pope

"...Clean Crack, I jumped on that again this past summer ..." Is that open again?

Now you've got a woman as your role model.

How many people really think ROTC is as hard as the grade implies? In reality, it is an amazing climb, but to me it never felt that hard. I'd call it 3 or 4 grades lower. Agreed, extremely "soft" for the grade (but still a great pitch!) There's no move harder than 10+ and if you take a rest in the middle of the pitch then that is what you climbed, a 10+. Most of the folks I've heard poo poo ROTC revealed that they did it with one hang. Many experienced crack climbers I've talked to call it 5.11c (like I remember Wallstein writing as much). I thought it was more difficult than Japanese Gardens. The year I first tried it I had flashed every 5.11 I attempted but on ROTC I couldn't squirm up the final squeez bulge (until I dispensed with a slippery wind breaker). Two years later I nailed it first try but it felt even harder. Think of any number of local popular 5.11- pitches such as Thin Fingers, Clean Crack, 1st pitch of Liberty Crack, Hot Cherry Bendover. ROTC is harder than any of these. In fact, ROTC is like having several Hot Cherry Bendover pitches stacked consecutively and tilted steeper. Hot Cherry has a reputation for spitting off "5.11 climbers".

"Even hard crack climbing has less artistry than modern face climbing (ever see a crack crux get climbed 7 different ways? Like on a modern bouldering route or sport route?)" Sport climbing is to tradtional rock climbing as is to

Nude Couple's Feud Ends at Waffle House By Associated Press Fri Nov 3, 6:47 PM NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No shirt, no service? What about no clothes at all? A couple that began squabbling in a motel room Friday morning carried their dispute over to an adjacent Waffle House diner in the nude, police said. A woman, who was not identified, told officers she was staying in a room with Larry Boyd when he took a hit of cocaine, starting trashing their room and choking her. She ran in the buff to the 24-hour diner off Interstate 40 west of downtown Nashville and locked herself in the bathroom. Boyd, also naked, followed her into the restaurant and then fled in a car. He was arrested _ still naked _ after a short chase by police and was charged with driving under the influence, felony evading arrest and other charges.

Crack climbs: Al Givler's Crack, Damnation, ROTC, Caboose, Easter Overhang, Yorkshire Gripper, Brass Balls Bolt-protected climbs: Timson's Face, White Lightning, Bomb Shelter Sport "climbing":

BRAVO! CC.com hasn't been this entertaining in years!

Good for you. You never know what you'll get until you go check it out. I can't tell you how many times I've slopped around in the snow only to encounter total crap. But when you hit good winter climbing, there's nothing quite as rewarding. I'll never forget my first trip to Chair in winter. We were intending to climb the N Face but as we got close it became apparent that wet snow had frozen rock solid. No rain crust, no powder snow over rock, just perfect, hard snow. So we did two or three pitches up the E Face on FANTASTIC plastic snow, where every move offered a solid "thunk" on the first swing. It felt like 5.3 on front points. Then we crossed over and finished on the upper NE face where a 10' vertical ice curtain provided entertaining climbing (we belayed off of screws in solid blue ice). I've never found such favorable conditions since.

Chirp worked as a ranger one summer at Devil's Tower. I remember him telling me that Todd Skinner had set some kind of speed record, from parking lot to summit via the Durrance crack in a ridiculous 18 minutes. Chirp, does that sound right?

I don't know that this is an entirely analytical discussion. Skinner's ascent of City Park was big news at Index, before he went on to climb the Salathe and Trango Tower (or whatever it was). I was 18 and just getting started with rock climbing. I'd never heard of the guy. One day my friend and I rode a bus to Seattle, connected to Everett, then finally got a connection out to Index. We spent the whole day traveling by bus, with camping gear, ropes, food....enough gear for an expedition all packed onto a city bus. We got to Index and camped the first night on a big rock right below the Narrow Arrow area. While cooking up Top Ramen that night, we got to witness the ascent of a hard 5.13 climb by an enormously talented climber. You can imagine the impression it made on us. The reason I think the details are important here is that I don't recall anybody else being on hand to witness it. It was the end of the day, almost dark, and the only people I remember being there were Todd, a belayer, Smoot and then my buddy and I. I've heard people doubt that he really climbed it, since most people only had the opportunity to see all of the hang dogging and top roping. I can tell you, he climbed from the ground all the way to the belay without weighting the rope or falling. My memory of the style does not agree with Smoot's account. You can read my notes above.

The linked account doesn't exactly agree with the way I remember it. I was out there, camped on a big, flat rock below the LTW, and I watched the ascent. It was impressive, but it wasn't a "red point" ascent as defined in those days. His rope ran through a high piece, so he essentially top-roped up to what appeared to be the crux. He kept climbing when he passed this piece, and eventually made it to that variation on Godzilla. He asked, "How hard is this?" Smoot replied, "It's 10c." Then Todd finished the pitch. I didn't notice him placing a single nut. It appeared to be kind of a half top-rope effort followed by an extreme run-out to finish the pitch via Godzilla. Just for the record, that's the way I saw it. I think it should have been reported as a one-man yo yo ascent. Anyway, it was incredibly impressive and my buddy and I couldn't stop talking about it. I think we put a top-rope on that pitch later that year and couldn't believe that anybody could get up that thing without aid.

Right. Make her sit over the back wheels of your Ford Ranger next time it snows.

Save gas. Make your fat girl friend walk.

The issue with belay loops is that they add another single link to the belay chain, a link that doesn't really need to be there. Fresh off the shelf, they are probably engineered to be more than adequate for belaying and descending. But it's just a piece of webbing, a single piece of webbing. As such, it is subject to abrasion, UV damage, and diminished strength that just comes with age. If sewn from a single piece of webbing (as many are), it is also subject to manufacturing flaws, so even though it is doubled, both loops may contain the same weakness. Certainly Todd Skinner isn't the only one who has continued to use a harness (and belay loop) long after it should be retired. Commercial harnesses are expensive. I've seen many climbers who regularly replace their aging slings continue to use an old, faded harness. If this is you, think twice about it. If you're not ready to replace it, avoid the belay loop and clip your locker around both the leg loops and the belt. Also, use 1" webbing for a chalk-bag strap, secure it with a strong knot (bowline is convenient) and use it to back up your harness. Better yet, for about $5, you can buy enough 2" webbing to make a double-wrap swami which works well with commercial leg loops. Since it's cheap, you can replace it once a year. the locker through waist belt plus leg loops is triaxially loaded and more likely to break. check ANAM. this is not a case of "belay loops are unsafe" but a case of "worn out ratty old gear is unsafe". That's only the case if the leg loop connection sits too low. If it makes a high enough loop, the leg loop connection and harness belt will meet at about the same point and the locker will only be loaded along its long axis. Furthermore, the locker will be in the correct (vertical) plane, perpendicular to the direction most people lock off the rope during a fall. Belay loops put a twist into this.

The issue with belay loops is that they add another single link to the belay chain, a link that doesn't really need to be there. Fresh off the shelf, they are probably engineered to be more than adequate for belaying and descending. But it's just a piece of webbing, a single piece of webbing. As such, it is subject to abrasion, UV damage, and diminished strength that just comes with age. If sewn from a single piece of webbing (as many are), it is also subject to manufacturing flaws, so even though it is doubled, both loops may contain the same weakness. Certainly Todd Skinner isn't the only one who has continued to use a harness (and belay loop) long after it should be retired. Commercial harnesses are expensive. I've seen many climbers who regularly replace their aging slings continue to use an old, faded harness. If this is you, think twice about it. If you're not ready to replace it, avoid the belay loop and clip your locker around both the leg loops and the belt. Also, use 1" webbing for a chalk-bag strap, secure it with a strong knot (bowline is convenient) and use it to back up your harness. Better yet, for about $5, you can buy enough 2" webbing to make a double-wrap swami which works well with commercial leg loops. Since it's cheap, you can replace it once a year.

I'll bet you're correct. Otherwise, where did it come from?

I've never liked belay loops, or for that matter, any single piece of equipment which upon failure could imply disaster. I've always used a home-made harness with 2" webbing combined with commercially manufactured leg loops. I replace the 2" swami every year, and I back it up with a 1" chalk bag strap. That still leaves a single locking 'biner and a single belay device...and a single rope. I suppose you can't eliminate every possible weak link in the chain.

When your kid takes your gun to school and shoots 6 classmates and a teacher and then himself, you'll probably wish you had bought Hello Kitty socks instead of a gun When you finally post something that isn't obviously the product of a brain saturated in ignorance, I'll buy you a drink. You are more capable of climbing 5.13 than my children are capable of behaving the way you describe.

When your home gets invaded, especially if you have kids, you'll probably wish you had traded in your VW bus and water pipe for a six shooter.

Can't say I was always impressed by the style of ascents, but without question he had incredible ability and drive. The many people I've met who had personal encounters with him echo the thought that Todd was especially amiable. In 1985 (or '86), my friend Joel and I rode a bus out to Index and camped for a week. We spent a couple of nights on top of a huge boulder below the LTW and were there to witness Todd's efforts on City Park. We were amazed that anybody could find anything to cling to on that line, but we were equally impressed that such a capable and celebrated climber would take the time to make small talk with us. It seemed to us that climbing attracted a large number of egotistical and insecure characters. Todd provided an example of compassion and humility that we should all strive to emulate.

Too clever for ya?

Listen to Johnny

Down at the UW wall one afternoon, many years ago, a fellow was claiming to be a sponsored climber and wanted to know if my buddies and I would enjoy some free Power Bar stickers. Brian Sullivan, a NW ski-mountaineering bad ass, just started laughing and walked away.

What are you wankers doing in front of a computer on a nice day like this? I have little personal interest in what happens to those bolts. MattP has a pretty good idea..to remove the bolts, but to place a new bolted anchor at the stance 15' above doesn't make too much sense because there is a great horizontal that takes #2 Camalots (and probably other gear too but I can't remember). There is a solid belay there if you have the gear. I always carry 3 gold camalots on that climb (one for the pitch and two for the belay) but that's from previous experience. Hindsight is 20/20. I already told you about my first experience on the route and reflecting on that, I could easily be dead right now. I just read the latest Leavenworth guide and information about that pitch and that belay is of course incredibly vague. My thought is that after a long pitch, serious by 5.8 standards, where the average climber is likely to have a depleted rack, pulling onto that tiny stance and anchoring into twin 1/2" bolts would be quite a relief. The bolts have been there for decades, so upgrading them shouldn't offend too many people. On the other hand, I can also see simply removing them, especially if the next edition of the Leavenworth guide gave specific information about what gear would be ideal at the belay 15' above the stance in question.

Exactly. When we're gone, what species will be intelligent enough to articulate its appreciation for the inherent value of Earth's ecological systems? Anyway, I can't see humans disappearing. I can see our population growing exponentially until we reach about half of the planet's carrying capacity, followed by a diminishing rate of increase, like any other population subject to logistic growth.