djdan

Its a pretty nice place and I'm sure Hans and Michael will do some cool things with it. My estimate was that it has somewhere under half of the wall area as the PRG both for routes and bouldering. They didn't do any cracks. The overhanging lead area does look to be fun and the holds are mostly the newer kind that seem to suck your hand onto them. When I was there for the opening the routes were so-so because they had just had a setting clinic. Once they get serious on the setting the quality should go way up. Its a bit far for me but if I was a Vancouverite I'd be excited. Also, learn to love lime green.

NYT Article

Well this one has wandered... But back to the original question of should these guys expect to get their gear back: why should they ever expect that? They effed up and walked away from it. A while back my buddy got a .75 stuck 15' up and after 20 minutes of trying simply could not get it out. We walked 25' away around the corner and hopped on the next route. In the meantime a group passed us by and headed around the corner to the route we had just been on. 20 minutes later after finishing ours we strolled around the corner again to find the group that had just passed us beaming about the new cam they had just found and extracted. My friend didn't throw a fit, didn't demand it back, he just sheepishly told them he had just lost it. Now, in this case the other party was overly cool and offered it to him but this was not expected. I think the summary is this: you walk away from your shit in the middle of nowhere then its gone. Too bad so sad. If someone is really cool and they offer it to you then good for them. They get a cookie in heaven but there should be zero expectations for this kind of thing.

Heres a bit of humor for ya. Somewhat on topic:

I often wonder at the resistance put up by the modern, primarily sport climbing world at the mere suggestion that some of their forebears were more apt, more determined and more committed than they. Sure, Raindawg is good at beating a dead horse but if the best you can muster as a response is some ad hominem about him being old then perhaps your position needs re-assessing. Individuals like Messner, Bonatti, etc set such a terrifically high standard that the majority of climbers today cannot seem to fathom how far out of their league they really are (if they are aware of them at all). These guys melded absurd physical capacity with creativity and, I would say, spirituality. By comparison todays sport climbers are just jerking it for the camera. Now, understand, I like jerking it just as much as the next guy. I sport climb and I enjoy it. However, I have no qualms about recognizing what others have done and putting my contribution in realistic context. So what say you? What keeps you from being able to recognize the contributions of others that may outweigh your own? Is it ego? Is it vanity? Or is it just a standard characteristic of youth that has not been tempered with wisdom? In which case maybe associated posts could be moved to the "Self Absorbed Children" category. Thats a reference to the fuddy-duddy comment. You see how I did that?

Don't know if you guys are the same ones who leave ropes hanging from the chains over at the Marsupials but I bet whoever is doing that is sure glad this guy is a bit lazy. Unfortunately laziness is what contributed to the problem in the first place. Citing the guy for "ethics" at Smith - now thats "ironic". Who do you blame if you just left your bike unlocked on a city street corner and returned to find it missing? Yourself, the thief, or both? The guy is a dick but Smith is no bastion of ethics by a long shot and you guys aren't special just because you may climb harder than some. Maybe the status quo has been established wherever you climb but the guy is right: you leave your draws in many places and you should have zero expectation to get them back.

Nice report and pictures. Quick question: what are night time temps like up on the plateau and are snow shoes really necessary or just convenient in spots? I'm planning to do the same loop (other direction) in mid-June so just trying to get an idea of what to expect. Cheers, Deebo

After years of gymstering and cragging am looking for something a little more involved. I'm located in PDX but interested in getting up some great climbs that may entail snow, glacier and/or walking more than a mile. So far I have not had a whole lot of luck in finding individuals that seem interested in the above. Routes I'm interested in: Dragontail - Serpentine Arete Prusik - W ridge Stuart - N ridge Olympus - Blue Glacier/Snowdome Hood - standard (gotta do it once!) I have plenty of cragging partners but would like to find someone local that would be into training and getting out for something more. I lead sport at easy to mid 11 and trad at easy 8 to easy 10 depending on the day and the route. Have- rope, rack, car and non-flakiness. Regards.