Montana locals schooling two of the visiting Oregon boys on "Home Field Advantage" just moments after the first ascent.
This climb and the photo has everything that I love about modern mixed routes. Bolts, natural pro, an obviously attentive belayer, and a sky pilot who is truly leashless!
How does that old saying go John? Something about, "One in the hand?"
The amazing action photo (and FA) is by the legendary Montana ice hardman, Pete Tapley. Make sure you dbl click the photo for full effect. And please respect Pete's copyright.
John pitching and Brian catching. Bird Boy John Frieh's training blog has a link here on C/T.
And John again, just saying hello after another test of those angel wings :) Craig Gyselinck's photo
It was cold and blustery Friday and Saturday, particularly on the Muir Snowfield. I ran into a number of parties that turned back from their Camp Muir and/or summit plans because of the winds and temperatures. A few hardy groups did make it to Camp Muir on Saturday night, but those east winds and cold temps intensified with elevation and in the end, most parties lost their summit steam. And rightfully so, I recorded -7° F and a steady 20-25 MPH wind at Camp Muir.
I have received a couple of messages asking to recommend "cyclist-friendly" places to eat in Provincetown. This is a tricky one - First, because everyone's taste in this sort of thing is different. And second, because there is really no divide in Provincetown between regular places and "cyclist-friendly": Most restaurants and cafes have racks either right out front, or else the nearest one is half a block down the street. Having said this, here are some of our favourite places:
As mentioned in an earlier post, Provincetown is the most bicycle-friendly town I have experienced in the U.S. The infrastructure accommodates cyclists and plenty of bicycle parking is available if you want to stop and eat in town.
We're all smiles in this summit photo, taken after a 6 - 1/2 hour ascent from Camp Muir up the DC-Emmons variation. On Saturday, we found excellent conditions: firm snow, light winds, great boot-track (though LONG). Somehow, a rather sizable rock wedged into Dave's crampons (he's on the left in the photo) at Cathedral Gap and he carried it to 12,300ft before discovering the handicap! Randy (right in photo) wasn't interested in extra weight, and stayed focused on technique since his last 3 summit attempts were thwarted by rescues and/or bad weather. 
Lately, readers have been asking about the Trek Belleville WSD mixte. It has been out for about a year and looks promising in pictures, but what is it like in person? I had noticed this bicycle earlier at one of my local bike shops - theWheelworks in Somerville, MA - and recently had a chance to try it.
The Trek Bellevillemixte is a "real" mixte - in the sense that it is built with twin lateral stays that extend from the head tube to the rear dropouts. The bicycle reflects the ideas of the French constructeurs (or, more likely, the contemporary builders who emulatethe original constructeurs) in that it is fully equipped with fenders, front and rear racks, and dynamo-powered lighting. However, unlike classic mixtes with their elegant lines and lugged steel construction, theTrek Belleville's frameis made of a strangely thick, welded cromoly tubing. The tubing is so chunky in fact, that I was certain the bike was aluminum until I was corrected. In industry photos the chunkiness is easily disguised with good lighting and careful choice of angles. But in person, the bicycle looks like what it is: a somewhat clumsy mass-produced bike fitted with some admittedly impressive extras. Trek also promotes the "eco-design" of this model, which you can read about here. 
I think that one of the most successful aspects of theTrek Bellevilleis the colour scheme and graphics. We like to fool ourselves into thinking that this stuff does not influence us, but it does. The slate-blue and cream colour combination with subtle red accents is harmonious, beautiful, and nostalgic. It dominates the aesthetics of the bicycle, distracting the eye from its less appealing aspects.
Trek also used a vintage headbadge for the Belleville, which goes nicely with the classic theme.
The Trek Belleville uses a threadless stem and Porteur-style handlebars. Both the stem and the handlebars are painted body colour, which is nice. A Porteur-style front rack is attached to the fork.
Close-up of the stem, grips, shifter and the points where the lateral stays attach to the head tube. While I do not normally like threadless stems and integrated handlebars, I think here the look is appealing. However, the design makes it impossible to adjust stem height and the angle of the handlebars, which is problematic.
The front rack is quite elegant, as well as smoothly integrated with the body of the bike. The tires are Bontrager, cream with black sidewalls.
The rear rack is nice as well. I don't remember the weight rating, but it was considerable. One thing I noticed, is that the attachment points are set back from the rear dropouts - presumably because the chainstays are otherwise not long enough to accommodate a rack?
TheTrek Bellevilleis fitted with an internally geared hub (Shimano Nexus 3-speed), caliper brakes, a decent-looking crankset, touring-style pedals, and a body-coloured chainguard.
The front dynamo hub is a Shimano (I did not see the model name), and the lights used are Spanniga. The headlight is a Spanniga Micro, mounted on right stay of the front rack.
The tail light is a Spanniga Eclipse, attached to the rear rack. I have not tried the lights, as it was daytime, but I have heard good things about these models.
The saddle has a faux-handsewn leather look to it and feels like a typical padded vinyl saddle. I have read that it was designed to be disassembled and recycled after use, though I am not clear on the details.
I would estimate the weight of the Bellevillemixte around 35lbs. Very reasonable, considering the steel tubing and all the extras. 
I test-rode the Trek Belleville mixte briefly, and I apologise for my disgraceful "salmoning" - it was only done for the photo. As reflected in the picture, the first thing I noted was the unusually generous width of the handlebars - I almost felt as if I were holding the edges of a hula hoop. Maybe this was the cause of the strange feel to the steering, because I found the front end to be "aloof" - almost as if it was receiving its steering instructions via a third party rather than from me directly. I wonder whether it would handle differently with a front load, but that is not something I was able to test. Otherwise, the ride felt okay - with the exception perhaps of too much pressure on my hands despite the upright handlebars.