dan_e

Sale pending...

I am finally selling the last of my BD Cams. They are the model before the current C4's and they are in good condition. If I can't sell all three immediately I will be selling them for $30 each. Please send PM if interested.

Toast - Just return them and buy mine! SuperB - I am not selling them because they suck, the grip on rock is quite good, not as good as stealth, however they grip way better on trails than guide tennies.

In like new condition, only lightly used twice. I've decided they are too small. Euro size 42.5 (app. 9.5 US) and they feel true to size, but my foot is closer to size 10. Great rubber on these shoes if you want an approach shoe that hikes and climbs well. Retail on these shoes is $125. PM if interested.

My Friend JP and I headed up to climb Online on 6/27. I was unable to confirm on Friday if the gate was open, however we arrived to find that it was. It appears the gate is now left open on the weekend and there were quite a few cars on the road, but no climbers at the trailhead. Still it's probably a good idea to call ahead (Thanks Idea Guy). The approach road is now marked by a group of large boulders, last year it was a giant tree snag and boulders. It's just up the road from the bridge, on the right and there are plenty of places to park off of the road. We attempted the approach last year, hiking in from the gate and finding the approach road, but due to a late start and lots of bushwacking we decided to turned around and return another day. There were lots of climbers there doing the same, however it's rare to see more than on more party on the cliff, even on the weekend. When I first climbed at Static Point back in 1996, one could drive (with a 4x4) nearly all the way to the approach trail, those days are a distant memory. I would like to thank all the climbers who helped clear the old path last year. It's very easy to follow and the total approach is around an hour or so. The approach trail from the old road is in excellent shape and hasn't really changed in nearly 14 years. It's clearly marked by a large drainage pipe and rock cairn and it's just past a very large, steep and rock strewn stream bed. If you look up here you will see part of the cliff above. As for the climb JP led all the money pitches, I really wanted him to get a good taste of pure friction climbing and Online has some really nice sections of clean enough to eat off of granite. I've led this route twice, first in 1996 which oddly enough was my first multi pitch rock climb in Washington (thanks Vance!) and again in 2000. I enjoyed being back on this quality route and the pitches I led were fun, however seconding friction is not for me and I blew the crux on pitch 5 simply because I wasn't focused. JP cruised the crux and the also pitch 3 which has a spicy runout. This pitch is 5.9 if you pick the straight line from bolt 1 to 2. The rock is still very clean, maybe not quite as clean when I first did it in 96, but still very nice. We were lucky to have climbed in nearly perfect friction weather, 60's and cloudy with only a few rain drops at the top of pitch 6. We noticed new shiny bolts on the climb to the left of Online, assumed to be American Pie. The spacing between bolts looked much more consistent than Online, however it was tough to tell where the last bolt was before the anchors, which appear to be shared with Online (these are the only new belay anchors on Online, at the top of pitch 6). All of the belay bolts on Online are really getting old and should be replaced. Most of the bolts on the route are 3/8" SMC, however there are some 1/4" ones at the belays. One belay/rap station has three bolts, one 1/4" Leeper that is coming out of the rock, one 1/4" SMC and one 3/8" SMC. For the most part I still consider the 3/8" SMC to be safe, the others not so much. We plan to head back to try some other routes, maybe Shock Treatment and American Pie or whatever those newly (re)bolted lines are. I must say that it's a shame to see nice new and expensive bolted line graced by a belay/rap station with no chains. I am referring to pitch 6 of Online, two nice shiny new bolts (either Fixe or Petzl, I can't recall) with black nylon slings and two carabiners?! Again it's great to see the new hardware, but why not go the extra mile and toss some chains and quick links on those beautiful bolts? JP heading up pitch 2, 5.7 Me on pitch 4 JP on top of pitch 3, 5.9 Old SMC bolts on belay/rap station on pitch ?

SOLD to justinp

SOLD

I am selling these smallest Aliens as a pair. They are in very good conditions, no falls and less than three years old. They were bought at Eastern Mtn Sports after the recall. Local pickup/cash only. PM if interested.

Older style #4 BD Camalot, in very good condition. PM if interested.

Asolo FSN 95 GTX Hiking Boots – Size 10 US Mens $100 (retail price: $187) used twice, in like new condition.

Scarpa Zen Approach Shoes – Size 9.5 US Mens $80 (retail price: $125) used once, in like new condition. PM if interested.

The "correct" story: LEAVENWORTH — Two Seattle-area ice climbers are safe and dry after their raft capsized early Saturday in the icy Wenatchee River, forcing a swift-water rescue operation. The incident happened before 7 a.m. in Tumwater Canyon, about 2 miles west of The Alps candy store on Highway 2, Sgt. Andy Zimmerman, Chelan County Sheriff’s spokesman, said Sunday. The climbers were Alex Krawarik, 38, of Bellevue and Rafael Haroutunian, 47, of Seattle. The men were headed across the river in an inflatable raft to climb ice-covered rock faces on the west side of the Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon, Zimmerman said. They put in in calm water on the river’s east side, but drifted into rapids, where the small raft capsized, submerging the two men. Krawarik climbed onto an ice-covered rock mid-river, Zimmerman said. Haroutunian made it to the river’s west shore. Two other climbers traveled with the victims and were planning to cross the river on their own raft. They were Dan Erickson, 40, and Jeremy Park, 31, both of Seattle. Reached this morning for comment, Erickson said he and Park tried unsuccessfully to use their own boat to rescue their two climbing partners, then returned to shore and called 911 from The Alps. The river’s depth around the capsized boat ranges from a shallow 1.5 feet to holes as deep as 6 feet or more, Zimmerman said. “They are very, very fortunate that nobody drowned,” Zimmerman said. The sheriff’s office dispatched its whitewater rescue team, which worked with Leavenworth company Osprey Rafting to launch a river raft and float close enough to the rock to throw Krawarik a rope. He then scrambled over an ice bridge and into the raft to safety, Zimmerman said. Rescuers then paddled to the west shore to pick up Haroutunian. The rescue operation ended around 9 a.m. Zimmerman said paramedics at the scene checked the climbers for hypothermia, but all were OK. Erickson said all four were experienced climbers and rafters. Krawarick is co-author of the book, “Washington Ice, a climbing guide.” “We all know what we’re doing, but in this situation, the river may have been moving at a higher volume than we realized,” Erickson said this morning. “When we put in it was totally dark. There’s an element of danger. We accept that.” Erickson said all four went out to breakfast after the incident and then headed home. Osprey Rafting owner Gary Planagan said he and Osprey employee Sergio Cuevas aided the rescue. “We were talking, concerned with the people having hypothermia,” Planagan said of his and Cuevas’ conversation on the way to the incident. “At the same time, the thought was, ‘Why are we going rafting in the Tumwater Canyon in December?’ It was kind of comical.” Andy Dappen, publisher of the Web site Wenatchee Outdoors, said Tumwater Canyon, west of the Wenatchee River, is popular with ice climbers. Climbing destinations there include Drury Falls, at the top of Falls Creek Canyon, Dappen said. Ice climbers use picks, ropes and spiked shoes to scale ice-covered rock faces.

Just want to first give props to JP since this was his first multi-pitch ice climb and he got the full on experience. I attempted it last season, but bailed 2/3 of the way up. It's in way better shape this season, no BS snice! It's not fat, but it's "in" for sure. Not to much to add really, although there is no WI 2 ice on this route as described (he's still learning). Depending on your line expect at least WI 4 with sections/pitches of 3/3+. We pitched the 200m out into due to wetness avoidance and me being short a couple of screws. The climb is very wet in spots so trying to keep the ropes dry was a top priority. The good thing is that we ended up getting on some hard/steep sections. The climb is in solid WI 4 shape, feeling a bit closer to 4+ for the line we took. As JP mentioned the top was very interesting climbing on fragile tubes, mushrooms, etc. It was one of the most amazing top outs that I've even done on an ice climb here in WA. The approach is just a bit upstream from the parking lot (towards Crystal) after crossing the first braid. This is where JP described how our log was moved. We assumed it was some idiots that moved it, but there is a chance that it was washed down stream. We will post an overall shot soon (Jeremy?).

Huge loss, a truly gifted ice climber. I just checked some of his ice solos, like Fearful Symmetry. I can't even fathom what it would be like to have the mental focus to solo a route like that. It's so true that you never know when your times up. I mean after all of those super hard ice solos he get's killed while using a rope, go figure...

Climbed with a local on 11/27-28. First day was warm, above freezing. The second day was much better, a bit of new snow, clear and sunny with temps around 20 degrees (near perfect ice climbing weather). Spent Friday climbing G1, G2, Hangover and then finished with some TR on the stuff right of G1. All the climbs were a bit thin, but felt like the grades listed in the guides. Hangover was the thinnest, however the shortest screws I use are 13cm and I only had a couple that only went at 10cm. Saturday featured a warmup on Mummy 2, which is in 4- conditions and was a really fun climb. Next was The Scepter, it's in 5/5- shape and it's fun. Technical climbing on and around huge mushrooms with a bit of stemming on rock for the lower section. The upper section is 85 deg ice for about 10-15m. The ice was great and was easy to protect. The last climb was Crypt Orchid which was a nice, mellow cool down route. I wanted to stay and climb on Sunday, but I was riding solo so I only had two days of climbing for two days of driving, but it was well worth it! Here's a couple of shots Washington climber on Mummy 2 (I forgot his name) The Scepter This is my first time to Hyalite and I am hooked! I also would recommend the Backpackers Hostel for a cheap place to stay. I met a bunch on cool folks from all over the place.

to the other "dane": My post was designed to help those who are thinking of modifying Nomics (or any tool) without the knowledge and experience that's required to carry out this type of modification. And to also let them know that such a modification can result in serious consequences. It would be foolish to suggest that such a modification does not involve any risk. I've modified lots of gear over the years, however I've never and will never lead anyone to believe that it's necessarily a good idea (as in there is risk). I think we all know climbing is risky, most would not (I hope) debate that fact.

The equivalent of climbing rock at around 5.8+, challenging but by no means hard.

This is the first failure I've personally seen in 18 years of climbing. I've only owned one product that was ever recalled, the BD Switchblades. They were such pieces of shit, I have no idea why I bought them. Still BD did the right thing and recalled the product. Petzl recently had a recall on the Sarkens and so on... Grivel has pulled out of the US and it's becoming clear they don't care much for the customers they left behind. I am not quite ready to fully disclose the details, but I hope to soon. I am giving them one more chance to do what is right, they have two strikes so far. I have no problem with a company that occasionally makes a mistake and admits it, recalls the product and insures the customer is fully satisfied. In the end we all need to fully assume the risk of relying on the equipment that we use for climbing. It's up to manufacturers to do the best they can to make sure defective product does not make it to the consumer.

I wonder if anyone that is modifying Nomics has actually talked to the engineers at Petzl, I would safely assume they haven't. A modern ice tool like the Nomic is vastly different than the tools the old schoolers used. The increased stress from hammering could cause disastrous results. One possible problem might be weakening the connection that joins the head to the shaft. Either way, there is no way I would use the Nomics to pound pins, with or without a hammer. Your safest bet, like others have suggested would be to get a more suitable tool like the Cobras or possibly the new Fusions. I modified an old X-15 hammer for pounding pins, it's a bit more weight, however it will put in a pin way faster than any modern ice tool. I still plan to get the Cobras, but they're not cheap so it might be a while.

Moved from original post on "Stainless Steel Crampons" As promised an update on the Vector Nanotechs after first use, which sadly has only been on rock. PROS: 1) Weight. As in lack of...these are the lightest, technical steel crampons made. They are even lighter than the Darts which are pretty damn light. 2) Durability. The Nano-engineered steel is not BS. The points show no significant sign of wear after climbing four rock routes at the Squak crag. The front points are showing some wear, but they are most likely made of CrMo. 3) Quality. Fit and finish is excellent. Easy no tool adjustment for size. 4) Extras. Nice custom case, tools and spacers included. Yes if you order the dual points for $4 extra you get two spare points when you convert to Mono's. 5) Rust free! It's nice to finally own a pair of crampons that won't rust. CONS: 1) Price. At $255 retail these could be the most expensive crampons ever made, ouch! At least you know you're paying extra for the bomber materials. 2) Flexy center bars. I noticed this before climbing, but not during so not sure if it will be an issue. I need to get them on ice to learn more. Summary: I found these to be the most precise crampons I've ever used on rock, even more than the Darts in my opinion. I only climbed up to M4+ with them, however I was testing them so I intentionally used tiny holds and used them on a variety of climbs. So far so good, the next post will be about their ice performance, hopefully that will be soon.

Camp Vector Nanotech update - first use POST MOVED HERE: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/921115/Camp_Vector_Nanotech_Crampons#Post921115

There is no "stainless layer", stainless steel is a mixture of steel alloy and chromium. There are different grades and ways to finish the steel, however it is 'stainless' throughout. Regarding rust: Most crampons are still made with carbon steel or CrMo which means they will rust. There is no harm with a little surface rust, it just looks bad. If you want to prevent rust, clean them good with a wire wheel (Dremel tools are very handy for this) and then spray them with silicone spray. After climbing hang them to up and when dry spray them with silicone spray again. The same works very well for ice screws. If the rust really bugs you buy a new pair of stainless steel crampons. The advantages to SS in crampons is reduced weight and little or no rusting. The front points are not stainless, however they are usually painted to prevent rust. See this thread: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/915694/Re_Stainless_Steel_Crampons#Post915694

SOLD!

Sale pending to Kublaicon.

This is off the subject a bit, however you may want to think about this image when considering ANY product from Grivel. Maybe they're materials engineers don't know much about aluminum?! More to come...