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That Steel Pulse crack is pretty cool. And his first picture does look like that. How in hell do you get into that Steel Pulse crack? I figure you really gotta be really tall, or you just fall over toward it and pray (what I did).

I think you're fooling yourself if you think that widespread legal MJ availibility would not cause death. It may be true (and it may not) that pot smoking is less of a health hazard than cigarette smoking. The studies appear to indicate that pot is more detrimental per unit smoked, but probably the average pot smoker user would smoke less than the average cig smoker per day. But nevertheless, I think it's clear that smoking either stuff is not good for you in many ways. Even if your assumption of lesser degree of risk from MJ is correct, calling for murder charges for tobacco industry execs in the same breath as extolling the virtues of corporate MJ campaigns is ridiculous.

What a disconnected post. You seem to be railing against the tobacco industry for making money selling a dangerous product, and at the same time cheering on the notion of creating another such industry.

The last "pitch" of the standard route is solid. It's just that gulley getting up to it that's ugly. Supposedly you can avoid the messy gulley by just staying on the PCT until it passes Huckleberry, then traverse back on the ridge line to the notch, which is much less chossy. Nice job doing that West Face!

Where do you use a #4? I think a #3 Camalot was the largest I've placed on Dreamer. Double ropes are useful cause there's some crazy traversing and retraversing on a pitch or two.

Dumb pulp novel out right now that uses this story "High Sierra" by Nevada Barr

Yeah, I always figured the best way to help newbies learn how to correctly place a cam was to restrict their usage. BTW: I LOVE HEXES!!! (in moderation) never more than 3 on a rack on blocky terrain with lots of large cracks with constrictions (think Mt. Stuart)

The large number of posts in support of hexes is a sign of an increasingly desperate insurgency.

I don't quite get the advantage of one of these things. You can get very small lightweight knives that you can put in your pocket. I guess if you're wearing lycra with no pockets that shark thing might be useful?

Washington Pass

anticipated reply from unanticipated source figured you would have waxed upon the virtues of stick-clips and how trad climbers were seeing the light and such

So where did you sleep anyway?

So here's the deal. When climbing Breakfast of Champions at Index, before starting to climb I hang out from that tree just above the start and plug in a cam for my first piece of pro. The piece is much higher than I could reach from the base of the crack proper. Then I climb from the usual base of the crack, without utilizing the tree for upward progress. Is this the trad-climbing analogy of stick-clipping? Have I lost your respect for habitually performing this tactic?

Climb: The Tooth!-South Face Date of Climb: 5/30/2005 Trip Report: One more ascent of the Tooth. Woohoo! Gear Notes: Good news: Lots of booty! Found a brand-new looking ArcTeryx schoeller type shirt (my size ) on the hike up and liberated two pieces from the South Face. Bad News: Ran into the guy who dropped the shirt on the South Face (rats!), and the two pieces were hexes . The bright side: They are positively the best size of hexes; old school Chouinard #7 with the large chord holes, and brand-new wired #2. And I think that schoeller stuff is pretty useless anyway (though it probably would've had excellent resale value). Approach Notes: No snow at all above Source Lake. Usually there is snow there in late July!! Sloppy snow in the Great Scott basin to where you're just about never sure if you're gonna punch through or not. Still can finagle a reasonably long glissade right at the top.

check you PM's

5.0-5.4: the second number indicates the maximum distance (in feet) between good holds.

If you've got the cash ($$$), the Howe Sound Inn (and Brewery) is pretty sweet as a hotel, and may be worth it for you. Especially if you can get one of the Chief-view rooms. The food is not the greatest, but it's better than most places in Squamish I've been to. And Shannon Falls fits your description pretty well too, but not near as many climbs to choose from as the Smoke Bluffs.

Just stay clear of the Mole and the crowds shouldn't e too bad.

There might still be a bunch of snow up there at that time. Might want to keep your eyes on this Tioga Road Plowing update

FBI Memo surfaces

I think she is just referring to a general lack of sexual appeal. There was no mention of scrawny or geeky. I think you just read that into it.

First time I climbed OS I ended up climbing that corner. I remember being scared at a balancy step across that was not especially well-protected, and the rest being quite fun. It's certainly more direct than the standard way. In the white Kramar guide it identifies it as RPM. I've often planned of going that way the "next time" but usually end up taking the usual standard sucky* start for some reason or other. * one scary boulder move followed by a bunch of drag-inducing hiking.

I went climbing a few times with this woman who was shorter than average and her sport-climbing arsenal included what she called her "stiffy". It was a long quickdraw stiffened up with clotheshanger wire. It allowed her to clip Bryan Burdo bolts from the intended stances.

Old Gray Mare -> Crack o' Doom. That's a quality pitch or two

Well looks like the liberal press is making one more run at it! Downing St. Memo fizzles in US The Memo that won't quit Why has Downing Memo been a Dud in the US? British Memo reopens war claim Google-news search on "Downing"