mneagle

In the Rock CLimbing Washington book, it shows a line leading from the rappel anchors of On Line to "The Mohawk", which appears to be a swath of trees over the dome. Is there any reason to go up there and is there another descent route?

After a great trip to Snow Creek Wall, I returned to the parking lot for a moderately unpleasant encounter w/ officer friendly who handed me a $50 ticket for not having a Northwest Trail Pass. I have gotten a few of those "reminder to buy a season pass" envolopes on my windshield, but I was told by others that tickets can't be enforced and that court outcomes have so far been in favor of the ticketed. Does anyone know exactly what the legal status of trail passes is?

Has anyone ever used Baruffaldi mountaineering goggles? I'm wondering how they fit and what the specs are on the lenses.

I'll be in Bolivia on June 12 and I'm looking for 1 or more partners to climb with until meeting up w/ others on June 23. I'd still be acclimatizing, so I'd rather do easy high climbs or more diffcult lower climbs. You can contact me at: mneagle@u.washington.edu

The grocery store in George that used to sell the Access Pass did not have the new machine as of 3 weeks ago. The closest place with one is Ephrata. I got mine at Fred Meyers in Seattle, which nullified my $66 ticket.

Last year I climbed the East Face of Lexington Tower and was disturbed to find that the 5.9 offwidth crack is now protected by 2 new bolts and a slung 2 x 4 piece of plywood, wedged in the crack. The run out 5.8 chimney above it is still preserved, but I wonder for how long.

I spent about a month in Bolivia in 1997, most of it spent trekking but also climbing HP on borrowed gear. It's not particularly dangerous or technical, but it's still legitimate in height and not as crowded as others often say (at least when I climbed it). Seeing the Gran Poder festival (think 48 hours of Aymaran Mardi Gras) in La Paz was amazing, but I agree w/ the others that getting out of sight of La Paz is a good idea. I spent several days in Sorata and another 8 treking around the Illampu Circuit. Ancohuma and Illampu are gorgeous peaks that have reasonable access from Sorata. Our trek took us past the Laguna Glacial which is not very hard to get to or find. Sorata itself is a nice town w/ good food available from the local farmers' market and guides and porters available at the Residential Sorata if you need them. The Residential's owner is a nice German guy who will keep your stuff locked up while climbing. The other bonuses of staying at the Residential are the floral garden, ancient iron spring beds and an old TV and VCR that get set up for movie night once a week, playing movies as selected by the audience. The copy of Butch Casidy and the Sundance Kid has an annoying hum in the background, but there's no better setting to watch it in the world. We visited the town at a time of crisis, when the owner of the other hotel in town was arrested for hiring youths to throw stones down onto campsites of trekkers working w/ rival guides hired from the residencial. He was busted after hiring a kid to throw stones on his uncle's group. The same guy was also apparently trying to break up the guides' union they had been forming. Anyways, the guides who were the best in town were 2 Germans. The one named Peter can regularly be found, beer in hand and barefoot, most mornings at the Residencial. He seems a little crazy but knows the most about the mountains and has taught most of the local guides all they know about steep ice. If he's still alive and coherent, he's probably worth a talk. The other guide had recently written a book pointing the finger at the local bad guy and was considering getting out of town before his head got split open. If you're going on a trek, it's probably worth hiring a guide, as the trails are tough to follow and they help in talking bandits out of robbing you, as happened to a group of Isrealis we met coming into town... I guess I didn't include as much true beta in this message. I hope it gives you a little flavor for the country, although I can't really do it justice. It is truely a mountaineer's paradise, but when you're there, don't just peak bag, drink a little mate (ma-tay) and take a look around. Incidently, I'm going back in June as well. I'm flying down on June 12th and am hooking up w/ some others on the 22nd or 23rd w/ nothing planned for the time in between. If anyone has room left on their rope, I'd love to get a climb or 2 in before my friends show up.

I've been eyeing the Doorish route for a few years. I'd love to do it, but am a little leery of the A4+ rating. If you're psyched about leading the microcracks and looking for a partner, I'd be pretty interested in exploring this summer.

Has anyone out there climbed the north face or Dolomite Tower. I scoped out the approach and descent last year but didn't get a chance to climb.I'm wondering how the bivy site is on the Becky route and whether Dolomite Tower requires a portaledge or if there are decent ledges to sleep on. Also, has anyone that's been out there noticed whether there is still snow or ice on the routes.

I'm going to be in Albuquerque in late April with 4 days to put to use. Anyone have any experience climbing in that neck of the woods? I could probably drag a full rack along if there are worthy trad routes, but a harness, rope and a dozen quick draws would be easier.

Has Anyone used a Stephenson Warmlite tent in the Cascades or anywhere else? I'm specifically wondering about condensation in the 2R. Is it worth the weight savings?

The lead only area covers about 30 feet to either side of the upper bridge. Once you're at the bottom, it's pretty hard to opt out. There was a large, greasy shit at the bottom, attesting to the difficulty of reaching facilities easily. You can walk back up the canyon towards the Schoolroom, but there's a spot where you have to negotiate a 15 foot steep/smooth slab, risking a fall forward into the drink if you go down too fast.

Recent Ouray beta: best hotel in town: Riverside Inn, payed $65 a night for a one bedroom w/ livingroom, fireplace and full kitchen (note: thank you note from Jared Ogden in the lobby) best park feature: lead only area; 10 or so solid lines of WI 5 to 6 that is barely ever climbed Conditions of the natural lines at the Skyline area and Dexter Slabs are great too. During the week there were very few people in the park and even on the weekend only the Classroom was really busy. Lead only area was wide open all week.

I have a Swift by FF which has the extra shoulder room I need to keep from compressing the down. I got it w/ 2 extra ounces and 800 fill that brought it down to a 20 degree bag that still weighs only 2 1/4 lbs and crushes down to nothing. The Epic shell has shed water great. The continuous baffles let you shift the down around to cool things down in the summer.