Bronco

Just a heads up, there is a temporary traffic light installed on HWY 530 between Arlington and Darrington for some fish passage work. I think it cost me 30 minutes headed East on Thursday night and 45 minutes to an hour coming West last night. Sedro Wooley route to HWY 20 recommended until this project is done. The detour around the rockslide on HWY 20 is pretty insignificant by comparison.

Nice TR Dana. I never get tired of photos of the Norwegian Buttresses. Terrifying and intriguing to think about the routes up there.

Some good news (in these unprecedented and trying times). It looks like they plan to give it to USFS to preserve access. The 11-acre private property includes Alphabet Rock and the Icehouse Boulders, as well as the initial access path to Givler’s Dome and outlier crags on adjacent USFS lands. Together, these granite cliffs and outcrops feature more than 40 historic cracks, slabs, faces, and hueco-filled roofs, ranging in difficulty from 5.7 to 5.13, as well as dozens of challenging boulder problems. The prominent 250-foot Givler’s Crack, Dogleg Crack, and Meat Grinder are just a few classics that have attracted climbers since the 1970s. https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/access-fund-purchases-climbing-areas-outside-leavenworth-washington

No word yet on NCNP. I may be able to put my hair in a man bun by the time they open it up. They barricaded a lot of the roads at HWY 20.

Some good news: 20200521 Phased Reopening NEWS RELEASE.PDF

I'm in total agreement with vetting partners. When I was still pretty new, I had a brand new partner freak out 2 pitches off the deck at Index. I had lead up to anchor #3 and he was terrified of an undercling traverse under a roof and refused to attempt it. I had no clue what to do. The wind was blowing and of course a train went by while we were trying to communicate which just added more stress to the situation. I had to figure out how to lower him back to anchor #2 and rappel back down to him. Fortunately it was a shorter pitch so he was able to stay tied in to the end of the rope while I rapped over the roof and made a big swing in under the roof and grabbed the anchor. I have a couple of other experiences with new partners that were lucky to get out of without an actual epic. It is challenging when you're new and assume everyone else must be more proficient and capable.

Came across this Youtube channel and found some really interesting stuff. This one in particular caught my attention as I have some older dyneema slings. Surprising how much more quickly the strength degrades compared to nylon (he tests some 30 year old nylon slings in other videos). I know 10kN is still pretty strong but slings are cheap.

Just like Honold! Thanks for posting the TR on a lesser known route!

I have a pair of Salewa Vulture Vertical boots for winter and they fit my wide, high arched foot very nicely. I think Ascent Outdoors has a bunch of Salewas in stock to try on and top notch boot fitters.

One positive of the Corona-19 is we don't have the Mariners to be disappointed about.

So awesome to have an Eiger TR on the site considering how many of us were influenced by the historic ascents!

Here's a link to all of the closures that I've read about: https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/climbing-area-closures-and-restrictions-due-to-covid-19 Many closures are only though April so you really need to check the specific agency for where you plan to go and what you're allowed to do.

Goes double for you Mister!

Message from Olympic Mountain Rescue I had high hopes of ticking off some climbs this spring and summer but decided to forego technical alpine climbing for the time being. With the crisis overloading our healthcare system, we all really need to be staying well within our skill set and not taking any unnecessary risks. You do not want to be taken to a hospital full of Corvid-19 patients. Stay safe out there.

I agree on the bastards part but I think you just have other priorities with your $ and enjoy crushing the deskjockys like me who have the latest and greatest gear.

Should we start a go fund me for Tim to get a new pack? Great pics, thanks for sharing the stoke!

Really impressive that you and especially Porter were able to keep your wits. After looking at your injury and being 1,000' up an alpine route with a storm coming in, I would be needing a change of underwear.

That's what I'm here for!

Sounds like someone made an attempt on Friday, hope to hear their story some time.

Sounds like PMR reached an agreement similar to how other municipalities are structured: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/clackamas-county-sheriffs-office-and-portland-mountain-rescue-agreement/283-c16497fb-f1c9-4205-8bbb-5bb11dbf6eae

Here's another interesting case involving an injured Sheriff's deputy suing SAR, another Deputy and contributing to Chouinard's bankruptcy and eventual sale to the employees. Also prompted the label showing how to put on your harness that's now sewn into the harness. https://casetext.com/case/swank-v-duffy-2/?resultsNav=false&PHONE_NUMBER_GROUP=C&NEW_CASE_PAGE=N

So, just for giggles, I copied and pasted the link in Bigtree's post from May 21, 2013 and it takes you to the exact same page. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbs/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5420737 It must just be cached somewhere on the inter webs.

Strange, it showed up on a news feed and looked legit. If you click the "roads and trail" link it doesn't show up on that page. Must be bogus.

Skip ahead a couple of posts.

Hard pass for me: Please read this section carefully, as it is not simply a liability disclaimer. Like any form of training, altitude training has some inherent risks associated with it. It's a good idea to talk to your physician before starting any new form of training. If you have any concerns or possible medical issues, you should discuss altitude training with your relevant medical professional. I have not found a clear, approved list of contraindications, but the following symptoms are listed as reasons why you should not perform altitude training without explicit medical approval. Acute infections. Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Epilepsy. High blood pressure, such as over 145 systolic or over 90 diastolic. Low blood pressure, such as under 80 systolic or under 50 diastolic. Heart disease, pacemakers or irregular heartbeat. Blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia. Anemia. I have seen no research on the effect of altitude training on pregnancy, but it would seem prudent to avoid altitude training if you are pregnant or believe that you maybe. If you are using altitude training to treat a specific medical condition such as asthma, sleep apnea, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc., then consulting your medical specialist is especially vital. It's unclear what the optimum SpO2 level should be, but generally SpO2 levels below 75% are not recommended and should be avoided. Never use the altitude training system without monitoring your SpO2. While there are symptoms of low SpO2, such as lightheadedness or tunnel vision, these are not reliable predictors of a particular SpO2. The soda lime used to absorb the carbon dioxide is corrosive, and inhaling any soda lime is extremely harmful and will cause lung damage. Therefore, never use the hypoxicator without the antiviral filter in place and check the filter is intact. Never attach the mouthpiece to your face. If you should lose consciousness, it's vital that you'll drop the mouthpiece and breathe normal room air. Having your blood tested to ensure you are not anemic is highly recommended. The standard anemia test is often considered inadequate and instead you should get your serum ferritin levels checked. The range of values considered 'normal' varies between different authorities, but a representative example is 12-300 ng/mL for men and 12-150 ng/mL for women. However, it is recommended that for altitude training serum ferritin levels are above 60 ng/mL. (Remember that iron is toxic, so you need just the right amount. Do not take supplementary iron without knowing for sure that you need it.) The antiviral filter should be replaced periodically, and you should make sure it dries out fully between uses. I typically have 2 to 3 filters that I rotate through to make sure they are completely dry. The mouthpiece should plug directly into the antiviral filter so that there is very little unfiltered air in the system. All tubing and equipment should be cleaned periodically. You really don't want to breathe in any mold or bacteria. The CO2 scrubber can produce Carbon Monoxide, but this appears to only occur if the CO2 scrubber becomes desiccated (dried out) and comes into contact with anesthetic gasses[1]. As altitude training does not involve anesthesia (the primary use of CO2 scrubber), this should not apply. However, if you're concerned, you can use a latest generation scrubber such as Amsorb Plus which does not produce carbon monoxide.