goatboy

Maybe Shingo goes back 30 years too...

I am not sure what you climbed but I appreciate the story! Great details and honest self-appraisal - plenty of good learning can come from that kind of self-assessment and discussion. I like the line in your website (on the Rainier trip report) that states, "bivy is a French word for mistake."

I have a documentary about Yosemite, a French DVD about Gaston Rebuffat, and a funny one called Front Range Freaks featuring the (now deceased) Biscuit the climbing dog.

Sounds like initial reports are that he detached from his rap line, leaving his rappel device and locking biner still clipped to the rope... not sure if his belay loop somehow broke, or what....

I don't get it. What the hell do they care if you park near their trees or climb rocks near their orchards? What am I missing?

As an alumni of the WSU Alpine Club, I have to say -- way to represent! We called ourselves "the alpinists of the wheat" back in the day.... Nice to see you guys getting out to the S Fork! - Goatboy

True....true.....

My buddy was climbing Leaning Tower the day Skinner died. He says they were on an old aid route called Jesus Built my Hotrod. They were trying to free climb the route. No details on the accident yet. Sad news....I can only imagine that he went out the way he would have wanted to -- doing what he loves.

I would say that there was no discernible crux to this climb. It was fairly sustained and the reason I laybacked near the top is because there were large footholds on the left wall, a positive rail (at about .75 camalot size) leaning to the right, and a perfect opportunity to climb with straight arms, practicing layback technique for about 10 feet or so in a spectacular high position... Why do you jam the crux?

Climb: Tieton-Inca Roads Date of Climb: 10/22/2006 Trip Report: Had a great weekend in the sun and shade at Tieton. Climbed some easy cracks in the afternoon on Saturday and re-visited INCA ROADS in the chilly morning Sunday. What an incredible crack - sustained, steep, well-protected, classic stemming, jamming, and even laybacking near the top. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! I think this is the best route of its grade at Tieton, that I've encountered.... Approach Notes: Still some snake activity as the sun comes out -- but not nearly as active as I've seen it in the spring!!!

I know that most of you are probably too busy lifting weights, climbing seracs, or pulling plastic at Gary's gym to care about basketball... BUT I was given two tickets to tonight's Trailblazer game in Portland but since I live in Seattle I can't be there. I will forward them (via email) to anyone that wants them, free of charge. The game is at 7 PM at the Rose Garden - they're laying Utah. Just PM with your contact info if you want them...

Colchuck NBC- check Guye Improbable Traverse - check Tooth S Face - check Forbidden West Ridge - check Mixup East Face - check SEWS SW Couloir - check Backbone Ridge - check Mazama Route on Hood - check Finally go explore Olympics and Monte Cristo areas - check NO CRAGGING ALL SUMMER - check N Face Sinister - Stormed off Rainier -- blown off by high winds

My feelings are personally hurt by the guy on that site posting as "goatboy smellz." Please, please make the hurting stop...

I can't believe the generosity of people on this site. When I find or clean fixed cams from routes, they are MINE! BOOTY! On the other hand, I admire the generosity of the person who posted this....

Ouch! Good one...

Post deleted by goatboy

Another time my friend was on Bugaboo Spire and had a Euro team following him all the way up...one guy (who had been clipping into my friend's pro mid-pitch as he lead up behind them) at one point actually MOVED my firend's cam so he could place his own in the same spot while in the middle of a pitch! I would have dropped some shit on him...

My friend John was climbing in Europe and after being accosted by local guides insisting that he NEEDED a guide for his climb (I think he was on or near the Matterhorn) almost pulled him off his route by yanking on his lead line repeatedly...worse than the clove hitch trick, but driven by the same insanity....

So, did you go? I don't know how bad your sprain is -- so it's all just guesswork and principles. One principle is that resting, icing, compressing, elevating and ibuprofen-ing your ankle now will not only promote healing but will minimize future re-injuries of the same site. I flew to New Zealand for 6 weeks and BADLY sprained my left ankle (heard a loud pop, it swelled up to marmot size) on the first full day on the south island...had to take a full week and just sit around (in glorious weather!) before I was able to lace up the boots tightly, do the tape job Alex mentioned, and go for it. Even so, I hobbled and limped for the next month and in fact for the next year -- it never fully recovered from that.... So, there are some things for you to consider.

I like them as a supplement to a light alpine rack -- youi can carry a few cams with vast range for an easy route.... I also like them for routes that might require doubles of a certain size. If gear conservation is a concern, then I try to place nuts first (least flexible), then Camalots (some range) and save the link cams for the end or the anchor (most range for remaining pieces).

Wow....tough thing to lose! Hope they get reunited....

True, true -- the other reason the #2 is mo' betta is because the range of the #1 is very tightly limited --in other words, the difference between "usefully cammed" and completely overcammed seems very tight to me. Whereas the #2 has a huge range of useful placements. The one thing I fear about Link Cams is that once placed in an overcammed position, they would be VERY difficult to extract, more so than a regular cam...which can already be a bitch. Reckon that's the price you pay for so many camming surfaces....

Z Crack is HARD to get started! Looks like you were able to make that right foot by the lip of the roof work....felt desperate to me last time!!!! Nicework!

I'm guessing the pix were taken from Lexington... EDIT: Guess I was wrong, huh?

By the way, were you blown away by the Fin when you got to that point? I was really impressed by the formation, which I found to be a very unique one for the Cascades....anyone else have this reaction?