Dru

why do you carry 4 locking biners on a sport route anyway? are you one of those guys who takes prussiks and tiblocks to the gym?

How did the border guards like your sheep artwork???

does alpine rock count it was looking like a close thing on sunday though!

where is the new avatar "sling_cutting_thief"

ever try and lower someone off from partway up a pitch with a hip belay? ow.

exactly - my point being we don't see threads about "ropes are safe. i always wear a rope. it is a simple thing to do that can make you a lot safer. if this climber had been using a rope he might be alive today." ropes, like harnesses, are safety equipment and can be used where desired.

What about free soloing, should you wear a helmet while doing it???

i know some people that have climbed it Canadian Rockies 5.9 A2? more like Squamish 5.9 A2 complete with mosquitoes, wet rock and vegetation filled cracks.

Regarding helmet use: it is all very well to preach consistent helmet use but consider this - a guy I know was hiking up the trail to Castle Crags and fell down on some scree. Hit his head and damaged brain, was a wheelchair driver for several years, has now regained partial functioning of legs. Also part of face paralyzed, slurs speech, people assume he is retarded although he isn't. How many "I always wear a helmet" people wear their helmets on the approach from the parking lot consistently? I guess not many. Point being the helmet can be an annoyance and of minimal benefit in some situations; choosing where to put on the helmet should be a personal decision not some mandatory requirement.

...and yet they managed to beat the USA at Olympic basketball...

i mark mine with a bloodstain where the last snaffle to attempt to chew on the rope met his/her demise

get 2 screws not 1

Another source told me that the guy who originally tipped me off to the talking points about the catalogue mentioned above, has been detected as an informant by MEC management who are continually monitoring this very website (I believe they use the user names Dan_Howitt and 007). Apparently he is now enjoying a new role as a product tester in Tuktoyaktuk

It's harder than the sidewalk from Starbucks to Murraysovereignco. storefront, and its for sure easier than driving the Unimog off the top of Burgers and Fries and doing a flip on the way down.... alpine AV (assez vegetative)

Climb: Alpaca Pk-Al-Pika Slabs Date of Climb: 9/6/2004 Trip Report: Thurs night: drove to Wall Cr trailhead area Fri AM; encountered berdinka & friend at trailhead. Exchanged lies about destination. Lugged huge rack of chimney and aid gear in to Wall Creek Meadows. Stupid. Fri PM: clouds and wet. Sat in tent. Sat: hiked insane amounts of gear to base of 5-pitch line. Hail and sleet. Hiked gear back to tent. Interesting encounter with all-camouflaged frame pack man Camp fire. Rain started late afternoon & continued all night. Sun: sat around debating whether to bail. fresh rime ice and cold winds sealed choice. Increasing sun and warm weather as hiked out. Encountered Berdinka & Ty at cars again - they made same call to bail. Felt better after that. Drank beer. Ate dinner. Drove convoluted route to point south of Merrit. Mon: alarm at 6. Up at 7. Breakfast. Bushwack & hike slowly thru boulders to base of NE face of Alpaca. Climbed a pitch here 10 years ago with John Simms, had always meant to come back and finish route; today was finally the day. P1: clean corners and wet rock to belay. Fun traverse. P2: Mer practices vertical gardening, finally traverses long clean slab runout to belay. P3: Wandering around, lots of edges, not much pro to speak of. p4: 65m of glacier polish, thin flakes and low angled offwidth. Fun. P5 simple and short. Also the textbook #10 hex placement was found. Hike to summit. Descend (too long). A bit of rain starts after we are back at the van. Sort of a nice consolation for 3 days of playing alpine Sherpa to an oversized aid rack in bad weather.... This route is on good rock but has vegetation issues. Green thumbs and winter mixed climbers encouraged to repeat. look for the killer peregrine dismembering a pika in midair! Gear Notes: Way too much gear. #1 copperhead to #4 Big Bro Approach Notes: Wall Creek and Coldwater River roads.

Petzl Meteor type foam and thin plastichelmet is great for absorbing blunt impacts (round type rock or dropped biner); not so great for absorbing sharp type impacts (spinning Frisbee style chopper flake in alpine or sharp icicle detatched by leader on WI-sketch curtain). But really I wear a Edelrid ultralight cause its the only thing that fits my XXL head not cause of its improved stopping power.

had to simul 5m on a 65m pitch today, would have been 15m simuling or a very shitty intermediate belay at 35m with 50s, i'll take the 60 thanks could have done it without simul with a 70.

Speaking of semantics you say "fresh snow....OTHER THAN THAT no iciness" I was pointing out that there might be more freshiez than there was on Monday.

Floating implies passivity. Swimming implies deliberation.

Freezing level for Osoyoos and eastern Cascades is reported as 1700m/5500' today.

Otters do not float per se. They swim.

I am sprayer_than_you The OTTER? Oh my god. Something is wrong with this otter. It seems so scaly!

on the other hand if you get a core shot 30m from one end you can still salvage a 110m rope out of it!

yOu can wear a helmet at Vantage but it isn't gonna help much if the whole column you are bear hugging topples like positive vibrations did.

The Negro Lesbian and the Black Dyke.