i wear leather boots, a wool flannel, snowboarding pants, and carry a flask of whiskey. generally works for me!

screamers = useless

for day trips such as Mt hood.

26-30L pack:
foam pad as frame
2 quarts water or 1 quart and stove depending on weather and route
down or synthetic puffy
snacks
map and compass
small first aid kit
BD guide gloves
W/B shell
sunglasses
sunscreen

Wearing:
mammut champ pants
smart wool mt socks
merino wool T-shirt
Patagonia R1 hoody
Helmet
Boots (one from the quiver depending on route and weather)

If longer trip overnight such as Rainier add:
40B NWD pack to replace smaller one
sleeping bag
3/4 thermarest
stove and fuel (jet boil)
little bit of food
Tent maybe

and for both
crampons
Ice axe or tools
with friends rope and pro

screamers are just extra weight to be carrying... and honestly never heard of anyone using them in mountaineering. Ice climbign fine (if thats your thing)... but mountaineering no.

You know the saying if you bring bivy gear youll probably end up bivying? Same logic applies to screamers imo... youre probably going to fall.

Mark Twight recommends screamers.

Whiskey

What Would Mark Twight Do?

WWMTD?
First of all the man SAYS to use screamers but he also DID alot of things including some pretty serious soloing. I don't know what to think about him using screamers now...

BUT I bet he would say we should get off our collective a$$es and put up a route that nearly kills us, or that we should go solo something or he might say we're the mediocre scum that are ruining the sport or he might say none of us are allowed to train at his gym.

Couldn't resist.

the last part about none of us being allowed at his gym is definitely true.

No offense to anyone talking smack about screamers. You are entitled to your opinion as is everyone. However your logic is a little skewed, That or you don't understand the fundamental use of a screamer in an alpine environment.

Screamers have been proven to greatly reduce the amount of force put on the climber and their protection due to a fall. People have used them for a long time on ice screws and or pickets. Why? Well a lot of the times higher altitude ice is often brittle or awfully aerated. This means its often weaker then waterfall ice at lower elevations.

I don't know about you guys, but if I can enlarge my safety margin by carrying a screamer instead of a quick-draw, hell yea I'll do it. If that makes you think I am somehow not "good" enough or lack the skill to climb my intended route, then so be it. I'm not sure that anyone who is getting out and climbing routes using screamers (WI, Mixed, Alpine, Trees, Grassy hills, etc) really takes our opinions into consideration. Just an observation. I hate how people somehow correlate the use of specific safety gear that you may not use yourself, into the person in question somehow not being as good as a climber as you. In fact, they're probably better. And if somehow simply utilizing a screamer means your going to fall, well then I'm glad I don't use them! ;p

PS...you can bet your bottom dollar that when I head up liberty ridge I'll have 2-3 screamer instead of quickdraws for use up high crossing the berg.

Im not saying anything about being a better climber, or using screamers makes you a bad climber. thats perosnal preference, which imo they are useless. But when I crack my head open feel free to say I told ya so.

Im just saying (and this was stated further up in the thread) that if you need to use screamers on a route to give you mental security, you shouldnt be climbing that route, since you clearly lack the confidence to do so.

i guess we can agree to disagree. lol. I guess I didnt clearly explain myself. Me personally, I wouldnt use screamers to give me more confidence to climb a M9, but I would use them where a fall would be potentially lethal. I guess thats what I meant.

so you use them on everything you climb since all falls are "potentially" lethal? lol... I get what youre saying.

nooooo LMAO. I actually dont own any. I used to, but didnt use them much so i sold em. I mean i would probably use them where I potential screw failure would cause a ground fall...or something. maybe. i dunno. it depends. hahaha

I usually take a shit load of condoms

for all the pussies on a hill

What does everyone use for weather updates on the bigger mountains? Take Rainier for example. Sometimes I get spotty cell service, most of the time I get nothing. Maybe Some kind of tiny tiny AM/FM receiver?