gnibmilc

some notes from days of teaching gear climbing (same stuff maybe stated just a little differently): -when learning to place gear, place some at ground level and jump up and down on it with a sling. yep. just like basic aid climbing...the old bounce test. (this IS hard on the gear). a person may learn a lot about how gear settles in when loaded. and remember that your gear may not be loaded in the purely downward direction when you fall. the rope may pull it outward first and rotate the piece around and not load it the way you thought it might. -as it turns out, we don't all have the same aptitude to anticipate what is going to happen to gear placements when loaded by a fall. our minds have varying abilities to see how the gear will be loaded and what will happen when it does. some people can see forward very well while others must learn by experience (see above). some never learn very well. -tug tests well leading are smart tests. the gear may settle in a bit and show it's weakness or just give that nice reassuring sound of a good placement and snap of the sling or draw. this habit may help your head. -double up gear at critical placement points to reduce the chance of decking. -wear gloves when belaying many people have let go when the burn get's bad. good job to the belayer for holding on. -climbing is dangerous. and even when you think you've got it all figured out, unusual and dangerous things can and will happen. -get experienced and have fun climbing.

pretty good video. i'd heard the belays had been bolted years ago. wonder if so. one of the few worth getting in shape for...

north ridge of fury.

yes. and i'm pretty sure he was being chased by some chick named Tami.

RE Anyone heard of Goode NEB being Soloed before? The summit register several years ago had an entry from several years before from Croft (I'm 90% sure) that said "solo" with a second soloist.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Mahre on his 70th birthday. He was sitting on top of Mt. Stuart telling stories!

Nice work Chris!!!!! I look forward to the updated/new background information and first ascent stories. Those insights really make the Supertopo books standout and extend beyond.

it's not as easy as it sounds. suck it up billcoe and give it a try...or are you too much of a girlipeewee.

Juan, That was us, the party of four Mountaineers. Interesting connection. I was the guy who tip toed out on the ice face and got some protection in. It seemed to me to be quite a bit steeper than 40 degrees, but, very good and fun and certainly a top ten climb in the range for me. Thanks for clearing the ropes! Almost vintage pictures? Post!!!! The face looked much icier this year and looked to have much less snow on it for the same time of the year 6 years ago...but i don't know what are normal variations in snow pack/glacier size. i would guess that the angle of the slope varies year to year depending on the season and deposition. with regard to warming, the only thing i'm sure of is that tax subsidies for SUVs isn't the right answer! That was a great climb, and although at the time i wasn't keen about descending the west ridge, it was a very pleasing way to round out a semi-circumnavigation.

Juan, I think we climbed the NW face of the N. Ridge of Forbidden the same time a half dozen years ago in late August?

that column was jacked by some jerks...it didn't fall over. if they cared about the safety of the climb, they could have anchored it to columns behind it. that was just advanced trundling by some bad actors.

strong bouldering skills and shape are probably much more useful...

yeah but at least I won't die with my pecker in a cross loaded pearbiner.

The DMM Belay Master is good for climbers over 40 and stoners because it is nearly impossible to not immediately notice if it isn't locked. But it kind of sucks because you cannot use it directly into the harness, bypassing the the belay loop because there isn't enough room for the harness belt,etc. below the black plastic piece. "bypassing the belay loop" can kill too. "directly into the harness" at belt and legloops = automatic crossloading You must be getting something else caught in there. The Whilan's locker or similar and a typical harness seem to keep the carabiner and device and (potential) load direction colinear (in the right alignment to prevent cross loading). some of those mountie courses include overhanging rappels and catching high loads/impacts where cross loading would result in snapped hardware, but it doesn't happen (emperical evidence?). look again, i think you've got your daisy or something in there.