chucK

Yeah, either that or the fact that Classic Crack has totally bomber jams, it's clean, it's easy to get to, and it's an easy walkoff. Not to mention that it's a "classic". Maybe that's why this guy decided to solo it? Sometimes it isn't all about RURP. Sometimes just maybe a soloist climbs near RURP because RURP is on something the soloist wants to climb. Sometimes maybe it's not just to be near RURP. Sometimes.

I find it weird how some people seem all freaked out by others talking on a cell phone, but don't seem to mind if it's two people having a conversation.

Climb: Three O'Clock Rock-Big Tree 1 and 2000, Cornucopia, Magic Bus(?) Date of Climb: 4/18/2004 Trip Report: Spidey running it out Negotiated climbing day at a very late hour (9:00 pm the night before) and made a vain attempt to dredge up a partner. Being realistic, I started plotting solo plans, but amazingly the mysterious Spiderman replied and I had a partner. CC.com rocks . Things looked bad and wet on the way there, but it turned out to be a great day for climbing. This is a lesson for you: If the weather looks like crap, just go to Darrington! We started out on Big Tree 1. Fun crack climbing! Lesson #2: if you want fun crack climbing, just go to Darrington! After the first pitch though you get that Darrington effect. No, I'm not talking about the tricky topography that makes the rock above you look black and licheny but below you look clean and white, I'm talking about the way it f88ks with your mind. When you're at Darrington you will often be climbing slabs and you have to be able to trust your feet. Well this "effect" I'm talking about happens on low angled routes with features (like Big Tree 1, p2). You romp up these features and you get OK, just OK, gear then the features end, and you start to freak out. Funny part is, you are usually only on like 5.6 slab, but you get so used to the features, you forget how to trust your feet. Anyways, that's my excuse for all the whining on Big Tree 1, pitch 3 . ANYWAYS...Big Tree 1 is cool, fun, bring a rack of singles to 3". Then we did Big Tree 2000 which is more the standard D'Town fare, bolts and continuous friction in flatty knobs and dishes. Two fun pitches from the top of Big Tree 1, p1. Cornucopia! Excellent climb. Low variation takes three old bolts on small fun slab to fun fun fun easy flake. Then a couple of excellent slab pitches. The third is especially great, long, sustained and a bit heady. Cornucopia p3 Finally we went exploring out on the left side and tried this mystery climb with a ton of knobs. Old bolts, so could be serious if you fell, but pretty easy. We did two pitches. They were ~5.6, 5.8. Looked like the climb continues? Magic Bus? It finally started raining for real, and Spidey's feet hurt so we went home. Gear Notes: stoppers single cams to 3" might want double TCU's Approach Notes: Road is easily passable with my high clearance 4WD. There are a couple places you might need to carefully nurse a "regular" car over. If you got a choice, go for the high clearance ride.

Yeah, or using knives, or the lawnmower, or driving a car. Gripped is FOS.

FF, It is all relative. You probably would not be freaked out if someone climbed a 30 foot high ladder over a concrete floor. The danger to the soloist was probably (hopefully!) about the same magnitude. That said. Soloists should realize that often their feats do make people uncomfortable, and thus soloing around them is intruding on their space. Of course, with some people it makes them uncomfortable if you don't belay with the biner through the belay loop. Should you conform to their belay specs in order to be polite? It's a tough question, and a good discussion topic. Am I being inconsiderate when I ride my bike (solo) in the street? If I get thrown over the handlebars for whatever reason and smash my (hlemeted) head, I'll be depending on others to scoop me up and bring me to the hospital. Is that being inconsiderate? Are bikers riding helmetless being inconsiderate to everyone they ride by?

Why should a crag be any different than somewhere else? Granted, different places have their respective written or unwritten manners guidelines. Is it more permissible to chafe people with swear words at a crag than, say, walking down a crowded city sidewalk? At a Mariners game? At the beach?

This is possibly the most asinine comment I've heard. And that's saying something. What's worse, asinine or worthless?

FF, Compare and contrast your post here to your other post on the "safety dance". In that thread you were all bothered that someone was butting in about something they didn't consider safe but you did. In this thread you seem to be taking the opposite role. It may help to think of things in a relative sense! Iain's post is perfect! Oh, and another thing. I think you are under a misconception. I believe I climbed yesterday with the antagonist in your story, and according to him he was bouldering, not free soloing.

Excellent read. Just this last weekend I drove with the family down to Portland. We passed by those cooling towers (I thought they were the never-used ones, is that right?), and had a discussion about nuclear power, and why people didn't like it. How they produce poison that's very tough to get rid of, etc. Now I see this website. Crazy! I'm debating showing it to my kids. What do you think?

You can use this link http://students.washington.edu/dbb/darrington/guide/ which will let you go back. However, anytime you click on a link from cc.com it opens up a new window anyway.

It's like offering a nice quality steak on the menu in a seafood restaurant. Nothing evil about it, just offering the customer a little variety.

This pic really does make it look like Darrington would be a great place for Chirp's Red Rock fix. But seriously, Darrington is actually similar to Red Rocks only in that they both offer many long moderates () with clean rock and fun climbing. I'd say the two places are almost opposite in terms of the specific nature of the climbing.

try not using chalk

You nodders were pretty funny before you started whining

It ain't Leavenworth but at Index there's a couple of good slabs to toprope: End Run and Free Cat at Hag Crag Boulder start of GM at the Country Newest Industry Lower Town Wall (need to climb 5.9 grunt to access top)

Although I believe Dru is FOS , let me relate a little story to you. We used to be one of those awfully annoying couples who bring their toddler to the gym with them. Every time we brought her to the gym, she would come down with a cold within two days. We thought it was probably a coincidence, cause heck we were bringing her to daycare all those days too probably. Anyway, after about five times, we decided we try one more time. She went with us. She got sick. We quit bringing her to the gym. Still think the dust in there is from the gravel though.

Speaking of Rush, I was down in PDX last weekend and noted that the liberal version of Rush is on the radio down there. Ed Shultz can be found on AM 620. Check it out. He rocks.

I think some fact checking is in order.

If the gym has gravel like VW, then I'm almost positive that what you're breathing in is much more rock dust than chalk. Everytime someone walks across the pebbles they grate 'em together and make dust and kick up dust. Not to say that chalk isn't bunk. Chalk is good if you like your holds marked. Very helpful for onsights!

So what do you think about trip reports?

One thing I find very interesting about this topic is the non-linearity, or perhaps the multidimensionality, of the old-skool to "modern" conversion. What I mean here, is that Matt agrees that a 5.10 is now considered "Moderate", while at the same time, a 5.6- is no longer considered basic. This idea seems to imply that the "modern" moniker correlates with gym/sport climbing. Midway is not considered basic by some because it involves placing gear, and being versed in the mechanics of multipitch. However, perhaps the gear and multipitch only factor into the basic versus moderate classification. Do you guys think that Godzilla/City Park/Slow Children is moderate? It is 5.10+, relies quite heavily on gear, but has nice easy belays to set up. Very similar to Midway in terms of gear/multipitch considerations but of course at the other end of the moderate spectrum in terms of technical difficulty.

I think it's gonna be nice. You should go for it. Reasons? Well, it's nice today, and the rotating storms seem to be moving up from the South. So, maybe you got a chance of it not hitting you. There. Go up there and prove me wrong!

Someone oughter slaughter the nodder.