicycle photos feature a background of what appears to be a carpet ofblueflowers. Readers ask all the time what those flowers are and where I managed to find an entire field of them. Funny, until about 4 years ago I do not remember seeing many of these around myself. Then one spring - my first spring of cycling - I was riding around the neighbourhood and discovered a patch of them on a lawn. It caught my eye, because the shade of blue seemed unnaturally over-saturated. From a distance it looked like someone had spilled cerulean paint on the grass! Later I spotted another small patch of the same flowers in a nearby park, and again marveled at the effect. I meant to investigate further, but a week later the flowers were gone.I did not think of them again, until the following April, when they reappeared in much larger quantities. Now the lawn where I had spotted the first patch was covered with them completely. The ones in the park had spread over a wider area as well.






When I stopped to examine the flowers closely, I saw that individually they were not remarkable or even especially pretty. Scraggly tiny things with long, misshapen, sharply pointed petals. It was hard to find one photogenic enough to photograph on its own, and large enough to capture without a macro lens.






Their beauty came from growing in clusters. When they cover a patch of soil, all those tiny blooms merge into a quivering sea of blues and greens of incredible intensity. The larger the area they spread across, the more mesmerising and overwhelming their effect.






By the third year, they'd spread further still - spilling over to multiple lawns all over the neighbourhood, and transforming the small fenced-in park near my house. Finally I learned what the flowers are. Rather unromantically, they are called wood squills. Also known as Siberian squill, orScilla siberica - a "bulbous perennial in the family Asparagaceae." The flowers produce blue pollen, which may explain their misty, hazy quality when observed from afar. Easy to cultivate, they spread by seed and form large colonies in early spring that bloom quickly and disappear by the time the first growth of grass is ready to be mowed.






ApparentlyScilla sibericacolonies can become invasive, and it looks like our little park has been invaded! Even this year's cold, slow spring has not stopped the squills from covering the entire stretch of the woods in cerulean carpet, turning the park - a popular pedestrian shortcut for locals - into an enchanted blue forest. Walking through here is absolutely stunning. One of those sights that makes you breathe in deeply, squint at the sun, and just feel happy to be a part of this strange, beautiful world.

Rail Fence

Looking for Spring

A few geranium blossoms are blooming but that is all so far. All the trees are thinking about blooming and leafing out but nothing yet. Lilacs have a few green spots that I think are the beginnings of leaves. And I found a couple of tumbleweeds that had sprouted where they weren't wanted. Of course tumbleweeds are never wanted. I have fixed three pots with tomato seeds and four pots with a few flower seeds but nothing has come up yet. We are getting warmer, almost to warm. No more freezing at night. And thinking about getting my shorts out for wearing in the afternoons when working outside. It hasn't reached 70 degrees here yet but that is to warm for me. Oh, how I dread those 90 to 100 degree days that I know are coming this summer. Trying to get a lot of yard cleaning done before those hot days get here. It always amazes me how much clutter there is after a long winter.

Weight? All it takes in money! Dynafit ski porn.....

By comparison Liposuction might be cheaper! I' bet therewould never be as much satisfaction though!



Race parts for the Porscheor the Cervelo ( or just the frames of either to get started) are light in weight and expensive. Also known to have a short life span when used as intended.







My first dedicated "lwt" ski system was a BD Prime, Dynafit Speed bindings and a pair of Fisher Asymmetrical ski in a "stiff" version and 178cms. Even what I don't own now of that kit I'd bet is still going strong.



My favorite system recentlyas a "lwt" ski system was a TLT Mtn (shell is lighter than the P version) with the lighter foam TF liner,DynafitLow Tech Race bindings with a steel spring (no Ti) and a 167cm Broad Peak ski.



Which is a really fun all mountain rig. Anything I can ski with in reason, I can ski on that set up.



Likely pushing my skills this winterI have recently dropped another 20.35 oz PER foot with new gear!



All Dynafit. Same Low Tech Race bindings. All 115g of them









NewEVO PDGboots and the shortest ski but not the skinniest ski I have been on.....are these Snow Blades?














The Dynafit PDG ski, selected over some other -800g skiis for the added durability I hope. A drop of 8oz per boot froma stripped TLT5 Mtn and no tongue. The skis drop 12.25oz.A full 1.25 # per foot. 2.5# (1134g) total weightdrop off the feet. Or like dropping 17.5# off my back.



A tough diet and more exercise would becheaper yet! Just no serious weight to be lost from my feet short of beginning tochop off mytoes :)



More on why the weight on your feet is important.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//05/the-weight-on-your-feet.html



Short version of Eric's research?



"At a vertical speed of 16m/min for example, with the TLTs my HR would be around
180. With the Evos at the same speed, HR is around 145."



That HR drop is is huge.

Really interested in seeing just what I can ski year around on our maritime snow pack with these kind of dimensions:

Length:	161
Weight (g):	800
Sidecut:	99-65-80
Radius:	25.5/20

It is a rig I have wanted for a while now but could never justify the expense. Really looking forward to skiing them and then writing about the experience. And not getting rid of the TLT and Broad Peak combo just yet. Although I would really like a new pair of the Nanga Parbat ski @ 1000g. per pair. Thatwould be a setup I would really like to try for longer mid winter tours.



Back to the Weight? I could have gone lighter and spent more money. But at some point a 13# Cervelo is wasted on me. Same deal here.....couple of grams isn't going to matter too much for me. And ifit is does? I'll just pass on, or pass, something :)

Spagetti or gallstone?? What do you think a gallstone might weight?

Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

Friday, August 26th - - Continuing south from Wind Cave National Park, I stopped in Hot Springs, South Dakota to take a look at the Mammoth Site located there.





Some 26,000 years ago a sink hole developed trapping unsuspecting Columbian and Wooly Mammoths as well as other animals. Once in the sink hole, the animals could not escape and their remains are slowly being uncovered, a fraction of an inch at a time, by archeologists. A building was constructed over the area of the sink hole to provide a good working space as well as a means of protecting the fragile bones.





Looking down into the pit you can see numerous tusks and other bones of the Mammoths. Several almost complete skeletons were found but mostly the various bones are scattered here and there throughout the site.





Here you can see the rear legs and the rib cage of a Columbian Mammoth that was desperately trying to escape from the sink hole. Alongside him (or her) are the tusks of another trapped Mammoth.





I forget how far down they have excavated, perhaps a hundred feet or so, and they have uncovered the partial remains of 58 Mammoths. The sink hole is several hundred feet deep and they expect to find many more animals that were trapped.





After touring the main excavation site there is an impressive display in the exhibit hall. Prior to the tour, a video is shown that explains how the sink hole developed and how the animals were trapped within. It was well worth the slight detour south to visit the site.

Pets

A few new photos of some of our pets. Ziva, a 3 year old shepherd mix.




And this is of Ziva, Tuffee, our 9 year old Border Collie, and Murphy, an 11 year old black cat.





This is Cassie trying to see what the weather is going to be according to the TV weather man.

Twilight Duo

A chalcedon checkerspot butterfly rests next to a California poppy as the day comes to a close.

Davis Mountains Interlude

Upon leaving Big Bend National Park on the morning of March 3rd, my “plan” was to go north to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is in northwest Texas and bordering New Mexico. One of the other campers suggested that I stop at Davis Mountains State Park, which was on the way to Guadalupe.

The 100+ mile drive from Big Bend was uneventful. Which is good. The largest town along the way was Alpine. They had a McDonalds and it had Wifi, which is also good. I stopped for lunch, stayed two hours and was able to check email as well as get several posts uploaded and scheduled. The next town down the road was Fort Davis.

A few miles north of Fort Davis is Davis Mountains State Park. The campground is nestled inside a canyon. The sites are quite nice with lots of trees providing shade, which in the summer would be a blessing. The weather was beautiful during the day with temperatures in the 60s, mostly blue skies and sunshine. After the sun went down, the chill set in and the temperature dropped into the low 30s. Quite similar to the weather at Big Bend, but at least it didn't snow!

A section of the trail leading to the top of the “hill” on the north side of the campground.

Looking to the north across the Davis Mountains.

Looking to the west, from the top of the hill. I don't know the significance of the pile of rocks, if any, but found it amusing that it mimicked the peak in the background.

Looking south. A section of the campground is tucked away beneath the row of trees in the center.

The trail follows the top to the west end then takes you down into the canyon where the Lodge is located. This is the view looking east from about half way down. The row of trees in the center is where the campground is located. You can see a portion of the “Skyline Drive” built by the CCC. As well as providing some magnificent views there are also several more trails up on top of that peak.

My stop in the Davis Mountains was a very pleasant interlude that lasted six days! The fact that the town of Fort Davis was ten minutes away and the Jeff Davis County Library had an excellent, secure, wifi connection, made it even more pleasant. Sometimes you've gotta have some downtime! I was able to get caught up with email, wrote and scheduled blog posts for nearly a week, even read some blogs, and checked in on Facebook! Oh, and I got my taxes filed too.

To top it off, the library staff was very helpful and courteous. The building wasn't much to look at. And the old wooden floors kinda creaked. But there was a steady flow of people in and out and when school let out for the day it was abuzz with kids. I can only wish for more libraries like this one. The only “downside” was that the library was closed on Saturday and Sunday. But that's okay. I'm just glad it was there!

Fun memories.....and the Vuarnet Cateye sun glass

Mugs Stump soloing on Thelay Sagar, 1986. Photoby Micheal Kennedy (courtesy of Patagonia's archives)




I had just returned from the head. There were several tables of us crowded around in the Road House that had just gotten off Denali after a big storm cycle went through. Everyone at the table had beenstuck at 17K for a few days. Mugs and I had dug out each others tents a few times as the clients stayed in doors.We were all happy,hungry and glad to be out of the mountains (at least I was anyway).



I sat back down and found my pork chopmissing along with most of my mashed potatoes. When my jaw dropped opened and my temper started to flare, Mugs and the rest of the table had a deep and well deserved laugh at my expense. Great way to finally relax a bit, get warm and drink a beer or two.



I didn't have enough money in my pocket to buy another dinner.May be an extra beer. Of course they had already ordered and paid for one of both for me. And I quickly realised how much of a dick I was being but not quickly enough. Mugs could be hilarious in a social setting. I eventually had a good laugh as well. Mug's story of the coldon the Moose's Tooth bivy was funny and frightening. He toldus his headwent numb from the cold. Ithad me rolling on the tent floor. "No? Really? Your head hu?"Or maybe it was the whisky. Likely both. Great story either way. I was never sure if he was pulling my leg. But I didn't think so. Damn, that would be really, seriously,COLD ;) Bet he is still laughing about that one! Yep, "my head went numb!" May be it was Bridwell's bivy stash that did that?



Hard for me not to remember Mugs and smile when I see a pair ofVuarnets. Maybe it was the picture above and the Patagonia's Capilinead. It is a picture that still defines alpinism for me even today. And you have to remember Michael Kennedypulled out a camera to get the shot while soloing as well!





We all went over the 'shrund together when Mugs and Paul Aubry did the Moonflower. Brad and I failed on our proposed route. Mugs was wearing Vuarnets in the bright sun that day as well.May, 1981.



Much more about Mugs here:

http://www.thecleanestline.com//02/the-dream-a-journey-of-the-spirit-with-mugs-stump.html



Anyway Vuarnets are a funmemory for me. Mugs and I would see each other on and off in Alaska every season fora few years. He introduced me to Wild Things gearand by example, harder climbingthan I had ever imagined possible.



Now that I think about it, even Doug Klewin had a pair or two of Vuarnets bitd. Doug was wearing blackframed, Cat Eye, Nuatilux lens Vuarnetson the 1st ascent of the North Buttress of Hunter! Hard to believe that tiny bit of important NA mountaineering history (trivia) might have be lost! :)






Doug Klewin racking up mid "Shaft" on the 1st ascent, N. Butt of Hunter, Todd Bilbler photo




Anyway when I was doing the sunglass review earlier two things I found very exciting. The first was my original Vuarnets had lasted 35+ years. They cost$58 at the time, which was a pot full of money for me. My Galibier Mountain glasses had only been $38 a couple of years earlier. So the Vuarnets were a big step up for me. In my mind they were my first pieceof "man jewelry". Gas was .63 centsa gallon in 1978! I havebroken three frames in those 35 years. They are easy enough to replace if you have an oven or even boiling water handy. But my lenses have no scratches and only one tiny pit on one lens from being dropped flat onto fresh pavement from about 6 feet up. They are the only piece of my originalclimbing gear I still use. More importantly one of the few pieces I still really like. They have been "everywhere" with me climbing. I had them on for my first 5.10 lead. And all but one of the walls I did in the Valley. Most every ice climb I had done in Canada up til 1990 as well. And with few limitations theyare as good as any thing available today I think. Fewwould think of a $100 pair of sunglasses as jewelry today.



The second thing I find exciting? I had looked around and saw Vuarnets selling for anywhere between $200+ and $350. Crazy money IMO for a retro pair of glasses no matter how good the lens.

Maybe not so muchcrazy money if I remember how long they have lasted.



But then I found them, where else, but on Ebay. Direct from France in all styles and lenses and at decent prices. Nothing over $150 that I actually wanted and most a few bucks less.



For some reason I kept digging around on the Internet and found a US dealer who specialises in repairing vintage Vuarnets and selling parts as well as complete sunglasses for $105 including the shipping.



On a serious note. The Vaurnet glass lens give excellent sun protection for your eyes. There are multiple lenses available to fit most every one's needs. I can attest thatall theglasslenses are really tough and durable under hard useconditions. The original nylon "cat eye" frames are robust and tough. Most importantly for me is they fold almost flat and are easily carried/stored in a pocket on longmountain trips (like Denali). Same place modern sunglasses can be bulky and hard to pack and fragile while living in the confines of a tent.



"Vuarnet lenses filter out all harmful UVZ, UVB and UVC radiation. Their multi-layered anti-reflective coatings eliminate glare and bounce-back light.




All Vuarnet lenses are made from the finest glass, ground and polished on both sides to ensure distortion free vision, and are heat tempered for impact and scratch resistance.



They meet the most stringent quality control standards and exceed all the performance criteria imposed by European, American and Australian consumer legislation.


















Skilynx Brown Silver Gradient Mineral lenses: PX4000, The Original and Legendary Vuarnet Ski Lens. Amber yellow base, brown & anti-reflective coatings.




Double gradient silver exterior filters to absorb white light glare, especially on or around snow and bright light conditions. Eliminates glare and reflection, enhances contrast and depth of field.




The essential lens for mountains activities and at sea. The Skilynx lens blocks nearly all of the violet and blue light, thus reducing glare and eye strain, while allowing more of the yellow-orange-red end of the spectrum to pass through to the eye, enhancing contrast, depth perception and sharpness of vision, making distant objects visually clearer.



This lens benefits from chemical tempering in order to make it secure. Besides the excellent adherence of surface treatments, it benefits from an outstanding longevity.



Each lens is engraved with the letter , symbol of authenticity Vuarnet."







Here are the links that I found for Vaurnet. I have recentlyordered from both companies and been happy with their service and products. Enjoy!









JMARGIFTS.....a USA based company based in Saint Paul, MN.

Repairs, spare parts, and new sunglasses they can build you to your spec/color/lens on some styles, the Cat Eye in particular. Quick service. $105.00 for a new set of Cat Eye Skilynx (Mugg's choice in the mountains) or Nautiluxincluding the shipping in the US!

http://www.jmargifts.com/index.htm



SHOPEYEWORLD....a French based company in Courbevoie, France

New glasses and spare framesin most every (all?) originalVaurnet styles. Decent prices and free shipping if there are multiple purchases at once. Hit or miss on the speed of delivery though. You'll need to be patient. Typically $150 for the same Cat Eye Skilynx here but frames and some of the other Vuarnet lens tintscan be had cheaper oron sale here occasionally.

http://stores.ebay.com/shopeyeworld





I suspect Mugs would get a laugh out of the fact Vuarnets are still around and that I'm suggesting here they are a good pair of glasses :)But I am not pulling your leg. And I'llremember to hangonto my pork chop!

Snowy Tumbleweed

That inch of snow we had yesterday made for some almost pretty tumbleweeds today. This one was peaking through one of our fences with its covering of snow. You can almost see the Sandia Mountains in the distance.

Into the Swing of Things

Over the course of last year I made considerable progress on the bike as far as endurance and handling skills. But what I found most rewarding was having gotten to the point where long and strenuous rides over challenging terrain began to feel normal, with the physical aspects of the riding itself fading into the background and the adventures the riding was enabling taking over. Having gotten a taste of this made it clear how much I valued and wanted it.



This made the start of this season all the more frustrating. Not riding takes its toll, we all know that. And the only fix is to start riding again - it will come back quicker than the previous year. We all know that too. But even experienced cyclists can feel deflated when, having emerged out of hibernation, they find themselves exhausted and with a sore butt after a ridiculously short ride. In response toa post earlier this week, I've heard from several local riders telling me just that. Strong, experienced guys who dohilly Centuries on gravel for fun, frustrated that they've lost their cycling mojo after a bad winter.



So here is something to cheer you up: A true story. I got my groove back after just 3 - count them, 3 - rides, and you can too!



The Damage...

Okay, I will try to be honest here. Between the snow and the weeks of being sick and the snow again, I had not been on a roadbike for close to 2 months, not counting a handful of sporadic short rides. I had also gained about 15lb in "winter weight." So that was my starting point.









The First Ride...

I rode a cyclocross bike with mixed terrain tires. I rode solo, for just 25 miles with a 15 minute break in the middle. It was an extremely cold and windy day, making me feel even more sluggish than I already did. By the end of the ride I was tired, and the next morning I felt shockingly bad. The muscles in my legs hurt, my arms hurt, my abdominal muscles hurt, my butt was sore, the works. Hard to believe that this was the same body that did all that cool stuff last year. Discouraged and in a bad mood afterward, I knitted furiously to dull the pain.







The Second Ride...

The very next day, I aimed to repeat the 25 mile route and again went solo. I had a hard time on this ride, because my butt was still sore from the day before. Again, it was cold and windy. After the ride I felt tired and achy again. In the evening, I tried not to dwell on how out of shape I was, knitting instead.



The Rest Day...

The following day I rode my city bike around town as usual, but not my roadbike. I was still a little tired from the previous two rides, but my butt was finally recovering.





The Third Ride...

This time I had plans to ride with Emily "Fixed Gear Randonneuse" O'Brien. I warned Emily about my sorry state, but she was undeterred, and so we set off. For the first few miles I was out of breath, struggling to hold a conversation while riding at a reasonable pace, so much so that I questioned the wisdom of continuing. Then we headed uphill, and I braced myself for the painful struggle. Oddly it never came. I wasn't fast, but I had low gears and the hill was okay. Then came the downhill, and some more riding, and some miles later - boom! I remember when it happened: We were passing the Air Base, and just like that, I could tell: I got my groove back. The sluggishness, the cobwebs, gone. The achinessgone. Between riding with Emily and on my own, it was a 40 mile day. Today I rode again, and the groove is indeed back: I feel like my old self again.And, as a bonus, I have a new skirt for Spring.



Without a doubt, I need more time in the saddle before a 100 mile ride, or even a non-stop 100K. But it's attainable.



Three rides to get into the swing of things after the winter we've had ain't bad at all. Cheer up, New Englanders and let's ride!

Gibraltar Ledges and Ingraham Glacier Direct Route Conditions

Two teams attempted these routes this week.

Tuesday at Camp Muir, two climbers departed in the morning hoping to climb the Ingraham Direct. The pair made it to 13K before turning around. They reported knee deep snow the entire way up the Ingraham Glacier. They also reported several crevasse crossings, most of which went smoothly. They stated that the bridges were in good shape and most were easy to cross. That said, one of the pair did take a crevasse fall at 13K... After a day of kicking steps in deep snow, the pair decided to descend after the crevasse fall.

Gibraltar Ledges was attempted on Wednesday by a soloist (carrying skis). He reported knee deep snow on the Cowlitz Glacier up to the beginning of the ledges. The snow on the Cowlitz was described as powdery, underneath a crust of varying thickness, but "thin" overall.

On the ledges, the climber experienced a lot of soft, sugary snow... Sometimes even waist deep. It took over 2.5 hours to traverse and climb the ledges. After pushing through what you get when you "open a bag of cane sugar," upward progress seemed futile. He turned around at 12,500 feet (about 3/4 of the way up the chute). It took over an hour to descend the ledges, as the footing was still quite challenging.

There is a boot path up the Muir Snowfield. The weather is supposed to be excellent this weekend.

Photo by Mike Gauthier, climber ascending Gib Ledges before the traverse and chute.

Nomic mods?

A number of climbers have asked about modifying the original Nomic to change the umbilical attachment point like the new generation. The following is from a post I made on a climbing forum last winter after the OR show in SLC.





One of the new features Petzl has incorporated into the newest Nomic and other tools coming out the fall of is a way to add an umbilical attachment leash without it being under your hand while climbing.

Basically what they did is drill a hole through the aluminum section the protrudes into the pommel and then mill some of the Delrin pommel away to fit sling material down both sides and out the pommel. What Petzl showed at the OR show was some pretty thin cord (2mm or something like it). Not enough for my liking, thanks. So I did the same with a thicker diameter cord that would take something more than body weight. I have been using 4mm cord that tests at 900#

Easy mod to do to the old Nomic with a hand drill and a file if need be. I used a hand drill and a mill. Much cleaner answer than what I have been using.

Original attachment




Cut Pommel



Additional 5mm hole drilled.



both sides are then counter sunk and a new cord added







New cord slotted in the pommel, "New" Nomic!








After looking at this more closely I find it hard to believe that the new Nomic pommels with the serrated "spike" won't retro fit the old tools.

While looking at the new tools (all prototypes) and taking them apart at the OR show my guess was the old Nomics will take both the new picks and the new Pommel. Although Petzl originally said no on both, my Nomic pick/hammer fit their newest Nomic (I actually fit it to their tool)...but like I said they were prototypes at the OR show. I'll have mine shortly and will up date this blog entry when that happens.

More on the use of 4 and 5mm cord.

From an earlier BD email exchange last winter when I asked about the issue of the small BD biner (worried about the sharp edged proto types that I was using. The new Production stuff has much better and rounded edges) on 4 and 5mm cord laced to Nomics with a BD Spinner umbilical.

Black Diamond said:
"Just tested this to 800lbs (single leg). No damage to the 4mm cord or our steel clip (production quality with more tumbling to the part); the bungee webbing breaks first. Then pull tested our steel biner clipped to 5mm cord, this went to 1600lbs before the cord broke."

I would also make sure to use a knot like a dbl Fisherman's in drop form instead of an Over Hand which is typical and much weaker (30% less or more?) in this application. And something like half of the original tensile strength of the rope! Easy bet the cord broke at the knot no matter what knot he was using. But worth hedging your bets here for several reasons. But 4mm seems a good compromise for size (getting it under the pommel or in your hand) and strength. Hanging on a tool is not a dynamic load. Fall far enough and require static cord and webbing to take the dynamic impact load and you'll blow through 5mm or the webbing easily.


Either way I think the newest leash attachment is a good improvement on the tools...and worth doing on the older ones if you are so inclined. It isn't much work and I don't see a down side.


For those that asked. New Nomic picks (if they are cut for the hammer) will fit the old Nomic heads with a spacer...a simple washer will work there for a spacer. If they are not cut for the hammer the pick will bolt right up as normal.

From the prototypes shown at OR this winter the Petzl hammer and adze will not work without cutting up your old head a tiny bit. They were prototypes but I suspect very close to what we will see as production.

The new Petzl in cut head is to further support the hammer and adze in use. I used a similar technique to support the CT Nomic hammer without cutting the aluminum tool head and got a lower profile and better balance as advantages.

More details and photos in the link below.



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/947849/Searchpage/1/Main/73195/Words/new+nomic/Search/true/Re_New_Nomic#Post947849