texplorer

The wire brush is my weapon of choice (learned from the fellow mossinater, jk)

Thanks for the input everyone! See you there minana. I am ready to get my whoopins.

So I'm heading up to Index tomorrow for the first time and (I know Ive asked before) what are the classic routes that I just have to do there. I am mainly interested in .10 to .11 free routes (not bolted). Oh, and what guidebook should I get for the place. I already have the crappy smoot washington thing.

TimL, RuMR, and DFA team up to form the Exuberant-use-o-capitals-in-their-avatars triad. . . defenders of sporto crankers and striped lycra wearers everywhere

um. . . interesting?. . .Don't know what you mean there but there are alot of new routes over on koala rock and the marsupials.

Ketch, it is a big state. From Austin your looking at least a 14 hour drive to hueco tanks. Hueco will be prime in November if that is your cup of tea. The Wichita Mtn Wildlife Refuge up in Oklahoma has a good amount of granite climbs up to 3 pitches. Reimers Ranch, Enchanted Rock and the Greenbelt right in Austin are decent places to boulder or climb. There is also that new place listed in Rock and Ice I think a few months ago near Del Rio,TX. I might also suggest potrero chico down in Mexico. It will be in good climbing weather too. You have alot of options, check that Texasmountaineers website for more info.

Caption 1: In search of those elusive mountains again? Caption 2: Climbing Mountains, or even viewing them, can be fun.

Or you could put them IN the crack like Toes of the Fisherman at Smith

This is a Troll.

I went up last year and got on the kind of NE face. After 4 shitty cam hooks in a row I decided that I should come back with pins but never did.

This post is was a waste of my time.

I don't know what a "power place" is but here are some of favorite spots. There is a spot on the east side of el cap with huge blocks of granite lay flat. Even during the summer it is cool there, springs drip from the wall, and the smell of the bay trees prevades. It is a cozy feeling and yet awe inspiring to know there is 3000ft of sheer granite above you. Another mysterious place for me was the propellar cairn below Slesse. When we came upon it for the first time the narrow path was shrouded in thick fog and you got an eerie feel walking across the boulder field beyond and seeing parts of plane scattered about. Other cool places are the Hobbit hole at Smith, Beef Basin at Indian Creek, the lake below Prussik peak, and of course El cap Spire on the Salathe Wall

rbw, I am going to try to be there but what's your address again. My memory is fuzzy from the last TG hazed outing there.

Thanks for all the great links and info. Any other patagonia knowledge would be appreciated as well.

glasgow, Just for the record, I am tired of hearing how "hard" trad is too. Trad used to be the only game in town and then the sporto came along and began rating routes. So if anything we should be saying sport routes are too easy. Once you learn to do jams, cracks may be as easy as their sport counterparts but you still have to hang out and place gear, which it takes even the most experienced tradster longer to place than clipping a bolt. My pieve wit you is the Hubers comment. Funny what you said about the Hubers getting on the Salathe after one week. I just had a conversation with Alex last year where he told me he started leading 5.7 cracks when he first came to the valley and GRADUALLY worked through the grades. I think it was the NEXT year that they came back and made their Salathe ascent.

Do any of the Alpinist's that have come out so far have any info on routes down in patagonia? If so what is that issue and could I make some copies from it if any of you have it?

Alot of good points here. I think that different people learn in different ways. Most teachers out there are teachers because the "liked" school and did well in the traditional model of teaching. Therefore you have alot of teachers out there that think one way or another is the "best" way to learn. As has been said, a variety of methods are useful to varying degrees with different students and topics. I agree with Ian that it is difficult to learn about certain topics experientially and some things simply require old fashioned techniques. One interesting study I saw gave a sample of college students ridelin (one of the ADD drugs) whether they needed it or not. ALL students improved their test scores and concentration. I guess there is no clear cut answer. I would like to see more experiential ed in mainstream schools if nothing more than to interest the students in school and learning again in a new and different setting.

Yea, the crux comes low and then you get a no hands rest. The part where he fell is .11- climbing but a building pump can get you. I just recently redpointed this route and it is definetely a headpoint kind of climb. I really liked the classic position and fun features.

That Asterick pass climb (5.5) at Smith is SWEET but a little runout. Behold me in all my glory cause I only placed three pieces of gear.

Yep, dreamin, that slab above is pretty runout, definetely a 30 ft fall if you blow it at the wrong spot.

Nice job Mac, sounds like a fun little adventurous climb.

I remember it about the same. Nice TR Scott. I remember being about 5-6 pitches up and seeing this reddish brown looking stuff all over the rock next to the belay. At the time I thought it was dried blood of an unlucky climber but now looking back I'll bet it was some F@#$er on the shield's thrown off shit. Ahh the Capitan

Booty

Classic Will

Drew, the only guides to IC I know about are the few pages in the fat falcon guide and a puny little "interim" guide. The interim guide is ok but is a bare bones list of the clmbs there. It has maybe 100 climbs listed in it of the thousands actually out at the creek. Most of the people that go to the Creek go to the supercrack buttress and donnelly canyon area. These cliffs are popular for having a good amount of .10 climbs in a close area. There are many other areas and crags just as good or better but that, up to this point, are not as well known. The access issues and destruction from climbers I believe is overblown. Yes, climbers have made an impact but I think the annual jeep festival in which thousands of off-road vehicles descend and destroy is a much bigger problem. (but brings in a ton of money) The crowds of people up to know have been pretty centered in just one area and the "crowds" are nowhere like what you see at Smith or Squish. I just hope things stay as they are but I guess well just have to wait and see.