Wallstein

I got to hangout with Tyler a few times from Index, to Smith to Yosemite. He was a good guy and always put a smile on my face. His wonderful character will surely be missed.

I'm looking for some renters again for my house. If anyone is interested let me know.

Ivan, I bet a guy as crafty as you could figure out how to get the rope to the top.

Trip: Liberty Bell - East Face - F.A. Liberty and Injustice for All (5.12- 200m) Date: 9/5/2014 Trip Report: Liberty and Injustice takes a line generally 10m to 20m or so to the right of Thin Red Line. It is characterized by solid edges and thin crack features. It has a distinctly different feel than either Liberty Crack of TRL. The cruxes are mostly short boulder problems that lead to good holds and progressively easier climbing. Both of the 5.12- cruxes also come at the beginning of the pitches which should make them fairly easy to workout and then send. Two of the pitches share climbing with Liberty Loop, an obscure aid route established by Pete Doorish, Chris Chandler and Jim Langdon in 1975. A couple of their old 3/16" bolts can be seen along the way. A couple of the bolts snapped right off with a slight touch of the hammer! The gear is a mix of bolts and small cams. Some may find the small cams to be tricky to place but they are solid once they go in. Overall the protection is very solid but the occasional move has to be done above your gear. After 5 pitches (about 200m of climbing) it joins at the top of pitch 7 on Thin Red Line. Future parties can either continue on or rappel with two ropes from here. The rap is straightforward. From the top of P3 skip the P2 anchor and go straight to the P1 anchor. All anchors are two bolts with fixed biners. I established this route solo over 8 days of work. I'd planned on doing it ground up but after a fair bit of consideration I thought that pre-inspection would create a better overall experience and would reduce the risk of a botched and contrived route. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I redpointed the route rope solo which definitely added to the excitement and challenge for me! It turns out it is kinda scary to not have anyone holding the brake strand of the Gri-gri when you are pulling tenuous moves of 5.12.... Click for hi-res version... Yep that is Liberty Bell. Looking at the P2 face. really good and not that hard 5.11 or so. Great 5.12- climbing here. The gear is a bit exciting but solid. Pitch 4 corner and excellent climbing. I got a bit wet up there a few times... Pitch 5 boulder problem. not that hard once its figured out. Looking up at P5 thin crack. one move of 5.11 that is tricky to figure out. Old bolts from Liberty Loop. I left the old sling and bolt for everyone to admire. Gear Notes: Bolts and Cams... See the topo for the spray Approach Notes: 20 minutes from the road.

Hey Everyone, Hoping some of you will be able to join me as I present Force, a short film by Duct Tape Then Beer that explores my relationship with Patagonia and the 7 first ascent I've done on the Fitzroy Massif. As well as presenting the film I will have a gallery showing of 9 images that represent some of the most important lessons I've learnt while climbing down there over the last 8 seasons. We will also be selling 11"x14" prints that will benefit local non-profits. ( a couple stores have chosen the Access Fund) already) Here is some more beta and back story on Patagonia's Blog . And below is the trailer and dates! [video:youtube] FEATHERED FRIENDS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:00 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Feathered Friends 119 Yale Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 (206) 292-2210 PATAGONIA@BEND WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 DOORS OPEN 6:30 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Patagonia@Bend 1000 NW Wall St Bend, OR 97701 (541) 382-6694 PATAGONIA PORTLAND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:00 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Patagonia Portland 907 NW Irving St. Portland, OR 97209 (503) 525-2552 PATAGONIA SAN FRANCISCO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER, 19, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:00 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Patagonia San Francisco 770 North Point San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 771-2050 PATAGONIA BOULDER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:00 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Patagonia Boulder 1212 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80302 (720) 479-2387 PARAGON SPORTS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:00 PM SCREENING 7:30 PM Paragon Sports 867 Broadway New York City, NY 10003 (212) 255-8889 PATAGONIA MEATPACKING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:30 PM SCREENING 8:00 PM Patagonia Meatpacking 414 West 14th St New York City, NY 10014 (212) 929-6512 PATAGONIA BOSTON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 DOORS OPEN 7:30 PM SCREENING 8:00 PM Patagonia Boston 346 Newbury St Boston, MA 02115 (617) 424-1776

I'm stoked to come out for the festivities as well as sharing what will hope I hope will be some inspiring images and stories Here's the trailer for Force, the film I'll be presenting. This will actually be the world premier of the finished film. [video:youtube]

Like Laurel said it really depends on what type of alpine routes you want to do, snow slogs with steps of 5.6, long alpine rock with 5.10 and 5.11 or full on snowy mixed climbing. If its just the snowy slogs with mostly easy climbing I don't think its that beneficial at all. But if the goal is to climb 5.11 or M6 in the mountains on steep continues terrain I'd say steep sport climbing is extremely helpful. If you look at some of the best alpine climbers in the world they do or have climbed at least climbed 5.13. Hayden Kennedy, Josh Wharton, Ueli Steck, Rolo Garibotti, Steve House, and Colin Haley just to name a few. You are a lot less likely to get pumped and then scared on a pitch of 5.10 choss in the mountains if you don't get pumped in the first place and the climbing feels easy to you because you can climb 5.13. That being said you still need to learn how to climb intermediate terrain, make efficient belays, read terrain, climb steep snow and be ok with being uncomfortable. Athletic sport climbing is just one more piece of the puzzle to become an all around strong alpine climber.

Instead of having the rope tight between the two pieces, leave a couple feet of rope, then pull this rope down towards the direction of pull and tie a figure of eight on a bight or do another clove hitch and clip your autolocking belay device of choice there. (Or just clip a biner here to redirect the rope and belay off your harness) This isn't the sort of setup I'd use out at the crag or on a regular basis but it is good to know how to do if you don't have any slings or cord to build a more properly equalized anchor. And as far as using an auto-locking device vs. a conventional tuber style device, I'm pretty sure that debate has happened numerous times all over the internet. But to counter JosephH's argument, I find my self in scenarios all the time where multitasking while belaying is actually the safer thing to do. On many longer climbs the reward of increasing your speed and efficiently outweighs the risks of multitasking. But say "99%" of your time is spent climbing 1 to 3 pitch climbs at Beacon rock it is definitely not safer to multitask nor is it needed. But for those that do climb really long routes (think grade V or longer) it is an accepted practice to eat, drink, change shoes, re-rack, add layers, remove layers, etc.. while using an autolocking belay device.

Does anyone have a hi-res photo of the east face of Liberty Bell that they'd be willing to share with me?

Ok. I'm pretty disappointed no one wants to buy these boots... Seriously what is wrong with you people? It's no excuse that they don't fit! To sweeten the deal I'll throw in a print of the below photo. I think the size is something like 10"x14" I'll even sign it if you want. Gotta act fast though as I'll be leaving the country on Tuesday morning and don't plan on coming back to 'merica till they kick me out of frenchie land.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=belay+glasses I've used the CU belay glasses for a couple years now. They aren't perfect but they are better than the other ones I've tried like the Belāggles. Can't say the CU glasses seem that durable but you'd have to treat them pretty poorly for that to be a problem. They appear to be the most popular model out at the crag. And they definitely help the moderate neck pain that I get when I'm sport climbing a lot.

There are plenty of dudes that will fit these boots, its just they have to be a midget like me or RuMR. I forgot to mention they also make nice sleepwear. I will guarantee you can fall asleep anywhere, even on a thin overhanging wind lip on the summit of Cerro Torre. You just won't give a f#uck with these boots on.

I've got a moderately used pair of Sportiva Baturas that i'm hoping will go to a loving home. They come with a left foot and right foot boot both in size 38.5 (i have no idea what that is in 'merican sizing) These are probably a bit to small for your girlfriend so think about your 14 year old son who might be looking to do Cerro Torre or maybe the North Buttress of Hunter. The boots would be very comfortable on either route. In fact they might even remember some of the moves on the headwall of Cerro Torre. They happily got me up there two years ago. Though I was ready to burn them when I got back to town but that is another story. What else... since I don't have great technique I may of kicked the gaiter once or twice and a little bit of the rand is peeling away but these will make you look like a regular when you are talking big game at the coffee shop in Ouray. You can tell everyone these boots went up the 2nd winter ascent of the Greenwood-Locke on Mt Temple. You may also want to mention that is the route that Steve House nearly died on a couple years before. I customized the zipper pull cord with 4mm cord. One is yellow and one is black. It helped me remember which one was the left boot and which one was the right boot. I emailed Sportiva a pic of my custom mod thinking they may want to incorporate the technology into the new version but they went with velcro instead, big mistake! I'd like to get at least $250 bananas for these boots but i'd accept up to $300 if you are the right person. If you walked into REI and bought them new they'd cost nearly 3 times that much money and you'd be thankful you got such warm boots because you'd probably be living on the street next month since you won't be able to afford to pay rent. So what I'm saying is these boots will keep you off the streets. I think that is a fair price to pay for such a magnificent pair of boots. The summit of Cerro Torre looks knarly huh? It would be unless you had a pair of Baturas on like me. I'm pretty sure this is the pitch that Steve House took an 80 footer on and almost died. It felt easy to me because I had Baturas on. I swear the toprope had nothing to do with that. They prefer to be paired with French crampons as we all know most French things are better than our american made shit. Wine, Cheese, Women and Crampons. Look at these babies! They will take you to the places of your wildest dreams and leave you in your worst nightmare! Thats the front of the boot where the crampons attach. And the part of the boot that kicks the shit out of the mountain.

I've got a 1000 sq/ft 1 bedroom home that is gonna sit empty all summer unless I can find a renter. Its located just 4 miles south of Smith Rock and is on 5 acres. There is also a studio on the property that I'll be in and out of all summer and a small bunkhouse that another family might be in. It's a really secluded area with great views of the cascades. Be perfect for a climbing guide that is working at smith all summer. I could rent it just for the summer or long term if its a good fit. PM me if you want more details.

Someone should probably tell Bill Russell he is teaching it wrong. That is his voice in the background giving instruction. You'd think after nearly 40 years of climbing and 15+ years of guiding he'd know what he is doing. Bob, I've got his phone number if you want to correct him on it

I punched them out a little bit but didn't help at all. And the rest of the boot needs to be shrunk to fit my foot. I bought them without trying them on and should of gotten a smaller size. oh well, I prefer rock shoes anyways...

I've got a pair of size 24.5 Sportiva Sparkles (the women's version of the Spectre). They've gotten really good reviews but they unfortunately don't fit my feet at all. I've probably worn them about 10 days so they are in really good shape. They retail for about $600, I'd be happy to part ways with mine for $250.

I'm headed up to AK for a short trip and just realized my approach skis are up in Seattle in storage and I'm down in the Bend region. Anyone local have any approach skis that will fit a small boot that they'd be willing to rent me or loan me for 2 weeks. Or anyone know a shop in Bend that rents skis with Silvrettas?

i'm equally uncomfortable taking my hand off with either device. I've seen enough people dropped with grigri's on big walls not having their hand on it to know it doesn't always catch. My experience so far with the mega jul is that is locks up a lot easier and is less prone to inadvertently being "held open" like a grigri can. Hence some people's complaint that the device actually locks to easy and takes some practice to feed out rope smoothly. I almost always flake my rope across the strand that I'm clove hitched to the anchor with and it definitely locks right up. I used a pretty new beal joker (9.1mm) just a couple weeks ago with it and it locked just fine. Have you asked a petzl employee about what they think of using a grigri without your hand on the brake strand?? I have a feeling I know the answer...

I use the mega jul. it does take some getting use to but once you've got it figured out it is a great device. The only time I think a gri-gri is a better device for belaying the leader is when the second isn't strong enough to follow efficiently with a big pack and they have to resort to jumaring. The mega jul also works with twin ropes and icy ropes. For normal multi-pitch day climbs the mega jul is an amazing device and i'd pick it over a grigri. Is it perfect? no but its a lot closer than any other device i've seen yet.

Or the rope was shortened do to core shots. This has actually stopped a couple other teams who were trying to do the whole fitz roy traverse. the rock is really coarse there and destroys ropes even if you aren't jugging. just making so many rappels will trash a rope down there.

I've got it in digital format. I won't be back in the states till february 15th though. I'd be happy to send it over then. Best climbing movie ever made!

I've used them for over a year now. They take some getting use to but they sure do help with my neck problems. But if you don't actually climb that much and just make fun of people on the internet you probably don't need them.

Damn its been down rated all they way to 12a now... Nice to see a shot of Moreheads moobs. Those things sure are impressive! Have you done freedom or death yet jesse? That is also really good.

Nice job guys! I had thought about making that walk at some point to check that thing out. And now I don't have to. Thanks!