First, I know Jack Brauer. You can find him on NPN in the RMNP group. I'll say that I haven't really seen him post any photos like what you've posted. He has alot of skiing and snowboarding shots, but not much on route stuff.
About the scanner,
You could try on the laptop to just get the shot inside the dynamic range and then work it from there in photoshop on the 64 bit system. Or you could look for a cheap 32 bit XP system. You don't need much to run the scanner software. In my experience, when your scanner is dmax limited, thats the bottom, you can't go more black and you can't make the black gain color info without making it look sorta gray and washed out. Velvia seems to be the worst for this. It is VERY black in the shadows.
Labs might change the grain. The grain could be a result of poorly maintained chemicals or process. I suspect you're using photocraft in boulder and if so, they're one of the best in the region and I would be surprised if they were a source of problems. If the problems are consistent, then I might talk to them about it and see if you can resolve the issue. Getting a little dust in the slide is just a problem with our dry climate. You might also try Slideprinter or Reed, both are in Denver.
On the 5D, you might consider trying it with one of the less expensive primes like the 20/2.8, 35/2. You should get image quality better than anything a P&S could offer and crop out what you need for a small print. The camera would still be pretty compact.
i can't help but think of the articles of Galen Rowell describing what he used to photograph his climbing. they included everything from a Nikon FM to F5s, mostly with wider primes. his favorite lens for this kind of work was his 20/4.
Olympus E-420 with the new 9-18mm (September release) and the kit-lens, 14-42mm. The whole package weighs in at under a kilogram, has live-view with functional autofocus, and produces as sharp images as you can expect from a DSLR. Price should be well under a thousand dollar.
Effective focal length in 35mm terms: 18-82mm
An alternative lens would be the Leica/Panasonic 14-150mm. It's extremely sharp, and has IS, but it's expensive and quite a bit heavier.
When I was doing much more climbing, I hauled a small Ricoh P & S camera up Yosemite's walls. It had a very sharp 35mm f/2.8 lens. It was one-handed operation. I burned K-chrome 64 back then, but would be tempted to shoot Kodak 400UC now.
p.s. this is an old thread, but I've been relatively happy using a Panasonic LX-3. It can have a little CA on high contrast edges, but given it's WA and nice functions, it fits the bill and is quite affordable.
As both a climber and a photographer I use both a 30D (with 70-200 f/4 IS) and a 5D (with either a 17-40 or a 24-105). No weight problem since I only boulder (Fontainebleau). I often use off-camera flash and a reflector. Photos on Bleau à bloc.
Leica D-Lux4 or Panasonic equivalent? The optional viewfinder means you don't need to hold it at arm's length to see the LCD. Image quality is more than excellent. Very robust too.
