mneagle

I'm looking to upgraded my vertical ice equipment. I've been thinking about Trango Harpoons vs. Grivel Rambos w/ monopoints. The Rambo Comps are enticing, but I'm worried that the tiny rear points would not allow French technique on lower angle stuff. Anybody got any advice about these models or others? Thanks

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Didn't mneagle or someone else on this site recently (last few months) say they did the direct start and it was good?? I was definitly not the person calling the direct start good. I tried it a few years ago and agree that the first pitch is nice followed by a very scary and unprotectable section that we bailed from in favor of the bypass. We ran into a couple of Canadians who were descending after getting rained on the day before, but as a consolation hit the mother load of booty. They found a new down jacket, shoes, a bunch of Aliens and other gear strewn about on some ledges. They hypothesized that some poor guy's pack opened up and rained treasure down the mountain. The only thing that rained on us was...well, rain.

I climbed it a few weeks ago. We approached by the Eldorado/East Ridge route. From the pass at 7200' descend left to the glacier pass, passing an enormous crevasse on the right side. At the bottom of the pass between Eldo and Dorado Needle there is a steep snow wall that we had to cut steps in. We descended the right side of the glacier without too much trouble. There isn't an obvious way to traverse across, so we just bushwhacked across the heathery slope until we reached a talus field and could finally see the spire. The snow field starts out gently but gets a little steep higher up. The moat was a little scary to cross; we set up a snow anchor and belayed across it to a small ledge where we de-cramponed and started climbing. Nelson's route description is pretty weak. Becky's is much better, which shows the 5.8 lie-back exiting right followed by a wide crack up the the large ledge where the 5.9 starts. It's a pretty short crux and protects well with a small stopper. Once you are on the upper ledges, traverse way right to a nice little stance just to the right of a steep, clean 10' crack to a ledge before the arching finger crack. The descent description by Nelson was fairly worthless. It says something about going north to easy downclimbing, but since it didn't say descend to the obvious col, we were confused where this easy downclimbing is supposed to be. Becky implies there is a route up from the col, so I assume this is what the correct descent is. We ended up rapping down the face, setting up very marginal anchors, one of which failed, but not until the 3rd inspection. Once on the glacier, it's a long descent down to a point where we followed a stream down the steep cliff band along the left side of the glacier. From there it's a long climb back through the passes to inspiration glacier. The rock climbing was pretty good, but it's a approach and descent that really stand out in my mind. If I was going to do it again, I may consider a bivy below the snowfield leading to the spire, unless you're really fast. Good luck. Anyone else out there have an easier time getting down?

I haven't done Perry's lieback so I can't compare. It's more technical than strenusous. It protects well with small nuts which held several falls from me while trying to work out the sequence. It can easily be aided through if need be. From the top of the 5th pitch of Borderline, there is a fixed rope that helps you get 15 feet up a wet section and then just walk to the end of the dirt ledge. From there it's 1 lead of mid 5th class climbing left and slightly up 'til you join Angel's Crest. It felt pretty straight forward to me.

I went to Squamish about 10 days ago with one of the FA's of Borderline and did an interesting link-up with Angels Crest. Borderline has 2 options lower down with the better one being the 11c. The other variation is a lot easier. There is a 5th pitch not in the guidebook that goes up the chimney (bolted; no Big-Bro's needed) and ends after a 10d bolted slab (all well protected). From there go left on a brushy ledge to the end and in one moderate lead gain Angel's Crest low-down, just below the 10a pitch. There were 14 good rock pitches and 3-4 sections of 3rd to 4th class. Near the top we took the 10b/c crack variation to the right that was great and deposited us at the base of the 10a crack 2 pitches from the top. We had a rack to #3 Camalot and had no problems protecting. It's supposed to be the longest route to the top of the Chief that isn't mostly 5.11.

One other thing, there are fixed lines all the way down Dolomite Tower. Anybody know what's going on up there?

After 3 years of staring at the pictures in Becky, my fiancee and I finally climbed the North Face of Mt. Baring. Anyone who is into adventure climbing read on, weak hearted stop now. The approach to the gully has no trail. If you find yourself on a wet, dangerous slab, the correct gully is above you: go left, up and then back right. The brushy ridge has no trail and involves several hundred feet of major bushwhacking. From the top of Rockfall Point, the rest of the route is straight forward and Becky's descriptions were right on. We made it to Dolomite Camp at the top of the first step about 11 hours after leaving Seattle. The pitches up the 1st step were enjoyable 5.6. The traverse is exposed, but protects well. At Dolomite Camp the museum of Golden Era artifacts begins. There were some old mason jars, an old pot and the remains of a wooden frame backpack. The bivy spots there were good and a large snow patch is still there which has running water coming off of it. It's big enough that it should last through Sept, lightening your water carrying need considerably. The climbing from there was great and again Becky's descriptions were perfect with the exception of overestimating the length of the 4th class pitches. Using the photo in Becky taken from Dolomite Camp, it's easy to scope out the second day's climbing. There are a lot of old pitons all the way up to help keep you on route. The climbing was solid and a bit runout, although the cruxes protected well. The piton traverse is about 10a and takes good gear in addition to the rusty pitons. The bolt belay is backed up by a new 1/2 inch bolt. The 2nd 5.10 pitch is about 10c and climbs past 2 pitons in the crux. We hauled packs on the 2nd pitch. Hauling packs on the traverse looks like it would be difficult. There is another snow patch with a running stream on the decent. Overall it's a satisfying climb with a distinctly remote feeling. The bottom section is mostly an endurance test while the upper pitches are enjoyable, tough rock climbing, but don't expect it to be like climbing Davis-Holland.

The "Fee Demo Program" is supposed to charge for "recreational use of land". If you are there for spiritual, work, educational etc uses then the fee doesn't apply. This is why writing a ticket and leaving it on a car without seeing the occupants is an easy set up to fight in court. You can claim you weren't recreating but were praying in the woods. The cops know this. The time I got a ticket, it was in the Icicle Creek parking lot, where a cop walked up to me, commented on the beautiful weather and had we been enjoying it. I told him in a friendly way we had indeed enjoyed it, climbing Outer Space. At which point he promptly wrote a ticket. At that point, having admitted to recreating, I couldn't fight the ticket in court. In the cases of tickets left on cars without seeing the occupants in which the people attempted to fight it in court, the charges were dropped. This is because they are afraid if they lose the case that the whole program will dissolve. As it is, enough people are paying the fines without fighting them that it's in their interest not to fight the few dangerous cases and just drop their fines. The recommendation I've read is that you should leave a note on your car, saying you are in the forest for some purpose other than recreating.

Their web page is: www.wildthingsgear.com I've had one for a few years and it has worked great from craggin' to mountaineering in South America. Super light and tough.

I climbed Burgandy Spire 2 days ago with my girlfriend. The turnout is on the right 3.8 mi after the WA Pass sign. If you see the Cutthroat Peak trail sign, it's one turnout behind you. There is a great trail from the turnout that hits the Early Winters Creek and continues on the other side about 15 feet to the left. Instead of crossing Burgandy Creek, the new trail goes lefdt and parallels it. We stopped to pump water and still made it to the basin in under 2 hours and to the col in another hour. The trail out of the basin goes up straight towards Vasiliki Tower and then cuts right through a few treed ridge lines to come out below Burgandy Col. Nelson says the altitude at the col is 7950, but my altimeter said 7700. The summit is 8400 in the book and on my altimeter, making me think it was a typo in the book. The first several pitches to the big ledge are obvious from the visible rap stations. We took the original route, up to the left, making a slight variation climbing on the right side of a 5.9 dihedral just above the belay before climbing up and left to the arete, clipping the bolt and setting up a belay. In Becky's huide, he said the original party went left and threw a rope over the 2nd tower. I took a look around there and found a cool 30 foot 4 inch crack that was at least hard 5.10. Instead, we went over to the west side and down around the next spire to go up the 5.8 chimney. It's hard to protect but better than the 4" 5.10 crack 5-6 feet to the left. We rapped off the west face and diagonally down towards the north face after passing a rap station and continued down 2 more rap stations to the climber's right of the route to the sandy ledge and then down the gully to just beneath the col. Rope drag was a big problem near the top, which accounted for our total 6 pitches. Use double rope rappels. There is glacier 10 feet below the col but no other running water after the first stream. Unless you are planning on doing both Chianti and Burgundy, don't bivy, just do it in a day.

Trango Captain Hooks, straight shaft: They climb WI well and are all around good performers on alpine routes at a price you can't beat of $170 a piece. I broke a pick the 3rd or 4th time I used them and it turned out they had a recall on them. My new picks seem much stronger, surviving being pounded dull and resharpened several times. I do have some worries about the adze though. I broke one my first season and assumed it was made out of the same crappy metal as the picks. The replacement adze seemed to be made out of better metal but broke again after 2 years of use. I can't remember ever hitting anything but ice with it, so I'm still a little worried about the adze's metal. I got mine at Second Ascent, a Trango dealer.

The dry season is the winter in Bolivia, from late May to early september. The time to go depends on which routes you want to do in what conditions. As the season moves on, all the snow turns to ice, crevasses open up, etc. The weather has been somewhat variable in Bolivia the last few years. According to a guide I talked with in Condoriri, 3 years ago the snow was so light that the Cabeza looked like a big black slab of rock. This year we had unseasonal snowfall that fouled up some of our plans but also endowed Ala Derecha with more snow than it has seen in years and allowed a few parties to tackle some of the most difficult and rarely done routes in Bolivia.

The best pack I've owned is the Wild Things Ice Sack. It has a pad and non-stretch fabric that when cinched with a big load feels no different than other packs with rigid suspension systems. I've used it for a week long trip into the enchantments, ice climbing and multi-pitch rock routes. When I'm climbing hard, I don't carry much and suspension isn't an issue, so I clip the waistbelt behind the pack and it's never in the way of the harness. Taking out the pad and replacing it with an 8 section Z-rest has worked great at bivies. At 3lb 4oz it's super light as well. The crampon attachment on the back makes it no sweat to take the points on and off.

I have a 2R with sidewindows and large door. I took it to Bolivia and it stood up well to strong winds and was super light to bring on bivies. On nights when there was a good breeze, the vents worked well and I got no condensation. On still nights the endliners were coated with ice. The middle section stayed pretty much condensation free. I used it the last 4 nights in Leavenworth where it was pretty dry and I kept the side windows open with no condensation even though I woke up sweating in my down bag. I haven't used it in a NW downpour yet, but so far it's one of my favorite pieces of gear.

I got back from Bolivia a few weeks ago and finally found time to give a not so brief trip report for all those with Condoriri dreams. This was my second time to Bolivia, the first time being 4 years ago, and not a thing has changed except for an abundance of internet cafés in La Paz and a decent coffee shop on the corner just below the Torino Hotel. Although our trip was somewhat mired by some unseasonal weather and a peasant uprising, it mostly went well. To acclimatize, I’d recommend going to Lake Titicaca. Copacabana is at 12,000 feet, the lake and ruins are beautiful and the smog of La Paz is a distant memory. On Isla del Sol, there are a few hills to 13,000 feet that can give you a workout. After returning to La Paz, two guys from Aspen and I headed to Condoriri basecamp. You can arrange transport from any travel agent or guiding agency in La Paz. Prices range from $50-70; the best price was quoted to me by the owner of the guiding agency located in the Hotel Continental on Illampu, near the market and El Lobo, the best Isreali cafeteria in South America. Once in Tuni, you can rent mules one way to camp for 40 Bolivianos (currently 6.5 Bolivianos to the dollar). We traded an old MSR stove and an old ice axe for 4 mules on the way out. We then traded a harness for lunch. The trail takes about 2 hours and gets you to 15,100 feet. The camp guard will locate you promptly and charge you 5 Bolivianos per person per day, explaining it’s for watching your stuff, building the toilets, etc… The amenities of the camp include a faucet that constantly pours out relatively clean water, pit toilets and numerous camp sites rich with artistic and architectural rock work. We filtered or boiled the water, although I heard some in camp were drinking it directly. From the number of llamas wandering the hillsides, I’d air on the side of caution. Most all the staples you need can be bought in the market in La Paz fairly cheap; 1 lb of pasta for 1.5 Bolivianos for example. There are some climbing stores where you can buy gas canisters and rent pickets, screw etc along Sagarnaga. Oh yeah and there’s climbing too. From camp you can see most of the climbs in the area. Straight above you is Condoriri and up the valley 30 min is the glacier that leads to the remainder of the climbs. We headed up the glacier and climbed Ilusioncita. It’s the smallest of the mountains but has an interesting glacier route and a short section of 5.3 rock to reach the ridge walk to the summit. The conditions when we first arrived were what the books all promise, nothing but sun and solid neve snow everywhere that takes pickets and screws well and doesn’t even require gaitors. On our way down, we stopped and did some ice climbing on the left hand side of the glacier where a 40 foot wide, 50 foot tall cascade of WI 4 green ice had formed in the shade. Conditions continued to be great for our climb up Pyramide Blanca the next day. We did the Southwest Face. The south facing aspect of the face left it with 100 feet of 8-10 inch deep unconsolidated snow at the base, but after that it was solid neve again. It was moderately steep, requiring a second ice tool. I tried to lead straight up over the cornice, but with one swing, the glacial segment I was on sank several inches. We then traversed right across a 60 degree slope and gained the ridge that was an easy walk to the summit, which is the best place to snap photos of Alpamyo. After a rest day, we set off for Condoriri. We left camp at 1:00 AM and made it to the high camp in 2 hours. The “scree slope from hell” had a lot of ice on the right and was only mildly painful. No one had done any of the other varitaions to bypass the scree. From there it’s a straight forward ridge walk to the 6 foot wide ‘shrund and up around to the right to reach the rock gully. It was great neve and we made it to the ridge in no time. The ridge is a total classic. Narrow, exposed and a bit steep in places. We had 4 pickets between the 3 of us and ran a running belay to the summit. It took us 5 ½ hours from camp to the summit in the most perfect conditions. We had about 5 minutes of views, however, until the clouds appeared from nowhere and gave us a brief snow shower, foreshadowing the 6 inches that would come down once we were back at camp. Although it’s supposed to be a virtual desert during the winter, I had 4 days with significant snowfall during the 14 days I ended up spending in Condoriri basecamp. The first 2 guys I was climbing with left and 4 more friends from Seattle showed up and we headed back to Condoriri. I had really hoped to get to other areas in Bolivia, but both groups of partners had their eyes on Condoriri and as it turned out, every other area ended up being cut off by a peasant uprising, which involved the tearing down of every retaining wall in the country and the stones being thrown into the road. It turned out to be no sacrifice, as the quantity and quality of routes at Condoriri are more than can be exhausted in 2 weeks. I learned later that my other partners were stuck in Sorata for 10 days with no hope in site of getting out. With the new group, I climbed a variation of the regular route on Pyramide Blanca, heading up the rock band just below the summit (low 5th class). The next day we headed up and over the glacier, summiting a minor peak, and then climbing the ridge route on Pequeno Alpamyo. Another true classic with a rolling and moderately steep ridge and amazing views. The new snowfall had made the glacier a 12-18 inch deep quagmire of sticky snow, but the high winds had swept the ridge down to the solid stuff. After a rest day we headed up Condoriri with the intention of doing a left sided variation up the steep section of the ridge and through the rock band to join the ridge at the notch near the top of the rock gully. We also brought up gear for a high camp, so 2 of us could make an attempt on Ala Izquirda the next day. The climb up Condoriri went well. We broke through a crevasse low down, but were able to climb past it. My buddy and I settled down for a few hours of sleep while the others headed back to camp. We had heard the ice high up in the rocks off to the right of the South Face was great and intended to climb up a snow ramp and head right into the rocks. The recent storms had been harsh on the South Face, leaving us swimming through waist to neck deep powder making rather slow progress as it was, until we found that the snow ramp was nothing more than a thinly coated sea of seracs. We downclimbed and went further left going up the South Face proper, again through waist deep snow. There was a little solid glacial ice along the right but that petered out and we were left wading up again for a few hundred more feet of profound hardship. Once finally in the rock bands the climbing was made up of brief sections of steep, thin and technical ice on relatively poor pro (half drive screws and screamers), excellent neve and the ubiquitous waist deep powder. I didn’t think snow could be that deep on that steep of an angle. We made better time further up with a few decent mixed leads through rock bands up to the corniced summit that was protected by a barrier of steep rock dusted by loose snow. Getting over it required a shaky ice tool placement and a committing heel hook 80 feet over the belay with no pro. Very exciting. Almost as exciting as the decent down the East Ridge, through the storm, without headlights, water or food, through a precarious crevasse field. Our exhaustion and the new snow nixed our plans to climb Ilusion. We left the Condoriri area heading for the West Face of Huayna Potosi but were denied by the snow clogged road and poor conditions of the route. I’d climbed the regular route 4 years ago and was really impressed by the views of the West Face from the summit. That was a little disappointing, but we tried to get to the regular route as a consolation. An unruly mob of stone wielding youths and an unpleasant attempt to go overland led us back to La Paz. With no big mountains to climb, what is one to do in La Paz except rent climbing shoes and go sport climbing. Much to our surprise, there is a cool sport climbing area in La Florida at the edge of La Paz. I copied a guidebook from Andino Guide Agency and off we went. The climbs bear european ratings and are mostly 6 or higher. A beautiful day of bolt clipping was a relaxing way to end things before heading back to Seattle smelly, bearded and 15 pounds lighter. A few more bits of advise: Air Travel: American Airlines is the only American company flying directly to Bolivia. I paid $1200 through a web based travel agency, Exito. My friends flew roundtrip to Lima for $600 and went overland to Cuzco so they could do the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu before going over land to La Paz. They flew back to Lima for $200 and then back to Seattle. They also paid a departure tax of 25 dollars in both La Paz and Lima. Hotel: The Hotel Torino is a basic place with rooms with hot showers for $6 per person per night. The rooms with shared bathrooms are much older, colder and loud but for half the price. They will safely keep as much gear as you want to leave for up to 3 months. La Lingua: Other than a few guiding agencies in La Paz, nobody, I repeat, NOBODY speaks English. If you don’t know at least basic Spanish you are in for a trial. Do something to learn at least a little before you get there. Gear: I climbed in powerstretch tights, Marmot bibs, polypro long-sleeve shirt and Mt. Hardwear FTX shell. I wore a fleece at the beginning of the 1:00 AM start. Once the sun goes down, I wore Moonstone insulated pants and a Feathered Friend's Frontpoint Jacket around camp. OR Ice Mitts w/ single liners were plenty warm. Koflach Arctis Expe's were sweet. I'm now convinced that there's no tent like a Stephenson Warmlite; incredibly light and super strong in the wind. My Marmot 0 degree down bag kept me toasty without any silly vapor barrier nonesense.

I found a single Diablo climbing shoe at 4th of July Rock yesterday in Leavenworth. E-mail me at mneagle@u.washington.edu if it's yours.

I'm a doctor at the Harborview ER, but when I grow up I'm going to be a baseball player...or maybe an astronaut.

We climbed the south face of Forbidden yesterday. Both upper and lower camp sites are snow free. Crampons but no axes required for glacier, which we walked right up the middle without a rope. No 'shrund to speak of and the moat hasn't opened up yet. The right side is seeing a lot of ice and stone fall, so we went up the left side. Once past the roofs, the routefinding is pretty tough. We intended on doing the direct, but drifted left and ended up doing the 1968 route, ending up on the west ridge with one long pitch of simulclimbing to the summit. THe route was dry all the way up. There were some spooky 5.9 moves on 3-4 different pitches that were pretty tough while carrying a pack with boots and crampons; the rest was 5.5 to 5.7. The descent route back to the east ridge is also snow free. Keep an eye out for the cairne marking the path to the right off the rappels, it's about 40 feet below the single red runner. We brought a rack of 10 cams to 3" Camalot and a set of small stoppers and that felt pretty good. The Marblemount Ranger Station is giving out 6 backcountry permits per day and there were only 2 other parties on Boston Basin the days we were there.

There is a killer variation we did last summer. Rather than heading up under the chockstone, go left up a left facing corner with a great 1-2 inch crack for a whole pitch ending in a slightly run out dihedral to a large ledge. It seemed like solid 10b. From there you go right 15 feet over a small picnnacle and end up looking down 25 feet over the chockstone. You can downclimb or just continue around the corner and up the chimney with a little rope drag to the last pitch. As to speed records; last summer there was a note in the summit register by a guy who claimed to have soloed the west ridge in 17 minutes and the Serpentine Arete on Dragontail in 3 hours...whatever.

I just got back from Bolivia 3 days ago and your order of peaks seems appropriate, but you may be surprised at how many peaks you could bag in 3 weeks. I'd suggest going to Titicaca first for acclimatization, as it's at around 12,000 feet and the hills on Isla del Sol get up to 13,000 feet. The base camp at Condoriri is at 15,100 feet and has the best access I've ever seen. I went there for 6 days with one group of friends and climbed the Ilusioncita, the Southwest Face of Pyramida Blanca and the gully route on Cabeza del Condor. I returned with another group of friends for 6 more days and climbed the regular route on Pyramide Blanca, the ridge route on Pequenya Alpomyo, a direct ridge start on Cabeza del Condor and the South Face of Ala Izquierda. We set up a high camp the second time up La Cabeza to get Ala Izquierda the next day, but otherwise everything is a day trip from the tent. If you are in shape and acclimatized, the Condoriri area is the perfect place to be hyperactive. If you want to climb the west face of Huayna Potosi, you can easily get to it from Tuni after leaving Condoriri by a short jeep ride or a few hours with a llama team. If you have any questions about Bolivia, let me know. Good climbing.

I have a pair of Montrail Couloirs which were stiff when new but are now worn in and relatively flexible. I bought Charlet Moser Ecrin crampons which have never failed me on many alpine climbs such as El Dorado, Sloan Peak, West McMillan Spire, the Brothers and Mt. Constance to name a few. With the crampons off, boots flex well on the approach and when the crampons are snapped shut add a lot of rigidity for front pointing and French technique.

I've done both approaches and found the Bedal Creek to be less complicated but more work. If you're doing the Bedal Creek approach, be sure to use Bedal Creek road, which cuts 4 miles off. The major difficulty w/ the standard approach is finding the trail on the other side of the river. If memory serves me correct, the first half mile is good trail leading to a 15 foot wide stream. On the other side is a Cairn and a trail leading about another half mile to the river. The stream can be crossed either where the trail meets it if the water is low, or you can follow a faint trail that goes right and over a large tree that spans the stream and then find your way back to the cairn. At the river, you'll come to a bank w/ a wide area of exposed rocky streambed on the other side of the water. Turn right and continue on another faint trail and walk about 200-300 meters, while keeping a sharp eye on the opposite bank for surveyor's tape. I was able to see the tape in several trees and found a relatively shallow spot to wade/rock hop to the other side. The trail swings off left and from there on is well marked w/ tape, cairns and an arrow created out of stones on the old road that gets you to the main trail. I climbed the lower ramp on the Bedal Creek approach, which was exposed and dangerous at the base due to wet rock, but it may be covered w/ snow now. Higher up there are a few exposed sections before reaching the upper ledge after which it's pretty straight forward 3rd class. On the Sloan Glacier, I went late in the season and was turned back by gigantic seracs and crevasses on the upper part of the glacier. Walking over that glacier without a rope would be a death wish. Good luck.

Anyone know anything about climbing and/or trekking in Morocco? I'll be there for 4 weeks from the end of October into November.

Well, when I came down at the end of the day and found the rope sitting on the rock, I never imagined it would cause this much "discussion". I left a note on the rock and continued my climbing trip. I haven't had any access to the internet for several days and only learned about this whole fiasco when the owner called me and we made arrangements to get his rope back to him.

I read an editorial, in Climbing Magazine I think, by a researcher who had done cadaver studies of whether taping fingers decreased risk of injury. His findings were that taping did not affect the durability of the tendons. He made a comment however that these studies were done on intact tendons and whether or not taping injured or previously injured tendons improves their strength is still not clear.